Do You Know If Your Client Is Changing Lawyers?

It's true that a client can fire her lawyer for any number of reasons. But most of the time, writes Pam Woldow in How You’ll Know When Your Firm’s Been Fired. you won't see it coming. That's because she probably won't ever come out and say that you're going to lose her work:

The fired firm was just quietly going to be choked off, using a tactic the GC called “the long tail,” meaning don’t jerk ‘em around or humiliate ‘em, just gradually turn down the wick until the light goes out.

Read the post. Pay special attention to Woldow's five signals that the work is drying up. Ask yourself which of your clients might be sending them. Then convince them to stop.

Sometimes The Best Thing You Can Say To A Client Is "This Won't Cost You A Dime"

Looking for a way to stand out? Try giving your client something for nothing. Pam Woldow and Doug Richardson call it "strategic altruism" in their post The Powerful Value of Providing Something for Nothing on Woldow's blog At The Intersection. I call it good business sense. Whatever you call it, you'd do well to heed their advice:

“Not everything in life has to be a billable event. There are times when you’ll help your cause most by providing value and not charging the client.”

Read the post. Give something away. Build a reputation as a "uniquely helpful and client-focused lawyer." Sure sounds like smart idea, doesn't it?

Hunting for an LPM solution? Make sure you're using the right gun.

Pam Woldow's "Legal Project Management Tools: Let Rube Goldberg Rest in Peace" on her blog At The Intersection. I'm far from an expert on legal project management. But even I know that successful implementation of a meaningful legal project management system isn't only about the software, but also the people, the buy-in, the firm's commitment to change. Nevertheless, writes Woldow, the right software can make or break an LPM initiative. So when you're shopping for LPM software, concentrate on what you need, not what's the fanciest or most expensive or most complicated software solution And if you're not yet sure what you need, read Woldow's post. Because you don't need an elephant gun if you're hunting squirrels.

Sure you're listening. But do you hear what your clients are saying?

Pam Woldow's "5 Key Takeaways from General Counsel Outside the US" on her blog At The Intersection. Ever wonder what keeps your clients up at night? Read this post, and you'll have a pretty good idea. Woldow surveyed more than 60 in-house lawyers on legal costs, budget control, and outside counsel when she was at the Latin American Corporate Counsel Association annual meeting last month. If you've been paying attention, the results probably won't surprise you much (although the frank responses might). But the question that should be keeping you up at night isn't whether you already knew that in-house lawyers are increasingly concerned about their legal spend and budget overruns. The one worth losing sleep over? What you are going to do about it now that you know.