In Kate Lunau’s most recent article in MacLean’s magazine (entitled “How to Pay for Some Justice – Special Report – Legal insurance could be just what Canadians need” on March 9, 2009), she discussed how legal insurance could benefit Canada’s middle class – who earn too much money to qualify for legal aid but who can’t afford high hourly rates of typical lawyers (as the rich upper class and large organizations can).

I’ve heard about pre-paid legal insurance before.  The idea I believe is a good one.  Having people spread and share the costs of legal services seems to make absolute sense.  It’s already being done to a large extent in the U.S. and Europe.  So why hasn’t it taken off here?  Well, some could blame the Law Society of Upper Canada for not adocating for or otherwise actively promoting the public to buy into legal insurance.  Perhaps, in the Law Society’s own defence, that it not its proper role.  But perhaps it should be?

I tried looking into the advantages and disadvantages of pre-paid legal insurance and here are my thoughts:

Advantages

• It offers members of the middle class the ability to pursue claims with merit by being able to afford legal counsel.  Sometimes a plan will subsidize the hourly rate of a lawyer (e.g. to $100/hour or $195/hour).  Sometimes a plan will cover up to a certain amount (e.g. $100,000 worth of legal fees) so long as you pay the monthly or annual premiums (at a cost, for example, of a few hundred dollars).  Perhaps you’ll have to a pay a premium.  This is all typical insurance stuff…

Disadvantages

• I have yet to come across a theoretical argument for why pre-paid legal insurance, as a way of promoting access to justice, should not be pursued.  I believe, at the moment, that the disadvantages to this service would arise more in the context of the practical execution of providing legal insurance.  Such problems could, for example, arise in the way in which legal insurance is promoted, how claims are assessed by legal insurance companies when they arise, what the plans actually cover, and the services ultimately provided by lawyers.  No doubt, there will be complainers and not everything will go smoothly.  But these execution issues arise in the provision of most services and they can be worked out at the appropriate time.

written by admin \\ tags: absolute sense, canadians, execution, hourly rate, insurance, Kate Lunau, law society of upper canada, lawyer, lawyers, legal aid, legal counsel, legaltheoretical argument, maclean, MacLean's Magazine, middle class, pre-paid legal, premiums, recent article

Going solo is not for the feint of heart.  I knew I was going to go solo long before I even finished articling.  I prepared myself for months.  I wrote a 200 page business plan (which, although remains incomplete to date, did help me focus my ideas at the time).  The bottom line is that endless preparation is one thing, good execution is another.  Here are 6 good reasons why any lawyer would want to go solo.  In fact, these are precisely the reasons that made me do it:

1. allow me to earn a significantly higher income vis-à-vis being employed for someone else;
2. expose me to clients and interesting/challenging work;
3. provide me with new legal and business knowledge, skills, and experiences;
4. create new income-generating opportunities;
5. give me significant control over my working environment; and
6. provide me with an unmatched level of overall personal satisfaction.

These things being said, there are also 6 reasons why some avoid the prospect of going out on their own:

1. Lack of specialization, leading to lack of knowledge about various subject areas and the risk
   of making mistakes;
2. Succumbing to financial problems (e.g. having to pay for high overhead expenses all by yourself);
3. Not being able to handle large or complex matters (and the large fees that go with them);
4. Having responsibility over all administrative details;
5. Not being able to have anyone in the office to handle emergencies during your absence;
6. Isolation from other lawyers.

Overall, a lawyer should do a lot soul searching before deciding whether going off on their own is the best thing for them.

written by admin \\ tags: execution, hanging a shingle, lawyer, lawyers, Sole Practitioner, solo

Businesses don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.

Below are 10 quick tips in 60 seconds (or however long it takes you to read and absorb them) to help law practices market themselves for success.  There are lots more, but 10 will do for now!

1. Plan, plan, and do some more planning!  Come up with a market plan that outlines things like: the purpose of your marketing, the main benefits you’re offering, your target audience, your marketing weapons, your niche, your corporate identity/personality, and a marketing budget and pro-forma financial statements.

2. Execute, execute, execute!  The hardest part of any business is properly executing your plan.  You can have the best plan in the world, but you need to properly execute to see results.  You know what they say: an A + team with a B idea is always better than a B team with an A + idea.  Set up a marketing calendar and list out your action items.  Then have regular meetings with your team to see what you’ve accomplished in the past, what’s left to do, why things haven’t gone right (or why they have), etc.

3. Determine your niche.  It’s hard to be a jack of all trades these days.  A niche strategy is a viable strategy for earning above average returns in practically any industry: it creates specialized knowledge, skills, experiences, etc. that are hard to replicate (thereby creating a barrier to entry).  Just be sure to niche in something that is in demand!

4. Communicate your brand/identity.  The latter comprises your trust/value proposition to your target market.  It is reflected in both the tangible and intangible aspects of your business (e.g. the way you talk on the phone, the atmosphere in your office, etc.).  Make sure that you’re embodying and projecting the brand/identity of your choice.

5. Dress for profits, keep appearance neat, and great callers with a smile on the phone.  The quickest and easiest way to sell people on your idea is to have them like you.  That’s right: those who like the way you look, speak, gesture, handle yourself around family/friends, etc. will be more inclined to agree with you than if they didn’t like you.  So be nice and smile (even if you’re having a rough day).

6. Solicit and display testimonials and mention your satisfied customers.

7. Publish your own marketing materials.  This could take the form of: newsletters, direct-mail letters, postcards, business cards, brochures, catalogs, gift certificates, signs, trade show materials, proposals, etc.

8. Cultivate publicity contacts.  Find out who writes regularly about your industry and get in touch with them.  Give them something to write about and, if you keep doing that, they’ll be back for more.

9. Create media.  Don’t wait around for free publicity in newspapers, radio, t.v., etc. to call you up for an interview.  Create your own media by doing research and telling the world something new.  Media will come calling because you’ve done their jobs for them.  With the hard work done, they’ll promote you to a much larger distribution channel and more opportunities will arise.

10. Network, network, network!  Grow your connections by attending networking events, trade shows/conferences, making presentations, and doing whatever it takes to meet new people and tell them about your business.

Now go do some marketing!

written by admin \\ tags: 10 tips in 60 seconds, create your own media, execution, law practice marketing, network, newspapers, plan and execute, publicity