Law Consulting Blog

Are You Teaching Your Young Associates to "Think Like a Client?"

Cordell Parvin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:21:44 -0600

Yesterday I wrote that the old associate dream of just getting hours and keeping their senior lawyer happy no longer works in this economy. In many firms leaders tell their associates: “We just want you to do good work.” In other words, the last thing on earth they would want you to do is to spend time building relationships with clients and potential clients. That culture is fine until the economy tanks as it has recently, those firms lay off associates and income partners who "just do good work."

What is the problem with just having associates do good work? When brand new associates finish law school, generally the best that can be said is that they have been taught through the Socratic Method “to think like a lawyer.” They have not been taught what it is like to be a lawyer and certainly have not been taught to “think like a client.” Yet, everything we do as lawyers, even dull and boring document reviews, is being done for a client.

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with firms whose leaders want their associates to learn about client development. Many of those firms start programs early in the associates' careers. I have the opportunity to coach many of the associates as they move toward partnership. The associates in the firms for whom I work know that the firm leaders want them to learn client development skills.

If you want your firm to do client development programs for your junior associates, focus on these three main areas:

Developing plans with written goals for their non-billable time. Effective time planning and time management is the starting point for successful client development.
Writing, speaking and networking skills. Lawyers need to become visible and credible to potential clients. I see many articles and blog posts that are intellectually stimulating, but not likely to be read by potential clients.
People skills and relationship building. Your young lawyers need to know how clients select lawyers and what clients want. They need to be taught to ask good questions and actively listen to answers. They need to work on building relationships by developing trust and rapport. This skill is increasingly important as email, text messages and social media become more popular.

I know first hand from my experience working with associates throughout the country that when they have the opportunity to learn client development skills, they are more energized about their billable work. They also appreciate that their firm has invested in them. Many associates I have coached have become partners in their firms and they are passing down what they have learned to the young associates in their offices.

Young Lawyers: Getting Hours and Pleasing a Senior Lawyer Not Enough in the New Economy

Cordell Parvin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:40:21 -0600

Years ago when I was responsible for attorney development in my firm, I gave a business development presentation to a group of brand new partners at their orientation. As I surveyed the crowd, I realized that not one of the new partners had given any thought to business development. Not one had a prepared a business plan with written goals.

Instead, each of the new partners was only concerned with pleasing the senior partner who had lobbied to get them promoted. That strategy might have worked when the economy was so good that even the worst law firms were doing well. It certainly no longer works. If over the years those income partner did not develop clients of their own, they likely were let go. Even the partner with all the business who lobbied to get them promoted could no longer protect them.

I thought of the old school thinking as I was reading Seth Godin's book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? on my Kindle . Early in the book Seth describes the old American Dream and the New American Dream. His list of each seems very close to the old dream for young lawyers and the new dream for young lawyers.

Here is my take on old and new dreams:

Old dream for young lawyers:

Get your hours
Do your assignments
Put in face time at the office
Keep the lawyer feeding you business happy
Suck it up

Lawyers in the old dream never needed to worry about client development. Instead they needed to worry about keeping the senior lawyer for whom they worked happy and hope he never got hit by a bus when he crossed the street. The old dream worked because work was plentiful, seniors lawyers did not want younger lawyers they developed to have clients on their own and leave the nest. Young lawyers were told: "You don't need to worry about client development. We have all the work for you that you will ever need."

New dream for young lawyers:

Develop a unique skill that will be needed for many years
Become a people person and build relationships
Get to know your clients' businesses and industries
Create remarkable articles, blog posts, podcasts and webinars your clients will value
Be generous with your non-billable time
Become involved in your community/bar
Stay in contact with people you know both in person and using social media

It takes way more than getting your hours, working hard and sucking it up to achieve what is needed in the new economy. What are you doing to create and accomplish your New American Dream?

More Lessons Learned from Politics: You Lose When You Criticize and Demean Your Potential Client's Lawyer

Cordell Parvin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:31:50 -0600

Many of you have friends working for companies that already have a lawyer You want to know how to get those potential clients to switch to your firm. Like many things, it is easier to tell you how NOT to do it than to tell you how to do it.

Once again you can learn how not to do it from politics Here is a case in point. How many of you think you will convince a client to hire you by mocking or putting down the law firm that is currently representing the client? I bet none of you think that would be a successful strategy. But, every single week political figures do just that. Here are two recent examples of what I consider to be very poor persuasion.

During the recent CPAC meeting in Washington, almost every speaker mocked President Obama, rather than just criticizing President Obama's policies. The New York Times reported CPAC Speakers Mock Obama’s Teleprompter.

Dick Armey said: "You're intellectually shallow. You're a romantic. You're self-indulgent. You have no ability," Armey said, calling Obama "the most incompetent president perhaps in our lifetime." While the far right might have cheered, most people in the United States who watched likely cringed. I believe most independent voters, especially those who voted for him believe President Obama is a smart guy and not the most incompetent president in our lifetime. Most people who watched or heard this personal attack on the news likely thought less of Dick Armey.

Just to show mocking goes both ways, Robert Gibbs somehow believed he could make points with independent voters by mocking Sarah Palin. Here is a video of his recent attempt. Listen as the reporters gasp at his lame attempt at humor.

Do you think his attempt at humor actually helped the President? I don't. If anything, it elevated Sarah Palin in the eyes of independent voters and made them think less of Robert Gibbs.

Experts claim "going negative" in elections works. But, I don't believe it works when the candidate going negative comes across in a way that the majority of people cringe while watching.

Going negative never works in law practice. I have been a partner in a large (600+) law firm. I have been a partner in a small firm and I have started my own firm. I have never tried to persuade clients to hire me by mocking or personally criticizing another lawyer. I have seen other lawyers try it and every time I witnessed it, the potential clients cringed while listening and never once hired the lawyer. I believe they thought less of the lawyer who had criticized or mocked their company's current lawyer.

In a future post I will share with you three ideas to get the opportunity to do work for your friend's company

Lessons Learned from Politics: Don't Over Promise to Get Hired

Cordell Parvin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:51:21 -0600

It was written so well, applying the oratory rule of three to build the tension and generate applause. "They will say raise taxes and I will say no. And they will push and I'll say no. And they will push again and I will say to them (dramatic pause): 'Read my lips, no new taxes." This may be the most remembered campaign promise in history. The one President H. W, Bush later broke. Did it cost him the 1992 election? Maybe not, but, it likely caused some independent voters to no longer trust him.

President Obama has broken many of his campaign promises, including the famous "put it on C-Span promise. Coming to his defense, Newsweek magazine wrote an article: Unpromising: Everyone complains when presidents 'break promises.' But is that fair? noting that both the right and the left media are keeping track of the President's broken promises and suggesting that: "Breaking" those 'promises' may be disappointing, but it isn't a betrayal. It's governing."

I am sure the most loyal democrats may view broken promises as governing, but I believe Newsweek is misreading how independent voters view broken promises. In spite of what Newsweek suggests, I believe independent voters lose trust in candidates they voted for who break the promises that caused them to vote for that candidate.

So what do politicians and voters have to do with lawyers and clients? To me, independent voters are like clients who are still searching for the one lawyer or law firm to help them. Second, in almost every Gallup annual Honesty and Ethics of professions survey, lawyers are near the bottom, but typically lawyers are a little more respected than members of Congress. I think the public's lack of trust for both lawyers and politicians stems in part from both professions not keeping promises.

My thoughts are supported in The SPEED of Trust by Stephen M. R, Covey. He writes:

Whether commitments are explicit or implicit, they will have an impact on speed and cost. To violate them causes doubt, suspicion, cynicism, and distrust that rust the wheels of progress. To keep them generates the hope, enthusiasm, confidence, and trust that increase momentum and lubricate the accomplishment of results.

What kind of promises do lawyers make to get a new client? Lawyers would argue they do not make promises, but unfortunately clients perceive what they have been told as a promise. A lawyer may offer an opinion on the outcome of a matter. The client will count on getting that outcome. A lawyer may say a matter will cost between X and Y. The client is counting on the matter costing no more than whatever the lower number is. A lawyer may say she thinks she can complete a matter by a certain date. The client will count on having the matter completed by that date.

it is hard to picture a national magazine writing that lawyers breaking promises made to clients "is disappointing, but it isn't betrayal. It's lawyering" So, the lesson for you is to under promise when being considered to handle a matter and over deliver when you get the matter.

How is Your Firm Website? Potential Clients Do Not Believe What You Tell Them

Cordell Parvin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:53:12 -0600

Marketing expert Seth Godin once said:

People don't believe what you tell them.
They rarely believe what you show them.
They often believe what their friends tell them.
They always believe what they tell themselves.
Seth Godin, Seth Godin's Blog, 07-29-06

So, what is the take away for you and your law firm? Put simply, if you are using your firm website and branding tag lines primarily to tell your potential clients things about your firm and you, they won't believe you. If on the other hand, you are using your firm website to share with clients what they need to know about potential problems and offer potential solutions, your potential clients may tell themselves that you are the lawyer and law firm to use.

Are You and Your Firm Focusing on the Right Potential Clients

Cordell Parvin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:20:14 -0600

Over the past year during the down economy, two of the most popular questions I have received are:

What kind of clients should I be going after?
What can I do if my clients and potential clients think our rates are too high?

Other than the obvious answer: "Go after clients who need legal work and can afford to pay for it," how would you answer the first question?

To me the answer is obvious, go after clients in industries that are growing. There are a variety of places to look to see what industries are growing. One place is Fortune's Top Industries, Fast Growers. As you will see, fast growing in revenue are companies focused on energy, food and healthcare. I am not even sure you need Fortune to tell you that. What is your game plan to become visible and credible to clients in those sectors.

If clients are balking at paying your rates, the first thing to analyze is whether the type of work you are doing is routine or commodity work. If it is your clients are going to send it to the least expensive lawyers. Before long that work will be subcontracted out to lawyers in India. You want to do work that is not routine and requires you to see things your competitors do not see. You also want to focus on being more than your clients' lawyer. To use the book title, you want to be their Trusted Advisor.

So, what is you doing and what is your firm doing to attract business from the fastest growing industries. What are you doing to rid yourself of routine commodity work that is driven by low rates and make yourself more valuable to clients?

What I Looked for in Associates

Cordell Parvin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:47:33 -0600

When I was practice group leader and the partner in charge of attorney development in my firm, our HR director asked me for the one attribute in associates that separated the future stars from others. What do you suppose my answer was?

Sometimes it is hard to boil down what separates the best from others to one attribute, but for me the answer was easy. I replied: "The burning desire to keep learning and growing as a lawyer." I intuitively believed that was the one attribute. I later learned scientists believe it also.

In a July, 2008 New York Times article: If You’re Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow, the writer shares findings by Stanford professor, Carol Dweck on people with a fixed mindset and people with a growth mindset. "People with a growth mind-set tend to demonstrate the kind of perseverance and resilience required to convert life’s setbacks into future successes." You can't practice law for an entire career without setbacks.

All the associates who have worked for me and the lawyers I have coached are talented. Yet, the associates who stand out are not content with what they have achieved or learned. They do not waste time proving how good they are or get stressed comparing themselves to others. Instead, they have a passion for learning, believe success is a long term commitment and they are open to my help. The lawyers who do not have the burning desire to learn, are also generally more stressed out. Why? They feel the pressure to prove themselves over and over and they are constantly comparing themselves to others. I cannot really help those lawyers.

If you want to be a future star, focus on learning, growing and becoming a better lawyer each and every day.

Make Your Blog Unique to Get Potential Clients to Read it

Cordell Parvin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:36:44 -0600

I am still thinking about blogging today. Recently the Harvard Business Review posted a blog titled: The Moment Social Media Became Serious Business I was fascinated reading what Harold Adams Innis said about reduction in cost of communication in 1951, long before anyone was blogging. What he said applies to blogging today.

Redistributing knowledge and, in doing so, shifting power
Making it easier for "amateurs" to compete with "professionals," because access to knowledge substitutes for mastery of complexity
Allowing individuals and minorities to voice ideas
Reducing the advantages of speed that formerly accrued because some had knowledge before others
Reducing the advantages of size that are based on the ability to afford high costs.

Because blogging costs so little, smaller law firms and younger lawyers have a chance to compete against bigger law firms and more senior lawyers. Borrowing a Seth Godin book title, the problem is, the more lawyers and law firms blogging, the less blogging by lawyers is a Purple Cow. Just yesterday, LexBlog in its Best of Blogs post reported there were 123 posts (including mine) that day using the LexBlog platform. That number is growing almost every day.

So, if you are blogging, you better find a way to make your blog unique and valuable to your target market because your clients and potential clients are being inundated with indistinguishable client alerts and blogs written by lawyers.Valeria Maltoni has an e-book Why Blogging + 25 Tips to Make It Work that may give you some good ideas.

What can you do to make your blog be unique and interesting? One way to stand out is to tell stories and use humor. Your readers will enjoy the humor and being entertained by a story.

Cleve Clinton and Jamie Ribman, two Looper, Reed & McGraw lawyers I coached here in Dallas have a blog titled: Tilting the Scales. I love getting the email of a new post because it is entertaining and makes a point clients would value knowing. They use real legal issues and then make up names of characters. Just today, they wrote about the Ice Princess, the story of Olympic ice dancers Corrie O. Graff and Dan Saul Knight who lived together in Texas.

Brandon Mendelson shares seven ways to add humor in his blog How to Be 20% Funnier Than You Really Are. While you are at the copyblogger website, read other valuable suggestions for successful blogging.

Finally, my bet is that before long lawyers blogging will present their blog three ways:

Video blog
Audio blog
Written blog

Will you be a "purple cow" and be one of the first to present your blog those ways?

Critical Mistake: Are You Blogging/Tweeting for You or Your Clients?

Cordell Parvin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:20:13 -0600

Just today, I read an interesting Copyblogger blog post: The Critical Mistake that Keeps Bloggers Broke. I could have easily written it for lawyers. I would have titled it: "The Critical Mistake that Keeps Blogging/Tweeting Lawyers from Connecting with Clients."

I know many law firms that have blogging lawyers. I know many lawyers who are tweeting. Several of those firms and lawyers make one big mistake. Their blogs/tweets are focused on what the lawyer bloggers/tweeters do rather than what their clients do. In that way the blogs and tweets are more about the lawyer than about the client.

The dirty secret is your clients and potential clients do not care about what you do. They only care about how you can help them solve their problems and achieve their business goals.

I recently wrote about this in the context of websites. Your Firm Website: Is It for You or Your Clients? Are your firm’s blog posts for you or your clients? If I was the partner in charge of marketing in my old law firm and could choose the firm’s blogs they would be:

Financial Services Law Blog
Construction Law Blog
Real Estate Development Law Blog
Healthcare Law Blog
Hospitality Law Blog
Energy Law Blog
Manufacturer’s law blog
Franchise Law Blog
Information Technology Law Blog

Those were the main industries for our clients. I would want our litigators, corporate lawyers, environmental lawyers, IP lawyers, and labor and employment law lawyers to stay on top of what was happening in their legal field that was impacting any of our clients’ industries.

What are your clients’ industries? Are your blogs and tweets about what you do or about what your clients do?

5th Key to Career Success and Life Fulfillment: How to Motivate Yourself

Cordell Parvin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:31:37 -0600

Yesterday I wrote about inner motivation and made the point that no one can motivate you for a significant time. You have to motivate yourself.

You might have wondered why motivation is even important. Put simply, to become more successful and more fulfilled, you have to continue growing as a lawyer and a person. That involves change and the problem is that change is incredibly difficult.

A few years ago Fast Company magazine published a fascinating article Change or Die. Please click and read it to better understand why changing is so difficult. You will learn that fear of dying is not a motivator. Heart patients know exactly what lifestyle changes they need to make to avoid dying, yet they do not make them. On the other hand the joy of living can be a powerful motivator.

Let's see how the joy of living type of motivation might apply to practicing law. I recently listened to Daniel Pink's new book titled: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. If you search you will find that some have criticized the conclusions Pink reaches. I happen to agree with Pink's main points. You can find my similar thoughts in my book Prepare to Win: A Lawyer's Guide to Rainmaking, Career Success and Life Fulfillment.

One of Pink's main points is that the carrot-stick (change or die) approach only works in limited situations when the work is so boring or lacking creativity that it is about the only tool to motivate the workers. I suppose it might work for the lawyer who is stuck in a warehouse reviewing 1000s of emails a day to determine whether they are relevant and whether they are privileged. Almost nothing a lawyer does could be more boring. So, rewarding the lawyer by the number of hours he or she puts in might be an appropriate incentive.

Pink believes that intrinsic motivation (joy of living) is what is needed in every other circumstance. He believes that intrinsic motivation comes from autonomy, mastery and purpose. When you have autonomy you feel like you can direct your own life. To have autonomy you must take responsibility for your career success and life fulfillment. Mastery means you are constantly striving to become a better lawyer knowing you will never achieve total mastery. Purpose means you are working on client matters that are meaningful, doing them well and doing your work for a purpose greater than yourself.

Pink tells a story about finding purpose. In 1962, Clare Booth Luce met with President Kennedy about his diffuse priorities. “A great man,” she advised him, “is one sentence.” President Lincoln’s sentence was obvious: “He preserved the union and freed the slaves.” So was FDR’s: “He lifted us out of a great depression and helped us win a world war.” What, Luce challenged President Kennedy, was to be his sentence?

So, what is the best way for you to find your intrinsic motivation? Looking back at the ideas I suggested this week:

Take responsibility for your career,
Work every day to become a better lawyer and find ways to better serve clients and
Focus on the journey, not the destination. In other words, focus on the joy that helping clients achieve their goals bring you rather than focusing on pay, bonuses or promotion,
Finally, decide what is your sentence.

4th Key to Success and Fulfillment: You Have to Motivate Yourself

Cordell Parvin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:13:02 -0600

This week we have been focusing on career success and life fulfillment. As you know I have worked with hundreds of lawyers at my old firm and have coached hundreds of lawyers. Some of those lawyers are motivated and energized. Others are trying to find their motivation. So, I want to focus on motivation in this post and the one tomorrow.

I have been told I am a motivational speaker. In fact, I am frequently asked to do Bar and Law Firm programs designed to motivate lawyers. A few years ago I was asked to give a presentation to the ABA Young Lawyers Division at their Spring meeting. The ABA YLD came up with " Come on Baby Light My Fire - How to Reignite Your Flame with the Law." The title they chose intrigued me, so I posted a blog about it in January 2007, Listen to Maya Angelou.

I began my presentation to the ABA young lawyers by showing a short video clip of the Doors singing on the Ed Sullivan show in 1967. You likely don't know that they got in trouble for not changing the "girl we couldn't get much higher" lyrics, as they had promised. Then I told the young lawyers: "I have some really good news and some really bad news. The good news is I believe strongly I can light your fire and reignite your flame with the law. The bad news is that unless you are self motivated, the flame I ignited will burn out within a week."

A few years ago I read The Best Damn Sales Book Ever: 16 Rock-Solid Rules for Achieving Sales Success! by Warren Greshes. The book title doesn’t do the book justice because the principles in the book are broader than sales.

Early in the book Greshes talks about motivation. You might hear a speaker that motivates you, but that is external motivation and it does not last. What he said reminded me of a Stephen Covey quote: "Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly."

If you find your inner motivation, it will burn forever. I doubt you will find it by getting your billable hours, getting promoted or making a lot of money. If that is your focus, there will always be someone who gets more hours, gets promoted sooner and makes more money.

So, what is the best way for you to find your inner motivation? Focus on the journey, not the destination. Do not compare how you are doing with others, Think about how the work you are doing is helping your clients. Finally, work each and every day to become a better lawyer.

I will share some more specific motivation ideas with you tomorrow.

3rd Key to Success and Fulfillment: Plan Your Personal Life Around Your Roles

Cordell Parvin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:00:52 -0600

What do you suppose is the most frequent coaching agenda item I receive from lawyers I coach? It is managing time. Lawyers say to me: "I do not have time to do my billable work, client development and still have a family life." Since the lawyers I coach raise it time and again, that topic is likely on your mind as well.

Some time ago, I listened to a Harvard Ideacast titled: Are You Spending Your Time the Right Way? I urge you to listen to it. In the podcast Melissa Raffon has many ideas I thought were helpful, including making a list of things to do, then estimating how much time each will take and then blocking out time in your calendar to do them. When I practiced law I tried to do that each week.

Melissa also posted a blog Are You Spending Your Time the Right Way? I thought her ideas in the blog were also helpful. In the blog post she suggests breaking down your responsibilities into categories and then planning time around those categories. Based on what I learned from reading Stephen Covey's books: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First I began to plan my week around my roles: Father, Son, Husband, Brother, Practice Group Leader, Practicing Lawyer, Client Developer, Sunday School Teacher and Youth Group Leader. Based on Covey's advice, each week I wrote down the most important activity I could do in each role.

Because my work has frequently taken me out of town, and because I worked on client development on Saturday mornings, Saturday afternoons were "father-daughter" time. Jill and I ate lunch where she chose (usually an ethnic restaurant that Nancy did not like), then we were off to do whatever she wanted to do. That time with Jill was usually the most important thing I could do each week as a father. I will always treasure our discussions.

In this video clip I discuss how to plan your work and life around your priorities.

Are you writing down the most important activity you can do in each of your roles? If not, it is highly likely you are missing some important personal activities because you are being consumed by your billable work. That is a recipe for frustration and burnout. Give this approach a try.

2nd Key to Success and Fulfillment: Answer What is Your "Major Definite Purpose"?

Cordell Parvin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:39:29 -0600

Yogi Berra said it well: "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." I would say: "if you don't know what you want out of your life, you might wind up unfulfilled."

A few years ago I spoke at a Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) event. I began by asking the lawyers who attended: "How many of you are totally satisfied with your career and life?" Only a few raised their hand. I actually thought that was a good thing. Anyone who is totally satisfied is not growing as a person.

I shared with the group my thoughts on finding your "major definite purpose." I got the idea originally from Napoleon Hill. Two years ago I posted a blog titled: Definiteness of Purpose with a links to Napoleon Hill materials.

For me major definite purpose is the intersection of your passion, talent and clients' needs. Years ago I decided that my major definite purpose was to help transportation construction contractors successfully build the nation's highway, bridge, rail and airport projects. You can see that my purpose was not about me. Instead it was about my clients. Making that change in focus from me to clients gave more meaning to each matter I handled.

Instead of calling it major definite purpose, Stephen Covey talks about finding your voice. He shares a way to find it in The 4 Steps to Finding Your Voice. If you are having any challenges finding what you are meant to do and become, answer these four questions from Covey's blog post.

What are you good at? That’s your mind.
What do you love doing? That’s your heart.
What need can you serve? That’s the body.
What is life asking of you? What gives your life meaning and purpose? What do you feel like you should be doing? In short, what is your conscience directing you to do? That is your spirit.

Remember back to that day you decided you wanted to be a lawyer. There had to be something that drove you towards our profession. (Hopefully, it wasn't because you and your parents couldn't think of anything else to do with your political science degree.) Rekindle that sense of purpose.

1st Key to Success and Fulfillment: Take Responsibility

Cordell Parvin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:18:52 -0600

This week I want to focus on career success and life fulfillment. Over many years I have studied and personally experienced career success and life fulfillment. While each of you is unique, there are certain principles I believe apply to all of you. So, let's get started.

Have you taken responsibility for your career success? You are responsible for creating the career and life you desire. Your firm is not responsible for your success. The partners for whom you work are not responsible for your success. You are.

Let’s discuss what that means. Here are some of the salient points:

You are the architect of your career. That means you have the chance to design the career you want.
Focus on opportunities and solutions not problems and obstacles. You will tend to get more enjoyment by aiming at something rather than aiming away from something.
Develop a plan for your career by focusing on what you want to be in the future. Stephen Covey says: “begin with the end in mind.” I agree with the premise.
Execute your plan and stay on track. Do not be one of those lawyers who quits when instant results are not achieved.
Discover what you need to do to achieve your goals and have the discipline to do them. Create a system to hold yourself accountable. It might be a journal. It might be working with a colleague who will be like a fitness partner.
Define your personal and professional roles (husband/wife, father/mother, productive attorney, developing attorney, etc.). Stephen Covey discusses planning each week around your roles.

Get Your Team Involved Helping Others

Cordell Parvin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:57:33 -0600

I normally do not post on Sunday and I normally stick to stories involving lawyers and law firms. I want to make an exception today to tell an inspiring story.

Nancy and I were recently in Phoenix and got the opportunity to spend time with our friend, Brian Burgett. I met Brian years ago through my work with the Associated General Contractors and have had the opportunity to work with him. Brian is the CEO of The Kokosing Group of Fredericktown, Ohio.

During out time together Brian shared with us an inspiring story about the BUILDING H.O.P.E. Project. Brian grew up only a few miles from Greg Benson who with his wife are field directors of Christian Services International in Haiti. Brian and his family are also friends of Tim and Toby Banks who run H.O.P.E. Orphanage, which is part of Christian Services International. H.O.P.E. presently has 20 young girls between the ages of 3 and 10 years. Toby and Tim are the legal guardians of each orphan that they take care of and none of these orphans have parents. These girls are being educated to stay in Haiti and help their country be a better place to live. Brian's company has supported the orphanage over many years.

As you might imagine the orphanage was destroyed during the earthquake and it needs to be re-constructed. Brian decided Kokosing Group would get involved in the design, construction and fundraising for the new construction.

A team is already in place working on designing a new orphanage, setting a construction schedule, organizing volunteer construction workers and fundraising. Kokosing is matching up to $250,000 in contributions. It will also send construction employees to Haiti to do the construction.

Brian shared with Nancy and me that one of the real benefits from his company involvement in the project was his employees pulling together to make the project successful. Giving time in addition to giving money has made a big difference.

For information about the BUILDING H.O.P.E. Project, including an up-to-date total of how much has been raised and construction progress, visit the Kokosing web site and follow the link.

Like Brian's family and the Kokosing employees, the lawyers and staff in your law firm are motivated by the opportunity to work together on a project that is greater than themselves. Becoming a part of a project like BUILDING H.O.P.E. is a life changing experience that brings people together in a lasting way.

Here is What I Have Been Reading This Week

Cordell Parvin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:17:51 -0600

This week most of my reading has focused on success.

Are You Trapped In A Fixed Mindset? Fix It! Stanford professor Carol Dweck through 20 plus years of research shows how having a fixed mindset or growth mindset influences your life. I have read her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. It is really quite enlightening.

The Art of Shameless Self Promotion This is the art of sharing ideas, concepts and a greater vision rather than sharing your accomplishments. No one wants to be around the second type of self promoter.

Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us – in conversation with author Dan Pink and Drive by Dan Pink I listened to Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us this week so I enjoyed reading these two reviews of it.

Linchpin by Seth Godin – Video Book Review I am reading Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? so I enjoyed Chris Brogan's video book review.

The First Chapter of Switch the new book by the Heath Brothers, authors of Made to Stick. In the first chapter the authors tell us that Switch is about helping us change things and dealing with the challenges that make change difficult. I think you will enjoy reading the first chapter as it explains why change is difficult. Since coaching is about helping others change, I plan to read the book.

Finally, as you may know, I just finished a new e-book Client Development in a Nutshell. if you get a chance over the weekend, take a look. I have filled it with things I did as a lawyer and things the lawyers I am coaching are doing now.

Are You Smart, or Are You Indispensable?

Cordell Parvin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:23:53 -0600

Recently I have been reading about large law firms who have reported that their firm revenues are down and their firm profits per equity partner are up. I also read an Am Law Daily article : To Dream the Impossible Dream: Making Partner Increasingly Out of Reach. How do you suppose revenue is down at firms and profits per partner are up and why do you suppose making partner is increasingly out of reach?

Well, there are only so many ways. Maybe those firms have cut their costs. Could be, but law firms can only cut so much without laying off lawyers. Maybe those firms have ditched unprofitable clients. Could be, but how many unprofitable clients did those firms have in the first place? My best guess is they have reduced the number of equity partners and laid off non-equity partners and senior associates.

So if you are a non-equity partner or senior associate you must not only have significant billable hours, but you also must develop your own book of business. Finally, according to the Am Law Daily article, you must pass the so-called "Cleveland Airport Rule." The rule itself is simple: would a partner at your firm be comfortable getting stuck at the Cleveland airport with you and not want to self-immolate?

If you have hours, clients and pass the Cleveland Airport Rule, Seth Godin would likely say you are a Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

When I was a young associate, a partner in my first firm unknowingly gave me about the best piece of advice I have ever received. He said: "Cordell, you are a very smart lawyer. After all you finished third in your law school class. But, smart lawyers graduate from law school every year and they are easily replaced by other smart lawyers. Your success in this firm will depend more on how well you attract, retain and expand relationships with clients. Lawyers with those skills are indispensable."

Are you busy doing the work for senior lawyers in your firm and hoping they appreciate your work so much that it will be ok for you to never have clients of your own? I hope not. If you want to become indispensable:

What are you learning about client development?
What are you doing to attract new clients?
What are you doing to exceed your clients expectations and create value for them?
What are you doing to build relationships with your clients and with partners in your law firm?

What Are You Working On?

Cordell Parvin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:36:02 -0600

What are you working on:

That you are passionate about?
That will make you a better lawyer?
That will enable you to understand your clients business?
That will improve your law firm?
That will make a difference in your community?
That will make you a better father/mother and husband/wife?
That will make you a better friend?
That will make you more healthy?
That is for your long term success?
That is just for the fun of doing it?

Marketing Secret Number 2: Do Workshops for Clients and Friends

Cordell Parvin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:27:54 -0600

My blog post yesterday Marketing Secret: Create a Guide or E-Book, focused on a way of becoming visible to potential clients who do not know you.

My post today focuses on ways to solidify your relationship with your clients. I think of the best ways is to offer to do an in-house workshop for a client. For construction contractors it was always easy to come up with a topic. I did programs on contract administration, negotiation, design-build, ethics and compliance and a variety of other topics.

Here is a second marketing secret: Instead of doing a workshop for a seminar company, do it for specific targeted potential clients. I remember getting roped in to do a workshop for a seminar company. They took care of all the logistics and sold the seminar. They told me it would be a great marketing opportunity for me. I spent many hours getting my 1/2 day program put together. When I arrived at the seminar facility I discovered that the attendees were either with companies that could not afford my rates or were not the decision makers in companies that could afford my rates.

After that awful waste of time I offered to do workshops for clients for whom I had not recently worked and friends I had met at industry meetings. That really worked well because I re-connected with my old clients and because my workshop covered a timely topic, I was able to get work from those clients.

If the kind of work you do lends itself to teaching your clients, I urge you to do workshops. If you do them, make sure they are interactive and that participants are learning by doing.

Marketing Secret: Create a Guide or E-Book

Cordell Parvin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:12:02 -0600

In my June 20, 2009 blog titled: Marketing Secret: Identify a Problem, Create a Solution and Give it Away. I suggested that you can become more visible and credible to your target market by this approach. Then in August I reported on The Debate Raging Over Free. I have been repeatedly asked if I was ever concerned about other lawyers stealing my materials. I never worried about it and neither should you.

I have been fortunate to work with several lawyers who have created “Guides” for their target market. Here are several examples:

How To Be a Privacy Hero (And Save Your Business or Job in the Process) Privacy Desk Reference Author: Mark G. McCreary

Gaming Manufacturers' and Suppliers' Desk Reference for Obtaining Licenses in the Northeast Author: Marie J. Jones

10 Workplace Agreements Employers Can Use to Protect Their Business -- Are You Protected? Author: John D. Horowitz

A Guide to Every Day Risk Avoidance Techniques and How to Address a Customer Complaint Author: Joshua Horn

The Commercial Landlord's Bankruptcy Desk Reference Author: L. Jason Cornell

Multiemployer Withdrawal Liability: Understanding the Basics Author: Keith R. McMurdy

Buying Distressed Assets Guide Author: Matthew Sanderson

Employee Termination Guide Authors: Cleve Clinton and Brent Dyer

A more recent trend is to make the guide an e-book. As the name implies they are books downloadable from the Internet. They are typically done in landscape rather than portrait and they have visuals in them. Here are a couple of examples:

Strategy for Your Career and Your Life Author: Cordell Parvin

Ten Fatal Mistakes that Business Owners Make Author: Scott Gibson

Doing Business in California: A Guide for the Out-of-State Employer Author: Alexander Hernaez

I just created a new guide on client development Client Development in a Nutshell. Take a look it has ideas you can implement.

What problems is your target market wrestling with? What solutions can you offer and give away?

How can you get your guide or e-book in the hands of your clients, potential clients and referral sources?