Olmstead & Associates - Legal Management Consultants
Client Services Bulletin December 2001
Bulletin Number: 02-001 Date: June 2002 Subject: Periodic News
- KEY 2002 LAW FIRM TRENDS
- Competition is intensifying and becoming more severe. Since law firms are sellers of legal services and buyers of legal talent they must compete effectively in both markets.
- Convergence and reconsolidation of legal work is continuing. Institutional clients are using fewer law firms.
- Law firms are merging at an increasing rate, especially in New York and Chicago.
- While entry level associate attorney hiring is still strong, lateral hiring is outpacing entry level hiring.
- Intellectual property is still the hottest practice area and the primary target for firms looking for merger candidates.
- More law firms are implementing sophisticated branding campaigns. In a recent survey conducted by the Legal Marketing Association, fifty-one percent of the respondents reported that they had conducted comprehensive branding campaigns. Of those law firms that had not conducted a comprehensive branding campaign, more than one-half indicated that they planned to start one within the next twelve months. Many of these firms have shortened their firm name and adopted sophisticated identity programs.
- While the MDP issue is up in the air, especially since Enron, law firms are not sitting back. Ancillary businesses are being formed at an increasing rate. Examples include areas such as insurance planning, employee relations, finance and trade, healthcare, government affairs, strategic planning, technology, human resources, and wealth management.
- More firms have strategic business and marketing plans. In a recent survey conducted by the Legal Marketing Association, fifty-nine percent reported that their firms have a written strategic plan and fifty-five percent reported that they have written marketing plans. Eighty-seven percent of these firms have marketing budgets.
- STRATEGIES FOR INSURANCE DEFENSE FIRMS
Numerous insurance defense law firm clients have asked us for tips on reinventing and restructuring their practices. Here are some of our thoughts and suggestions:
- Formulate a strategy and a business plan. Identify what the firm wants to be known for? What is it famous for? Find ways to differentiate your practice from other law firms. The plan must build in accountability and everyone in the firm must be involved.
- Diversify the practice. Target other insurance companies. Expand services offered current clients. Move to up-market litigation work as opposed to working for insurance companies. Add new practice areas and diversify the practice. Consider acquisition of lateral attorneys with both expertise and a book of business in strategic practice areas.
- Get leverage back on track. Deal with unproductive partners and associates. Hire paralegals.
- Stop the practice of making everyone in the firm partners. Establish sound criteria for partnership admission. Require competencies/track record in new business origination.
- Base compensation upon overall performance.
- Enforce billable hour quotas and tightly control expenses.
- Examine client and target client lists and identify self-insured prospects. Then, use target marketing to acquaint them with both litigation and non-litigation services that the firm offers.
- Educate your clients on new developments. Provide more value added services through education via seminars, newsletters, web sites, etc.
- Look for ways to move your litigation expertise up-market and reduce your dependency on insurance companies. Consider marketing your litigation expertise to corporate clients in areas such as home owners association general counsel work, consumer warranty, trucking industry liability, and elder abuse defense.
- Get in front of in-house insurance litigators and risk managers. Speak at their professional association meetings and events.
- Form alliances with regional and national law firms handling work for insurance companies.
- ESSENTIALS FOR AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING INFRASTRUCTURE
Without an effective marketing infrastructure - marketing at the firm, practice group, or individual level is virtually impossible. A few essentials:
- A business and marketing plan for the firm, practice group, and individual attorneys.
- Someone assigned to coordinate the marketing activities of the firm. In large firms a marketing director and a team of marketing professionals are typically employed. In small firms appoint a focal person such as the administrator or office manager, or a responsible attorney or secretary.
- A firm identity plan that is used consistently in all external communication collateral materials such as letterhead, business cards, web sites, powerpoint presentations, brochures, newsletters, press releases, media kits, seminar handouts, etc. This plan should be developed to differentiate and reflect the image of the firm.
- Quality collateral marketing materials listed above.
- A content driven web site. The web site should be database driven to facilitate easy updating.
- A contact database of clients, referral sources, target and prospective clients, media sources, etc.
- Content such as articles, case studies, recent verdicts, that demonstrate the unique capabilities of the firm.
- NEWS RELEASES
The following news release can be reviewed in detail on our web site www.olmsteadassoc.com under the News Releases area:
Olmstead & Associates announces that Dr. John W. Olmstead, Jr. has been appointed as a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Law Office Economics Section Council.
Olmstead & Associates announces that Dr. John W. Olmstead, Jr. has been invited to participate in Illinois State Bar Conference.
- RECENTLY PUBLISHED LAW FIRM MANAGEMENT ARTICLES
The following articles which we authored were recently published in The Lawyers Competitive Edge: The Journal of Law Office Economics and Management, West Group and other publications:
Solo But Not Alone: One Sole-practitioners Story of How He Grew and Leveraged His Law Practice, by Laura Leckrone
Please note that all of these articles have been copyrighted by Olmstead & Associates. However, copies of these articles can be obtained for references purposes by printing them from our web site at www.olmsteadassoc.com. Copies can also be obtained by calling our office.
Many other fine articles are published in The Lawyers Competitive Edge. To order a subscription contact West Group at (800) 328-4880.
- CASE STUDIES ON OUR WEB SITE
Two case studies are now up on our web site. These studies feature case study summaries and articles on successful strategies being deployed by some of our clients. A study featuring the Law Offices of Thomas Noonan which was recently published in both Legal Management and The Lawyers Competitive Edge and a study featuring the Law Offices of Karl Truman which was recently published in the Louisville, Kentucky Courier Journal.
- Just a reminder that in addition to change, strategic planning, and marketing we offer the following additional management services to clients:
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