Question:
Our firm is a 20 attorney defense firm in the Southwest. We are having a hard year and are looking for cost cutting ideas and strategies.
Response:
I am often asked to help law firms design and implement profitability improvement programs. In most of my engagements the real problem is insufficient gross income and lack of sufficient investment (spending and time) on marketing and initiatives designed to stimulate client and revenue growth. For most firms increasing revenues is the most effective way of impacting the bottom line. However, we do find that there is waste and unnecessary overhead that eats away at profits and a cost control program is also recommended and implemented. During recessionary times such as we are currently facing – drastic cost control are often the only option. Reducing overhead can immediately and effectively improve a firm’s bottom line.
The first step in an expense control program is to identify those areas where potential savings exist. Review your profit and loss statement. Resist the temptation to arbitrarily cutting costs which could cut the muscle with the fat and result in revenue loss as well. You have to spend money to make money – so if cost cutting is the appropriate strategy – cut the right costs. Think strategically about cost reduction.
After you have identified areas where savings can be made prioritize and develop specific strategies and implement action plans to achieve the savings.
Here are a few ideas:
STRATEGY #1: Reduce Headcount
This is the largest area for potential savings. Downsizing is a strategy that has been used by many firms this past year. However, it can have long term negative consequences for revenue and talent management. Consider all levels – non-productive partners, associates, paralegals, and staff. Be prudent and sensitive in implementation.
STRATEGY #2: Reduce Compensation
Obviously one way is to cut salaries – a strategy to be used as a last resort. A better approach is to reduce fixed salary (paying people for showing up) and add a variable pay component which will allow employees to earn additional compensation in the form of bonus for results achieved. Another approach is to freeze salary increases.
STRATEGY #3: Benefits
A major area for cost savings – especially health insurance. Determine which programs are most important to employees. Do your best to protect those and reduce or eliminate programs that are less important. Consider offering more than one health insurance plan. Pay the premium for the lowest cost plan and provide options for employees to “opt up” to the better plans by paying the additional premiums. Consider increasing deductibles and requiring employees to pay a portion of the base premiums.
STRATEGY #4: Outsource
Examine potential for outsourcing – from copy services – IT management – to your legal team.
STRATEGY #5: Occupancy
Review your lease invoices and question increases and escalators for which you have been charged. Consider renegotiating your lease and ask for a lower rate. Reduce excess space either through a renegotiated lease or through sub-leasing.
STRATEGY #6: Telephone Service
Scrutinize your bills and examine rate tariffs as well as items that have been tagged to your bill by third parties. Negotiate and ask refunds for any discrepancies or abuse found. We have seen firms receive thousands of dollars in refunds.
STRATEGY #7: Virtual Office
Do you need an office at all. Many solos are working out of virtual and home offices or a combination of same. Some larger firms are reducing the size of their primary expensive downtown offices by having some attorneys work from home offices or other locations.
STRATEGY #8: Marketing
Many firms actually need to spend more money on marketing. However, this does not mean that it should be wasted on sacred cows. Review marketing investments, eliminate feel good items, and insure that they are producing results. Reallocate funds.
STRATEGY #9: Supplies and Other Purchases
Eliminate waste and unnecessary expenses. Consolidate with fewer vendors and solicit discounts for exclusive relationships.
STRATEGY #10: Develop a Budget and Financial Plan
If you don’t have one – develop a budget and financial plan and work the plan.
Good luck!
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question:
Our firm has been discussing the possibility of merging with another law firm of similar size. We are are 25 attorney firm. We have heard horror stories of firms that have merged and been unhappy with the experience. Why do mergers fail and what should we look out for?
Response:
There can be a whole list of reasons for failure including poor financial performance, attorney defections, loss of key clients, and leadership and management issues. However, it has been our experience that most failures have been the result of poor cultural fit. The merging firms – after they have moved past conflict checks and excitment about new client potential – jump immediately to an examination of practice economics and the financials. They fail to perform proper due dilligence on the people. It is critical that firms insure that cultural due dilligence is a key component of the merger assessment process. Philosophies, personalities, and life styles should be generally compatible. The partners should like each other and the deal should make sense.
Do all the due dilligence that you can – start with the people – then move through the rest of the process.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. These economic times have been challenging for our firm at best. A major problem for us is collecting our client receivables. Do you have any suggestions?
A. Regardless of whether economic times are good or bad cash flow is always a matter of prime concern for law firms. With it taking in general 3-4 months to convert client work to cash anything the firm can do to speed up the collection cycle is always desirable. Here are a few ideas:
Consider our firm for outsourcing this effort.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question:
At a recent partner meeting we discussed the current economy and what changes we need to be thinking about both now and when we come out of the recession. What are your thoughts?
Response:
As law firms emerge from the current recession many will face many new business realities and be forced to consider whether existing business models are still appropriate for the future. Legal process outsourcing (LPO), off-shoring, virtual offices, alternative billing, etc. We believe that the recession may accelerate the pace by which firms reevaluate existing processes and consider new business models.
Ten years ago (1999) the ABA hosted the "Seize the Future" conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
The conference predicted massive change fueled by the internet. Many of these changes we have already witnessed and experienced – others are yet to come – possibly in the near future. Richard Susskind's popular book "The End of Lawyers: Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services paints an interesting future. As we emerge from the recession pressures will exist that may excelerate some of the other changes that have been predicted.
Here are some changes that some firms are already implementing:
Here are a few examples:
The key ingredent is to not get stuck in the past. Incumbancy and pass success has never been worth less. Ask General Motors.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question:
Our firm is beginning to consider off-shore outsourcing. Our clients are asking about this as a service delivery option. Do you have suggestions?
Response:
Off-shore outsourcing is the new frontier. While there are opportunites and benefits that can result there are also pitfalls. Here are our thoughts:
Start slow with a small project and monitor results. Build up your initial experience.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question: I am a legal administrator with a 14 attorney law firm in the Chicago area. It seems that it is becoming more and more difficult to deal with insurance company clients.While we have always had to deal with low billing rates and unrealistic controls mandated by insurance companies, recent trends have reached levels that threaten the business relationship which has reached an all time low. We must now jump through even more hoops to be able to play in the insurance defense arena. What are your suggestions?
Response: The present state of the insurance defense practice presents numerous challenges to the law firm. These challenges simply cannot be ignored – they will have to be faced head-on. The solutions are complex and will require time to sort through. While solutions can come in different varieties, they will take the form of one of two general strategic approaches.
Reinvent The Practice – Stay In The Game
For many firms the appropriate strategy may be to stay in the game. These will be firms that have a well-established reputation in insurance defense, where insurance defense represents a major source of their revenue, and where adequate leverage and profitability and leverage exist. These firms will not be firms that dabble in insurance work. These firms will be committed to this practice area and will focus on it exclusively. They will be innovative client-market driven firms that blend contemporary approaches with the lessons learned from the founding fathers.
Exit Or Diversify The Practice
This strategy will be appropriate for firms that desire to get out of insurance defense work entirely or that desire to reduce their dependence on insurance defense work by diversifying the practice. In this way the mix of the practice can be altered. This strategy will not be easy. It will be a rough road and will take time.
Insurance defense attorneys typically do not have the expertise, experience, or the client contacts in other practice areas such as corporate business. Another factor is perceived image. The business community often views insurance defense firms as second rate firms. Often the law firm has in essence branded itself as an insurance defense firm. This can be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Client law firms with whom this author has worked have found that it can take five years or longer to accomplish such objectives.
Specific tactics will depend upon the firm’s size and the amount of insurance defense work in the practice mix. One of the first steps is for insurance defense firms to try to leverage their litigation experience in order to obtain the defense work from self-insured corporations and general corporate representation. In some instances it may be possible to pick up some of the general corporate representation of insurance companies. This will be a tough road.
Larger firms will require some new blood in the firm with expertise, experience, and a book of business in the desired practice areas. This will require insurance defense firms to consider merger or acquisition. Smaller firms may be able to accomplish these objectives completely internally or with lateral partner acquisitions. Both large and small firms should begin extensive programs of continuing education in desired practice areas. Firm and personal marketing plans should place strong emphasis on creating new business relationships as well.
Much work needs to be done by management of insurance defense firms. The process will take time, hard work, and dedication regardless of the strategic options chosen. Now is the time to get started. Click here for an article on the topic.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question:
I am a solo attorney in private practice. I have been practicing for two years. The bulk of my practice is in the wills, trusts and estates area. I occasionally handle real estate transactions as well. I work from a home in office and meet clients in their homes at night. I have given thought about moving to an office outside the home, but even if I did I think I would still end up meeting clients in their homes at night. My clients seem to really appreciate this and as a result I have yet to walk away from a potential client's home without a signed retainer agreement. What are your thoughts on home offices?
Response:
Sounds like working from home has worked well for your practice and it has caused you to deliver personal attention to your clients which is so necessary in your practice area. I opened my consulting practice 25 years ago and had the overhead of an office and staff from day one. So much has changed since then. Now I have both – small office in St. Louis and home offices that the rest of us work from remotely – Less staff – and less space. We have downsized our office dramatically over the years and now primarily use it for client meetings/presentations when needed. Our infrastructure – phone systems, files, copiers, file servers, and people are primarily housed out of remote home offices. More and more of our work is being delivered remotely/virtually using GoToMeeting and other such tools.
Take a hard look at your purpose and cost for the office and then go from there. Also, consider that sometimes we have to spend money to make money. The increased visibility than the office may give you generate more revenue than its cost? Also, as you get busier and need to boost up infrastructure – staff, systems, etc., you may need a place to house the infrastructure. If you just need a place for client meetings occasionally you might be better off having a virtual office suite arrangement where you pay and use a space as needed with some of the companies that provide such as service. If you have a Regus in your area – you might look into that option. http://www.regus.com/
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question: We are a five attorney personal injury plaintiff firm in the midwest. In the last few years we have gone through tort reform, increase competition from other law firms doing extensive advertising, and now trying to weather the recession. From a profitability standpoint – we are holding our own. However, we are concerned about the future. While we do not want to be a high volume PI advertising factory – we believe we need to be doing something different. Do you have any suggestions on how we should plan our future?
Response: The majority of our PI law firm clients are advising that they are having to work much harder at getting clients and investing more heavily in marketing – both time and money. PI firms were feeling the most of these challenges before the recession. However, the recession may accelerate the pace with which law firms reevaluate existing processes and consider new business models. PI firms may want to begin by:
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question:
I am a member of a three attorney firm. I think that we know where we are as a firm, where we want to be, but we don't know how to get to the next level. Do you have any ideas?
Response:
Rather than following the pack – attorneys need to find ways in which their firms can "dare to be different."
Many attorneys are providing the same service – solving the same sort of legal problems for their clients using similar tools strategies/approaches. To many clients – attorneys all look the same. What can you do to stand out?
Marketing is about more than just promoting the firm to get clients. It is also about deciding on:
Effective marketing requires a mix of the above elements in your plan and then effectively communicated.
Many attorneys suffer from random (unplanned) acts of marketing or business development. To be effective you need to be well focused, have a plan to focus the firm's efforts, and be disciplined and make excellent use of your professional time. Often the largest marketing investment is not advertising or the cost of other marketing vehicles – it is the cost of you non-billable (or investment) time.
A business/marketing plan (10 pages or less) for the firm can do wonders.
Sit down with the other attorneys in the firm, do some brainstorming away from the office, and put a plan together. Then work the plan.
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Question: During a recent firm meeting one of our partners asked what the firm could do to be different than every other law firm. What are your thoughts?
Response:
Creating a competitive advantage that is sustainable over time is difficult at best. It is so easy for your competitors to copycat your recent innovations. Clients of law firms advise us that they hire the lawyer – not the firm. However, this only partly true. The firm – its image – its brand – provides a backdrop for the individual attorneys marketing efforts as well – makes marketing easier – and provides backup and bench strength that many clients require before retaining a lawyer.
In general the law firm is faced with the dual challenge of developing a reputation (brand) at both the firm and the individual lawyer level. In general – client delivery practices and behaviors that are part of the firm's core values and have been burned into the firm's cultural fabric are the hardest to copycat.
Areas in which you can consider differentiation strategies:
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC