Solo and small firm lawyers are very much like "baseball men" prior to the Moneyball conversion. Once certain teams started making decisions based on hard numbers, rather than suppositions and unrefined projections, the new-school teams were able to pluck valuable players at a deep discount (and place them in better positions to succeed, ultimately) because the old-school teams did not have them appropriately valued. Now, that competitive advantage doesn’t last forever (although there's something to be said for being the first mover). If the data analysis structure is in place, though, it also becomes easier to pivot toward new, as yet unrecognized, value propositions. Of course, the analogy extended from baseball to law practice is not perfectly apt. Clearly, there are differences in drafting a baseball player versus targeting client marketing. Data appropriately defined, however, can help both baseball GMs and business owners make more informed decisions. If a solo attorney, for example, creates a statistical breakdown that represents a hypothetical best client, doesn’t that make it easier for her to market her law firm and position it to reach more of those clients? The old saw is that knowledge is power; and that is the thrust of the argument here as well. ... READ MORE
Originally published May 6, 2014
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