Thoughtful planning will be the key to making flat-fee billing, or any other billing method, viable and successful. And no matter how you change your billing practices, timekeeping will play a critical role. Yes, clients can perceive the value of flat-fee billing, but you must continue to track how much time it takes to do things. Your timekeeping data will become a powerful planning tool—and you will get better at estimating what fee you need to charge to cover your investment and make a profit. Here are five things to consider when making the shift to flat-fee billing.

Today’s idea, especially for small-firm lawyers, is this: revive your law school study groups. Not literally—your original classmates have long since moved on to other practices and careers. But set up a private study group with between five and 10 other lawyers whose practices overlap, but don’t completely coincide, with yours. They’d be in the same general practice area and the same basic jurisdiction, but their specialties and focuses would differ slightly.

Could you stand to add little more melody to your daily life? Well, if you aren’t already taking advantage of the very wide world of Internet music to modulate your mood and power your productivity, then it’s time you learned a few dance steps and entered the floor. There are tons of great places to […]

Sometimes, the winning formula is right in front of you. This is often true when marketing your firm online and building its web presence. Many lawyers would benefit from spending just a few hours reviewing the websites of their three top rivals. Here are some quick tips on what to look for, and tools to help.

To become known as a top-level firm, you must make care and service for clients your top priority, and view every interaction as a chance to exceed their expectations. While this may seem obvious, you'd be surprised at how often the basics are overlooked. Here are a few ideas to consider.

Financial success is not measured by the billable hours you work, but by the amount of cash you actually realize from them. Uncollected receivables are tantamount to an interest-free loan to the client that can eat up your cash flow and compensation. Your firm shouldn’t be a bank that carries your client’s expenses. Instead, take a businesslike […]

Quick: Who’s the top personal injury lawyer in your town? Criminal defense? The high-profile lawyers who spring to mind have developed an image, or personal brand if you will, to connect their name to their practice in the mind of the public. You can do a number of things to improve and refine your image so […]

It’s Friday! If you’re anything like us, you have a long list of must-do’s and want-to-do’s for the coming weekend. Before you ease on out the office door and start checking things off that list, take a peek at this week’s Friday Five. We’ve got links to lists that could change your thinking on several fronts. […]

What a strange time to be a lawyer, and worse yet, to be in law school. I suspect that many law students are beginning to feel they are earning a degree in sheepherding, or buggy whip manufacturing. It’s not just the economy. That would be easier—because you could assume that the economy will get better, in which case the return on your investment in law school will simply be delayed.

When used strategically, online marketing is proving its effectiveness. Here are three quick tips for generating new business online. 1. Identify which channels have the most potential to attract new clients. In a recent MerchantCircle survey of the “Most Effective Marketing/Ad Channels Used by U.S. Local Small Businesses,” the four top channels cited were: search engine […]