The September/October 2013 issue of Law Practice Magazine is out. it contains my column on practice management advice, The Law Firm Convenience Store. The title may offend some lawyers who will not like being compared to retail establishments. But, in an increasingly competitive environment, making your services more convenient for clients and potential clients is really a no-brainer. Who would you choose to do business with? One who is convenient or one who makes it difficult to work with? Flexible office hours, satellite locations and more online delivery of services may be some ideas to consider.
But trust me- this is one topic not to be ignored. How frustrated do you become sitting in a doctor's office waiting room well after the time for your scheduled appointment? What policies have you implemented to make sure you don't give your clients the same feeling? Yes, the project in front of you may just need five more minutes of work to complete. But if your client has already been waiting for you five minutes, your time is up!
Finance is the theme of the September/October 2013 issue of Law Practice Magazine. The cover story, Your Financial Dashboard, is well worth your time, especially if you have never heard of a KPI. Also highly recommended are Erik Mazzone's Top 10 Reasons Not to Bother With a Law Firm App, Heidi Alexander's How to Get Paid, Laura Calloway's Simple Steps: How to Go Paperless and Churn That Bill, Baby! Overbilling in Law Firms By Sharon D. Nelson and John W. Simek.