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In the news: "Writing that courts have provided little guidance on what actually constitutes a "disaster recovery" backup tape as distinguished from an information archival tape, David Lender and Jason Lichter propose a test for courts to apply and clients to consider."

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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 26 August 2010. Copyright 2009.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

This post was written by Michelle Golden:  "There's a great blog post I saw today that happens to refer to my past piece, "'What's the ROI of Social Media?' is the Wrong Question..."

Check out Tom Pick's great approach to the The Social Media ROI Debate found on his blog Webbiquity and on Social Media Today. (I really enjoy following them on Facebook!)"

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Source: Golden Practices Blog, 23 August 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Stephen Seckler: "In the past year, there has been a lot written about alternative fee agreements (including my own article in Lawyers Weekly).  More predictability is clearly what corporate counsel want and AFA's are one path to reach this objective.

But once the clock stops running, how do law firms ensure that their bottom line is not negatively impacted?

The answer, of course, is that law firms must learn to do what virtually every other business does every day:  law firms must find ways to control expenses.

There are a variety of ways that private law firms can accomplish this.  At this week's ILTA conference in Las Vegas, for example, KM guru David Hobbie is speaking about the http://www.seckler.com/afas-are-good-for-law-firm-marketing-but-what-about-profits/ in bringing down legal costs.

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Source: Counsel to Counsel, 23 August 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Tom Kane: "If you still don't like the idea of offering clients alternative fees or value pricing options, then how about just letting the client decide how much they want to pay for legal services? WHAT!!!, you say. A pretty far fetched (or ludicrous) idea, right?

Not so fast. CMS Cameron McKenna, a UK firm with more than 1000-lawyers, is offering that as an option to "3500 existing and prospective clients" as part of its alternative fee program, according to an article on The Lawyer by Gavriel Hollander. They are also offering an oil company fees based on the price of oil, and another a "no questions asked" fixed fee for a "one-stop deal."

To be eligible clients must agree to the majority of work being managed by an associate, and agree "to give Camerons more than a third of all legal work..."

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Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 20 August 2010, reproduced with permission of the author

This post was written by Chuck Newton: "I have read a lot recently about fairness to clients and about the marketing technique of allowing clients to set the price of representation. I contend whether you work on an hourly or fix fee or some other arrangement, it is a silly concept to think that the client is not setting the price for services in the first place.

It is kind of like someone asking if the job to which they are applying is a commission job. Of course it is. All jobs are commission jobs in the sense that if you do not bring in business or make money for the company or law firm you will be out of there.

The same is true for pricing of legal services. You set what you want, but if it is too high you will not have any business. And, the little business you might find will likely end up in the grievance process. Who wants that.

So, maybe you think you are in control of pricing, but are you really?..."

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Source: Chuck Newton Rides the Third Wave, 18 August 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Randall Ryder: "In this economy, any job posting is likely to garner five times more responses than you expected. Believe it or not, having too many applications can be overwhelming, so make sure you target the right applicants."

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Source: Lawyerist.com, 17 August 2010. © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.

This post was written by Nora Riva Bergman: "If you still think retention is mainly about money, find out how much it is costing your competition to get people to leave you.  That's called your "poach rate."  If your poach rate is less than 20 percent, it ain't the money, honey!  People who love their work, love their boss, and love their company don't leave unless the offer is coming from the Godfather.
- John Putzier

So you're ready to rethink your associate and staff compensation systems.  That's a good thing.  Many law firms give little thought to how their compensation plans are structured.   And while everyone wants to be well paid for their work, in terms of compensation, the old saying is true: Money isn't everything, and it definitely isn't the only thing.  I'm not saying that monetary compensation isn't important.  It is. What I'm saying is that if you're focused solely on dollars, you're not likely to attract and retain the best and brightest associates or staff.

In his book, Drive, Daniel Pink explains that based on years of behavioral and motivational research:..."

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Source: Real Life Practice, 16 August 2010. © Real Life Practice, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Holden Oliver: "No matter how your firm bills--hourly, "value", flat, hybrid, blending, or whatever--don't lower the price for your firm's services, especially for new clients or to attract work. Don't lower rates, don't change anything. If a client comes to your firm for price alone, it will leave your firm for price alone. Special recession fun mental health tip: if a new client comes your way and demands a "discount", it is likely both unsophisticated and a spectacular pain in the ass. Refer it to that firm down the street you just never liked."

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Source: What About Clients? 11 August 2010. © 2005-2010 John Daniel Hull, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Cordell Parvin: "It was late fall 2001. The internet bubble had burst. A stock I owned that had traded at a record $130 per share was on it way to single digits where it remains today. I foolishly bought shares all the way down.

I remember a conversation with our law firm's financial officer. He told me and a member of our board that based on hours the lawyers were producing, we had 38 lawyers more than we had work available for them to do. Each month that fall, our firm leaders found other ways for us to cut expenses, I tried to suggest we focus on increasing revenue, but my suggestion was never considered.

Think about your own firm. Whether it is a very large firm or only 3-4 lawyers, what would happen if you were able to increase revenue by 15%. I thought of this idea again when I read Seth Godin's recent blog post 15% Changes Everything. In a law firm, a 15% decline in revenue or a 15% increase in revenue really does change everything.

How can your firm increase revenue by 15%?"

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Source: Law Consulting Blog, 9 August 2010. © 2010, Cordell Parvin LLC. Reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Holden Oliver: 

"Billing twice a month keeps the client attuned in real-time to the actual economic demands of the project--and helps the client plan." Sound ideas: Julie McGuire

Real time billing: invoice the client promptly twice a month. Like everyone else, we expect the "future of law" to include different billing alternatives. However, by that we mean the following: billing the same client different ways depending on the difficulty and intensity of the work.

Generally, we see flat fees for "commodity" work. And we believe hourly rates will continue to dominate for complex and novel projects--particularly where the relationships are longstanding and solid between in-house departments and outside law firms.

Case-by-case judgments about "value"--not hours, flat fees, or hybrids--will drive most engagements..."

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Source: What About Clients? 30 July 2010. © 2005-2010 John Daniel Hull, reproduced with permission of the author.