Specialization matters. Having represented more law firms over the last 25 years than any other broker in the region, no one understands their real estate needs better than I do. — JASON HUGHES President & CEO, Hughes Marino
ORANGE COUNTY CORPORATE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS
At Hughes Marino we only represent tenants and buyers – never landlords – so we never have a conflict of interest. Our only fiduciary duty is to our client, the tenant, and we are wholly committed to protecting their interests. If you are not happy with your service or results, then we will give you our commission. Guaranteed. (949) 333-3111 | www.hughesmarino.com
ORANGE COUNTY LOS ANGELES SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SILICON VALLEY
2015 EDITION—NO.111
TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Pay Proportional to Performance™
6
by James D. Cotterman
9 Winning New Business with Legal Process Improvement by Roger Ledin
10 7 Steps to Getting Referrals by Tom Hopkins
12 COMMUNITYnews EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor
16
EDITOR Wendy Price CREATIVE SERVICES Skidmutro Creative Partners
ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH
16 Ed Susolik of Callahan & Blaine Will to Win
CIRCULATION Angela Watson
by Jennifer Hadley
21 Where Have You Gone Flat?
PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths
by Barbara Mencer
STAFF WRITERS Jennifer Hadley Bridget Brookman Karen Gorden CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Barbara Mencer James D. Cotterman Roger Ledin Stephen Fairley Tom Hopkins Trey Ryder Monty A. McIntyre WEBMASTER Mariusz Opalka ADVERTISING INQUIRIES info@AttorneyJournal.us
26 Key Performance Indicators Knowing the Numbers That Drive Your Law Firm’s Growth
26
by Stephen Fairley
29 Phone Numbers Can Make Surprising Impressions by Trey Ryder
SUBMIT AN ARTICLE Editorial@AttorneyJournal.us OFFICE 10601-G Tierrasanta Blvd., Suite 131 San Diego, CA 92124 P 858.505.0314 • F 858.524.5808 www.AttorneyJournal.us ADDRESS CHANGES Address corrections can be made via fax, email or postal mail.
Editorial material appears in Attorney Journal as an informational service for readers. Article contents are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Attorney Journal. Attorney Journal makes every effort to publish credible, responsible advertisements. Inclusion of product advertisements or announcements does not imply endorsement. Attorney Journal is a trademark of Sticky Media, LLC. Not affiliated with any other trade publication or association. Copyright 2015 by Sticky Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from Sticky Media, LLC. Printed in the USA
G
etting pay decisions done well is rarely an easy task. There are competing interests between those lawyers who primarily acquire clients and those who focus on practicing law—setting up the age-old debate regarding the relative value of each. Moreover, those competing interests appear across a broad profitability spectrum. Unfortunately, the challenges increase when a law firm has either very little or a great deal of money to distribute. At the low end of profitability, there are competing needs of collegiality and a sense of partnership that suggest a flattening of the pay range, set against the risk of competitor poaching of high-performers that may necessitate a broader range of pay. At the upper end of profitability, the human emotion—greed—tends to display its unpleasantness. There are also lively and ongoing debates about the appropriateness of nearly every facet of a compensation program: A. The decision perspective: Should performance be evaluated
prospectively, retrospectively or using a combination of both?
Pay Proportional to Performance™ by James D. Cotterman
B. The type of compensation system: Formulaic, subjective, lockstep
or some combination? C. The process: What is the right amount and type of input and
feedback? D. Transparency: Should the compensation system be open, closed or
a hybrid? D. Who makes the decisions: A managing partner, various committees,
or a committee of the whole? James D. Cotterman is a principal of Altman Weil, Inc., a legal management consultancy headquartered in suburban Philadelphia. He advises law firm clients on compensation, capital structure and other economic issues. Contact Mr. Cotterman at 407-381-2426 or email jdcotterman@altmanweil.com. “Copyright Altman Weil, Inc., www.altmanweil.com. Reprinted with permission. All rights for further publication or reproduction reserved.”
F. The Compensation Committee: How should it be constituted and
chartered? Yet none of this really matters except in how each facet supports consistently well-made compensation decisions. We can probably all think of a number of law firms (or any other organization for that matter) that achieve great success and some measure of harmony with each of the variables mentioned above and any of the possible permutations. Likewise, we can also point to where each has gone very wrong and failed. If there were truly “one right way” to do this, a profession as learned and well-read as law would have discovered it. There is no one right approach, which is why advising firms in this area is an interesting and challenging career.
A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE There is a reliable foundation from which one can build a wellfunctioning compensation program. It is a particular philosophy of compensation decision-making—a compensation principle—that I call Pay Proportional to Performance™. Two research studies support this notion, the first study by David Maister and the second by Jim Collins. David Maister, in his book Practice What You Preach, states that, “Those who contribute the most to the overall success of the office are the most highly rewarded. Notice that this does not suggest what the pay scheme should be. The determining factor is just whether the people think it rewards the right people” (p. 50). Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, similarly reports, “The evidence
6 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
simply does not support the idea that the specific structure of executive compensation acts as a key lever in taking a company from good to great” (p. 49). He goes on to say, “The purpose of a compensation system should not be to get the right behaviors from the wrong people, but to get the right people on the bus in the first place, and to keep them there” (p. 50). As these two studies showed, the method of compensation is largely irrelevant as a causal factor for high and sustained performance. What matters are good decisions from respected leaders who earn trust by adhering to the organization’s values and principles.
KEY STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS On top of this Pay Proportional to Performance™ foundation are various key structural elements that frame the compensation decisions. These include market competition, internal rationality, strategic initiatives and culture. Let us take each in turn. Market Competition: We have a free market where
lawyers may move from firm to firm, go in-house, or even change professions. Pay decisions are rarely the primary determinative factor in such moves, but they often “tip the scale” when combined with other factors. Moreover, pay can become a primary factor if the market differential is large enough for a long enough period. A firm with below market profits faces a very definite risk of losing talented lawyers. Compensation decision-makers must consider this.
should recognize how well individuals support their stated environment. Again, there is the “walk the talk” opportunity to gain or erode trust and credibility.
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT Over the years, the legal marketplace has changed, law firms have evolved, as have the methods to manage them and pay their partners. In a 1993 Altman Weil survey on law firm compensation methodology, law firms were almost evenly divided on prospective, retrospective, or combined approaches to when the compensation decision is made. Fifteen years later, in 2008, a retrospective philosophy prevailed in 41% of the systems, while 35% adopted a mixed (prospective and retrospective) philosophy. The clear loser over time has been the purely prospective approach. This reflects a market-driven need to recognize individual performance more quickly in order to attract and retain people. Yet, over that 15-year period, the two most important partner compensation criteria in law firms remained the same: 1) the ability to acquire, maintain and grow client representation (all elements of origination); and 2) to be personally productive as measured by fees collected as a working lawyer. This is
Internal Rationality: The pay decisions should reflect
merit, looking at a broad array of efforts—economic and non-economic—that an individual contributes to a firm’s success. However, do not forget the irrefutable underlying economic principle in professional services that there must be a baseline expectation of good results and fully utilized timekeepers at appropriate price points to ensure a healthy and profitable firm. Strategic Initiatives: Most firms undertake long-term
initiatives designed to improve the firm in one way or another. Implementation of such initiatives requires individuals to invest time, often beyond a single decision cycle. In these instances, leadership has the opportunity to demonstrate that what they say is important, really is important. Pay decisions are the proverbial “walk the talk” opportunities. Do this right and firm leadership earns credibility and trust. Get it wrong and you not only risk losing that trust, but the partners’ actions may wander between what you say is important and what you demonstrate is important. Culture: The shared attitudes and values that define the
environment of a firm vary in both importance and style. If they are important, then the compensation program
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 7
consistent with the inescapable truth that successful law firms have consistently high and profitable utilization across all timekeepers. Further, it is imperative that partners possess a keen and well-developed ability to attract profitable business opportunities consistent with the firm’s strategic vision. Rank order of these broad attributes can be broken down as follows. First are those lawyers who do it all exceedingly well. Next are those lawyers who are great at client acquisition— creating initial relationship and opportunity to get work. Following closely after are those lawyers who are great at minding the existing relationships (retention and growth). It is exceedingly rare for lawyers to be in these groups without also being productive individual practitioners. Finally are those lawyers who are not relationship oriented, but are gifted practitioners. Listing them in this order roughly reflects the scarcity of each. At the top are the fewest in number, with each additional group increasing in size as we work our way through the list. This is not to say that those at the end of the list are not valuable. It is a matter of proportional value and there can be overlap in value among the groups. Client acquisition is first on the list for a reason. Law firms that do not meaningfully recognize client acquisition, retention and growth often transfer that recognition out of necessity or cultural orientation to the working lawyers (using the personal productivity metric). Those firms are more likely to struggle with profitability and growth, although this is not always the case. Recognizing client acquisition, retention and growth is important in compensation decisions, yet many firms do not formally track work as it comes in the door. This often leaves compensation committees to sort out a realistic snapshot of how and why clients come, stay and give more business to the firm. Moreover, this task only gets more difficult as firms grow and the nature of the client relationships expands across time zones/offices, client business divisions and firm practice groups. The best approaches to recognizing origination usually incorporate some or all of the following attributes. Shared Credits: Working together to pitch your firm’s
skills is a good thing. When those efforts result in success, recognize the entire team with origination credit. Go back to the Pay Proportional to Performance™ concept. Allocate the credits using the proportionality of effort and contribution to the sales effort, erring on the side of generosity. When the efforts do not land additional work, recognition for the efforts can come in the intangibles of marketing and firm promotion. Broad Definition of Origination: Some firms evaluate
client acquisition, retention and growth with a single very narrowly defined metric; others blend two or more metrics
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together, creating a broader definition of origination. The debate continues about how and why a new client gives the firm its business. Frequently, the discussion now focuses on who should receive credit for long-term clients as the boomer generation lawyers prepare to retire and how to handle transition from one generation to the next. Understanding that this unique ability to acquire, retain and grow clients presents itself in a variety of ways may lead a firm to a better set of decisions. Credit Duration: At the client level, credits should last
for a period of maybe three to five years, then be phased down or reallocated based on the current contributions to the clients’ retention and growth. Often these efforts focus on relationships and strategic guidance as opposed to specific case management. At the matter level, credits naturally last the duration of the matter. The decision to open new matters or not should not be driven by reluctance to honestly assess who should get credit in the current situation. Matter-level credits generally do not require reallocation. Beyond primary economic contributions, there is a significant amount of talk about the importance of collaborative behaviors in law firms. Yet a 2009 ALM study indicated that individual performance drives 64% of compensation decisionmaking in law firms. The second greatest driver is overall firm performance at 27% (probably due to its effect on the size of the distribution pool at year-end). That leaves less than 10% weighting to subjective/qualitative areas such as teamwork in practices, departments and offices. Clearly, the “walk” of compensation decisions is not proportionate to the “talk.” To obtain proper proportionality in compensation decisions, subjectivity is likely going to take on greater weight in the final decision. However, subjectivity in this area generates the kind of polarizing passions more typically reserved for political and religious discussions. Some firms embrace a qualitative approach, while others flatly reject such notions. Nearly onethird of the respondents in a recent study indicated that no portion of owner compensation is subjective. In addition, just over one-third of respondents in the same study indicated that 76% to 100% of owner compensation is subjective. There will likely be significant change in this area as law firms and the markets they serve evolve over the next decade. Alternative fee arrangements and legal project management will evolve and clients are likely to continue to pursue different means to obtain its legal services. Pay Proportional to Performance™ is an important principle underlying good compensation decisions. Individual firms will select different compensable criteria and weigh them according to their specific views. Good judgment will bring the principle alive. n
W
hen a potential client asks why they should do business with your firm, do you struggle for an answer more substantive than, “because we’re really good lawyers”? Clients increasingly want to see the “why” that sets your firm apart — and Legal Process Improvement (LPI) can help provide the answer.
Winning New Business with Legal Process Improvement by Roger Ledin Roger is an executive consultant with over 25 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies as well as at small- to medium-size companies. He has an extensive background in developing and implementing strategies and processes at over 30 companies across a wide variety of industries. For the past 6½ years, Roger has worked on strategy and process efforts for Faegre Baker Daniels. Roger’s experience includes corporate and executive roles at IBM, Wells Fargo, and UnitedHealth Group, as well as consulting roles for numerous clients.
LPI helps you understand, and therefore better market, the detail behind your services. On many occasions for RFPs and marketing presentations, I have provided process diagrams of proposed services that clients can immediately relate to and then use as a benchmark for competitor comparisons. Setting the standard leaves a lasting impression and can significantly improve your chances of winning the business. The following simple example shows the roles, responsibilities, and sequence of tasks from drafting through signature of a real estate purchase agreement. These process diagrams should be easy to understand, with the boxes representing key tasks and the color coding designating responsibilities. This task and assignment information can then be used to set expectations for responsibilities and delivery of service. Getting everybody on the same page helps eliminate dropped handoffs and missed assignments. Clients really like these visuals because of the clarity they provide. In addition, with many clients already employing process improvement disciplines, speaking the “language of process” provides a distinct advantage. Your firm, in turn, reaps the benefits from the process improvements that help not only your firm’s bottom line, but also client satisfaction, as delivery of services is more consistent and predictable. n
EXAMPLE REAL ESTATE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 9
T
he easiest lead to close is a referred lead. Unfortunately, not many attorneys have mastered the art form that the process entails. I’ve developed a simple, seven-step process to obtaining referrals that will give you so much more success in developing your referral business that you will make it an automatic part of every selling situation. Begin by setting a goal for how many referrals you want from each contact. Start with a goal of just one referral every time, and work your way up to a place where you know the steps so well and they flow so naturally that you’ll get at least three referrals from every client. Then, memorize these seven steps to getting referrals. The better you know them, the better you’ll mine the rich lode of referrals that’s just waiting for you in your current client base. 1. Help your clients think of specific people they know.
2. Write the referrals’ names down. 3. Ask qualifying questions about the referrals. 4. Ask for the referrals’ contact information. 5. Get the referrals’ addresses from the phonebook (if the client doesn’t have them).
7 Steps to Getting Referrals by Tom Hopkins
Since 1976, Tom Hopkins International has been dedicated to providing the finest sales training strategies and techniques to individuals and companies alike. Tom Hopkins is world-renowned as The Builder of Sales Champions. His selling skills and sales strategies have helped millions of sales professionals and business owners in industries from A to Z to serve more clients, make more sales and earn millions in income.
6. Ask the client to call and introduce you to the referrals. 7. If the client shows nervousness or refuses to call, ask if you can use the client’s name when you contact the referral. Those are the basic steps. Now, let’s review them in detail so you’ll see how to work with each one most effectively.
STEP #1: HELP YOUR CLIENTS THINK OF SPECIFIC PEOPLE THEY KNOW When you ask for referrals, you have to give your client a group of faces to focus on. Centering on one or two faces is impossible when their thoughts are bouncing off the wall with their new home—which means your job is to get them focused again. SALESPERSON: Bill and Jane, you’re excited with your new home, aren’t you? CLIENT: Oh, it’s wonderful. We can’t wait to get settled! SALESPERSON: So tell me, who will be the first people you tell about your new home? CLIENT: Well, our relatives, of course. Then, our friends who live in the same area. It’ll be nice to be close to them. SALESPERSON: That’s great. Are there any of your relatives or friends who might also be in the market for a new home? By mentioning family and friends, the client focused in on those people he is closest to and with whom he’ll be in contact that very week . . . while his excitement over his home is still fresh. And the salesperson has helped him do that.
STEP #2: WRITE THE REFERRALS’ NAMES ON CARDS When your clients come up with a few people who are in the market for a home, take out 3x5 index cards or a small notepad and write down the
10 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
names of those referrals. (Be sure to ask how to spell the names.) Keep the cards out so you can jot down the information they give you. Plus, you’ll need those notes to qualify the referrals.
STEP #3: ASK QUALIFYING QUESTIONS While Bill and Jane are busy answering questions about the referrals, you should jot down notes to help you remember specific things about them. Here’s some information you may want to know when you contact the referrals: • Where do they live now? • Would they be moving up to a larger home or are they just interested in something new? • What did they say when you told them you were looking for a new home? When you get in touch with the referrals, you’ll be able to begin conversations with them based on Bill and Jane’s answers to your questions. When you’ve taken a few notes, move on to the next step.
STEP #4: ASK FOR CONTACT INFORMATION Asking for the addresses and phone numbers of the referrals is more difficult because your client may not know this information offhand. But don’t let that deter you. You can’t just settle for the name, because there may be several people with the same name in the phonebook when you try to look it up later. And knowing how to contact the referral is critical.
STEP #5: USE THE PHONEBOOK TO GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED If your client is willing to give you a referral’s address but doesn’t know it offhand, reach for the phonebook and politely ask the client if he would be kind enough to help you out and look up the address in the phonebook. Your request could be as natural as the one in the following conversation: SALESPERSON: I don’t know about you, but this has been thirsty work. What would you like to drink, a soda? Or would you prefer coffee? BILL: Water would be fine with me. JANE: The same for me. Thanks. SALESPERSON: Tell you what. While I run to get us some water, would you mind looking up the addresses of the names you gave me in the phonebook so we can get this done? Ask this last question while you hand the customer the phonebook, and then leave the room to get the water. At this point, you’ve all but “closed” on how to contact the referral.
STEP #6: ASK YOUR CUSTOMER TO CALL THE REFERRAL AND SET UP THE APPOINTMENT This step is where most novice salespeople balk. They won’t even try it. But those clients who will make the call will help
you comply with the Do Not Call Registry. If the referral’s name is on that list, you can’t call them without their permission. Your existing client can, at the very least, get that permission for you. Also, keep in mind that this question is simply setting the stage for the final step. Those clients who are uncomfortable calling for you will be so relieved that you offer them Step #7 that they’ll jump on it. If you had gone directly from Step #5 to Step #7, you may not have gotten the same response. There is a method to my madness here. Here’s how it works. SALESPERSON: Thanks so much for the referrals, Bill and Jane. You know, since I won’t get to see your excitement when you show off your new home, would you mind calling Don and Mary and sharing your good news with them? Then we can work on arranging a time for me to talk with them. If your clients are fine with that, then good: Start dialing. But if they hesitate and act uncomfortable, take the pressure off immediately by moving on to the next step.
STEP #7: ASK TO USE THE CLIENT’S NAME WHEN YOU MAKE CONTACT WITH THE REFERRAL Your clients may not know the referral all that well, or they may feel uncomfortable making the call. If this is the case, let them know you understand their hesitation, but ask if you could bother them for one more favor. Ask for permission to use their names when you contact the people they referred you to. They’ll probably be relieved to be let off the hot-seat and be more than happy to give you permission to use their names. Always give three or five of your business cards to each client and ask them to give them to others who come to mind who might need your services. Then, invest in a little followup after they’ve gotten settled in their new home. Ask them how it’s going and who they’ve showed the home to. Once again, help them focus on small groups of people they know and ask qualifying questions as to the needs those people might have. Ask if they have given your card to anyone. If they have, get that person’s contact information as well. If they haven’t, thank them for their business anyway and repeat your request. The “S” in the word “sales” stands for “service.” The better service you provide, the bigger your sales volume will be. It may take you a few tries to get this pattern down to where it flows naturally. However, it’ll become a natural part of every contact once you see the phenomenal results it generates. Many of my students have gone from getting one or two referrals from five or more clients to getting five referrals from every client. Don’t you think it’s worth a try? n
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 11
COMMUNITY news n Recently, award-winning employment and labor law firm Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP hosted a seminar for more than 30 Inland Empire business and HR leaders at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside. The presentation focused on hot litigation trends in the region and provided business leaders with important information on proactive steps to ensure legal compliance. This was the first Inland Empire-based seminar for CDF in 2015.
Event speakers Dave Carothers, managing partner at Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP San Diego office, Marina Galatro, PHR-CA, SHRM-CP, Senior Human Resources Consultant at Willis Human Capital Practice, and Todd Wulffson, Partner at Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP Irvine office.
n W. Douglas Easton, of Easton & Easton LLP, has been selected to the 2015 list as a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. NADC is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. Its mission is to objectively recognize the attorneys who elevate the W. DOUGLAS EASTON standards of the Bar and provide a benchmark for other lawyers to emulate. Members are thoroughly vetted by a research team, selected by a blue ribbon panel of attorneys with podium status from independently neutral organizations, and approved by a judicial review board as exhibiting virtue in the practice of law. Due to the incredible selectivity of the appointment process, only the top one percent of attorneys in the United States are awarded membership in NADC. This elite class of advocates consists of the finest leaders of the legal profession from across the nation.
Have a Press Release you would like to submit for our Community News? Email it to PR@AttorneyJournal.us
12 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
n Bick Law Group, a new firm focused on environmental law, has officially launched in Newport Beach, bringing together three respected attorneys with many years of experience at top-tier global law firms. Under the leadership of founding partner Kimberly L. Bick, the firm is committed to providing clients with high-level environmental KIMBERLY L. BICK counsel at affordable prices in a boutique legal setting. Joining Bick at the new firm are Gabriel Padilla, an environmental law specialist formerly with Bingham McCutchen and Arnold & Porter, and James Sabovich, formerly with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he was Deputy Co-Chair of the Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort Practice Group and a member of the Litigation Practice Group and Transnational Litigation and Foreign Judgments Practice Group. Padilla and Sabovich each have more than a decade of experience in complex environmental and general litigation matters, including mass tort and resource damages litigation in the United States and abroad, CERCLA cost recovery litigation, Proposition 65 litigation and NEPA/ CEQA litigation. “Our goal at Bick Law Group is to provide a level of service unequaled in today’s legal market, and partnering with our clients at a fraction of the fees charged by other firms,” explains Bick. “A profound dedication to client needs, combined with our unique expertise and years of experience, results in excellent client outcomes.” n Brown & Charbonneau, LLP is pleased to announce that, for the 8th year in a row, business trial lawyer Gregory G. Brown has been named by Super Lawyers magazine as one of the Top Attorneys in California. Only 5% of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers, which undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes GREGORY G. BROWN a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check. Mr. Brown is a partner in the Irvine Business & Family Law firm of Brown & Charbonneau, LLP. Mr. Brown is a Certified Trial Specialist and has received many awards for his success, including the Prestigious Martindale-Hubbell “AV Rating” and the AVVO “Superb 10.0/10.0” rating. Mr. Brown is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has been honored by Forbes Magazine as one of the “Leaders in Law.”
COMMUNITY news n The 22 high school seniors who graduated from the Higher Education Mentoring Program didn’t just celebrate completion of the 18-month educational and cultural mentoring program for Hispanic, low-income, first generation Santa Ana collegebound students, they received scholarships ranging from $1000-$1500 each plus a “college starter kit” with all dorm room supplies, bedding, backpack, and more valued at another $570 dollars, at the Orange County Bar Foundation Higher Education CHRIS WESIERSKI Mentoring Program Graduation keynoted by the Honorable Francisco F. Firmat (ret.), May 20. With over $1M in scholarships awarded since inception in 2002, 60 graduates of the program now holding BA or BS degrees, and another 90 currently in a 4-year institution, the Higher Education Mentoring Program is a success story serving an area with only a 21% rate of college attendance. Chris Wesierski, OCBF 2015 Board President, said, “This year, one of our biggest scholarship funding sources discontinued funding new scholarships. To fill the funding gap, our board and our food and wine society members very generously stepped up so that students may continue to have a bright future ahead.” n Anaheim City Council recently approved the hiring of AAC founding partner, Wylie Aitken, as the new lead negotiator to represent Anaheim in the Angels Stadium lease negotiations. Aitken is replacing Charles Black, who led the previous round of negotiations. Aitken was first proposed by Mayor Tom Tait to replace Black in March and was heralded as the best choice. A prominent local trial attorney, Aitken brings WYLIE AITKEN a great deal of experience brokering high-level deals in legal cases and talent for bringing people together. His law firm, Aitken Aitken Cohn, has handled a number of high-profile negotiations, notably serving as liaison counsel in the 2003 Metrolink train crash and as state liaison counsel in the 2014 nationwide Toyota litigation, as well as other business litigation. n Two partners from Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP recently delivered more than 25,000 diapers to HomeAid Orange County as part of the Builders For Babies Diaper Drive. Newmeyer & Dillion attorneys Ryan Manning and Laura Watkins Ives drove a 14’ U-Haul RYAN MANNING LAURA WATKINS IVES truck filled with diapers to Costa Mesa on Friday, May 1. This is the third consecutive year that Newmeyer & Dillion has participated in the donation drive for HomeAid Orange County, an organization providing temporary shelter for homeless people.
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 13
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WILL TO WIN Ed Susolik’s Drive to Succeed Has Propelled Him to Become One of the Nation’s Foremost Insurance Law Experts BY JENNIFER HADLEY
D
espite being born and spending his early childhood years in communist Czechoslovakia, Ed Susolik’s dreams of becoming an attorney date back as far as he can remember. However, he had no idea he would eventually become one of the leading experts in insurance law in the Western United States, nor did he know that his dreams would lead him to be named a Top 100 Attorney in Southern California for the past six consecutive years. By the time he arrived in the United States, he’d also lived in Switzerland, but didn’t speak a word of English. “We were immigrants, and moved first to Ohio. I learned to appreciate the opportunities in the United States, and the day my parents and I became U.S. citizens was the happiest day of my life to that point,” he recalls. His family eventually moved to California, but it wasn’t long before Susolik was back in Europe, after his father was transferred to Spain. Yet by this point, Susolik was not only an incredible athlete, but an academic star as well. He graduated from the American High School of Madrid, and earned academic scholarships to both Princeton and USC, ultimately choosing to return to the sunshine in Southern California. “On my first day of college in 1981, I met with my counselor and explained that although I had an engineering scholarship, I was going to be a lawyer, so I needed as many English and Philosophy classes as possible,” he recalls. With his plan firmly set in motion, Susolik seemed well on his way.
BECOMING “THE RHINO” For all of Susolik’s success in high school studies and sports, he admits to losing focus, and thus taking a detour through what should have been a seamless progression through undergraduate work. “I underachieved academically. I was on the USC golf team, in a fraternity and enjoyed what can be referred to as an ‘active social life.’ Because I worked in the library all four years, I always loved to read books, though they frequently were not the books assigned in my classes,” he laughs. “My academic scholarship ran out, so I decided to take a break.” 16 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
Susolik still maintained dreams of becoming a lawyer, but experienced a rude awakening upon applying for jobs at law firms. “I applied to be a file clerk at three different law firms. They weren’t in the market for a guy who was taking a year off from school,” he says candidly. As a result, Susolik took a job as a door-to-door salesman, and spent
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the next year learning about life from the best teacher there is – the real world. “Through my experience in sales, I learned foundational lessons about life, including how to interact with people, deal with rejection, manage my time, and even simple things like how to balance a checkbook. Most importantly, I started reading a lot of books on sales and motivation, such as Norman Vincent
Peale, Dale Carnegie, Anthony Robbins, etc. The principles of positive attitude, working hard and setting goals resonated with me. I saw that in order to be successful, I needed to completely change my approach to life.” Susolik did precisely that, and soon became the top salesman for his company, earning a promotion within three months, which included his own warehouse to manage. He hired 35
salespeople to work for him, and learned to motivate and lead others. “We ended up setting national sales records within the company every week.” During that time, he also earned a nickname that would stick with him for the next 30 years and counting. “Of all of the motivational books I read during that time, Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander was my favorite. The metaphor of the Rhino charging after his goals through the jungle of life, overcoming adversity and objections, with nothing stopping him, really hit home with me. It boiled down all of the theoretical principles into a powerful and straightforward image. In 1985, I became ‘The Rhino.’” After a year in sales, Susolik returned to USC with renewed vigor, earning straight A+’s for the remainder of his college tenure, and finishing with three majors – Philosophy, English and History. He was then accepted into USC Law School, and says, “For three years, all I did was study-attend class and read my law books. I set a goal to be the best student in law school. I focused on that goal and pictured myself as a 6,000 lb. rhino, charging through the jungle of law school.” It paid off, as he was awarded a full scholarship his last two years, was a summer associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and graduated second in his class.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST Within 4 years of graduating from law school, and after working at the Newport Beach office of O’Melveny & Myers, Susolik landed with the Orange County law firm of Dan Callahan, who at that time had just hit a $58 Million judgment in an insurance bad faith case. Working with Callahan became a life18 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
changer for Susolik, as Dan became his mentor, and eventually his law partner and great friend. “There are many ways to learn. I realized the best way for me was to closely watch what Dan did, and try to do the same, and even improve upon it if possible. If I was going to learn, I was going to learn from the best, and I think Dan Callahan is one of the best attorneys in the country. Thus, I watched how Dan acted in court, how he wrote briefs. I watched how he handled business development, interacting with people, attending bar events, giving speeches, and writing articles. I even had tapes of seminars he had given, and I would listen to them as I drove in my car. “After his big insurance win, Dan wanted to diversify into business litigation, so I took over his insurance practice,” he says. Much like he’d gone after his previous goals, Susolik focused, and went directly after what he wanted.
COMPETITOR BY NATURE Susolik also credits an inherent competitive streak for one reason he’s become synonymous with success in the Southern California legal community. Having played golf professionally for three years, Susolik learned years ago that he simply loved to win, in whatever endeavor he was engaged. “I’m very driven to succeed, and that was reinforced by my earlier setbacks. From having been a top student and athlete in high school, and then having to take a year off from college, I learned what it was like to not be successful. I prefer to be an overachiever,” he chuckles. “Law is competitive, and I’m very aggressive in court, in mediation, etc. I’m always professional, but I do not want to lose.”
When it comes to his work as an attorney, Susolik works as efficiently and effectively as possible. “I start my day at 4:00 or 5:00am, in my home office. I get two or three hours of work in before my youngest children wake up. I want to work harder than everyone else,” he says. Indeed, his days start early and often end late because Susolik works hard not just for his clients, but for the legal community as a whole. Within 6 years of joining Callahan & Blaine he became a shareholder in the firm. He has taught at USC Law School as an adjunct on 5 occasions since 2001. He gives roughly 25 speeches and seminars on insurance law and litigation each year, including his annual presentation at the State Bar Convention entitled “Insurance Law for Litigators.” He has been a contributing editor to the Rutter Guide treatise on Insurance Litigation since the early 2000s. He chaired the OCBA Insurance Law Section for 14 years. Today he serves on the OCBA Education Committee and the OCBA Judiciary Committee, and on the Board of Directors of Robert Banyard Inn of Court. Susolik is also still ranked as a top amateur golfer in Southern California. “Even though I am 52 years old, I am still competitive in amateur tournaments. For example, last year I qualified for the California Amateur, where 90% of the golfers are in college or high school. I also shot 64, 65 and 67 in tournaments last year. I have played in many of the top tournaments over the years, including the US Amateur, US Mid-Amateur, Southern California Amateur and many others. Golf is my biggest passion, after my family and my work.”
WINNING STREAK The results that Susolik has achieved are impressive, to say the least. Since 1994, he has resolved more than 1,000 complex insurance disputes, and has obtained more than $1 Billion in insurance proceeds for clients. Likewise, he’s retained frequently as an expert witness on insurance law issues by both insurance companies and policyholders. Susolik’s corporate policyholder clients range from Fortune 500 companies to small business entities, as well as a broad spectrum of professionals and businesspeople. His expertise is renowned in both first-party and third-party disputes. To boot, he’s earned a second nickname as the “King of Cumis,” for his national expertise in Cumis Counsel. If there is any secret to Susolik’s success in insurance law, it is that he is first and foremost a trial attorney and litigator. It is an atypical combination in the insurance world, where lawyers are frequently skilled with the papers and briefs, but not in the courtroom. “Being able to enforce my client’s rights to insurance policy proceeds in court is a significant advantage,” explains Susolik. Susolik also conducts as many mediations in a year as any attorney in California. He has successfully resolved more than 500 complex litigation matters in mediation, and conducts approximately 40 mediations and other settlement conferences each year. Susolik explains, “Being an insurance
expert is a very powerful tool in mediation.” For example, last year Susolik assisted Dan Callahan and his trial team in conducting a 5-day complex mediation involving 6 insurers and a public entity defendant, which resulted in the settlement of a bicycle accident case for $16.9 Million. “My partners and colleagues at Callahan & Blaine have a tremendous track record in trial, which facilitates extraordinary settlements, both on the plaintiff and defense side. As plaintiffs, these results are evidenced by our firm obtaining the largest jury verdict in Orange County history (a $934 Million verdict obtained by Dan Callahan in a complex business litigation case), the largest personal injury settlement in the history of the United States ($50 Million), and the largest class action settlement in Orange County history, among others. On the defense side, we represent many large corporations in worldwide complex litigation matters.”
SUCCESS IN SPADES Suffice it to say, Callahan & Blaine as a firm is successful by any measure. “I am blessed to have four fantastic partners, all of whom are great trial attorneys in their own right. All of my partners—Dan Callahan, Michael Sachs, Brian McCormack and Marc Miles—are terrific lawyers, and our firm would not be what it is without them.” “In fact, all 35 of our attorneys are excellent trial lawyers/ litigators. Every Callahan & Blaine attorney has at least 10 years of legal experience, the majority have at least 15 years and many have 25 to 30 or more. Many also trained at some of the biggest firms in the world prior to joining us. It is extremely unique
FAMILY IS THE FOUNDATION Even with many career accolades and successes, Susolik insists that his most important accomplishment is his family. “I have an amazing wife, who supports me in everything that I do, and is my rock and foundation at home. I have five beautiful children, ranging in age from 5 to 20, all of whom are extraordinary in their own way. They are a joy, and make life fulfilling in so many ways. Last year I had one child in college, one in high school, one in middle school, one in elementary school, and one in pre-school. My oldest daughter is a softball star at Kenyon College, another daughter is in competitive cheerleading, and a son who hopes to play lacrosse at Yale. I love going to watch them compete.” As for his youngest children, two boys who are 7 and 5? “They are just starting their sports career, and their innocence and youthfulness is beautiful to behold. We love going on family vacations with all the kids. We have done multiple Disney cruises and love traveling to places like Spain, France and Italy, as well as our annual 4th of July tradition, Catalina Island. All of our travel centers on the children, and in fact we will at times include my ex-wife on our family trips, so the kids have their entire blended family and parents together.” Continuing, he says, “I definitely don’t take anything for granted. I know that to be successful with anything, whether it is as an attorney, or as a father, I have to continue to set goals, focus, and work hard.” n Contact: Ed Susolik Callahan & Blaine www.callahan-law.com ES@callahan-law.com (714) 241-4444 3 Hutton Centre Drive Ninth Floor Santa Ana, CA 92707 20 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
EXPERIENCE
to have a litigation firm this large comprised of only highly experienced attorneys,” he says. In addition to his busy litigation practice, Susolik is significantly involved in the business development and marketing side of the firm. Susolik explains, “We have seven websites, numerous blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and other social media, in addition to our traditional marketing. I spend a good amount of time involved in that aspect of the firm I also write many articles and give numerous speeches and seminars.” “One of the most important lessons I learned from Dan was that a large portion of business comes from referrals from other attorneys, even those we would consider competitors. Thus, it is important to hold leadership positions in the Bar, attend networking events several times a week and be involved in the legal community. In reality, the second part of the workday begins at 5:30PM, when the business development practice begins.”
» EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND • University of Southern California, 1986 • Degrees in Philosophy, English and History • Law School: University of Southern California Gould School of Law, 1990 (Order of the Coif)
» HONORS AND AWARDS • Named one of the “Top 100 Attorneys in Southern California” • Super Lawyer Magazine; Best Lawyers of America, 20092015 • Articles Editor, USC Law Review, 2012-2015
» BAR/PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY • Chair, OCBA Insurance Law Section, 1998-2012 • Member, OCBA Judiciary Committee Member • OCBA Education Committee Board Member • Robert Banyard Inn of Court, 1998 - 2015.
» SCHOLARLY LECTURES AND WRITINGS • Adjunct Professor, USC Law School, 5 times since 2001 (Insurance Law; the “Plaintiff Lawyer”) • Contributing Editor, Rutter Guide Insurance Litigation treatise, 2002-2015 • Contributing Editor, CEB, Insurance Coverage for Trade Secrets • Annual Presentation at State Bar Convention, “Insurance Law for Litigators,” 2003-2015 • Over 200 speeches and seminars on insurance law and litigation subjects • Authored over 50 articles on insurance law and litigation subjects
» VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS • Recovered over $1.0 Billion in insurance benefits on behalf of policyholders • Handled over 1000 complex insurance disputes • Represented over 100 HOA’s in complex litigation matters and obtained settlements of $8 Million and $6 Million • Litigated truck accident case which resulted in $28 Million settlement for client • Recent settlement of $16.9 Million for bicycle accident case
Areas of Expertise Business • Class Action Complex Litigation • Construction Employment/Wage and Hour Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith • Intellectual Property Legal Malpractice • Medical Malpractice Personal Injury • Probate Real Property • Wrongful Death
Past President: San Diego Chapter of ABOTA, San Diego County Bar Association Listed in The Best Lawyers In America, Super Lawyers and Top Attorneys 30 Years of Experience as a Mediator and Arbitrator 35 Years of Extensive Civil Litigation Experience Representing Plaintiffs and Defendants
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee ADR Services, Inc.
Relentless Optimist® | Rapid, Reasonable Resolution™
To schedule contact Genevieve Kenizwald: phone (619) 233-1323, email gen@adrservices.org 19000 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 550, Irvine, CA 92612 | Offices in Irvine, San Diego, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and San Francisco www.adrservices.org | www.montymcintyre.com Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 21
H
ere’s a brain teaser for you. How is it possible to add … a lot … to an already very full plate and wind up feeling less burdened and more energized as a result? Here’s a hint. It depends on what you’re adding.
Where Have You Gone Flat?
We hear and read a lot about living a joyful life and seeking to achieve balance between work life and the rest of life. But what does achieving balance actually entail? What exactly are we balancing? Work life and personal life? Sure, but let’s drill down a little. We’re multi-dimensional beings who require care and feeding on several different fronts … the physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, family/friends, and career fronts to name just some of the most basic ones. And when certain aspects of who we are fail to find expression in our everyday activities, we experience that lack as “something missing.” We don’t feel as fulfilled, as “together,” or as complete as we might. Add in those activities and your experience of life changes. Shine your light in new or neglected areas and you feel re-energized. And that brings us to the answer to our little riddle. You can add quite a bit to your plate, as long as it’s something that expands and completes who you are, rather than piling on more of the same. In my case, as a business owner, more of the same would be work, and I’m guessing that would be the case for a lot of you. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me tired. Don’t get me wrong. I love the work I do, but there are plenty of
by Barbara Mencer
The Wheel of Life
Let’s look at the six major aspects of your life. • Ask yourself how satisfied you are with each aspect of the wheel… from 0-100% • Place a dot at the point corresponding 100% to your chosen percentage on each r e e r of the two spokes that support Ca the part of the wheel you’re rating. • Connect these two dots to form an arc from one spoke to the other. • Repeat for each 0% aspect until the six arcs combine to form a single shape.
Ph y
sic
100
%
al
%
al
ily
100%
Fa m
22 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
nci
To achieve more balance in your life, which aspects need more of your time and attention?
a Fin
How smoothly and effortlessly would it roll?
100
How well rounded and balanced is it?
100
%
Emotional
Spiritual
%
100
Barbara Mencer is a professional coach and co-founder of Business BreakThrough Institute, a coaching, consulting and training company dedicated to helping business owners and professional service providers grow their businesses. A past marketing director in midsized law firms, Barbara focuses her work on helping lawyers build their practices. Barbara can be reached at Barbara@BusinessBreakThroughInstitute.com.
other things I want to do too and it seems I never get around to doing them. And the older I get, the more I’m beginning to resent the amount of time I spend working. Rather than continue to feel resentful of work, always stressed for time, and woeful about a lack of focus on other aspects of my life, I decided that 2012 would be my year to simplify and renew. This simplification and renewal is both physical and spiritual. On the physical side, my husband and I rented two dumpsters and have begun to clean out 28 years of accumulated junk in our garage, storage sheds, and my office. One more dumpster load and we’ll be done! On the spiritual side, we joined a church we love and I’ve become very active, joining the worship team, volunteering in various church activities, and participating in a weekly Bible study group. I’ve also enrolled in nutrition school. I’m a competitive athlete. I’m absolutely passionate about health and nutrition. Over the last year, the appeal of gaining more formal education in this area has grown, and so rather than waiting until the “perfect” time, I jumped in and enrolled in a yearlong program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. And I’m feeling more alive, joyful, and balanced since I
added these things into my life. If someone had told me at the beginning of my “year of simplification and renewal” that I would actually ADD things to my already crazy schedule and feel more joyful, happier, more purposeful, and balanced as a result, I would’ve said they were crazy, but it’s true. And the bonus is that I now have more energy, enjoyment, and space for my business. I’m working fewer hours, but I’m doing MORE! Why? Because adding to my load actually helped lighten my being. So, how might this work in your life? Are you familiar with “The Wheel of Life?” It’s a quick exercise that helps you evaluate where your life might be out of balance. The idea is simple. A wheel that’s flat in one spot doesn’t roll very well. It’s out of balance. Why not take a few moments to assess where you might benefit from concentrating more of your time and attention as a way to round out your experience of life. Do more and feel less stressed? I wouldn’t have believed it was possible if I hadn’t experienced it, but maybe putting less on your plate isn’t necessarily always the answer to achieving a more joyful, less stressful life. Maybe paying attention to and adjusting what you’re doing is just as important. n
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 23
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Key Performance Indicators Knowing the Numbers That Drive Your Law Firm’s Growth by Stephen Fairley
A
s we enter the final half of this year, it’s important to review your numbers from the first part of this year. Are the numbers of leads you are getting up, down or flat? Are your revenues up, down or flat? How are your receivables? Are you hitting the financial goals you had for your firm this year? These are all known as “Key Performance Indicators” and earlier this year I wrote Part 1 of a series of articles about Key Performance Indicators: Knowing the Numbers That Drive Your Law Firm’s Growth. Since it’s been a few months since Part 1 came out, I think it’s important to quickly review a few critical points: • You must know what the most important numbers are to measure. In my experience, one of the biggest factors holding law firms back is that they do not know what numbers to measure, other than the amount of billable hours they can charge clients or perhaps their net operating income after running a basic profit and loss statement. • You need to appoint a specific person who is responsible for tracking and measuring the data. In most cases, this should not be the attorney or partner. It should be an Office Manager, Bookkeeper or a key person who is completely aligned with the Partner(s). • You must analyze the results of the data. It’s not enough to gather the data. It needs to be analyzed so that wise decisions can be made based on what the data tells you. • The first KPI is tracking the number of leads or contacts per month your firm receives and where those leads come from. In Part 1 of this series we focused on tracking the number of leads or contacts your firm is obtaining each month. It’s very difficult to build a financially successful law firm without knowing how many leads or contacts your firm
26 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
receives each month. Once you know that number then you can begin to determine your Cost Per Lead (CPL). Here’s an easy way to measure your CPL: (a) Count how many leads are generated in a given time frame (a month, a quarter, etc.). (b) Determine how much money the firm invested in marketing during the same time frame. This can include spending on your website, blog, social media, ads, and your marketing staff. (c) Divide the amount of money you invested by the number of leads generated. (d) Be sure to compare month to month, quarter to quarter.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2: NUMBER OF APPOINTMENTS SET & KEPT PER MONTH The next Key Performance Indicator you want to track is the number of appointments set and kept per month. Based on the number of leads or contacts your firm receives you want to determine what percentage of those you and your team were able to connect with, set an appointment with, and to what percent of those appointments did the prospect actually show up. Let me explain how this works so you catch all the details. Let’s say that through a variety of marketing methods your firm is getting about 50 new contacts or leads per month. Remember, a “lead” meets the following three criteria: (a) someone who has never done business with you before (versus a repeat client); (b) anyone who expresses an interest in your legal services; and (c) everyone who contacts your firm, whether it’s by email, phone, social media, your website, a personal referral,
the internet, a legal directory, your ad, by meeting you at a networking event, or attending a seminar you gave. Once you are tracking this number, the next one to go after is how many of those leads are turning into appointments? You are looking to track your conversion rate of leads into appointments. If your firm is generating an average of 50 new leads per month, setting 20 appointments from those leads, and of those 20 appointments set 10 of them actually show up at your office;,then your conversion rate of leads to appointments is 40% and your conversion rate from appointments set to appointments who show up is 50%. Is that good or bad? Can it be improved? Fifty to seventy percent is a good rule of thumb when it comes to conversion rates. Most firms should be able to consistently achieve a 50-70% conversion rate if they are following best practices. Using that range, your numbers would look like this: an average of 50 new leads should result in 25 to 35 appointments set and 13 to 18 appointments kept. Now some practice areas, like business law, estate planning and litigation, do not have issues with “no shows,” while other practices constantly struggle with them (like bankruptcy and family law). Also, contingency practice areas, like personal injury, are likely to have a much lower lead to appointment set conversion rate because there are many inquiries that don’t result in a legitimate claim. Lead generation is expensive! In fact, it is often the second most expensive thing you do in your law firm, the number one being paying your staff. If you are going to invest in lead generating activities, then you also need to invest in following best practices in lead conversion strategies. Here are a few of the “best practices” we have learned and taught to our clients at The Rainmaker Institute. When trying to improve your “Lead to Appointment” conversion rate: • Don’t rely on attorneys to return phone calls. Yes, I know every attorney says (and believes) they are great at returning phone calls and communication, but the simple truth is 95% of them are terrible at it! If all of them are so “responsive” than why is “lack of client communication” the number one reason why attorneys get reported to the state bar every year? Furthermore, if attorneys won’t even return the calls of their clients, how much less can we rely on them to return calls from interested prospects? • Hire an Appointment Setter. We have seen revenues increase by 20-50% at law firms who do this simple step. Find and train an Appointment Setter whose primary responsibility is to take incoming calls from prospects, call prospects back, set appointments for the Partner, and ensure those appointments show up. This is usually a $10-$12 per hour job and while you may have them doing other things,
like filing, their primary focus is to set appointments for the attorneys with interested prospects. If you are consistently getting more than 50 leads per month you really should have a dedicated Appointment Setter. A great one is worth their weight in gold! • Call prospects at least 4-5 times before giving up. Seriously? Yes, that is not a typo. Here’s the reality: everyone is busy. If they called your office it wasn’t because they were bored and had no one better to talk to! It’s because they have a legal issue and they think you may be able to help them. Just because they don’t immediately call you back after you leave a message for them does not mean they are not interested. You have no idea what’s going on in their life. They might have become sick, gone on vacation, lost your number, become distracted, left a message for a competitor (who won’t call them back), or whatever. A major mistake attorneys and their staff believe is that one return call is sufficient. It rarely is. The best practice is to call back the prospect a minimum of 4-5 times within the next 1-3 weeks before you give up. This is another reason why I never trust attorneys with following up—the most they will do is one call, if we can even get them to do that. • Contact prospects within 5 minutes after they initiate contact with your firm. In a nationwide survey of over 2 million business to business leads that were generated online, researchers found it only takes an average of 5 minutes for a “hot” internet lead to turn cold. You need to have a system that can reach out and connect with prospects literally within minutes after they fill out a contact form or request a consultation. When minutes count, lawyers are only hours away. If you are a consumer law firm it’s virtually guaranteed that yours is not the only firm that prospect is contacting about their legal issue. More than likely, you are one of several firms and the one who reaches that prospect first will likely secure an appointment with them. The next best thing to having someone on your staff personally and promptly call a lead is to have an automated follow-up system. We have helped a number of law firms set up highly sophisticated followup systems that use automated emails to assist in following up with interested prospects. We have found it can double their “lead to appointment” conversion rates within 60-90 days. • Don’t waste too much time “qualifying” leads over the phone. There are two different models when it comes to “qualifying” leads. The first one I call the “pulse and a paycheck” model—meaning if you call my personal injury office and you tell me you were injured in a car accident,
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 27
I’m going to try and set an appointment with you. This approach uses very few questions to qualify a lead other than: Do they live in my area? Does it seem like they have a legal issue we can help them with? And will they come in to meet with an attorney? The other model came about because of attorneys who complain “I only want to meet with ‘qualified’ leads.” When you ask these attorneys how they define a “qualified lead,” they give you this laundry list so that it starts to sound a lot like someone who even a trained monkey could sign up (no offense to trained monkeys everywhere). While I completely understand no one wants to waste their time talking to someone who absolutely can’t afford their services, the highest chance you have of converting someone into a paying client is to meet with them face to face. If you’re trying to grow your practice I recommend qualifying as little as possible over the phone. Get them into your office as soon as possible. Over the years, we have consulted with firms who use the first model and other firms who use the second
model. Both models can work, but in general, firms who qualify the least over the phone and push prospects to set appointments grow faster than firms who only set appointments with “highly qualified” prospects. • Never, ever give prices over the phone! I can only think of one situation when it benefits you to discuss your prices during an initial call with a potential client—when it’s free (or contingency). Here are a few reasons why you should never, ever discuss prices on an initial call. When asked about prices on your first call it’s almost always used to disqualify your firm (“that’s too much”). While I understand why consumers want to know your prices, it almost never works out well for you when you tell them your prices over the phone. Ask yourself, when is the last time you heard a prospect say, “Wow, I didn’t expect your prices to be so low!” after you discussed money with them over the phone? It encourages price shopping, which directly impacts your profit margin. It encourages you to try and “match” the lower price they tell you some other law firm offered them. You could be walking into a “trap” whereby a client only tells you part of the problem, which leads you to give a lower price, and then tries to hold you to it (or you feel obligated to honor it) when they come into the office and tell you the whole story, which is significantly more complex than what they had initially told you. It attracts people who only care about getting the lowest price. Often these are the same people who constantly complain, never say thank you, and don’t pay their bills on time. Lastly, it does not give you the chance to prove your value or demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. If push comes to shove, then you can give them a wide range with lots of caveats, but never a firm quote. Better yet, just make it a rule to never discuss prices over the phone. Stephen Fairley is CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, LLC, the nation’s largest law firm marketing company specializing in small law firms. Over 8,000 attorneys have benefited from applying their proven Rainmaker Marketing System. Stephen is a best-selling author of 10 books and a nationally recognized law firm marketing expert. He has appeared in the American Bar Association’s journal, Harvard Management Update, Inc and Entrepreneur. To receive your FREE copy of his book “Top 10 Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make” visit www.TheRainmakerInstitute.com, www.RainmakerRetreat. com or call 888-588-5891. n
28 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015
Phone Numbers can make Surprising Impressions by Trey Ryder Trey Ryder specializes in Education-Based Marketing for Lawyers. He designs dignified marketing programs for lawyers and law firms in the United States, Canada and other English-speaking countries. Trey works from his offices in Payson, Arizona and Juneau, Alaska. To read more of Trey’s articles, visit the Lawyer Marketing Advisor at www.treyryder.com.
I
’ve never been a fan of vanity numbers. 1-800-WHATEVER always raises my blood pressure when I have to figure out which number on the phone is a W, which is an H, and so on. I prefer something like this: Call 1-800-WHATEVER (1-800942-8383). Still, one thing you can’t deny is that people often remember the word better than the number. The man who got 1-800-FLOWERS is making a killing, both with this number and his Internet site. As are many others. A few years back, when 888 numbers came out, I jumped at 1-888-TREY RYDER (1-888-873-9793). Still, to be effective, my prospects will have to remember how to spell my name. Likely? Probably not. Even so, 1-888-TREY RYDER has a gee whiz value that I like. So even if it appeals to no one else, it appeals to me. Several months ago, I called my US West phone rep and asked whether any “easy numbers” were available in my calling area. Easy numbers are those deemed by the phone company as easy to remember, which allows them to charge you extra money. Where I live, US West charges a $75 one-time fee to get one of these numbers. (Other phone companies across the U.S. probably have different fee schedules.) I didn’t have many options, so I chose (520) 472-2700. I liked the 27 being the reverse of the 72, which I soon discovered apparently no one noticed but me. Even so, the number drew a fair amount of positive reaction because it ended in 00. I recently called a local car rental company where the number is (520) 472-6000. My first thought was, I wonder who they knew to get that number! Last November, I learned we had a new prefix in Payson, 468. I immediately e-mailed my phone rep and asked if he had
any easy numbers available. He presented me with 14 terrific numbers, including 468-1111, 2222, 4444, 5555, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 6000. This was like being in a candy store. Frankly, I wasn’t sure which to pick. So I asked my wife and she said the best number on the page was, obviously, 468-1000. So I grabbed 468-1000 and 468-2000 for my fax. Funny thing: Most of my prospects and clients will never use these numbers because they call on my toll-free lines instead. Still, they’re on my letterhead, and that’s what matters. At $75 each, they cost me a one-time charge of $150. But from the comments I hear, that’s a cheap and significant boost to my image. When choosing phone numbers I urge you to opt for an easy number. Even if it doesn’t mean much to you, the fact is people attach a fair amount of importance, prestige and substance to the person who has one. To a lesser extent, the same is true for vanity numbers where you have 1-888-Some Word. It’s like offices. Would you rather hire the lawyer whose firm is in Suite #1473? Or the lawyer whose firm is in Suite #1000? The more substantial firm is obviously in Suite #1000. In fact, their office probably occupies the entire floor. And the large firm probably has a phone number that parallels their suite number, like 555-1000. Now you can gain the appearance of substance without the cost of a large suite. If your phone company offers easy numbers, grab one — or a few. You’ll enhance your appearance of importance more than you might guess. And in marketing, we look for a competitive edge anywhere we can find one. n
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 111, 2015 29
UNRIVALED JURY VERDICTS SETTLEME N T S PERSONAL SERVICE REFERRAL FEES
PANISH SHEA & BOYLE is happy to discuss how
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Brian Chase President CAOC - 2015 Product Liability Trial Lawyer of the Year OCTLA - 2014 Trial Lawyer of the Year CAOC - 2012 Trial Lawyer of the Year Nominee CAALA - 2012 Product Liability Trial Lawyer of the Year OCTLA - 2004