How I’m Using NotifyWorks: Lease Renewal Notification

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Rush Nigut

In reviewing commercial lease terms with a client this week she asked me what she needed to do if she wanted to renew her lease before the end of the lease term. I explained the lease provisions which required written notice to the Landlord 120 days in advance of the lease expiration. She expressed the hope that she would not forget to renew the lease. She’s a new doctor but hopes to have a thriving medical practice by the end of the lease term. The last thing she wants to worry about are lease terms.

And that’s exactly why we created NotifyWorks. Clients forget. They’re busy. They don’t pay attention to deadlines. But that creates opportunity. Most lawyers don’t notify their clients of deadlines like lease renewals. All I need to do is set up a notification from the NotifyWorks library (I am guessing it may take me about a minute) and I’ll be able to automatically notify the client before the notice period that she needs to renew her lease. I’ll probably set up a couple of dates in advance so she has plenty of notice and ask her to contact me in the event there is anything we need to address in the renewal period.

I know the client will appreciate it and it won’t take nearly any time out of day to do this, especially given that my assistant will actually enter the notifications for me. With NotifyWorks it’s not hard to show clients that you care!

What’s the Cost of Finding a New Client?

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Rush Nigut

Legal management consultant John Olmstead has an insightful blog post on Obtaining Additional Work from Existing Clients. There are definitely some great lessons in the post about how law firms need to make their existing clients aware of all the services they provide, including who provides it in the firm and how well they provide it. Many law firms neglect to cross-sell their services and lose out on potential business from clients.

But the number one thing that struck me from his post is that it takes FIVE TIMES as much dollars and time investment to secure a new client than it does to get more business from existing clients. FIVE TIMES!

In almost every law firm it appears as though the majority of the marketing dollars and time investment are directed towards securing new clients. Isn’t it time to pay closer attention to your existing clients?

Pricing Your Legal Services to Get Clients

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Rush Nigut

Lawyers would do well to read this post on Why Pricing Should be Part of Your Marketing Strategy on the Lawyerist Blog. One of the key insights in the post discusses how you know when you are priced right:

You should not be winning every proposal, and your clients should not be overly excited about your price. After all, your firm is not Kmart, and you are not running a Blue Light Special. If your client emails back too quickly and sounds like they might be making a mad dash towards your “too good to be true” price, it probably means your prices are too low. If they write back and try to negotiate you were probably pretty spot on, and if they write back and say that this is well beyond their budget, you need to decide whether or not you want to figure out a way to work within their budget or whether you want to walk away.

I think another key in pricing is looking at ways you’ve added value beyond the delivery of legal services. Have you reduced the risk of litigation? Have you saved the client time or other expenses? Do you have contacts that could help the client?

Price can be very important in a marketing strategy for lawyers. I recommend reading the post.

Win-Win Alternative Billing Practices (lawprofitability.com)

Are You an Entrepreneurial Lawyer?

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Rush Nigut

I read a great blog post from Susan Cartier Liebel of Solo Practice University asking Will 2012 Be the Year of the Legal Entrepreneur? The post discusses the fact that by 2019 it is estimated that 40% of Americans will be self-employed. But lawyers already exceed that amount at approximately 50%. So if the self-employed lawyer numbers increase at the same rate as the general public, nearly 70% of lawyers will be self-employed within the next seven years!

Susan says it’s time to ask yourself lawyers: Are you an entrepreneur?

The post discusses many traits of entrepreneurs but one notion really stands out according to Susan:

However, another “type” of intelligence is even more important to the outcome of an entrepreneurial venture. Some blend of critical analytical thinking, creativity, and practical implementation of ideas, which psychologists often refer to as “successful intelligence” can also predict outcomes such as business growth rate. Entrepreneurs with higher levels of successful intelligence are likely to be better positioned to navigate the environment they are in — an environment often characterized by urgency, uncertainty, insufficient resources and rapid change.

I believe many lawyers have the “successful intelligence” to become an entrepreneur. Which is good because I also believe lawyers will be forced to become entrepreneurial in their thinking or risk extinction. We face challenges like never before. In an age where millions of would be clients have chosen document filing companies like LegalZoom to complete and file legal documents, it is incumbent upon lawyers that we think past the traditional ways of delivering and marketing legal services. Often, that means automation and use of technologies, but it’s more than that. It’s using automation and technologies along with your personal touch and judgment that delivers value to a client in ways that make you more valuable to them than ever before. Clients don’t need a machine that just spits out more documents at a low cost. What they pay for is our judgment, experience and knowledge. But if you can’t get and retain clients, all that judgment, experience and knowledge will go for not.

A great example of this entrepreneurial thinking is demonstrated by lawyer Jason Stone of the Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines. (Read here for a post on Jason and his firm’s Startup Launchpad). His law firm has looked beyond the traditional way of delivering corporate legal services to start up businesses. It’s one of our Iowa’s largest law firms, yet they have recognized the need to become entrepreneurial.

So what ways can you be more entrepreneurial this year to improve your practice?

Can Lawyers Be Entrepreneurial? (boss.blogs.nytimes.com)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from NotifyWorks

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Rush Nigut

Image via Wikipedia

The NotifyWorks’ team wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We’re excited about what lies ahead in 2012 and we appreciate the support of our clients and friends as we started our new business this past fall.

It’s fun to hear from our users who are connecting with their clients due to use of our system. One user reported to me just this past week that he connected with a client that he hadn’t spoken with for seven months due to NotifyWorks. Boy was he pleased! Nothing makes us happier than to hear stories like that.

We wish you a very Happy New Year!

NotifyWorks Featured on Law Sites Blog

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Rush Nigut

Image via Wikipedia

Robert Ambrogi’s Law Sites Blog had a playful post on NotifyWorks this week called Tickle Your Clients from the Cloud with NotifyWorks. Bob’s site is an ABA Blawg 100 honoree and well worth reading on a regular basis if you’re interested in the new and intriguing legal related sites on the Web. Bob is one of the most prolific legal bloggers so it’s really nice that he took the time to write about us.

Bob had this to say about NotifyWorks,

Elephants never forget. Unfortunately, attorneys and clients sometimes do. Consider the new web service NotifyWorks a virtual elephant for the law office. It remembers to remind your clients of important events that they otherwise might miss.

A virtual elephant for the law office? We might steal that one!

Are New Lawyers Prepared for the Game?

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Rush Nigut

I read an interesting post called Learning to Run recently from legal consultant, Jordan Furlong. In the post Jordan questions whether law schools are preparing law students for the practice of law as it is evolving. As Jordan says,

So the talent is there. Virtually everyone who’s in or preparing to enter the legal profession has speed. But not everyone in the legal profession can run well. And the newer you are, the more this is true. It’s almost universally the case for law students and new lawyers, in fact, who have received almost no training to help turn their talents into skills with which they can serve clients and make a living. (And I don’t just mean “practice” training; the tools with which you become a great lawyer include a really solid grounding in jurisprudence, legal history, and ethical philosophy, and not many law degrees can say they deliver that.)

Jordan further points out his belief that law schools are so far behind the curve that they are unlikely to lead conversations toward a better legal education system and training system.

For the most part, I tend to agree with Jordan. However, there is at least one law school, right here in Iowa, that is doing it’s best to change that dynamic with its practical programs. My alma mater, Drake University Law School boasts some of the best clinical legal programs in the country where the students represent clients under the guidance of lawyers who have actually practiced law. According to Drake’s statistics, 86% of Drake’s law students enroll in the law school’s clinical programs or internships. Further, all first year law students observe a trial and have an opportunity to engage in a Q & A with the lawyers, judges and jury. These are the building block opportunities law students need to develop the skills Jordan talks about to become successful in the practice of law.

Others like Susan Cartier Liebel seems to have filled a market niche with her Solo Practice University that is accomplishing just what Jordan says is missing out there. Her business is a Web based educational and networking community for solo lawyers and law students. Through SPU, young lawyers can learn from experienced lawyers on topics ranging from law practice management to specific specialized fields.

But I agree there needs to be even more offerings for young lawyers so they can ”run well” in the practice of law. Not only is the business of law changing dramatically but our clients’ expectations and demands are changing too. When I started practice lawyers didn’t have stiff competition from companies like LegalZoom (which boasts it has over 2 million satisfied customers) or dozens of other document filing companies that proliferate the Internet.

What do you think? Are law schools preparing young lawyers for the changing legal profession? Heck, are the majority of practicing lawyers prepared for the changes in the legal profession?

NotifyWorks Featured as a Startup to Watch

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Rush Nigut

The Des Moines Business Record recently featured NotifyWorks as one of four startups to watch. The other three startups included:

Locusic (Local music streaming service founded by Jake Kerber)
eDossea (Internet based portal for dentists founded by Shawn Harrington)
Appcore (Cloud computing for telephone companies founded by Brian Donaghy)

Check out the article here.

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