Make More Rain : partner agreements, blog

Going Concern Value of a Law Firm

Admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:10:00 GMT

The previous host for morepartnerincome, Tom Collins, has strong feelings about the importance of recognizing the monetary value of law firm ownership. He believes that incoming partners should purchase their share of ownership and that retiring partners or their estate should be fairly compensated for the value of the partner’s shares. I asked him for a post on the subject and here it is:

For the purpose of this post, I put aside consideration for any regulations, laws or rules of professional conduct that restrict the sale or purchase of a law firm. The issue addressed here is the value of the law firm as a going concern.

This is a different number than the value of the business in the eyes of a purchaser with a strategic objective. For example, another law firm that wants to establish a presence in your geographic area may be willing to pay a greater price than the going concern value. At a minimum, they would be willing to add to the going concern value the investment and lost opportunity cost of starting their own branch.

The going concern value is the worth of the business operated in its current fashion following its current business strategy. In academic terms, it is the present value of its future cash flows. From a practical standpoint, a common approach is to value the business at five times its estimated pretax profit less any interest bearing debt. There are some things that would turn most buyers off without an appropriate discount. One of those things is any unfunded obligation such as that many firms have in place for retiring partners. Where they exist, a prudent buyer would deduct the cost of funding those obligations.

The problem in applying any of this to a law firm is that law firm partners do not separate salaries (earned income) from investment income related to their role as owners. Those two components must be separated to compute the going concern value. The portion of compensation that represents a competitive salary is a business operating cost. The value of the law firm as a going concern is derived from the law firm’s ability to pay its partners a return on their risk and investment as owners of the business. If a law firm is not expected to produce more than a competitive salary for its partners, then it has no value as a going concern.

Why is any of this important? Law firms are sustainable as an institution only if they are adequately funded. Yet, the pressure in most midrange law firms is to distribute all available funds to partners. That reluctance to leave anything on the table runs counter to the need for the law firm to be adequately funded for growth and to safely navigate the normal ups and downs of any business. Their reluctance to reinvest earnings in the business is unlikely to change until law firms provide a way for those partners to extract their share of the value of the law firm upon leaving the firm. They deserve not only a return of their investment capital but their share of the increase in the value of the firm during their tenure as an owner. Most midrange law firms also do not require incoming partners to invest adequately for their share of ownership. Law firms typically have no sense of what incoming partners should be required to invest for their share based on the value of ownership. The firm has no way to demonstrate to that new partner that making that investment is a sound one. At the other end of the career timetable, firms struggle with the treatment of departing or retiring partners. These types of problems are routinely solved in other closely held businesses. Owners agree to a valuation method and that method is used to admit new owners and to buy out selling owners.

There are several approaches a law firm could take to separate the salary and investment component. One method is to arbitrarily set the salary component of partners at some multiple of associate salaries and treat everything else as investment income. Another is to actually set salary levels individually. For example, use a variation of the lockstep method to set the salary level of the firm’s partners. Earnings in excess of that or short falls in earnings would be treated as investment income and losses to be distributed in proportion to ownership. All of the above still results in inaccuracies. Perhaps the simplest and most workable approach is to make the assumption that the law firm is being operated soundly and that 80 percent of fee revenues goes toward paying all operating cost and salaries including the salary component of the partners or owners. The remaining 20 percent of revenues represents investment income, income earned on the risk and investment of the owners. Thus, for the purpose of entering or exiting partners, the going concern value of the business will be considered one times the annual fee revenue (5 times 20%) less any interest bearing debt and less the computed present value of any unfunded liability.

For an incoming new partner, I would suggest that the firm use the current estimated annualized fee revenue for the firm when making the partnership offer. For a retiring or exiting partner, the number should be based on an average. The value might be based on the fee revenue of the immediate prior fiscal year not to exceed 120 percent or be less than 80 percent of the average fee revenue for the immediate prior three years. The 120 percent and 80 percent rule would provide some protection against a one-time fee revenue spike or dip.

The kicker, of course, is that if the law firm isn’t being operated soundly, incoming partners will be unwilling to make the investment and exiting partners will surely leave to go elsewhere.

There is no perfect approach, but that has not stopped the rest of the business world from solving the same sticky issues.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Managing Partners' Little Black Book on Marketing

Admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Paula Black knows graphic design. John Remsen, Jr. knows marketing. The author of The Little Black Book on Law Firm Branding and Positioning has teamed up with Remsen to create The Little Black Book on Law Firm Marketing and Business Development.

The layout of the book has the trademark of a graphic artist - plenty of variation of font, paper type and thickness. This is no dry business book!

The content is, of course, what matters. The book takes a mixture of survey findings, anecdotes from several managing partners representing mid-sized firms, and a simple formula for marketing success:

Build a plan;
invest in the plan;
implement the plan;
measure the results.

John Remsen founded The Remsen Group in 1997 to help bring effective and cost-efficient marketing and business development programs to commercial law firms of all types and sizes. The Remsen Group provides services ranging from developing firm-wide marketing plans to helping firms plan firm retreats. The Remsen Group also organizes and presents the managing partner forum.

For more information or to purchase the book, click here.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Year End Review of Law Firm Partner Agreement

Admin — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:33:26 GMT

Pull out that partnership agreement and take a read through. Over the course of the years, I have helped a number of firms contemplate the future. I always ask for a copy of their partnership agreement. What surprises me every time is how irrelevant the agreement has been treated. Invariably, practices in the firm are at odds with the agreement. And the departure from the agreement’s provisions usually involves the sensitive areas of partner distributions and capital contributions. Unfortunately when trouble develops, the first thing that happens is that the partner who feels aggrieved points to the agreement, i.e.,” It is all fun and games on the playground until someone gets hurt.”

Make it a habit to review the agreement annually and amend the document as appropriate. Small deviations between firm practices and the agreement accumulate into wide divides. The reason for deviating from the exact verbiage of the agreement may have been sound and partners may have mutually agreed informally, at the time, to each deviation. But the reason and the informal agreements are forgotten with the passage of time.

There is another reason to review your partner agreement: retiring partners will be a bigger issue for many law firms over the next ten years. The treatment of capital accounts and unfunded liabilities imposed by continuing origination credits or other post-retirement payments can sink the ship if excessive. When a firm goes belly up, unfunded liabilities become worthless to those who were expecting future payments. For the benefit of the partners who will be retiring and those remaining, overly burdensome provisions need to be addressed now.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Marcus Speaks Out On Mandatory Retirement for Lawyers

Admin — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:01:00 GMT

Bruce Marcus lays out the case the ABA overlooked in addressing the issue of mandatory retirement. The ABA delegates voted to encourage firms to discontinue the practice, but as Marcus notes, ” …they came up with the lesser solution to the greater problem, which, is, I think, the question of judging a lawyer’s capabilities by his or her age, rather than by capability.”

He then proves his case that older can be (and often is) better. As he puts it, “A stupid lawyer at 30 will be a stupid lawyer at 80. A smart lawyer at 30 will be a smarter one at 80 (which, I’ve been told, is the new 39).”

Being on the other side of 65, I agree with Marcus regarding prospects of improving with age, but there is more than just competence at state here that lead one to ask, if not mandatory retirement, then what?"

Mandatory retirement has been crutch, a mechanism, for achieving the transfer of control and earning from one generation to the next. That transfer has to happen. As I often say, you will eventually leave. The question is, do you walk out, run out or get carried out?

There are two recurring problems, other than professional competence, related to the retirement issue that have to be addressed successfully if a law firm is to have a life of its own. The first problem is the founding or senior partner who is reluctant to give up power and control as the risk grows that illness, disability or death will leave the law firm headless. The second problem has to do with disproportionate compensation. It is a frequent problem. Many maturing partners shift their priorities in their life. They began to devote more time to leisure activities and non-firm activities. The problem isn’t with the diminishing work load. The problem arises as the compensation they are pulling out of the firm becomes disproportionate to the aging partner’s continuing contribution.

No question about it, law firms benefit from retaining their most senior talent—they are often the best rainmaker and there will never be a substitute for experience. But the peaceful coexistence of generations requires an orderly transfer of power and earnings. For midrange law firms, the lack of continuity planning, of which mandatory or voluntary retirement plans are a part, puts survival of the firm at risk and the disproportionate distribution of income usually leads to a revolt or splintering of the law firm.

Bruce W. Marcus is an author, consultant, and pundit for professional services marketing. In addition to his books and articles, he shares his insight and wisdom through his blog, THE MARCUS PERSPECTIVE. His 424-word essay on the ABA mandatory retirement resolution is titled They Labored Like Lions and Produced a Mouse.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Endurance, Not Age, Is the Issue for Law Firm Partners

Admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:01:57 GMT

Authors Mortimer Feinberg and Aaron Levenstein, when noting that talent and ability are not enough, quoted the famed actress Helen Hays: “Nothing is any good without endurance.” Their article Building Endurance appeared in the Wall Street Journal in the 1980s. Nothing has changed. Endurance is still the essential element that makes for an effective law firm partner or an effective leader.

With the aging of the baby boomer generation, the retirement issue has become increasingly important, especially as many key rainmakers and law firm leaders brush against retirement age. Age isn’t the issue. Endurance is. Unfortunately, endurance declines as we approach that all-too-unwelcome age marker—65. Granted, some people do not experience a decline in endurance until later. On the other hand, it can come sooner. As we enter our 50s, the chances of disability and energy-robbing illnesses become more likely

There are things that each of us can do to maintain and build endurance. Feinberg and Levenstein set out four:

1.     Know how you recharge your batteries. For some, this may be music, golf, or a long leisurely walk. For others, it may be extreme physical activity—cycling, running, the gym. Know what yours is and take advantage of it to avoid burnout.

2.     Keep a sense of humor, including the ability to laugh at yourself. It relieves stress not only for you but for those around you.

3.     Multiply you own resources of stamina by recruiting the strength of others. In short, delegate and ask others to do for you.

4.     Recognize your failings (weaknesses) as well as your strengths and virtues. Don’t waste energy on weaknesses; put your energy behind your strengths.

For most partners, declining endurance doesn’t come from burnout. It comes from an actual decline in physical stamina due to age and age-related illnesses. The best advice here is two-fold:

· It is never too late to adopt a disciplined exercise program to maintain and improve physical strength.

· With increasing age and experience, shift your emphasis from “doing it yourself” to “doing it through others.”

No matter what measures we may take to maintain our individual endurance, it will eventually lower our ability to contribute on an equal footing with younger members of the firm. Regardless of when it happens, it will happen. For the benefit of both firm and its senior members, the transition out of the partner role needs to be planned and carried out in an orderly fashion.

By the late 50s, there should be an understanding between a partner and the firm as to the path toward retirement. Usually this involves a change in the partner’s role from working attorney to manager, mentor, statesman, goodwill ambassador, community mover and shaker, etc. As long as we have the desire and the capacity, there are many ways other than long hours and high-energy lawyering to continue as a valuable contributing member of the firm. There are successful partners continuing to make important contributions well up into their 70s and 80s. They may represent the firm’s brand. They know who is who. They are respected in the community. They can give important clients top-level attention to cultivate the firm’s relationship with those key clients and, while at it, cross-sell services. They can publish, speak on behalf of the firm, and fulfill the firm’s obligations for community and charitable duties. Along with a changing role, the firm may need to refine compensation for partners in the transitioning process by moving to a compensation plan that places the emphasis on management, rainmaking, and handing off business and origination to the younger partners.

Plans can change quickly. Even for the mature partner with no plans to retire there should be an annual conversation concerning retirement plans. That conversation will eventually have to turn to the firm-driven need to prepare for the partner's inability to continue in his or her former capacity.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

Unfunded Liability Results in Law Firm Dissolutions

Admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:58:00 GMT

In a previous post I asked, “How old is your partner team?” An even more critical question is, “Does your partnership agreement or operating agreement create an unfunded liability?” If so, it could be a fatal flaw unless corrected.

Partner agreements can call for significant continuing compensation to retired partners. Given our tax laws, law firms pay out their profits on an “as they go” basis. There is no material retained earning—no significant ownership equity for the retiring partner. Law firm income isn’t distributed based on monetary investment. It is required to compensate active partners for their relative contribution to revenues and profits.

Agreements that provide for continuing origination credits, or other amounts, to be paid to an inactive partner place a burden on the next generation of partners. As baby boomers reach retirement age, the problem is worsening. The number of situations where the burden has broken the backs of remaining partners is increasing. Their response isn’t surprising—they simply dissolve the firm.

Retirement plans need to be funded by the individual or jointly by the firm and the individual during their productive years. Because profits have been paid out as earned, the retiring partners have no claim on future income once they are out of the picture. If your firm has this problem, it is in the interest of all parties to find a win/win solution that will preserve the firm and treat all the partners fairly.

How Old is Your Law Firm Partner Team?

Admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:22:43 GMT

While reminding members of the firm's mandatory retirement age, Mike Collins realized "there wasn’t a single partner in the group that could finish out the next 10 years …….I gave everybody 18 months to find their own replacement."

It is surprising how often we fail to see clearly or take stock of those who are around us every day. That goes for your partners. How long has it been since you took "partner" inventory. How old is each? How is the health of each? What plans for the future does each have? It would not be unusual for that inventory to show that the majority, or all, of the firm’s partners are in their mid-50s. Health issues are likely to have some partners leaving the firm earlier rather than later. And personal or family objectives of some partners may mean they are already planning for retirement.

The opening quote appeared in a February 2006 Nashville Business Journal article by Janel Watson. Mike Collins is the CEO of 2nd Generation Capital, LLC, a private investments firm. While 2nd Generation isn’t a law firm, it is a professional service firm, and Mike is one of my two brothers. Having completed its plan, 2nd Generation is now prepared for the future. It has the organizational depth to assure the long term continuity of the firm by transitioning leadership to the next generation.

For a law firm to have a life beyond that of its current partners, intentional and deliberate effort is required to transfer, in an orderly fashion, the leadership and ownership to the next generation of firm partners. If your partner team is already over 50, then you, like my brother Mike, have some catching up to do.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

Law Firm Business Survey

Admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 19:28:15 GMT

Last year's survey of Law Firm Managing Partners conducted jointly with Managing Partner Forum and Juris, Inc. identified three key challenges that law firms face in achieving their growth objectives. Survey results and recommendations based on the survey were reported in the August and September 2005 issues of Managing Partner Advocate,. For printed copies of those back issues or to subscribe to the free Managing Partner Advocate, e-mail your request to morepartnerincome@juris.com with your name, title, and the firm’s name and address. Now the 2006 Law Firm Business Survey (for the year ended 2005) is underway. There are two ways you can participate:

You can complete the survey manually by filling out the survey form and then mailing it to Juris Managing Partner Forum, Juris, Inc., 5106 Maryland Way, Brentwood TN 37027 or faxing it to (615) 377-3230.
You can complete the online survey questionnaire. When completing the survey online, it may be easier to first print the manual survey form and gather the survey information, then complete the online survey questionnaire.

Why should you participate? The confidential survey takes a little research on the part of your staff for some of the numbers, but the payback makes it worth the effort. Consider the valuable items you will receive as a survey participant:

· The completed survey results with analysis and commentary.

· Your firm’s key performance metrics compared to peers.

· An Excel® spreadsheet business model that you can use to analyze the results of “what-if” questions.

· Information about Juris® Managing Partner Forums, where partners from non-competing firms can share ideas and best practices.

· For those who complete their survey online, a money green “More Partner Income” hat for that next firm retreat.

Don’t miss this chance for valuable business intelligence that can increase per-partner income for your firm. Print out the survey form and get your staff working on the answers today! The information you provide in the Law Firm Business Survey is held in confidence. The survey data is reported only in aggregate form or in a manner that does not identify information about any individual law firm.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

Law Firm Trends

Admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 19:55:04 GMT

Bob Denney is President of Robert Denney Associates, Inc., a strategic marketing and management consultancy. Bob’s assessment of Trends and Issues as well as the temperature of practice areas and geographic markets was published in the January/February 2006 issue of Law Practice, published by the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section. Here are just a few of the trends that caught my attention:

· Succession planning is up as the number of partners in their 50’s and 60’s is increasing.

· Firms are discontinuing perpetual origination credit and, in some cases, eliminating it all together.

· There is a shift to performance-based compensation plans away from equity-based and “eat what you kill” places—It is a shift toward salary and bonus.

· More firms are requiring partners to prepare a personal business plan including nonbillable activities for use in evaluating performance.

· The book of business that comes with laterals is often much less than expected

· More clients are looking for business advice in addition to legal advice

· Emergency/disaster plans and measures are a high priority again, particularly for electronic storage and backup.

· Spin-off and start-ups are increasing in a cause-and-effect response to mega firm mergers and large firm acquisitions of mid-sized firms.

· Clients are still ambivalent about hourly billing. Why haven’t they bought into alternative billing? Hourly billing is almost the only way they can monitor outside counsels’ invoices.

For copies of the “What’s Hot and What’s Not” report, contact Robert Denney Asssoicates at 110 W. Lancaster Ave., Wane, PA 19087, or call (610) 964-1938. For more information about the Robert Denney Associates visit www.robertdenney.com.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

What Makes an Effective Law Firm Managing Partner?

Admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:51:09 GMT

As I noted in a prior post, the Harvard Business Review is one of my windows to the outside world. The February 2006 issue included “What Executives Should Remember”, a special section recapping contributor Peter F. Drucker’s articles.

The HBR special section included excerpts from his June 2004 article “What Makes an Effective Executive.” Drucker identifies nine practices that effective executives had in common:

They listened first and spoke last.
They asked, “What needs to be done?”
They asked, “What is right for the enterprise?”
They developed action plans.
They took responsibility for decisions.
They took responsibility for communicating.
They were focused on opportunities rather than problems.
They ran productive meetings
They thought and said “we” rather than “I”.

To expand on Drucker’s nine practices I would point you to Jim Collins, the author of “From Good to Great” and a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review. For Jim Collins, there is a place above Drucker’s effective executive. It is the place of the truly great leader. The culture where the truly great leader would exercise Drucker’s nine practices is one where the individual possesses both humility and professional will. These extraordinary leaders are modest and willful, shy and fearless. They do not have egos that get in the way. They understand and remain consistent on three things

- What their organization can be the best at in the world
- How its economics work best
- What best ignites the passions of its people

For more on Jim Collins’ view of the truly great leader see my prior post, Level 5 Leadership in the Law Firm.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

How Should a Law Firm be Selected?

Admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 19:45:00 GMT

Robert (Bob) S. Burns at Brouse McDowell's office in Akron, Ohio recently authored an article for Of Counsel Magazine titled “An Ongoing Saga:The Still Imperfect Relationship Between In-house and Outside Counsel. “ Among other subjects covered, he asks the question—“So how should outside counsel be selected?”

Answering his own question, he wrote: “I believe that a business should consider the ‘Five C's’: (1) competency; (2) capacity; (3) commitment; (4) communication; and (5) cost.” The summary below is his explanation of each of his Five C’s:

Competency: The key word here is quality. Simply enough, the firm must be able to competently perform the work. The difficulty of the work should be the main driver. If it is a "bet the company" issue, a client needs the best firm it can afford. But for commodity type work, a client does not need a senior partner at an American Lawyer 100 firm. Basically, a client should only pay for what it needs.
Capacity: The key word here is quantity. The firm must be able to completely handle the volume. The amount and location of the work should be the main driver. The firm must have enough attorneys, locations and affiliations to handle all or most of a client's needs (locally, regionally or globally, as well as functionally and specifically).
Commitment: The key words here are dedication and collaboration.…, Clients expect you to know their people, know their business, know their industry and know their problems. Outside counsel are always convinced they know their clients, yet clients are rarely convinced that that is the case.
Communication: The key words here are speed and clarity. The lack of both gets more firms fired than anything else. You never want a call or message saying "I can't ever get hold of John…Where are we on this?" Do not try an impress the client with your knowledge of Latin phrases or sub-sub-sub-section references to regulations. In other words, do not talk like a lawyer. Quite often, in-house counsel's greatest value-add is to translate the Company's business language into legal language for outside counsel and then to reverse the process. If there is no in-house counsel, make sure your clients understand by encouraging them to ask, "What do you mean by that?"
Cost: The key words here are cost and value. Budgets are becoming the norm. Both sides should sit down before any major project to evaluate ways to reduce legal costs. Here, however, outside counsel should also emphasize any and all "value-added services" they can provide. ….. While law firms are touting their expertise and working hard to strengthen relationships, clients are focusing on costs and value added services. Therein is the biggest and longest running disconnect between in-house and outside counsel.

You can read Bob Burns’ entire article in PDF format here. His five C's are a useful outline for organizing your presentation to new business prospects. They can service as a guide for the firm's team to live by. Outside of the legal community, business leaders are quick to say "it all starts with sales". For the law firm business, "it all starts with the client"--getting them and retaining them.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

Law Firm Recruiting: Test Before You Hire

Admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 19:50:00 GMT

I love it when someone puts their finger on the overlooked obvious.

In commenting on Sullivan & Cromwell’s recent action increasing base salary of first-year associates to $145,000, Larry Bodine’s Professional Marketing Blog advises law firms to “Know what you're getting...”

Bodine writes “Here's my radical suggestion: Why not hire associates based on their potential to bring in new business? Give them a personality test to see if they have what it takes to become a rainmaker. Have the marketing director or marketing partner interview them to probe their inclination to develop business relationships and open new files.”

Most first-year associates going after the big bucks aren’t planning to stay put. They have plans other than sticking around to make partner. The majority of those with initial partner intentions wash out within five years. "Keepers" in mid-sized law firms must be able to bring business into the firm. They have to make rain to make partner. So why not first test to find out if they have a rainmaker’s personality? Tests are not foolproof, but they improve your odds.

Larry Bodine writes more extensively about the personality required to be a rainmaker in the Law Maketing Portal’s post Personality:Why 25% of Lawyers Can’t Sell.

2006 Law Firm Business Survey

Admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 19:01:06 GMT

If you missed the opportunity to participate in the previous Law Firm Business Survey, now is your chance to get onboard and find out how your firm compares to its peers.

Why should you participate? For participating in the confidential survey, you will receive:

· The completed survey results with analysis and commentary

· Your firm’s key performance metrics compared to peers

· An Excel® spreadsheet business model that you can use to analyze the results of “what-if” questions.

· Information about Juris Managing Partner Forums, where partners from non-competing firms can share ideas and best practices

· For those who complete their survey online, a money green “More Partner Income” hat for that next firm retreat

The information you provide in the Law Firm Business Survey is held in confidence. The survey data is reported only in aggregate form or in a manner that does not identify information about any individual law firm.

The survey takes a little research on the part of your staff for some of the numbers, but the payback from learning how your firm compares with others makes it worth the effort. Add in the value of the free customizable business model, and participation is an option you just don’t want to pass up. There are two ways to participate:

You can do it by manually filling out the survey form and then mailing it to Juris Managing Partner Forum, Juris, Inc.,5106 Maryland Way, Brentwood TN 37027 or faxing it to (615) 377-3230.
You can complete the online survey questionnaire. When completing the survey online, it may be easier to first print the manual survey form and gather the survey information, then complete the online survey questionnaire.

Why bother doing it online? The bonus is a money green “More Partner Income” hat for that next partner retreat! Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com. © 2006 Juris, Inc.

If you are an attorney with a BlackBerry, you have a GPS!

Admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 20:13:00 GMT

In the hands of an attorney, PDAs like BlackBerrys are money makers. They convert downtime into productive time, improve responsiveness to clients and make capturing billable time easier and faster. Ipsos-Reid, one of the top 10 research firms in the world, reported that surveyed firms averaged 53 minutes per day of recovered productive time using mobile devices like the BlackBerry--almost an hour per day per fee earner! Their small cost and high value make them a sound investment even with the uncertainties regarding patent issues. I expect BlackBerrys to be around for a long time. Now there is even more added value for this productivity-increasing device.

Andy Bailey, the blackberry guy sent me the following intruiging notice about TeleNav, a next-generation GPS navigation system that works directly on your BlackBerry.

Telenav - GPS Navigation—Free for 30 days to try it out:

Here’s how it works:

First you call TeleNav and dictate your destination, or type it in on the phone keypad. Then start TeleNav and receive timely directions. After you tell it where you want to go, TeleNav gives you detailed information regarding your trip including:

Your current street

The street you are turning to

The distance to your next turn

The number of miles and minutes left on your trip

Your compass heading with speed

And of course, these turn-by-turn directions will be displayed on the phone screen and audibly announced. Sometimes you may miss a turn, but don't worry, TeleNav will automatically find another way to get you to your destination.

The trial period is 30 days. After the 30 days, if you do not disconnect the service, it is billed to your cellular account at $9.99 monthly.

If you would like to have the TeleNav GPS system loaded on your BlackBerry or to get a BlackBerry with the program already loaded, you can contact Andy Bailey at NationLink Wireless. Call 615/567-2224 or email info@BlackBerryguy.com.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com. © 2006 Juris, Inc.

Tips for the Law Firm Rainmaker

Admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 19:51:31 GMT

Recently, Guy Kawasaki’s blog “Let the Good Times Roll” has shown up on the radar screen. His postings are frequently referenced by other blogs.

His blog is packed with tips and sound advice for the would-be rainmaker. He is clearly a master sales person. While not directed toward the legal profession, his blog Let the Good Times Roll – by Guy Kawasaki deserves to be on your reading list.

I tell our folks that we were given two ears and one mouth with the intention that we use them in that proportion. Guy Kawasaki says it so much more eloquently:

"Ask good questions, then shut up. The mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. Thus, good schmoozers are good listeners, not good talkers. Ask softball questions like, “What do you do?” “Where are you from?” “What brings you to this event?” Then listen. Ironically, you'll be remembered as an interesting person." Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, and a columnist for Forbes.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc., where he was one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer. Guy is the author of eight books including “The Art of the Start”, “Rules for Revolutionaries”, “How to Drive Your Competition Crazy”, “Selling the Dream”, and “The Macintosh Way”. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA, as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.