Today’s blog is the result of a meeting I had with a client last week. We were reviewing the monthly operations and we discussed the rather large legal bills that had been incurred over the past few months. Legal expenses are generally worth every dime spent: provided that both parties understand the purpose of looking for a lawyers advice. In this instance I am not so sure.
The lawyers were asked to research an area of law that is highly important to the Company. It was to assist in making sure the objectives and the operating plans were in sync and fit everyone’s definitions. The firm did the research and then spent, in the client’s opinion, an excessive amount of time to write a memo to the Company that essentially said “it depends.”.
Customers feel variation, not standards. In the customer’s mind, a memo that doesn’t give a definitive answer and takes longer than an hour to write is a huge variation. Notice by the way that the client was not the least bit bothered by the 20 hours of research that got to the answer “it depends.” They were upset with the perceived lack of control on the memo.
What should a law firm do to improve its flow and reduce real and perceived variation in process?
First set a clear expectation in the mind of the client as to the amount of time needed for the process.
Second, review the steps that are taken to produce a memo. What are the standards for research? Who does it, what are the tools, and how do they prepare notes?
Third, who gets involved in the process? Does the memo go back and forth between clerical and the lawyer as they work and rework the memo? Is the lawyer dictating to a machine to be transcribed by a person or is the lawyer dictating to software? Have you found the right software to reduce the non-value added time of correcting words and phrases?
Fourth, has your billing system been tuned to remove non-value added time? Lets be honest, the fact that a client’s file is open on your desk does not mean that the billing clock should start. Yes I know that some firms do that but ask yourself, do you want your firm to be a “me-too?”
Fifth, do you judge the lawyers in the firm based upon billed hours or upon effectively collected hours? Are you sure your targets do not work against you? The objectives may need to change to help the firm better reach its goal.
Sixth, how much time is set-up time? Yes even lawyers have set-up time. Do you have to walk to a law library? If you do your research on-line, do you hunt for passwords? Do you make notes to then dictate to the machine?
There are many more things that could help improve your work flow. I know that it seems pointless though since apparently your clients are willing to pay for every moment you even dream about them. But trust me, there is a breaking point even for the best and wealthiest clients. Is it your objective to push each client to that point every day? Or do you like the idea of making a few thousand dollars a year off of each client for the next 8 to 10 years? Perhaps we should review the measurements?
If you have questions or comments, feel free to write me at johnc@constprofit.biz
Constant Profit Advisors 