Monthly Archives: February 2011

Checklist for the all-important client meeting

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If you have a meeting with a prospective client, you know that the stakes are high and your anxiety level is even higher.  It’s completely normal to be nervous, but you can do some things that help you overcome your fears and (hopefully) land the new client.

1.       Practice, practice, practice. Speak with a trusted friend, a colleague or a mentor and ask him or her to pretend to be the client.  Set up a fake interview and video tape it.  Once you’re done with the interview, ask your friend for his/her opinion and watch the video. You’ll be able to dissect what you did right and what you did wrong.  Those things that didn’t go as planned can be adjusted for the real thing.

2.       Talk to the mirror. You can’t see your facial expressions when you talk, and these are crucial to any face-to-face meeting.  Stand in the mirror and talk about the same things you’ll discuss in the meeting.  Notice how your face moves and adjust as necessary.  Remember, people do business with people they like, so you want to look friendly, confident and approachable.

3.       Do your research. This step cannot be emphasized enough.  Find out everything you can about your prospective client.  Look online and talk to people who may know him/her.   Know as much about the client as possible – not just about work, but about interests, hobbies, family.  One of the most important things about the meeting is to connect and build trust.  Knowing a little bit about the potential client and connecting on common ground is crucial.

4.       Prepare you questions and your topics. Take some time to think about the things you want to ask and say.  You definitely don’t need to stick with a script, but just having an idea of the topics you’ll discuss will make you feel more confident.

5.       Come prepared for a “yes.” This is so important in any client meeting – be prepared for a “yes.”  Therefore, if all new clients must sign a contract, bring the contract.  If your new clients need to approve a proposal, bring the proposal.  When a client says yes, you want to make that a quick, seamless process for them.

Now you’re ready to conquer the world!  Or, at least the prospective client meeting.  Good luck!  Need more tips?  Contact us!  We’re attorneys helping attorneys, and we’d love to help you.

Making sure you’re on the right side of the widening pay gap at big law

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Many of you know exactly what we’re talking about – the noticeable pay gap widening among partners at large firms.  Since the economic downturn, the trend has become even more apparent.  Firms are trimming everywhere they can and paying the “star” lawyers even more.  Why?  They need the business.  Law firms don’t run solely on reputation and law school pedigrees.  They need clients to be successful.  It’s clear that they are making sure that lawyers who bring in clients make as much money as necessary to make them stay.

So, the key is to be one of the attorneys who can bring the clients.  It’s absolutely critical that, as a partner, you are bringing cases and as an associate you are building the foundation to generate revenue.  Do you have a book of business?  If not, it’s time you get to work.  We recommend reading our earlier blog series about how to bring business.

We want to hear from you, in the trenches.  Do you see this trend at your own firm?  What are you doing to bring more business to the firm?

What are law firms looking for in an attorney?

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It appears that the legal market is finally turning around. We’ve been seeing some progress for a few months, but things really started picking up since the beginning of the year.  If you’re an attorney searching for a job, you’re in luck!  However, the question remains – what are firms searching for in an associate and a partner?

To be sure, there are still more attorneys available than attorney positions and the market is highly competitive.  Firms are choosy about attorneys and look for specific traits along with experience.  Do any of these sound like you?

For associates

Strong work ethic and intellectual curiosity;

Loyalty and desire to go the extra mile;

Excellent communication skills;

Team player

For partners

Practice area expertise;

Superb reputation;

Business generation skills;

Team player

If you have these traits, you definitely should show prospective employers just as you want to demonstrate your legal expertise.  Be sure you include examples of these traits in your cover letter.  To show intellectual curiosity and dedication, you may want to say something like “I worked in my last position for more than four years.  During that time, I worked tirelessly to learn all I could about tax law.  As a result, my knowledge of tax expands beyond code – I now understand how tax law affects a company from the top down.”

Of course, it’s always a good idea to let firms know of any business you bring to the table.  This is extremely important for partners, and very helpful for associates, as well.  Be specific regarding what type of cases you could bring to the firm and list the ways you plan to continue to generate more business in the future.

Any other questions?  Contact us!  We’re attorneys helping attorneys and we are happy to help lead the way to a great new position!