Practice News

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 5544 (Attorney's fees representing children), House Bill 5823 (Heath Care Services Lien Act), Senate Bill 2569 (Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act), Senate Bill 3626 (Integrative Family Therapy), Senate Bill 3549 (Child-support enforcement) and Senate Bill 3552 (Personal-property exemptions). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. Our firm is based in Little Rock. We currently have 12 attorneys. We were larger several years ago. We have lost 8 attorneys in the last five years as well as several business clients. Profitability has suffered? What marketing initiatives should we be exploring to improve profitability and increase the size of the pie?

A. On average it costs five times as much (dollars/time investment) to get new clients than it does to get more business from existing clients. It just makes good business sense to leverage existing relationships.

I suggest that your first priority is to circle your wagons around your existing clients and insure that the quality of your services and the quality of your relationship with the client is beyond reproach. Then look for unmet needs and additional work from existing clients. Once this has been accomplished begin targeting new business clients and cultivating relationships one by one.

Many of our clients that represent business clients have found the following (listed in order of value to the firm) to be a few of the more successful marketing tools at the firm and individual attorney level:

Firm Level:

• Firm website
• Solicit and respond to client feedback (Client Surveys)
• Newsletters and solid marketing collateral materials
• Up to date marketing database of clients, past clients, referral and media sources

Individual Attorney Level

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the managing partner of a 12 attorney firm in Chicago. We have been considering whether we should develop a strategic plan for the firm. We have problems even having partner meetings on a consistent basis and those often yield questionable results. What are firms doing? Does a strategic plan make sense for a firm like ours?

A. According to recent surveys, 70+% of the responding law firms (ranging in size from the largest to 45 attorney firms) have formal written strategic plans. Smaller firms have a much lower experience. In our experiences with smaller law firms we are finding that fewer than 15% have formal written strategic plans. I consider success to be achievement of measurable results as evidenced by achievement of the goals and objectives outlined in the plan and actual implementation of action items. Lawyers and law firms seem to do better at planning than they do at implementation. Larger firms usually are more successful in implementation due to availability of management resources, leadership and functional governance. Smaller firms tend to have problems with implementation. In fact, we frequently recommend that a firm address other management issues prior to engaging in strategic planning. If a firm is having problems implementing day-to-day operational decisions the firm will not be effective in implementing strategic planning initiatives.

You might want to get your operational house in order first and resolve day-to-day operational management issues first and then move on to the future.

"Legal Issues with Single Family Home Construction" and "Dealing with Foreclosures" will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays in February and March. These half-hour programs are presented by “Illinois Law,” a cable production of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). Both programs are available for online viewing below.

"Legal Issues with Single Family Home Construction" will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, Feb. 28 and March 13. Program moderator Martin A. Dolan, of Dolan Law Offices, Chicago, discusses the topic with guests Adam B. Whiteman, of Whiteman Law Offices, Chicago; Jennifer Nielsen, of Lyman & Nielsen, LLC, Oak Brook; and Myles L. Jacobs, a partner in Brumund, Jacobs, Hammel, Davidson & Andreano, LLC, with offices in Joliet, Channahon and Yorkville.