The Changing Face of Law
During the last four months, Cape Business has interviewed more than three dozen individual law firms, from Boston-based Nutter, to solo practitioners like Barbara Sullivan, whose Sagamore Beach office faces Cape Cod Bay.
Our mission: To discover how the law profession on Cape Cod is changing. And what does it all mean – both to the profession itself and to the thousands of businesses that depend on legal services?
Our editors have identified 20 key trends among scores discovered during our reporting. They appear below.
These trends are accompanied by comments culled from our interviews with attorneys – in hopes they add both historical and professional context to these trends.
The profiles you will read throughout this issue reflect many of these key trends. You will learn about how Boston firms are growing roots on the Cape and how former Boston attorneys are leaving the city for a different life and career here. You will read about solo practitioners who can practice in multiple locations because of today’s information technology. You see how lawyers are learning to be better business people and marketers. You will visit husband-wife and father-son teams, as well as one lawyer who is among thousands of baby boomers reinventing themselves for a new kind of “retirement,” one that combines enjoying Cape Cod without ever giving up work.
• We could have written dozens more profiles. Fortunately, we will have future editions to build our commitment to covering the ever-changing face of law on Cape Cod – and helping our readers navigate this arena for their businesses.
We hope you retain this print guide for your future needs. We also encourage you to visit us at businessconnector.biz, our new business-to-business online resource, where you can find always find a comprehensive directory of legal services.
20 trends influencing attorneys and clients
• More demanding clients. They also tend to be less loyal. Many clients are seeking one-stop law firms that provide comprehensive support for business, estates and personal affairs. Today, that requires more than one lawyer referring a client to another attorney.
• A profit squeeze. Higher associate and staff salaries; enhanced scrutiny of fees by clients; higher liability and marketing expenses.
• More flexible billing. With more competition and greater client demands, firms are moving toward “alternative,” flat or flexible billing. Flat fees are more practical today because computerization and new software programs have reduced the time it takes attorneys to handle many tasks that previously were billed directly to the client.
• Value added. The law is becoming more of a commodity, just like banking and other professions. Along with increased competition, attorneys must think about how to add value. That does not necessary cost a lot, either. Many say a big value add is better communication with the client – especially by anticipating issues and contacting them early and often.
• Partnering with clients. It may start with returning telephone calls immediately. But it moves to client surveys, allowing clients to design their own invoices, providing home numbers on business cards, assuring 24-hour service by telephone, preparing client status reports and even promoting the notion of guaranteed service.
• Growth planning. Firms of all sizes are developing grassroots growth plans. With greater competition comes the need to think strategically. That includes long-term marketing plans that encompass community involvement, education and networking.
• Succession planning. Many longtime practices are beginning to face unprecedented transition issues because of the aging of their baby boomer partners. That requires succession planning years in advance of actual retirements.
• Client development. With legal services becoming a commodity, much like banking, firms are increasingly sensitive to the need for client development – the process of identifying and nurturing relationships.
• The sales pipeline. Many firms of all sizes are developing ways to more tangibly measure upcoming, new and anticipated revenue streams that may be months or even a year or two away.
• Online legal resources. There is a proliferation of Web sites offering free or inexpensive templates for small businesses, from partnership and LLC forms to contracts. Clients also can access more information than ever about firms, including fees.
• Alliances and partnerships. In the past, the word “partner” was specific to principals within the law firm. Today, it may apply more to formal or informal alliances with other professions – especially accountants and financial planners – as clients demand a more comprehensive approach to their business, estate and personal financial affairs.
• More women lawyers. Nationwide, women now comprise about 30 percent of all lawyers, and the number of women in law schools continues to rise. That trend should continue, too, because there is a growing number of women among small business owners and managers here.
• Continuing education. More laws, more regulations, greater access to information online. It all adds up to growing pressures for lawyers to stay abreast of changes in the legal landscape – both with formal continuing education and late nights burning the midnight oil.
• Blogs. They are a hot marketing trend. They let attorneys demonstrate their expertise in intimate ways and to connect to potential clients.
• Paperless office. Companies like Barnstable-based iMedia are providing law firms with tools to reduce and sometimes eliminate paper files. Software programs allow for instant searching among archives and backing up files more securely than in file cabinets.
• Virtual lawyers. We encountered a growing number of attorneys who work from home who don’t have traditional offices. They will meet at clients’ offices or homes, or even at restaurants. Others have more than one address but only one physical office.
• Reducing infrastructure. For the majority of attorneys who own or rent space, it’s increasingly about productivity. That includes a growing trend toward office condominiums so several private practices can share everything from secretaries to conference rooms, legal libraries and high-speed Web access.
• Think globally, act locally. How can you have the advantages of both Boston and Cape Cod in one law firm? Our special report identifies several variations on this theme. If done well, it is a huge competitive advantage.
• Work and family. Younger attorneys are choosing the Cape over Boston or other cities because they want more balance in their lives, especially as they raise families. In some cases, that means a growth in husband/wife teams, with their offices near their actual residences.
• Less civility. Lawyers of all ages and experience on the Cape agree there is less civility within the profession than in previous generations. Most point to the increased number of attorneys competing for business on the one hand; and a more litigious environment across the entire legal landscape. Another factor: Years ago, most attorneys knew each other personally or by reputation. Today, there are so many lawyers on the Cape that many don’t have the time or opportunity to know each other. Plus, firms from off-Cape are marketing to clients here as never before.
Published in Cape Business March.April 2008
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