Sunday, April 08, 2007 7:17 AM
Blawg's Sunday Paper, a quick spin through the blawgosphere and the week that was.
Allison C. Shields at Legal Ease Blog wrote about Cost of Legal Services, Value and Compensation:
The perception of the client is paramount. Lawyers must take the time to establish the value to the client up front and discuss the client's expectations - as one of my clients said recently, even though he's a litigator, not all of his clients have the same mix of desires. Some clients may be seeking their day in court, some may be seeking to maximize their recovery, some may be seeking to minimize legal costs, or to send a message to the other party.
The Inspired Solo said Billable Hour, Schmillable Hour: Why Giving It Up Entirely Is the Only Rational Course of Action:
This is why I believe that the only rational course of action is to abandon the model altogether and go to value billing, flat rates, or any other billing method besides billable hours, and make the metric that counts something really soft and subjective - client satisfaction, measured by periodic mid-representation and lengthier exit questionnaires. (And if you’re truly tuned into your clients, you won’t have a problem.)
Ed Poll at Law Biz Blog noted that Flat fees is an art:
Profits can be stated in a mathematical formula: P = R - E. But, the "E" has a limitation. You can reduce expenses only so much before you start cutting out the "meat" of the law firm. "R," on the other hand, has no limit. You can increase revenue without limitation. Focused practice development efforts will attract new work; and once you get the work, you can develop the appropriate infrastructure to handle the increases.
Rich Klein, writing at Riverside Views, suggested Goodling's Attorney Chooses Wrong Words:
[Monica] Goodling's attorney, John Dowd made a huge public relations mistake by comparing Ms. Goodling's situation with what happened to Scooter Libby. That's because Mr. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice --and now the American people will link the two and think that Ms. Goodling might have similar skeletons in her closet.
Institutional Shareholder Service's Corporate Governance Blog posted its Securities Litigation Watch Update: Q1 Review: New Cases Up, Settlements Even:
A quick review of the SCAS database reveals that 30 new federal securities class actions were filed in the first quarter of 2007. On a pro-rata basis, this would translate to 120 new federal securities class actions for the year. This would represent a slight increase from 2006 securities class action filings, but would still remain below historical levels in the post-PSLRA world.
Split Circuits reported that First Circuit Notes Split Over How the Government May Enforce a Money Judgment Granted As Part of a Forfeiture Order.
David Hardy at Of Arms and Law offered My take on Parker v. DC: The Parker case, and anticipated cert. petition, has attracted a lot of attention lately, and I thought to give my take on it.
Ethics news blog, Ethisphere, noted that the SEC votes to ease up Sarbanes-Oxley burdens…
At long last, the SEC has voted to ease up some of the overkill provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley which have been onerous on companies, particularly smaller ones. This vote represented an endorsement of the recommendations of the agency’s professional staff to eliminate waste and duplication in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and encourages filers to be able to focus on ”what truly matters”.
Betsy McKenzie at Out of the Jungle compiled some useful links, quotes and information regarding Student Debt.
Tom Kane at The Legal Marketing Blog asked the question: Want to Increase Profits by 90%? Do what the Ambrose Law Group of Portland, Oregon did. Switch to flat fees.
Legal Writing Prof Blog pointed out some memorable grading tips.
Professor Michael Geist did some Thinking Outside the Canadian Copyright Box:
Given the Canadian marketplace realities and the Lehman recommendation to chart our own course on copyright, how might Industry Minister Maxime Bernier and Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda respond? I point to three possibilities.
Meredith Hamilton at Expert Witness Marketing noted some News/Opinions about Expert Witnesses.
And, finally, ending on a lighter note, Scott Vine at Information Overlord highlighted an entertaining video about bad powerpoint presentations in his post Powerpoint - watch and learn.
Have a great Sunday.