Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Not really. In my business model, which does NOT use the billable hour, firms seem to have no idea what you're doing so they take steps like recording your phone calls, putting hidden tracking devices in your files, hiring beekies to track what time your flight landed and sendingtracer emails to find out where you're emailing from, etc.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

It's not uncommon in professional services, where outputs can be hard to value, and it protects the firm from discrimination suits and other problems with a discretionary system.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Yeah, but on the litigation side, the only option people seem to be pushing for is a flat fee, per action system, and large outfits can't work with that. They're built to maximize the piecemeal nature of processes. In a flat fee world, you get the best margin with a surgical approach. You're essentially making everyone a contingency lawyer. The efficiencies of that system translate to a lot of less than aggressive litigators being out on the street.

I guess, though, that was always going to be the case. Inevitably, processes need to be streamlined, and between the court system's inefficiencies and the way firms staff cases, litigation services are 30% fat that ought to be cut.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

In the current environment, isn't that exactly the time to implement such reforms? "We'll handle answer and motion to dismiss for $100k" You can do it because there aren't as many associate mouths to feed.

Re: SPOOOOOOOKY happenings
 

What a shitty thing to say.

Re: SPOOOOOOOKY happenings
 

My brother ran into a ghost when he was living in an old house in Austin. He said the spookiest thing about it was how unsurprised he was to see her. I think he was walking up the stairs and she was either walking down or standing still, and he didn't really register her until he'd passed her by and then realized there was no one else in the house that it could have been.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Do they follow up on any conversation you have with a prospective client? "What about so and so? I heard from the receptionist that you got a call about such and such case." That was my favorite - the paranoia you were going to steal a client, send him elsewhere and pocket the referral fee.

If you ever want to set up a referral pipeline (newspaper, net, radio...) in flyover land, PM me. That's the best business model I've seen. Stupid cash, Sokolove style. It's just getting those initial operating funds that's so tricky. Hard to get a line from a bank for something like that right now, as you might guess.

Re: SPOOOOOOOKY happenings
 

here's a smile- the first night my daughter and I are checking out Savannah, we have separate rooms at the river Hyatt. the lobby brochures include several for ghost tours- savannah is the "most haunted" city, etc.

about 11 PM she calls me- something strange is going on with her lights, they flicker on and off. I check it out- nothing.

at 3 AM she calls "I need to stay in your room." "What happened?" "there is a Kleenex in the toilet and I didn't put it there!"

not a really bad poltergeist, if that is who did the Kleenex dropping.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Yeah, but you guys are scumbags.

TM

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Uh, they are being implemented. You have friends who are GCs. Ask them how many litigation groups they've been firing or demanding steep discounts from right now. A good friend of mine at a huge purchaser of litigation services (big company with loads of plants, labor issues, etc) has been finding that he and the other associate GCs save the company tons doing most stuff in house. Only problem has been getting GCs to embrace it, as many of them don't want to get too hands on. But the economy's been changing that reluctance. He hires smaller local firms in the areas where the company gets sued and has been happy with the outcome and responsiveness so far.

I never understood why legal purchasers didn't shop more in the past. When you get sued in bumblefuck county on a contract issue or some moderate risk piece of negligence, you don't go and hire a big litigation firm. All they do is get local counsel with influence and you wind up getting billed twice. The better course is to go with the best local counsel in town. How much research would that take? Couple days? Maybe flying down and trying him and his firm on for size?

I guess the risk is if the guy turns out to be a fuck-up, the assoc GC who lobbied to hire him takes a load of shit from above. Hence, again, the stumbling block to any change in the way we do business: Fear Of Risk.

Re: SPOOOOOOOKY happenings
 

Even worse to actually do it.

http://www.theweek.com/article/index...Hausers_cancer

My point was that in the realm of believing things that are contrary to logic and science, believing in ghosts is somewhat benign. Better to focus on the more harmful unfounded beliefs.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Regulatory agencies in PA auction the work off to litigation shops. You'd be shocked at how low the top shelf regionals in Philly would go to get a pipeline of billables.

I've seen $175. No, I'm not fucking around. Had to be a loss leader of some sort. That or they were bringing in contract workers and doing the stuff at $50 an hour cost.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

if I was GC at a big place the deal i would cut is one a CarCo and a big bank worked out with my prior firm- Firm will handle all X work for $Y/year.

We handled all enviormental, reg and lit, for CarCo and all work of all sorts for a big bank. the firm was paid $5 million and $10 million for the tasks. Some files blew up, some died, but over all the firm did well. One thing the companies really want is predictability, and this is the perfect model. For it to work the client needs to be huge so that the risks are spread over enough files.

BUT the people who got fucked were the worker bees- the billing attorney now effectively sat as an equivalent to GC- "Associate, here is this file. You need to handle it and get it done within my budget of $15K."

Billing guy no longer was on the side of the associate who got hours in by wheel spinning. When a file blew up the associate got screwed and ate time- oh, and the "payback" from when a second file died quickly? Billing attorney took the credit for that budgetted money.

Re: SPOOOOOOOKY happenings
 

I thought it was mr.dtb sitting up and looking at me. Then when the figure turned and stood up, I said his name, wondering why he was getting up in the middle of the night. Then he (mr.dtb) said, "Yes?" and I realized it wasn't he who was standing up, and I did feel a momentary fright, and then did the "clear the cobwebs" shake of my head and the cinematic eye-rubbing, but it was still standing there. I wasn't scared, really, just surprised, I guess.

Strange.

Re: Is this the new law firm model?
 

Yeah, but that also leads to an awful lot of churned settlements. Tell me I'm capped and I'll find all sorts of angles to drag you into a quick settlement and move to the next file. And it's always better to have a firm thinking someone else is fighting for the business. Only way to wring every drop of value out them is to shop around a bit, and let them know you do it. Keep them uneasy.