A funny thing happens when you really start marketing your law firm. Suddenly, there are a lot more people coming in for initial consultations, and they don’t automatically hire you. They’re sizing you up and interviewing you. Two Ears, One MouthIt’s at this point that we as estate planning attorneys might want to heed the […]

This week I’m at the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. In the Recent Developments session during the opening day of the Institute, we looked at a Tax Court case involving a taxpayer with dozens of cats. Van Dusen v. Commissioner, 136 T.C. No. 25 (2011). In fact, she had so many cats that she could […]

Have you helped a client become eligible for VA Pension benefits? If so, did you advise them that each year an annual review, EVR, is due on March 1st? So many veterans lose their benefits each year because they did not return the EVR or did not complete it correctly. In addition to losing benefits, […]

Did you know that there are only three ways to expand your business? Here they are, in a nutshell: Acquire new clients Have your existing clients buy new services Increase the fees your clients pay If you want your firm to grow, you need to be doing all three. And you should have a system […]

Each New Year, we talk about how to better ourselves ― eat well and exercise, watch less television, spend more time with family, etc. And while determining how to live a healthier and more personally fulfilling life is an admirable goal, there’s another question, I think, to ask ourselves at the New Year: what can […]

What usually happens when an employee gives you their two weeks’ notice? If your firm is like a lot of others, by the time you find someone to replace your departing employee, there are only a few days left. The rush is on for the departing employee to impart years of information to the new […]

Here’s a practical and powerful exercise you can do that will help you accomplish your goals for your law firm and know exactly who is responsible for every task! It involves making a unique organizational chart that is created by looking at what needs to get done before you determine who in your law firm […]

As estate planning attorneys, we know that our practice is a complex one. Estate planning is the nexus of various different areas of the law, including Wills & Trusts, Taxation, Asset Protection, Elder Law, Family Law, etc. Of course, we must master and keep current on the substance of these various areas of the law. […]

Epsilon Targeting, the leading provider of consumer information for targeted marketing solutions, recently released the 2011 Channel Preference Study, which shows that through economic turmoil, technology advances and channel proliferation, direct mail continues to deliver as consumers’ preferred means of receiving marketing messages. The 2011 research shows that despite direct mail’s reputation for being “old […]

Your legal expertise is apparent, but what about your business acumen? Do you have time to crunch twenty-five complex financial ratios, and then search the internet for comparison numbers to contextualize your own? One of the foundations of working on your business rather than in it is your ability to use your firm’s financial and […]