Brown & Little, P.L.C. » Clients
It’s Lonely Being Perfect
I set aside a few hours on several different days during my recent hike to make sure everything was okay back at the firm. On those partial “work” days, I mostly made sure my clients were happy and everything was going as planned in their cases. I returned calls from a few prospective clients as well. At first, the prospective clients would leave polite messages. They’d ask that I call them back at my convenience, acknowledging that my voice mail greetings said I would have limited availability until May. A few wished me well on my walk and said they’d be contacting Adrian because time was of the essence. What nice people I get to meet sometimes. At some point after climbing onto the Colorado Plateau, however, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients, Practice in General
Defining a Win
There’s a mostly-written motion still up on my office computer screen. When I finally close the file, I’m going to try not to read it. It will just make me angry. My client’s case was dismissed on Friday, but there were strings attached. He agreed to a $200.00 forfeited collateral on a new citation in exchange for a complete dismissal of his federal criminal case. Compared to a lot of defendants, the result was great. In most cases, I’d be happy. This case is a little different. It shouldn’t have been charged in the first place. The statute containing his supposed violation is so broad it could mean almost anything. I might be violating it by writing this post, and you could be violating … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients
Tips for Finding a Pro Bono Lawyer
In 2012, I spent hundreds of hours doing pro bono work. I will likely do as much if not more in 2013. Many of my greatest successes, and also a few of my biggest frustrations, came from cases I agreed to handle free of charge. I’ve learned some important lessons along the way. If you’re hoping to find pro bono representation, let me give you a few pointers. First, I can’t help you with your New Jersey case. I don’t know what the hell is happening in New Jersey, but I couldn’t improve my pro bono Google juice in New Jersey if I tried. Your New Jersey case may be fascinating, and it may be just the sort of thing I’d be willing to do … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients
Commodities
A while back, Chicago lawyer Kevin Case wrote a fascinating article about the commoditization of symphony orchestra musicians. He describes the lamentable fact that many managers in the arts world view artists as faceless, interchangeable parts of a big machine instead of the uniquely talented individuals they are. It isn’t just a problem in the music world. I regularly get emails about the next big thing in lawyer marketing. People only find lawyers on the internet, I hear. They use search terms I’d never expect or go to sites I’ve never heard of. Old-timers clinging to antiquated marketing ideas are supposedly destined for failure, so lawyers must adapt. We’ve been commoditized, and we’re being traded primarily on the internet. Those of us who don’t … Read entire article »
Great Expectations
Part of my fee agreement explains how my fee in each case is based in part on a variety of considerations, one of which is the expectations of the client. Many of the other listed factors, like the urgency of the matter and the necessity of declining other work, once seemed far more important to me. Over time, they have come to pale in comparison with client expectations. For the client who wants to walk, beating the main charge but being convicted of a lesser is a massive disappointment. It doesn’t matter if they’re avoiding a murder conviction in favor of a lesser charge or just beating the part of the DUI charge that would have made it a felony. Any conviction is a failure. It’s the same … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients
Dumb Luck
Jordan Rushie, one of the Fishtown Lawyers who writes the Philly Law Blog, put up a post yesterday about bringing in clients. These were his thoughts about craigslist: Do you really think we would put up a free Craigslist ad? That’s for losers, and it will never ever happen. Period. Why? Because it’s undignified, that’s why. And yes, you are a total loser if you’re putting up free classified ads for legal services on Craigslist. I don’t care if it resulted in a client or two. Rather than hijack his post with a rambling comment, I figured I’d share my experience posting on craigslist. Let me tell you a story. The year was 2007. I had no money, so I was working one weekend and thought I would put up … Read entire article »
Rejection
If you haven’t experienced rejection, you are either delusional, or you haven’t been doing anything worthwhile. Rejection is an integral part of life well-lived. You can’t be everything to everyone, and someone is bound to be looking for something else. It’s just as true in your professional life as it is in your personal life. If you’re smart, you deal with it and learn from it. I got a little bit of rejection recently. It’s nothing special, really. I fought hard for a client, and despite the results I achieved, they ended up switching lawyers before the real battle started. Although it’s nothing new, it still stung. I thought I had built a relationship. I cared about the client and his family, … Read entire article »
An Opportunity for Hassle
When a door closes, a window opens. There is no word for crisis in Chinese, just danger plus opportunity. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. One man’s [insert bad thing here] is another man’s opportunity. Screw this, I give up. The saying I’m actually going for is something to the effect of this: sometimes opportunities are better left un-seized. No good? Oh well, good thing I didn’t quit my day job to become an motivational speaker. I think I’ll just defer to Thomas Edison, who is rumored to have said something about how most people miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work. I’m writing this because after I wrote about a potential new client’s family asking a question that removed … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients
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