Lawyers as Business Advisors

Lawyers have become so myopic that they often forget how much knowledge, information and expertise they really have. We get to see the inside guts of so many companies. We see were companies succeed and fail. Too often, we focus only on the legal problems without expanding our efforts to understand the business process that allowed those problems to happen. We have been talking a lot recently about value billing. Really, we have been talking a lot about value. The word "billing" gets tagged on in order to describe one aspect of what value-based law firms provide.

Many lawyers are well equipped to add value on the legal and business side of company problems. Those lawyers should remember to sell problem solving on the back-end and front-end as part of their overall solution.

For instance, a client refers to you a number of large receivables on corporate accounts. The receivables are over 180 days past due. Sure, the lawyer can send a threat letter and file litigation in order to collect that debt. A better lawyer would also dig into the process which allowed that debt to exist in the first place.

We offer legal and business solutions to our clients. Because of our technology background, we are able to show clients how to use technology to improve and document their internal process. I can tell you from experience that clients see a lot more value in the preventative services we offer, then the corrective services. Improving a client's /customer’s internal process provides real tangible results in which preclude problems from arising in the first place.

Sure, lawyers are good problem solvers. But a great lawyer will help his/her client from experiencing the problem in the first place.

Is your firm acting as a business advisor to your customers?

Comments

[Jeff]

I think this combined with the value billing are both worth more serious investigation. How would a mock conversation about value added billing go? What sort of structure would be presented? Does a client determine the value, and thereby the bill, or does the client determine the value, and the lawyer determines how much it will cost to get that kind of value? Or are we just talking about billing only for those things that add value?

[Jeff]

I think this combined with the value billing are both worth more serious investigation. How would a mock conversation about value added billing go? What sort of structure would be presented? Does a client determine the value, and thereby the bill, or does the client determine the value, and the lawyer determines how much it will cost to get that kind of value? Or are we just talking about billing only for those things that add value?

[Jeff]

I think this combined with the value billing are both worth more serious investigation. How would a mock conversation about value added billing go? What sort of structure would be presented? Does a client determine the value, and thereby the bill, or does the client determine the value, and the lawyer determines how much it will cost to get that kind of value? Or are we just talking about billing only for those things that add value?