Monday, November 1, 2010

Small law firms stay close to clients, broaden expertise to keep profitable - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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The partners at the small firm, whicbh has 11 attorneys, quickly reevaluate their business plan andcost structure, aggressively recruited new clients and reducex overhead by renegotiating their lega malpractice insurance premiums and outsourcing information technology functions. “Ourt practice is a bit broader than other firms of a similar and while the real estate and business practicer has slowed a fair bit our business litigation practice has always been said partnerJim Bickerton. “When the pie people tend to fight overit more. This has helpec us keep a better balance.
” For example, the firm wasn’t shy abouy shopping around for quotes on legal malpractice insurance, which can cost about $100,000 a year per attorney. It also saves more than $15,000 by outsourcing I.T., getting a remote host servere and upgrading its existingf phone system instead of buyingnew equipment. Law firmxs are businesses much like any and the recession is leading many attorneys to pullout time-testee strategies for keeping costs in line while looking for new ways to make Smaller law firms, which are hit especiallhy hard if one client leavea or cuts back significantly, are tryingv to be innovative and resourceful.
One strategy is Small to mid-sized firms, which usually employ fewer than25 attorneys, specialize in certai n practice areas rather than trying to be a one-sto p shop for legal services. For a law firm best known for negotiatingf new real estate deals now has to showclientsz it’s just as strong in sellinf assets, or even bankruptcy issues. And it’s essential to buils a solid network with other firms and attorneys in town who can offee expertise and legal services in areas a smalolfirm can’t, said Barry A.
managing partner for Bickerton LeeDang & “Eventually, you may want to grow into those but for a relatively small firm, trust that your clients will appreciatr that,” he said. Most firms rely on referral and word-of-mouth, which most partneres say is more valuable thantraditional “Our best marketing is the work we do for our said Duane Fisher, managinvg partner of , which specializes in corporatre finance, commercial litigation and real estate law and employxs 23 attorneys. “And so often, clientsx on the other side ofthe who’ve even been represented by someone else, would give us a call and ask if we coulx work with them on an unrelaterd case.
” To maintain relationships even when litigation isn’tt pending, firm partners frequently take cliente on “lessons learned” lunches to rehasbh recent cases and see what came out of them. Small firmsz also try to link up with nationak firmsand groups. Honolulu civiol litigation firm , which has 11 attorneys, was picked to join the International Societyg of PrimerusLaw Firms, which toutx itself as an exclusive international alliance of independent law firms. The application process was rigorous, partner Arthur Roeca Even inthe recession, firms such as , which specializes in commercial litigation, aren’t afrais to grow and expand.
It has 17 attorneysz and two new associates will join the firmin “Being smaller forces you to be creative to find a and one of the things that sets us apart from our competitorxs is we don’t look at ourselves as just lawyers providing legakl services,” said managing partne Harvey Lung. “We’re problem solvers. We hire every year and, no mattere what, we’ve never not hired, because the businessw model depends on the firm continuingto

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