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In today’s legal industry, we are surrounded by new technology and new ways to communicate with our clients. We market law firms online, communicate with clients via secure online portals, network through social media, create our websites for easy viewing on mobile devices, and even file court documents online. On the other hand, most attorneys are still entering into agreements on paper with the majority of their contracts. Attorneys utilize a printer, ink pen, scanner and email for most contracts, while they still meet in person to exchange and sign more important agreements. In most situations, however, is all of this printing, signing, copying, and scanning necessary?

The answer is likely “no” since the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) was passed over a decade ago and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) has been adopted by 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These acts facilitate electronic commerce and the use of electronic records and signatures by ensuring the validity and legal effect of contracts entered into electronically.

With these laws in place, which lay out the signature and identification requirements necessary to validate a person’s signature, electronic signatures are in most cases recognized as being equally valid as handwritten signatures, as long as the agreements do not include terms that are unconscionable or against public policy. That means that click-wrap agreements and signatures could become as prevalent as traditional handwritten signatures and paper documents for many agreements created by attorneys and businesses. Not only do changes in law lean in favor of electronically signed contracts, electronic signatures combined with software and internet services offer a few benefits that are not available during traditional contract signing procedures:

• Electronic signatures and click-wrap agreements save paper since there is no need to print the agreement, and web-based platforms allow all parties and their attorneys to view the same agreement as it is saved in your virtual law office or online document storage website.
• Contracts can be accessed anywhere the internet is available, and there is no need to find a printer, scanner or fax machine. That means contracts can be accessed virtually anywhere, in the office, at home, from a laptop on vacation, and other places where printers, scanners and fax machines may not be readily available.
• Because parties do not have to take the added steps of printing, signing, scanning and faxing, electronic signatures and click-wrap agreements speed up the contracting process.
• With the advancement of security in SaaS (Software as a Service) products, electronic signatures and click-wrap agreements can help parties protect privacy. Instead of leaving a private agreement out on a table where wandering eyes may find it, web-based contracts can be stored on password protected sites that are accessible only to parties with the correct passwords and credentials.

Does your virtual law office or traditional law firm create electronic contracts? If so, what types of contracts do you think work best with e-signatures or click-wrap agreements?

Guest post by Rjon Robins

Back when I was first starting my own law firm I had a client come to me for help starting his own restaurant. He was a great chef, but he had no experience and undertook no training in the marketing or managing of a restaurant. He was “just” a great chef.

Against my counsel he went ahead and opened his restaurant anyway, with predictably bad results.

Years were subsequently wasted learning expensive and embarrassing lessons the hard way. That cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in terms of both opportunity costs and working capital. Too many hours in the restaurant, struggling to reinvent the administrative wheel took all the joy out of his business; and distractions caused by easily avoidable “emergencies” prevented him from being able to spot market trends and marketing opportunities.

Consequently, my chef client was always playing catch-up with other restaurants whose chef-owners were not nearly as talented as he. But they invested the time, before and after, opening their businesses to learn what they never learned at culinary institute about the business side of the restaurant industry. And that made all the difference.

So the lesson for all of us is that it takes more than being a great chef to start, market and effectively manage a successful restaurant. Just like it takes more than being a great lawyer to start, market and manage a successful law firm.There is simply a body of knowledge, “Truths” if you will, about the business side of the legal industry that one does not acquire through talent or by virtue being smart.

The First Important Truth they didn’t teach you back in law school is this: What they taught us back in law school was how to think like a lawyer, not how to manage the business of a law firm.“Some Assembly Required” is NOT stamped on the back of our JD diplomas, but it should be. Just being aware of this gap-in-knowledge can make a huge difference to any lawyer who decides (or decided) to start a law practice.

Important Truth # 2: What’s the business of a law firm? The business of a restaurant is to sell food.To the extent the restaurant is well managed it will be able to sell food at a profit. >McDonalds, TGIFriday’s, your favorite bistro. Obviously they all pursue different pricing, service and delivery strategies. But at the end of the day, they’re all in the business of selling food. The business of a law firm, at the end of the day, is to sell legal services.

Important Truth # 3 What’s the job of a lawyer in a law firm? “Too many cooks in the kitchen”. That’s not just a cliché. Most restaurants fail because there are too many cooks in the kitchen and no one paying attention to everything else that must happen in order to run a successful restaurant.

Your law firm, my law firm, every law firm has the following positions on staff and don’t you forget it: Receptionist, Secretary, Paralegal, Associate, Rainmaker, Manager and Owner. Imagine being a customer in a restaurant with only a great chef on-duty, but no one to take your order, no one to bring you your food or even pay the purveyor’s bill to be sure the chef has fresh ingredients to work with. Pay attention to which job you do every week. And for how many hours you do each of those jobs. We can often slash the number of hours a lawyer must spend in the office each week just by paying attention to which and how those “other” jobs are being performed.

You didn’t have as much fun being a lawyer as you’d always imagined it would be, and if you’re falling short of your revenue goals, chances are you spent too much of your time that week doing the jobs of receptionist, secretary and to a lesser-extent paralegal.

Action Plan To Improve Your Practice Right Away:

• Define the jobs of receptionist, secretary, paralegal, associate, rainmaker, manager and owner.
• Pay attention to how many hours you spend every day, doing which jobs.
• Total up the hours at the end of the week, and compare that to revenues and your overall mood. You’ll see the connection.

Last week, on Above the Law, I read about a third-year law student who took a different approach to the job search. Instead of reading job sites to find the perfect job match for his personality, resume and interests, he posted an ad on Craigslist seeking employers who matched his criteria for a perfect boss. Many people who read the ad scoffed at this 3L and accused him of having a bad attitude or a false sense of entitlement. In addition, many people suggested that he would never find a job as an attorney and that he would end up bagging groceries or worse. This week, Above the Law reported that this choosy jobseeker has an interview this week.

While most solo attorneys are probably not looking for a new boss, I often hear solo attorneys complain about finding the right type of client when they market their law practice. Similar to a law student who blindly sends his resume to every firm with an opening, these attorneys often cast a wider than necessary net with their attorney marketing efforts: They list themselves as general practice attorneys instead of focusing their practice; they put ads anywhere and everywhere rather than choosing a targeted market; they fail to define their niche on their website, blog and social media pages; and they forget to lay out their personal ground rules when interviewing new clients and creating retainer agreements.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to discuss ways attorneys can target the right kinds of clients for their law practices, but this week I have a little homework for attorneys who read this blog: Write down your top 5 to 10 requirements for the perfect client and post them in the comments section.

Next week, I will use your comments and find ways for you to incorporate your client requirements into your legal marketing and client retention efforts so that you can attract the types of clients you want and avoid the problem clients we discussed last week.

You probably spent a lot of time writing, reading and proofreading papers in law school. As an attorney, you know that sending out or filing a document with the wrong date, time, phone number, names or dollar amount can cause big problems for your law practice. While most law students and attorneys know that proofreading is important, their proofreading method relies on a flawed process: repeatedly reading and editing the same document over and over and over again until they are either bored to tears or printing the final copy minutes before deadline.

Today, I read a tip that can help you when you are trying to proofread your next court document, letter or contract: After you have finished your draft, stick a colored transparency over the paper or your computer screen, and reread the document. This will help you find mistakes that your eyes might miss if you just read black words in a standard font on a white background.

When we try to proofread our own writing, we see and process the same story multiple times. During that process, we tend to skip words, rush through text, tire from the tedious task and allow our brain to fill in gaps and mistakes with words we expect to see on the page. By changing the familiar appearance of a document, our tired, nonobjective eyes and brain can be tricked into thinking they are looking at something new. Because the document seems new and different, it will be easier to increase attention to detail.

This logic is not limited to using a tinted transparency. You can also try changing the font style, printing a draft on colored or textured paper, or altering the format. You can even throw on a pair of tinted glasses. Just do anything that makes your document look different from the original draft.

What other ways can you benefit from a simple change in appearances or perspective to improve your law practice?

Last week, I talked about problem clients and ways that these clients can take a toll on your life and your law firm’s bottom line. In addition, I went over a few of the characteristics of problem clients and the telltale signs that it may be time to cut them loose. This week, I want to talk to you about the right way to terminate representation with a problem client:

• Avoid the urge to give your problem client a piece of your mind. Instead, terminate services in a delicate and polite manner. This is not the time to list your client’s faults; this is the time to rid yourself of a bad client.

• Help the client move on. Refund fees, organize the client’s file and make yourself available to the next lawyer. By making it easy for the client to move on to a new attorney, you will keep the client calm and avoid further conflicts or malpractice claims down the road.

• Follow the rules. Rule 1.16(b) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct has been adopted by most jurisdictions. These rules allow a lawyer to withdraw from representation if (1) withdrawal can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client; (2) the client persists in a course of action involving the lawyer's services that the lawyer reasonably believes is criminal or fraudulent; (3) the client has used the lawyer's services to perpetrate a crime or fraud; (4) the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement; (5) the client fails substantially to fulfill an obligation to the lawyer regarding the lawyer's services and has been given reasonable warning that the lawyer will withdraw unless the obligation is fulfilled; (6) the representation will result in an unreasonable financial burden on the lawyer or has been rendered unreasonably difficult by the client; or (7) other good cause for withdrawal exists.

• Don’t wait too long to withdraw representation. If you wait too long, you and your client will have invested a lot of time and money in the representation, and it will be difficult to terminate the attorney-client relationship on amiable terms. In addition, the longer the attorney-client relationship lasts, the more likely it will be difficult to withdraw without material adverse effect on the interests of the client.

It may seem counter-intuitive to fire a client when most attorneys are struggling to find new clients. While having more law firm clients usually brings in more money, a problem client can actually lower your law firm’s bottom line and take a toll on your quality of life and your ability to do work. After cutting problem clients loose, you will have more time and less stress so that you can focus on things that really matter: strengthening your current professional relationships, developing new legal marketing strategies to attract quality clients, networking with other attorneys and spending more time doing the things that you enjoy.

Here are a few characteristics of the type of client you should consider firing:

• Consistently ignores or refutes your legal advice
• Misses due dates for bills or fails to pay at all
• Constantly complains about your performance or other aspects of your professional relationship with the client
• Frequently ignores your phone calls, emails or other communications
• Fails to show up for scheduled appointments
• Interrupts your work with frequent phone calls or unexpected office visits

In addition to removing clients who show the characteristics above, you should not represent clients if representation of that client would put you in violation of the professional rules of misconduct or if representation would put you at risk for a malpractice claim, bar complaint or disqualification motion.

By removing problem clients, you will cut potential losses in your law firm and regain your sanity. If you choose to fire a client, you should try to do it in a way that delicately terminates the attorney-client relationship, and you must observe ethics and court rules. Check back next week for a few tips on how to properly terminate legal services with a problem client.

Today, I was reading a blog post on the things you should not do at a conference. It had a few really good tips that you can check out here, but I thought it would be good to give you a few tips on what your should do when you are trying to do some legal networking at a conference or other event:

• Do a little homework before you head to the event. Check out the schedule for a list of speakers, and try to reach out to them via their websites or LinkedIN before the event. Many times, speakers will be influential people who can help you meet the kind of people that will become valuable business contacts.
• When you get to the event, be sure to attend the presentations of the people you contacted before the conference. After the presentation, take the time to introduce yourself and give them your business card.
• Talk to the people sitting next to you. You don’t have to say something profound. A simple “hello” can get the ball rolling.
• Ask questions. Try not to lead by talking about yourself. Most people love to talk about themselves, so if you ask questions, the people you meet will be more likely to engage in a conversation.
• Put your phone down. Many people run to their phone or laptop during break time. Instead, use this time to introduce yourself to a few new people.
• Move around. If you have a tendency to cling to the first person you meet, try setting yourself a time limit or aim to meet a new person during each speaker or forum.
• Start the follow-up process before you leave the conference. I know that I just said to put the phone down, but if you manage your calendar on your phone, you should briefly pick it back up to schedule coffee or a phone call for a later date right there on the spot. Not only will this force you to follow through with the good contacts that you meet at the conference, it will give you an opportunity to cut the conversation short without seeming rude so you will have time to meet other people.
• When you get back to your office after the event, take all of the business cards you collected, put them in your address book and email or call to tell them you enjoyed meeting them and that you want to confirm plans to meet or talk again.
• After the initial follow-up, be sure to stay in touch. Networking is not just about collecting business cards or adding LinkedIN contacts. It is about building real relationships, and the only way to do this is by communicating regularly over time.

Join Total Attorneys this Thursday and Friday for our next Power Chat webinar and live phone call—The Science of Conversion: Turning Prospects into Clients. During these free sessions, Kevin Chern and Damon Cheronis will teach attorneys how to effectively track and analyze legal marketing and business development efforts for maximum return on investment. In addition, our presenters will discuss how to qualify and convert the prospects you really want as clients. These Power Chat sessions will equip you to not only convert prospects into paying clients, but also create a valuable and long-term relationship with those clients.

The first session will be on Thursday, May 20 at 11:00am CDT, and the second session will be on Friday, May 21 at 10:00am CDT. Sign up or learn more about Power Chat by visiting the Power Chat registration page. You may also send in questions for the presenters by messaging @TotalAnswers on Twitter or by emailing powerchat@totalattorneys.com.

Yesterday, I watched a video on TED, featuring Simon Sinek, the author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. In the video, Sinek explained his theory on what makes successful innovators and leaders.

In his Talk, Sinek describes what he calls the Golden Circle, which is basically a visualization of the way organizations and people communicate to others. The visualization is made of up three concentric circles with “why” at the center, “how” at the middle ring, and “what” at the outer ring.

According to Sinek, most people communicate from the “what” to the “why,” but he suggests that successful innovators and inspiring leaders communicate from the inside out. He gives a great example, using Apple:

If Apple communicated like everyone else, they may say this: “We make great computers. They are beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Wanna buy one?”

Instead, Apple communicates like this: “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Wanna buy one?”

Can you see the difference in these two examples? With his examples, Sinek tries to show that people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. In other words, people don’t do business with someone because that product or service provider has what the consumer needs; they do business with organizations and people who believe what they believe.

With Twitter, Facebook, blogs, webinars, phone apps, television, direct mail marketing and countless other outlets for legal advertising and communications, attorneys are marketing their services in more ways and in more places than ever. However, like most people, these attorneys tend to focus on the “what” – what services they provide, what documents they can create, what they can get for their clients, etc.

Maybe it is time for lawyers to start thinking more about the “why.” Why did you become a lawyer? Why did you start your own law firm? Why do you provide legal services? If you want to be the type of lawyer that stands out as a leader among the thousands of people offering similar legal services, the answer to these questions should be an answer that speaks not to what your clients want but instead to what your clients believe.