How Estate Planning Attorneys Can Get Paid Faster

One of the areas that attorneys have told us that they struggle with is getting paid in a reasonable time. Some attorneys have told us it takes them a couple of months to get their estate planning clients back into their office for signing and to get paid. This doesn’t have to be the case. Even if you are getting your clients back sooner than a couple of months you should watch the video on how to get paid faster.

In the video you will..

  • Learn about how the engagement letter effects your ability to get paid.
  • Learn about what type of credit card processing company you should be using.
  • Learn how to get the most out of sending your drafts to your clients.

To learn more about the Practical Planning System CLICK HERE

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Lessons Learned from Joseph Flom and Outliers Book

This past week I read, well I listened on audible, the book by Malcolm Gladwell “Outliers”. I loved the book so much I created a video about what I learned. Hint it will change the way you look at your practice.

Here are my three take a ways:

  1. You need practice to perfect your craft
  2. Each of us has talents we can use to help us grow our businesses and practices
  3. Surround yourself with good people

Link to Andrew Bolson’s blog post on Lessons From an Outlier

http://rmfmclaw.com/wdpr/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/bolson-learn-from-story-joe-flom-njlawjournal-8-2013.pdf

Here is a link to the Outliers book on Amazon.
Outliers: The Story of Success

Or you can subscribe to Audible like I do with the link below and get two free books.
Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

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Efficiency v. Effectiveness: There is a Difference

I have a confession. I always thought that if I was being efficient that I was also being effective. But last month I learned that there is a difference between being efficient and being effective.

It started when I had a chance to visit the Toyota car plant in Kentucky last month and watched the people on the assembly line. Over the past year I immersed myself in studying the Toyota Production System (TPS) and I got the opportunity to see it in action.

As I watched the people on the assembly line something stood out to me. The people on the assembly line did not seem to be rushed for time. They certainly had a job to do, but they focused more on being effective not necessarily speedy.  Plus, they let their tools work for them instead of letting the tools replace the people.

That day I learned that what I need to focus on is helping law firms be more effective.  To me being effective means that the people doing the job are focused on what really matters. You can be efficient at something, but if that something that doesn’t add value to your clients then why even do that task.  Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to be efficient that we forget to take a step back and see if we are being effective.

Our desire is to focus on how to help law firms be more effective.  We will also be developing new products beyond just Document Automation to help law firms get to what matters most by being more effective.

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REAL Automation Solutions is hiring

We are helping firms succeed every day. If you know someone who is a great technology paralegal, please forward this email message to them.

  • The position we are hiring for is a Technology Paralegal. This person will help in the following areas;
  • Coordinate our 3 Point Document Automation Promise to ensure our clients are meeting their goals.
  • Test our client’s documents to ensure that we are getting to our goal of zero errors in documents.
  • Install automated documents on client’s computers.
  • Work with clients to ensure their documents are ready for automation.
  • Help with the client implementation of our Client Hub online interview.

Requirements

  • This is a 30 hour a week position.
  • This person should be based in Utah near Salt Lake City and will be a remote team member to start.
  • Solid understanding of technology.
  • Ability to implement IF THEN logic within projects.

If you are interested in this position, please submit a cover letter and resume to me at kmayberry@realautomators.com.

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Why We Love Document Automation

Over 18 years ago, my wife and I fell in love with document automation. We love what it can do for firms.

It all started when my wife, Liz, took a class in law school on how to automate documents in HotDocs. She later went on to work as a trainer and consultant. Then, in 1998, my wife formed her own HotDocs consulting company.

Why was she drawn to document automation? Back then it had to do with the simple fact that it saves time and reduces errors.

So if you could cut in half the time it takes for document preparation time, what would you or your staff do with that free time?

We guarantee through our 3 Point Promise that you will get results and cut your document preparation time in half. Our 3 Point Promise is:

  • You will reduce your document preparation time by at least half.
  • You will reduce the number of errors in your documents by at least half.
  • We will ensure that your staff is trained on how to get the above results.

We know that unless you see the results that you are looking for and get a return on your investment, there is no reason to undertake a document automation project. This is why we are passionate about helping you create a baseline of how long it takes to create your documents before automation and after automation.

During the initial 30 minute meeting at your office, we will go through the process and show you how to track time to create a baseline. Once the data is entered into our system, we can then create a report that shows you how much time you are currently taking and how much time it will take after document automation.

Contact us today to schedule your consultation.

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Tracking Your Client’s Work

Over the years I’ve had a number of conversations with attorneys about how they track their clients. Most of them feel that having a software package like Clio, Time Matters, or Amicus would help solve the problem. Up until the past few months I would have agreed that a client management software is the best way to handle tracking a client’s work.

Until I had a conversation with Jeff. He is an attorney I’ve known for over 7 years. I was talking to him back in January about how he tracks the work for his clients. He said that he has a board in his office that he uses. He has looked at other ways to do it but none have worked as well.

Then a couple of months ago I got the opportunity to take a tour of one of the Nationwide Insurance IT departments. The department that I visited spends about $500 million a year. A company that has that much money to spend would most certainly be using a sophisticated tracking software that is far superior to what Clio and other client management software can do, right?

Nope, they are using visual management for all of the tracking that is done.

I still believe in client management software. Beyond tracking what needs to be done it provides a superior way to handle other necessary tasks. But when it comes to tracking tasks for clients, I now believe that there is a better way to handle it. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

Since that time our company has implemented our own Visual Management System and I have had a chance to help one of our clients implement it in his office. I called him up a few weeks after I helped him implement it. He told me that it has helped him better understand what needs to be done next, his desk has stayed cleaner, and he has been able to bring in more clients because he is more organized.

So how do you start?

Here is a picture of Visual Management System that I created to show you what I mean. On it you can see what is done and what the next step is. Everyone one else can also see what needs to be done.

IMG_0578-2

 

The key to having a successful Visual Management System is to have a process in place that ensures it is updated as tasks are completed.  If you would like to talk about the needs in your office, please call us at 801-766-3183.

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Finding a Problem to Your Solution

Last month I had a chance to exhibit at the Association of Legal Administrators. I had a great time meeting a bunch of people. One topic came up a number of times during the conference with the people I spoke to. They talked to me about how other projects they have implemented didn’t seem to have the impact that they had anticipated having. Then others were telling me about the upcoming projects that they were doing.

In each of these cases I realized that sometimes we go straight to the solution without understanding what problem we are trying to solve. And by going straight to the solution we end up not really solving anything because we didn’t know what we were trying to solve. I know that I’ve been guilty of this before.

I heard a quote from Albert Einstein once which goes something like, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes thinking about what the problem is and 5 minutes coming up with the solution.”

I have found that sometimes we tend to jump to a solution before understanding the problem. It is like we create a solution and try to come up with a problem that the solution solves. This is why I’ve seen many technology initiatives fail in law firms. They don’t always understand what the problem is first or what problem they are trying to solve for their clients.

Once we know what the root of the problem is then we can come up with the right solution. If you are interested in talking through what problem you are trying to solve, let me know. I’m good at helping people figure out the root of the problem. You can contact me by phone at 801-766-3183.

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Pathway to Success Step 5 – Innovation

You probably already hear a lot of talk about innovation.  And it probably sounds something like. “You need to innovate in your law firm or you will be left behind.”  My guess is that when you hear this you wonder what innovation is. You probably also think, “Everything has been working for our firm so far. Why change?”

So what is innovation?  When I think of innovation it’s about how to solve problems and the process that you go through to solve those problems.  In order to solve a problem and innovate you first need to determine what problem you are trying to solve. Once you know what the problem is then you can follow the rest of the Pathway to Success model by Testing, Understanding, and Doing.

Think about what Thomas Edison went through as he was trying to solve the problem of how to create a better way to light a building. He decided to create a light bulb. You may not be aware, but it took him 10,000 different designs before he finally got one that worked.  He followed the Test, Understand, and Do model, which will I will talk more about in the coming weeks.

You might be wondering whether you need to innovate at all in your law firm. I strongly agree that you need to innovate in your law firm. The reason is that there are signs in the legal market place that are showing that staying with the current way of running a law firm will likely not work 5 to 10 years from now.

Here are some of the things I see happening.

  • There is real movement towards the communization of legal services.  Firms that work with corporate clients are starting to see this. Gone are the days where you if you are the only firm in town that you are the only option. With the internet and with companies looking at ways to save money, we are seeing a trend of companies willing to shop around for legal services.
  • The internet has changed how your potential clients find information. We now live in a DIY world where you can find anything you want to find on the internet.  Studies are showing that the middle class is using law firms less than they used to.

Now is the time to start innovating before it’s too late and your competition has already passed you.  If you would like more help in understanding how to innovate in your firm or if you have an idea that you want to put into practice, call us at (801) 766-3183 and we can work with you on your next innovation project.

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Pathway to Success Step 4– Teamwork

A couple weeks ago, I was at the Association of Legal Administrators conference.  On a number of occasions I heard about the topic of silos and individuals when discussing what is happening in law firms.  I’ve also seen this in many of the law firms that I’ve visited with over the past 10 years.

Consequently, as I have developed the Pathway to Success model for achieving goals I purposely put the word teamwork into the template.  Here is what I picture as the ideal team and how it would work in a law firm.

Maybe the place to start is looking at why working as a team matters.  Well, studies over the past several years have shown that people who work as team are able to accomplish more than those who work individually. I find that when a firm is working in silos and its focus is on the individual, ideas are not shared, and problems that are happening don’t get addressed.

This is because everyone is more concerned about their own work, leadership and training of other people in the firm doesn’t happen, and the list could go on. But you get the point.

Developing a team mentality will help your firm achieve your goals.  When teams work together problems can be solved, ideas are shared, associates are mentored, paralegals get all of the information they need to do their jobs, and so on.  Each of these has an outcome that leads to higher productivity and greater profitability.

So next time you think about what your practice should look like consider the benefits of having a team working together to achieve your goals.

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Pathway to Success Step 3 – Alignment

You may be asking what alignment has to do with achieving goals and being successful in your practice. The answer is that alignment is a key component to success. Let me describe for you what alignment means.

Alignment occurs when your goals adhere to what you say you’re doing. For example, if your firm says that you are family-friendly, then you need to act family-friendly. You also need to define what family-friendly means.

Does it mean that your team can take a break from work and go see a school play? Does it mean that you only work so many hours in a day and that’s how you are structured? You need to define what you say your culture is and ensure that your actions are in alignment with that culture.

The problem that we find, and this is the case not just in law firms, that a firm will say that it believes in one thing and then its actions don’t show they believe what they said.

The effect on your team when you are in alignment with what you say your culture is can be powerful. Alignment helps you retain your talent. It also makes it possible that your team will give you their best, because they know what your values are and they are able to agree with those values. Plus, this helps when you hire new people. They can discover what your firm’s culture really is so that the both of you can make a decision on if working there is the right fit.

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