$ 0

One, Two, Free! Endless Challenges and Infinite Opportunities for Lawyers When

Price Approaches Zero

@Carolyn Elefant, MyShingle.comMN Solo & Small Firm Conf. 2010

Cornell LII: One Lawyer’s Free Epiphany

Cornell LII circa 1995

Cornell LII 2010

Product/Yr. 1994 2010Legal Research LEXIS - $600/month, limited

searchGoogleLegal,

Fastcase:FREE

Conference Call ATT (via operator)

.50 cents/minute

Freeconferencecall: FREE

Call Forwarding Receptionist Service

($50-$100/month)

Google Voice: FREE

Fax $1/page send or receive Efax: FREE

Business Cards $125 for 250 cards VistaPrint: FREE

Email Not yet in wide circulation Gmail, Yahoo: FREE

LPM Tools @$500 for license for Amicus, PC Law, etc..

GoogleDocs, Zoho:FREE

Advertising $600/year (MH special!)

$250 - 1/4 page in paper

Yellow Pages $200/month)

Social media, blogs, DIY web presence:FREE

Court Documents, Legislation

.10-.25/page + trip to courthouse or Congress

Justia, Thomas.loc.gov:

FREE

Free =

Faster + Cheaper + Better

Free =

(expand)access to justice

So too, we may become its casualties.

Just as lawyers are the beneficiaries of free…

Free Wills

Free Contracts

Free Legal Research

Free Corporation

Free Copyright

H/T

Stages of Grief Over

FREE

No way! Technology can never replaceWhat lawyers do. (I’m a JD!)

A free will? You get what You pay for.

You get what you pay for…

but often that’s good enough

Yeah, let’s shut down Legal Zoom and depriveconsumers of the only choice they can afford.

Cloud computing and online legal services are

A danger to clients - we can’t allow that!

I spent $100k on a law degree and I’veBeen displaced by a computer program

That can do document review.

If Top 10 law grads are getting laid off, what Hope do I have for a future

In the law?

Well, maybe I’ll give away just a little bit, as longAs I can get paid for most of what I do.

They won’t buy the cow if you give away the milk for free

But if you don’t spill some milk they won’t even look at the cow

the faster that lawyers can accept the world as it is in the 21st century and not as it was in the 19th century, the better

Opportunity for Success= Function (Price)

When Price approaches 0, Opportunity = 0

Opportunity = Function (1/Price)

When Price approaches 0, Opportunity = 1/0 or

Opportunities are infinite!

8 Rules of

FREE

Rule #1:

Free is not a stand-alone business model. If you compete on price, you

will lose in a race to the bottom.

Rule #2:

If you give away time free, you won’t have any free time.

Leverage technology or expertise to keep marginal costs near zero.

Rule #3:

Use free as a strategic shortcut.

Examples of free as a shortcut: to get information to expedite preparation or strengthen a case

Rule #4: Use free to expand the pie and capture clients who

otherwise wouldn’t have hired a lawyer.

Examples: Free wills or LLCs for populations you want to attract. Free “diagnosis tools at website. Free annual review (with fee for resulting work).

Rule #5:

Make free addictive so that people will pay eventually!

Blogs, newsletters & client alerts

Hard to break the habit after law school!

Rule #6:

Increase the value of free by limiting it.

Examples: Limited time of year offer. Limited free consultations. Free coupon to paid client.

Rule #7:

Never forget that free thrills.

Free lunch with divorce.

Free flash drive for documents

Free books to explain case process.

Free tech help

Free password legacy service

Free apps

Rule #8:

Free doesn’t mean free from liability.

Consult applicable ethics rules and malpractice carrier. Use disclaimers if

needed.

The Future of

FREE

Can lawyers push free too far?

Free support groups for victims?

Work free, sell client data to subsidize free service (with client consent)?

Keep an eye on the UK Legal Services Act, effective Jan.2011

FREE =

Abundance. Possibility.

Access to Justice.

Contact: Carolyn Elefant, MyShingle.com

Carolyn@carolynelefant.com 202-297-6100