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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
[email protected] 202-297-6100