Economic hardship has impacted every facet of life – and that is also true for law firms (yes, I know you find that hard to believe, but they are experiencing layoffs as well).  One law firm has stepped up, listened to their clients, and answered a need clients were complaining about.

I read an impressive story that will be published in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s latest edition. Foley and Lardner, LLP, raised the bar in client satisfaction, and erased the biggest fear of anyone who is thinking of hiring a lawyer.

That fear is about receiving a bill for more than they expected in legal fees.

Its a universal problem – people don’t hire lawyers even when they should, because they do not believe they can afford to.  It’s not just the initial retainer, it’s the fear that once the attorney is retained for a matter, the bill becomes an unknown quantity – a day to day worry that they may have a second legal issue to deal with when they can’t afford to pay their lawyer.

Foley and Lardner, LLP get an A+ in client care, because they LISTENED to their clients, and answered their concern.

In fact, they may create a World Wide Rave as defined by David Meerman Scott in his book of that title.  They gave up control to the client – Rule 3 of the Rave!!   When it comes to billing and budgeting of legal matters, they have successfully taken away the fear of  that big ulgy surprise when their clients open the envelope containing their legal bill every month.

In response to client concerns (this is a concern of ANYONE who hires a lawer for ANY legal matter),  they developed a proprietary software system, part of which allows clients of all 1000 of the lawyers in the firm to interactively share real-time billing information and keep their legal matter on a budget.  Clients can go online anytime and see trending in the billable hours by their lawyer,  and make contact to discuss options for their case BEFORE they go over budget and have yet another legal matter to deal with.

The full story was reported in the Wall Street Journal on Jan 5, 2010.

To be honest, this system does more than just allow the client to manage their legal bills and budget, and that is why it cost $1 Million to put in place.  However, this is a true investment in the firm.  It serves as a management tool, as a client communication tool and as a marketing tool to attract new business!

Smaller firms will say they can’t afford $1Million investment to do the same thing.  They don’t have to.  Small firms can do the same thing, very easily, using much simpler tools.  The real question has always been:  will they come out from behind the curtain on fees and allow the client control?  Will they allow the client to speak honestly and hold them to a budget the client can afford?  If they are smart, they surely will do that – and reap the rewards of (a) honest communications with their clients; and (b) growth of their law practices.

The bar has been raised – let’s see if a precedent in billing practices has now been set,  and which lawyers and law firms creatively  rise to the occasion!

Makes TOTAL sense to me now, thanks Steve Forbes.  I appreciate your honesty, seriously!  You are not just a conservative Republican, you might be one of the few who are willing to stand up and tell the truth about it, and for that I truly admire you.

Good Lord – so, Mr. Forbes lays the blame at the feet of the Government [exactly where I thought it started]  who approved the Fed Reserve’s decision to begin to print lots of cash in 2003, [interesting date, wasn't that when the big battle started for re-election?  Why yes, I believe it would have been] and tosses it into the economy, changing the ‘rules of the road’.  Everything gets out of control and goes sideways.  Greed runs rampant,  pockets are not big enough to carry home all the available cash each week.

However, things are so good, everyone thinks it can never end!  BUT!  Once Bush won re-election, this wild printing party simply continued [let the good times roll!] and ultimately caused destabilizing of the markets.  Investors left the commodities markets, and everyone runs for the real estate market – creating the boom, or the bubble, or as I love to call it the big catastrophe! which is subsequently marked first by the collapse of Bear Stearns – who is rescued; then made worse by a bad decision 48 hours later to allow Lehman Brothers to fold.  Hindsight indicates that was a REALLY bad decision.

Realizing the mistake, they panic and appropriate the big stimulus bucks!  Then they then save the next one in line, and so on, and so on. They scramble to get as much cash as they can to throw it on the fire and try to put it out.    [How convenient that they decide to throw money at the problem just as they are running out of the White House, with the full knowledge they have not only  just destroyed OUR U.S. economy, but also the World Economy ~ who has been busy lending us money hand over fist and buying these bundled mortgages that are guaranteed to fail].

By the time Obama is elected, he is right in the middle of an economic crisis that rivals the Great Depression, with the same type of hecklers!

Well President Obama, I give you a round of applause for staying cool in the VERY worst of times, NONE OF WHICH YOU CREATED!

I appreciate your sound decisions and work to keep us from being eaten alive by the rest of the world.  As much as we are blissfully unaware of how really terrible this has been, I have to say things have sucked quite a bit, but not as much as they could have.  For that, I also say THANK YOU!

However my biggest thanks is for you seeing the opportunity to create great change that can be long lasting – and fighting back against your opponents for what is right for  WE THE PEOPLE!

Ok, anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows how much I LOVE technology.  Making people look at me like I have three heads is actually fun, and sort of a talent I have built a lot of skills around the last 10 years….

Every once in a while thought, I get totally blown away by some technology I find!  This morning is one of those times!  I just have to share…

We were having storms come in from the Gulf around 5am.  It woke me up.  I have what I endearingly call “Barometer Head”.  No, it’s not contagious!  What it means is that when storms are closing in, my head feels like it is going to explode.  When it gets drier (like in the Fall or Winter here) it feels light and like it may cave in.  It’s not a fun feeling when you live in the TROPICS, but eventually I have grown used to it and may even be able to turn it into a tourist business when I get older….now that I am in college pursuing a degree in Internet Marketing, I could sell it to hotels along the beach using mobile technology for their guests.

LOL….I DIGRESS!

So, I am one of those coastal freaks who looks up the weather map on line to see what is in store.  Must be because we lose power so much of the time when we get a good rainstorm and with so much expensive equipment in our house that is tormented by electrical surgest and outtages, I like to be very careful (this is when Barometer Head comes in handy!).  So, right after I woke up this morning, I was online checking it again.

Now, our local website has put in a whole new “interactive” weather map that I have played with before — with much frustration…. because I am like a bull in a China store with my touch pad and one minute I am looking at the west coast of Florida – the next I am on the east coast of Africa, all because I drew my fingers across the touch pad accidentally. ARGH!  I was more delicate for some reason this morning and was able to drill this map down to street level!  At one point, it had stopped raining over me, but was still raining at the end of my street!!

Heck, with information like that imagine what I could do – it would almost be like those carnival psychics….I could go all folklore with the ‘barometer head’ and use my iPhone to drill down to the street level right in front of a particular hotel and then report my findings – which would always be accurate.  LOL OK! OK!! I am not going to really do that, but come on, it’s 5am!!

Here is a caption of what I saw.  I took it up a bit from street level so I would get a two color dimension on the rainfall. I had to wait until it slowed down at 6:59am so I could get some variations, we were all red for a long time there…

Interactive Weather Map - West Central FLorida 09-12-09

I was in light rainfall (green), while only THREE STREETS away, they were in medium (yellow) rainfall…and 11 streets south it was POURING (red).

If I were traveling, I would head north to get off the beach to the mainland! LOL  How do I know?  Because I brought it up a few notches to get a better/wider view…..

Interactive Weather GEO Mapping of West Central Florida 09-12-09-2

As you can tell by the color codes, heading SOUTH is a bad idea.. but the good news is that it’s light rain off the coast (light green) as opposed to a bank of severe rain (red), like what woke me up.

Cool!  I can leave and go get a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte from my favorite Starbucks on the mainland, after all, I am now fully awake and excited about the possiblities of this new interactive radar, especially for more severe storms and potentially any hurricanes; but more so for my new business idea!  LOL

Wanting to know how much time I had to make this Starbucks run, I widened it again, and found out there is more coming, but I have plenty of time to get my treat and head back home before it gets here…it also looks like my friends in Orlando area are high and dry – for now, anyway!

Peace, Love, I’m out!  After all, once i get my coffee, I did promise you a full report on Florida’s Choice Health Care program so the truth is known.  I have charts to do and a story to write —right after i get that Pumpkin Spice (10,000 calorie/only meal of the day) Latte!  Look for the story later…right before I go to the Obama HealthCare Reform Bus Tour in Tampa this afternoon!

Yeah, yeah, no! no!!! I am not so much politically inclined, as I am just a firm believer and Evangelist that Health Care should be a RIGHT not a privilege!

I am watching the local news tonight (Tampa Bay FL).  I was just listening to the local stories about last night’s Healthcare Reform Speech.

They interviewed Charlie Crist, our Governor, about  it.  What he said was ridiculous!  He suggested  that the government should look at Florida’s Healthcare Option program and learn something from it.

My ONLY response to his statement is this:

YOU SURELY HAVE TO BE KIDDING GOVERNOR CRIST!!!

Wow.  He makes the statement to the press and walks away.  Not me!

Tomorrow’s post is going to be entirely about this crazy “Florida’s Choice” program for the uninsured….we will expose the REAL numbers and prove that the uninsured of our fine State will STAY UNINSURED BECAUSE of Governor Crist’s lame Florida plan!

Be sure to check back for the breakdown tomorrow.  I had high hopes when this plan was announced for Florida…until I ran the numbers… and the truth sunk in….then I was just disgusted by the sheer B.S. of it all!