thought leadership
Convergence in a Buyers' Market? Whadya Stupid or Somethin?

In an attempt to out do the “X for Dummies” approach, Greg and I are going to use the “Whadya Stupid or Somethin?” brand and see what we can make of it.
This week I saw one too many RFPs stating something along the lines of, “in order to better control our costs,…
Finally Figuring Out Fees
Two recent blog posts (when combined) make for an excellent observation (indirectly) on the ability of the legal market to compare pricing at the fee level -and not the hourly rate level. I have previously made the point about a how market transition from rate pricing to fee pricing makes sense. Clients have no market…
Loss Leader Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Jim Hassett’s post on Keys to New Business finally put me over the top on the whole Loss Leader thing (Jim was actually quoting a lawyer – so these were not his words). In my AFA role I have seen numerous examples of low-ball bids from law firms desperate to get the work in the…
The One-Two Punch to BigLaw's Gut
Last week I gave a presentation to the Houston Chapter of the AMA (on a side note – legal marketers would be wise to reach outside the LMA). After the presentation a couple of marketers from the oil industry were sharing recession stories and asked how law firms were doing. The presumption was that…
2010 – The Year of Understanding AFAs

For Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs) 2009 was a year of awareness. Although there are some clients and firms more involved in utilizing AFAs, the vast majority of lawyers are just getting their toes wet on this issue. All of the talk and debate has been over whether firms should use AFAs. At 3 Geeks we…
AFAs: Inputs vs Outcomes

I thoroughly enjoyed Steve Levy’s ITLA web seminar this Monday on Legal Project Management. Of course the subject of Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs) came up and the inter-connection between them and legal project management was discussed.
A noteworthy point from Steve was the need to focus on outcomes. He highly recommends that any legal…
Raising Rates in 2010?
We at 3 Geeks will be watching with great anticipation and interest in how the 2010 Rate Increase Season unfolds. Firms and lawyers are facing a significant challenge this year. On one hand we have a zero inflation year (based on your source). And clients are still in cost-cutting mode – not very excited…
Law Firms and the Cult of Personality
…
The Evolution of AFAs: Client Side

Previously on 3 Geeks we discussed how Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs) might evolve on the law firm side of things. This post explores a possible evolution for how AFAs might evolve on the client side. Whereas law firms will need to insure profitability as they embrace AFAs, clients will need to solve the value-to-price equation…

