Out-of-the-box thinking.

Many lawyers have a hard time thinking outside the box.  This might be because they are naturally risk averse, but more likely it has much to do with their education and training.  From the first day of law school, law students are taught to conform – arguments must be based on legal precedent, many laws have been on the books, unchanged, for many decades, and those that seek to change the status quo are generally branded as undesirable rebels.  Problem is that small business entrepreneurial success requires creativity and ability to think outside the box.  In fact the most successful businesses of our time are the ones who have been able to completely change “the rules,”  disrupting the status quo in their industry.  As you go about blazing your trail, you need legal advice that can keep up and that is not afraid to venture, or even stay outside the box, where you operate.

Tech-savvy.  

To survive in today’s world, your business needs to be tech savvy. Like it or not, potential clients WILL judge you by your website, you DO need to have a social media strategy as part of your marketing efforts, and you DO need to implement technological safeguards into your business plan. Unfortunately, the intersection of law and technology, is also one of the fastest changing and most treacherous areas of the law. Just like your business, your legal advice needs to be tech savvy as well. Not only do you need to ensure that your technological endeavors are on solid legal foundations, but all of your legal strategies need to make sense in the context of today’s highly technological world.  Much as is the case with good business practices, a lawyer who doesn’t at least understand, if not embrace and apply tech, is not going to be much use in advising you in today’s tech-centric world.

Clear Focus Law has comprehensive legal success strategies designed just for your web 2.0 and social media efforts.  Learn more.

Proactive planning.

Consistent with its reputation as a necessary evil, legal services are usually sought only when there is a “wake up call.” Wake up calls can be a near miss (ie a threat or risk of legal action, or learning of a colleague or friend’s legal troubles), a minor legal dispute, or even an actual lawsuit.  Regardless of the nature of the wake up call however, the legal advice solicited or provided to address the wake up call, is almost always reactive and designed to solve the particular problem at hand. Instead of waiting for wake up calls and then formulating a reactive solution, legally successful businesses need to be proactive about legal strategies.  It all comes down to timing.  Proactive legal strategies are employed early, well in advance of any pressing need.  They can be developed without the pressing urgency of a pending legal challenge, are tailored for the specific needs of your business, and will empower your success.

Systematic Planning.

As a result of being reactive, the legal advice offered to businesses is often ad hoc and fragmented.  Much as a house cannot be built on a fragmented, ad hoc framework, legal success cannot be achieved with such an approach.  What you need is a systematic approach: a comprehensive set of legal strategies based on strong legal foundations as well as ongoing best practices that are designed specifically for your business.

360 Degree Analysis.

Law does not exist in a vacuum.  Legal advice that does not take into consideration the sometimes cold and hard realities of real world business can be next to useless.  For example, techniques for avoiding legal risks that subject a business to increased social risk (eg reduced trust by customers for example) can be more harmful than helpful. Unfortunately, overly academic and theoretical advice is far too common, to the detriment of businesses.  What you need is legal success strategies that take into consideration the full 360 degrees of legal risk, business risk, and social risk, and the realities of doing business.

Want 360 Degree Analysis for your business?  A Legal Success Coaching consultation may be just what you are looking for.  Learn more or schedule one today!

Client-centric.

The legal system was not built with business in mind.  In fact, many would argue that it is downright bad for business. What you don’t also need is a lawyer who subscribes to this idea and expects you to play by their rules, including billing schemes, communication tools (or lack thereof) and legal formalities that benefit them at your expense.  A good legal advisor needs to meet your business’ needs in your world, on terms that make sense to you!

Good business practices.

Many lawyers might be great litigators or even brilliant legal minds, but don’t know the first thing about running a business.  This will often be obvious by how they run their own (legal practice) businesses.  From websites that look like they were designed in the 90s and lack of basic business protocols to nonexistent or old fashioned advertising strategies and disorganization, many lawyers have no business running a business.  What business then, do they have advising you on how to run yours?  Again, as stated earlier, law does not exist in a vacuum.  Lawyers who don’t understand and apply good, sound, business practices, shouldn’t be giving you advice about your business.

Synergy.

Synergy is a very powerful concept and refers to the circumstance where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  Reduced to a simple mathematical equation, synergy means 1+1>2.  Unfortunately, synergy is often missing from the lawyer-client relationship.  Legal advice is often sought for reactive reasons, and lawyers and clients interact on more of an “order-taking” and “order fulfilling” nature with little opportunity for collaboration and the resulting synergy.  What you need is a collaborative effort where you and your legal advisor work together collaboratively to improve the legal success of your business.  Only then will synergy is created, to the benefit of your business.

Geared for Success.

Traditionally, legal advice has been viewed much the same as insurance policies: a necessary evil that helps make sure you don’t fail.  True to form, advice or strategies that help prevent you from failing are usually very ineffective at helping you succeed.  Among other reasons, it is impossible to take the smart risks necessary for entrepreneurial success when you are too worried about risk that you are trying everything you can to eliminate all risk from the equation.  Legal success strategies are different.  While they will help reduce your risk profile, the ultimate focus is on empowering your business to be successful, and that is good for business.

How can Clear Focus Law help your business today?