Alternative Fees and Biz Dev with Jennifer Bullock

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:27 — 26.8MB)

In this episode, Alay and Jennifer discuss:

Starting a law firm from scratch.
Running a flat fee law firm.
Understanding your pricing.
Building your book of business early in your career.

Key Takeaways:

When starting with no clients, make a list of every single person who you know who may be able to refer you a client. Then call and contact every single one you can.
Fixing a problem is more expensive than preventing it.
Flat fee billing creates transparency and strengthens relationships over hourly billing.
Building your book of business early in your career will give you more opportunities to grow.

Tweetable Moments:

“Jennifer picked up the phone and called people. She did not write a blog, dig around on her website, send LinkedIn messages, or send out email newsletters. She went out there and picked up the phone and actually made contact with the people whom she knew.” — Alay Yajnik
“If it’s done right, a flat fee or an alternative fee model can be more profitable than the hourly rate model.” — Alay Yajnik
“As a solo, you only have so much time to spend, and you cannot spend time talking to the wrong people. If they’re not people who are ever going to buy your services, then you’re talking to the wrong people.” — Jennifer Bullock
“If you want to become a partner at a big firm, or you want to open your own firm, or you want to go in house, starting business development early, will make more opportunities available to you.” — Jennifer Bullock

About Jennifer Bullock:

Jennifer Bullock is an employment lawyer focusing on protecting her employer clients from frivolous lawsuits, renegade employees and making costly employment mistakes. Jennifer is an innovative and practical problem solver who brings a personal approach to working with each of her clients. Jennifer is the founder of Bullock Legal, a flat-fee employment law firm. The Firm’s Employer Advisor Program is a concierge legal service for Florida employers who are looking to move past their day-to-day employee challenges and protect their business from employee claims without spending a ton of time or money.