By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that I frequently get the same questions from people and I thought that it’d be helpful to share some of these questions and answers with others in our newsletter. (If you have any questions, either as follow-up to these below or otherwise pertaining to your practice, feel free to send me an e-mail and I’d be happy to help and perhaps feature the Q&A in a future newsletter). QUOTING FEES ON THE…
How to Use Bonuses to Incentivize Your Staff
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law In this newsletter article, I talked about how to use bonuses to incentivize your associate attorneys. In this article, I will address how to also incentivize your support staff. The principles are basically the same, but there are a few important items that are tweaked for support staff. First and foremost, non-attorney staff members cannot receive some percentage or share of firm revenue or profit. Virtually every State Bar’s Professional Ethics Rules (or state’s Business and Professions Codes) prohibit this. …
Do You Know What You Are Doing?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law It’s a bit curious how you can vividly recall just a few, brief occurrences in your life that have had an unexpected but profound and long lasting effect on you. I remember one day speaking with a businessman on a plane about what I do as an estate planning attorney and he asked, “What’s your customer service process?” I was immediately taken aback because I hadn’t thought of what I did with clients as a process, nor could I…
Do You Hate Marketing?
By Kristina Schneider When it comes to the idea of marketing, most lawyers cringe. For many lawyers, marketing seems tacky, unprofessional, and perhaps even “beneath” them. They didn’t study for countless hours and pay thousands of dollars to get all those degrees and credentials behind their name to then be bothered with the idea of marketing. But, here’s the reality. If you run your own practice, you are a business owner. And, if you’re a business owner, marketing is essential to the success and, frankly, the survival of your practice. Marketing your business doesn’t mean you have to go out and…
The Client ISN’T Always Right – Tips on When and How to “Fire” a Client
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Some of the first jobs that I ever had were in the retail and customer service industries. I can recall, in much of the training that I received, being told the old adage that the “customer is always right”. Having run my own practice now for over 36 years (we’ll be celebrating our 37th Anniversary next month!), I can tell you that, although the old saying is usually true (or at least should be your guiding principle), there are…
What Can You Sell to Existing Clients?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law In last month’s newsletter, I discussed an often overlooked marketing strategy that many estate planning attorneys are missing – – bringing back in existing clients for a review of their plan. The topic seems to have resonated quite a bit with our readers and my fellow colleagues, several of whom took us up on our offer to schedule a consultation with our Executive Director, Kristina Schneider, to go over how to put together a review process in place for…
Oh *%@! You Messed Up! Now What?
By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant We have all been there at some point in our lives, whether in the workplace, school, at home, anywhere. You make a mistake of some kind. It happens. You’re human. It’s bound to happen. However, how to handle the mistake that you made is very different for a lot of people. What might seem like common sense for some people, isn’t always for others. Here are some tips for how to handle making a mistake. The intention is for mistakes made in the workplace, but these tips can be used really anywhere in life. STEP…
How to Write a Proper Business Letter
Download Printable Article By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant Writing a business letter seems somewhat common knowledge or perhaps common sense to most people; however, it’s sometimes shocking to see how many administrative staff members – – even those with a college education – – are completely incapable of writing business letters. In this article, we will walk you through each step on how to properly write a business letter so that you can quickly and easily write correspondence on behalf of or for your boss without too much editing. Company Letterhead The first step to writing business letters is to…
Pardon My Bloopers!
Download Printable Article By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law My law firm recently welcomed aboard a new, young attorney, straight out of law school and it got me thinking back – – what was it like when I first started out as a lawyer, some 38 years ago? (Wow, time does fly!) You know how, sometimes, our most vivid memories are about things that went inexplicably wrong? That’s where my mind immediately went when recalling my early days as an attorney. I remember getting out…
6 Tips for Handling Difficult Clients
Download Printable Article By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant Difficult clients are inevitable no matter what business you are in and no matter how great your customer service is. With the estate and financial planning business, clients can be very emotional. Clients may be stressed about the kinds of decisions they are required to make while getting their affairs in order, especially if they may be grieving the loss of a loved one. They are investing time, money and their personal feelings into the entire process, so it is no wonder that you will experience a wide range of emotions. Anything…