How Small Law Firms Can Profit By Helping Larger Law Firms

Caroline Elefant over at My Shingle recently posted a discussion about small law firms "joint venturing" with larger firms to help the larger firms get more business in RFP contests, etc. The title of her post is "Could You Be A Front For A Firm?

"Here are some tips to keep in mind if you're in a small firm andyou're thinking about "cooperating" with a larger firm as Carolinedescribed above.

First of all it may give you some confidence to know that small andminority law firms have actually been "cooperating" with larger firmsfor a long time. There is no such thing as a "full service" firm. TheyALL have gaps. I once helped a small franchise specialty shop with deeproots in the restaurant industry joint venture with a 50 lawyer firm togo after and win an RFP from a major national restaurant franchise thatpaid for my client's kids' college tuition with all the fees therelationship generated.

Second of all, you can help eliminate alot of client confusion ifthe larger firm will give you your own email extension that forwards toyou and your own extension on their pbx phone system. This givesclients a HUGE sense of comfort.

Third, be sure you take the time to document not only the terms butschedule an hour with the larger firm's Administrator to work out themechanics of how the relationship is actually going to operate. Forexample, will you be able to schedule use of the firm's conference roomfor client meetings? Will they assign you a cost code for the copymachines,etc. and will the big firm's copy room support you? Usuallyit's just a matter of asking to leverage their economy of scale andthey're happy to accommodate us.

Don't be afraid to bring RFP's to a larger firm and suggestcooperation. And don't wait until they have an RFP to go over there andsuggest how you may fit into their strategy. 8 times out of 10 I findthe larger firms are very receptive to this "Integrated Of Counsel"type of relationship with smaller firms with interesting niche practices.

‍p.s. Don't forget to sign-up for my upcoming FREE teleseminar entitled "How To Double The Revenue Of Your Small Law Firm And Play Golf Every Friday"