From Legal Futures’ Associate Burcher Jennings.
Lawyers continue to struggle with pricing – with many not comfortable talking about it or doing it. But it is the management discipline which can make the difference between profit and failure.
The SRA has made clear firms must publish the prices of certain more commoditised legal services on their websites within six months. But most legal services will still be recognised as much too diverse and differentiated by quality and case specifics to benefit from such a simplistic approach.
Against this backdrop, the Burcher Jennings Masterclass programme for the Autumn is being unveiled. The popular course has been consistently credited with boosting profitability for firms that have attended by between 10 and 25% and more. Previous masterclasses have been sold out, and bespoke course bookings are outstripping supply.
“Lawyers don’t like talking about money, have a tendency to undervalue themselves, and lack pricing confidence”, says Martyn Jennings, Burcher Jennings’ CEO. “This might not sound like a picture of the stereotypical lawyer. But it is an accurate portrayal of what we’ve seen through our combined decades in the costs and pricing arena. The consequence is too many firms ending up unwittingly engaged in a race to the bottom, rather than pricing the job accurately so they can take on less cases, more efficiently, delivering more profit for the firm”.
In response to this long-standing problem, Burcher Jennings has been offering bespoke pricing Masterclasses within firms, and a popular series of Group Masterclasses for CEOs, FDs, Managing Partners and other senior colleagues to attend over two days. The next Group Masterclass will be in September – so there is still time to book onto a course described by one law firm partner as an “absolutely brilliant game changer”.
The courses are led by Richard Allen and Nigel Haddon – leading experts on legal sector costs and pricing. Richard Allen, a senior consultant, said: “We’ve presented to law firms across England, Wales and Scotland. Without fail, firms find the training helps them value their work better, significantly increasing the effort to reward basis. If you could choose to take five cases at £1,000 or four cases at £1,250, the choice would be a no-brainer. But that is the choice available if you get your pricing right – along with, more capacity, less stress and happier clients”.
For more information about bespoke or Group Pricing Masterclasses, please contact Martyn Jennings on 07771 778099. The next Group Pricing Masterclass is to run on 26 to 27 September 2018 in London.
