Comments on: Contract Drafting and the Limits of “Free” http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:00:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ken Adams http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/comment-page-1/#comment-92754 Ken Adams Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:45:06 +0000 http://www.adamsdrafting.com/?p=1033#comment-92754 Cliff: Anderson does sell his book, too. But more generally, anyone who gives stuff away has to be looking for the sorts of benefits that you and Doug (in the above comment) are referring to. Ken Cliff: Anderson does sell his book, too. But more generally, anyone who gives stuff away has to be looking for the sorts of benefits that you and Doug (in the above comment) are referring to. Ken

]]> By: Cliff Tuttle http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/comment-page-1/#comment-92751 Cliff Tuttle Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:38:18 +0000 http://www.adamsdrafting.com/?p=1033#comment-92751 I downloaded "Free" without charge to my Kindle during a special promotion and read it for about 3 hours. I've had a busy week and haven't gotten back to it. I was hoping to figure out how they will profit from giving the whole book away, but the answer hasn't become evident. However, part of the answer, which I identified with as a blogger, was that there are rewards to being read and known that are both monetary and non-monetary. They include increased status in the community or peer group. This could well translate into dollars via referrals. Cliff Tuttle Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk I downloaded “Free” without charge to my Kindle during a special promotion and read it for about 3 hours. I’ve had a busy week and haven’t gotten back to it. I was hoping to figure out how they will profit from giving the whole book away, but the answer hasn’t become evident.

However, part of the answer, which I identified with as a blogger, was that there are rewards to being read and known that are both monetary and non-monetary. They include increased status in the community or peer group. This could well translate into dollars via referrals.

Cliff Tuttle
Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

]]> By: Startup Toolbox » Blog Archive » Ideas Becoming Conversations on the Web http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/comment-page-1/#comment-92747 Startup Toolbox » Blog Archive » Ideas Becoming Conversations on the Web Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:09:00 +0000 http://www.adamsdrafting.com/?p=1033#comment-92747 [...] from the angle of solo and small firm practice.  Her post was then subjected to close scrutiny at AdamsDrafting before finally ending up on the ABA Journal’s web [...] [...] from the angle of solo and small firm practice.  Her post was then subjected to close scrutiny at AdamsDrafting before finally ending up on the ABA Journal’s web [...]

]]> By: Jay Parkhill http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/comment-page-1/#comment-92745 Jay Parkhill Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:59:39 +0000 http://www.adamsdrafting.com/?p=1033#comment-92745 Ken, Orrick and WSGR's stuff (and Linklater's and every other firm with something like this in development) is not free but freemium. Lawyers have fiduciary duties to clients regardless of the fee arrangement, so free doesn't work well for the most part (Erik Heels' Free Trademarks for Startups campaign notwithstanding). OTOH, letting clients generate their own term sheets/intake questionnaires saves time (we hope) and gets clients in the door. It's a bit of free work product intended to lead to paying work. E.g. entity formation is a high volume/low margin business- or should be. Clients need help getting started, then most don't need a lawyer again for a long time. The lawyer who can figure out how to turn a small profit on the formation work while charging clients a low rate can build loyalty and a bigger base of clients who may need higher-margin projects down the line. As I point out on my blog, emerging contract drafting tools will help, but are not required. Efficient processes and a clear set of objectives are equally important. Fun stuff. The music and newspaper industries have struggled with these ideas for 10 years. Let's hope that lawyers can learn from those experiences and figure out how to deliver better, lower cost services without having all our firms collapse. Ken,

Orrick and WSGR’s stuff (and Linklater’s and every other firm with something like this in development) is not free but freemium. Lawyers have fiduciary duties to clients regardless of the fee arrangement, so free doesn’t work well for the most part (Erik Heels’ Free Trademarks for Startups campaign notwithstanding).

OTOH, letting clients generate their own term sheets/intake questionnaires saves time (we hope) and gets clients in the door. It’s a bit of free work product intended to lead to paying work.

E.g. entity formation is a high volume/low margin business- or should be. Clients need help getting started, then most don’t need a lawyer again for a long time.

The lawyer who can figure out how to turn a small profit on the formation work while charging clients a low rate can build loyalty and a bigger base of clients who may need higher-margin projects down the line.

As I point out on my blog, emerging contract drafting tools will help, but are not required. Efficient processes and a clear set of objectives are equally important.

Fun stuff. The music and newspaper industries have struggled with these ideas for 10 years. Let’s hope that lawyers can learn from those experiences and figure out how to deliver better, lower cost services without having all our firms collapse.

]]> By: Ken Adams http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/comment-page-1/#comment-92741 Ken Adams Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:51:54 +0000 http://www.adamsdrafting.com/?p=1033#comment-92741 Doug: I haven't read Anderson's book so I don't know what his position is. Instead, I was reacting to the more extreme advocates of the notion of "free" and, more specifically, to Carolyn's assessment of the implications of Orrick's offering. Ken Doug: I haven’t read Anderson’s book so I don’t know what his position is. Instead, I was reacting to the more extreme advocates of the notion of “free” and, more specifically, to Carolyn’s assessment of the implications of Orrick’s offering. Ken

]]> By: Doug Cornelius http://www.adamsdrafting.com/2009/07/27/contract-drafting-and-the-limits-of-free/comment-page-1/#comment-92740 Doug Cornelius Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:18:09 +0000 http://www.adamsdrafting.com/?p=1033#comment-92740 Ken - I agree with your point about contract drafting and Free. I think you missed the points that Chris Anderson writes in his book. (Which is also not free.) It is not about giving away all of your product. It is about giving away part of your product when the marginal cost gets close to zero. Most of critics who ask why the book (and your book) are not free, clearly did not actually read Anderson's book. Law firms now give away their client alerts, hoping to lure you in as a client after reading about their expertise. Now that you don't have to buy stamps for each copy, distribution by email and websites is close to zero. Your blog is also a great example of the Free discussed in the book. The blog content is free, but the really good stuff is in the book that you need to buy. Ken -

I agree with your point about contract drafting and Free. I think you missed the points that Chris Anderson writes in his book. (Which is also not free.)

It is not about giving away all of your product. It is about giving away part of your product when the marginal cost gets close to zero. Most of critics who ask why the book (and your book) are not free, clearly did not actually read Anderson’s book.

Law firms now give away their client alerts, hoping to lure you in as a client after reading about their expertise. Now that you don’t have to buy stamps for each copy, distribution by email and websites is close to zero.

Your blog is also a great example of the Free discussed in the book. The blog content is free, but the really good stuff is in the book that you need to buy.

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