Dear Snap-D: I’ve just made equity partner and have been asked to make a capital contribution, which I believe is large. Is there a general rule of thumb regarding capital contribution amounts?
A: Congratulations on making equity partner. No doubt you have worked extremely hard to get to where you are.
There is no clear-cut formula to capital contributions. Each firm handles it differently, and I’ve seen firms ask for no capital contribution and firms that ask a large enough amount to warrant the attorney taking out a personal loan to fund the contribution.
Firm capital is necessary to fund client costs, fixed assets, growth, retirement and unforeseen events. The amount that each partner is asked to contribute largely depends on the firm’s management, receivables, tolerance for debt and, most importantly, partner appetites.
Q: We’ve been contacted by a company that organizes cruises to bring together general counsels and outside firms. The investment is substantial. Have you heard of this concept, and is it effective?
A: At first thought, the concept seems intriguing because one would assume that the outcomes are win-wins based on the fact that the GC are looking for outside counsels and firms attending are looking for clients.
I would look into this closer and do a return-on-investment analysis. If you believe this will truly open up opportunities to meet GC, where you might otherwise not have the opportunity, then perhaps it should be considered.
Otherwise, there are plenty of other ways to meet GCs, that will allow multiple face-time attempts rather than placing all of your marketing dollars in one basket.
Q: We are ready to invest in an e-mail platform program to send e-blasts. Is there a difference between the various platforms? Is there one that you recommend?
A: There are many different platforms out there. The main ways they differentiate is by template designs, customer service support, integrated social media, surveys, real time analytics and RSS-to-e-mail functions.
I highly recommend selecting one of the platforms that has a free support line that you can call in the event you run into difficulty. This will save you time and money in the short and long term.
Some platforms out there that I’ve used include Constant Contact, MailChimp and iContact. Each offers different packages with prices ranging depending on number of contacts and subscribers per month.