@michaelscutt

Today we’re tweeting with solicitor and blawger @michaelscutt, who has a niche employment law practice in the City of London

1. @michaelscutt thank you for joining us today on Twitter. Tell us: who is @michaelscutt?
   I am Father, husband, cat-owner, blogger, solicitor, writer, Arsenal fan, gadget fan, cyclist, cook – in that order
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2. Tell us about your law practice.
   We are a 2 ptnr niche full-service employment law practice. We give practical, cost-effective, jargon-free legal advice
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3. What type of clients do you represent?
   employees of all levels of seniority mainly in banking, finance, legal and IT sectors but also SMEs and owner managed bizs
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4. What is the single most important legal issue affecting those clients?
   Employees: 2 equal: redundancy and will I get a bonus? Employers: how to reduce costs without making redundancies
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5. What do you tell every new client before you start working for them?
   How much I charge, what my time estimate is, ask what THEIR ideal solution to their problem is and what I can do to help
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6. Tell us about one of the more significant client representations you’ve had.
   An equal pay and bullying/harassment case involving senior female banker. We got a good settlement before trial
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7. Congrats to you and your client. Why do your clients hire you?
   Thx. Virtually all work gets referred to us by recommendation from previous clients, other lawyers, HR, contacts etc
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8. Nice recognition of your work! What’s the most active area of your practice at the current time? Is that typical?
   Thx. Advising on severance agreements, grievance /disciplinary procedures, employment contracts, restrictive covenants. Yes
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9. How has the economic crisis “changed the game” with respect to employment law? Has it changed for good?
   Clients are much more cost conscious and put fee estimates before any other qualities of their lawyer. Yes, it’s the future
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10. Interesting. How do you market your practice?
    word of mouth referrals (see above) networking in “real” world, journal articles, website, my blog, Linked In, Facebook
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11. How do you describe what you do to people you meet at networking events?
    I say I’m an employment lawyer who can solve all their problems! Re: employment law of course! mainly I just try to listen
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12. You blog at Jobsworth (http://bit.ly/3mBjXo). What are your goals for the blog? Are you meeting them?
    Yes: it raises my profile and I’ve made some good contacts through it. No: conversion rate of enquiries 2 clients needs 2 improve
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13. Besides Twitter and your blog, what Web 2.0 tools do you regularly use to market your practice?
    I use our recently redesigned website http://bit.ly/u3R3w also Linked In and, sometimes, Facebook. Wikipedia is next.
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14. Intrigued re Wiki… What specific impact on referrals / client engagements have you realized from Web 2.0 activities?
    direct client engagement hard to say. Other contacts: great. I now lecture on Tesco law because of a referral via my blog
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15. How much time do you spend each day developing / enhancing your brand?
    Probably 1 – 2 hours per day average, mostly in the evenings and on train. Addict! My wife says she is an internet widow
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16. And now you’re online at 9pm for this…. What is the most significant issue currently facing the legal profession?
    No worries. Kids have finally gone to bed! Undoubtedly the introduction of full legal deregulation …
    via external ownership of law firms in 2011 – so called Tesco Law. Many lawyers here only just waking up to it
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17. What will the legal landscape look like in 10 years?
    V few generalist and fewer mid-size law firms, more small specialised law firms, few high st giants, more IT / virtual lwyrs
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18. What would you do if you weren’t a lawyer?
    My wife says I’d be happy! Probably be in IT – as a social media consultant. At school I wanted to be a forester
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19. How do you want to be remembered?
    I think I’d just like to be remembered
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20. What do you do when you’re not working?
    Look after and play with my 2 small kids, cook, write, go cycling/running, occasionally go out with my wife – in that order
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21. What advice can you pass along to lawyers currently under- or unemployed due to the economic crisis?
    Don’t despair, be flexible, be imaginative, use social media to make contacts. Network!
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22. And our final question for you: what advice do you have for people going to law school today?
    2 things; (1) good luck and (2) Be humble; lawyers don’t have a god-given right to a living

Valuable advice. Thank you very much for tweeting with me today; I enjoyed learning about you and your practice.

I’ve really enjoyed it. Thank you very much for having me on your Twitterview.

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