Cordell Parvin LLC

I recently met PJ Dunn when he visited my office. We hit it off right away and enjoyed telling each other stories. At one point in his career, PJ sold advertising to law firms for the Dallas Business Journal. He knows how to…more

Lawyers I coach frequently ask me what clients want in tough economic times. It is a great question. I sometimes respond: “in the current economy clients want better results and service and they want to pay less for it.” There…more

Do you have a plan to expand relationships with existing clients? Going back a long time, lawyers and law firms have called existing clients the “low hanging fruit.” So, do you have any “low-hanging fruit plan?” Years ago Seth…more

I love this Oprah Winfrey quote: I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to…more

I am looking forward to making a presentation for a law firm today: Building Your Client Development Tool Kit:? The nuts and bolts of business development When I was working on this presentation, I was searching for something…more

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.? Jim Valvano My father gave me the same greatest gift. I know how much it meant to me many times in my career when I wondered or doubted…more

In coaching sessions, I am frequently asked what I think they should do in a particular situation. In almost every case, I have an answer, but I think it is more powerful for the lawyer to figure it out with my help. I like to…more

1. What is your mission? 2. Which are the most important relationships you want to invest in? 3. What are the essential priorities and goals of those closest to you? 4. What are your expectations of the people around you, and…more

I received a very nice response to my poetry post last Friday, so I decided to post another one. There was a time when I was a young adult thinking about my future and the decisions I needed to make. I would eventually go into…more

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about “Giving” as a client development strategy. Want to get ahead? Try this. Giving also makes practicing law more fulfilling. What would it be like if 1000 of your 2000 billable hours were…more

I have an “about” page on my blog. Have you ever looked at it? I included it because the blog designers said I should have one. I also have an “about” page on my website. I suspect that the only thing people who go to that page…more

Several years ago, I coached two lawyers. I will call them Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) and Harry Longabaugh (The Sundance Kid). They are with the same firm, in the same office and in the same practice group. They are…more

First, thank you for the kind comments on my “If you can…” post both here and by email. It is interesting that the poem resonates with so many. It was a couple of months ago. It was the first group coaching session with a great…more

I am inspired by words. The words may be in a poem, they may be a well-known quote from a writer or they may be from a song that energizes me. Occasionally, I want to share with you a quote, poem or lyrics that inspire me. Here…more

By Cordell Parvin on April 18th, 2013 I never liked using lawyer and salesman in the same sentence. I have rarely found a lawyer who effectively used “sales” skills. Selling legal services is different. A lawyer I coached some…more