Discover the top independent wealth management firms offering personalized, fiduciary financial advice. Explore their unique services, investment strategies, and how they can help you navigate your financial future effectively.
Navigating Your Financial Future: A Guide to the Top Independent Wealth Management Firms
Introduction; When managing your wealth, you want to ensure you’re partnering with a firm with your best interests at heart. It firms offer a unique value proposition for investors looking for personalized, unbiased financial advice. In this article, we’ll explore the top independent wealth management firms, their services, and what sets them apart in the industry.
What Are Independent Wealth Management Firms?
Independent wealth management firms are registered investment advisors (RIAs) that operate independently of banks, brokerage firms, or insurance companies. These firms primarily focus on providing financial advice and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals, families, and businesses. They have a legal fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their clients and offer a more personalized approach to wealth management.
Table 1: Key Differences Between Independent Wealth Management Firms and Traditional Financial Institutions
Fisher Investments is a fee-only wealth management firm with over $110 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm’s primary focus is on providing customized investment strategies and financial planning services to high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutions. Fisher Investments’ unique approach combines rigorous research, personalized portfolio management, and proactive client communication to help clients achieve their long-term financial goals.
Services and Investment Strategies:
Personalized investment management
Comprehensive financial planning
Retirement planning
Estate planning
Tax planning
Socially responsible investing
Buckingham Strategic Wealth
Buckingham Strategic Wealth is an independent wealth management firm with over $16 billion in AUM. The firm takes an evidence-based approach to investing, focusing on low-cost index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to build diversified portfolios tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals. Buckingham’s team of financial advisors also provides comprehensive financial planning and consulting services to help clients make informed decisions about their financial future.
Services and Investment Strategies:
Fee-only financial planning
Investment management
Retirement planning
Tax planning and preparation
Estate planning
Charitable giving strategies
Edelman Financial Engines
Edelman Financial Engines is the largest independent registered investment advisor in the United States, with over $220 billion in AUM. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of financial planning and wealth management services, including investment management, retirement planning, tax planning, and estate planning. Edelman Financial Engines’ team of financial advisors uses a goals-based investing approach, focusing on helping clients achieve their short- and long-term financial objectives.
Services and Investment Strategies:
Fee-only financial planning
Investment management
Retirement planning
Tax planning
Estate planning
Socially responsible investing
Creative Planning
Creative Planning is an independent wealth management firm with over $60 billion in AUM. The firm provides various financial planning and wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, families, and businesses, including investment management, estate planning, tax planning, and risk management. Creative Planning’s team of financial advisors takes a holistic approach to wealth management, ensuring that all aspects of a client’s financial life are aligned with their goals and objectives.
Partnering with a top independent wealth management firm can provide you with the expertise, resources, and personalized guidance you need to navigate your financial future. By understanding the key differences between independent wealth management firms and traditional financial institutions and researching the top firms in the industry, you can make an informed decision about which firm is the best fit for you and your financial goals.
Learn how to use SEO for Law Firms to boost your online visibility and attract more potential clients. Keyword research & compelling content are key when utilizing SEO for lawyers. #SEOforLawFirms!
The Ultimate Guide to Exploring SEO for Law Firms
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an indispensable tool for law firms aiming to enhance their online visibility and draw in potential clients. A robust SEO strategy is vital for law firms to secure higher rankings in search engine results and effectively drive traffic to their websites. Below, we outline essential steps to consider when delving into SEO for law firms:
1. Keyword Research
Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant search terms and phrases that potential clients are likely to use when seeking legal services. Prioritize long-tail keywords specific to your areas of legal practice to capture more targeted traffic.
2. Content Creation
Deliver compelling, informative content that addresses common legal inquiries and considerations. Blog posts, articles, and legal guides can showcase your firm’s expertise and establish it as a credible resource within the legal field.
3. On-Page Optimization
Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, and headings with targeted keywords to boost your website’s visibility. It’s essential to ensure that your website’s structure is user-friendly and easy to navigate, enhancing the overall user experience.
4. Local SEO
Given that law firms often serve clients within specific geographic regions, prioritizing local SEO tactics is paramount. Establish a Google My Business profile and secure local business citations to bolster your firm’s visibility within local search results.
5. Mobile Optimization
As an increasing number of users access the internet via mobile devices, optimizing your website for mobile viewing is crucial. This ensures a seamless and positive user experience for visitors accessing your site on smartphones and tablets.
6. Link Building
Develop a robust backlink profile by earning quality links from authoritative legal directories, local businesses, and pertinent industry websites. Quality backlinks can significantly enhance your website’s credibility and visibility.
7. Monitoring and Adjusting
Regularly monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google Analytics. Analyze data to gain insights into user behavior and the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. Based on these insights, adapt and refine your SEO strategy as necessary.
Implementing a comprehensive SEO strategy allows law firms to bolster their online presence, attract valuable traffic, and ultimately acquire more clients. With a well-executed SEO approach, law firms can establish themselves as prominent players within their respective legal niches, ultimately driving business growth and success.
Why SEO is Important for Lawyers?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role in the success of law firms by enhancing their online visibility and attracting potential clients. Here are the key reasons why SEO is essential for lawyers:
Increased Visibility: Effective SEO strategies can help law firms secure higher rankings in search engine results. Leading to increased visibility and exposure to a wider audience.
Targeted Traffic: By conducting thorough keyword research and optimizing their websites for specific legal terms and long-tail keywords, lawyers can attract more targeted traffic from individuals seeking legal services.
Local Search Optimization: Implementing local SEO tactics allows law firms to appear prominently in local search results, ensuring that they are visible to potential clients within their vicinity.
Credibility and Authority: A strong SEO strategy involves creating and promoting high-quality, informative content. This not only improves search engine rankings but also establishes the law firm as a credible resource within its legal niches.
Business Growth: By improving online visibility and attracting more traffic, law firms can ultimately drive business growth, increase client inquiries, and secure new cases.
Mobile Optimization: Optimizing websites for mobile viewing is essential in today’s digital landscape. Given the widespread use of mobile devices for online searches.
Backlink Profile: Developing a strong backlink profile from reputable sources not only improves SEO. But also enhances the firm’s authority and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines and potential clients.
Implementing comprehensive SEO practices is essential for lawyers to establish a strong online presence, attract potential clients, and ultimately drive business success within the competitive legal industry.
How to Optimize for organic results in google for law firm
Google My Business Profile: Firstly, claim and optimize your Google My Business profile. Provide accurate information about your law firm, including contact details, business hours, and categories related to your legal services. Encourage satisfied clients to leave positive reviews to enhance your firm’s credibility.
Localized Content: Develop localized content that addresses legal topics specific to your geographical area. This can include blog posts, case studies, and legal resources tailored to the legal landscape within your region.
Schema Markup: Implement schema markup to provide search engines with additional context about your legal services. Enhancing the likelihood of your firm appearing in rich results such as featured snippets and knowledge panels.
Online Directories: Ensure consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information across online directories and legal industry platforms. This consistency reinforces your firm’s legitimacy and aids in local search visibility.
Site Speed and User Experience: Focus on optimizing your website for speed and user experience. Google favors websites that load quickly and provide a seamless browsing experience across devices.
Content Quality and Legal Expertise: Emphasize high-quality, authoritative content that underscores your firm’s legal expertise. Earning backlinks from reputable legal resources can affirm your firm’s credibility in the eyes of Google’s algorithm.
Mobile-Friendly Design: A significant portion of searches occur on mobile devices. Ensure that your website is responsive and provides a smooth user experience on smartphones and tablets.
Implementing these organic SEO strategies tailored for Google can elevate your law firm’s online presence, improving your visibility in relevant search results and driving valuable traffic to your website.
Summary
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for law firms aiming to enhance online visibility and attract potential clients. The guide outlines essential steps for effective SEO, including keyword research, content creation, on-page optimization, local SEO, mobile optimization, link building, and monitoring. It emphasizes the importance of SEO for lawyers, focusing on increased visibility, targeted traffic, local search optimization, credibility, business growth, and mobile optimization.
Additionally, it provides strategies to optimize for organic results in Google, such as Google My Business profile optimization, localized content development, schema markup implementation, online directories management, site speed and user experience optimization, content quality and legal expertise emphasis, and mobile-friendly design. These comprehensive SEO practices are essential for law firms to establish a strong online presence, attract potential clients, and drive business success within the competitive legal industry.
Why Do you need a Digital Marketing Agency For your law firms? There are a lot of reasons why you might want to work with a digital marketing agency. Maybe you’re just starting with digital marketing. Maybe you want to grow your digital marketing efforts. Whatever the case, working with digital marketing agencies can help you reach your goals.
A Comprehensive Guide to Finding the Right Digital Marketing Agency for Law Firms
My biggest mistake as a non-tech-savvy person was limiting the scope of digital marketing to social media advertising. Digital marketing encompasses web pages, SEO, social media platforms, e-mail marketing, and even PPC. Digital marketing agencies do extensive research, develop marketing strategies, and effectively address all aspects of digital media marketing needs.
They strive to create harmony across digital marketing platforms to meet sales goals and capture clients’ attention. Let’s dive into what a digital marketing agency is and how it’s shaping the future of your law firms.
A Comprehensive Guide to Finding the Right Digital Marketing Agency for Law Firms; Photo by Mikael Blomkvist.
A new era of digital marketing agencies for the growth of your law firms
With people spending more time indoors and online than ever before due to the pandemic, your potential customers will spend more time on the internet than ever before. To achieve them, you require to be where they are. That’s where a digital marketing agency reaches in. Digital marketing is an integral part of any business’s marketing strategy. If you’re not already doing it, now’s the time to get started.
As more and more people use the internet to search for products and services, having a strong digital presence is essential. If you don’t, you risk losing possible clients. A digital marketing agency will help you create a successful digital marketing strategy that will get your business in front of more people online. They can also manage your social media accounts and create targeted ad campaigns and track your website’s analytics to see what’s working and what’s not.
If you’re looking to grow your business, a digital marketing agency can be a great asset. They can help you build an online presence, from creating a website to managing social media accounts. Plus, they can create targeted campaigns to reach your target audience. With the right strategy, you can get more people to your business than ever before. Here are some of the reasons why you should hire a digital marketing agency for your business.
They have the expertise and knowledge to help you reach your objectives
If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency that can help you achieve your goals, you’ve come to the right place. They have the know-how and experience to keep up with the ever-changing digital marketing landscape. It can be a lot to keep up with all the new trends and best practices, but a good digital marketing agency has a team of professionals who know how to stay on top of them and use them to help your business succeed.
They save you time and effort
Doing digital marketing on your own can be time-consuming and annoying. Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience in the field. Hiring a digital marketing agency frees up your time so you can focus on other aspects of your business. If you’re in marketing, you’ve probably already narrowed down your campaign options. But if you’re not hiring a marketing agency, you may be missing out on some of the best opportunities.
Unless you’re actively reaching out to clients through ads and your website, you’re ignoring interaction avenues like emails, social media, blogging, and even old SEO online search engines. A marketing agency will create a strategy to reach your potential customers wherever and whenever they go online. You can check a digital marketing agency’s website to understand its functioning better.
They can offer an outsider’s perspective
If you’re like most people, it’s hard to know what’s going on inside your own business. That’s why it’s important to have a third party (e.g. a digital marketing agency) look in from the outside and provide you with unbiased advice.
This new perspective can help you spot new opportunities and find ways to enhance your digital marketing strategy.
Assist you get the most charge for your buck
Digital marketing agencies are equipped with a variety of tools and resources that can be used to help you optimize your digital marketing spend. They can also provide you with advice on the platforms and strategies that are most likely to work best for your business, helping you maximize your ROI.
Provide Continuous Support and Maintenance
Once you’ve developed your digital marketing plan, you’ll need to keep it up-to-date with the ever-changing digital landscape. A digital marketing agency will be able to provide continuous support and maintenance to ensure your strategy remains relevant and effective.
Looking for the right digital marketing agency to promote your law firm or business?
Here are a few something to keep in reason:
Digital media and the internet have revolutionized the way we consume information and entertain ourselves. The pandemic has only added to this trend, with more and more people turning to online channels to access information and entertainment.
While the pandemic has presented new challenges for businesses, it has also presented digital marketing agencies with new opportunities. If you are looking to hire a digital marketing agency, there are several things to consider. When it comes to finding the right digital marketing agency for your business, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, make sure they’re right for you. There are no “one-fits-all” agencies, so look for ones that specialize in the kind of marketing you need.
Second, make sure they have a good reputation. There are many digital marketing agencies, but not all are created equal. Do your homework and read reviews before you make a decision.
Third, make sure you know what you want to get out of digital marketing. Once you know what you’re trying to achieve. You can start narrowing down your options and make sure you’re getting enough to help you get there.
Finally, make sure you factor in cost. Digital marketing agencies can vary in pricing, from hourly to monthly, so make sure you know exactly what you’re getting.
Final Takeaway
So there you have it! If you want to get the most out of your digital marketing, enlist the help of a digital marketing agency. They have the know-how and experience to help you take your business to the next level! If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to get in communication- we’d love to assist!
Best prop trading firms for beginners; When a pot, company, or other entity trades securities, results, bonds, items, or other financial products on its behalf and uses its funds as opposed to those of its clients, that transaction is known as proprietary dealing. This allows the company to benefit fully from an exchange instead of just taking the commission for handling clients’ businesses with the best prop trading firms.
Here are the articles to explain, Traders Union listed the best prop trading firms for beginners
The purpose of this form of dealing is to generate excess profits for banks and other economic entities. Due to the information, they possess about the market, these companies frequently have an advantage over the typical investor. Possessing advanced modeling and dealing software has another benefit.
To increase profits, professional traders employ several different techniques. Such as volatility arbitrage, index arbitrage, merger arbitrage, and global macro-dealing.
Profit growth is one advantage of proprietary dealing — remarked Traders Union. Prop dealing allows the company to keep all of the gains, unlike when it acts as a broker and takes commissions. The bank gains the most from the trade as a proprietary trader.
A company can supply merchandise of protection for future usage thanks to proprietary dealing, which is another advantage. When a company purchases securities for speculation, it can later sell those assets to customers who also want to purchase them. Additionally, individuals who want to sell stocks short can borrow the securities.
Prop dealing enables businesses to swiftly become significant market players.
FTMO is a managing prop company that runs on the idea of a prop company. A potential trader must pass a two-stage active dealing test to be given money under management. The maximum permissible daily loss, overall loss, and target profit level are specified at each step. Although the terms of the prop business are generally reliable, they might nevertheless be challenging to navigate. The restrictions are 10% of the overall loss, regardless of the testing package selected.
FTMO economic calendar can help deal, but in this case, it’s crucial to remember the dealing limits at the time of the significant news release.
Although the test period has tight standards, the seller has a comparatively modest test fee that starts at €155. In contrast, the admission price for completing the test ranges from €400 to €500 in the majority of businesses in this area. The accessibility of common MT4/MT5 platforms is another benefit. While seller uses common platforms, the majority of other prop firms use their own or customized versions. This enables you to use any personalized advisers and indicators that you have previously refined in the MetaTrader tester. Users can use the platform from anywhere using the seller’s well-defined web platform and user-friendly mobile application. Additionally, the client area feature gives you access to all required functions and auxiliary programs.
Traders Union listed best prop trading firms for beginners; Image by Csaba Nagy from Pixabay.
Here are the articles to explain, Internal management of individual law firms
Take the established Zhejiang Yongmo Law Firm as an example. Furthermore, the author recommends that individual law firms should set up the following systematic and standardized management mechanisms：
Democratic management and regulation, implement a democratic management system under the responsibility system of the chief lawyer, establish and improve operating regulations, and protect the legal rights and interests of the law firm and all staff.
The rules of procedure of the lawyers’ conference, the lawyers’ conference is the management body of the law firm. Mainly for the decision-makers of the law firm to provide reference opinions on the management and development of the law firm.
Also, administrative management regulations, are under the premise of implementing the director’s responsibility system. The law firm’s administrative management implements a system of division of responsibilities and realizes the standardization of daily administrative management.
Personnel management regulations, standardize the labor and personnel issues of law firms and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of employees.
A Part 01
Regulations on social security benefits, social security, and welfare. Under the conditions of complying with the “Labor Contract Law” and related regulations. Reflect the principle of distribution according to labor and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all employees.
The rules for party building work, strengthen the scientific management of lawyers in the business of lawyers and ensure the healthy and stable development of lawyers’ careers. Also, It is necessary to deal with the relationship between the Party organization. The law firm’s administrative management and self-management. The Party’s construction must regard as the political guarantee for the development of lawyers’ careers.
Subject to case process management regulations, ensure the standardization of the law firm’s case process management work and strengthen risk control and prevention capabilities.
Conflict of interest management regulations, strengthen the legal service quality of lawyers in the firm. Also, Improve the credibility of practice, and reduce practice risks.
B Part 02
Regulations on reporting on major sensitive matters, and a report registration system for major sensitive matters shall implement. Which shall be uniformly registered by the legal assistants of law firms. Also, Implemented under the supervision of the chief lawyer of the law firm.
Risk notification regulations, by the “Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China”. “Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China”. “Lawyers Law of the People’s Republic of China” and relevant laws and judicial interpretations. Lawyers may be notified in advance of the risks and responsibilities that may exist at all stages of criminal, civil, and administrative litigation.
Fee regulations, standardize the case collection and financial activities of law firms, prevent accidents, and formulate them. By the relevant provisions of the law firm’s “Articles of Association” and financial standards.
The cost of handling cases regulate. According to the “Lawyers Law” and its related regulations, when lawyers undertake various types of cases. Furthermore, the actual economic costs of handling cases shall be borne by the client. However, due to the failure of industry leaders in the region to issue corresponding guiding opinions. It is easy to raise objections. To properly handle the relationship with the client. Likewise, the law firm should make provisions on the cost of handling the case of the relevant lawyer for implementation when handling the case.
C Part 03
Cooperation is subject to case management regulations, standardizing the handling of cases by lawyers of law firms or inter-firm cooperation, accelerating the development of lawyers in the direction of specialization, and formulating these regulations according to the actual situation of the law firm.
The project meeting of the consulting unit implements regulations. In the process of providing legal services to the legal counsel unit. Special regulations formulate to regulate the participation of lawyers in the project meeting activities of the legal counsel unit.
The management and regulation of legal service documents for consulting projects. In the process of providing legal advisory services by lawyers of the law firm. Also, Corresponding legal documents will produce based on the content of the services. To facilitate the management of legal service documents, regulations have existed formulated.
File management regulations, to standardize the business file management of the firm. By the relevant regulations of the state and also the legal profession file management, a special degree of customization make.
D Part 04
Electronic document archiving and management regulations, to strengthen the management of lawyers’ archives and ensure the safety, effectiveness, standardization, and also order of digital archive information, by the “Archives Law of the People’s Republic of China”, “Electronic Document Archiving and Management Norms” and other relevant laws and regulations, combined with the actual situation, the “Digital Archives Electronic Document Archiving and Management System” system has been specially formulated.
Financial management regulations, to establish and improve the internal financial management system of law firms. Do a good job in the basic work of financial management, truthfully reflect the financial situation, calculate and also pay national taxes by the law. And ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of all lawyers and staff are not harmed. , Special customization.
Seal management regulations, to strengthen the seal management of law firms, prevent practice risks, and also improve work efficiency, special regulations have existed formulated.
Confidentiality regulations, to protect lawyers’ practice by the law, standardize lawyers’ behavior and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, special regulations have existed formulated by the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Preservation of State Secrets” and also the “Lawyers Law of the People’s Republic of China”.
E Part 05
Practice complaint work regulations, to standardize the management of law firms, by the relevant provisions of the “Lawyers Law of the People’s Republic of China” and also the “Zhejiang Lawyers Industry Complaint Investigation and Handling Work Rules”, special regulations have existed formulated for the actual situation of the firm.
The management and regulation of practice risks and accountability, by the “Lawyers Law of the People’s Republic of China” and the relevant regulations of the Zhejiang Provincial Bar Association, to strengthen standardized management, enhance the sense of responsibility of all lawyers and staff, learn from the lessons of the industry, live in peace of mind, and also held accountable for violations of laws and regulations, special regulations have existed formulated.
As a useful attempt to establish and improve the practice management of individual law firms. Also, the aforementioned regulations should adjust moderately to their own actual needs.
Internal management of individual law firms; Photo by Giammarco on Unsplash.
(1) Standardize the creation system construction of individual law firms
The new “Lawyers Law” stipulates that the registered capital for starting an individual firm is RMB 100,000. This is relatively difficult for economically backward areas, but for economically developed areas, the capital conditions are very low. Therefore, for the financial conditions for individuals to start a business, the competent inter-provincial judicial authorities should set their standards of not less than RMB 100,000 based on the local economic situation and divide them into provincial, prefecture-level cities, central cities, remote or economically underdeveloped areas for hierarchical setting.
The job title conditions of the founders of law firms should also include in the considerations. For regions with developed economies or a high proportion of individual law firms. The title of middle (high) lawyer (third-level lawyer or above) should introduce. One of the conditions for entry barriers is to limit the proliferation of individual law firms. These regulations are conducive to the adjustment of regional differences. In addition, there should be regulations on the location of individual law firms.
Lawyers should encourage to open individual law firms in remote or economically underdeveloped areas. And restrictions should place on the establishment of individual law firms in urban areas. As far as Taizhou City is concerned, it is an indisputable fact that the number of law firms in Jiaojiang District and Wenling City accounts for the high proportion of law firms in Taizhou City, while Sanmen, Xianju, Yuhuan, etc. stand relatively limited. Therefore, lawyers should encourage to start businesses in the aforementioned underdeveloped areas of the legal profession to meet the legal needs of the local people.
(2) The construction of a system for the employment of lawyers in individual law firms
At present, the management of the lawyer industry tends to advocate the large-scale. Professional and corporate construction of law firms to build an aircraft carrier of law firms. It believes that this move is the development trend of our country’s lawyer industry. But is not optimistic about the construction of individual law firms.
In fact, in Western countries with relatively mature development of the rule of law. The legal profession has developed from the Middle Ages to the present. The large law firms (companies) created an account for only a few. Most of the legal services are still undertaken by individual law firms or small and medium-sized law firms.
For example, half of the law firms in the United States are individual firms or small firms with less than 5 people. Among the more than 700 law firms in Hong Kong. There are only 26 larger law firms with more than 10 partners. But 44% of the law firms stand invested by individuals. Most law firms are small and medium-sized law firms with fewer than 5 partners.
Construction of a system
The development of the legal profession has to follow the laws and order that the legal service market should have. Of course, the development of the western legal profession has time and space conditions suitable for its democratic constitutional process. But it is not completely consistent with the national conditions of a large country with a population of 1.3 billion.
For a country where the lawyer system has only existed restored for more than 30 years and lacks the tradition of the legal system. The progress of the legal profession is still unable to escape the synchronous limitations of the degree of the rule of law and cannot design subjectively.
Therefore, the development of individual law firms should be an important part of the future development of the law industry. The competent judicial administrative authorities and the bar association should review. Revise the existing norms and policies that are not conducive to the development of individual law firms accordingly. To encourage the normal flow of lawyers and support the construction of individual law firms to create good conditions.
(3) Build a management system for special committees of industry associations
Based on the successful experience of the American bar association, the American Bar Association (AmericanBarAssociation) and the bar associations of various states have established special committees for individual practicing lawyers and small law firms (with 5 or fewer law firms). The latter’s services include but do not limited to, the provision of quarterly legal newsletters. Such as the Journal of the American Bar Association, and the development of convenient legal service tools (such as client lists and forms) to increase revenue, specifically for the development of cheap, complete, and easy-to-use office management systems and legal practice systems. With the help of the American Law Association, individual lawyers and small lawyers across the United States have gained huge development opportunities.
As a successful peer experience, we have good reasons to share and cultivate its useful reference to the bar association. And set up a special committee to strengthen the guidance and management of individual law firms. Especially the establishment of an exchange platform for individual law firms. To further strengthen the publicity of individual law firms, use various media, the Internet, etc. To promote the deeds and achievements of advanced the construction of individual law firms, and increase the social influence of individual law firms. And provide sustainable industry support for the development of individual law firms, which will surely bring benign effects.
(4) Improve the system for the reduction and reduction of taxes and fees borne by individual law firms
Individual law firms are new things and deserve support from industry policies and enjoy the corresponding industry, tax, and other policy preferences, especially to focus on solving the current problem of excessive taxes and fees for lawyers, to encourage the development of individual law firms. In 2012, the Beijing Bar Association stipulated that the group dues of partnership law firms reduce from 10,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan per year. While individual law firms are exempt from paying group dues.
Improve the system 01
The Beijing Bar Association deals with the issue of lawyers’ dues from the perspective of economically developed regions and has played a role in thinking and innovating the management of lawyers across the country. For the consideration of the economically developed coastal areas, the Bar Association of Zhejiang Province and even Taizhou City are fully qualified to meet with Xian Siqi and waive the group dues of individual law firms or make a significant difference between the group dues of individual law firms and partnership law firms until the final reduction.
The current national tax collection and administration law stipulate that. There are two types of tax collection methods for the lawyer industry in our country, including account collection and approval collection. In 2000, To standardize and strengthen the collection and management of personal income tax for law firm employees, the State Administration of Taxation issued the “Notice on Business Issues Related to the Collection of Personal Income Tax on the Income Obtained by Law Firm Employees” (National Taxation Issued [2000] No. 149), clarifying the relevant personal income tax issues.
However, with the development of the lawyer industry and the changes in the form of the income distribution. As well as the gradual change of the tax department’s collection method from approved collection to account collection, new situations and problems have gradually emerged.
Improve the system 02
To this end, Based on fully listening to the opinions of law firm practitioners and tax cadres, the State Administration of Taxation, by the principle of actively promoting the investigation and collection of accounts in the lawyer industry, while taking into account the actual situation of the lawyer industry, formulated and issued the “Announcement on Personal Income Tax Issues for Law Firm Practitioners”, raising the standard for case expenses to 35%, and it will implement from January 1, 2013. According to statistics, under the approved taxation method, the tax rate borne by our country’s legal profession accounts for 9% to 15% of income. However, under the method of accounting and collection, the overall tax burden of the law firm (including business tax and additional taxes) accounts for more than 25% of its operating income.
Due to the small size, the small number of personnel, and the small business volume of individual law firms. Such as the unified implementation of the accounting and collection method. It stands bound to increase the negative tax pressure and is not conducive to their development. Therefore, to promote the healthy development of individual law firms. Under the conditions that the state should implement preferential tax policies for individuals. It is not advisable to use the method of checking accounts and collecting taxes for individual law firms. But should use approved taxation as appropriate.
(5) Create a professional risk-sharing system for professional lawyers in individual law firms
It can see from the business model and debt-bearing methods of individual law firms that the founders of law firms are both investors and taxpayers. They are both self-employed and workers; they are both operators and managers. As a lawyer with more than five years of practice experience, he should abandon the previous mentality and thinking that case handling is out of touch with management, and personal interests have nothing to do with the overall interests and use his personal ability, charm, and strength to build, plan, and operate a personal law firm.
Regardless of the scale of operations or asset management. It is difficult for individual law firms to compare with large-scale law firms. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the risk control of the practice. Reduce operating costs and practice risks at the same time. The control of risks of individual lawyers shall control through the establishment and improvement of guarantee systems. Such as risk research and risk sharing mechanisms (including supporting lawyers’ practice liability insurance).
Other things;
It is undeniable that it is very difficult to implement comprehensive tax control over the lawyer industry, but if the tax department conducts tax management by checking accounts and collecting, the law firm with the problem mentioned in the question will have a greater risk of management blind spots and loopholes. Back then, Dalian Chen Dehui Law Firm was investigated for so-called “tax evasion” under the condition of a tax package (approved collection). Although it was finally acquitted, the lesson was particularly profound, warning that individual law firms should attach great importance to tax issues.
Taking into account the current financial system establishment and tax payment situation of individual law firms in Taizhou City. The author recommends that comprehensive considerations should be made of the size of the individual law firm. The number of practicing lawyers, the number of years of practice of lawyers, and the performance of the individual law firm. The approved collection measures for individual law firms should be formulated, and the approved collection management should be fully implemented. In summary, the standardized construction of individual law firms is not a one-day effort. It requires judicial and administrative organs, bar associations, law firm founders, and practicing lawyers. And other parties to work hard to innovate and improve from multiple angles. Such as creating conditions, talent teams, peer collaboration, innovation regulation, and risk control.
Conclusion
The creation of an individual law firm requires very high business credibility and integrity requirements. The number of regions marks the advantages and disadvantages of a local rule of law environment. And its healthy development requires a fairly developed and perfect rule of law environment. The development and management of individual law firms should respect the laws of the development of the law industry. Draw moderately on the successful experience of the development of the lawyer industry in western countries. In the specific system planning, national conditions and regional differences need to be considered. Especially in terms of policy incentives and business support measures.
The joint efforts of judicial administrative organs, bar associations, law firms, and individual lawyers. They are required to continuously improve them, and then promote the healthy and stable development of individual law firms. Individual law firms should work hard to improve the overall quality of lawyers, work hard on industry innovation and development, work hard to establish the image of lawyers, and further strengthen the construction of lawyers’ own industry culture, enhance the political quality, professional quality and moral quality of lawyers, and provide better legal services to various groups in society to establish a good social image. Next, Internal management of individual law firms.
The author was appointed by the Taizhou Bar Association to participate in the selection of personal law firms and outstanding lawyers in Taizhou City. In the process, the author learned from close range that most personal law firms do have insufficient practice norms. Some even have imperfect basic practice regulations, weak management, lack of space, and the ability for self-improvement. And simply can’t talk about the overall competitiveness of the law firm.
Here are the articles to explain, Management defects of Personal Law Firms in Taizhou
(1) Problems in the implementation of the current normative documents of individual law firms
The new “Lawyers Law” only provides for the establishment of personal law firms in principle. But there are no specific operating procedures. To this day, the “Measures for the Management of Individual Law Firms” have not been issued. Making the establishment and regulation of individual law firms lacking systematic norms, supervision, and guidance. On April 12, 2006, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Justice issued the “Zhejiang Province Pilot Work Plan for Individual Law Firms” (Zhejiang Division [2006] No. 63).
The plan only clarifies that the pilot work of personal law firms should adhere to the principle of combining legality and exploratory nature. Except for the exploration allowed by the organization of law firms. The rest should carry out within the framework of existing legal provisions. For issues that are not clarified in the pilot plan for personal law firms in Taizhou, follow the “Lawyers Law”, and “Law Firm Registration Management Measures”, and refer to the relevant provisions of the “Partnership Law Firm Management Measures”.
It is obvious from this that the pilot work plan encourages the combination of bold exploration and prudent action. Actively promotes the combination of gradual and gradual progress. The purpose is to accumulate experience and make basic preparations for the introduction of more direct and standardized personal law firm management rules in the future.
Problems in the implementation 01
On March 08, 2007, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Justice implemented the “Notice on Further Regulating the Administrative Licensing of Law Firms and Lawyers’ Practice” (Zhejiang Division [2007] No. 49), which involves the part of personal law firms. But still emphasizes that it is in the pilot stage and requires. That carries out by the conditions and procedures stipulated by the Ministry of Justice and provincial departments. Other departments on the pilot work of personal law firms opinions, plans, etc., Carefully reviewed and strictly checked. There are no further substantive regulatory requirements for the practice activities of personal law firms.
Compared with the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Justice, the Zhejiang Provincial Bar Association issued the “Implementation Opinions on the Implementation of the Standard Construction Year Activities of Partnership Law Firms” on February 22, 2005 (Zhejiang Division [2005] No. 24). The “Opinions” stand specifically aimed at the standardized construction of partnership law firms. They concretize in terms of guiding ideology, work objectives, and practice regulations, and are highly operable.
However, the industry norms on the management of personal law firms. That has existed formulated in judicial administration are extensive, weakened, and have poor operability. One sparse and one dense. The gap between them is not conducive to the standardized construction of individual law firms in Taizhou.
Problems in the implementation 02
From the perspective of Taizhou’s regional perspective, due to the particularity of the regional economy. The disadvantages expose by traditional organizational law firms in the operation process. The foundation of human cooperation has stood damaged, and the law firm has disintegrated or split frequently. Which has contributed to the rise of individual law firms. Also due to the exploratory and extensive nature of the management of individual law firms. With the increase of violations and prohibited records, the attention of judicial and administrative organs has increased significantly. Then there has been a strict and even restrictive attitude in the declaration and approval work of personal law firms in Taizhou.
This move is inevitably in violation of the “Lawyers Law”. The author believes that the progress and development of the regional lawyer industry should still carry out by the principle of combining bold exploration and prudent action, and actively promoting the combination of step-by-step progress. It is not a good idea to waste food because of unworthiness.
To promote the standardized management of law firms, establish a scientific evaluation system, create industry integrity, strive for excellence, and promote the standardized development of the law industry, the Taizhou Municipal Bureau of Justice and the Taizhou Bar Association have been performing industry management functions since 2010.
Problems in the implementation 03
At the same time, they have launched a “100% assessment” system for law firms according to local conditions. Which has made concrete requirements in terms of system construction integrity. Standardized practice participation in special activities, law firm performance, cooperation in supervision, guidance, and team building. Which has played a direct and positive role in standardizing the standardized construction and healthy and orderly development of personal law firms in Taizhou.
However, the aforementioned assessment system is general. Because of the situation where an individual law firm can build a firm by one person. How to carry out targeted, continuous, and long-term standardized activities. So that the professional ethics of lawyers in individual law firms, practice discipline education, investigation, and punishment of lawyers’ violations. The management of interns and the annual assessment of lawyers’ practice can resolve promptly, but there are few targeted methods. This still highlights the lack of effective measures for the management and regulation of individual law firms.
(2) Problems in the self-management of individual law firms
Individual law firms lack a relatively sound management system. According to the “Regulations on the Management of Law Firms” of the Ministry of Justice. Law firms should formulate practice management and other internal management systems. Which should involve business, finance, labor and personnel, administration, training, conflicts of interest, complaint handling, etc. Regulations, but personal law firms in Taizhou still have individual law firms that lack a systematic and standardized management system.
There are still loopholes for individual law firms to hire lawyers and auxiliary personnel to handle social insurance. Such as a pension, medical care, and unemployment. Some law firms still refuse to handle it or use wages in disguise to offset the aforementioned fees.
In the event of a labor dispute, it is very easy to touch on the risk of practice management. Individual law firms have not established funds for practice risk, career development, social security, etc. The statutory accounting ratio or the method of fund withdrawal and the proportion of costs is unreasonable. There are gaps in financial regulations.
It is difficult for individual law firms to recruit practicing lawyers externally, which affects medium and long-term sustainable development. The competition in the legal profession is ultimately competition for talents. Compared with partnership firms, it is more difficult for individuals to recruit lawyers. The current management system of certain lawyers is also not conducive to the training and introduction of practicing lawyers by individuals.
Article 16
According to Article 16 of the “Rules for the Implementation of the Management of Applying for Internships for Lawyers and Practitioners (Trial Implementation)” of the Zhejiang Provincial Bar Association. Which came into effect on July 1, 2011, the conditions for law firms to accept internships for lawyers. The law firm has been established for one year and there are qualified internship guidance lawyers.
The implication is that even if there are qualified internship guidance lawyers. Although outstanding lawyers are willing to enter the firm for internships, the newly established law firm cannot accept it. These regulations also mean that it is difficult for newly established law firms, including individuals, to train and introduce young lawyers. The aforementioned prohibitive provisions of the Zhejiang Provincial Bar Association are essentially in conflict with the “Rules for the Management of Lawyer Internships (Trial Implementation)” implemented by the All-China Bar Association on August 1, 2010.
Article 8
Article 8 of the rules stipulates that law firms shall not accept interns for internships in any of the following circumstances:
No internship guidance lawyer meets the prescribed conditions;
They have been subject to administrative penalties for suspension of business for rectification. And the penalty period has not expired or not more than three years after the expiration of the period;
They have been subject to industry punishments that prohibit them from accepting internships, and the period of punishment has not expired. The rules of the All-China Lawyers Association do not restrict newly established law firms from accepting trainee lawyers.
Provisions of Article 16
The provisions of Article 16 of the “Implementation Rules (Trial Implementation)” of the Zhejiang Provincial Bar Association are self-wilting and self-binding. They have no long-term effect on the development of the bar industry. They have a hundred disadvantages but no benefits to promoting the construction of a “ten thousand-person ratio” of lawyers in Zhejiang Province and even Taizhou City.
Individual law firms lack talent training plans (including the training of young lawyers) and have not set up talent training funds. The method of fund withdrawal and the proportion of costs are seriously low. Which cannot guarantee the medium- and long-term development needs of law firms.
Individual law firm personnel face obstacles to the flow of talents and are unable to contend with the strategies of headhunting. High-paying absorption implemented by large-scale law firms has prompted frequent job changes.
(3) Financial and tax issues of individual law firms
In addition to the legal responsibilities of individual law firms, the risks of individual law firms cannot avoid. The financial and tax burden of law firms is unavoidable. On the one hand, individual law firm taxes and fees are too high. Which affects operating costs and even survival and development. Although individual law firms have the characteristics of low cost, high efficiency, small but refined, convenient, and fast, they cannot avoid the problem of excessive taxes and fees.
According to the Articles of Association of the Bar Association, law firms require to pay group dues every year. The standards for payment of dues vary from place to place. In most places, they uniformly collect according to the inter-firm standards of law firms. Regardless of the number of lawyers in the law firm, regardless of the difference between the partnership and the individual, the dues of the law firm collect according to a unified standard. The dues of the law firm seem to be equal in form, but they are not equal in substance.
According to the relevant provisions of the current tax law, the tax authorities always implement accounting and collection for law firms. Under the method of accounting and collection, the overall tax burden of law firms accounts for more than 25% of their operating income. In addition, individual lawyers also have to pay personal income tax. For individuals, taxes are excessive. The current method of taxation of tax income is not conducive to personal law firms. And the tax policies in Taizhou City do not reflect certain tax incentives for personal law firms.
On the other hand
The financial and tax management of individual law firms is also generally lacking in the following situations. Leaving many hidden dangers for the healthy development of the unit and even the entire industry.：
The financial state is in disarray. More individual law firms only conduct simple bookkeeping of financial income and expenditure, and the bookkeeping vouchers are incomplete or illegal. Detailed ledgers such as account breakdowns have not been set up by relevant financial accounting regulations.
Income has strong concealment. Since most lawyers handle cases directly with the parties, there hide income that does not reflect in the books of the law firm. This leads to a large loss of business taxes, surcharges, and income taxes, and also brings the risk of tax evasion.
Falsely list expenses and costs. In the case where the fees are collected by the law firm, the lawyer provides bills that have nothing to do with the handling of the case to be reimbursed by the law firm and obtains the balance of the lawyer’s fees after deducting the agreed proportion or management fees from the law firm. In this way, not only did the lawyer’s income and income conceal. But also due to a large number of false expenses and costs, the law firm’s book losses were caused, resulting in a large loss of income tax.
Other things
The means of falsely reporting expenses are diversified. Most of the false invoices are commercial invoices; the content of the invoices is mostly in the name of “office supplies”. There are invoices obtained in the past fiscal year, invoices for family activities expenses (a certain law firm is a male lawyer practicing. But the expenses are listed but reflect the expenses of women’s supplies), telephone bill receipts for personnel from foreign units, etc.;
The catering invoices mix into welfare expenses and travel expenses. When the invoices are not enough to offset the income from lawyers’ fees. The wages of lawyers who did not obtain lawyers’ fees in the current month are used to offset the top. All of this restricts the healthy and stable development of personal law firms in Taizhou. It should have high value to judicial administration, industry associations, and researchers in the industry, and seek positive methods and channels to solve it.
Why do Firms Go Green? Green or Environmental Marketing consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy human needs or wants, such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs, with a minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment. What does Go Green or Environmental Marketing mean in the Firms? According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. What does Employees Stock Option mean? with Motivating Employees.
Why businesses should consider investing their time and money in green marketing or go green?
Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.
Environmental issues have gained importance in business as well as in public life throughout the world. It is not like that a few leaders of different countries or few big renowned business houses are concerned about the day to day deterioration of oxygen level in our atmosphere but every common citizen of our country and the world is concerned about this common threat of global warming.
So in this scenario of global concern, corporate houses have taken green-marketing as a part of their strategy to promote products by employing environmental claims either about their attributes or about the systems, policies, and processes of the firms that manufacture or sell them. Clearly, green marketing is part and parcel of overall corporate strategy; along with manipulating the traditional marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place), it requires an understanding of public policy process.
So we can say green marketing covers a broad range of activities. Firms use green marketing in an attempt to address cost or profit related issues. In implementing green marketing, consumers, corporate and the government play a very important role. But there are few constraints in implementing it like lack of consumer awareness, financial constraints, limited scientific knowledge, lack of stringent rules and competitive pressures.
Green marketing involves developing and promoting products and Services that satisfy your customer wants and needs for quality, performance, affordable pricing and convenience without having a detrimental impact on the environment.
Why are there good business go green today?
Firms may choose to green their systems, policies, and products due to economic and non-economic pressures from their consumers, business partners, regulators, citizen groups and other stakeholders(non-market environment).
Here are some other reasons may include:
Now a day’s firms are becoming more concerned about their social responsibilities:
They have taken social responsibilities as a good strategic move to build up an image in the heart of consumers. Even the socially responsible firms are getting leverage, whenever they intend to enter into foreign countries.
There are example of firms like ITC, HUL who are heavily promoting them as an environmentally concerned firms, whereas there is example of firms who are working in this direction in a silence manner like Coca-Cola, who have invested crores of money in various recycling activities, as well as having modified their packaging to minimize its environmental impact.
While being concerned about the environment coke has not used their concern as a marketing tool. Another big organization who is also working in this field without claiming any credit is Walt Disney World (WDW).
So we can see that firms in this situation have taken two perspectives:
They are using green marketing as a marketing tool.
They are working in this field without promoting the fact.
Competitive pressure:
Competition is an integral part of the business, and you cannot overlook any competitive action taken by your competitor. So to be in the market you have to have a vigil over your competitors move for marketing its products.
Some firms have taken green-marketing as a strategy to build up its image rather than inculcate it as a part of the policy and work silence. In some instances, this competitive pressure has caused an entire industry to modify and thus reduce its detrimental environmental behavior.
Governmental pressure:
In all most all civilized countries Govt. has the law to protect the consumers and the environment from the harmful goods or by-products and ensure through a law that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental composition of goods.
Govt. established several regulations to control the hazardous waste produced by firms and many by-products of production is controlled through the issuing of various environmental licenses, thus shaping the behavior of organization towards more socially responsible one.
Some scholar claims that Green policies/products are profitable:
Green policies can reduce costs; green firms can shape future regulations and reap the first-mover advantage.
Change in customers attitude:
With increasing concern about the environment, consumers attitude towards firms having green policies or green products is becoming a motivating factor.
Cost or profit issue:
Firms may also use green marketing in an attempt to address cost or profit related issues. Disposing of environmentally harmful byproducts, such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated oil are becoming increasingly costly and in some cases difficult. Therefore firms that can reduce harmful wastes may incur substantial cost savings. When attempting to minimize waste, firms are often forced to re-examine their production processes.
In these cases, they often develop more efficient production processes that not only reduce waste but reduce the need for some raw materials. This serves as a double cost saving since both waste and raw material are reduced. In other cases firms attempt to find end–of–pipe solutions, instead of minimizing waste.
In these situations, firms try to find markets or use for their waste materials, where one firm’s waste becomes another firm’s input of production. One Australian example of this is a firm who produces acidic waste water as a by-product of production and sells it to a firm involved in neutralizing base materials.
What does Go Green or Environmental Marketing mean in the Firms? #Pixabay.
#The benefits of Green Marketing (Go Green):
Environmental responsibility has been added to the corporate agenda in the 21st century. Businesses are held accountable by both the government and society to operate in environmentally friendly ways. Green marketing is used by companies to communicate a brand’s emphasis on business practices or products that are beneficial for the environment. Here are explain by Bizfluent; What Are the Benefits of Green Marketing?
Product Opportunities:
Growing consumer awareness and interest in preserving and utilizing natural resources has contributed to an influx in sales and marketing of environmentally friendly and reusable products. “Organic” has become a keyword in marketing.
Sales of organic products reached $26.6 billion in 2009, according to Barbara Haumann in her April 2010 report for the Organic Trade Association. $24.8 billion was generated from organic food sales and an additional $1.8 billion was realized through non-food organic products.
Enhanced Environmental Awareness:
The Encyclopedia of Business (2nd Edition) pointed out that a benefit that resonates with industry and consumers alike is the expansion of environmental awareness. As companies market their green-friendly efforts and products, they simultaneously encourage the green initiative. This perpetuates the efforts by other companies to operate with more green responsibility and causes consumers to remain vigilant in holding companies accountable for their actions.
Premium Prices:
Keeping up with environmental expectations can be expensive for a company. Preserving rain forests, recycling, reducing waste and other green-friendly actions take time, resources and concerted effort.
A benefit of green marketing expansion is that consumers may become more comfortable and accepting of paying higher premium prices to acquire earth-friendly products or to support companies that engage in green activities. The Encyclopedia of Business acknowledges that it is a crucial task of marketers to get customers to take on these premium prices.
Supplier Expansion:
In Go Green, A challenge faced by early adopters of the environmental movement was the limited supply of earth-friendly food and non-food products. Companies that initially sold organic foods faced high prices due to a limited number of organic farmers and suppliers.
However, Haumann notes in her report “farmer’s markets, co-ops, and CSA (community-supported agriculture) operations gained a lot of interest as consumers increasingly look for locally and regionally produced organic foods.” Grocery retailers also benefit from stronger local supplies of organic food products.
