What a powerful legacy. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a precious gem whose end came far too soon. He was truly a remarkable person that altered the course of history. He endured physical abuse, jail time and ultimately death in support of his vision: an America where people were judged by the content of their character instead of by the color of their skin. He proved it true that an intimate knowledge of the truth, however simple that truth may be, is the best defense against lies and propaganda.

MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is one of the most brilliantly crafted letters I’ve ever read. Seriously, it’s as close to perfect as a writer can ever expect. While behind bars, MLK is able to maintain his humility and methodically and graciously addresses the concerns of his opponents. It’s truly a remarkable work of advocacy. In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. day, I’ve provided this letter below. Please download the pdf and take the time to read it. Enjoy and have a great day.

Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.

Technology today allows us to zero in on the exact location of our customer base.  Instead of casting huge nets with expensive commercials, we can be efficient with our limited time and money and communicate directly with our potential clients and customers.  I’m a huge fan of writing ebooks for a targeted audience.  If your readers find it useful, they’ll help you out by sharing it with friends.  The shotgun approach of being universally appealing no longer works.

Take Flying Dog for example.  Flying Dog, a popular craft brewery based out of Maryland, has no chance of competing against Budweiser.  They’re too small, too new, too unknown, and lack the resources.  But they can still service a particular niche of craft enthusiasts and operate a fantastic business.  They’ve recently released a Pale Ale called “Raging Bitch.”  I know, it’s an odd name.  Budweiser, Coors, or Miller (the “big three”) would never title one of their beers in this fashion, nor do they need to.   However, in a competitive market where the top spots are already reserved, craft brands can be truly remarkable and focus on satisfying a smaller segment while charging premium prices.

When the top spots are occupied, you’ve got a choice: you can do what everyone else is doing and get what everyone else is getting, or you can be remarkable and own a particular niche.  What’s your niche?

Bruce Lee was never the world’s best actor. But he was without a doubt the world’s best Kung Fu actor. Identify your niche, and then own it.

Smaller businesses (ahem, law practices) have many advantages over larger ones.  As the saying goes, “Small is the New Big.”  In 1937, Ronald Coase, a Nobel Prize winner, illustrated one of the fundamental purposes behind large organizations: business can be expensive and sometimes it’s best if costs are spread out throughout a large enterprise.  Due to operating costs, all businesses, large and small, have an inherent “Coasean floor” where a certain endeavor is not worth the organization’s time.  But if costs are driven low enough, the Coasean Theorem states that small operations can theoretically overtake big ones.  With fewer barriers to enter, such as zero marketing costs and super-low technology costs, the small can act big and provide equivalent services at much lower price points.

To be clear, the mega law firms are not going the way of the dinosaur.  There will always be the mega law firms with enough resources to support the needs of various institutional clients.  I do not see a sole practitioner getting complex security work from Merrill Lynch.  However, it’s no secret that there’s a deflationary force in the legal industry where clients are demanding more competitive rates.  If the Coasean Floor of the larger law firms prohibits them from making adjustments due to legacy costs, inflated salaries and costly infrastructure, the work will flow to professionals with leaner operations.  If you’ve got a laptop and an internet connection, it’s possible to open up shop.  It can be as simple or as complex as you want.

There are a lot of network marketing companies that are confused about their negative online reputations.  Here’s some candid, honest advice about how some of those companies should go about fixing their reputation.

In this new age of transparency and openness, it’s near-impossible to bottle up information and sell it. Today, information begs to be free. This is especially true in the realm of digital information. Last month, Bob Dickie from the Aide-de-Camp blog sent me the Wall Street Journal article about a strange monopoly over a particular realm of information: the law.

The article states,

But with the possible exception of the ever-leaky CIA, no aspect of government remains more locked down than the secretive, hierarchical judicial branch. Digital records of court filings, briefs and transcripts sit behind paywalls like Lexis and Westlaw. Legal codes and judicial documents aren’t copyrighted, but governments often cut exclusive distribution deals, rendering other access methods a bit legally questionable…

In law school, I recall a lesson in Criminal Law where we were taught that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” It was explained that there’s a presumption that everyone knows the law and purposely chooses to follow or break it. By itself, the presumption is obviously a huge stretch, but it’s also understandable.  Otherwise, could you imagine all the “I didn’t know” excuses?  But when we lock access to the law behind expensive pay-walls, doesn’t it fly in the face of this presumption of knowledge? On the one hand, we want to hold everyone to a standard of sophistication and understanding. On the other hand, we bury the laws behind expensive websites that are only accessible by law firms.

Hence, the monopoly over legal information. As lawyers, we make a living exploiting the ignorance of our clients. It’s true. They have a need, they have no idea how to solve it, we have access to the information to help them, and we earn a living by connecting the dots. There’s nothing wrong with this model. It’s been around a long time. In defense of this model, I’d argue we have a unique skill set to understand the issues and leverage the information to the client’s full advantage. And with skills, comes marketable value. Again, there’s nothing wrong with this.

But this model is on the wrong side of history… As an example, if you used to make a living setting up corporations and LLCs, you’ve probably moved on thanks to Legal Zoom. Who’s next? The problem with information is that it can easily devolve into a commodity.

So what’s the solution?  Be an expert, own a niche, and stay one step ahead of the commodity curve.  The legal profession needs to get out of the 20th century, embrace openness, and seek to empower average citizens with as much information as possible. Entrepreneurs are already trying to make this happen. Lawyers can share documents at JD Supra, law students can share case summaries at Advanced Advocates, lawyers can cheaply search for cases over at fastcase.com. Furthermore, the American Bar Association needs to end the requirement to be certified in each state separately to practice there. If I practice law in a state for 3 years, I’m more qualified to work in a different state than some law student that just crammed for the Bar exam. If you can practice in one state, guess what, you can practice in all states. Open up the doors of competition. Entrepreneurs will slowly pick this industry apart. Either accept openness, or be destroyed by it.