“The Loss Leader concept then evolved to include pricing certain commodity items at a loss, with the full intent of having the customer simultaneously purchase other, high-in-profit products to offset the loss. Grocery stores do this with eggs and milk, which are placed in the back of the store, forcing customers to pass by and pick up the high margin items. So how are law firms actually treating the Loss Leader concept? By pricing the non-commodity, high-end stuff at a loss. I would argue that M&A deals and complex, large dollar litigation cases would not technically fall into a Loss Leader category. This is akin to the car dealer selling Escalades at a loss, hoping you’ll buy … maybe some nicer wheels? Law firms using this technique are expecting the customer to be so happy they come back next year and buy another Escalade - at full price. The likelihood of this: Zero. What law firms are actually doing is getting into price cutting wars. And they will be much better off if that see it as such and treat it accordingly. In the words of Yogi Berra, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” We’re not going back to full rate deals. Smart firms will face up to that – dropping the whole Loss Leader charade.“