Slides from Paul Aprlie of Counter Tax Law's presentation at Evolve Law event in Toronto on April 25, 2017

1. The numbers
say it all.

2. ROI

3. GIGO

4. In accordance with the Law Society’s regulatory framework, we confirm that nothing
on our public website is intended to communicate marketing messages that:
1.“suggest qualitative superiority to other lawyers”
(hmmmm…okay)
2.“raise expectations unjustifiably”
(we’ll only raise them with total justification);
3.“suggest or imply that the law firm or lawyer is aggressive”
(fine, but how about endearingly assertive – nobody wants a bunch of wimps pursuing
a tax dispute);
4.“disparage or demean other persons, groups, organizations or institutions”
(not a chance – though we assume that doesn’t preclude self-deprecation);
5.“take advantage of a vulnerable person or group”
(nope, we’re not like that – unless you’re talking about our competitors); or
6.“using testimonials or endorsements which contain emotional appeals”
(absolutely not… though one person’s “emotional” may be another’s, um, “emphatic”…
but we’re talking about clients who are happy with how we handled their cases and
would recommend us… not people saying, “Please take your tax dispute to Counter
so these children can get a hot breakfast and then run free with the pandas…”).

5. It appears that most law firms
are content to rely on vanity reports
and brochures containing generic
We’re the Best slogans in bold type,
alongside pictures of impressive-
looking office towers.

6. Public Record – Limitations
1.In most cases, disputes are resolved before any hearing and settlements are not
published, i.e., no public data
2.Even when litigation proceeds, the decision process – and therefore outcomes –
are rarely simple, binary win/lose scenarios. Litigation is nuanced.
3.Performance analysis must take into account the litigant’s priorities and the reasons
that may underlie the decision to pursue litigation, especially in the face
of long odds.
4.Using the win percentage alone does not take legal fees and other litigation costs
into account, nor does it measure the most important client metric – clients’
return on investment.
5.Evaluating lawyers based on winning percentages alone ignores that many litigators
avoid court, difficult cases, and long odds to cultivate and protect an illusion of
success.

7. A Complete Data Set
A complete data set would – at minimum – include:
1.the firm’s ability to accurately identify litigation outcome(s) and the parties’
target outcome at the outset;
2.an analysis and comparison between the result and the target outcome; and
3.clients’ return on investment.

8. The numbers
say it all.

9. 21:1For every $1 a client spends on legal
fees,we save them $21.

10. How do you find the right tax lawyer?
countertax.ca/blog/how-do-you-find-the-right-tax-lawyer
The numbers say it all.
countertax.ca/numbers

11. Peter Aprile
Founder & Tax Counsel
paprile@countertax.ca
1.416.218.5263 x111
Thank You.