From the very first days of Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines, lawyers have wanted to appear at the top of search results – “above the fold.” That spawned a slew of hucksters forming companies that promised unwitting lawyers that they could get them to show up on top […]
The best lawyer videos I’ve seen – watch Richard Hsu
“Video” comes up in every website conversation I have with lawyers and marketers. Everyone wants to add video to their websites, but few know how to approach it strategically, uniquely and so that the end result is superior to what you had without the added media. I have written about Richard […]
Website visitors don’t read (and we’ve known this for a long time)
Law firm website analytics show that visitors don’t read the content that we painstakingly create. Visitors are scanners – they efficiently scale the pages with their eyes in a big F pattern, catching a headline, keywords or infographics that catch their eye. We hope that something registers, and that there is […]
“Like” law firm Benesch and help fund Red Cross Disaster Relief
Smart law firm Benesch is raising money for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and its Facebook visibility at the same time. If you “like” Benesch, they will donate one dollar – up to $5,000. Such a smart and good move for the law firm. Spread the word, “like” Benesch and […]
What law firms can learn from my experience with the strangest dessert in San Francisco (maybe the world)
While In San Francisco to speak at the monthly San Francisco LMA luncheon on Website trends (with Barbara Abulafia, Keker & Van Nest, Jeff Yerkey, Right Hat and Per Casey, Tenrec), my colleague Keith Wewe, another couple and I were hosted by Elizabeth Lampert for dinner at Twenty-Five Lusk. This modern and tony restaurant, located […]
Year-end website bio housekeeping for lawyers in 30 minutes or less
People don’t like to start on new projects the last few days of December. The pre-holiday bustle that focuses around family, food, faith, fa-la-la and folly has subsided, and we look ahead to the first full week of January to really start work. This year, these last December days are “lost” days […]
Waller: A successful law firm website case study
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP is a 200-lawyer firm headquartered in Nashville, with offices in Birmingham, AL and Austin, TX. The work that “Waller” does in the healthcare industry belies its relatively small size. It is known throughout that industry as the leader, the number-one firm, the “player” in […]
5 Tech tips to increase your productivity – Courtesy of Attorney at Work Blog
David King Keller surveyed a few of us at the Legal Marketing Association’s Tech Conference in San Francisco on October 10-11, 2012 and published an article on the Attorney at Work Blog. The focus of the conference was for speakers to share big and little ideas that “can increase your visibility, your productivity […]
What’s your message? No, really – What’s your message?
Is your message what you say it is – let’s say, your positioning strategy that results in a tagline – is that your message? Or, is your message what others say about you, or post about you on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest? Marketoonist Tom Fishburne spoke at Google’s marketing conference […]
Content Pilot announces NEW Law Firm Website Ten Foundational Best Practices – 2012-2013
As Content Pilot and Right Hat gear up to conduct the AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices research for 2012-2013, the two companies have combined forces and released the latest list of “must-have” attributes for your law firm website. This has been substantially overhauled from the 2010 list. “Mobility” is […]
Back in America
I’ve just returned from two weeks touring and cruising Italy, plus other countries that are on the coastlines of the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. It was a great immersion in ancient cultures and centuries-old cathedrals and basilicas, combined with the joy of spontaneous, contemporary exploration and choice-making. But this post isn’t about […]
The Twitter logo: 2 years old and over-the-hill
Twitter leaders decided that the old bird was over-the-hill. And too fat. No more tubby, toddler-appropriate tiny “Ts,” either. Logo refreshes aren’t unusual, but they typically happen over decades, not months. For example, take the evolution of the NBC logo (all the NBC logos below are the property of NBC): Lightening […]
One of the most important lessons that “connected” lawyers must learn
I just read an HBR Blog post by Peter Bregman that I've had on my imaginary "to-do" list for three days. The title caught my attention: Two Lists you Should Look at Every Morning. Finally, early Saturday evening I "found time" to spend three minutes reading it. To Bregman's point — […]
Lawyers (and everyone else), ask yourself: Am I my resume?
With yet another high profile resume-fake (Scott Thompson, who was ousted as Yahoo! CEO after four months among accusations that he lied on his resume about having a computer science degree) I am compelled to write this blog post about telling the truth on your website and other biographies. Whether […]
What law firms can learn from Dyson’s (think vacuum cleaners) anti-branding slur.
British industrial designer, Sir James Dyson, is best known for his iconic bagless vacuum cleaner that he peddles on television. And among frequent travelers who wash their hands in airport restrooms, for the Dyson Airblade, which dries your hands as would the edge of a tornado. But after a recent […]
Do the leaders of your law firm use social media? Employees trust leaders who do.
By now, most law firms have inked social media policies, yet leaders’ fears are still cresting at the thought of firm employees’ fingers running amok and damaging the firms’ reputations in some way. It seems this trepidation is a one-way street, however, as BRANDfog’s 2012 Social Media and Leadership Survey […]
Loads of Buzz: What happens if an employer asks for your Facebook password?
Since I first read the story last week of the employer requiring an applicant to share his Facebook password during an interview (a condition for employment), business, government, politicians and loads of lawyers have commented on its appropriateness and legality. The article, in the March 20, 2012 edition of The […]
Bits and Pieces from James Kane’s LMA Keynote Presentation – March 15, 2012
Like nearly 1,000 other LMA members last Thursday morning, I listened to our conference opener keynote, James Kane, speak about “loyalty.” It could be the best keynote I’ve ever heard in my life. Thanks to Mark Usellis and Jill Weber, conference co-chairs, and Betsi Roach, LMA Executive Director (plus the […]
The Elephant in the Room: Marketing Technology Trends you can’t Afford to Ignore
That's the title of our ILTA/LMA panel at the Legal Marketing Association's pre-conference CMO session tomorrow. (This is the first formal joint venture between LMA and ILTA – the first of many, I hope.) Starting at 11 CT, Kate Cain, the new Director of Market Intelligence at Sidley, will kick […]
SMU Law School Law Practice Management Class 2012 – What’s on their minds?
Last week I taught Southern Methodist University’s Law Practice Management class – for the third year in a row. In 2011, the students were mostly 2Ls, but this year, there was an equal mix of 4Es (evening students who have fulltime jobs during the day), second and third years. They […]