Before the economic downturn in 2008, large law firms were spending $500,000 and up on print advertising – and that's on the media spend alone. Trying hard to creatively cut through the clutter significantly added to that investment. Today, far fewer law firms – at least the business to business […]
The secret to becoming a rainmaker – Part 2
On February 15th, I wrote a post called, "The secret to becoming a rainmaker." It was one of the highest read posts since I started my Law Firm 4.0 blog. I plan to add to this from time to time and will, very simply, call them Part 2, Part 3, and […]
Lawyers Beware: You’re being heard and watched (and read)
This morning I read a blog post from a great resource for lawyers published by legal marketing veteran Merrilyn Astin Tarlton and colleagues Joan Feldman and Mark Feldman, “Attorney at Work.” It reminded me of two recent experiences. Today’s Attorney at Work post is called “Wireless Hot Spot Safety Tips” and […]
Law Practice Management Class – SMU Law School. What’s on their minds?
I taught a course this week – Marketing on the Internet – at Mark Shank’s Law Practice Management Class at Southern Methodist University Law School. The LPM course was new last year – it attracted 14 students. This year, it has 49, and I expect next year it will exponentially grow again. […]
The secret to becoming a rainmaker.
I mentioned in my last post about civility that I have worked with lawyers nearly three decades. I’ve worked with a lot of brilliant, thought-leading and profession-defining lawyers. It’s a pleasure to have called them clients and friends. Not all of these remarkable attorneys could be called rainmakers. Some are, […]
Most days, I mourn the loss of civility.
I know you’ve seen it and have felt its sting. Rudeness by travelers, drivers, shoppers, waiters and others in the service business. It’s one of the most troubling, yet widely accepted conditions of our times, and unless there is a Peter Finch-style “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to […]
It’s time to make business personal.
In our world of computer-generated auto-replies ("I'm on vacation" or "I went to the dentist" or "Thank you for your question. In a week and a half, someone will surely get back with you" or "I can't help you, call Susie Drum, and if she's not available, leave her a […]
It’s not easy being green: Green initiatives in AmLaw 100 Law Firms
I just read about a recent Harris Poll of nearly 2,400 adults in which the results showed that Americans are less likely than they were in the summer of 2009 to be “green” and engage in various environmentally-friendly activities. A comparison between the 2010 and 2009 surveys reveals that fewer Americans […]
How low can you go? Guest post by Leigh Dance, originally published in LEGAL WEEK
One of my dear friends and a leading international legal marketing consultant, Leigh Dance, published this article in the January 13, 2011 issue of Legal Week. She is the Editor of the recent book "Bright Ideas: Insights from Legal Luminaries Worldwide," which was a compilation of 26 essays by global […]
“Why does marketing have to be so damned hard?” Asks Pat LaPointe (Metrics Insider Blog)
I have quoted Pat LaPointe in past blog posts about metrics and marketing. Pat is Managing Partner at MarketingNPV — specialty advisors on marketing metrics, ROI, and resource allocation, and publishers of MarketingNPV Journal. He starts out today’s post like this: Fact: Failure rates in marketing are astronomically high. Only […]
How does your firm define diversity? Read this article that appeared in The Lawyer.
One of my favorite legal industry consulting friends, Ann Lee Gibson, sent a link to this article this morning with the subject line, “You say potato, I say tater.” Thinking that funny, I couldn’t imagine the referenced article could be anything but. The article is stunning in how un-funny it […]
Let’s talk about lawyer biographies – 2010 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices
The fourth Foundational Best Practice is lawyer biographies. (If you are new to my blog and that opening sentence doesn’t make sense to you, please read these earlier posts about the 2010 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices Research: one, two, three, four and five – in chronological order […]
Measuring the value of social media in driving traffic to your law firm website
It’s mid-December and much of the country is buried in a cold snap. It’s also the time of year where we all seek frenetic joy in the holiday shopping, eating, drinking, socializing Spirit. And, it’s also budget season – still – for many law firms. While we are seeing an […]
Managing Partners Appreciate Strategic Role of Marketing Department – By Janet Ellen Raasch, guest blogger
The Rocky Mountain Chapter of LMA has always had robust programming, but one of the best things they do is have a local chapter member, Janet Ellen Raasch, write synopses of the programs (Janet’s byline and contact info are below). I thought this one was especially well done, and it’s a […]
Live Above the Line: Ten Things to Guarantee Years of Promotions
Mark Usellis, the CMO of Davis Wright Tremaine, as issue editor of the October 2010 Strategies: The Journal of Legal Marketing (published by the International Legal Marketing Association – LMA), compiled several articles that he packaged as "Lessons from our Mentors." I wrote the following article that was published in […]
Budget time always begs the question, “What are we getting for our marketing dollars?”
We are seeing a strategic loosening of law firm purse-strings. "Strategic loosening" means that projects and initiatives that impact the law firm's strategic goals are ear-marked for funding in 2011. This is good news for many marketing and business development department leaders, as they've been wanting to push their initiatives and […]
2010 AmLaw 100 Websites’ research – ILTA SF presentation
On November 10, 2010, I spoke to the San Francisco and Albuquerque chapters of ILTA – www.iltanet.org - (with some SF LMA members also attending) - presenting the 2010 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices research for the first time. I wrote a guest article about it and posted my slides on "3 […]
Jim Dolan’s article in Texas Lawyer: “Integrity: When Heroes Have Feet of Clay”
Jim Dolan is a friend and advisor who happens to be a sought-after leadership coach and psychotherapist for successful professionals, including many lawyers. He writes a regular column called "The Lawyers' Coach" for the TEXAS LAWYER, and he has a book coming out by year end. The subject matter of […]
Amlaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices — the first attribute (Strategy Copy)
Let's talk about "Strategy Copy" on a law firm (or any) website. This is simply a short, compelling description of your firm that reflects your unique positioning strategy. It should work very hard — it carries your branding message(s), distinguishes your firm and succinctly offers differentiating benefits or features. It […]
2010 AmLaw 100 Website Ten Foundational Best Practices research – Communicating your Message
We commissioned the AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices research again this year, and have just completed the analysis. Now it’s time to dig in and unbury the findings, and compare it to the 2007 study, which was the last time this research was conducted. “Communicating your Message” is the first […]