Category: Law Office Management

Law Firm SEO: Top Search Engine Optimization Strategies for Lawyers

For most people, Google is their go-to search tool for finding legal services. Being the largest search engine online today, Google is a significant source of leads for law firms and practicing attorneys.

But ranking high in the Google search results is not always an easy feat. You need Search Engine Optimization to improve your law firm website, increase your rankings, and attract new leads in droves.

The good news is that SEO for attorneys is made simple with the right strategies.

In this comprehensive SEO for lawyers guide, you’ll learn:

  • What search engine optimization is (and why it matters)
  • The fundamentals of law firm SEO
  • On-site SEO tips for lawyers
  • How to conduct SEO keyword research
  • How to write legal content for your blog
  • The essentials of local SEO for law firms
  • Top link building tactics for law firms

Want to improve your Google rankings and drive more clients to your website? Let’s dive in.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a type of digital marketing that works to help businesses and websites attract more visitors from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Specifically, law firm SEO is the practice of using data-driven tactics to attract more prospective clients online.

Prospective clients turn to search engines (namely, Google) to search for legal services, find a lawyer in their area, read law firm reviews, and compare their options. Law firm SEO helps lawyers stand out online, making them the obvious choice ahead of their competitors.

Why is Law Firm SEO Important?

SEO is a powerful marketing tool in helping law firms attract more clients online. Not only can SEO help your law firm rank higher in the search results, but it can increase website engagement and generate more leads for your business.

Ranking at the top of search doesn’t happen overnight, and it usually doesn’t happen without some intervention on your part to improve your site’s SEO. That’s why it’s important to invest in SEO strategies early on to increase your chances of ranking above your local competitors.

Benefits of SEO for Lawyers

There are a variety of benefits that come from using search engine optimization on your website. These benefits can include:

  • Attracting more users to your law firm’s website
  • Increasing your visibility in local search
  • Generating more positive reviews for your business
  • Increasing engagement on your website
  • Converting website visitors into potential clients
  • Attracting high-quality backlinks to your site
  • Ranking above your competitors
  • Tapping into new service areas and markets
  • Creating a holistic content strategy to reach more users

The benefits of SEO don’t stop there. If you want to attract more clients to your law firm on a consistent basis – and improve your digital marketing overall – it’s worth it to get started with SEO.

Does My Law Firm Need a Website for SEO?

The legal industry is highly competitive, which means law firms need to do everything they can to stay ahead of the competition. While it’s possible to attract clients without a website, it’s highly recommended that you have one in order to get the most out of SEO.

Having a website gives you a platform to optimize your business for Google search and provides a medium through which potential clients can contact you. It also gives you a place where you can publish content, post client testimonials, and provide clients with information about your firm.

Having an attractive, search engine optimized website can make a huge difference when it comes to getting your law firm noticed online.

The Fundamentals of Law Firm SEO

There are essentially four essentials that are required for a successful SEO strategy. These include:

  1. Technical SEO
  2. Content
  3. Link Building
  4. Local SEO

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves the technical optimization of your website, including the site structure, navigation, load speed, and link structure. Without a fast, functional, and user-friendly website, no amount of content or backlinks will be enough to maximize your rankings.

To have a technically-sound website, your site must:

  • Be optimize for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets)
  • Be indexable by search engines (by having an optimized sitemap)
  • Be secure; having an updated SSL certificate
  • Avoid broken links and 404 pages
  • Be easy to navigate
  • Have a fast load time (under 3 seconds)

Technical SEO is arguably the most complex part of SEO, as it requires some knowledge of website management and development. When optimizing your law firm website, it may be best to work with a technical SEO expert and/or web developer the handle the technical optimization of your site.

Content Marketing

In the SEO world, content is king. It’s virtually impossible to have an informative, user-friendly website without content. With that in mind, your law firm website should have web pages and blog articles that contain valuable content that’s both written for your target audience and optimized for search engines.

Link Building

Backlinks occur when another website or online platform links to your website. When reputable, authoritative websites link to your site, this can boost your own site’s authority. This is a plus in the eyes of Google, as Google’s algorithm strives to show high-authority sites to users.

Link building is the practice of driving links to your website, through a variety of methods.

The key thing to keep in mind is that you should be working to earn high-quality links, not just a massive volume of links. It’s best to earn these links organically or through outreach rather than through buying links from a vendor.

Local SEO

Local SEO is a type of SEO that’s unique to local businesses. This is because local businesses serve specific geographical areas and, therefore, their potential customers are often using geo-specific terms to find services in their area.

For example, someone is more likely to search for “family lawyer in Seattle” than simply “lawyer” or “attorney”, because they know they need a lawyer in their area. So, law firms then need to use these localized terms in their content, as well as build out their local online listings (such as on Google My Business, Bing Places, and the like).

Google Ranking Factors for Law Firm Websites

The top Google ranking factors are essentially the same for law firms as they are for any other type of business, aside from local SEO. “Ranking factors” are essentially the elements Google’s algorithm looks for when determining whether (and how) it should rank a website.

Your goal as a law firm business owner is to try and tick off all of these boxes. If your site includes all of these top ranking factors, you’re well on your way to having an optimized site that ranks above your competitors.

These top ranking factors for Google include:

  1. Having a secure and accessible website
  2. Passing Google’s Page Speed and Mobile Page Speed tests
  3. Being optimized for mobile devices
  4. Your website’s domain age and authority
  5. Having optimized web content
  6. Tackling your technical SEO
  7. Optimizing for User Experience (UX)
  8. Having high-quality backlinks

How to Conduct Keyword Research for Law Firms

Before you can start optimizing your site for certain search terms, you need to figure out what those terms should be. Keyword research involves identifying what key terms your potential clients are searching for when looking for businesses like yours.

Many lawyers assume that their target audience is searching for keywords like “lawyer” or “law firm”, but this is not necessarily the case. You need to conduct thorough, data-driven keyword research to find the right terms, as well as uncover their search volume and competition level.

1. Use SEO keyword tools

Lawyers can use SEO keyword research tools like Ahrefs.com or SEMRush.com to find keywords. These tools not only show you how much search volume a keyword gets, but also how difficult it will be to compete for it.

Use these tools to research your own initial keyword ideas, find related keywords, and spy on your competitors’ keyword strategies. Knowledge is power, and having the best data on your side will only help your SEO strategy become stronger.

2. Brainstorm searchable key terms.

Sometimes it’s best to simply start with a brain dump of keyword ideas that might apply to your website. Consider:

  • The types of services you offer
  • How you would describe your business in a few words
  • The types of clients you work with
  • The results you’ve generated for clients
  • What your competitors are targeting
  • Your service area(s)
  • The questions your potential clients are likely asking

For example, a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles is likely to think up search terms like:

  • LA personal injury attorney
  • LA personal injury lawyer
  • Personal injury lawyer LA
  • Personal injury law LA
  • Los angeles pi lawyer
  • Who to call after an accident
  • Car accident lawyer LA
  • Personal injury law services
  • What does a pi lawyer do

The above terms are all potential keywords you could search for using your chosen keyword research tool. Over time, you’re likely to add to this list by discovering related terms and other keywords you’d like to target on your website.

3. Consider localized keywords.

In the previous example, you saw some keyword options that included localized terms like “LA” and “Los Angeles”. If you are a law firm that targets specific service areas, then you will want to identify localized terms as well.

See if you can find key terms for each of the areas you serve. Look for variations of these localized terms, such as “LA”, “Los Angeles”, and “Los Angeles, CA”. It’s best to target these terms so your law firm is able to compete locally versus at a more competitive, national level.

4. Identify related keywords.

Once you search for the key terms in your chosen SEO keyword research tool, you can use the tool to find “Related Keywords”. This is a great way to find terms you might not have thought of before. If they seem like a good fit for your site, add them to your list.

5. Scope out your competitors’ keywords.

Finally, you can use those same SEO tools to search your competitors’ domains and see which keywords they are targeting. You are likely to find some interesting phrases you might want to target on your own site. These terms can then be applied to new web pages or blog articles.

On-Site SEO Tips for Lawyers

On-site (or “on-page”) SEO involves optimization that occurs on your website (as opposed to optimizing your other online profiles or building backlinks). On-site SEO is important because your website serves as essentially the foundation of your entire SEO strategy.

Fortunately, on-page SEO tends to be the most accessible form of SEO and therefore the easiest for lawyers to implement on their own.

Here are a few tips for optimizing your website:

  • Use your focus keyword in the title tag of your page. Your title meta tag is one of the strongest signals that search engines look out for.
  • Include your keyword(s) in the meta description of your page or post. This description should accurately (and concisely) explain what the content is about.
  • Include your keyword in your H1 tag. This is the “title” that appears when you visit the web page or blog post.
  • Use keywords throughout your page copy. In writing a web page or article, your content should thoroughly cover the topic and naturally include your target keyword, as well as related keywords.
  • Optimize your page/post length. Look at the top-ranking pages or articles for your target keyword and try to write content that’s around the same length. Ideally, your content should provide more value than what’s already ranking.
  • Avoid duplicate content. The content on your web pages should be original, and you should avoid using the same content across multiple pages.
  • Optimize your images by reducing the file size, including a descriptive file name, and adding optimized (descriptive) image alt text. Only use original images or graphics, or royalty-free images, to avoid copyright issues.
  • Fix broken links by setting up 301 redirects. Avoid changing the URLs of your pages or posts unless absolutely necessary. Have a user-friendly 404 page that directs users to other pages of your site if they encounter a broken link.
  • Add internal links within your content to other pages and posts on your site. This helps users find the information they’re looking for and keeps them on your site for longer.

How to Write Legal Content for Your Blog

Your law firm website should contain optimized web pages that describe your services, but you should also have blog articles that draw in potential clients. Beyond your Home, About, Contact, and service pages, blog articles work to attract a wider audience and provide value to users.

This is where you can get a bit more creative with your content ideas. Brainstorm some topics and then use keyword research tools to determine whether any of these terms have search volume. Then you can turn them into blog posts.

For example, some interesting legal blog post ideas include:

  • “X Things to Look for When Hiring a Y Lawyer”
  • “X Things to Do Before Filing for Divorce”
  • “X Steps to Filing a Personal Injury Claim”
  • “What to Do if You Get Injured on the Job”
  • “X Steps to Settling a Child Custody Dispute”
  • “Complete Guide to X Law for [Audience]”
  • “What You Need to Know About [State]’s New X Law”
  • “Need a X Lawyer? Here’s How to Choose the Best One for You”

Once you have a topic in mind – and have confirmed that there is search volume for this topic – you can write an informative blog post. Then, follow on-site SEO best practices to ensure your post is optimized for search engines. Again, this includes:

  • Using the focus keyword in the title tag
  • Writing an optimized meta description
  • Using your target keyword(s) throughout the content
  • Adding descriptive H2 headings
  • Adding internal links
  • Including original, optimized images

Local SEO Essentials for Law Firms

As a local service business, your law firm needs local SEO in order to rank high in local search. This not only involves using localized keywords on your website, but also optimizing your local online listings.

Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is a free platform that allows businesses to create online profiles to drive traffic and attract customers/clients. You can claim an existing listing or create a new one. Best practices for optimizing your GMB listing are to include your business name, address, phone number, hours, and website link, add images to your profile, and generate positive client reviews.

Online Directories

There are a variety of reputable online directories that allow law firms to post their business information. This is a good way to generate traffic, attract clients, and, sometimes, earn a backlink. Some of the top legal directories include Avvo, FindLaw, BBB, eLocal, Superpages, Yellow Pages, Bing Places, and Yelp.

Localized Content

While it can be difficult to find localized keywords that relate to the services you offer, it’s still worth it to try and create localized content for your niche. This might include topics like “Best Lawyers in [ Area ]” or even something more broad like “X Businesses That Are Serving the Community in [ Area ]”.

You should use your geo-specific keywords throughout your content and be on the lookout for more localized keyword opportunities. This would be a good time to scope out what your competitors are doing and see if you can tackle any of these topics on your own site.

Link Building Strategies for Law Firms

The last “essential” of law firm SEO is link building, which involves earning links back to your website. There are many organic methods you can use, but this can be quite a competitive endeavor, especially in the legal niche.

Some of the most common law firm link building strategies include:

  • Creating linkable assets (blog articles, guides, ebook, etc.) that sites will link to organically
  • Conducting outreach to niche websites to earn links directly
  • Guest posting on other websites in exchange for links
  • Posting your business information to online directories
  • Creating white papers, case studies, and “ultimate guides” you can circulate to other platforms

Link building can get a bit tedious, but it is worth it when it comes to the authority you can earn for your site. Need more ideas? Check out this post on 8 link building ideas for law firms.

Law Firm SEO Made Simple

Law firm SEO can seem complicated, especially if you’re new to this type of digital marketing. But with the right strategies, you can start taking steps today to improve your SEO over time. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint, and now’s the best time to get started to set your site up for long-term growth.

By implementing on-page SEO, technical SEO, content marketing, local SEO, and link building, you’ll be well on your way to having an optimized law firm website. Over time, you’ll increase your Google rankings, generate more traffic, and, hopefully, attract more clients to your firm.

Copyright 2020 © Hennessey Digital

ARTICLE BY Jason Hennessey of Hennessey Digital
For more articles on law firm SEO, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.

How Law Firms Are Supporting Women Lawyers in The Pandemic

This year’s celebration of Women’s History Month is especially appropriate because it comes during the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown. Working women have felt a tremendous amount of pressure in juggling demanding careers with the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, especially closed childcare facilities and schools and eldercare.

The American Bar Association conducted a survey to understand the impact of the pandemic on the legal profession, particularly on women and diverse lawyers. It uncovered concerning data that all law firm leaders must consider going forward: Just as client demand for diversity is hitting an all-time high, the pandemic may force women to leave the workforce.

“The findings may forecast an exodus from the profession at a time when clients are demanding diverse talent,” noted Roberta Liebenberg of the Red Bee Group, which designed and managed the survey. The ABA presented findings of the survey, conducted in fall 2020, on February 17 at its virtual 2021 midyear meeting.

Since COVID-19 began, women have been exiting the workforce at higher rates than men, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These reports suggest that even greater challenges lie ahead for women lawyers as our country and our businesses begin to emerge from the pandemic.

Jaffe spoke with several law firms around the country about the impact of the pandemic on women lawyers and how their women’s programs have been helpful over the past year.

Women’s Initiatives and Pandemic Support

One positive and effective way that many law firms support their women lawyers is through women’s initiative programs or groups, which offer opportunities for women at any stage of their careers to connect, mentor and educate each other.

Women of Moore & Van Allen (WoMVA) chair Meredith Reedy said that the pandemic, while affecting working parents overall at the firm, has had an especially strong impact on working mothers. “Whether juggling work and young children or aging parents, women tend to take the brunt, intentional or not,” she said.

WoMVA brings together female professionals at the firm for mentoring, networking and career development opportunities. The group is devoted to promoting the interests and progress of women lawyers and non-legal professionals, including through efforts to promote women to leadership positions in the firm and the community.

She credits the firm for being flexible over the past year, but points to a common flaw she has noticed affecting all women lawyers. “We need to be better at creating boundaries between home and work. Work is always there,” Reedy said.

Melissa Ebel, co-chair of the professional development initiative Women of Eastman & Smith (WES) at the law firm Eastman & Smith Ltd., said the pandemic was a huge adjustment for attorneys who found themselves providing legal services while caring for young children, facilitating remote education for school-aged children or both.

Ebel, a mother to three children under age 5, needed a leave of absence to care for them. “The firm was fantastic,” she said. “My partners assisted in serving our clients; once my children’s childcare re-opened, I was able to gradually, and relatively seamlessly, return to my practice.”

WES, whose members are also members of the firm’s management team, took an important step toward advancing awareness of gender equality and equity issues within the firm last year, when the firm adopted a 12-week paid parental leave policy for all employees, regardless of gender, who need time to care for the birth, adoption or foster placement of children.

In addition, WES has enhanced the firm’s mentoring program for women attorneys, helping women associates develop and establish relationships with more-senior attorneys.

“Our need for WES to transition to virtual programming due to COVID-19 resulted in increased attorney attendance and participation,” Ebel said. “Each month, different WES members team up and decide on the theme of the programming. The goal is to provide our women attorneys with opportunities to share ideas, foster internal relationships, expand contacts and build leadership skills.

Lori Wisniewski Azzara, chair of the Women’s Initiative at the law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC, said the firm has learned that attorneys can still be productive without being in the office. “As a result, the firm instituted a remote work policy for all attorneys, which provides attorneys with the option to work one day per week from home once our offices reopen,” she said. “This added flexibility is beneficial for our female attorneys, particularly those with younger children or those in caregiver roles, because it allows for balancing home and work demands on a more-convenient schedule.”

“Because many state and national events and conferences were being conducted virtually, we were able to broaden the number of female attorneys at our firm who could attend meetings,” said Azzara, noting another opportunity the pandemic offered for greater participation and engagement.

Mollie Farrell, Greensfelder’s Director of Professional Development, works with Women’s Connect, the firm’s internal initiative that organizes social and professional development opportunities to connect women attorneys across all offices and practice areas. She explained how the firm’s partnership with a community provider helps to ease stress and worry for firm employees when having to manage eldercare.

“One important priority has been to support caregivers, whether that is parents or others who are caring for elderly or sick family members,” Farrell said. “In 2020, the firm began partnering with Homethrive, a family elder care coordinator, to offer all of its employees a fully covered family caregiver service benefit as part of the firm’s broader benefits package. Through this new partnership, we have additional programming and support available to attorneys and staff.”

Farrell also pointed to the need for clear, consistent communication from firm management. “It has been important for employees at all levels to hear the message from top leadership that they are supported in their need for accommodation, whether that is related to their personal working situation, a need for family leave or other struggles,” she said.

Sanity and Service During the Pandemic

Women’s initiatives at law firms understood the need for socializing, albeit distanced, to maintain relationships and sanity during the pandemic.

While WoMVA’s biannual retreat had to be cancelled last fall, the group kept to a fairly normal level of activity, with programs such as a virtually guided wine and cheese pairing tasting, and an online holiday party.

One new effort that has been particularly well-received was the launch of the WoMVA book club. The women meet quarterly for meaningful discussion about a book’s relevance to their personal and professional lives, alternating between fiction and nonfiction reading choices, while catching up with one another. The book club cultivates cross-team relationships, which expands female attorneys’ professional and personal networks within the firm.

Women of Eastman & Smith (WES) did not slow down its service during the past year. Focusing on the importance of literacy, WES held an internal book drive in June 2020 to collect books to donate to a local nonprofit that assists low-income parents with how to prepare their children for kindergarten. WES collected more than 150 books from attorneys and staff to donate, tripling their initial goal.

At Cohen Seglias, Azzara said she hopes the Women’s Initiative will use 2021 to reconnect, both internally and with clients. “Our programing this year will focus on bringing us together and providing opportunities to engage with our clients, even if we are still operating in a virtual setting,” she said.

Maternity Leave

Pending motherhood brings unique challenges, and several firms provide formal support. WoMVA’s Advocate Program pairs expecting and new mothers with an internal advocate to help them at the firm with their transition to parental leave, and when returning to the firm. “This program has been especially helpful during the pandemic,” Reedy said.

Cohen Seglias recently implemented a ramp-down/ramp-up policy. “This provides new mothers with some breathing room and flexibility in their billable hour requirement as they prepare for and adjust to motherhood,” said Azzara. “The firm strives to support its female attorneys during this process, and this policy furthers that goal by providing an opportunity for the attorney to be successful, both personally and professionally.”

Women’s History Month

In recognition of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, these firms undertook different approaches to honor the women at their firms.

WoMVA invited all firm employees to a webinar, “How Men Can #ChooseToChallenge Gender Inequity in Law,” with a panel of business leaders and change-makers who addressed the role of men in advancing gender equality in the workforce, especially in the business of law.

Another firm accepted the #ChooseToChallenge theme. Eastman & Smith’s managing partner called on all attorneys and staff to work together to ensure the firm provides a culture where all are welcome, included and empowered to succeed, and provided a forum to discuss the firm’s commitment to creating an inclusive work environment.

Cohen Seglias is posting a daily feature in March about each of the firm’s female attorneys and leaders on its social media pages. With a significant presence in the construction industry, the firm also spotlights its female attorneys who practice in construction, since March also includes Women in Construction week.

The Women’s Connect group at Greensfelder undertook a new project this year to reach out directly to all of the firm’s women attorneys and have one-on-one phone conversations with as many as possible. The discussions served two purposes: to interview each attorney and learn a bit more about their personal and professional backgrounds, and to delve into how they feel about the firm and how Women’s Connect can best support them.

“That information is now being used in multiple ways, including for mini-profiles of each interviewee to be shared internally throughout March and as the basis for external messaging for International Women’s Day,” said Farrell. “Most important, it is serving as background knowledge to inform the Women’s Connect leaders and other firm leadership about ways they might consider enhancing their support for women. This has been a valuable and much-needed way to rebuild some of the personal connections that may have lost momentum during remote-work time and to remind people that their voices are important and heard.”

Women’s initiative groups at law firms are crucial to providing women lawyers of all ages with ways to feel empowered about their careers, professional relationships and work environments. As law firms have had to become more empathetic to the work-life balance and enable greater flexibility, women’s programming must remain a priority for women lawyers to succeed on all fronts as a new “normal” emerges.

© Copyright 2008-2020, Jaffe Associates

ARTICLE BY Vivian Hood of Jaffe
For more articles on the legal industry, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.

Credential Your Law Practice

Everyone wants to go with a winner, right? This sentiment is true when it comes to the legal industry. Attorneys and small law firms will do themselves a service by investing in law practice credentialing. Law firm credentials are not only accolades and awards that make you feel great about your work, but they also provide clients, peers, and businesses with insight into how well you operate.

Credentials Are Powerful

As of 2019, 84 percent of people trust online reviews and referrals as much as they would trust a referral from a close friend or family member. This number is staggering and did not change even through the COVID-19 pandemic. People are more risk-averse than ever, which means that you should give them every reason to hire you.

In law firm marketing, you can become more credible in a specific niche because of law firm credentials. However, it does take some attention and work to achieve these awards. Consistency and planning will help you obtain accolades and stand out amongst the competition with awards and credentials earned by you and your firm.

Credentialing Sources

There are several ways that small law firms and attorneys can obtain credentials. From attorney ranking sites to speaking and presentations, lawyers should put themselves out there. Remember, if people do not know that you are interested in nominations, they will not know to ask you or give you credit.

Follow my tips below for credentialing resources:

Attorney Ranking Sites

Attorney ranking sites are just one of many opportunities available to attorneys who want more credentials. These sources may also help you gain greater local visibility to potential clients.

Credentialing sources that you will want to consider include:

  • Martindale-Hubbell
  • Avvo ratings
  • Super Lawyers
  • Best Lawyers in America
  • Chambers USA
  • Local, national, and specialty bars
  • Civic leadership organizations
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Other niche credentialing sites

These accolades provide the social proof and legitimacy that they need to move forward with your services. Get recognized more often and stand out from the crowd by pursuing these types of credentials and awards.

It is also worth mentioning that attorney ranking and vetting sites tend to occupy the top 3 spots in search results. You should list yourself on these sites for this reason as well. Plus, it will help you obtain a large number of backlinks from highly ranked sites.

Publishing Opportunities

Aside from website badges and on-page listings, you can also obtain credentials through writing opportunities. After all, lawyers are excellent candidates for writing well-thought-out articles that provide value to readers regarding a specific law area. However, it is essential to remember that publication writing is different from legal writing.

Types of publications that you should consider include:

  • Bar associations
  • Legal groups
  • Newspapers
  • Blogs
  • Your website
  • Magazines
  • Independent interviews

In article writing, you must consider your target audience’s needs and write in a way that makes sense for their knowledge, intent, publication medium, and other considerations. Consider having your work featured in a legal magazine or publication to add additional credentials to your CV or resume, and always incorporate your law firm’s brand voice.

Speaking and Presentations

Speaking opportunities are another great way to get your name out there while building your list of credentials. Law firm marketing goes beyond digital efforts, making public speaking an excellent channel for your offline strategies. If you are capitalizing on writing credentials, you can easily score speaking engagements.

The speaking opportunities depend upon your specific practice area. However, you could use the following opportunities in general:

  • Seminars
  • Webinars
  • Chamber of Commerce meetings
  • Industry organizations
  • College presentations
  • Law school lectures

These credentialing opportunities are perfect for connecting more meaningfully with an engaged audience in real-time. They also help you become a thought leader in your practice areas. This thought leadership will enhance your efforts further.

Credential Placement

Where many law firms fall short is the promotion of credentials after obtaining them. The award or vetting site will not do all of the work for you, which means that you need to put in some effort on your firm’s part to maximize their benefits. It can be expensive and time-consuming to promote accolades and recognitions, so ensure that when promoting your credentials, you are investing efficiently. You can promote your credentials in the following ways:

  • Placing badges on your website
  • Updating your CV or resume
  • Updating marketing materials and brochures
  • Press releases
  • Blog posts
  • Social media posts
  • In-office placement
  • Email marketing

There are several rules and guidelines that apply to the use of logos, slogans, and brand names that are owned by attorney credentialing, vetting, and award sites. When you win them, review independent guidelines from each publisher to ensure you are not misusing their copywritten and trademarked materials. Doing so can result in embarrassing communications or forfeiture of your award.

Final Thoughts and Considerations

Law practice credentials can provide a tremendous amount of value to lawyers and law firms. The opportunities are available. Now, you and your team just need to go out there and pursue them. Consider investigating opportunities on attorney credentialing websites, but do not forgo the opportunities available through writing and speaking gigs.

Continuously update your credentials and display them in your legal marketing materials as appropriate. Be careful not to violate the intellectual property rights of publishers when doing so. This strategy can avoid uncomfortable attorney-advertising violations.

As there are significant advantages to be gleaned from credentialing your law practice, make sure you are not leaving any prospects on the table.

© 2020 Denver Legal Marketing LLC

ARTICLE BY Meranda M. Vieyra of Denver Legal Marketing
For more articles on the legal industry, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.

Novel Issues, Limited Budget & Time? Local Law Research Streamlined and Amplified with Lexis+™ Litigation Analytics

State and Local government attorneys are frequently tasked with handling unique and niche issues, and often need to work on short time frames and with limited budgets. Many are turning to the Lexis+™ legal research service to slim down research and strategy preparation for their civil and criminal caseload—leveraging an efficient workflow by combining previously discrete or unavailable tools on one platform.

In 2021, LexisNexis added Litigation Analytics into the Lexis+ ecosystem of integrated legal research and analytics solutions. Litigation Analytics is powered by Lex Machina® and CourtLink®  and highlights trends involving individual judges, courts, attorneys and law firms—now combined into one online package together with Legal Research, Practical Guidance and Brief Analysis.

Litigation Analytics helps ensure state and municipal government lawyers are on equal footing with their big-law opponents when it comes to civil litigation matters. Government attorneys now have the same novel tools and insight as their opponents do to inform their strategy and arguments and achieve the intended outcomes for their community and citizenry.

Lexis Litigation Analytics Home Page

Lexis+ for State & Local Practitioners

Designed as an end-to-end product, the Lexis+ suite of tools helps attorneys focus and quickly pull together a game plan informed by insightful visual displays. The platform helps streamline legal research to answer legal questions and resolve issues via a simplified search experience.

Lexis+ includes:

  • Legal Research, a searchable comprehensive collection of case law, legal analysis and secondary resources from 119 billion documents and news sources, designed to unearth quickly the most relevant results.
  • Practical Guidance with practice notes, checklists, annotated forms, industry specific insight and other drafting tools developed by over 1,500 experienced practitioners from 99 of the Am Law 100 firms. By harnessing the institutional knowledge and processes of large law firms in 20+ practice areas, state and municipal attorneys gain a leg up when tackling the wide array of tasks crossing their desks daily.
  • Litigation Analytics to transform the challenge of going at it blind or relying on word of mouth by displaying overarching trends on the behavior of judges, courts, and attorneys, including caseload information, experience with certain types of cases, timeframes and awarded damages.
  • Brief Analysis, delivering targeted recommendations based on Shepard’s® citation patterns with core legal issues to keep the writer on point, focusing on the most persuasive arguments and helping to quickly locate the most relevant materials for better results.
    • Search Term Maps highlight key search terms and cut research time by visually revealing search term patterns in lengthy documents.
    • Shepard’s® At Risk takes analysis to the next level, by identifying cases underpinning legal arguments that were negatively treated in specific jurisdictions, and are at a risk of being overruled, so legal arguments are based on the best authority possible.
    • Code Compare allows legal pros to look at two versions of a statute next to each other, helping visualize statutory changes over time.

“State and local attorneys who are adopting the Lexis+ service—especially those serving cities and counties—tell us they find the practical guidance features especially impactful to them,” states Teresa Harmon, Vice President, LexisNexis State and Local Government. “In addressing the unique questions directly related to their local area, they need to get up to speed quickly. For local government offices, a service like Lexis+ can help ground and educate attorneys on specialized topics or a specific area of law so they can confidently tackle a novel matter more quickly.”

Game Changer:  Litigation Analytics Added to Lexis+

Large law firms often pool their knowledge and practitioners with years of experience in a particular jurisdiction to attain vast knowledge around judges and courts—and this can put state and local government lawyers at a disadvantage. For the wide variety of cases headed their way, government legal professionals need a way to quickly gain visibility into the same data-informed litigation intelligence leveraged by their commercial opponents.

Litigation Analytics enhances the Lexis+ ecosystem, giving attorneys the unprecedented ability to gain big-picture insights from data extracted from millions of underlying court documents from Federal District Courts, Federal District Judges, State Trial Courts, State Trial Court Judges, Opposing or Outside Counsel and Law Firms. This becomes very useful to state attorneys general offices, DAs, and municipal attorneys in developing civil litigation strategies that create positive community and regional outcomes.

time to key events

“Many state and local attorneys face a large volume of litigation matters and are looking to add more efficiency into their daily workflow,” says Harmon. “The ability to quickly gain the insight into litigation timelines and anticipated damages is tremendously valuable to advising key administrators and elected officials, and formulating strategies for all the cases that come through the door.”

judge time

Litigation Analytics is powered by Lex Machina analytics and the Lexis® CourtLink online docket service. As Lex Machina® State Court analytics continues to grow, new content additions are automatically included in Lexis+ subscriptions. Currently, Litigation Analytics has access to some of the larger state jurisdictions in the U.S. including Los Angeles County, Houston and New York. Lex Machina, based in Silicon Valley, is part of LexisNexis.

Litigation Analytics is included at no added cost in the Lexis+ dashboard. Litigation Analytics’ broad stroke insights complement the Legal Research, Practical Guidance and Brief Analysis capabilities. Per Harmon, “Litigation analytics rounds out the overall research workflow—and since it’s an integral part of the Lexis+ search interface with the click of a button, you get everything in one place for the resources to complete tasks, make more informed decisions and reduce the probability of risk in your civil as well as criminal litigation.”

Litigation Analytics in Practice for State and Local Matters – No Longer Rely on Word of Mouth

Litigation Analytics provides overarching data analysis providing big-picture insight into trends and behaviors of regionalized courts and individual judges. This helps attorneys focus on the important factors in a case, preparing them for emerging issues and streamlining preparation so they can learn and prepare based on past behavior. Organized information on the experience of specific judges presiding over your motion and the history of cases previously before the relevant court provides invaluable insight on what to expect and how much detail is needed on certain topics.

The Courts and Judges Comparator in Litigation Analytics also provides data on specific judges’ caseloads, typical duration of cases, and damages awarded. For a government legal department with limited resources at its command, this information on milestones and when to expect judges to rule on a motion is invaluable in stretching resources.

Judge Compare Lexis

Based on the information provided by Litigation Analytics, attorneys can derive an understanding of the experience level of the judge with the matter before them. Harmon says, “With the insight from judge analytics, you can draft a more compelling argument that will better resonate with your judge, and improve your likelihood of success.”

Lexis Judge Analytics

Litigation Analytics also includes a Counsel Comparator, which provides a side-by-side comparison of up to four law firms’ experience data, so you have a strong familiarity of who you’re arguing against by comparing case experience, pending and closed cases, total filings, timing, damages and prominent clients and parties.

User Experience in Lexis+ Litigation Analytics

Based on customers’ input, it was important to create both a streamlined experience and one that was highly intuitive. The design and layout of Litigation Analytics is well thought out and incorporates past usage patterns and feedback from extensive interviews with legal professionals and attorneys. “We use search data visualization to make it a more welcoming experience for new analytics users, to make sure it is a user-friendly interface,” says Harmon.

“Through elegant design that uses relational points to show connections between information, and the use of side-by-side placement to facilitate comparison, we’re providing a modern user experience with a streamlined display requiring virtually no learning curve for the user. This brings unprecedented simplicity to legal search, strategy, insights and guidance.”

Learn more about Lexis+ Litigation Analytics.

Copyright ©2020 National Law Forum, LLC

ARTICLE BY Eilene Spear and Jennifer Schaller of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
For more articles on the legal industry, visit the NLR Law Office Management secction.

Legal Industry Updates: Law Firm Recognition, Attorney Hires and Exceptional Law Firm Pro Bono Work

Let’s dive into the latest coverage by the National Law Review on legal news, law firm updates, and noteworthy pro-bono and civic engagement by attorneys.

Law Firm Recognition & Honors

The National Law Journal recognized Robinson+Cole Managing Partner Rhonda J. Tobin on its list of 2021 Insurance Law Trailblazers. She was recognized for her 30 years of experience representing insurance companies in arbitration, litigation and mediation involving reinsurance and insurance coverage. Tobin has represented insurers in cases involving the September 11 attacks, the coronavirus pandemic and the #MeToo movement.

Tobin was the first woman to lead Robinson+Cole as a managing partner, and served on the firm’s Managing Committee for the last 12 years, and has been a chair of the firm’s Litigation Section for 13 years.

Kirkland & Ellis received eight awards at the 2020 Private Equity International (PEI) Awards. The annual PEI awards “showcase the firms that have, in the eyes of their peers, set the benchmark during the year.” The awards are chosen by readers of Private Equity International and subscribers of PrivateEquityOnline.com. The awards Kirkland & Ellis won include: Law Firm of the Year in Asia (Transactions), Law Firm of the Year in North America (Fund Formation), Law Firm of the Year in North America (Transactions), Law Firm of the Year in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) (Fund Formation), Law Firm of the Year in EMEA (Transactions), Secondaries Law Firm of the Year in Europe, Secondaries Law Firm of the Year in Americas and Secondaries Law Firm of the Year in Asia.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2021, receiving this exceptional recognition for the 11th time, which is more than any law firm in Canada. Blakes’ diversity initiatives include Diversi-Tea, a program that pairs diverse junior associates with mentors at the senior associate and partner levels, and workplace initiatives such as Black@Blakes, Women@Blakes and Pride@Blakes.

Blakes is also a part of the 30% Club, which strives to increase the number of women on boards of directors to 30 percent by 2022. In a statement, Blakes said, “We proudly stand with other Canadian business leaders as members of the BlackNorth Initiative (BNI) and their Law Firm Pledge, Law Firm Antiracism Alliance network, and Black Future Lawyers, among others, to support work focused on addressing systemic racism and improve the recruitment and retention of diverse legal professionals.”

Lawyer Career Changes

Capital markets lawyer Johnny Skumpija has joined Sidley Austin’s New York office as a partner in its Capital Markets practice.

“Johnny is a tremendously talented and versatile lawyer who has advised and worked with some of the biggest names on Wall Street and across corporate America,” said Ed Petrosky, global chair of Sidley’s Capital Markets practice and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. “His well-rounded experience and skill set are impressive and will enhance our Capital Markets practice’s ability to serve clients and navigate complex transactions.”

Skumpija’s practice focuses on capital markets matters, financial institutions, public offerings and other equity financings. He also advises companies on disclosure, governance and general corporate matters.

Lindsay Clark recently joined Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP as Counsel in the firm’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications group (TMT) in British Columbia, Canada. In her practice, Clark advises companies on operational and corporate governance matters, commercial, licensing and IT agreements, and corporate structuring and planning.  Additionally, she assists clients prepare for and complete significant transactions, including venture financing and exit transactions.

“We welcome Lindsay to Fasken and to our TMT group, said William Westeringh, QC, Managing Partner, BC Region. “Lindsay’s broad experience advising companies and their founders and investors will help serve our clients in the ever-changing technology sector.”

Sarah Dunn Davis and Aileen Kim recently joined Ropes & Gray’s mergers & acquisitions practice as counsel in Boston and New York, respectively.

Davis previously worked as a vice president and senior counsel for a publicly traded global asset management company, focusing on cross-border investments and other strategic transactions. She also worked at Ropes & Grey as an associate from 2014 to 2015.

Kim’s practice focuses on representing private companies in divestitures, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and advising on corporate governance, disclosure issues and compliance matters. She represented Eli Lilly in its approximately $8 billion acquisition of Loxo Oncology, Inc. and its $1.1 billion acquisition of Dermira, Inc.

“Both Sarah and Aileen are a great fit for the type of complex work Ropes & Gray is known for handling,” said Chris Comeau, co-chair of the firm’s M&A practice. “Aileen’s experience guiding biopharmaceutical transactions strengthens our life sciences team, and Sarah’s return to the firm is welcome because she brings the combination of law firm and in-house perspectives to deals in a broad range of industries, including asset management, technology and life sciences.”

Law Firm Pro-Bono Efforts

A team of attorneys from Proskauer Rose including associates Tony Martinez, Robert Spiro, and Jordan Glassberg along with pro bono counsel Erin Meyer and paralegals Nina Leeds and Anna Brodskaya worked with a pro bono client of the firm, helping him apply for asylum through the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). Proskauer’s client is a gay man, who had suffered horrible violence that was not investigated or prosecuted in his home country, and who had fled to the United States as a result.

The asylum process in the United States is a difficult and time-consuming process, and the Proskauer team helped by drafting an affidavit describing their client’s past persecution, collected evidence in support of his assertions, and assisting him in asylum interview preparation.  The client was granted asylum by USCIS in February of 2021, and can now live safely in the United States.

Glassberg, one of Proskauer’s attorneys who worked on the case, said, “Being able to advocate for someone who was gravely mistreated through no fault of his own, and knowing that he can now live here in safety, is an experience that I am humbled and grateful to have been a part of.”

Lauren Connell, pro bono counsel with Akin Gump, received the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyer’s Project (VLP)’s Pro Bono Leadership award at a virtual ceremony on March 4.  The award is in recognition of her work launching VLP’s Frontline worker initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The initiative focused on honoring the work and sacrifice of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East members by offering assistance in the preparation of important life planning documents, such as wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney and other important legal documents.

Connell says she was excited to partner with VLP on the project.  Per Connell: “We are happy to support a group that has been such a key part of the pandemic response and hope that our work will provide some measure of comfort and security in these uncertain times.”

Connell has worked on a variety of pro-bono matters for Akin Gump; including work representing refugees seeking asylum detained in facilities in Texas, working with separated families, and securing asylum for individuals in a variety of circumstances including refugees who had worked with U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The Brooklyn VLP project works to involve attorneys and law firms in pro bono projects, with the overarching goal of making legal services available to low-income residents of Brooklyn.

Over 1,000 attorneys associated with Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), a network of lawyers committed to human rights and equal justice sent a letter to the U.S. Senate in support of the confirmation of Vanita Gupta for Associate Attorney General, and Kristen Clarke for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.  The attorneys who signed the letter support Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke’s record on Civil Rights, stated:, “Trump and his administration did damage to our institutions, and to repair that damage, we need people who have devoted their lives to fighting against injustice.”

Gupta has faced criticism from Senate Republicans for the language and rhetoric in her tweets, and for her positions surrounding law enforcement and drug decriminalization. The Judicial Crisis Network has launched a million dollar offensive to fight Gupta’s nomination, but if she is confirmed, she will be the first woman of color to be the associate attorney general.

Clarke is nominated for the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, and is currently the president and executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which promotes fair housing and community development, economic justice, voting rights and more.

We’ll be back in two weeks with more legal news and updates.  Watch this space.

Copyright ©2020 National Law Forum, LLC

ARTICLE BY Eilene Spear and Rachel Popa of
The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
For more articles on the legal industry, visit the NLR Labor & Employment section.

How to Use Client Trust Accounts to Actually Build Trust

We’ve all heard the old adage, “trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair,” right? Well when it comes to winning and retaining clients in the legal world, that adage should be slightly tweaked.

Let’s go with – “trust takes seconds to build, years to perfect, but you’ll reap the benefits forever.”

How do you build trust in seconds? One tactic is to be as transparent as possible during your initial consultation while showing that you understand your client’s concerns. Better yet, if you can address those concerns on your client’s level and not in legalese, this can go a long way in building an instant connection.

One of the biggest stressors when it comes to hiring a lawyer is dealing with the transfer of money. Humans stressing about money is a tale as old as time. If you’re explaining the intricacies of your billing process in terms that aren’t used in everyday conversation like trust account, fiduciary responsibility, and disbursements —  your client’s eyes will glaze over and they won’t be able to pay attention to what you’re actually telling them.

In order to relay accurate information (thus building trust) about how your client’s money is going to be handled legally and ethically, you first need to understand the ins and outs of client trust accounts yourself. So let’s go over the basics, and come up with some ways that you can address these complex situations to further build client trust.

What is a client trust account?  

According to the ABA, “Standard rules and common practice dictate that lawyers use a client trust account (CTA) to hold funds paid by the client upfront as an advance on fees and expenses before the work is done and prior to the client’s approval of billing. Once the lawyer earns the fees and bills the client, and upon the client’s approval of the lawyer’s billing, the funds are no longer property of the client and should be removed from the lawyer’s CTA.”

Simply put —  a client trust account is a way to separate client funds from law firm operating funds. As basic as the theory is, the practice gets complicated when banks and credit card processors, who may not be acutely aware of the regulations, get involved.

If you want to ooze confidence and explain to your clients where their money will be at every step of your relationship, your first task is going to be to ensure that your firm’s client trust accounts are operating in compliance. Practice management software such as PracticePanther makes this easy by giving you a holistic view of all of your bank accounts, including client trust accounts, and even places stopgap measures and alerts in place so that you are using the appropriate funds at the appropriate times.

Pretty straightforward up until this point right? Here’s the kicker, each state bar has a different set of rules, so make sure you read up on your local bar’s requirements before you put yourself at risk for disbarment because you accidentally mishandled funds. The golden rule that remains in all states is that there is no commingling of client funds and firm funds, thus the need for detailed and accurate accounting.

When are these trust accounts used?

The three most common use cases of client trust accounts are as follows:

  • At the beginning of representation when initial funds are received.
    • In this situation, attorneys would place “unearned income” into the trust, including upfront fees, retainers, or cash advances. Again, by law attorneys can’t use this money for operations and it must be held in trust until the completion of their case or matter.
  • When and if there is payment from a settlement.
    • Transactions revolving around real estate for example must pass through a trust account and must not be commingled with operating accounts.
  • When an attorney acts as a fiduciary on behalf of a client or the client’s estate.
    • Similar to settlement, these “third party funds” that are handled by an attorney when acting as a fiduciary must remain separated.

Depending on your firm’s billing practices, here’s how you can explain client trust accounts.

“At the start of our relationship, we’re going to ask you to pay us (x amount of dollars) upfront.  We know this is quite a bit of money so we’d like to explain how we keep these funds safe. This money is placed in what’s called a client trust account and will remain untouched until we resolve your issue. We understand this may sound odd, but as attorneys, there are strict rules in place that we need to follow that ensure your money is used properly. Having your money stored separately means that we’re not using your money for someone else’s case.”

Taking a few minutes to walk through this process with your clients starts you off on the correct path.

Here comes the fun part – accounting! 

You’ve won your clients over and begin to represent them, diligence is the name of the game now when it comes to accounting. Here are a few best practices for you to remain compliant with your client trust accounting.

Step 1: Track each and every transaction whether it’s a deposit or a disbursement

Step 2: Keep a separate ledger for each client

Step 3: Add detailed notes for each transaction

Step 4: At the end of each month, you must reconcile the account. This helps you ensure accuracy, the goal being to match all activities going into and coming out of trust. This is called a 3-way reconciliation.

© Copyright 2020 PracticePanther

ARTICLE BY Dan Bowman of PracticePanther
For more articles on legal client trust, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.

Developing a Successful Social Media Strategy for Law Firms: Part 3 Good2bSocial Digital Academy

Last week, we covered Good2bSocial’s content marketing strategy for law firms module, going over how law firms can use thought leadership to align their business goals with those of their clients. Good2bSocial’s Digital Academy includes eight modules that provide legal marketers with essential knowledge of digital marketing concepts. Good2bSocial’s Digital Marketing Certification offers a module on Law Firm Social Media Strategy, complete with videos, articles, assignments and webinars that break down how firms can put together a valuable social media strategy. Key concepts covered in the module include how to define a law firm brand, extend the reach and engagement of a law firm’s social media posts and how to build and maintain a following. The module also includes lessons on how law firms can best utilize various social media platforms, including Instagram and LinkedIn.

Effective social media marketing strategies that drive engagement and generate leads are an essential part to any law firm’s business development plan. Despite this, some law firms have trouble implementing a successful strategy. This is a missed opportunity for lawyers to build connections with prospective clients and to further connect the dots between the practice areas and legal matters associated with lawyers’ messaging and the law firm’s brand goals.

There’s a great deal of information out there on how businesses can use social media to define and heighten their brand. The unique value proposition of Good2bSocial’s Digital Marketing Academy is that it distils and refines social media, content marketing and SEO best practices and applies them to the legal services industry. Ryan King of Ogletree Deakins shared his thoughts on the course, saying:

“This course was excellent. It covered all the major areas of digital marketing and was hyper specifically designed for those in a law firm environment. The number of sessions were just right. The homework assigned for each session was impactful, memorable, digestible, and always underscored the importance of the week’s lesson.”

The Law Firm Social Media Strategy module begins with a social media checklist for law firms, breaking down key concepts that are needed to get started, with defining the target audience being the first step.

How to Define Your Target Audience and How to Choose Effective Social Media Platforms for your Law Firm

The most important step in the process of crafting a social media strategy for law firms is to define the audience your attorneys are trying to target. These steps include determining the following:

  1. What Age is Your Target Audience?
  2. What Does your Audience Do for a Living?
  3. What is the Marital or Family Status of Your Audience?

This process includes going beyond targeting people who just “need a lawyer.” Defining key characteristics of an ideal law firm buyer persona helps the firm understand how to reach the audience they want through targeting marketing collateral directly to them. Tweaking law firm thought leadership and social media to address the needs of where the potential buyer is in the sales cycle.

Once an audience is defined, law firms can then determine which platform to choose to best target them. For example, if the target audience is a professional one, LinkedIn is a good place to start. If firms are on LinkedIn, they should ensure their company profile includes information on company culture, the firm’s business areas, job openings and links to thought leadership.

An active Twitter account is also a must-have for law firms looking to improve their social media marketing efforts. Twitter is a great place to share thought leadership articles, as well as information on attorney speaking engagements, client events and well-being initiatives. Including news from the firm itself humanizes the brand, giving the law firm’s Twitter feed personality. Firms can also use multimedia such as photos, videos and podcasts to make tweets more visually appealing, which can drive engagement.

While LinkedIn and Twitter are useful tools, they’re not the only platforms that can be utilized by law firms for social media marketing. Good2bSocial’s Social Law Firm Index found that 42 percent of the Am Law 200 firms are active on Instagram, using the platform for both recruitment efforts and to reach new clients. Law firms can use Instagram in innovative ways such as highlighting the employee experience at the firm, promoting company culture and sharing firm accomplishments. Through using Instagram effectively, firms can show why attorneys should come work for them, and why clients should hire them.

How to Refine your Law Firm’s Social Media Bios for a B2B Buyer

Talia Schwartz, Good2bSocial’s Director of Marketing, details the strategy behind and the importance of perfecting an attorney’s and law firm’s social media bio and why it is key in helping lurkers actually engage with your firm or your attorneys. Per Fishman:

“If someone is looking at your professional profile, it’s because they think you might be able to help them with some kind of problem…they are more interested in what you can do than who you are. Accordingly, your firm or your lawyers should take advantage of the available space to highlight events or skills that make you stand out as a lawyer in your area of practice”.

Creating Curated Content While Setting & Measuring Goals

The next step is to frame your law firm’s content around the challenges faced by your audience. The key to doing this successfully is to both promote your own content, as well as articles from outside sources. This decreases the appearance of being too promotional and also brings the ‘social’ into social media versus a bullhorn for your message and provides opportunities to interact with potential buyers and /or brand advocates. Generally, content should also be educational and curated to help solve the problems faced by your audience. Module 1 of Good2bSocial’s Digital Marketing Academy details the how and why of analyzing and constructing a law firm or practice group buyer persona which helps contextualize the buyer’s journey and focuses your firm’s thought leadership to match the concerns of potential buyers.

If law firms are going to take the time to create content, then the return on investment for promoting it on social should also be high. This can be achieved by setting realistic goals for engagement and growth. Some key metrics to track include increased brand awareness, higher traffic volume, new leads for newsletters, as well as retweets, shares, views and comments. Establishing a benchmark can help establish a measurable metric that firms can track over time.

Having the right tools for social media management is essential to streamlining processes and saving time. Common social media planning applications include Hootsuite, HubSpot, SEMRush and Sprout Social. These applications make it easier to schedule posts in advance. It will take some trial and error to find the right tool for your team, so feel free to try a few programs and figure out what works best. One of the most helpful features of the social media module is the analysis of top-performing law firm Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.

Achieving Business Results Through Employee Training

One of the last pieces of the puzzle includes creating an employee advocacy strategy, investing time and effort to train lawyers and other professionals on how to properly use social media. This empowers employees to share more on social media platforms, increasing brand awareness, exposure and reach for the firm.

Law firms can generate business results from social media by finding their audience online, choosing a platform, setting goals and choosing the right tools. By adhering to this roadmap, law firms can keep track of their goals and achieve results. Good2bSocial’s module on Law Firm Social Media Strategy gives law firms a strong foundation to create a strong social media presence across multiple platforms through conducting audience research, defining a law firm brand, choosing the right platform, creating content that is effective, training employees, and harnessing the right tools to measure progress toward goals.

To learn more about the Good2bSocial Academy and the law firm-focused topics covered please click here.

To Read Part 1 Good2bSocial Digital Academy for Law Firms – Inbound Marketing and Client Journey Mapping, click here.

To read Part 2 Good2bSocial Digital Academy – Content Marketing Strategy for Law Firms, click here.

Stay tuned for more details on the topics and key takeaways included in the other six modules of the Good2bSocial Academy.

Copyright ©2020 National Law Forum, LLC

ARTICLE BY Rachel Popa of the The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
For more, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.

Legal Industry News February 2021: Law Firm Awards, Legal and Professional Services Moves and Recognition

Hello, legal and professional services industry fans. We’re closing out February with the latest legal and consulting industry news, focusing on firm hires and advancements, awards and unique recognitions, and innovations from law firms in these unusual times.  Please read on:

Law and Professional Services Firm Moves 

Mayer Brown appointed Amol Bargaje as the firm’s first global chief innovation officer. Bargaje joined Mayer Brown in 2018 as the global director of IT Practice & Client Solutions. He also served as one of the co-leaders of the firm’s client-centered global innovation initiative, embrio.

“Amol’s extensive experience working on process improvement, agile development and client-centered technology will help us accelerate the pace of innovation while further promoting a culture of innovation within the firm,” said Jeremy Clay, Mayer Brown’s managing partner.

Before joining Mayer Brown, Bargaje held senior leadership roles in innovation and technology in the legal and software industry.

Covington has elected Phyllis Jones and Lisa Peets to the firm’s eight-member Management Committee which includes three women including two women of color. Jones and  Peets replace Catherine Dargan of the firm’s Washington, DC office and Louise Nash of the firm’s London office, who each served two terms on the firm’s Management Committee. Dargan will now serve as chair of Covington’s Corporate Practice, and Nash will lead the firm’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) strategy group.

Doug Gibson, Covington’s chair stresses that gender and ethnic diversity of the firm’s Management Committee is “critical because we see diversity and inclusion as an essential element of our culture and community.”

Gowling WLG recently announced Andrew Bratt as the next leader of the firm’s Employment, Labour and Equalities (ELE) Group in Canada, assuming the role from Bettina Burgess of the firm’s Waterloo Region office.

Per Burgess, “As the outgoing leader, I am delighted that Andrew will be the person to take over the helm, particularly as our clients continue to endure the myriad challenges caused by the pandemic. Andrew brings to our team and to our clients, years of substantive expertise, experience and understanding of our clients’ businesses.  He has been instrumental in expertly assisting our practice group and our clients through the rapidly changing issues of 2020, and I know that he will continue to do so through his term as practice group leader.”

BKD CPAs & Advisors named East Region Managing Partner Rob Pruitt as the company’s first chief practice officer effective June 1, 2021. Pruitt will join the National Office executive leadership team and will be a member of the Management Committee.

“Rob has done a tremendous job leading the East Region, and we’re grateful for his work in helping the region flourish. Thanks to Rob’s track record of trusted leadership and his experience as a national tax director, MP and regional MP, he has the right blend of expertise and firm understanding to lay the groundwork for this new role,” said CEO-elect Tom Watson.

In his new role, Pruitt will focus on internal firm growth initiatives and will provide executive leadership, sponsorship, coordination and guidance of national industry partners and practices.

Law Firm Honors and Recognition

World Trademark Review recognized Morgan Lewis in the 2021 edition of WTR 1000 in the areas of enforcement and litigation and prosecution and strategy.  The WTR recognized Morgan Lewis across the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia, highlighting 13 Morgan Lewis attorneys for their depth of expertise, market presence and positive reviews from clients and peers.  Calling Morgan Lewis’s trademark practice “well-developed, rigorous and fully comprehensive in a way that is uncommon among full-service outfits.”  Since its inception in 2011, Morgan Lewis has consistently been honored by the WTR 1000.  You can see the full list of attorneys recognized here.

Bradley announced Ale Dalton and Kya Henley were selected as 2021 LCLD (Leadership Council on Legal Diversity) Pathfinders. Robert Ford,  a partner in Bradley’s Houston office, is a Fellow in the program, and Dalton and Henley are associates in the firm’s Nashville and Washington office.

The LCLD Fellows and Pathfinder Program is a legal talent development program, designed to augment diversity in leadership at law firms and corporate legal departments.  Established in 2009, the LCLD has over 350 members and programming designed to nurture talent and help a new and more diverse generation of attorneys attain leadership positions.  Participants are connected with resources and training, focusing on leadership skills and professional development, and provided with opportunities to develop and strengthen their professional networks.

Stephanie Resnick, Managing Partner of Fox Rothschild’s Philadelphia Office will receive the AJC’s 2021 Judge Learned Hand Award from the American Jewish Committee.  The award recognizes an attorney whose accomplishments, humanitarian efforts and dedication embody the Honorable Learned Hand, who spent more than five decades on the bench and set a high standard defending civil liberties.  Resnick, with decades of leadership and legal industry achievements, is being honored for her lifelong contributions to the Philadelphia community.

Throughout her legal career, Resnick has worked to ensure justice is accessible to all, the judiciary is independent and to advance women in the legal profession.  Resnick has served as a Chair of the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, where she helped vet federal court judicial nominees and one Supreme Court Justice.  She has also served on the Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Federal Courts Committee, and Chair of its Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention.  She also worked on Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s Advisory Task Force on Ethics and and Campaign Finance Reform, and she was appointed to the Philadelphia Court of Common Please Gender Fairness Task Force.  Resnick has also worked with Fox Rothschild to champion diversity and inclusion within the firm, and has taken on several leadership roles.

Resnick has achieved Lifetime Achievement awards from Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel, the Legal Intelligencer and was named as a recipient of the “Women of Distinction Award from the Philadelphia Business Journal. Resnick also received the Sandra Day O’Connor Award presented by the Philadelphia Bar Association, in recognition of her professional excellence and support of other women attorneys.

Law Firm Innovation and Research

Levenfeld Pearlstein released their 2021 Illinois Community Associations Legal Update Booklet which includes a plain English guide on the most recent legislative updates to the Illinois’ Condominium Property and Common Interest Community Association Act. The 80+ page guide includes the contributions of partners Howard Dakoff, Patricia O’Connor, and Adam Kahn and Molly Mackey of the firm.

Norton Rose Fulbright issued its 16th annual Litigation Trends Survey, highlighting the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on legal departments across the country.

Norton Rose Fulbright polled nearly 200 corporate counsel on disputes-related issues and concerns, with 31 percent of corporations reporting an increase in litigation as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic resulted in an increase in workloads for nearly 70 percent of respondents, with 45 percent of respondents expecting a further increase in the number of pandemic-related disputes for the next year.

“It is clear that the pandemic has led to a buildup of cases that is taxing our respondents’ legal departments. On larger matters, in-house legal teams are being asked to assume additional responsibility to lower the amount of spend on outside counsel. There is more pressure than ever for in-house teams to do more with less, and fewer than 20 percent of our respondents expect to add lawyers to their staff,” said Richard Krumholz, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Head of Litigation and Disputes.

Additionally, approximately half of respondents said that disputes around discrimination and social justice have lead them to consider strengthening their diverse recruitment policies and educating employees on the legal implications of discrimination.

The full survey can be read here.

Seyfarth has issued a 2020-21 edition of their 50 State Non-Compete Desktop Reference which surveys the most frequently asked questions related to restrictive covenants and trade secrets in all 50 states. The guide is an invaluable resource for in-house counsel, business owners, or HR professionals, providing a starting point to answer questions about trade secret/non-compete issues and restrictive covenants.

The guide was edited and coauthored by partner Katherine Perrelli of the firm’s Boston office along with Robert Milligan of the firm’s Los Angeles office and Michael Wexler, of the firm’s Chicago office who co-chair Seyfarth’s national Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Compete group.

News Updates from the National Law Review

The National Law Review is on track to see well over 1.75 million visits in February 2021 after continuing to show impressive traffic growth in January 2020 with over 2.5 million unique page views.

On February 16, 2021 Operations and Projects Manager Eilene Spear presented a webinar focusing on SEO concepts and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic with Guy Alvarez of Good2bSocial and authored the first installment of an eight-part series on Good2bSocial’s Digital Marketing Academy Certification program addressing Inbound Marketing and Client Journey Mapping for Law Firms

Jennifer Schaller, Managing Director of the National Law Review, will be featured on Berbay Marketing’s Law Firm Marketing Catalyst Podcast along with Sharon Berman and Megan Braverman, discussing moving to a fully remote workforce and the unique challenges that come with managing a remote team.  The podcast will be released in the next few weeks and will be available across all podcasting platforms.

Copyright ©2020 National Law Forum, LLC

ARTICLE BY Eilene Spear,  Rachel Popa and Jennifer Schaller of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
For more, visit the National Law Review Law Office Management section.

Professional Photography is More Than Just Your Attorney Headshot

Lawyers, did you know that professional photography can help your law firm’s marketing efforts by increasing your conversion rates by up to 161%? These returns are made possible through the buyer psychology of connection. It is an opportunity for your target audience to know, like, and trust you in a very tangible way.

Employing a professional photographer might seem like an expensive outlay in the short term. However, the long-term effect it has on your brand, engagement rates, and sales makes it the perfect investment for your law firm.

Simply put, fresh photographs are essential to your law firm’s success.

When prospective clients see your photos, they understand who you are beyond what outdated photographs can provide. As consumers, they are more informed than ever, and outdated, recycled photographs stop having the same effect as newer ones.

From staff changes to annual modernizations, professional photography for law firms is vital to keeping your brand fresh while building a treasure trove of personalized and exciting content for your law firm marketing strategy.

Professional Photography Placement Beyond Your Attorney Biography

Your professional photography is important to use beyond your attorney biography on your website. While those are imperative to place, other mediums are enhanced by professional law firm photography.

People get used to the same photos over time. Make yourself stand out by regularly updating your photos to be used for your promotional and public relations materials.

Places that you can use them include:

  • Website Attorney Biography
  • Third-Party Legal Directories
  • Blog Posts
  • Social Media Posts
  • Collateral Materials
  • Press Releases
  • And more

Law firms that regularly promote their content, website, and services will significantly benefit by having current, fresh photos. It will also keep staff and attorney promotions up-to-date. The expectation of an annual photoshoot will ensure everyone feels included as well.

Some changes occur over time beyond appearance and staff. Consider the new, socially-distanced world we live in right now. Updated photography can also convey safety and convenience to prospective clients as well.

Types of Attorney Photography

The digital era brings new opportunities and, thus, new requirements. In the era of Zoom calls, it is best to have an updated headshot available.

Since first impressions always matter, ask yourself this: what if your first impression of someone is filled with confusion because they do not recognize you? Help set the right expectation and tone from the outset.

An array of photos that you should take include:

  • Attorney headshots
  • Staff headshots
  • Group photos
  • Behind-the-scenes working

Make sure that your photography supports your law firm’s brand. For example, if you brand yourself as an aggressive firm, your shots should reflect this attitude and style. A professional photographer will have an instinct and eye for encapsulating the desired effect while aligning with your brand.

Tips for a Smooth Photo Session

Before scheduling your photography session with a professional, ask around. Research reviews and hire someone with experience in photographing law firms.

It is also worth talking with your legal marketing agency for local recommendations as well. They may offer in-house services or discounts, which would be ideal and convenient.

#1: Manage your time

Check your calendar and block off extra time before and after the photo shoot is scheduled. Tell the other lawyers and support staff members about it as well so that they can prepare.

2. Deal with the contract before the photo session

Tie up as many loose ends as you can before the photo session, including signing and returning the service agreement. Ensure that you review and complete any contractual requirements before the big day.

Photo shoots most definitely run more smoothly when everyone is happy, well-rested, and in a good mood. Try to facilitate this attitude as much as you possibly can on picture day.

3. Declutter the office and inspect the exterior

Most law firms, especially attorney’s desks, get cluttered over time. Spend time getting your office shooting locations in order, as it will likely become the backdrop of your photos.

Get windows cleaned professionally, run a vacuum, and put all documents in drawers or filing cabinets.

4. Provide photoshoot guidelines

While most legal professionals generally look sharp on a daily basis, it is always helpful to receive tips for dressing on photoshoot day. These guidelines typically go beyond standard grooming tips.

Here are a few tactics that you can use to make your law firm’s photo session look aesthetically better:

  • Coordinate colors that compliment the location as well as each other
  • Clothes should be fresh, clean, and wrinkle-free
  • Solid colors and tones with minimal designs are better than busy patterns
  • Well-fitting clothes are critical since discomfort translates into photos
  • Discourage short sleeves if you can
  • White shirts are distracting, which means they should be worn under jackets
  • Avoid clothing with decals or brand logos

You can also check with your photographer for additional guidelines that they may have. Be sure to communicate any guidelines to your staff.

As you can see, the benefits and returns on new professional photography is an excellent investment for lawyers and law firms. Ensure that you hire a professional photographer who takes the time to understand your needs and organize a flawless shoot.

When executed well, you will enjoy the positive audience response that keeps those cases rolling in like clockwork. After all, that is the main objective.

© 2020 Denver Legal Marketing LLC

ARTICLE BY Meranda M. Vieyra of Denver Legal Marketing
For more, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.

Reimagining Jury Research: The Versatility of Online Community Attitude Surveys

Community attitude surveys (CAS) number among the very first research projects conducted by jury consultants in the history of the field. Social scientists have been conducting surveys for nearly a century, and such an examination of attitudes, beliefs, and responses to stimuli are a natural boon for practicing attorneys. The most sophisticated designs can assess a case in terms of extant juror attitudes toward the parties, strength of arguments, and likely damages.

Traditionally, these surveys have involved tedious collection of data via call centers and laborious statistical analysis. But online survey platforms have grown more sophisticated, the significance of this technology is threefold: online CAS allow for versatile research approaches, enhanced data analysis, and broader output in terms of results.

VERSATILITY IN PLATFORM

Test whatever you want to test.

The online CAS format offers an array of options that enable you to examine the most crucial elements of your case. The end result is a precise and actionable report on jurors’ responses to the given case element.

Need to know how a witness is going to be perceived? The online platform allows us to isolate the impact of a single witness to determine their credibility in terms of expertise, trustworthiness, and dynamism. This method is a cost-effective way to get quick but insightful perspective to inform the preparation of your witness.

Need to know whether jurors understand a patent? In patent litigation, it’s often crucial that jurors ‘get’ how something works. Through the online survey approach, we can test whether they see differences or congruities between products. We can isolate this piece of very complex litigation and see if jurors follow this fundamental element of the case. In essence, we test not only their objective knowledge following the video/graphical explanation of the patent, but we also identify their ability to recognize infringement.

An advanced platform for experienced researchers who use sophisticated methods.

The online approach has been favored by social scientists for several years because it also facilitates careful question construction and experimental design.

Unlike traditional telephone surveys, an online survey allows for more complex response types, including matrix questioning, hot spot testing, reaction time testing, and ranking lists. This type of data collection enables nuanced understanding of jurors’ attitudes and opinions.

Assess cases across multiple venues simultaneously.

Online surveys are a great option for attorneys who are trying similar lawsuits across several venues or those who want to weigh the value of trying a case in one jurisdiction versus another. Online surveys can be quickly and easily disseminated across multiple venues, such that you gain insights about distinct samples that represent several given venires.

For a client that anticipates multiple related lawsuits across several jurisdictions, the online research survey is an ideal method for assessing the environment in advance of litigation. An identical survey and methodology can be employed across multiple venues simultaneously. In instances where a change in venue is being considered, the online survey approach allows for a cost-effective side-by-side comparison of juror attitudes in multiple venues.

SCOPE OF ANALYSIS

The most efficient data analysis and reporting.

Unlike traditional community attitude surveys conducted by telephone, online surveys facilitate quick and reliable data output that is ready for analysis in powerful statistical software. With a telephone survey, the coding and translation must be done manually—an arduous process that typically results in an error-ridden spreadsheet.

But the online platform allows us to instantaneously download the dataset for cleaning and processing, such that you get the results even faster. Rather than the process taking a matter of weeks, the collection and analysis can be completed in just days. Additionally, this level of data output allows for more rigorous data analysis and more nuance in findings. Our examination of the data can result in advanced statistics like regression coefficients and factor analysis.

Longitudinal study and trend analysis.

Much of the litigation we consult on is drawn out or otherwise may face an extended timeline before it finally reaches a jury trial. This occurrence is especially common in the wake of the incredible backlog most courts face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, online surveys can be readily and inexpensively sent out in several iterations, thus enabling attorneys to stay on top of shifting attitudes.

Consider litigation that involves a company that is facing significant and repeated publicized missteps: how might jurors’ attitudes change over the course of several months? Online surveys can assess changes in jurors’ levels of punitiveness or anger toward a relevant party. Additionally, there may be historical artifacts that impact the jurors who will decide your case. Consider how major events like the Black Lives Matter movement may impact jurors’ evaluation of a case. Through the above-described statistical approaches, we can perform a trend analysis that maps the perception of a litigating party at multiple timepoints.

VALUABLE RESULTS

Insightful results at a reasonable price.

Traditional community attitude surveys are inefficient due to the costs of call centers—which generally charge by the minute—and the backend costs of coding the data. The cost associated with performing a telephone survey is prohibitive for many trial teams. Online research surveys are efficient: respondents are less expensive and the cost of call centers is eliminated. More time can be spent looking carefully at the data and gleaning the best results.

While not as involved or in-depth as a full mock trial or focus group, online surveys yield valuable findings that can inform case strategy, mediations, and even future research. Online CAS are significantly less expensive than other types of jury research, making them a wise first step in the consulting process.

An in-depth assessment of case-relevant attitudes and potential damages.

A major advantage of conducting an online research survey is that it enables us to obtain a large sample size, and thus, capture a powerful cross-section of jurors’ case attitudes. Since the cost of respondents is relatively low, we can sample hundreds of eligible jurors in a given venue and generate statistical power. An accurate description of juror attitudes toward the litigating parties and the case itself is ensured by this kind of methodology.

Online surveys can also help assess possible damages, particularly in high-profile cases or in litigation that involves high-profile clients. It allows us to determine not only an informed assessment of the probability of damages, but a range and estimation of how large these damages may be. Such insights may prove crucial in shaping settlement or mediation positions.

A quantitative foundation for your case.

At the preliminary stages of your case, an online research survey can offer valuable data on the potential outcomes should it proceed to a jury trial. It is an efficient and cost-effective first step in developing your case strategy.  We encourage clients to consider conducting this kind of research early in the process so the findings may inform strategic decisions, settlement decisions, witness preparation, graphic development, and even additional mock trial research. It helps place you in a position of greater knowledge and certainty as your case moves forward.

© Copyright 2002-2020 IMS ExpertServices, All Rights Reserved.

ARTICLE BY Clint Townson, Ph.D. of IMS ExpertServices
For more, visit the NLR Law Office Management section.