Tag: law firm

The Future of Law Firm Marketing with Deloitte CMO Diana O’Brien [PODCAST]

In this podcast interview, John McDougall of McDougall Interactive and legalmarketingreview.com and Nicole Minnis of The National Law Review speak with LMA keynote speaker Diana O’Brien about her role as CMO of Deloitte, the future of law firm marketing, marketing technology, and the challenges that law firms face with traditional and digital marketing.

John McDougall: Hi, I’m John McDougall, CEO of McDougall Interactive, and I’m here today with Nicole Minnis, Lead Publications Manager at the National Law Review. And our guest is Diana O’Brien, the Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte. Diana will be the Keynote Speaker at the upcoming Legal Marketing Association annual conference on April 11th – 13th, in Austin, Texas. Welcome, Nicole and Diana.

Nicole Minnis: Thanks John, hi, and hello to you, Diana, as well.

Diana O’Brien: Thanks John and Nicole, it’s great to be here today.

John: Absolutely, and Diana, thanks for taking the time. You are a fairly new CMO, and I know that you came to this role from a non-marketing background — given that, what inspired you to take this new role as CMO of Deloitte?

Diana: Well “inspired” is the right word. First, my passion was really clients. I’ve spent 30 years in client service. That’s really where I learned to listen to clients, and respond, and react to what it is that they needed, and that was really the impetus to me appreciating and becoming, I think, a champion for clients within our firm. So today being the Deloitte CMO, I’m really the champion for all of our clients, and I’m responsible for helping out stake-holders within the firm whether they be our newest associates to our partners, be responsible for listening and understanding the collective needs of all of our clients and creating an environment where our clients get every day, in every interaction, a world-class experience in every touchpoint. So the client experience is something that I’m just deeply passionate about.

The second thing I sort of married up with that is I had the chance, after having that career, to take on a responsibility of being the Managing Director of Deloitte University – which is our learning center in Texas – and that’s where I came to appreciate and recognize that the world has changed. What worked yesterday doesn’t work tomorrow. We need to create environments where people can thrive, and grow, and continue to evolve, and I had the chance to do that for all of the learning. But, really, the same is so true for marketing today. We’re moving from this world where you could just push out this sort of one-way message where you were communicating what you wanted to communicate and push it out there and hope people heard it, to this more interactive, 24/7, broader business connection, and creating an environment where your clients thrive and you’re part of that active engagement. So it’s not really a back office anymore, it’s right front and center with the clients, and it’s a new capability that you need in order to do that.

So when you marry those two things up, it was a perfect choice for me and I was excited to take it on.

John: Yes, it sounds like empathy and inspiration.

Diana: Yes.

John: And what’s your mandate as CMO?

Diana: It’s really simple. It’s really to drive growth for the firm; it really couldn’t be any more simple than that. What I would say that maybe would resonate, I think, for a lot of marketers is that it does still start with the Deloitte purpose, and I do think that you don’t grow unless you’re grounded in your purpose. So, a good CMO is always going to know what that is and be able to inspire all their professionals to link back to that. So, the Deloitte purpose is to make an impact that matters with our clients, our people, our communities. So, when I think about what my job is and I think about the 70,000 professionals that work at Deloitte, I need all of them every day to go out and strengthen our brand to grow the firm by showing up to our clients in a consistent but personalized way that creates strong relationships, that builds powerful experiences, delivers unique insights that helps our professionals and our clients establish the kind of connection that is sustainable over time so we can really help as problems and issues go over time.

Changes to the Marketing Organization at Deloitte

John: And what changes have you made to the marketing organization in order to execute on that mandate?

Diana: Gosh, I’ve been busy with that.

John:  Quite a few.

Diana: We’ve streamlined a lot. We have really focused on optimizing the resources but we’ve been driving towards a new model. What’s interesting about Deloitte in this regard – and I don’t know that everyone’s appraised this quite yet but – we encompass, obviously, the most traditional elements, which is the communications and marketing capabilities, but all of the go-to market assets, if you will, sit under me as well. So, our go-to market channels [including our managing partners in key markets, our client leaders and our industry practice leaders] and thought leadership, public policy, corporate citizenship, they have been put under me as well and so that’s unique and actually I’m hearing some of that. I’ve met with a few other CMOs that are doing some of the same things and have had some of the same responsibilities, and so what I like about it is that it’s really this combined essence of, really, how does the market — How do you drive growth? How do you really develop a marketplace?

The other thing we think is really important is digital. Obviously we have a strong digital practice and that serves our clients, but it also serves our in-house marketing team and that’s key to us being able to deliver our brand every day and create those kinds of experiences that we were talking about and deliver those insights. So I work very closely with the consultative arm of our Deloitte digital practice.

John: That’s a lot of stuff going on. That’s fantastic. Go ahead, Nicole.

The Future of Law Firm Marketing

Nicole: Shifting gears slightly and thinking about our legal marketing listeners more specifically, what do you see on the horizon in terms of transformation or potential paradigm shifts for law firm marketing?

Diana: It’s so interesting, Nicole, I think in many ways. Professional services, accounting, and consultancies like our firm and law firms, have some real similarities in this regard. I think digital marketing is going to continue to grow and that’s really for all of us, it’s not just legal markers. But we need to face it in a way that maybe some others don’t have the same issues, partly because we come from professionals where we’re highly skeptical. That’s just our profession, so we have to maybe be a bit more willing to get into the data around the success of digital and how that may in fact change us and work to be a better adopter of it. With some of the increased competition that’s there, I think if we don’t do that, the professional services environment has some challenges to stay ahead of the game, and that’s particularly going to be the case, I think, with talent. That’s going to be one of the big challenges if we don’t address that.

Certainly social media, obviously law firms are doing things in social media, but I think it will continue to be a big focus. It certainly has been for us. We have worked to become more engaged and use more outside platforms – and my own micro-site is an example – to sort of meet people where they are. We use LinkedIn more than we’ve ever used before to help us connect into the marketplace.  We’ve all got to figure out how to have our sites optimized for mobile so content can be more easily consumed. And again, when you come from a place where maybe adaptability is a little lower and skepticism is a bit higher, the mindset of professional services firms where we do have some of that, we have to work harder I think to embrace some of those things.

Marketing Technology

Nicole: It sounds to me like Deloitte is way ahead of the curve in terms of digital technology so I commend you and your firm on those efforts. What marketing technology do you see is getting the most buzz right now besides some of the things that you’re already working on?

Diana: It’s a good question. I have two things I want to say on this, one social listening is obviously incredibly important in content management systems or continuing to evolve publishing platforms, and it’s important that we stay thoughtful of that, but the number of channels that you now have to participate in is exhaustive, and it’s just growing, and I think it’s important that we not become sort of overwhelmed with the technology, but really solve specific business problems. One of the things I think that law firms can do is I think it’s important that they continue to differentiate themselves with eminence, and thought leadership, and specific things that you can differentiate yourself on. And one of the things I think that are particularly useful are – maybe not as technology-buzzing, if you will – but blogs and podcasts. I think they’re low-cost communication tools that really are a more direct engagement, and can connect more easily sometimes with the targeted audience that you want with the specialized information that you have.

Sometimes I think we can become sort of enamored with the technology. When I first took on I felt like, maybe the first four months, I was a bit enamored with the technology, but I kept coming back to, “Well, what problem am I really trying to solve for that’s going to drive my business?” While I think there are some interesting things out there that we all need to be aware of, I think it’s important to keep coming back to, “What problem am I solving?”

Marketing and Thought Leadership

John: As a follow-up to that, I love hearing you talk about thought leadership. I own a site, authoritymarketing.com, and we do a lot of work around the idea that your experts and your thought leaders, especially in professional services, will help propel your blogging, and podcasting, and marketing, and SEO, and social media. Would you say that those blogs and podcasts can also then be used by your sales people in business development, and is it kind of streamlining your efforts or killing two birds with one stone by doing both of those things at once? Not just doing the blogs and podcasts for their own right for their search in social benefits and all of that, but to also potentially use for biz dev?

Diana: Yes, there’s no question, and actually we did something interesting this last year. We actually did an active online course on a couple key topics that we felt we were expert in, and what I feel happened as a result of that is the level of engagement that we were able to achieve. It’s actually really a form of marketing in today’s world which is more interactive. It isn’t this push of a message. It’s this engagement where, let’s say you put a blog out there, someone comments back. In [this case], people are commenting on the course. People are exchanging ideas over the content. So you’re evolving it and working it together. That’s the new world. That’s the new model. It isn’t something that is just, “Here’s my ideas and here they are.” It’s a dialogue and exchange that ultimately is more productive for everyone.

The Biggest Challenges for Law Firm Marketers

John: Absolutely, and what about specifically for law firms, what are the biggest challenges for law firm marketers?

Diana: I think, similarly, something similar that we have is how do you keep differentiating yourself in a saturated market? How do you promote your brand? How do you continually evolve, and innovate, and show that you’re uniquely qualified over someone else? Obviously eminence is one way to do that. Engaging is certainly a way. Thinking beyond law firms and professional services firms like Deloitte have, in the past, always charged – for example – by the hour, and that’s just been a mindset that’s gone in. Starting to think more about, “What’s the real value we’re bringing in?” Thinking of ways in which you can differentiate yourself. I think the marketer has a role now to play in helping to shape the thinking around that.

It isn’t just the message. It’s really the mindset of the organization. It’s the type of strategies and tactics that you will use, such as what we were just talking about in thought leadership. It’s how you create the client experience end-to-end, how you think about all the customer decision-making, how the customer feels at all those points that the marketer plays a role in. I think they have a really unique place to influence the many stake-holders, the many lawyers that are in the organization and how they show up at their clients.

But I think even more importantly than that is the future of where their talent is going to come from. I mentioned it before, but we did a study that was a digital study, we did it with MIT Sloan Management, and what we found was across all these age groups that, primarily, talent is really looking for organizations that are technically capable and receptive to employees being able to be digitally sophisticated. And we found that in many cases companies are not nearly as mature as the upcoming workforce and current workforce wants to be, and so that’s a challenge so we have to deal with that.

Conveying the Value of Marketing to Management

John: Yes, absolutely, especially younger people, and not just very young people, certainly into the 30s, and 40s, and above, but a lot of people are just so attuned to social media these days and searching on their mobile phones so if your organization is lagging in that it doesn’t inspire them. I often hear legal marketers complain how hard it is to convey the value of what they do to the management of their firms; do you have any advice for them?

Diana: I think this is something relatively new for CMOs, personally. I don’t, in my consultative time with clients, I think CMOs often didn’t really find their way into the C-suite, and I think that has changed. This is now a real opportunity to affect the C-suite.

I think the CMO had a chance to connect with the CFO about the metrics that drive sales. I think they are instrumental with working with the Chief Talent Officer about how to empower their employees to be better brand ambassadors, to reflect the culture in their business. I think they need to work with the CIO on any new technologies that might be touching the customer or extracting customer insight within the organization. So now they are really up here and I don’t think that was the case before. So they have a chance to change the perception of marketing and that’s new and it’s really a great kind to build new relationships and I think the advice I would have is not to underestimate the power that you have right now to influence and build key relationships with their peers, to have a sit at the table, to take your seat at the table and translate the customer experience, and bringing the customer championship into business results.

John: Yeah and as you said that earlier, really tying that up into your core mandate, your core value proposition and mission statement and making sure that marketing especially things like in the past, SEO or certain things were easy to kind of push a button and they would happen over on the side. Now they need to be much more integrated, right?

Diana: Yes and I think people consider those tactics. They thought, “Oh, well, just go do that.” Now it is an embedded part of the strategy and you can’t really have an organizational strategy without understanding how the marketing message is linking to that and how you are making them come to life in every element of the customer experience.

Content Marketing

John: Do you think content marketing has really driven a lot of that because if you could do digital marketing in the past, it was a little bit of a fairy dust, you know. You could kind of just sprinkle it on. Now you can’t just do that. You have to really develop content that has to reflect the brand or fail, right?

Diana: Yes. I said one time in a talk, and I thought I’d share it even at the conference, but I used to think of marketing as sort of a little m where it was about this message that you pushed out. And now it’s so much more. It’s really about the big M. It’s about the meaning.

John: Right.

Diana: And you are exactly right. That comes from the content that’s really there and it has to be rich.

John: Yes. And the CEO, the CFO, they should take an interest, and I think they are, more so than ever.

Diana: I do too. I do too.

John: What are you up to these days and how can listeners connect with you online?

Diana: Well, I have been pretty busy with the new role but what I have done most recently, I just left Deloitte University, which is a home to me every time I am there but we just had about a thousand of our folks there that sit in our market development organization that had spent two days thinking about, with a number of guest speakers, thinking about how are we going to continue to create the right connections and gain the right knowledge and to think about the right technologies to keep moving our organization forward.

We don’t have, you know — we’re big and it’s hard always to get people together and I’m glad we made that investment. It’s not always easy to do but it’s important when we do to make the most of it, and I think we did. So I was thrilled to be able to have our people together and I encourage, even when you know, with all the options to do things socially and online and virtually, sometimes being in person is the best way to really further that bond. So I was glad to do that.

So connecting with me, obviously please check out our website, first cmo.deloitte.com where you will get lots of relevant content that’s perfectly relevant to the CMO and I hope everybody goes there. My twitter handle is @DianaMOBrien and I welcome anyone and I’d like to have an exchange with anybody, and then certainly deloitte.com. We welcome anybody to visit us there for our eminence.

John: Absolutely, well thanks for talking to us today and thanks for listening everyone to the National Law Review podcast. Visit the National Law Review website at natlawreview.com and for more information about the Legal Marketing Association’s annual conference, visit legalmarketing.org/annual_conference. I’m John McDougall and thanks for listening.

Article By John McDougall & Nicole Cudiamat Minnis
© 2016 The National Law Review

Seven Strategies to Succeed at Law Firm Leadership

The title “managing partner” falls short of the mark in describing the work of a law firm leader. “Chief executive officer,” in my opinion, is more accurate. Terminology evolves so that some titles no longer reflect their original meaning.

Managing partner has become such a term. When a managing partner is named, is the law firm really appointing a manager in the corporate sense? A manager, after all, is a caretaker responsible for oversight of a unit or department.

A recent survey on the topic of law firm management and leadership asked those polled to distinguish between a “manager” and a “leader.” Insights that the survey respondents offered included, “Management is mechanical, while leadership is inspirational,” and “The leader sets the direction and the plan, while the manager implements the plan.”

Another survey respondent was more pointed: “Managers implement what leaders want them to do. Most law firm managers want to be loved and not to lead.” Saying that managers want most to be loved may overstate the case. But it does sum up the problem. If a law firm needs vision, inspiration, motivation, cohesion, consensus, direction-setting and the establishing of firmwide goals, it needs strong leadership committed to that work.

Leading Lawyers 

The hard realities of law firm leadership are apparent. Among them:

  • The authority of lawyer management (or leadership) is derived from the willingness of the firm’s partners to be managed (or led).
  • Partners perceive themselves as being owners of the firm, having certain prerogatives and independence, not as employees to be managed.
  • Each firm has its own personality and culture, and the management techniques effective in one firm may or may not be successful in another.

In the face of these hard realities, many managing partners retreat into the noncontroversial confines of day-to-day management, putting aside attempts to exercise true leadership. What is needed instead is a well-thought-out plan to lead your firm forward into the 21st century.

SEVEN STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP

1. Create Job Descriptions for Yourself, Your Successor and Other Firm Leaders.

Remember, you’re drafting a job description for a CEO, not a manager. Think of your job description as a contract with your partners. At a minimum, it should delineate the amount of time you will devote to management responsibilities. A CEO’s primary responsibilities should include strategic planning, setting the future direction of the firm, cultivating relationships with major clients, and identifying and grooming future firm leaders. To compensate for time lost from your personal practice, the job description should define your pay structure.

2. Redefine the Role of Practice Group Chair.

Practice group chairs are too often treated as lions among their prides. Often they are appointed because they are the senior member of the group or the most effective rainmaker. This does not mean they are the most effective manager, the best mentor or the most committed to the success of the firm. Practice group chairs should be elevated to the level of senior management. They should be given the full authority to manage their groups. Practice group leaders need to be chosen based on the ability and the commitment to lead.

3. Get to Know the Firm’s Client Base Personally.

No partner should “own” a key institutional client. Managing partners should reach out to client contacts and underscore the message that the firm—not only the client’s chosen counsel—is pleased to be of service. Ask the client for feedback, learn the client’s business and the industry, and strategize to help the client reach its goals. Do more for the firm’s clients than simply putting out fires.

4. Identify and Hire a Strong Chief Operating Officer.

If you are going to be an effective leader or CEO, you have to get the minutiae off your desk. Delegate day-to-day administrative responsibility to a strong, competent executive director or COO. This person should head up a team of business professionals and serve as your trusted “second hand” on the leadership team.

5. Offer Reforms to “Time and Money” Matters.

You will be asking senior management to take on a more extensive and defined role in the operations of the firm. Adjust the time demands on the executive committee and the practice group leaders to allow for sufficient nonbillable time for them to fulfill their management responsibilities. Likewise, adjust the compensation criteria for senior managers to acknowledge the time they must devote to management matters and for the firm-benefitting results that they achieve.

6. Start (or Reenergize) the Strategic Planning Process.

A strategic plan is a living document that requires modification and fine-tuning from the first day it is implemented. If you have been selected as the firm’s managing partner, presumably you have a vision of what you want the firm to become, what you want it to achieve. Sell this vision and muster a supporting coalition among the equity partners. You don’t need to win them all over, but you will need an effective critical mass and working majority. With this group at your back, start small and keep the initial goals simple. Suggest three or four one-year priority items with sufficient low-hanging fruit to show short-term wins. Consolidate your gains and move forward.

7. Maintain Your Firm’s Investment in Its Future.

The challenges of launching new initiatives, creating consensus and moving your firm forward can sometimes cause a firm leader to forget about the little things that, in the end, may prove to be just as important as greater goals. Don’t forget to implement a first-rate training and associate development program. Here lies the future of your firm. Don’t forget about marketing and business development initiatives. These provide the growth that will finance your firm’s future. Don’t forget about technology upgrades. These are the essential tools that keep your firm on the cutting edge and ahead of the pack. And don’t ignore your successor. Heirs apparent need the opportunity to learn the principles of law firm management.

The old Chinese proverb says that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Becoming a leader of a law firm is similar. A CEO must, step by step, patiently bring along the uninterested, the doubters and the curmudgeons to join the advocates and the reformers. Bold vision and small steps are the stuff of leadership.

Article By John Remsen, Jr of The Remsen Group
Copyright 2016 The Remsen Group

Managing Client Needs with Cross-Generational Leadership

Everyone knows the generational stereotypes: Baby boomers are loyal and hardworking, people who believe in putting your nose to the grindstone and getting work done but who may have a difficult time working the latest mobile technology. Gen Xers are independent and skeptical, while millennials are tech-savvy, Instagram EVERYTHING, and are aggressively interested in collaboration and work-life balance.

In law firms across America, these groups are comingling and working together to manage client matters and relationships. The panel The Ties that Bind: Building Cross-Generational Leadership at the 23rd Annual Marketing Partner Forum discussed the business imperative of building a diverse, multi-generational client team to fortify legal services. NLR took the opportunity to speak with the moderator Amanda K. Brady, Global Practice Leader at Major, Lindsey & Africa, and Melissa R. Margulies, Client Service Counsel at Ballard Spahr, about generational issues facing law firms.

The first thing to keep in mind is what a general counsel wants from his or her outside counsel. GCs want a team that will work together and get the job done, and the law firm team should represent the business needs and goals of the client. General counsels want attorneys who make their jobs easier, and law firms are expected to meet the needs of the client. Amanda Brady says, “The client doesn’t need to meet everyone working on the matter, but my sense from the GC is that they really appreciate getting to know key attorneys working on their projects so they are more comfortable conducting follow-up communications.”

Every situation is different, and factors must be considered to appropriately handle each client. Open lines of communication that allow clients to communicate their needs to the firm are imperative. Melissa Margulies points out, “We ask the client for feedback about both partners and associates and how the team has helped the client. Additionally, we continually evaluate whether the relationship partner and team members are the right fit, based upon the changing business needs of the client.”

Margulies continues, “What I see and what I encourage are different tiers of client contact and multiple points of contact.” She points out that each generation brings its own strengths, and it’s important to set up a team that can do the work and further relationships. Margulies says, “It’s important that younger lawyers are given opportunities to interact with the younger business people at the client so that those two groups grow up together.”

Traditionally, the senior attorney has the relationship and brings the client to the firm. Junior attorneys do the work, while the partner manages the relationship, allowing the junior attorneys opportunities to interact and meet with the client along the way. Brady says, “The obvious challenge is for the junior attorney. They don’t bring as much experience to the table, so they have to tout the experience of the more senior attorneys and work as a team.” Collaboration is essential, and making sure junior attorneys are brought to the table is an important part of keeping the relationship viable as the years go by.

The question becomes how often and when do you introduce the junior attorneys to the client. Of course, the answer is, “It depends.” What’s important is keeping the client relationship current and making sure you are managing the client’s current needs—as well as any needs that come up in the future. Margulies says, “There is no rule of thumb for how long it takes to develop a relationship.” She points out that if there is a long-standing relationship between the client and the firm, it might not take long to introduce a junior lawyer.  If it’s a brand new client, it could take a little longer. She says, “The longer the relationship, the firm develops an institutional memory of the client and it doesn’t take as long for lawyers to learn and understand the client’s business.”

There are a few strategies that work well in trying to get junior attorneys integrated with clients and to help understand the clients and add value to the relationship. One strategy is allowing junior attorneys opportunities to write, hold webinars, or give presentations on areas of interest to the client. Brady says, anecdotally, “Lawyers [in firms] are more specialists, more current than in-house counsel. They deal with the issues on a regular basis; in-house legal departments don’t necessarily have the education budget, so outside counsel can fill the gap. It’s a way to become dialogue partners as you sort through the information.”

Margulies suggests one way for junior attorneys to gain experience is to work off-site with a client. She says, “If we have chance for a secondment of a lawyer to a client, we will do that, as it presents an amazing opportunity for the young lawyer to go work at a client for a period of time, see what it’s like on the inside, and develop relationships that he/she might not have the opportunity otherwise to do.” Along with the benefits for the attorney and the connections that can be made, it shows a commitment by the firm to the client’s interests and the relationship.

Additionally, pro bono work is a fascinating way to get people together in an unusual context. With the good will inherent in helping others and the out-of-office environment where roles and expectations are shaken up a bit, conversation flows and relationships can advance. Margulies points out, “You can really forge relationships that way—sitting together in a different situation, doing something you might not normally  do—but you’re also working together, solving problems, and building relationships.”

These are great strategies for involving junior attorneys, but at some point, the senior partner moves on and the torch must be passed. Brady says, “Continuity for the client is important for the firm’s well-being, and there is always someone wanting to build a relationship with in-house counsel.” Making sure there are no gaps in the relationship with the client is crucial; however, this transition can be difficult. There are a few important things to remember as the changes are considered. Margulies says, “It’s important to understand that, generally, lawyers are perfectionists; transitioning  a long relationship, for whatever reason, is difficult. It’s very hard to relinquish control.”

That said, how does the change happen? Many of the strategies mentioned earlier can help ease the transition, Margulies says, pointing out that, “It is easier when lawyers are encouraged to involve younger lawyers early on so it becomes a natural progression. It’s a way to build trust and comfort, and letting go is easier when younger attorneys are involved earlier and the more senior attorneys are comfortable with their knowledge and abilities.”

Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials are sharing the work at law firms and taking care of clients’ needs. There are difficulties and no real easy solutions, and the answer to just about every question is “It depends.” But as Brady points out, “Change is going to happen, and everyone is trying to figure out how to make it work.”

Article By Eilene Spear of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC

Building a Business Development Mindset in Law Firm Associates, Junior and Income Partners

meeting handshake black figures

Firms continually struggle to transition associates and junior partners from the “learning to be a great attorney mindset” to being great attorneys who also actively contribute to the firm’s bottom line.  In a fragile and shrinking legal market, business development at all levels and in all practice areas starts earlier and is being monitored more closely. Common stumbling blocks at the outset of building a business development mindset include where attorneys should start and how firms should help attorneys tailor their plans to both their different practices and diverse personalities. Once those business development plans are in place, firms are further challenged by how they can monitor and measure the effectiveness of their plans and how they must balance competing requests for funding for Business Development activities.

I had the opportunity to interview three law firm leaders in diverse practice groups about developing and monitoring attorneys’ business development plans.  Jason P. Grunfeld, the Head of Business Development and a partner in the firm’s Financial Services group at Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C.;   Louis Britt, the Regional Managing Partner for FordHarrison‘s Memphis, Nashville and Dallas offices and a Partner in the firm’s Employment Litigation group; and Samir Gandhi, co-practice leader of Sidley Austin’s New York Corporate Group, took the time to answer some questions about effective business development strategies.  Thank you to for Messrs. Britt, Gandhi, and Grunfeld for sharing their experiences.

Jennifer:  What are some practical tips for helping even the most junior associates build a business development mindset?

Jason:  I tell associates to ask themselves some big questions:

  • What part of my work/profession excites me?
  • What is my network (professional, social, school), and how can I keep actively intouch with them?
  • What are my priorities and where do I want to be in 2, 5, or 10 years?

Then I encourage them to draft a plan for developing their: skills; expertise; visibility within the profession and to potential clients; and expand their network (both internally and externally). To keep up the momentum, I ask them to pick two items they can complete within the next month. One goal might be to reconnect with a potential or current client by sending them an email to touch base. Another could be to research an organization they would like to become more involved in. Still another could be to think about a potential article topic in their area of practice.

I also remind them to look for everyday opportunities to connect with new contacts and reestablish old ones.  This kind of networking is essential no matter what stage of your career you are in. It’s not just about connecting with potential clients, it also gets you in front of referral sources, mentors/advocates, and ultimately a great support system.

Louis:  At FordHarrison, we encourage associates from the very beginning to build a business development mindset.  This starts with building good habits and getting out to meet people.  We insist that associates take part in an organization, whether it’s a bar association, an industry association, philanthropic, or civic-oriented.  We want them to work toward becoming a leader in that organization, which can start with committee involvement and build from there.  We want them to write for publications, participate in speaking opportunities, and get used to occasionally having lunch outside the office.  They can start with former classmates, but also take the opportunity to buy a client lunch whenever they have the opportunity in working with them.

Building good habits is akin to regular exercise.  No one can run a marathon without putting in lots of shorter runs on a daily basis.  Lastly, it’s always good when partners can take associates along on a business development activity, whether it’s as simple as a lunch or as big as a pitch meeting.  People learn best from examples, and this is a great way to take a little of the mystery and nervousness out of business development for associates.

Samir:  Use simple, easy to accomplish tasks.  Most junior associates/partners who are new to practice development get intimidated by the concepts of “business plans” or marketing strategies.  Create goals that are effective yet not overwhelming, like doing one client alert per month or three practice development phone calls per week.  These are less intimidating and more likely to be done and each sets a goal that is practice development-focused.

Jennifer:  How can business development plans be tailored to meet different types of practices, different personality types?

Jason:  For most lawyers, the two primary obstacles to business development are fear and lack of time. The fear comes when lawyers are asked to step outside of their comfort zones and engage in new activities. Lack of time causes lawyers to push business development to the back burner, never giving it the chance to mature into a habit.

As far as personalities go, we also know that lawyers score high on skepticism (they question everything), autonomy (they don’t like being managed), and urgency (they want immediate results). None of this is great for developing business.  At Kleinberg Kaplan we try to overcome these obstacles by helping our lawyers develop marketing plans and tactics that fit their practices and unique personalities.

Tactics such as writing articles and participating in webinars to demonstrate thought leadership are helpful for lawyers whose personalities are more introverted.  Speaking to groups and attending networking functions are suggested for lawyers who are more comfortable with being extroverted. Some also find success with small group interaction at settings such as restaurants, cultural events, or sporting events. Other tactics can include making lawyers available for interviews to comment on key issues related to their area of practice. It’s all about the comfort zone for the individual lawyer… there is no “one size fits all.” Lawyers whose business development efforts are consistent with the needs of their practice, as well as their personality, values, and interpersonal characteristics are more likely to perform better.

Samir:  Difficult to answer as it really depends on the practice, but I tell people to really listen to what their clients or prospective clients want.  Lawyers tend to do things that are formulaic rather than bespoke.  Listen to what your clients’ needs are and your business plan can revolve around that need.

Jennifer:  Once business development activities have taken place, how do you monitor follow up and follow through?

Jason:  One aspect of our coaching program is the development of systems to organize, motivate and direct our lawyers’ business development activities in the shortest amount of time. We are helping our lawyers to build their own specific list of prospects that they would like to transform into clients – and a system that tracks exactly where they are in the process and the next steps that need to be taken.  This analytical approach provides organization, prompts action, tracks conversations, and helps us to analyze networks. The process begins with a chart that includes the name of the target organization; the potential contact within the organization; general description/information about the organization, history and notes about the contact; next steps to be taken; and deadlines to be met.

An important part of the process is identifying the various stages of the relationship:

  1. target identified,

  2. when the initial communication is made,

  3. what steps are taken to build the relationship,

  4. when the meeting is held to assess legal needs,

  5. what steps are taken to build trust (follow-up, sending articles, sharing information, etc),

  6. when the agreement is made to hire, and

  7. when the file is opened.

Samir:  At Sidley we try to gauge follow up through surveys and results inquiries (e.g., how did the RFP go?).   As a practice group head, I try to make sure I remind lawyers on my team to continually follow up and keep your promises to do so.

Jennifer:  How do you balance competing requests for funds / priorities for business development activities?

Louis: As attorneys are seeking approval for funds outside of routine client lunches or dinners, we ask them what business purpose is served and what follow-up is planned.  Another thing we do at our firm is give a greater priority when a lawyer looks to involve others in his or her office.  We want to avoid the use of funds for “pet projects,” so to avoid this, we will often insist that certain activities involve more attorneys within the office, and require a plan for follow-up.

Samir:  Carefully.  Based on a combination of need and effective use of funds.  We are a large firm and there are a lot of competing teams looking for funds.  We try to make sure teams use best practices to be efficient so that we aren’t unable to fund someone who is deserving because we were inefficient with funds.

Article By  Jennifer Schaller of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
Copyright ©2016 National Law Forum, LLC

[1] I recently had the opportunity to hear Louis Britt III, Samir A. Gandhi, and Jason P. Grunfeld speak at Thomson Reuters 23rd Annual Marketing Partner Forum held last month in Orlando.  I’d also like to extend a big thank you to Cindy Larson, the Publisher of SuperLawyers Magazine who moderated the “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been? Investing in Junior & Income Partners for Business Development” panel whose members included Messrs. Britt, Gandhi, and Grunfeld.  Click here: for a full recap of this panel discussion by Cindy.

Coaching Tips for Partners and CMOs

“I tried coaching that associate but it didn’t work.”

“Well,” I asked, “What did you say to him?”
“I told him to stop annoying the clients, but he keeps doing it.”

Unfortunately, both supervising lawyers and leading a law firm are far more complicated than simply telling people what to do. When facing an environment of change and uncertainty, or even when helping a single associate overcome some professional hurdle, coaching can be an invaluable strategy. With its increasing popularity, the word “coaching” is often used colloquially as a proxy for giving advice, providing direction, consulting, and other activities. Whereas, professional coaching organizations define it as helping people explore and discover answers for themselves. Have you ever repeated the same wisdom or advice to someone a dozen times but they just didn’t get it?  It is frustrating, isn’t it?  You have something valuable to contribute, but it just isn’t getting through.  Most people give up at this stage, thinking that they have done everything they can, and dismissing the person as “hopeless” or “impossible.” Obviously, one’s ability to manage such situations improves with training and experience; but even a basic understanding of coaching principles can make a huge difference in your effectiveness in circumstances where your usual approaches simply are not working.  Here are some tips to consider when coaching associates and partners.

The Relationship is the Foundation

Your ability to be effective with someone is directly proportional to the strength of your relationship.  If you don’t like them, don’t try to coach them. You can be the most brilliant and knowledgeable person in the world, but if you don’t like the person or if you suspect that he or she don’t like or respect you, game over. That lawyer won’t listen to anything you have to say. You might think, “I’m really good at hiding my opinions,” but people are far more perceptive than we imagine.  Unless you have an Academy Award for acting, don’t even try.  What you can do, however, and what does make a difference, is to make a concerted effort to improve your relationship. Go to lunch. Find shared interests, talk about family, look for common values and beliefs, etc. Once you have established a rapport, you are in a position to initiate much more meaningful discussions.

What if the person is too busy and doesn’t seem interested in taking time for lunch? Building a relationship in this situation is very similar to the challenge law firm lawyers face when approaching corporate counsel. No one has time for trivial conversation. People are busy and may not be inclined to talk about their weekends. Nonetheless, they will appreciate anything you can do to actually help them. In such circumstances, making a key introduction or sending them an article related to their practice areas, for example, are substantive ways to generate a more positive relationship with someone, even if there have been tensions or disagreements in the past.  In turn, this paves the way for more in-depth conversations and the opportunity to offer coaching or guidance.

See Their Greatness

In the world of coaching, we start with the premise that, as human beings, we all have wonderful qualities that are part of the fabric of who we are, such as integrity, generosity, caring, creativity, humor, commitment, joy, among many others. These essential characteristics are different from person to person.  On the other hand, human beings also have a less delightful side, the part that comes out when we are stressed or just trying to survive in the world.  In your role as a coach, your job is to focus on the positive and help people to act in alignment with that side of themselves.  For example, a lawyer may be angry, frustrated or recalcitrant; but those traits may be manifesting in reaction to a deep level of commitment. Lawyers who genuinely care about doing a great job for clients or creating a supportive and collegial work environment may become angry or upset when their goals and commitments are stymied. To coach such a person effectively, you should appreciate and acknowledge that he or she is, fundamentally, a caring, committed person (rather than focusing on the fact that, in the moment, he or she may be acting like a jerk).

Ask, Don’t Tell

As smart, capable human beings, we tend to look at other people’s problems and see simple solutions. Yet, think back for a minute to a time when you were stuck, really stuck. This could be when you were trying to decide whether to leave a job or a relationship, or perhaps when trying to achieve a seemingly impossible goal. Lots of people gave you advice, and it probably didn’t make much difference.  Still, maybe you got lucky, and there was someone in your life, a friend, a relative, a coach, who asked you questions and helped you to figure out what you needed to move forward.

This principle of asking rather than telling applies at all stages of coaching. Just because you see a problem doesn’t mean the person wants to talk about it. If you saw an obese person, you wouldn’t automatically assume that he or she were ready to dive in and discuss a weight loss program. It’s the same with coaching. Everyone has issues that they are working on, or that they know to be obstacles, but which they don’t necessarily wish to discuss. To coach effectively, you need to work with whatever the person wants to talk about or whatever seems most important to them. As the conversation develops, you can look for opportunities to bring up what you see as their opportunity for growth.  For example, an associate may mention that he is frustrated that he can never seem to leave work early enough to see his children before they go to bed. Maybe you think that he should be more organized or delegate more. Clearly, there is a relationship between these respective agendas. Once you start looking for it, there are usually ways to connect the concerns of the person you are coaching with whatever issue you would like them to address.

Motivation is Key

The lawyers you work with are smart and capable; or, if they are not, you will want to rethink your hiring and firing practices. Therefore, if your attorneys are not making progress with something critically important for their careers, like business development or improving an important skill, then there may be a lack of true motivation. This is tricky because even the lawyers themselves may not be clear about their own desires. I had a client recently who was of counsel and hired me because she wanted to become a partner. She wanted to make more money, have more independence, and gain more status.  We came up with a great business development plan. It was aligned with her skills, talents and interests; and it inspired her. Nevertheless, it soon became clear that she wasn’t making much progress. When we examined the situation more closely it became evident that she didn’t really want to become a partner.  Although, theoretically she liked the idea, when she really thought about the partners’ lives, from her perspective, they did not look appealing. The partners worked even longer hours, spent all their social time with clients, and had even “less of a life” than my client. Once her true feelings became clear, she realized she would prefer to work elsewhere and is now employed in the federal government. Another client with similar concerns about becoming a partner decided to stay at her firm, but with the understanding that she is creating a version of partnership that works for her, rather than emulating the life and work choices exemplified by her colleagues. Of course, it is unlikely that your lawyers will confess to you if they have mixed feeling about partnership or practicing law. However, it is useful for you to recognize, as someone trying to encourage, mentor or coach them, that one reason for resistance or lack of progress could be that they are ambivalent about their present career trajectory.

Accept Emotions

Lawyers often think that work should be separate from emotions, and that we should be objective and professional at all times. Yet, in reality, people get frustrated and scream at colleagues, burst into tears, wake up in the middle of the night worried about cases, careers, status, and work relationships.  To dismiss the emotional component is like ignoring the wind’s impact on a sailboat. Thus, in order to coach effectively, one must always consider the emotions under surface of any presenting issue.

I spoke at a legal marketing conference recently and asked participants to brainstorm about how to coach lawyers who are having trouble with follow-up. One group said they would delegate the organizational aspect to the lawyer’s assistant. When I asked what they would do if the lawyer still didn’t take the follow-up actions, one person responded, “This is why I think all firms should have an in-house psychologist.” While many, no-doubt, would echo her frustration, there are more practical alternatives. If a lawyer is behaving in a way that seems irrational, it generally is not because he or she is crazy or stupid. Rather, that lawyer is just like every other human being on the planet in that fear, anger or upset may occasionally divert him or her from making the best choices.

Consequently, when people are acting irrationally, it is very likely that fear or other emotions under the surface may be getting in the way.  While some individuals may need serious psychological interventions, for most lawyers, simply having a chance to talk about and acknowledge fear or upset makes a huge difference in their ability to move past it. If you are serious about coaching, it is important to accept individuals’ emotions just as they are. Telling someone that his or her feelings are irrational or illogical will be counterproductive. Emotions are not rational. But, on the plus side, they are also temporary. If given attention in a meaningful and appropriate way, people can move from fear to purposeful action much faster than you might think possible.

Trying to coach your associates and partners may seem daunting or frustrating, at times.  Yet, the effort is well worth it. When your best associate stops eyeing the door and reengages with the firm; two key partners resolve a conflict that has been creating tension in the firm for months; or that one attorney finally gets proactive about developing clients it will become clear just how useful and effective this approach can be.

Article By Anna H. Rappaport of Excelleration, LLC

© 2008-2016 Anna Rappaport. All Rights Reserved

Best Practices for Creating Landing Pages That Convert

Landing pages — dedicated web pages that a visitor to your website, blog, social media post or e-newsletter is guided to after clicking on a link — are critical when it comes to converting those visitors into qualified leads.

landing pages internetIf you have been directing traffic to the home page of your website, you are missing a big opportunity to capture more leads. Landing pages have been proven to more than double conversion rates when compared with website home pages. This is because they are created specifically for converting leads, featuring specialized content and offers that appeal to a targeted audience.

To make your landing pages pay, you need to know the basics about how to create a highly effective landing page.  Here are 10 steps you need to take in developing landing pages for your law firm:

  1. Have a singular goal.  You want your landing page to do just one job for you — get the visitor to download that free report, sign up for a seminar, subscribe to your newsletter, etc.  Don’t clutter them up with multiple offers.  One page.  One job.

  2. Use a single, relevant visual.  Choose an illustration or photo that is relevant to your offer.

  3. No false endorsements.  Don’t create false endorsements for your offer.  Avoid cheesy endorsement copy that turns visitors off.

  4. Use simple design.  Keep your design simple with minimal, impactful copy that consists of a headline, subhead and bullet points that make the content easy to scan.

  5. Quick load.  Be sure your landing page loads quickly; you only have a few seconds for it to pop up or your visitor will lose interest and click off.

  6. Compelling copy.  The worse thing you can do is bore your visitor.  Your copy needs to be readable, believable and lead the visitor quickly to your ultimate goal.

  7. Eyes on the prize.  Write and design your land page with your singular goal in mind.  Do not clutter the content with irrelevant prose.

  8. Inform and educate.  Don’t waste the visitor’s time by not delivering anything of benefit.  And don’t ask for too much information — a name and an email address should be sufficient.

  9. Be truthful.  If you have actual testimonials that would be appropriate, use them but be sure you are not making any false promises or guarantees.

  10. Provide value.  Make it clear what the value and benefits of redeeming your offer will provide to your visitor.  If they are entrusting you with their information, you need to let them know it is a fair exchange for what you are providing with the offer.

Article By Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute

© The Rainmaker Institute, All Rights Reserved

Rainmaker 101: 3 Tips from a Top Producer at a Law Firm [VIDEO]

One of the most interesting elements of my job as a business development coach for attorneys is interviewing top rainmakers to better understand “How they did it.” While every attorney knows a rainmaker or high-level business developer, you might never get the chance to hear how they actually accomplished their goals, what it really took to do so and how to avoid the pitfalls they’ve encountered. One of my first interviews occurred with the Managing Partner and co-founder of Stahl Cowen, Jeff Stahl. He put everything on the line when he went out on his own.  As he stated in our interview, it was “a combination of need and fear,” to begin developing his book of business. Here are Jeff’s top three tips for success in building his legal practice, followed by some of my own thoughts on the subject.  Jump to the end for the full interview. Enjoy!

Jeff’s Tip #1: Helping versus Selling

Jeff’s first and most important revelation as a business developer was to really want to help people, not to sell them legal services.  He says quite empathetically that it’s imperative to, “Recognize when someone is in need of service and then be there, and be creative to help them. Then it isn’t perceived as a sale, but as assistance that usually has greater receptivity than somebody who is hard selling.”

From my point of view, he is touching on one of the critical turning points for attorneys as it relates to sales and being viewed as a “salesman.” I don’t know too many lawyers who like or want to be seen as a salesman. What Jeff explains so clearly in his interview is that you need to switch off that mindset and turn on the idea that you are in the unique position to help people with real problems. The key here is to try not pitching and selling, but rather try asking and listening.

One of my favorite mantras is, “Prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.” Think about that. If you walked into a doctor’s office with a migraine and he suggested amputating your head, I’m sure you’d move pretty quickly to the nearest exit. The same rule should apply to prescribing legal services in the form of a pitch meeting. Just don’t do it! At least not until you’ve fully diagnosed the issues, needs and pains the prospective client is dealing with.

Jeff’s Tip #2: Market Yourself When You’re Busiest

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 1000 times, “I’m too busy to market myself.” One of the best take-aways from Jeff’s interview was his statement, “Too many people go out and market when they’re slow. You need to market when you are busy, because when you market when you’re slow, you often appear desperate. That comes across and people realize that.” Even when you’re working 60 hours a week, it’s imperative to find ways to market. If nothing comes in right away from the effort, at least you’re building your pipeline which will pay off when things do slow down.

In my experience, the key to success here is to find the time to market by getting organized with your day and opening up gaps of time for business development. A few suggestions I typically offer include:

  • Time blocking- Get into the office at 6:30 am once a week and spend an uninterrupted hour emailing clients, strategic partners and new people you’ve met to schedule a coffee or lunch sometime in the next few weeks. This one hour block of time each week will help ensure that you get meetings set every week without fail.
  • Delegating more- Do everything in your power to delegate administrative tasks to others at a lower billable rate. If you are billing $300-600 an hour, why are you making copies or doing filing? Try making a list of every administrative task that you do and add up the hours in a week. You might be shocked at how much time you’re wasting on activities that can be done for under $50 an hour by someone else. This “found time” can be better used for business development activities or even going home for supper with your family once in a while.
  • Never eat lunch alone- It’s the title of a great networking book for a reason. Schedule lunch at your office and invite someone to join you. Utilize a conference room so that it’s quiet and you can focus the conversation on your guest. If you did this with two of your existing clients or strategic partners every week, you will be delighted to the results you might see. Working during lunch might be helpful to get things done, however it doesn’t have to be your routine every day.

Jeff’s Tip #3: Be Impressive!

“When a client tells you what their issue is, it isn’t always their issue. Through effective listening you may recognize things that they may not even realize themselves.” Effective questioning and listening is not only important as a way to best service the client, but also as a way of differentiating yourself from other attorneys who aren’t focused on the clients story, needs and issues. From Jeff’s perspective it’s more important to be perceived as impressive and knowledgeable, than to beat your chest regarding your prowess as a successful attorney.

Jeff’s  hit on something really critical here. Perception is reality and belief stronger than fact. The concept is simple if you think about it. By asking relevant, probing and open ended questions, the prospective client will perceive that you are an expert based on the way you are managing the conversation and your bedside manner. A great example here would be observing two psychologists. The first spouts off about why she is so good at what she does and her advanced degrees. The other, warmly welcomes her patient onto the couch and begins building rapport. Then the second psychologist begins asking questions about the patients reason for being here today. The patient’s response is followed up with additional questions which open up the dialogue to reveal the actual issues being faced.

If you are working diligently to find new business opportunities, and a prospective client finally agrees to meet with you, try to act like the second therapist by asking questions and being an expert listener. You will not only build greater credibility as a lawyer, but also uncover issues that your new client didn’t even know he had. A win-win outcome is inevitable.

I’d like to thank Jeff Stahl for his rainmaking insights. The reality is that there is always a way to find balance in work and in life. For many of you, it’s a matter of having the proper mindset. For others it’s obtaining new strategies and tactics to accomplish the goals you’ve set. Check in monthly for a new installment of Rainmaker 101 for more tips from the business development superstars I’ve interviewed.

Article By Steve Fretzin of Sales Results, Inc.
Copyright @ 2015 Sales Results, Inc.

5 Tips for Personal Injury Attorneys Opening a Mass Tort Practice

Attorneys nationwide are joining the trend to add mass tort claims to their personal injury practice. Based on conservative estimates, two to four million people per year are seriously or fatally injured in mass tort cases.

Most mass tort cases are product liability cases against pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Other types involve airplane crashes, train wrecks, hotel fires, asbestos, patent, antitrust price fixing, data security breaches, securities fraud and employment claims.

It is the only practice in which economies of scale exist. These cases are national and involve filing same primary claim over and over for multiple plaintiffs. The math is compelling: in the right situation it can cost $1,500 to acquire a client with a case that will settle for $300,000, according to John Ray, senior consultant for Mass Tort Nexus and a former pharmaceutical executive.

“It is a multi-billion dollar immature market, with economies of scale and only a single barrier to entry. You have already overcome the barrier, if you hold a bar card,” Ray said.

The best strategy is to find a mass torts case with strong liability, many plaintiffs, a financially viable defendant, high settlement values and a reasonable cost to acquire a client. Here are five tips:

  1. Timing.

There are several optimal moments to seek mass tort clients:

  • In the emerging phase, when many attorneys are advertising about a particular mass tort. Most patients do not connect their prescription with an adverse event. The highest consumer awareness exists when advertising is at its peak. Currently this includes IVC Filters, Bair Hugger blankets, Invokana, Xarelto, Pradaxa, Transvaginal Mesh, Morcellator, talcum powder, Zofran and Metal-on-metal hips, according to Steve Nober, CEO of the Consumer Attorney Marketing Group.

  • MDL phase. When the federal courts create a multi-district litigation docket (MDL) for the mass tort. There are 300 federal MDLs, which organize hundreds of cases and promote settlements with trials of bellwether cases. Courts will create a form complaint and plaintiff’s fact sheet, which can be found on Mass Tort Nexus. The MDL plaintiffs committee works on all the scheduling, motions and trials.

  • In the settlement phase, when the defendant announces to its stockholders that it has set aside a settlement fund. At this point, attorneys are signing clients to settle their cases.

  1. Marketing.

The goal of any form or marketing must be to educate clients about the side effects of the product they used. Lawyers should use clear, concise language that the general public will understand. Your marketing should be about the client — not about the firm. Don’t’ forget to state that clients do not pay legal fees unless you win the case.

Marketing tactics that work include:

  • Pay for Performance Advertising. The attorney pays for a call and is not buying leads. The charge depends on how long the phone call lasts.

  • Strong Organic Web Presence. More people are filling out forms on lawyer websites, and the firm should have trained intake personnel to contact the person within minutes.

  • Standard Television Advertising. Bear in mind that a consumer will watch an ad 12 times before acting, according to Ray. TV ads will create the lexicon that people use to search for lawyers online. Smart lawyers will incorporate the exact wording of TV ads into their website.

  • Buying Leads (Caveat Emptor). Ray advises to be suspicious about lead generation companies, because there are many disreputable companies that will sell a single lead to five or six different law firms.

  1. Partnering with a law firm.

Many of the leading mass tort law firms will accept referrals in a co-counsel agreement. In this arrangement, a lawyer agrees to accept a fraction of the recovery in exchange for the other firm prosecuting the case.

A better approach is to create a co-counsel consortium, akin to entering a partnership where two firms agree to represent a client. It can be argued that no referral occurred and the word “referral” never appears in the agreement. Both firms are equally responsible and the originating attorney can claim a larger percentage. The client is getting more lawyers on his team — a dream team — but is not paying any additional legal fee.

  1. Beware of common legal risks in drug or medical device cases.

  • The Mensing Factor. The Supreme Court decided Pliva, Inc. v. Mensing in 2011, holding that failure-to-warn claims brought against manufacturers of generic medications under state law are pre-empted by federal law.

  • PMA Preemption Potential. Makers of Class III Medical Devices that undertake the FDA’s stringent premarket approval process can be exempt from certain product liability claims. See Riegel v. Medtronic, decided by the US Supreme Court, 128 S.Ct. 999 (2008).

  • Statute of Repose Issues.

  1. Evaluating your firm.

Evaluating the resources of your firm is good place to start, before delving into other considerations necessary to develop your firm’s road map to mass tort success. See which Navy ship matches your firm.

Is your firm a super carrier?

A Super Carrier is a well-established firm with a large number of lawyers and support staff and extensive in-house logistical capabilities. It has the financial reserves needed to take on all necessary tasks of mass tort litigation, without the need for outside funding or outsourcing of services.

Is your firm a destroyer?

A Destroyer is a well-armed firm loaded with weapons (human resources and an abundance of cash.) These firms move fast to develop and deploy an attack plan, for any given mass tort case. A Destroyer may still need to seek outside funding or outsource certain services, if it wishes to take on a large number of clients in a mass tort case.

Is your firm a patrol ship?

Being a Patrol Ship has more to do with strategy than any other factor. Some firms take a conservative approach to mass torts. They stay on constant patrol and only make a move when a mass tort case arises and reaches a point that allows taking clients for the case, within the risk tolerance limits of the firm.

Are you one guy in a row boat?

  • If you are a sole practitioner, with little to no staff and want to enter the mass tort space, you can, but your approach has to be realistic and you must have a relevant starting point.

  • Many sole practitioners sit on the sidelines, believing that they are not ready for the leap into mass torts. Others jump in and reap the benefits of participation.

  • If your practice has a docket of general PI cases or other assets, in most situations, you can obtain the funding to make the leap. The proceeds from your limited entry into mass torts can be used to finance future expansion of both your PI practice and additional mass tort cases.

Article By Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute
© The Rainmaker Institute, All Rights Reserved

Responding to a Hyper-Competitive Legal Market: 2015 and Beyond

The results of Citigroup’s 2015 Law Firm Leader’s Peer Monitor Report were examined by a highly informative panel[i] at Thomson Reuters’ recent 20th Annual Law Firm Leaders Conference in New York. The detailed discussion outlined overall marketplace trends and reviewed the strategies of law firms who are profitably navigating today’s turbulent legal market.

pic1articleState of the U.S. Business Law Marketplace

Market conditions for law firms are stabilizing in 2015 but a fragile global economy / geopolitical climate, and changing legal department purchasing behavior are leading to continuing flat demand for purchasing legal services. Current marketplace conditions include: more work being done in-house or by non-law firm outsourced providers and law firms coming in from other markets who are competing aggressively on price and / or who are buying business growth by lateral attorney hires.

Lower demand for law firms’ services is also being driven by a decreased appetite for costly litigation and developing technology which performs more cost effectively commodity type legal work.[ii].  The most common reasons for moving work in house is more control over costs and increased efficiency.[iii] In a 2015 survey of over 300 in-house counsel from 22 industries over 47% of the companies surveyed reported an increase in the number of law department lawyers employed.[iv]

Larger Business Trends Lead to a Less of an Appetite for Litigation and a Push for More Cost Effective Service Delivery

General Counsel manage their departments in tandem with the overall goals of the business.  Unresolved legal issues can have a negative impact on a company’s stock price and reserves set aside for lengthy litigation could be deployed for other business activities. Accordingly, there is an ongoing trend of companies settling earlier than before, and being more open to pursue alternatives to expensive and drawn out courtroom trials.[v]   Also, the increased cost of conducting complex litigation due to e-discovery, is also causing companies to think twice about how hard and how long they want to fight.

legal dept tech spend crop
A Look Inside: 2015 Thomson Reuters Legal Department In-sourcing and Efficiency Report

Since the great recession many law firms have become adept at trimming administrative overhead costs but seem to forget that corporate law departments are corporate overhead.   In a 2013 survey of 238 managing partners and law firm chairs, over 44 percent indicated that their firms had taken steps to improve the cost effectiveness of legal service delivery, mostly in the form of changing project staffing models to include part-time and contract lawyers and outsourcing an increasing number of non-lawyer functions at their firms. [vi] Alternative service providers in the legal arena cover functions such as discovery management, document creation, dispute resolution alternatives to litigation, and talent management services. Legal process out sourcing (LPO) through alternative service providers has a predicted growth of 30% in 2015 and it is estimated that there is currently $20 billion of outsourceable legal work in the U.S. legal marketplace.[vii]    It is estimated that the LPO market has only captured 5.5% or $1 billon of the estimated $437billion U.S. legal market.[viii] 

legal dept outside counsel spend cropped
A Look Inside: 2015 Thomson Reuters Legal Department In-sourcing and Efficiency Report

Practice Areas Where Demand Is Consistent or Growing for Law Firms

While businesses may have less of appetite for costly litigation, demand remains strong in certain areas due to more domestic regulatory investigations and U.S. lead examinations stemming from cross-border activities. [ix]  In a survey released this month, 48% of law departments predicted an increase in regulatory work in the next year.[x] Other growth practice areas include:  Intellectual Property/Patent; Cybersecurity/Data Privacy; Bankruptcy; Healthcare/Pharmaceutical, Financial Services and Mergers/Acquisitions. [xi]

Common Features of Underperforming Law Firms in Today’s Marketplace

To address the buying needs of corporate clients, firms which are surviving are becoming more efficient and predictable in their pricing and service delivery.  Firms who are underperforming tend to have:

  • The lowest overall leverage rate (partner to associate) and less cost effective use of leverage;

  • A higher reliance on income partners, and a declining income partner contribution;

  • A high use of Other Lawyers but the use of these lawyers make a negative contribution to the firm’s bottom line;

  • A lower overall equity partner productivity and a decline of equity partner equity during 2009-14;

  • The lowest realized rates and lowest growth in those rates during 2009-14;

  • A heavier litigation reliance;

  • Less rocket science work and more commoditized work; and

  • Firm brands that are not as sharply differentiated or recognized.[xii]

What a Hyper-Competitive Legal Market Marketplace Means Operationally

General Counsel are generalists, who manage the legal needs of a company but are limited in the legal tasks they can and should do on behalf of their client, the company.  Accordingly, there is always a set group of work that won’t be done in-house or for which third party specialized expertise is advisable.   Outsourcing of ‘rocket science’ work and going to law firms who have established reputations for certain types of work are easier sells for in-house counsel who have to sell their outsourcing decisions to company management. Marketplace trends are resulting in more of a concentration of high end work in a smaller group of law firms.  Notable legal market predications / observations made by the panel:

  • Clients will further segment the market (“financial and reputational tiering”);

  • Firms will further consolidate;

  • Lateral activity will remain high; and

  • Brand differentiation will help attract the right laterals and grow market share in a flat demand environment.

With continued cost pressures, the panel commented that profitable law firms will:

•           Use systems and processes to improve:

  • Matter management;

  • Practice management;

  • Workforce management; and

  • Partner performance measurement.

In order to demonstrate a concern for efficiency, successful law firms need to facilitate better collaboration between the firm and client.  In order to leverage internal resources and grow deeper, more stable and more profitable relationships with clients, law firms need to improve or better communicate their client service offerings and share information about legal developments. The panel identified the following ways to stay or become known for expertise and to demonstrate concern for law firm department budgets:

  • Knowledge sharing;

  • Client relationship teams, strategic and well thought-out cross selling; and

  • Developing associates and younger partners to ensure a sustainable business and cost effective service delivery structure.

Take-Aways

You have to have a brand – “We’re cheaper – but still really good and can do whatever you need, especially the easy stuff” isn’t working.  Established brands make law firms an easier sell for in-house counsel to their management or management may even advocate for well know legal brands to their law departments.  Company management does suggest particular law firms and attorneys and they pass on to the law department relevant thought leadership that they were sent by law firms or that they have come across. Executive management approves the law department’s budget.  The general counsel should not be your only contact point. If you want to be considered for the less than 10% of litigation work that’s considered bet the company, shouldn’t management know you and feel comfortable that you know their needs?

According to David Cruickshank of Edge International, 96% of firms say lateral hires are part of their growth strategy[xiii].  Great legal brands help recruit great associates and laterals, as well as clients.   How do you keep the attention of attorneys at regulatory agencies, high potential law grads and star attorneys with established practices?  Share your knowledge.  Many legal recruiters scour publications as a starting point for finding lateral candidates in niche practices.  Your knowledge and service are your brand. How do you build or maintain a brand? Share your knowledge, write, speak, repeat.

How do you convey to clients and potential clients that you mean what you say – that you have deep expertise, that you can manage things in a cost effective manner, that you collaborate, that you are committed to technology – you show them. Jay Hull, Chief Innovation Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine mentioned during the conference that you go for wins on small projects with name brand clients, for proof of concept.  Per Jay if you want to show a commitment to technology and innovation, you bring a legal technologist to a pitch meeting.  Don’t drag your client into inter partner quarrels if you want to build confidence in your ability to manage complex multi-jurisdiction litigation. Want show deep expertise, include multiple authors on articles, rainmakers should bring along associates or new partners to speaking engagements or networking events – be a team and grow and show your depth.

Article by Jennifer Schaller of the National Law Review

Copyright ©2015 National Law Forum, LLC

[ii] Citi 2015 Law Firm Leaders Survey.

[iv] 2015 HBR Consulting Law Department Survey – the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center and Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor.

[v] 2015 Client Advisory 2014: Great News for Some, Mixed Results for Others Citi Private Bank and Hildebrandt Consulting.

[vi] 2013 Law Firms in Transition: An Altman Weil Flash Survey, Thomas S. Clay Altman Weil, Inc., May 2013

[viii] Revenues estimated using AmLaw 200 data, Peer Monitor, Hackett Group Report and New York Times; Expenses from Peer Monitor Corporate Legal Dept is based on internal spend on legal matters.

[ix] A Look Inside: 2015 Thomson Reuters Legal Department In-sourcing and Efficiency Report.

[x] 2015 HBR Consulting Law Department Survey.

[xi] Citi 2015 Law Firm Leaders Survey.

[xii]2015 HBR Consulting Law Department Survey – the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center and Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor.

[xiii] 7 Thoughts About The Lateral Hiring Process, Above the Law, April 15, 2014.

Three Reasons Why Lawyers Avoid Business Development

One of the scariest things someone can do is to approach an attractive stranger in a bar and begin speaking.  While there are the limited few with nerves of steel who can talk with anyone about anything, the majority of us humans are actually intimidated by this act.  Why are some of us afraid of these conversations and others confident? How does this apply to being a lawyer and building a sustainable book of business? The ability to understand the “why” and overcome your own personal uncertainty could mean the difference between success and failure in building a sustainable law practice.

Although there are many different reasons why lawyers are so hesitant to go after new business, I would like to explore the top three that keep some attorneys awake at night.  The unfortunate truth for many attorneys is that without developing your own clients, you will not have the freedom and security that was so easily obtained 20 years ago.

Reason #1: The fear of rejection

One of the main reasons people don’t go into sales is because of the seemingly endless amount of rejection that comes with selling a service. You may recall your first experience with rejection when you were picked last for a game of kickball or when your best friend found someone new to hang out with. As you became older, someone may have turned you down at your local bar. You may have felt sick before approaching that person, and even worse when he or she wasn’t interested in your advances.  Whatever the case, you knew that you hated rejection and the way it made you feel. It’s obvious that the risk of getting rejected is something to avoid if given the choice.

There are two key elements to overcoming the fear of rejection. Unfortunately, they are not easily mastered until you’ve obtained the proper mindset. The first element is dealing with what I call “head trash.”  Head trash is the mess that you create between your two ears regarding things that you are afraid of. There’s an acronym for F-E-A-R, which stands for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” This means that you’ve built up something scary in your mind, when in reality nothing bad is going to happen. Think about the first time you went skiing or rode a roller coaster. Of course you might have been afraid—until it was over. Then you probably said, “What was I so afraid of?”

When it comes to rejection from your business development activities, the same sentence can be uttered, “What was I so afraid of?” One of the first things I do with the attorneys I work with is to get them to realize there is absolutely nothing to fear.  You’re not going to die or get hurt in any way. The rejection, if it does happen, is not personal.  The reality is that not everyone is going to do business with you. Sometimes it’s because you weren’t the best fit for them or they weren’t the right fit for you. That’s just the way it is.

Another important element to overcoming fear when selling legal services is to be very skilled at what you do. Top lawyers have an endless reserve of confidence because they know that no one else can do a better job for a client than they will. This confidence allows the fear to subside because if someone doesn’t select you, it’s his or her loss. Move on to the next opportunity, as there will be many more to come.

Reason #2: The stigma that is attached to the word “sales” and “salespeople.”

One of the main reasons why lawyers are hesitant to invest time on their business development efforts is because of the negative feelings one has towards sales. It is seen as a dirty profession. The imagery of carpetbaggers and soapbox pitchmen is synonymous with the word sales.   To make things worse, we have all been “taken for a ride” at some point in our lives, paying too much for something we were sold.

It’s possible that you chose a career in law, specifically to avoid having to sell anything.

While I have been in sales for over 25 years, I never remember saying as a child, “Gee, one day I hope to grow up to be a salesperson.”  For many millions that are currently in a sales role, it’s really a default profession.

As an attorney, you probably never thought that you would have to sell anything right?  More like “hoped.” The reality for most attorneys over 60 years old is that they didn’t have to sell. Being a good lawyer and trusted counselor was probably enough. In fact, my father retired from law in 1999 and never had to make a business development call or attend a networking event in his entire career. Well, obviously, things have changed.  Lawyers today need to control their own financial destiny by getting out there and originating new business.

As I mentioned previously, it’s important to be the best lawyer you can be. It’s also critical to have a better process for selling legal services. The old school “pitch” meetings and aggressive tactics to closing new business are outdated. The easiest way to stop the negatively charged stigma associated with sales and salespeople is to stop doing it yourself.

Think about it this way. When you enter a courtroom for a big trial, are you properly prepared?  What happens if you aren’t? All attorneys know that preparation and execution in a courtroom are paramount for success to occur. In selling legal services, it’s not that different. Being properly prepared for a prospective client meeting is just as involved as going into the courtroom.  You need to have a more relationship driven and consultative approach, to remove the salesy element from the room. Ask questions and learn about the prospective client’s needs, wants and desires. While this is easy for me to say, it’s very difficult to actually execute. We are all wired to solve problems and present solutions. It’s a constant struggle to hold back, ask quality questions and really listen to a prospective client’s issues. Just yesterday, one of my clients closed a new piece of business. At the end of the meeting the prospect said to him, “I’ve never had an attorney ask me so many questions before. You really seem to understand my problems.” That’s it! If you can change your approach to avoid being salesy, the negative stigma will also be removed from within your brain.

Reason #3: Lack of education on business development

“They never taught me this in law school.”  If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. It’s sad, but true.  Skills including networking, time management, follow-up and selling process are all learnable for attorneys. Business development can be frustrating and challenging. Without the proper education on how to plan and execute on it, you might be doomed to fail from the start.

In order to be great at something, anything, you take lessons. For example, try learning a new language, sport or musical instrument without any professional help. Not an easy road to travel.  While some people are more adept at figuring things out through trial and error, we all know it’s best to seek out the best help available.

A few ideas for finding this education include seeking out an open-minded mentor at your firm. She likely has already traveled down the wrong paths and may help you avoid those pitfalls. Another option is to study the topic of sales. If you were to read five books and get a few take-aways from each one, you will probably make fewer mistakes. Even one small positive change that becomes a habit could have a significant effect on a career’s worth of business development. Lastly, look for professional help. There are coaches, consultants and trainers locally and nationwide that may be a good resource for you. Be sure to check references and try to find someone that you can connect with on a personal level. And those legal superstars around you who seem to attract business wherever they go? They are continually fine-tuning their skills as well—in such ways as coaching, training and peer-to-peer counseling. Whichever direction you decide, it’s definitely better than wasting countless hours on marketing efforts that aren’t getting you results for your time invested.

Whether you are a new partner in your firm, a solo player or an up-and-coming associate, it’s important to understand what sales is really all about.  The best business developers today aren’t the most aggressive, pushy or salesy. They are relationship focused, confident in their skills and consultative in how they approach new clients.  Strong business developers have lost the fear of rejection, and replaced it with confidence in their skills as a top lawyer and high level solution provider in the legal field.

Article By Steve Fretzin of Sales Results, Inc.

Copyright @ 2015 Sales Results, Inc.