Tag: Legal Marketing

Seven Tips for Writing the Perfect Lawyer Biography

At least 73% of everyone looking to hire a lawyer search online long before they ever make that first call. In addition, it is said that the attorney biography page is the most visited page on law firm websites. This makes having a good set of online biographies a requirement for driving business to your legal practice. It should be simple: just write a little bit about yourself and your accomplishments, right?

Unfortunately, it is not always that easy.

Each type of biography has its own quirks and requirements. In addition, while most lawyers are excellent communicators and writers, that can actually work against them when dealing with a finite space for sharing credentials in a marketing setting.

Here are my top 7 tips for creating excellent lawyer biographies and some important faux pas to avoid.

1. Open with a strong statement

The biography is a vehicle for selling legal services so even if it is in a third person voice, it should be about connecting your experience with the legal problems you solve. The first paragraph of your biography is important real estate for starting a conversation with the person you are trying to connect with.

You can also increase your online search results by adding in specific keywords in the first line and headings such as your first and last name, firm name, location, and most prominent practice area. Education and personal information should be saved for the end of the biography.

2. Cover the basics

Make sure to include all the nuts and bolts that people will want to follow up on to ensure that you are who you say you are. Specifically, you should cover:

  • Contact Information: Location, phone number, social media links, email address.
  • Education: Undergraduate and law school credentials, as well as any post-graduate degrees.
  • Work History: This is not always necessary but be sure to share any noteworthy positions.
  • Practice Areas: When possible be concise.
  • Published Cases or Representative Clients: Do not forget to Include high-profile clients and pro bono work soliciting permission to publish when necessary.
  • Publications: These should be publications you have written or have been interviewed by.
  • Speaking Engagements: Lectures, podcasts, and panel discussions are great to include.
  • Awards: Your biography should contain both legal and civic awards.
  • Board Memberships: Every instance should be its own entry or bullet point.
  • Bar Associations & Legal Organizations: Highlight leadership positions first, general memberships after and include years of participation if possible.
  • Clerkships: Judicial clerkships are important to list.

3. Cover the extras

Next, you will want to make sure that you include anything extracurricular that will make you stand out in a crowd. Leadership positions (even outside of a legal industry), community service, and board memberships are great additions to this section. This is also the right place to include a personal line or two about your interests, hobbies, or family to inspire further connection with your audience.

4. Have a relevant, professional photo

Here is an area where many lawyers fall short. Remember, this may be the only time your prospective new client sees you before deciding to request your help. Give your best possible first impression by investing in professional headshots that reflect your best qualities and your personal brand. Take professional headshots regularly to keep your online image current.

5. Create several biographies for the best web engagement

The professional biography that you have on your website should be different than the one you have on sites like Avvo or Martindale-Hubbell. This gives each of your biographies a unique content score with the search engines which improves your overall search results rankings. It also means that potential clients see unique pieces of content that have not been cut-and-pasted to save time.

Consider creating a bank of biographies for each of your online biographies, your website, and printed biography. Be sure to calendar a reminder to review them once per quarter for updates. In addition, develop a different “short” version that can be used when you speak, guest post on a blog, or are published in a legal journal.

6. Avoid the biography pitfalls

There are a couple of issues that I see often when I review clients’ online and offline biographies. Some of the worst offenders when creating a biography include:

  • Informal photos: Stay away from using an old repurposed image of you at your brother’s wedding. And, unless you have an MFA in graphic design, stay away from photoshopping yourself into a different setting.
  • Being too wordy:  There is no need to include everything you have ever done in your legal career in your online biography. Skip the fluff and focus on the highlights. The ideal length is between 300-500 words.
  • Big blocks of text: Too much text tires the reader, and odds are good you will lose their attention even before they hit the second paragraph. Keep paragraphs to between 2-4 sentences to incorporate white space. Be sure to read your biography out loud to note any drawn-out sentences.
  • Third person formal: Stay away from calling yourself “Ms. or Mr.” in your biography. This sounds pretentious and can be off-putting for new clients. Instead, simply use your full name once at the beginning and your first name after that. It is important to note that there is a lot of debate about whether you should write your biography in third person (he, she, them) or first person (I, me, my). The answer will come from your target audience, your practice area, and your personal brand.

7. Try creative, interactive elements

You can make your biography page stand out even more by incorporating engaging elements like vcards, printable versions, or introductory videos – as long as they are professionally produced. Another wise choice is to include a disclaimer if you list your email address stating that sending an email to you does not indicate a legal attorney-client relationship unless an engagement letter has been signed.

Conclusion

Writing the perfect lawyer biography does not have to be a difficult exercise. Like any other marketing exercise, start with your potential client and work backward. Your biography is a great opportunity to connect with people before you meet them. Create text that is search-friendly, concise, and filled with the highlights of your career. This will allow potential clients and colleagues to “cut through the noise” and recognize you for the great lawyer that you are.

© 2019 Denver Legal Marketing LLC

This article is by Meranda M. Vieyra of Denver Legal Marketing

For more on Legal Marketing, see the National Law Review Law Office Management page.

Legal Industry News for August 12, 2019: Law Firm Updates, Hires, Awards and Legal Technology

Even though summer is still in full swing and folks are cycling through vacations, law firms and the legal industry continues to hum with activity.

Read on to see more on legal industry hires, recognitions, and new technology and research impacting the legal industry.

Law Firm Hiring, Strategic Partnerships and Expansions

Vincenzo Franco

Van Ness Feldman announces the return of Vincenzo Franco as a partner in the Electric and Renewable Energy Practices. Franco was at Van Ness Feldman from 2010-2014, and left the firm to work with Exelon Corporation, as Assistant General Counsel – Wholesale Trading Compliance and then Associate General Counsel at Exelon Corporation, where he led the compliance function for Constellation. With his return to VNF, Franco focuses on transactional, regulatory and enforcement matters representing utilities, generation owners, developers and other investors before FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). VNF Chair, Richard Agnew, indicated his excitement at Franco’s return. Agnew says, “His [Franco’s] in- house experience coupled with his knowledge of our clients makes Vincenzo an exceptionally strong addition to the firms highly regarded electric practice.”

Leading international technology and energy law firm Baker Botts LLP announced that it has formed strategic partnerships with the Cannon Houston, Station Houston and Capital Factory. These Houston organizations are designed to aid entrepreneurs and will specifically be working with Baker Botts’ Emerging Company and Venture Capital practice based in Palo Alto. The firm’s experience in advising entrepreneurs, emerging growth companies, investors and venture capitalists provides a valuable resource for the incubators and the entrepreneurs they nurture and host. Samantha Crispin, the Technology Sector Chair at Baker Botts points out this partnership will allow Baker Botts to work with a generation of Texas-based companies from their very inception. She says, “One of the most intriguing aspects of these partnerships is the expected cross-pollination of our Texas and California ECVC practices and that the most promising companies will gain exposure to potential investors, including those in Silicon Valley.”

Baker Botts Managing Partner John Martin embraces the opportunities for growth this partnership will provide. He says, “We have a history of working with emerging and technology companies throughout their full life cycle, and we expect these partnerships will expand those opportunities more broadly. Some of our firm’s largest clients are businesses with which we have worked since they were startups themselves.”

Dinsmore has expanded operations onto the East Coast, opening an office in the Boston Financial District. Three partners—Javier F. Flores, Eric V. Skelly and Brian Blaesser will lead the new office and the firm’s expansion into this region. The firm will primarily represent clients in litigation and real estate development in New England. With the opening of the office in Boston, Dinsmore now has a presence in 25 cities across the country.

Sherman & Howard announced they added two attorneys, Member James Beard and Associate Robert Thompson, to their Denver office in their Litigation, Trials and Appeals group.

Beard has been litigating complex civil and intellectual property matters for over ten years, with a particular emphasis on handling complex discovery matters. He has argued cases in federal courts across the country, and has handled matters before the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. Court of International Trade. Beard says, “With its history and reputation in Colorado, the Firm is uniquely positioned to serve the explosive growth of Denver’s high-tech market.”

Along with Beard, Sherman & Howard is also adding Robert Thompson as an Associate to the Litigation, Trials and Appeals practice group. Thompson’s practice will focus on securities litigation and enforcement matters. His previous experience in house at a leading financial institution has prepared him well for representing clients in SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), DOJ (Department of Justice) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ) investigations.  Katie Varholak, Litigation Practice Group Leader at Sherman & Howard, “Thompson’s background in finance, securities and complex corporate investigations positions him to serve a wide range of the firm’s clients.”

Kenneth A. Sherman and Virginia K. Trunkes

Robinson & Cole, a 200 attorney firm with offices throughout the northeast announced Kenneth A. Sherman and Virginia K. Trunkes joined the firm as counsel in the Construction practice.

Sherman is joining the Boston office, while Trunkes will be in the New York office. Sherman has experience assisting project owners, developers and general contractors, and others, in navigating construction disputes, and with drafting contracts, negotiation and entity formation.

Trunkes works with developers, apartment building, brownstone and condominium unit owners, and others, in negotiating contracts and adjacent-owner license access agreements. R+C Construction chair, Gregory R. Faulkner, says the attorneys are welcome additions and will help the firm strengthen its presence in the construction market, and “Their hands-on experience is an added value to our practice and further enhances our collective ability to provide the best service to our clients.”

Law Firm Accomplishments, Awards and Recognitions

McKool Smith, noted litigation firm, secured an insurance recovery victory on behalf of Pfizer in Delaware Superior Court. This victory allows Pfizer to continue to compel two excess insurers to cover the costs related to defend and settle multidistrict litigation surrounding pain treatments Celebrex and Bextra. McKool Smith principals Robin Cohen, Adam S. Ziffer and Marc Ladd represented Pfizer in this litigation. A Delaware state court judge awarded partial summary judgment, saying Arch Insurance Company and U.S. Specialty Insurance Company were unable to apply a “specific litigation exclusion” in their D&O policies, and that these insurers must help cover the cost of the $486 million settlement.

Diversity AbstractSeyfarth Shaw was recently recognized for its commitment to diversity and inclusion by the California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP) receiving the Drucilla Stender Ramey Majority-Owned Law Firm Award. The CMCP is a state-wide non-profit dedicated to opening up the legal profession to attorneys from all backgrounds, by providing attorneys of color with opportunities for business development. Seyfarth Shaw has offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Century City. The firm has a recognized commitment to diversity, and was also recently named a “Best Law Firm for Women” for the ninth year in a row, and was shortlisted for the 2019 Chambers USA Diversity & Inclusion Awards. The firm is especially proud of its “Rooney Rule” initiative, where for every open associate position, at least one diverse candidate is considered and interviewed.

Full-service law firm Pillsbury’s Corporate practice, in a review of M&A and private equity, was ranked among the Top 20 legal advisers in the US and Japan. Factset highlighted Pillsbury as a top 20 firm in Japan for M&A deals, and in the United States, the firm was in the top 20 for middle-market M&A transactions. Along those lines, Refinitiv listed Pillsbury in the top 20 for deal count for firms handling U.S. middle-market mergers and acquisitions, so far in 2019, and Bloomberg named Pillsbury in the top 20 for active law firm advising on deals valued up to 250 million. Pillsbury has over 100 experienced M&A attorneys across the firm’s twenty global offices.  Highlighted transactions for 2019 include Invitae Corp.’s acquisition of biotechnology company Jungla, Salarius Pharmaceuticals on its merger with Flex Pharma, and Intel’s acquisition of Barefoot Networks, just to name a few.

DirectWomen AwardsDirectWomen, dedicated to increasing the presence of women attorneys on corporate boards, will honor 2019 award recipients in October in New York City at the Sandra Day O’Connor Board Excellence Award Luncheon. These awards are given to recognize the efforts made by the recipients to increase corporate board diversity. The Sandra Day O’Connor Board Excellence Award honors women who have served on the board of a public company and have advanced the mission of diversity in the workplace. This year, Angela Braly, Co-founder of the Policy Circle and former Chair and CEO of WellPoint, now known as Anthem, among others, and Rose McKinney-James, Managing Principal of Energy Works LLC. PNC will be presented with the 2019 Board Diversity Award, which recognizes corporations that served as leaders in achieving board diversity by showing a commitment to diversity in the boardroom. Linda L. Addison, Immediate Past Managing Partner of Norton Rose Fulbright and Director, Torchmark Corporation will be recognized with the Distinguished Alumna Award, highlighting the accomplishments of an Alumnae who joined a large corporate board since completing the Institute. Finally, the Mary Ann Jorgenson Board Empowerment Award will be presented to DirectWomen Advisory Board Member Alan L. Beller, Senior Counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Director, The Travelers Companies, Inc for his work preparing women attorneys to assume the responsibilities of board service.

Commercial Mortgage Alert once again ranked law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP at the top of their commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) tables, ranking Cadwalader as Number 1 for both Issuer Counsel and Underwriter Counsel, making it the 19th year in a row Cadwalader held that spot for Issuer Counsel. Further, the firm represented 58% of the issuer offerings floated in the United States in the first half of 2019, and 44% of the CMBS transactions on the underwriter side. Mike Gambro, co-chair of Cadwalader’s Capital Markets Group, says of the rankings, “We work with great clients who expect us to provide top-notch advice and service, and we are fortunate to have the results reflected in our position in the law firm rankings for so many years.” Cadwalader’s Capital Markets Group has attorneys based in New York, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and London.

Legal Industry Technology, Research and Software Advancements

Qorus, a sales platform connecting contacts, content, and data, recently announced a Share & Track feature to their software. This addition enables user to send documents securely without attachments, and track how their contacts engage with those documents, such as proposals, pitches, and contracts. This enables sales teams to see and analyze which part of their proposal process is most important to their prospects, and they gain insight into their materials to ensure they create content that is engaging and effective.

Computer SoftwareThe documents are sent via tracked sharing links that can be inserted into messages to clients. These links, when clicked, track the engagement with the content and launch an online document viewer and the file can be viewed securely, providing the information securely to the prospect. The sales team can see how long the prospect looked at the document, which pages were looked at the most, and whether or not the document was passed on, providing valuable feedback on what really matters to prospects. Ray Meiring, Qorus CEO, explains “This creates a powerful feedback loop that tells the team how interested a potential buyer is, and gives them insight into the prospect’s true propensity to buy – allowing them to adjust their approach accordingly.”

With the constant concerns regarding cybersecurity and with increasing regulation on a variety of levels, the introduction of Digital Defense’s Frontline InsightTM with on-demand peer analysis of security risk metrics gives companies another arrow in their quiver to secure their data. Frontline Insight is accessible via Frontline.Cloud Digital Defense’s Saas security assessment platform. This allows Digital Defense users to access information to reduce their own security risk, and provide information on how to evolve and maintain their information security programs so that they perform at top levels. By offering comparison from an industry perspective, but also integrating suggestions based on organizational and employee size, the tool can highlight vulnerable areas and threats, and assist in the development of benchmarks. Larry Hurtado, President & CEO of Digital Defense says this is a useful product for companies looking to evaluate their data security practices in comparison to organizations similar in size and scope.  He says, “Frontline.Cloud enables clients to gauge their success in ways that previously required more intensive consultative studies. Now, this information is available with just a few clicks.”

Of particular interest to law firms as they look at managing law firm succession strategies as baby boomers exit the workforce and millennials assume greater responsibility is the results of a Manpower Group Survey, indicating only six percent of millennials want to be leaders, and just four percent want to manage others. The survey indicates that millennials, on a whole, are more interested in developing their own skill sets, and less interested in learning to manage and lead others. This suggests that law firms will be among the 84% of organizations facing a leadership shortfall, and developing a leadership pipeline for law firms, as well as client relationship management, will become increasingly important as firm leadership transitions become more complex and frequent.

Intapp has recently released a white paper The Modern CMO: Advancing Marketing From Reactive to Predictive. This paper discusses how adopting a modern approach to law firm business development, and harnessing data across the entire client lifecycle can lead to insights that drive smarter and more strategic decisions in law firms. Topics discussed include the role of the CMO as a change agent, smart collaboration in action and how to transition from a reactive to a predictive approach.

Copyright ©2019 National Law Forum, LLC

This article was written by Eilene Spear of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC.
For more law office updates, see the Law Office Management page on the National Law Review.

NLR Legal Industry News July 1, 2019: Law Firm Recognition, Tech and Talent

The legal industry is continuously changing and we want to share the good news about strategic hires and notable industry achievements. We’re also looking to pass on interesting legal tech developments that aid lawyers and law firms in streamlining and growing their practices.

Notable Legal Industry Recognitions 

The law firm of Frost, Brown & Todd was honored by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for their diversity and inclusion efforts with a 2019 Gold Standard Certification, and the firm was only one of 45 firms to receive this honor.  In order to be recognized firms had to meet a variety of criteria, including the mandatory criterion that at least 20% of all equity partners are female, or 33% or more of attorneys who became equity partners during the last year were women.  Additionally, there are other criteria that must be met, some incorporating other diversity measures including LGBT attorneys or women of color in equity partner roles.  FBT has been honored with this designation by WILEF seven times.

top-50-construction-law-firmsCarlton Fields and K&L Gates both ranked in the Construction Executive’s inaugural “The Top 50 Construction Law Firms” list. Carlton Fields’ Construction practice has received multiple accolades, including being named by Chambers USA as the No 1. Construction practice in Florida for 17 years straight. K&L Gates has over 2,000 attorneys in offices on five continents, and was named one of the top 5 firms in the inaugural edition of the list.  The list considered the number of attorneys working in the area, as well as the number of states where the firm is licensed to practice, the year the practice was established and percentage of the firm’s total revenue that comes from the Construction practice.

Wiggin and Dana LLP Corporate M&A practice was recently recognized by IFLR 1000 US 2019 edition as a Tier 1 firm for Corporate M&A work in Connecticut.  Additionally, five attorneys with Wiggin and Dana were specifically recognized: Paul Hughes, William Perrone, and Mark Kaduboski were named as Highly Regarded, while Evan Kipperman and James Greifzu were designated as Future Rising Stars.

For the fourth time, Chambers USA named McDermott Will & Emery the 2019 Healthcare Team of the Year. The health practice at McDermott earned a Band 1 ranking in the Healthcare category for the 10th year in a row earlier this year, and it is the only firm to hold that distinction.  In fact, the practice group has picked up a variety of accolades over the years, including commendations from US News and World Report and The Legal 500.  Practice Chair Eric Zimmerman says, “Our team is dedicated to helping health care companies push the boundaries of what it means to be innovative.”

Ballard Spahr attorney Judy Mok, has been named to the New York Law Journal‘s 2019 Rising Stars list. Ms. Mok has extensive experience negotiating payments transactions for some of the world’s largest retailers and financial institutions. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Mok served as Senior Payments Counsel for Apple Inc.

Per Alan S. Kaplinsky, Practice Leader of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group. “Judy represents the best that our legal profession has to offer—she has a sophisticated understanding of the payments ecosystem, she leads by example, and she fosters an inclusive environment.”

Legal Talent Update

EDITThomasSengelwaltSJ
Thomas J. Sengewalt

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC announced that Thomas J. Sengewalt has rejoined the firm’s Denver litigation practice.  Sengewalt has experience in energy litigation and energy transactions.  Steptoe & Johnson CEO Susan S. Brewer expressed excitement for Tom’s return to Steptoe & Johnson, saying,   “His work in litigation and transactions helped some of the Appalachian region’s largest energy producers, and we know he will bring the same skill and passion to our clients in the Rockies.”

Former Commissioner of the California Department of Business Oversight, Jan Lynn Owen joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP as a senior advisor in the financial services group.  Owen is known for her embrace of technology and using technology to foster innovation, and she worked to find banking solutions for the cannabis retail industry, working with state regulators and business owners to innovate practical and safe solutions for these businesses.  Additionally, she worked to develop fintech start-ups, working to reduce regulatory burdens in this industry while safeguarding consumer privacy. Owen says, “I knew Manatt’s financial services group would be the ideal place for me to advise and counsel businesses that face a number of complex regulatory and marketplace challenges in today’s rapidly evolving new economy.”

Feinberg Day Alberti Lim & Belloli LLP in Menlo Park, California is increasing its intellectual property punch with the addition of five intellectual property attorneys, including two new Partners Robert Kramer and Russell Tonkovich.  The firm will undergo a name change and be called: Feinberg Day Kramer Alberti Lim Tonkovich & Belloli LLP.  Kramer and Tonkovich each have assembled an impressive resume of awards and a history of winning verdicts in significant patent infringement cases.  Tonkovich is a medical doctor as well as an attorney.  Additionally, Feinberg Day is also adding attorneys Kate Hart, Aidan Brewster and Nick Martini to their IP focused law firm.  Feinberg Day was founded in 2011, and has a reputation for assisting clients in monetizing their patent portfolios.

EDITMonahanChris.WinstonStrawn.DC
Christopher B. Monahan

Winston Strawn announced the addition of Christopher B. Monahan to their Washington DC office. Monahan works with clients on compliance with International Traffic in Arms regulations, the Export Administration Regulations and sanctions programs under OFAC and FCPA.  He assists clients with internal investigations and compliance reviews, and he helps clients in determining jurisdiction and export control classification of their products and technology.  Monahan will join the firm as a partner in the White Collar, Regulatory Defense & Investigations Practice.

Legal Technology News

Legal Services Link recently launched ioRefer™ Referral Software designed to streamline the referral process within law firms, bar associations, legal networks and corporate law departments.  ioRefer’s interactive database helps attorneys looking for assistance on particular projects to quickly post and distribute staffing needs notices either within their law firm or within a broader legal network.  Conversely, law firm attorneys or network professionals with extra capacity can search the database for staffing needs on specific projects. ioRefer for Corporate law departments simplifies the process of retaining qualified law firm talent via targeted matter postings or by searching an intuitive, current directory of qualified professionals.

Attorney and co-founder, Matthew Horn: “ioRefer solves the ineffective, outdated, manual processes used to refer and staff client matters and helps balance the workload distribution of matters to qualified professionals who are looking to take on more work.  For law firms, it keeps client matters from being sent outside the firm and at the same time helps lawyers become more interconnected with their colleagues.”

Cheryl Kaufman, CEO of Alliance Legal Solutions
Cheryl Kaufman

Alliance Legal Solutions recently launched Fundafi.com, a technology-enabled lending platform that improves access to financing for small U.S.law firms.  Fundafi’s business model is designed to nurture a law firm’s growth much like a private equity firm would do for an emerging business. Fundafi has deep knowledge of small law firm practices gained during 8 years of experience working with thousands of law firms. Alliance Legal Solutions was founded in 2011, by Cheryl Kaufman, a graduate of Wake Forest School of Law.

Over three billion images are shared online each day, and around 85% of them are unlicensed, with estimated revenue lost at more than $600 million daily,  as reported by COPYTRACK and summarized in its recently released  2019 Global Infringement Report.

Some of the more interesting findings from the 2019 report reveal that the U.S. is the world leader in image theft comprising 22.96% of worldwide theft.  But less obvious is the #2 offender, Panama, a country with four million inhabitants, comprising a 6.76% share of global image theft. This anomaly is likely the result of “Privacy Protection Services,” who registers site domains in Panama to mask the owners’ personal information. China, considered by many to be the world leader in authorized use, comes in third place with a surprisingly small 6.57%.

2018 bus email graphicCyber Special Ops, LLC, recently announced a new delivery model for cyber services called Concierge Cyber™ which is modeled after the growing practice of concierge medicine.  It includes à la carte or bundled service offerings. same day appointments, phone or email access on evenings and weekends, and pre- and post-breach services as needed at pre-negotiated rates. Breach response services are provided by My-CERT™, a team of highly credentialed legal, information security, credit and identity restoration, and public relations specialists

Per Kurtis Suhs, founder and managing director of Cyber Special Ops, LLC: “Currently only 2 of 10 organizations have purchased cyber insurance, and their policies may not cover theft of monies. So, who do organizations call in the event of a wire fraud loss on a Friday evening? Concierge Cyber makes it possible for organizations of all sizes and budgets to have immediate access to world-class cyber risk management support. The My-CERT™ team provides expertise, experience and agility to effectively respond to a cyber incident under the protection of attorney-client privilege.”

Notable legal industry news?  Submit your stories for consideration in the National Law Review’s Legal Talent and Tech Update.

Copyright ©2019 National Law Forum, LLC
For more on the business of law, please see the National Law Review Law Office Management page.

Mid-Year Marketing Check-up for Law Firms: The 7 Most Important Metrics

July 2 marks the halfway point of the year, and for many law firms, that means it is time to reflect on their business growth strategies and plan ahead for end of the year client gifts. Successful attorneys know that marketing is a huge part of the effectiveness of these initiatives. It takes careful evaluation of your marketing tools, campaigns, and overall law firm goals in order to make the second half of the year stretch the boundaries of what your firm is capable of.

Although marketing looks a little different for business to consumer practices and business to business practices, here are some tips that will work for everyone. You can rely on these seven areas to reflect on as you develop a solid, data-based marketing plan for Q3 and Q4 for your law firm:

  1. Growth Metrics and Reconfiguring

The very first item on your list is to sit down and dig deep into the numbers. Take a look at your analytics from all your marketing sources (both paid and unpaid). Review your web traffic and get a good handle on where you are getting the bulk of your online visitors from. Review your paid retargeting campaigns and see which web pages are scoring highest for returning visitors. Evaluate the leads you received from offline sources like conferences, networking events, and print advertising.

For each of your offline and online sources, create an estimate of how much the current and future business is worth. This exercise will ensure that you are being conscious of how your marketing dollars are being spent and will give you a data-driven course of action when it comes to what should be invested in more and what can be cut.

  1. Content Marketing Evaluation

Halfway through the year is a good time to stop and reflect on your content marketing plan’s performance. This includes digital, print, image, and video content that you are developing in-house. Review the top pieces of content that you generated with all stakeholders discussing the following:

  • Why did this piece of content work for our law firm?
  • What kinds of interaction did it receive and from whom? (Shares, likes, comments, clicks to website)
  • What targeted industries or demographic groups do we want to reach that we are not currently reaching?
  • Is our current content producer (writer, video producer, editor, etc.) the appropriate fit for the content our law firm is producing?
  • What is missing from our law firm’s content marketing campaigns?
  • What are the steps for filling these gaps?
  • What could we cut?

Answering these questions is a good start to ensuring that your content marketing dollars are getting the best return on investment. In addition, this is a good time to take a look at the upcoming months and plan out the types of content that your law firm will be producing before the end of the year.

  1. Client Appreciation Strategy

The end of the year is just six months away, which means that you need to begin thinking about how you will honor the people who have helped you be successful this year. This might be something as simple as sending out holiday greeting cards, or something as elaborate as an honorary black-tie dinner. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that you include it in your half-year review so that you can appropriately budget the time and talent to make it happen for your clients and referral sources around the holidays.

  1. Online Reputation Management

When things are busy, it is easy to let things like online biographies and photographs remain untouched and slide into antiquity. Unfortunately, most people looking for your services will look online first before they make a call. Outdated biographies may under-represent your skills or hold inaccurate contact information, making it hard for referrals to ever find you.

Old photographs can be even more detrimental. A great headshot is often the lynchpin deciding whether or not a potential client feels that you are trustworthy, dedicated, and approachable. People seeking legal representation often are looking for the person they see online to match what the person looks like in real life.

At the year’s halfway point, it is time to take an hour or so and ensure that you are accurately represented to the hundreds of people who will come into contact with your online profiles.

  1. Award Calendar Updates

Awards and honors are continuing reminders of your law firm’s status as among the best in your field. As such, the mid-year mark is a good time to both reflect on the awards your team earned so far and make a strategy for how to continue the pattern of success.

To ensure the best chance of earning further accolades, I suggest creating or updating an editorial calendar spreadsheet designed to track: a) potential awards; b) due dates for those awards; c) submissions created; d) submissions approved; and, e) submissions sent.

Of course, you do not have to write every award submission or nomination yourself. But creating a plan to capture the “low-hanging fruit” of awards you easily fit the qualifications for is an important step to take at least twice per year.

  1. Social Media Review

Similarly, it is wise to consider the social media channels that you will be planning on using for the next half of the year and develop a plan for those posts in advance. This plan should begin with the large-picture metrics and reconfiguring that I spoke of earlier. Then, once you can see which posts have been effective, it is time to devise additional content that builds on your knowledge of what is working.

Some key things to consider when you are reviewing and planning for the upcoming months’ social media campaigns:

  • Stock photography. Will you need to have images purchased, or can you take pictures in-house to assist with the need for pictures?
  • Special dates or celebrations. Can you create a specialized graphic for National Child Safety Awareness Month? What is your plan for honoring the Fourth of July? How about Thanksgiving? Take a minute to put these things on your content calendar so you have more than enough time to plan how you will address these special occasions.
  • Writing/production schedules. Are there any large-scale videos or specialized pieces of content that will need to be produced (such as a white-paper or e-book)? Give yourself at least a few months notice so that you can get all the involved parties moving together towards the same goals, vision, and deadline.

  1. Website Updates and Audit

At least twice a year, it is a good idea to do a full audit of the functionality and safety of your website. Ensure that your links are in working order, your content management system (CMS) is up-to-date with the latest security protocols, and all of your online content (including attorney biographies) is up-to-date and in working order.

In order to make the second half of the year as good, or better, than the first, it is vital to take stock at this half-way mark. Through careful reflection, collaboration with your colleagues and marketing stakeholders, and foresight into what the future holds, this can be a great time to refresh and rejuvenate your marketing plan.

© 2019 Denver Legal Marketing LLC
For more on Legal Marketing see the National Law Review Business of Law page.

Coming up in one Week! The 26th Annual Marketing Partner Forum in January 2019

In January 2019, Marketing Partner Forum descends upon The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California for a three-day summit on law firm marketing and business development designed for the industry’s top business professionals and rainmakers. Conveniently situated near John Wayne Airport, Orange County (SNA), Laguna Niguel is the ideal backdrop to launch a new era of industry-leading content focused on profitability and client development in a dynamic and competitive legal services market.

Why You Should Attend:

 

  • Marketing Partner Forum is designed for client development partners, rainmakers, and the senior-most legal marketing and business development leaders across the profession.
  • Our content reflects the experience and sophistication of our international audience in terms of rigor, ambition and scope.
  • Attendees can engage venerable thought leaders both within and outside of the legal industry.
  • Our program offers ample networking opportunities and the stunning scenery, golf course, spa and hiking trails at one of California’s most idyllic resorts.
  • Participants can take advantage of our law firm partner conference track, consisting of several compelling sessions designed specifically for legal practitioners.
  • We have also created a brand new solo & small law firm track, with sessions designed for business development executives & partners alike.
  • Finally, attendees can interact directly with senior clients and network for new business;
  • Refresh & reflect at our Wednesday Welcome Luncheon and Friday Bloody Mary Brunch;
  • And depart the event with practical takeaways to share with peers and firm leadership.

 

Please Save the Date! Online registration now open.

Information about our conference venue and nearby airports is available here.

For questions about this event, please call 1-800-308-1700

Learn more and register here.

26th Annual Marketing Partner Forum in January 2019

In January 2019, Marketing Partner Forum descends upon The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California for a three-day summit on law firm marketing and business development designed for the industry’s top business professionals and rainmakers. Conveniently situated near John Wayne Airport, Orange County (SNA), Laguna Niguel is the ideal backdrop to launch a new era of industry-leading content focused on profitability and client development in a dynamic and competitive legal services market.

Why You Should Attend:

 

  • Marketing Partner Forum is designed for client development partners, rainmakers, and the senior-most legal marketing and business development leaders across the profession.
  • Our content reflects the experience and sophistication of our international audience in terms of rigor, ambition and scope.
  • Attendees can engage venerable thought leaders both within and outside of the legal industry.
  • Our program offers ample networking opportunities and the stunning scenery, golf course, spa and hiking trails at one of California’s most idyllic resorts.
  • Participants can take advantage of our law firm partner conference track, consisting of several compelling sessions designed specifically for legal practitioners.
  • We have also created a brand new solo & small law firm track, with sessions designed for business development executives & partners alike.
  • Finally, attendees can interact directly with senior clients and network for new business;
  • Refresh & reflect at our Wednesday Welcome Luncheon and Friday Bloody Mary Brunch;
  • And depart the event with practical takeaways to share with peers and firm leadership.

 

Please Save the Date! Online registration now open.

Information about our conference venue and nearby airports is available here.

For questions about this event, please call 1-800-308-1700

Learn more and register here.

 

Lawvision’s LPM Training Certification Workshop

Legal Project Management (LPM) is an essential skill for lawyers and other legal professionals. It can help ensure greater client satisfaction, more profitable matters and more satisfying work. This workshop provides a simple, yet powerful framework for applying LPM techniques and approaches to your legal matters immediately. The workshop is highly interactive. You learn from the instructors and the others in the workshop using a case study based on actual legal matters.

Lawyers and other legal professionals are focusing on LPM for the following reasons:

  • An increasing number of clients are pushing for fee estimates, scoping of work and greater efficiencies in the handling of their work;
  • Better use of LPM techniques can help minimize significant write-offs and write-downs;
  • Enhanced LPM can lead to opportunities to win more RFPs;
  • A growing number of clients are asking for trained legal project managers on their matters; and
  • Application of LPM approaches create greater internal teamwork, enhance associate and staff morale / retention and improve client relationships.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

  • Practicing lawyers at all levels – partners, associates, counsel and staff / contract lawyers
  • Legal project managers
  • Directors of LPM and / or pricing
  • Finance professionals
  • Practice management professionals – practice group business managers and others helping practice group leaders run their groups
  • Professional development directors interested in expanding their firm’s offerings in project management training

MORE INFORMATION

Please download the LPM Training Certification Workshop brochure.

Learn more and register here.

Register Now! 2018 NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo

This great event is coming to Chicago at the end of September!

The Mission of NAMWOLF:

Promote diversity in the legal profession by fostering successful relationships among preeminent minority and women-owned law firms and private/public entities.

The Vision:

Achieve equity in legal opportunity through minority and women-owned law firms.

Join NAMWOLF Members at the 2018 Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, September 26-29th.

Learn more about the event and register here.

The Agenda for the 2018 NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo is here.

Register Now! 2018 NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo

The Mission of NAMWOLF:

Promote diversity in the legal profession by fostering successful relationships among preeminent minority and women owned law firms and private/public entities.

The Vision:

Achieve equity in legal opportunity through minority and women owned law firms.

Join NAMWOLF Members at the 2018 Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, September 26-29th.

Learn more about the event and register here.

The Agenda for the 2018 NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo is here.

 

Law Firm Business Development Directors Roundtable: A Unique Opportunity to Network and Learn from Your Peers

Large law firm CMOs are often asked to join executive roundtables. These programs provide a forum for discussing common needs, reviewing best practices and sharing experiences. Directors and senior managers with significant responsibility, on the other hand, usually don’t have access to similar forums. To meet this need, LawVision Group launched its inaugural Business Development Directors Roundtable, hosted this past April at Morgan Lewis’s Washington DC offices.

The BD Roundtable is a confidential forum, driven by the participants, where large law firm Directors of Business Development share best practices, discuss challenges and opportunities, talk about career advancement, and brainstorm new and innovative solutions. In order to attend, prospective attendees need to apply to the program. The Roundtable is an ongoing group in which colleagues meet twice a year and develop a peer-to peer networking and support group for day-to-day professional challenges.

Bringing Together A Peer Group from Across the U.S. and Canada

Per Steven Schroeder, Senior Director of Marketing at Perkins Coie LLP,  the best takeaway from the Roundtable is knowing that others are dealing with similar issues you face and hearing from others how their organization deals with those challenges. It is also helpful to make real connections with others in the group to share thoughts and ideas going forward.

Roundtable member Brandon McAfee, a Senior Business Development and Marketing Manager at Miles & Stockbridge,  also appreciated getting to know the group and observed that the participants had a good mix of experience. Elizabeth (Liz) Boehm, Director of Business Development at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, enjoyed meeting people in similar roles to her own from firms across the country. She also found it interesting to hear about the range of responsibilities of others in the group and how those roles vary greatly, particularly in relation to size of their firm.

Lawvision Roundtalbe
Day 1: Law firm business development directors at the Lawvision group’s roundtable.

Law Firm Business Development Is Growing and BD Professionals Wear Many Hats

The new roundtable is timely as budgets at law firms for BD and the hiring of professionals to fill these roles is growing. According to a joint Legal Marketing Association and Bloomberg Law® research study this past April, two-thirds of law firm partners interviewed regularly engage BD professionals. And the attorneys surveyed favor senior BD professionals, which this survey considered to be professionals with more than four years of legal marketing experience. The roles for BD professionals across firms varies widely, but the survey noted some consistency in the role. Fifty-nine percent of senior BD staff initiate client outreach, and 52% participate in client pitch meetings. Additionally, 36% of senior BD staff conduct client feedback interviews, and 44% also participate in client meetings with attorneys.

Where are we now graphic
Graphic from Where Are We Now? Revealing the Latest Trends in Legal Marketing and Business Development, a joint research study by the Legal Marketing Association and Bloomberg Law® (April 2018)Graphic from Where Are We Now? Revealing the Latest Trends in Legal Marketing and Business Development, a joint research study by the Legal Marketing Association and Bloomberg Law® (April 2018)

Topics Addressed at May’s Business Development Directors Roundtable

Roundtable members discussed the different roles within the BD umbrella and also touched on  issues related to:

  • The challenges of building a firm-wide experience database and tips that worked to drive this process
  • How to maximize the firm’s capabilities and legal market education, as well as how to enhance team building to facilitate cross-selling opportunities at firm retreats
  • Building and communicating a firm’s identity and brand
  • Attracting and retaining top talent
  • Key BD metrics to use and how to best use them to improve client value and firm profitability, key tools and techniques used to gather data, and metrics members wished they could access.
  • Industry-focused initiatives, such as how to form and execute firm-wide sector initiatives and how to create industry outreach systems within a practice group structure.
  • Recommended vendors

In addition to the participant discussion sessions, experts were brought in to address some of the issues identified in advance that were of concern to the participants. Bill Crooks of Priority Search International led an interactive session on what law firm leadership is looking for in a CMO/CBDO. Darryl Cross of LawVision discussed building diverse teams. And Patrick Fuller, VP of Legal Intelligence at ALM, outlined emerging law firm trends and AI and the legal market. Capping off the first day was a wonderful rooftop networking dinner with a great view of the Capitol, bringing the participants together in a less formal environment.

view from reception
The view from the rooftop dinner and networking reception.

Roundtable members across the board appreciated the networking opportunities. Per Liz Boehm:

“Because we were seated in a roundtable arrangement and given plenty of time for open dialogue, it was easy to get to know one another. I also enjoyed the evening networking session and dinner overlooking the city and talking more about our backgrounds.”

At the next Roundtable meeting, which will be at Orrick’s office in San Francisco on September 13 and 14, the participants will focus more on solutions-oriented approaches. The group will add specific case studies for the group to work through, learn from, and analyze.

Steven Schroeder probably summed the event up the best:

“In our fast-paced daily world, it is hard to find time to brainstorm solutions to the various challenges we face. The Law Vision Roundtable provides the vehicle to learn from others and ultimately make you more effective in your role. Be prepared to participate. The value the group receives is based on the active engagement of all the individuals in the room.”

If you are interested in applying for the fall session, please contact Craig Brown.

Copyright ©2018 National Law Forum, LLC
This post was written by Jennifer Schaller of the National Law Forum, LLC.
For more legal marketing news, check out the National Law Review’s Business of Law page.