Legal Marketing & PR

New Proof: Blogging Works for Law Firm Marketing

Posted on December 17, 2010
Need to prove to your partners that blogging is worth the effort in business development?  HubSpot has arrived to help, with "Marketing Data: 101 Charts & Graphs." Nearly 50% of people read blogs more than once a day. The most linked-to words in a blog are: recent, insights, soon, answers, analysis, facts, review, build, great and tips -- in that order...

Survey of In-House Counsel: Law Firm Hourly Rates up only 1.5%

Posted on December 15, 2010
For the second year in a row, a majority in-house counsel indicate that their more satisfied with their law firms -- but they're assigning less legal work and expecting to pay fee increases of only 1.52%, according to the 2010 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey...

Law firm marketing: Blogs of the AmLaw 100

Posted on December 14, 2010
Adrian Dayton, a blogger, lawyer and author of Social Media for Lawyers, has assembled a list of the blogs of the AmLaw 100, including hyperlinks to the blogs. Many firms have numerous blogs, like Reed Smith, which has blogs on Adlaw, China, employment law, environmental law, global regulatory enforcement, global startups, the health industry, the  'Washington watch,' 'Legal Bytes,' lending law, life sciences legal update, 'ReACTS,' real estate law and The Policyholder Perspective...

Law Firms Demand CLE Credit for Law Firm Marketing Classes

Posted on December 13, 2010
From Law360:  As the demand for continuing legal education grows, a standoff is brewing between law firms and course providers that want credit for business development training and the regulators who maintain that the aim of CLE is not to churn out rainmakers...

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Ohio Judges Can Tweet and Friend Lawyers Online

Posted on December 10, 2010
In one of the most comprehensive and detailed examinations in the nation, the Supreme Court of Ohio's disciplinary board has decided that judges may use Twitter and 'friend' lawyers who appear before them. The advisory opinion from the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline advises judges that social media use is permitted but must be done with caution, and it offers wide ranging, specific guidance to judges on how to navigate the new waters of social media without violating judicial canons that require judges to avoid even the appearance of bias or impropriety...

Law Firm Marketing Insight: Twitter Remains a Niche Phenomenon

Posted on December 10, 2010
Only 8% of online Americans use Twitter, according to new research by the Pew Research Center. What's more, as SFGate.com notes, only about 36% of Twitter users actively use the service, while 41% hardly check their accounts if at all.  This is something that law firm marketers should keep in mind in their social media plans...

A Divorce Lawyer's Two-Piece Business Card

Posted on December 09, 2010
James Mahon's business card  can be broken into two equal pieces but preserves all the contact info for both parties in the divorce. I guess he doesn't want the clients to fight over the card too.

Hilariously Awful Law Firm Marketing Video: Get Out of the "Hellhole you call a marriage"

Posted on December 08, 2010
A lot of regular folks are in dire need of competent legal representation because they have suffered a personal injury, been accused of drunk driving or need to get a divorce and fast. "Unfortunately, after watching some lawyers' local television ads, we're afraid those seeking competence might be out of luck," says the Asylum blog...

Drupal: A New Word in Law Firm Marketing

Posted on December 07, 2010
There's a new word for lawyers and law firm marketing professionals to know when they are working on their websites: Drupal.  While in Dutch it means "droplet," it also means good news for law firm websites. When you update your website, chances are you use a content management system (CMS)...

Bad Law Firm Marketing: Corporate Counsel Name 14 Arrogant Firms

Posted on December 06, 2010
From Law360: They are inflexible on rates, refuse to discuss alternative fees and delegate high priority communications to associates: they are the law firms considered most arrogant by corporate counsel. And 14 firms have won the designation this year for the first time, according to a new survey by The BTI Consulting Group Inc...

Personalized Lawyer Cartoons - A Perfect Gift

Posted on December 03, 2010
With the holidays upon us, what gift do you get for your favorite law grad, partner or associate?  To bring a smile to their faces give them a funny drawing featuring the lawyer's name at www.yournameherecartoons.com.  Lawyer Laughs lets you choose the person's name (or law firm name) to be inserted into the cartoon caption...

The Surprising Importance of New Lawyer Announcements

Posted on December 02, 2010
Dorsey & Whitney, with more than 600 lawyers in 19 locations in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific region, just hired ten new partners. At first I wondered why this was worth the effort of writing a press release.  Sending out new associate and new partner announcements is one of the routine chores of law firm marketing professionals...

Law Firm Marketing Survey Reveals Executives Rely on the Internet to Find Lawyers

Posted on December 01, 2010
A new survey by branding firm Greenfield/Belser and The Brand Research Company, spotlights how, where and what executives search for online as they consider lawyers and law firms to advise them. 85% of executives consider professional service firm websites important sources of information in their search for professionals...

Law Firm Marketing: Facebook is Top Spot for Display

Posted on November 29, 2010
From JusticeNewsFlash.com: Facebook has clinched the top place for online advertising as the social media giant has captured 23 percent of all Internet display ads, resulting in 297 billion ad impressions, which is higher than the total of all display ads on Google, Microsoft, Fox and Yahoo sites combined...

What Lawyers Earn: Find Yourself on the Chart

Posted on November 28, 2010
The following chart is from the 2011 Salary guide published by Robert Half Legal.  Find yourself on the chart and see if you are earning as much as you should be.  Please go to http://www.roberthalflegal.com/salarycenter to use the company's salary calculator...

Funny TV Ad by a Witty Plaintiff Law Firm

Posted on November 26, 2010
This is actually a video commercial for a real personal injury firm - essentially they are poking fun at themselves - it is pretty funny and short:

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 25, 2010

What Happens to Your Digital Assets when you Die?

Posted on November 24, 2010
Suppose you get hit by a bus? Read this guest post by Nathan Lustig, the cofounder of Entrustet.com, a free website that helps consumers, attorneys and websites manage digital assets.     So much of what we used to do offline is now online...

ABA Pleads Guilty to Wanting to Regulate Online Lawyer Marketing

Posted on November 24, 2010
The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 just released a 10-minute podcast in response to the furor over its steps to impose ethics rules on online lawyer marketing.  In its podcast, the ABA pleads guilty as charged.  The ABA podcast features Suffolk University Law School professor Andrew M...

ABA Commission on Ethics Pleads Guilty to Wanting to Regulate Online Lawyer Marketing

Posted on November 24, 2010
The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 just released a 10-minute podcast in response to the furor over its steps to impose ethics rules on online lawyer marketing.  In its podcast, the ABA pleads guilty as charged.  The ABA podcast features Suffolk University Law School professor Andrew M...

Save $50 on "What Do I Say To A Prospective Client To Win Their Business?"

Posted on November 23, 2010
EARLY SIGN UP SPECIAL: Save $50 if you register  by November 30th! You can master the best practices of qualifying prospective clients, finding opportunities for services, and converting business. Many attorneys fumble their chances by over-promoting themselves or they feel uncomfortable and start acting like salespeople...

I LOVE Dell's Customer Service

Posted on November 22, 2010
Based on a call I just made, I can say that Dell's customer service is excellent. I have a Latitude D630 laptop running Windows XP which I bought at ABA Techshow 3/19/08 with a three-year warranty. It's been running really slowly, hanging up on shutdown and refushing play audio...

GCs Offer Law Firm Marketing Tips

Posted on November 19, 2010
Three GCs speaking at the LMA New England annual conference spelled out what marketing tactics they ignore, how to get their business and how to annoy them and get fired.  Marketers and law firms can cross the following items off their list of marketing initiatives, because in-house lawyers don't pay attention to them: Holiday cards (mailed) E-cards (e-mailed) Martindale-Hubbell and other lawyer directories PowerPoint presentations at beauty contests The history of your law firm A newsletter sent out so late that it is the 5th one on the same legal topic...

Former GC: Ethics Regulating Online Lawyer Marketing are Unnecessary

Posted on November 17, 2010
Guest post from former GC, practicing lawyer and online marketing expert Jeff Lantz: My take on the ABA's efforts for additional regulation is that this regulation is completely unnecessary. I believe that the ABA's efforts, while well-intended, are misguided...

LAST CHANCE to Register for "Network Building To Generate New Business"

Posted on November 16, 2010
Don't miss out on tomorrow's Webinar. Reserve your place now! Click here to learn more about this Webinar. Network Building To Generate New Business Presented by: Apollo Business Development Webinars Speakers: Larry Bodine, Esq...

Will Your State Bar Association Regulate Your Facebook Page?

Posted on November 14, 2010
Excerpted from About.com: The American Bar Association is currently reviewing whether to make new recommendations on how lawyers should be regulated in their use of the internet, such as with their Facebook accounts, personal blogs, and discussion forum activities...

Join Me at the Marketing Partner Forum in Phoenix in January

Posted on November 12, 2010
Mark your calendar for January 19-21 to attend the Marketing Partner Forum at the Intercontinental Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Speaking as a Chicagoan, wouldn't you rather be in Arizona in January than anywhere else?) I've been attending these programs for 10 years and frankly, it is the best business development program of the year...

Should State Bars Regulate Marketing? Heck No!

Posted on November 10, 2010
By Conrad Saam on the AVVO Blog: 'The State Bars should get out of the business of regulating marketing because it is something they know nothing about.' – Larry Bodine That jolted me out of my seat at the MyLegal Case for Social Media Conference last month...

New White Paper: "Alternative Fee Arrangements: New and Better Ways To Price Legal Services"

Posted on November 10, 2010
In this white paper, Hugh Totten, co-founder of the pioneering Valorem Law Firm in Chicago, describes how lawyers can attract new business and keep current clients by offering them "AFAs" or value billing. Nearly every law firm offers alternative fees, and this program will show you how to set them successfully...

Hilarious Video: Getting Marketing Help at the ABA Annual Meeting

Posted on November 10, 2010
This is from David Ward's Attorney Marketing Center blog: "Last week, I found out from Larry Bodine that the ABA wants to regulate marketing on the Internet. Big Brother wants to control just about everything we do online. According to Larry, the proposal would have a chilling affect on every aspect of attorney marketing...

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