In August, I wrote about the Consumer Reports evaluation of online do-it-yourself legal sites (Legal DIY sites no match for a pro). This week, Wall Street Journal reporter Jennifer Smith writes on “No-Frill Legal Services Grow,” addressing many of the same DIY websites. The impetus for the article is the…
What is it our parents always told us? If your friend jumped off a bridge, does that mean you should do the same? In this case, it is more like “Match Game 2012” than it is about “follow the leader.” So the question becomes, how necessary is it for a…
This is the time of year where I’m working with law firms on developing strategic marketing and business development plans (and budgets!) for 2013. As I said to one marketing partner yesterday, while we need to be fluid and creative, you still need an outline and parameters to be as…
Why do I have the feeling that discussing Women’s Initiatives in law firms will only get me into trouble? A recent report by the National Association of Women Lawyers finds that 97% of large law firms have women’s initiatives, but that they often lack the funding and goals to make…
This month’s Web Marketing Today column discusses the good, bad and ugly in the world of law firm blogging. As the bumper sticker says, “If you can read this, you must be on my blog.” Anyway, that in itself highlights one valuable element of blogging–in cross-promoting other marketing and publishing…
In the November/December issue of Law Practice, my marketing column is entitled “Auditing Your Efforts” and discusses the value and importance of a law firm objectively auditing its marketing and business development efforts. Read it to see how I compare myself favorably to Tom Cruise (although the editorial team deleted…
It is not Henny Youngman, but Stoll Berne managing partner Scott Shorr. With the tagline — Take your conflicts. Not your clients. — the Portland, Oregon law firm of Stoll Berne got some nice play in the Portland Business Journal for its advertising campaign focused on getting lawyers to send…
READ the LPT Special Edition: Dealing with Disasters – Emergency Preparedness: A Joint Effort of the Law Practice Management Section and the ABA’s Special Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on my backyard (in Southern New Jersey), it reminded me of an all-too-timely issue of…
In my monthly column on internet marketing for lawyers in Web Marketing Today, I tackle the sticky issue of ethics and compliance for law firm websites. If you had told me when I started teaching ethics CLEs on this subject in 1997 that I’d be this well-versed on the subject–and…
The lead story in today’s Law.com distribution of The American Lawyer Daily touted, “Survey: Generally Content, New Partners Fear Lack of Training Will Hamper Ability to Win Clients.” One new partner quoted lamented, “I learned how to practice law, but I was not trained in how to develop business.” Claire…