In The News

Published on: September 27, 2013

ABA CLE Premier Speaker Series — Lawyer Rankings and Ratings: The Impact on Ethics and the Profession

American Bar Association members receive free continuing legal education credits through the monthly CLE Premier Speaker Series. Sponsored by the ABA and the Center for Professional Development, thousands of attorneys participate in each month’s complimentary webinar program.

It is a tremendous honor to have my program, Lawyer Rankings and Ratings: The Impact on Ethics and the Profession, selected for inclusion, on Monday, October 21, 2013 from 1-2:30 pm Eastern Time. If you are an ABA member, be sure to take advantage of attending this timely and topical CLE.

There may not be a bigger “industry” in law firm marketing and business development circles than the continued growth and proliferation of rankings and ratings. The Rules of Professional Conduct and ethics opinions have tried in vain to develop workable ethics barriers and parameters, however, the impact on the profession is significant–from the time and money spent to the permissible uses for promotion. Learn about ratings and their methodologies, and the ethical considerations voiced by various state and national bar associations. From long-time services by Martindale, American Lawyer Media, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers; to relative newcomers such as Chambers USA and Avvo; and the thousands of other companies that have recognized there is a lot of money to be made in the business of lawyer rankings. Are they helping buyers of legal services make more informed decisions or hindering the profession as a whole?

Published on: August 26, 2013

WMT: Law Firms Join the Apps Craze

by Micah Buchdahl

If it appears this month’s Web Marketing Today article on law firm apps is courtesy of the Department of Redundancy Department, I apologize. In the time I was writing it, I was also interviewed on the subject by two law publication journalists reacting to what must have seemed like an onslaught on law firm press releases touting the latest & greatest app. But I certainly saved some of my tips and examples for the loyal WMT audience.

In Corporate Secretary magazine, Abigail Caplovitz Field writes on “Law firms offer mobile apps to attract new clients.” Her article revolves around two US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) apps developed by Latham & Watkins and O’Melveny & Myers. In developing apps, the type of law firm and the related content runs the gamut from global mega firms to mom & pop shops.

Almost every attorney involved in the development of an app at a law firm will (accurately) tell you that the expectation is not that it will generate new clients, but more likely offer a branding or awareness tool that (hopefully) will be seen as an added-value item by clients, colleagues and the media.

Published on: July 25, 2013

Buchdahl to present Ethics CLE on Building a Book of Business at ABA Annual Meeting

by Micah Buchdahl

If you are attending the upcoming ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, you are welcome to attend this complimentary continuing legal education program being put on by the ABA Young Lawyers Division, at the Palace Hotel (Presidio, Second Floor) on Friday, August 9, 2013 from 11 am-noon PT. For more information, click here, or contact me directly for more information.

Moderated by Amy Drushal, a partner at Trenam Kemker in Tampa, Florida, I will offer tips and strategies alongside panelist Walter Karnstein, in-house counsel at Hewlett-Packard, who will provide the all-important corporate counsel perspective.

ETHICS CLE PROGRAM: Building a Book of Business: Ethical Boundaries and Sound Approaches to Business Development & Marketing

Published on: July 24, 2013

Law.com : Deciding whether law firms should have an app for that

by Micah Buchdahl

In the July 23rd issue of The Legal Intelligencer, an American Lawyer Media publication, reporter Gina Passarella writes on the topic of “Deciding whether law firms should have an app for that.” Ms. Passarella quotes me extensively on the use and development of apps in the law firm marketplace.

The article discusses a recent app launched by Fox Rothschild family law attorneys Eric Solotoff and Eliana Baer, where they compare the launch of the iPhone-enabled app versus blogging and social media–as marketing tools. Another app example highlighted is that of West Virginia-based Spilman Thomas & Battle for labor & employment, and Cleveland-based Benesch Friedlander‘s recruiting app.

Some of the “original” law firm-launched apps include those from Delaware’s Potter Anderson and multiple apps from Morrison & Foerster. I will discuss the use and development of law firm apps in my August 2013 Web Marketing Today column. Every firm wants one now…it is a matter of whether it makes sense. But most importantly, do you have an app concept that truly benefits your target audience? Most think it is just cool. And it is. But it needs to make sense for the firm and the practice. Otherwise, use the money for a fancy lunch–and get something in return for the expenditure.

Published on: June 27, 2013

WMT: Legal Reminders for Online Businesses

by Micah Buchdahl

To start the second year of my monthly contributions as the voice of the legal profession on internet marketing issues for Web Marketing Today, the publishing team asked me to take off the marketing hat and hang my lawyer shingle for their significant small business readership and tackle legal issues that many of them face online.

There are so many legal precautions and potential issues that small businesses face on the World Wide Web, whether the business is purely virtual and online only or is the online marketing voice of a traditional store front.

Ironically, these issues have come into play during my many year studying Internet law, as I often discussed with my law firm business development clients that they needed to show clients and prospective clients (whether it was a consumer, mom and pop shop, small business or Fortune 500 corporation) that they knew how the web and technology worked–since they were often advising businesses on Internet-related issues–which often were new and uncharted legal waters for most.

Published on: May 23, 2013

ABA President Reappoints Buchdahl to Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education

by Micah Buchdahl

American Bar Association (ABA) incoming President James R. Silkenat has reappointed attorney Micah Buchdahl to a three year term on the Standing Committee of Continuing Legal Education (SCOCLE). The committee is a driving force behind all aspects of lawyer professional development and continuing legal education programming.

Buchdahl is President of Moorestown, New Jersey-based HTMLawyers, a law marketing consultancy, where he works with law firms around the globe on business development initiatives and strategies. He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania.

The ABA Center for Professional Development (formerly Center for CLE) is guided by the SCOCLE, working closely with experts from ABA Sections and other entities and from the profession at large in developing programs and products. It serves as the central resource for the ABA and the profession for up-to-the-minute, quality CLE distributed through a variety of convenient formats.

Published on: April 26, 2013

WMT: Today’s Best Law Firm Websites

by Micah Buchdahl

When creating the “Internet Marketing Attorney” moniker in 1997, I would scour the web for the most innovative law firm websites, eventually rating and ranking them in five categories–design, content, usability, interactivity and intangibles. If you were listed among the 250 largest U.S. law firms, you were then ranked accordingly. Many small and midsize firms from around the world submitted themselves for consideration as well, and while I did not review all of them, I also had the annual Nifty Fifty list of innovative legal website components. But times changed and just like technology, I had to adapt.

There were three key factors that led me to stop presenting the IMAs–as they are known throughout the legal industry. First, the large law firm sites become homogenized. There were so few substantive differences to the sites that it made finding those differentiators quite difficult. I would write the same notes and comments over and over again. Second, my “for-profit” business (HTMLawyers, my law marketing consultancy) did not provide enough free time to properly conduct these evaluations. Because I never solicited those law firms I reviewed, it was a great branding tool but not necessarily a revenue generator. My time was always “sold out”, but it was tough to equate new business with the time needed for the IMAs. Finally, any free time or “down time” is now owned by my children–who do not find law firm websites all that fascinating. Luckily, my monthly contributions to Web Marketing Today allow me to continually monitor and teach best practices for law firm internet marketing.

Which is a long-winded way of introducing this month’s WMT column, Law Firm Websites: A Developer’s Review, where in essence I turn the tables slightly by asking the web site developers to tell me what site they like best and why (obviously, their own handiwork). I invited some of the more prominent names in law firm website development to participate–just give me a site and what makes it special. The end result is a handy tutorial for any law firm looking to identify key components for their next website.

Published on: March 19, 2013

WMT: LinkedIn for Attorneys

by Micah Buchdahl

For lawyers, there is so much more to LinkedIn than creating a profile, getting some connections and joining a few groups. The real value of participation is from the other products and services they offer. In this month’s Web Marketing Today column, I try to address some of the components that go “beyond the basics.”

Personally, I probably don’t use LinkedIn the same way as many other marketing professionals or attorneys. I find the tool extremely valuable–but more as a super-powered directory of contacts for lead generation, competitive intelligence and a better source of data about people and companies. I find it very useful when following up with someone, learning more about a business card picked up at a networking function or refining a list of prospective clients. Others, however, spend hours on end building a network and doing a slightly more sophisticated method of cold calling.

As noted in the column, there is no disputing the power of LinkedIn. It is the second search result when looking myself up on Google–behind only my own website. With 200 million-plus users, there is a pretty good chance that the professional I’m looking for is in the network. He or she may have a skeletal profile and three contacts–but they are there nonetheless.

Published on: March 16, 2013

Hunter v. Virginia State Bar: The Blog Debate Continues — Disclaimers are a must

by Micah Buchdahl

On February 28th, the Virginia Supreme Court held that a disclaimer was required under the state’s advertising rules when posting results on a website. This is the latest outcome in the seemingly never-ending battle between Horace Hunter and the Virginia State Bar. This has been a widely watched case among ethics attorneys like myself that follow the bouncing ball of state bar advertising restrictions and first amendment scholars looking at the “free speech” argument. Is the next stop the U.S. Supreme Court?

Last April (2012), I was part of an ABA CLE panel that discussed “Is Your Legal Blog Compliant? Ethical considerations in the wake of Hunter v. Virginia State Bar.” The panel included Mr. Hunter, myself, employment law blogger Molly DiBianca and noted Virginia ethics attorney Tom Spahn. We discussed and debated the many issues in the case. It is effectively a case of first impression in the law blogosphere. That was prior to the case heading up the ladder to the state supreme court. Read more about the program in Your ABA’s e-news–Blogs can be legal minefields.

Blogs have been around since the late 1990s, yet this cyberspace battle in Virginia is the first real challenge by a state bar to the often cloudy areas of interpretation. Is a blog advertising, marketing, editorial, personal, or business? Where does the First Amendment end and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct begin? Should a state bar look at a blog as marketing or something else?

Published on: February 1, 2013

Drexel Law’s Improv Class Provides Unique Professional Development Training

by Micah Buchdahl

It is rare that I make a trip to Chicago or Toronto without spending an evening at Second City. There is nothing more entertaining (to me) than great improvisational comedy. Growing up, I was a Second City TV groupie of sorts, now possessing the entire DVD collection of SCTV. I love the creativity, thinking on your feet and ability to laugh at oneself (and others). So it was easy to talk about Drexel University Law School‘s “Improv for Lawyers” class in an article written this week by Associated Press reporter Kathy Matheson.

Matheson was writing about the uniqueness of such a law school elective, taught by actress/comedian Sharon Geller, who has also provided improv training as a CLE to lawyers in various settings. While this all coincidentally took place in my home base of Philadelphia, it was my role in the American Bar Association–as a past chair of the Law Practice Management Section and a current member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on CLE that led her to ask about my experience and views on the subject. I was asked about the uniqueness of the program and the value to a new or seasoned attorney.

In many law firm retreats where I’ve participated in some manner–either in organization, as a speaker, or in conjunction with a business development project–an improv session taught by one of many skilled troupes in the United States (including Second City traveling casts) is used to develop skills including team building, public speaking, “thinking on your feet” and training for improved client and prospective client interactions. Improv has also been used by a number of law firms I work with for associate and partner professional development training programs in-house. Whether or not they qualify as “substantive legal training” as a CLE is a state-by-state matter–but that is a subject for another post. Whether or not it is CLE accredited, the program provides a useful training ground that incorporates numerous elements of law practice.