Articles Posted in Law Marketing

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branding.pngIt 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 them conflict work. When Journal reporter Andy Giegerich called me to get my take on the uniqueness of the campaign, it highlighted once again some greater lengths law firms are going to these days to find additional revenue streams.

Advertising in legal publications for conflict work is certainly not new. I’ve worked with law firms on such ads in the past–albeit with minimal success. As an attorney with a small niche practice, I end up with referral situations practically every week. It would never occur to me to send the work to anyone that I did not personally know. But, again, not every lawyer has a go-to person for every practice and jurisdiction. But I also know that the nature of conflicts in my business development business takes on much the same take as a legal matter. Because I won’t work with competing firms in a market (sometimes geographic, sometimes practice-driven), I often need to send work elsewhere. I’m looking at the same issues–will this person or company steal my client, and/or am I putting them in a better position to compete against me. And, oh yeah, I almost forgot–they need to be good lawyers who will represent the client well. It comes down to relationships, one hand washing the other, and trust. And the old adage, “burn me once,” certainly fits in the world of conflict work.

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In an upcoming column for Web Marketing Today, I am going to discuss the value of videos in law firm marketing, focused on internet marketing efforts. I’ve had the opportunity to work with people that know how to do them, such as my friends at TheLaw.TV. Last year, as chair of the American Bar Association’s Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference, we held the first Golden Gavel Awards, recognizing the best law firm and legal industry videos. Nick Gaffney of Infinite PR organized the video awards and panel, with the end result being some phenomenal videos used by law firms on web sites.

This brings me to my own recent work on redevelopment of the HTMLawyers website. I wanted an effective welcome message, but ended up with something that looks like a bad local business ad on cable television. You won’t see this on the business site, but I did marvel at how my eight year old daughter Lily watched me sweat, flub lines and deliver a mediocre performance–only to have her show me how it is done. I’m not sure if she is showing me the way or mocking me, but I enjoyed her performance far better than mine. Lily first appeared on this blog–in the fourth post–when she was born in May 2004, so this is her triumphant return.

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A law firm marketer from an AMLAW 200 firm called me after reading my marketing column for Law Practice, the ABA Law Practice Management Section‘s bi-monthly print publication. In the July/August 2012 issue, I discuss the revival of hard copies. “You, the Internet Marketing Attorney, wrote about going back to print?” Yeah, I said, but it is true. And he said, “yes it is.”

Like it or not, lawyers are screaming for print stuff. And I’ve found they are not in the wrong. Much like a handwritten thank you note stands out so much more in an e-mail world; strong “handouts” are also standing out as well. We can talk from now until the end of time about electronic this and that, but the truth is that the biggest deals still come through most doors the old fashioned way–in-person communication, networking and meetings. In a world where many large firms are using the same digital proposal systems, a carefully and cleverly crafted print piece (you can still use a computer, feather pen and ink are not required, nor is carbon paper), will go a long way. So, the next time you (the attorney) or you (the marketing team) find yourself racing to put together a hard copy print piece, think of me. The concept won’t sound so ridiculous.

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A quick look at my blog will confirm to you that I need to practice what I preach…and that I’m a terrible blogger. The problem with playing in the online world of blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and their brethren is that they do not work for a lot of people like me–that have no billable time left in the day for business development.

Of course, I basically teach business development for a living. So you would think that after a day of yelling at the attorney who tells me he or she can not find the time to market that I might set a better example.

So while preparing a law firm’s lesson plan for a how-to on utilizing social networking effectively, I decided to try and set a better example. First, I negotiated with the wife to take the kids out of the house on a Saturday for a few hours. Second, I in turn had to trade off a weekend visit to the gym to conduct this bold experiment.

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Partner Steve Johnson is finding that life at BIG LAW in the BIG CITY is no longer all he had hoped for. After finally getting a “sit down” with the Managing Partner, he comes to the realization that his career needs a change…maybe a midsize firm will be more to his liking.

This video was originally created for a midsize law firm’s recruiting campaign. However, the sit-com format proved a little too hot to handle. Maybe you recognize Steve’s plight…

 

 

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With today’s economic pressures, law firms are finding it harder to figure out how to effectively spend and strategize in regard to a marketing plan and budget. Micah’s 35-minute interview by Cole Silver from earlier this summer is now available as a free podcast online…

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ONLINE

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It has been a long time since an article I authored garnered as many e-mails and phone calls as this recent one, which appeared in the new column for GCs in the Philadelphia-based The Legal Intelligencer.

In-House Counsel Seek Value From Law Firm Marketing Dollars

by Micah Buchdahl Published by The Legal Intelligencer, 02-27-2008

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The November 2006 issue of Law Technology News features a cover story I’ve authored on the process of setting up a law firm blog today.

This is the story of DelawareIPLaw.com, brainstormed and created by three associates in the Intellectual Property section at Wilmington, Delaware-based Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor.

For more information on this subject, feel free to contact me.

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As Education Board chair for the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management section, I have worked to create an outstanding one-day law marketing seminar for the section’s fall meeting, in my backyard of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, October 21, 2005.

Unlike many law marketing seminars that are either geared toward your firm’s non-lawyer marketing team or toward small firm marketing efforts, this program is geared toward attorneys and staff of mid-size to large law firms. Because this is an ABA program and not a for-profit entity, the cost is ridiculously low ($195 for the full day, including breakfast, lunch, and premium items).

For complete information, including the e-brochure for the event, please visit the meeting web site.

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