Larry Bodine's LawMarketing Blog

New Location

This blog is now continued at http://blog.larrybodine.com

It's a fabulous LexBlog blog, built by the talented designers and engineers of LexBlog Inc., http://www.lexblog.com.  Built on a Moveable Type system, the blog gives me many expanded features, better than Typepad:

1. Custom graphic design to match my website, www.LarryBodine.com.
2. A URL that reflects my website, as opposed to the impossible-to-remember 48-character Typepad address.
3. A built in search engine that finds keywords in all 500 posts going back to April 2004.
4. Seven customized feeds to subscribe to the blog, as opposed to the cryptic Typepad "Subscribe to this blog's feed."
5. Visitors can get email notices when a new post is uploaded, and can subscribe by email.
6. A print-friendly display -- just press the "print" button in your browser and the text comes out beautifully, without cutting off the right edge.
7. A back-end admin screen where I can search prior posts, trackbacks and comments; open a power-editing screen to quickly assign hundreds of posts into categories in a few minutes; filter out unpublished entries; and assign multiple categories to a post.
8. Subscribe to other blogs with a built-in newsreader.
9. Paste directly from Word, and filter out all the proprietary Microsoft code that screws up the formatting.
10. And most importantly, reach a live human by telephone for customer support!

If you are a blogger, I highly recommend you contact Kevin O'Keefe, kevin@lexblog.com, 206 340 8204 or their Sales Director, Mike Hellum, mike@lexblog,com, 206 340 8202.

The Best Lateral Partner Announcement, Ever

When two partners returned to Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone after a five-year hiatus, the firm felt as if it had won a contest. Jubilation echoed throughout the 30-attorney firm on Long Island, leading it to create the best lateral partner announcement, ever.

Managing partner Lew Meltzer turned to his ace marketing consultant Cecilia Alers, to do something special.  She had created ads, a brochure and marketing campaign for the firm over the previous two years.

The returning lawyers had left the firm on very good terms, just after the former head of the employment and labor department had departed.  The two young lawyers moved to a firm that already had an established practice. 

After five years of building their skills and reputation, they decided to move on. “They could have gone to any firm they wanted to in the area, and they chose Meltzer Lippe,” Alers said. 

Instead of mailing announcements the firm decided to take out an in the local business paper.  The ad cost about $2,000 to run. 

The purpose of the ad was twofold -– to serve as a recruitment tool to attract other laterals and to announce the expansion of this practice area.  “We decided to create an ad that would look like an actual newspaper story. So I wrote a headline and subhead using the rules of journalism, added the graphic and wrote the story 'By staff reporters,' including the quotes which looked like an interview,” Alers said. 

The ad reads, “We pursued all our options,” said Jon Farrell, an employment and labor law partner who has unique labor experience practicing before the National Labor Relations Board.  He and his partner, Michael Masri, went on to say, “Returning to Meltzer Lippe was the best option for our clients and the best option for our legal careers.”  They have a solid corporate practice and a renowned tax practice.  “Combined with their legal experience in executive compensation this was the perfect fit,” Meltzer said.

The ad created such a buzz, they ran it again.

A Clever Way to Market Estate Planning Services

I discovered a clever way for a lawyer to market his estate planning services when the phone rang the other day.  It was Gibraltar Trusts on the line, which monitored real estate transactions and saw that I had refinanced my Tucson office.

The salesman wanted to tell me about a new tax law I should know about, ("the lure") and how to protect my assets so they wouldn't go through probate court.  Intrigued, I made an appointment for him to visit me.  He was qualifying me as a client, making sure I had some money to spend.

When salesman came over, he told us that the new federal law would mean more homeowners would have to pay the death tax starting in 2011.  He said our will needed to be updated with HIPAA provisions and that our Illinois powers of attorney wouldn't work in Arizona. He was selling by educating.

The solution to avoiding probate was to put all our assets into a living revocable trust, which he could do for $1,895 with the help of a lawyer in Mesa, AZ, who had created thousands of trusts.  He gave me a printout of the lawyer's contact information and said that Gibraltar Trusts accounted for 1/3 of the lawyer's practice.  Of course we could pick another lawyer if we wanted to.

I thought -- what an interesting marketing technique for the lawyer.  Of course it's unethical for a lawyer to have a "runner," so I asked if the lawyer had any financial interest in Gibraltar or if he paid the trust company any fee.  Gary said, "no, but he does give our customers a heck of a deal."

This is classic marketing with allies.  The lawyer gets new business from the ally, in exchange for discounted rates for the ally's customers.

---

Setting aside the marketing aspects of this approach, I contacted my lawyer, and here's what he had to say: "Inter vivios trusts are primarily used to avoid estate taxes and secondarily used to avoid probate.  The Federal tax exemption is now at $2,000,000. for each estate.   Therefore, unless your personal assets total over two million dollars you do not have to be concerned about Federal estate taxes.  If your major property holdings are now held in joint tenancy, (your real estate, stocks, bonds, bank accounts, etc.) the property automatically is transferred to the survivor upon the death of the first to die of you and your wife.  Therefore, you do not need a living (inter vivos) trust at this time.  When either of you or your wife dies that is the time to place your property in a living trust.  If you have powers of attorney for health and property which were executed in Illinois they should also be recognized in Arizona, otherwise you would need a separate power of attorney for every state."

How Much to Pay a Marketing Director

Lawyers ask me all the time how much salary they have to pay to get a good marketing director.  The marketer would be somebody who generates revenue and is not part of overhead, so the salary is an investment.

You'll also want someone with experience in handling standard marketing activities such as brochures, advertising, direct mail, newsletters, email broadcasts, seminars & events, public relations, branding and your Web site. A marketer will give a law firm a strategy, articulate the firm's unique sales proposition, and generate leads. 

Important: the lawyers are still responsible for closing new clients, opening the new files and acting as the firm's sales force.  Your marketer is not your sales rep.

Here's what law firms are offering right now:

• 27-lawyer litigation boutique in Atlanta: $100,000 for a marketer with 5 years of experience.
• 120-lawyer firm in Chicago: $100,000 - $150,000 for 8 years' experience.
• 1,300 lawyer firm headquartered in Philadelphia: $100,000
• 114-lawyer firm in Oklahoma City: $100,000 - $125,000

For more detail, see the JOBS page on the LawMarketing Portal, www.lawmarketing.com

Four Hot Trends in Marketing

My friend, the always brilliant Silvia Coulter, has spotted four big trends in marketing:

Firms are beginning to build out their strategic client account teams.  The more structured, the higher the results.  Some savvy leaders have hired strategic account team experts from industry and are seeing 25 to 75% growth from their strategic clients.  The big hurdle still remains compensation.  You get that for which you reward.  Firms that make all key clients firm clients, versus giving ownership to any one individual for origination, are seeing the strongest results.

Firms are hiring business development specialists and managers at a fast clip.  Raiding other firms for talent seems to be the norm since there is more demand than there is talent in this area.  To keep your own talent from leaving, recognize and reward the talent you have and build strong retention strategies around these individuals. 

Investment in associate business development remains strong.  Associates can provide a direct link to additional business for the firm by keeping their ears open for opportunities.  Teaching young lawyers to stay connected and build strong relationships that will feed them ten years down the road is not only necessary but helps build retention into firms’ associate base (often thought of as your profit base as well). 

Marketing partners are coming back into vogue.  Firms are questioning the ROI on their significant marketing investments whether it’s the growing number of marketing department members or the growing marketing and business development expenditures.  The new emphasis on which these partner are focused?  Building the bridges between marketing/business development and the partnership.   

Silvia L. Coulter is the managing director of CoulterCranston, Inc., a firm focused on strategic account management and business development consulting.  This text also appears in the Q1 2007 issue of the LSSO Review.

Marketing by Not Being a Dork

Being the "cool" choice is a good marketing technique, and a Los Angeles accounting firm is doing the next best thing with an "accountants aren't dorks" approach.

According to an article in the April 2007 Inc. magazine, Stonefield Josephson president Jeff Garrison "Smashes Accountants' Geeky Image!"  “I’ve never worn a pocket protector,” he said, preferring instead to don a leather jacket and straddle a Harley.

To prove it, the CPA firm maintains a “back porch” section on its website to showcase the private passions of its CPAs, which range from art collecting to surfing to cooking. I wrote about this homey tactic in 2004.

Even their holiday cards are funny.

On the site, CPAs offer recipes for paella and chicken tarragon, and Garrison suggests wine pairings. Exposing the firm’s soft side has helped it reach $40 million in annual revenue, said Garrison, and attract hip clients such as the Black Eyed Peas, the Sports Club/LA, Paul Frank Industries, and True Religion. They will file 400 corporate returns this month.

Law firms could kick-start their own marketing campaigns and click them into top gear with this kind of Harleyfied approach.

2007 LMA Your Honor Awards

For those of you who missed the Legal Marketing Association meeting in Atlanta, here is the list of first place winners in the 2007 LMA Your Honor Awards.  Congratulations and mazeltov to all the winners!

1.   Identity: Goulston Storrs for their “Gateway to China” campaign. The firm achieved its objective to position itself as the go-to law firm for middle market New England region companies seeking to do business in China, and also for VC/private equity firms seeking to invest in China. This was accomplished with a China section on its website in Chinese and English (Verndale), creative for its advertising campaign, including a post card and green tea tins to clients (Hermann Design Group), PR consulting (Elizabeth Lampert), and client and staff give-aways (Grossman Marketing).

2.   Firmwide brochure: Mayer Brown for their “Retrospective” collection of client successes. Created by former Marketing Director Jonathan Asperger and X-15 Creative. The marketing concept was to present engaging stories about successful cases from the client's point of view. The result is a strikingly illustrated and deftly-written storybook recounting numerous tales. See their 2003 award winning version.

3.   Annual Reports: Heller Ehrman for their “11 true stories about our client successes” piece. The firm won a Your Honor for a similar concept last year.

4.   Announcements: Meyers Nave for their 30th anniversary reception invitation (see illustration at right). The cardboard invitation folded down into a stereopticon (old-fashioned 3D viewer) that displayed current and historic scenes in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco and Santa Rosa, where the firm has offices. Click here to see it full size in a PDF file.

5.   Newsletter: Squire Sanders & Dempsey for their outreach piece in an oversized newspaper layout, profiling its litigation practice. The piece targeted a readership with vested interests in business litigation including American Corporate Counsel members and Fortune 1000 general counsel.

6.   Other: Steptoe & Johnson for their “West Virginia First” handheld booklet promoting the “Mountain State,” designed by the Arnold Agency.

7.   Single Advertisement: Fisher & Phillips, a labor law firm with 18 offices nationwide, for their ad featuring the ghost of a former employee, "You fired her a year ago. Now she’s come back to haunt you." To see a full-size PDF file of the ad, click here.

8.   Advertising Campaign: Blake Cassels and Graydon for their French language ad.

9.   Multimedia: Holland & Hart, for their noted in-flight video broadcasts on Frontier Airlines.

10. Trade Show Exhibit Novelties (formerly the “gimmie” award): Blake Cassels and Briggs – for their booth designed by Greenfield Belser for the Association of Corporate Counsel conference.

11. Promotional events: Bradley Arant Rose & White, for a promotion designed by Greenfield Belser.

12. Web sites: Godwin Pappas Langley Ronquillo of Dallas for their “We solve the problem” home page Flash video. http://www.godwinpappas.com/

13. Recruiting Web page: Morrison & Foerster: http://www.mofo.com/career/index.html

14. Alumni Web page: Goodwin Procter. https://www.goodwinprocteralumni.com

15. Electronic media: Harris Beach, with offices in New York and News Jersey, for their 150th anniversary interactive CD.

16. Media Relations: Sutherland Asbill & Brennan for PowerPlay, an interactive dance and nutrition program at the Grady Hospital Teen Clinic.

17. Community Relations: Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.

18. Internal communications: Patton Boggs for their weekly “Power Plays” and First Annual Success Party (at which they presented the Power Player Awards), which served as ways of recognizing those within the firm who consistently demonstrated a commitment to specific client service principles. (See illustration at right.)

19. Training: Fredrikson & Bryon for their “Fred Knows” program.

20. Marketing Research: Holland and Hart for their business class in-flight TV program on Frontier Airlines.

21. Recruiting: Paul Weiss Rifkind for their “What it takes to be a great lawyer and have a great career” program.

22. Best in Show: Heller Ehrman’s annual report, “11 True Stories about our Clients.”

Marketing Lessons from The Sopranos

Madonn'! Lawyers could learn a marketing lesson or two from Tony Soprano, the organized crime leader who has entertained us for 10 years on the TV show, "The Sopranos."  Whether you're in waste management or law, you've got to be a good "earner" for your outfit.  This means bringing in new business and generating revenue reliably. If not, you'll wind up like the 45 partners at Mayer Brown who got terminated, buon' anima.

The law is a jealous goomah, but you must keep revenue going up.  If you stand still, you'll lose clients through attrition and the boss will cut your points (the mob and law firms use exactly the same term for a percentage of firm income) and you'll be mezza morta.

You must develop new business as a team, because nobody succeeds without a crew. You need a capo, soldiers and associates (again, an identical word in mob and law). Otherwise you'll get agita and go oobatz because you're not getting any action.

Remember to say "thank you" to your referral sources and allies.  Everybody likes a little gabagool, and it doesn't hurt to give them a taste to begin with.

A meal is an excellent place to conduct business.  Think of all the times Tony would mangia on manigot while discussing this thing of ours.  Take your own clients to lunch or dinner and show them some respect.  Don't be a jamook -- demonstrate that you are their consigliere. 

Don't be shy about keeping clients satisfied, show that you've got the stugots to do a client survey. Your competitors consider your clients as their target revenue sources, and will make them an offer they can't refuse.

Finally, remember that business development takes time.  Col tempo la foglia di gelso diventa seta.

---

This post is not meant to offend my Italian-American friends. I simply looked up the jargon used on the show at http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/mobspeak/.

An Easy Way to Get Referrals

Here's a great tip on getting referrals, from Matt Homann, a St. Louis attorney who founded LexThink and is the author of the blog "the [non]billable hour."

"Find your five favorite clients.  Take them to dinner.  Don’t let them leave until they answer this question:  What can I do to get more clients like you?"

Notice how the situation does not put pressure on the client. You are not asking the client for more work -- you are asking for introductions.  It plays on people's natural willingness to help people they like.

It also builds on your strengths.  You already have experience in the industry of your client, and you will have successes to discuss with the prospects your client introduces you to.

I actually did this myself, so I know it works.  At a recent trade association meeting, I took a friend to dinner at a fancy and expensive restaurant (I picked up the tab, of course).  My influential friend happened to be exactly the kind of person I would like to have as a client.  Never once during the dinner did I ask my friend to hire me or try to sell myself.  I sincerely wanted to know what I should do to reach other top executives just like my friend.

Her answers now compose my personal business development plan for the year.

Florida Bar's board favors Web ad regulation

Finally some good news about regulation of lawyer advertising:

The board for the Florida Bar has approved a proposed Web site advertisement rule, and it plans to soon take it to the Florida Supreme Court.

Website Rule 4-7.6 would allow lawyers to advertise their past results and statement characteristics concerning the quality of legal services through testimonials on Web pages that are just one click past the homepage, says Elizabeth Tarbert, who serves as the ethics counsel for the Florida Bar. Still, the lawyers' homepages must comply with traditional advertisement rules applied to print, radio and elsewhere.

To make the proposal official, the Bar will notify its members 30 days before filing with the Florida Supreme Court. The next step will be to collect comments from lawyers, which would be submitted along with the proposal to the court. Once the proposal is filed with the Supreme Court, lawyers are encouraged to send their comments directly to the court within 30 days.

The Web site rule can take as long as one year from the date it is filed with the Supreme Court to be adopted, says Francine Walker, the Bar's director communications. A timetable to file the proposed rule has not yet been determined.

If the Supreme Court approves the proposed rule, it would make Florida the first state to address lawyer advertisements via the Internet. The Florida Bar is the third largest in the United States with 80,000 members, 15,000 of whom practice outside the state.

"We have done what no other Bar has done, tackle [lawyers'] Web advertisement," says Charles "Chobee" Ebbets, chairman of the special committee that developed the proposed Web advertisement rule.

The rule has been under evaluation for a total of four years, says Henry M. Coxe III, president of the Bar's board. In 2004, an advertisement rules task force was established to evaluate lawyers' advertisement via the Web, and a year later, a special committee was established to evaluate the same concerns.

Thanks to my friend John Remsen of The Remsen Group in Atlanta for this tip from the Orlando Sentinel.