LinkedIn...or Chained Down

I've never been interested in horoscopes. However, as a June baby I have picked up some elementary understanding of the Gemini- twin or two faces. By their nature, legal marketers must adapt personality traits commonly ascribed to Geminis - the ability to move back and forth between the forces of law firm marketing strategy and the business development of individual attorneys.
Last night I had a great conversation about LinkedIn specifically and social media in general. What are the best practices for legal marketers to optimize their individual attorneys' online profiles while meeting the overall strategic goals of the law firm? Should attorneys focus on their expertise and specialities or will this pigeon-hole them and subvert the firm's cross-selling efforts?
I will revisit these issues in future posts. Taking a look at your LinkedIn Profile is a good place to start.

R. Hewitt Pate succeeds Charles James as Chevron Legal Executive

From the New York Times.

Advertising in a crowded market, 14 years later

1996: Two years before Goolge was founded, while Twitter and Facebook were in elementary school, WIRED Magazine published a couple of stories, Beyond the Banner and Reclaim the Deadzone While the vehicles for these conversations have changed dramatically (replace banner ad and microsite with SEO, blogging, social media) the questions remain the same...what's the best way to connect with potential clients in a crowded market?
The answer is unique to each firm and marketer but the ad on page 23 might offer some clues, the tagline from the previous page reads, "Go through life with less baggage".  Sticking to a core strategy seems to be working for Apple.

SF Outlook for February: Cloudy with a Chance of More Law Firms

Three new law firms added SF to their list of office locations in February:
Greenberg Traurig, Downey Brand and Morris Polich & Purdy.

The common denominator is opportunistic growth. Each firm took on laterals rather then re-planting their own attorneys (GT took attorneys from Weil, Gotshal and Quinn Emanuel; DB took attorney from Paul Hastings; MPP took attorneys from Carroll Burdick)

The regional firms said that it was a response to client requests and that they are able to offer lower rates to their current clients that do business in SF. All firms are looking to build out their new offices in the coming months.

And February isn't over yet...

Billing Roundup

Kraft Foods Free Market Award given to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
The firm cut legal costs not by introducing alternative billing, not by arbitrarily offering a discount to cut the bottom line, rather they found, "easy, common sense ways to reduce" the bill by "moving matters around to different offices in various cities".

Pfizer Legal Alliance
A group of 19 law firms that receive a flat annual fee for all the work completed over the entire year for the company. The Alliance took roots in 2004 when then GC Allen Waxman reduced the companies outside lineup by 80 percent to 39 firms in a program called Pfizer Partnering Program. It was, "designed to find a mutually agreeable way to promote strategic thinking and give the client predictability and stability". It's not about discounts but building better long-term relationships with outside counsel says GC Amy Schulman.

Levi Strauss has one law firm, Orrick.
Orrick partner Johnson-McKewan uses the words"open and flexible" and "trust" to describe the multimillion dollar arrangement between her firm and Levi Stauss where Orrick now handles all of the company's legal work worldwide in exchange for a fixed yearly fee paid in monthly increments (Townsend and Townsend and Crew continues brand protection work).

Law Firm initiated alternative
Smithline Jha's monthly subscription model delivers predictability to clients. For the monthly subscription model to work it has to be a practice area that is steady, Smithline Jha specializes in IP Licensing for software and Internet companies. In-house counsel and private practice attorneys agree that this model will not work for litigation. In the words of the firm, "The net effect was we got so much closer to our clients" -who doesn't want that?

There is no one-size fits all solution to billing arrangements. But there is a requirement for any creative agreement: LISTEN to your clients!

24-7 Brochure

Today's The Recorder roundtable "How to Win My Business" featured in-house counsel
Seth Jaffe- SVP and General Counsel Williams-Sonoma Inc., Brett Fletcher- VP & General Counsel Gilead Sciences, Inc and Joseph Catalano- SVP & Chief Litigation Counsel Union Bank.

One of the actionable items that resonates with me 4 hours post-event is communication. Of course communication between outside lawyer and in-house counsel (responsiveness, openness about how a matter is going and billing, etc.) but also the way that a law firm communicates with its clients. Seth Jaffe (who likes lists by the way) included the importance of a firm's website as a way to get noticed on a firm's short-list. It's crucial for law firms to maintain an accurate picture of their firm's capabilities online. I grabbed a couple recent articles on the topic to make sure your "website brain" keeps at it:
Master of your Domain Name- Is it time to bring web maintenance in-house?
Law Firm Websites that Work- various perspectives from ABA Journal
You can get my quick takeaways of the roundtable discussion on Twitter @pryplewski

Sending the bill, Getting the Business and Keeping the Women

A general overview of legal industry billing standards, a non-beauty contest from Kraft (it's all about the numbers!) and Canada struggles with renention issues too...all in a day's reading for the legal marketer.

Can you guarantee satisfaction?

Post Valentine's Day cupcake decoration, I stared at the sparkles, sprinkles and candied confetti in a slight sugar coma and noticed that one particular brand guaranteed "100% Satisfaction or Your Money Back". Exactly how do you become dissatisfied with sprinkles?
It reminds me of the law firm that guarantees a call back within an hour and how that guarantee affects client’s perception of the firm and, more importantly, the affect it must have on the attorneys and staff of the firm. A team with a single, concise understanding of client service clearly has an easier time figuring out what is expected of each client interaction than a team with individualized standards or vague internal communication. Can you imagine a law firm that would be willing to put “or your money back” on their service?

The Third Leg

I learned that a milkstool always has three legs to ensure stability....two legs- not enough support ; four legs- too many variables.

On the new reality show, "Undercover Boss" cameras follow executives on a journey to work the fields with the hourly employees that fuel their businesses. The promotions contrast the plain-talk and gumption of employees with the disbelief and impotence of executives as the white-collar men fumble through menial tasks like picking up paper with a stick or brewing a pot of coffee. The show seems to be to be a very public display things great companies do privately, whether or not the cameras are rolling: soliciting feedback and, more importantly acting on that feedback. Feedback from employees, from leadership, from clients. In a two person interaction it is easy to crowd out third party feedback. But remember, without a third leg, the stool will fall down.

Solyndra Inc.

John Gaffney joins the Fremont, CA based designer and manufacturer of photovoltaic commercial rooftop systems as Sr. VP & General Counsel

ADVENTRX Pharma, Google

ADVENTRX Pharma- based in San Diego, Brian Culleu promoted to CEO, Patrick Keran promoted to President and COO

Google's Deputy General Counsel and Vice President, Nicole Wong, to testify on Cybersecurity

ACC Value Index- Circle of Concern or Influence?

After months of nervous fidgeting, Law Firms can now access information from ACC's Client Satisfaction Tool to see what clients are saying about them. It strikes me that those firms who are actively participating in their client's world (i.e. client surveys, alternative fee arrangements when requested, relationship partners doing the work) would already have a general sense of their client's feedback. Feedback, in all forms, is a valuable thing. But if you are relying on someone else to give you information rather than seeking it out yourself, in which circle are you playing?

Along the same theme, here are some great takeaways for individual partners from an Altman Weil, Inc. consultant:
The habits of highly effective law firm partners

100 Business Development Things...

As my son heads off to celebrate his 100th day of Kindergarten, here's a list of 100 things you can do to keep the business development ball in motion:

1. make a plan that includes a "to-do" everyday
2. read a business development book
3. read a work of fiction- something to help strike up a conversation
4. start a blog
5. submit an article to a magazine for publication
6. call an old client
7. take a colleague to lunch
8. take a friend to coffee
9. set up a LinkedIn profile
10. send a personalized invitation to 15 people to connect on LinkedIn
11. explore twitter
12. set up a twitter account
13. Google reader- have you optimized your queries recently?
14. go to a Chamber of Commerce Event
15. go to a Bar Association event
16. sit down next to a stranger (not a colleague) at the next luncheon you attend
17. repeat an affirmation in your head (even Stuart Smalley works)
18. read On the Move columns and send a follow-up to congratulate someone you know
19. send a note- hand written and stamped!- to someone in your network
20. make a cold-call
21. make some warm calls
22. check your sent email folder from 1 year ago--any follow up items?
23. follow-up on them
24. check-in with your boss
25. visualize yourself 1 year from now
26. write down the steps you'll take to get there
27. volunteer somewhere
28. optimize your RSS feeds
29. make a list of your top 10 clients
30. are you maximizing those relationships?
31. are they happy? anything you can do to make them happier?
30. make a list of your top 11-20 clients
31. what could you do to move them up to the top 10 slots
32. make a list of 10 clients you'd like to have
33. what can you do right now to get them?
34. pull up your resume...would you hire you?
35. re-do your resume
36. thank your support staff
37. thank your family
38. go on a 15 minute walk
39. write down your thoughts, the list of things that came up on your walk
40. drink water instead of soda
41. send a newspaper clipping or article of interest to a client
42. visit your firm's website
43. thank a marketer for their work
44. visit a marketing website
45. read the Wall Street Journal
46. drink green tea instead of coffee
47. cook something new- conversation starter
48. thank a PR professional for their work
49. next time someone tries to sell you something pay attention
50. think about what they did right or wrong- incorporate your thoughts into your pitch
51. take a knowledgeable vendor up on their lunch invite
52. prepare questions that might benefit you (i.e.- what are you hearing in the marketplace?)
53. go to a museum or concert
54. think about ways that art relates to your profession
55. be passionate about something
56. think about why/how you became an attorney
57. rekindle the fire
58. do more Pro Bono work
59. peronalize this list of 100 to suit your needs
60. make a point to share your expertise with a potential client somehow in the next 2 hours
61. visit your competitor's web site
62. visit the websites of a firm that has what you want
63. attend a business development webinar
64. listen to a TED speech
65. consider how it applies to your business
66. put those loose business cards into your database
67. clean your desk
68. buy a new suit
69. ignore the urge to dress casual on Friday and call on a client instead
70. get to work early on Monday
71. get a mentor
72. get a mentee
73. pick an empty day on your calendar
74. fill the day with client appointments
75. polish your shoes
76. clean out your briefcase
77. smile before you pick up the phone
78. listen
79. do one more thing each day than you think you possibley can
80. take a deep breathe
81. google yourself
82. google your law firm
83. google your clients
84. follow-up on the things you haven't followed-up on
85. do the thing you've been putting off
86. clean out your inbox
87. talk business at the watercooler
88. take a different mode of transportation to the office
89. pick up the phone instead of sending an email
90. post a comment
91. learn more about your client's clients
92. when you ask, "How are you?" mean it
93. when you respond to "How are you?" be unique
94. look up when you walk
95. send a thank you note with an invoice
96. check your invoices to be sure they make sense to you
97. commit to returning all client calls/emails within 1 business day
98. read an in-house counsel profile
99. read a judicial profile
100. put a new item on tomorrow's calendar