Make More Rain : marketing, disaster recovery

Planning Helps Law Firms Weather A Bad Economy

Admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Although the housing market has grabbed headlines recently as the credit issues continue to unravel, the indicators have been present for several years. The businesses who planned for this are now in a better position to adjust and prosper while other businesses close their doors.

Law firms aren't insulated to market downturns. The New York firm Thacher Proffitt & Wood "informed around 50 associates that their futures at the firm were uncertain because of the collapse of the market for mortgage-backed securities, an area where the firm had had a leading practice." New York Lawyer, 11/28/2007. CitiBank and Hildebrandt released a Client Advisory predicting the "perfect storm" of indicators hurting the legal industry.

It doesn't have to be this way. The firm can retain talent even when the marketplace shifts by planning not just for economic good times but for bad times as well. How?

Retain Earnings
Rather than distribute every dollar of profit, project into the future and if indicators suggest that there may be a drop in business in a particular practice area, allocate additional funds to maintain your marketing budget and talent retention.

Prepare for the upswing
Have associates hit the road with partners to build and maintain relationships in the industry. If your client survives the poor economy it will come back stronger. Cement those relationships while mentoring associates so that when the market comes back, your firm has already done the legwork to expand the business.

Transfer Knowledge
Forms are gold, especially in document-driven industries making up transactional practices. Have associates review all firm forms against available case law and take the opportunity to build a solid foundation of accurate and up-to-date forms. Offer an incentive to create "products" representing reproducible work.

Help with the overflow
Just because one industry is hurting that doesn’t mean other areas of the firm aren’t thriving. Give associates an opportunity to absorb work from the more active areas of law. In fact, a firm recently did this when Dechert, LLP, initially layed off 13 associates, then changed its mind and re-assigned them to other practice areas.

Some associates won't have the sufficient motivation to change. That is fine. Keep the ones who do.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Marketing Advice for Lawyers During Economic Down Cycles

Admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:00:00 GMT

I had a chance to catch up with John Remsen, Jr. last week and asked him about the economic outlook for law firms in 2008. Like many, he believes we are in the midst of an economic down cycle that will affect how law firms perform in 2008.

In spite of the downturn, Remsen says that certain practices like bankruptcy, litigation and employment will do quite well. Other areas won’t be so lucky. He explained that law firms that are heavily dependent on cyclical industries like real estate should be prepared to ride the waves of the economic cycle. For example, a firm that does lots of commercial real estate transaction work can position itself as “workout specialists” during the down cycle.

Some advice from Remsen during a slowing economy:

Partners need to push work down to associates so they free up time for marketing and business development. Most compensation systems tend to reward the opposite behavior.
With this time, they should go visit top clients to thank them for their business, and learn about their issues and concerns.
Invite clients into the firm to discuss industry trends and opportunities.
Resist the temptation to cut marketing expenses. Most of your competitors are cutting back so you have a chance to stand out and solidify your position as the economy improves.
Make sure that marketing and business development activities sustain themselves consistently, in both good times and bad.

At the end of the day it is about relationships, says Remsen. He advises firms to take advantage of the down cycle to invest in relationships. In so doing, you position your firm to take off as the economy improves….as it eventually will.

John Remsen, Jr. is the founder of The Remsen Group, which in partnership with LexisNexis and others host the Managing Partner Forum. John has recently co-authored a book, The Little Black Book on Law Firm Marketing that can be purchased by clicking here.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Managing Partners' Little Black Book on Marketing

Admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Paula Black knows graphic design. John Remsen, Jr. knows marketing. The author of The Little Black Book on Law Firm Branding and Positioning has teamed up with Remsen to create The Little Black Book on Law Firm Marketing and Business Development.

The layout of the book has the trademark of a graphic artist - plenty of variation of font, paper type and thickness. This is no dry business book!

The content is, of course, what matters. The book takes a mixture of survey findings, anecdotes from several managing partners representing mid-sized firms, and a simple formula for marketing success:

Build a plan;
invest in the plan;
implement the plan;
measure the results.

John Remsen founded The Remsen Group in 1997 to help bring effective and cost-efficient marketing and business development programs to commercial law firms of all types and sizes. The Remsen Group provides services ranging from developing firm-wide marketing plans to helping firms plan firm retreats. The Remsen Group also organizes and presents the managing partner forum.

For more information or to purchase the book, click here.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Test the Effectiveness of Your Law Firm Brand

Admin — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:26:21 GMT

I mentioned in a prior post that “branding” seemed to be on everyone’s lips at the June Los Angeles Law Firm Business Forum organized by ALM. One of the stronger educational segments was titled “Know Thyself: Marketing and Brand Strategies.”

Each of the four faculty members responsible for the session emphasized the necessity of a consensus among law firm partners as the starting point for developing a branding strategy.

Branding is about communicating a clear image of who you are. The typical, unbranded law firm has multiple personalities. Different partners have a different image of where the firm is and where it should go. It is this dysfunction that branding programs attempt to cure. Branding has become increasingly important as firms turned to institutional marketing as a replacement for ineffective and inconsistent attorney rainmaking.

Faculty member Merry Neithlich is a partner with Extreme Marketing. She provided attendees with a simple test to assess a firm’s brand distinction. To grade yourself, score 3 points for ‘yes’, 2 points for ‘I don’t know’ and 1 point for ‘no’.

1. My firm has discovered what differentiates us from others in our field of practice.
2. My firm’s distinction is recognized by all of our clients.
3. My firm’s distinction has value to our clients and prospects.
4. All partners, associates, and staff at the firm are aware of our distinction.
5. My firm’s distinction is clearly communicated to prospects in conversations, new business proposals, etc.
6. My firm’s distinction is clearly communicated in our marketing materials.
7. My firm’s distinction is scripted and used consistently.
8. We routinely survey client service delivery preferences to gauge and maintain our brand’s relevance.
9. My firm’s pricing strategy is based on our clients’ perception of our value.
10.My firm’s brand of lawyering receives adequate marketing support.

According to Neithlich, your branding grade based on this test is as follows:

A: 24-30 points—You are on the right track.

B: 15-23 points—Your distinction is still a little blurry.

C: 9-15 points—You are average, but that translates to “commodity”.

Other members of the faculty for this Branding session included Allan Anderson with Ropers Majeski, Alison Larson with Schopf & Weiss and Taedra Kogan with Thompson FindLaw.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

The Myth that Companies Hire Attorneys, Not Law Firms

Admin — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 17:09:00 GMT

There it was again! I was reading the current issue of the ABA Journal and there it was—the old myth: “Companies hire lawyers, as apposed to law firms.”

It isn’t always true. Companies, in particular, look for companies to do business with. Law firms have a life beyond the attorney. Law firms have organizational depth. Law firms have reputations that go beyond the resume of an individual attorney. Companies negotiate engagements with law firms not with individual attorneys.

What does occur is that a dependency and trust develops between the company’s representative and the individual lawyer that they deal with. Thus, when clients are given the choice of following a departing attorney or staying with the existing law firm, some will elect to stick with who they know. Departing attorneys are always surprised, however, by how many of those clients elect not to follow them.

The legal profession compels its participants to cooperate during separation so as to respect the client’s right to choose their representation. Given that professional mindset, many attorneys would be surprised to find that some business clients consider such separation and competition for their business as an act of disloyalty. In the commercial world, employers don’t play nice with departing employees who intend to compete.

In the commercial world there is a similar myth. It is the mantra “first you sell yourself, then your company and finally the product.” It, too, is a myth. I once had a very important senior partner tell me that he didn’t have time to talk to a salesperson and besides, “when we decide to do something, we will already know what we want to buy and the company we want to buy it from.”

It is clearly true that the lawyer and salesperson has to sell themselves to win the business, but often it is the image and reputation of the organization that gives them the opportunity to do so.

Yes, relationship building is extraordinarily important—in many cases, essential. It leads to business; but don’t kid yourself, you always represent a law firm. For most business buyers that is the important part of the mix. When you can add to that, a law firm representative [the attorney] that the prospect feels comfortable working with, then you have the winning formula.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

The Law Firm Elevator Speech

Admin — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 17:04:24 GMT

When a new salesperson joins a well-run commercial enterprise, one of the first things the salesperson receives is a “sales toolbox.” Of course, “toolbox” is used figuratively. Today, that toolbox may include some printed materials, but most of the toolbox will be in the form of online resources, including documents and color promotional pieces that can be printed on demand.

One of the most important items in that toolbox is the Elevator Speech. Does your firm have one? Take a walk through the office and ask every attorney you find to imagine they are on an elevator and that they are asked, “Who do you work for and what do you do? The chances are that few can answer that question in 30 seconds. Even fewer will do so in plain English that clearly communicates what the firm does and why that should be important to the listener. When you add them all up, out of every 10 attorneys you are likely to get 10 very different answers.

Law firms don’t expect their legal professionals to start each legal document as a blank sheet of paper. They do not expect the attorney to reinvent the solution to each new matter or case. They draw on the firm’s knowledge bank, including legal forms, documents, and prior experience. They take advantage of external resources as well. In effect, they have a professional toolbox for approaching each new matter or case.

Likewise, for efficient rainmaking, the legal professional needs a marketing and sales toolbox out of which he or she can pull the right tool to take advantage of a business development opportunity. The toolbox also keeps everyone on the same page. Being on the same page is essential for effective branding.

The Texas-based Fare Share Consulting, Inc. has a Web site called Elevator Speech. The consulting company uses videos to help companies develop an effective 30-second communication to convey exactly what the firm does and why the listener should care.

What are some of the other items, in addition to the Elevator Speech, that should be in your rainmaker’s toolbox?

Vision or strategic thrust statement
Key goals
Key strategies
Key tactics
Tag line (For example, Jones Days' “One Firm Worldwide”)
Standard directory listing narratives for varying word counts
Practice classes and products
Pricing information
Brochures
Proposal templates or samples
Ad samples
Newsletters
Direct mail pieces
News releases
Discount coupons (Don’t laugh—when tastefully done, they work!)
Referral cards
“Compliments of” cards
Note cards—for congratulatory, condolence, and special occasions
Sample or Letter templates:
Referral letters
- Letters to current clients
- Letters to former clients
- Letters to prospective clients
- Letters to referral sources
- Letters to other attorneys
Proactive (outbound) calling reasons and example scripts

You don’t expect lawyers to lawyer without the right tools. Why should you expect them to bring in new business barehanded? Give your attorneys the right tools. Set expectations—a personal business development plan. Hold people accountable in terms of compensation and advancement. Do those things and they will bring in the business! That will put more partner income in your pockets.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.

Law Firms Struggle with Marketing Issues

Admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 17:20:40 GMT

Stephen Collins, Juris, Inc. President, and Beth Keno, the head of the Juris Professional Services group, participated at the Midwest Managing Partner Forum hosted by The Remsen Group last week.

Marketing was one of the hot buttons discussed by attending partners. Marketing is still an issue law firms are struggling with. There were a number of questions about what works and what does not, as well as how much spending on advertising is enough.

One of the best discourses on the subject comes from Larry Bodine’s blog, http://pm.typepad.com. In the March 2005 issue of Law Practice, published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section, Larry was asked by the magazine (page 35) "How much money should I spend?"

Larry’s answer is "whatever you’re spending, it isn’t enough." As he notes in an April 7, 2005, posting to his blog, corporations spend from 10 to 15 percent of revenues on marketing while law firms spend less than 2 percent. The bulk of that spending is wasted dollars—tables at charity events, holiday cards, etc. Larry also noted that BTI Consulting Group’s research found that a marketing budget of $14,000 to $17,000 per lawyer yields optimal benefits measured in terms of revenue and profits per lawyer. For more of BTI findings, go to

http://www.lawmarketing.com/pages/articles.asp?Action=Article&ArticleID=329.

In future postings we will address some of the more effective marketing investments a firm can make and the relative weight that should be given to acquiring new clients and developing relationship with existing clients.

Salesmanship in the Law Firm

Admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:58:29 GMT

If your firm's would-be rainmakers are uncomfortable in the sales role, you need to change the message. The mission is not to sell the firm’s services. It is to build helpful relationships based on a sincere interest in the prospect’s goals and objectives—a relationship where you are available to discuss problems and unmet needs. When that happens, the rest is easy.

The following sentence appeared in an article by Marie-Anne Hogarth published in The Recorder and was later reprinted on Law.COM:

Benson-Smith says selling doesn't come naturally to a lot of lawyers. But that's why some may be so successful at it. "Like the best salespeople," she says, "they would never dream of introducing something that wouldn't solve a problem for their client."

Gigi Benson-Smith is a business development and communications manager in Jones Day's San Francisco office. Her comments expose the secret behind the success of great salespeople. No salesperson worth their salt sells a product or service. They build relationships—then provide value, supply needs and find solutions. The principle is the same for expanding the business of the law firm.

I Have a Question for You

Admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:20:39 GMT

The question is, “Do you subscribe and read publications for corporate counsels?" Periodicals like Corporate Counsel, Corporate Legal Times and Metropolitan Corporate Counsel can tell you what your clients and potential clients are thinking about and what they are looking for in a legal service provider.

The information in periodicals aimed at General Counsels and their team can give you a competitive edge by providing insight into strategies that major corporations are pursuing to control cost. They tell you what traits attract the legal service consumers and what turns them off. They tell you the shared weakness in-house counsels see among your competition. Weakness you can exploit to your competitive advantage.

Publications aimed at private law firms contain articles about trends already impacting law firms. Publications aimed at in-house counsels contain articles about trends and strategies that will impact you and your competitors down the road. Reading what your customers and prospects are reading gives you a competitive edge. Likewise, it pays to read the trade publications for the industry of important clients or prospects so that you know the legal and business issues that are important to CEOs.

Knowing yourself is important and knowing your customers is a must for client growth and retention.

Benchmarking for law Firms

Admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 19:04:31 GMT

A very useful set of information to have is comparatives from other law firms or other companies who do something particularly well—like collections, for example. Comparing your firm’s results and operating metrics to other businesses is known as benchmarking. Benchmark data is important because it can identify performance expectations that are unrealistic or expectations that are less ambitious than they should be. For example, it is easy to assume rates can be increased 10%, but what if a 10% increase will put you well above the rates of your competitors? What if clients are already putting you under price pressure? What if you’ve raised rates over the last few years, but haven’t achieved a matching increase in fee revenue because of decreases in realization and more instances of negotiated rates of flat fees? And why not look at non-law firms? Sometimes, you can only find great ideas by looking at other industries. What do credit card companies do so well to keep receivables low? By looking at their processes and benchmarking against their results, you can discover new ways of thinking to improve results.

Other useful information to distribute includes historical financial results and operating metrics (i.e., productivity, realization, etc.), and information about the market in which your firm competes.

Impact of New Technologies

Admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:29:00 GMT

New technologies and new uses of technology by corporations are, also, factors that create obstacles to fee revenue growth for law firms.

Companies are increasingly taking advantage of data mining technologies that allow them to analyze vendor invoices to identify not only errors but, also, opportunities to negotiate better prices. For example, many companies are using expense reporting ASP’s that capture all the global spending via expense reports. This allows them to analyze spending by vendor and negotiate more attractive terms.

The Internet is facilitating outsourcing options that weren’t possible 10 years ago. Companies are increasingly looking to outsource various non-value-added or non-core business activities. But, outsourcing is not limited to shifting IT services over to Bangalore, India.

At a recent conference of Am Law 100 CFO’s, a significant portion of time was dedicated to the topic of outsourcing. And a key trend that was discussed was the fact that companies can take advantage of the developments in telecommunication technologies to obtain services from lower priced markets across the country. Reading between the lines…….why pay a New York City lawyer $400 an hour when somebody in Mississippi will do the work just as well for $200 an hour? At the same conference, a business model was discussed for legal research services outsourcing to India, using US trained lawyers serving multi-nationals. This kind of service looks to be an attractive option for in-house legal departments, and introduces a new element of competition into the marketplace.

Expect technology to continue to give your clients more information to put pressure on pricing and service quality.

International Symbol of Marriage

Admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 17:50:00 GMT

Larry A. Crapo, of Compulaw, sent me the the following international symbol of marriage with the explanation: "After 5 months of heated debate, the commission on Human Rights of the United Nations approved the new International Symbol of Marriage. (dateline New York, April 21, 2005)"

Actually, after 43 years if marital bliss, I know from experience that a marriage is more like a law firm partnership. Wait a minute! Is that good or bad?

25 Unwritten Rules of Management

Admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 17:53:20 GMT

Tyrone Taborn’s writing for ccgmedia.com explains that William H. Swanson, CEO and President of Raytheon Company, does management right, by the numbers. For more information about Swanson, go to http://www.ccgmedia.com/article_william_swanson.php.

Swanson used 25 rules of management to save Raytheon and make it a success again. Here are those “25 Unwritten Rules”:

Learn to say, “I don’t know". If used when appropriate, it will be often.
It is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it.
If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what’s there, but few can see what isn’t there.
Viewgraph rule: When something appears on a viewgraph (an overhead transparency), assume the world knows about it, and deal with it accordingly.
Work for a boss with whom you are comfortable telling it like it is. Remember that you can’t pick your relatives, but you can pick your boss.
Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they are supposed to be. Avoid Newton’s Law.
However menial or trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best efforts.
Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement, or indifference. Don’t be known as a good starter but a poor finisher.
In completing a project, don’t wait for others; go after them, and make sure it gets done.
Confirm your instructions and the commitments of others in writing. Don’t assume it will get done!
Don’t be timid; speak up. Express yourself, and promote your ideas.
Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get it done.
Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.
Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements.
Don’t overlook the fact that you are working for a boss.
* Keep him or her informed. Avoid surprises!
* Whatever the boss wants takes top priority.
Promises, schedules and estimates are important instruments in a well-ordered business.
* You must make promises. Don’t lean on the often-used phrase, “I can’t estimate it because it depends upon many uncertain factors.”
Never direct a complaint to the top. A serious offense is to “cc” a person’s boss.
When dealing with outsiders, remember that you represent the company. Be careful of your commitments.
Cultivate the habit of “boiling matters down” to the simplest terms. An elevator speech is the best way.
Don’t get excited in engineering emergencies. Keep your feet on the ground.
Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.
When making decisions, the pros are much easier to deal with than the cons. Your boss wants to see the cons, also.
Don’t ever lose your sense of humor.
Have fun at what you do. It will reflect in your work. No one likes a grump except another grump.

Growth Trends for Corporate America

Admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 18:36:28 GMT

Growth trends in corporate America have changed. To maintain their own growth, Law firms must also change.

There are plenty of lawyer jokes that emphasize the advantage of being a lawyer when things are good and when things are bad. Lawyers make money when you are a start-up, when you go public, when you get sued and, then, when you go bankrupt. True enough. But we know growth prospects in the 90’s were realized with little effort other than riding the growth wave in corporate America. Even though we’re coming out of a mild recession and experiencing solid growth, it’s not the sort of 90’s speculative activity that characterized an economy in which the law firm had only to “answer the phone to get more business". Growth is being achieved through disciplined management of assets and selectively pursuing business opportunities while, at the same time, paying fine attention to the bottom line with efforts to enhance productivity and reduce operating costs. So, even if your firm is finding plenty of growth opportunities, you should be taking a cue from corporate America and engage in disciplined strategic planning and management practices to ensure your growth is sustainable and profitable. At a minimum, you will be leaving significant money on the table if you fail to plan for profitable growth. Operational discipline, strong leadership, systematic measurement of results and a commitment to strategic planning are prerequisites for achieving profitable growth or growth at all. This is especially true in today’s environment.

Patron Saint of Lawyers

Admin — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 17:25:35 GMT

Did you know there is a Patron Saint of Lawyers?

In April, 1534, Sir Thomas More (1478 – 1535) refused to swear to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy, and was committed to the Tower of London on April 17. More was found guilty of treason and was beheaded on July 6, 1535. As the executioner made ready, the old man was offered a pardon if he would accede to the King's supremacy. His final words on the scaffold were: "The King’s good servant, but God’s first."

More was formally beatified by Pope Leo XIII, in the Decree of December 29, 1886. He was then canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935. St. Thomas More has long been identified as the patron saint of lawyers, and on October 31, 2000, Pope John Paul II signed a proclamation making Sir Thomas More the Patron Saint of Lawyers.

St. Thomas More’s day occurred on June 22nd, while I was in Los Angeles attending the West Coast edition of Legal Tech. My youngest brother, the attorney, Steve Collins (Burroughs Collins & Jabaley partner), reminded me of my oversight by sending me the above bit of lawyer history.

More information can be found on Thomas More at: