Heather Morse

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I see so many programs on “How to launch a perfect website.” Well, let me tell you my truth: My website redesign process was less than perfect, and Robert Algeri and I are talking about doing a program about the truths behind a law firm website roll out.

But we launched our website on Monday, and, I can honestly say, the website came out perfect. It speaks to our brand, our history, and our future. And isn’t that the goal when branding, to actually reflect the culture of the entity/product/service?

Welcome to the New GreenbergGlusker.com:

It’s a big difference from our old site.

Some thinking behind the design

We needed a logo that was fresh, clean, and could be used in a social environment. As we were thinking about our future, we had designs that moved us away from the “Goosh” (that’s what we call our stylized “G”). However, we found out quickly that the Goosh has become part of the firm’s identity internally, so we went back and redesigned the logo to incorporate it.
Continue Reading My lessons from a less than perfect website redesign process

The Chambers and Partners USA rankings were released last week and I had a great talk with one of the deputy editors to really go over our results, especially the why and where we could improve on our end. This is a call I make every year, and I always glean new information that helps me to better understand not just our Chambers rankings, but our attorneys and the work that they do.

1. Follow the damn template.

Several times we were praised on following the template, and making it easy for the researchers to get an understanding of what happened in the practice that year. Lots of bullet points. No marketing speak. They are reviewing thousands of submissions, so make it easy for them to find the information they are looking for.

Tip: Start now. The templates are available, so why wait? Pull your case and matter lists for the year. Start updating the general information at the beginning of the submission. Chambers isn’t something you can phone in, and if it’s important to the attorney’s practice, they will appreciate the extra time and assistance you can provide.

2. It’s all about the referees.

Continue Reading 3 takeaways from this year’s Chambers rankings

Linda HazeltonJust as we were getting ready to head out to the LMA Annual Conference, news broke that Chambers and Partners had been acquired by private equity house Inflexion. Today’s guest blogger, Linda Hazelton, Hazelton Marketing & Management, picked up the phone and spoke to Mark Wyatt, Chambers’ CEO.

Amongst the many services of Hazelton Marketing & Management is the writing of Chambers and other directory submissions on behalf of lawyers and law firms, so Linda’s insights to our community are very much welcomed, and I want to thank her for writing such a detailed post.

News recently broke regarding Inflexion’s acquisition of Chambers. Inflexion is a mid-market private equity firm “investing in high growth, entrepreneurial businesses.” In Inflexion’s news release, Simon Turner, Managing Partner, said:

The legal services market is a large and growing market which we have tracked for a number of years. Chambers benefits from a leading, global position and a reputation for providing the best rankings and research in the industry. There are multiple opportunities for the business to develop its market leading position internationally and through an enhanced digital offering. We look forward to working with the management team as Chambers embarks on this exciting growth strategy.”

Emphasis added

Mark Wyatt will re-join Chambers as CEO. Mark was previously the Managing Director of Chambers from October 2014 to September 2015. Mark’s quote in the news release referenced Chambers’ expansion plans and driving “[O]ur online presence forward.”

I spoke with Mark on April 9, 2018. He confirmed my supposition that Chambers’ methodology and the rigor with which they conduct research will not change. He is very enthusiastic about working with Inflexion, noting that they are terrific with technology. Since they are not publicly traded, there’s no need to focus on quarterly profits and they take the long view. Mark expects that the improvements in technology will allow them to manage the vast amount of information they have gathered in even more useful ways. Overall, the goal is to strengthen relationships with their clients and to improve at retaining their talented researchers and editors. I think we can anticipate an expanded on-line presence as well as new products such as forums, roundtables, client panels, and the like.
Continue Reading Inflexion Acquired Chambers. Now What?

Finishing up rolling out a new website in 2018, but already looking ahead to 2019 and my need to roll out an experience management system. Looking at the different products and excited to hear the case studies in this session.

Kudos to the moderator for not just including people using their product.

Why do you need an experience database?

Tips

  • Pick a time frame for the data to import for the project (5-10 years)
  • Each practice to decide the parameters for the data to collect
  • System can rank the strength of the matter based on the hours billed, people still working at the firm (based on hours billed)
  • Sync with your website for representative matters
  • Also filing lateral hire matters
  • Use NAIC, SIC, or Duns

Benefits to the firm

  • Attorneys are doing less
  • Email clutter is going down
  • Firm is trusting that the data is valid
  • Once the matter is open (which is the same), the data is then fed into the system
  • Benefits to the pricing people was a hidden gem

Lessons Learned

  • If you’re not currently tracking the data, start. Give yourself a head start.
    • Add client matter name/number to the Chambers submissions and the representative matters on the website
  • Get every administrative function at the firm involved from the start

Before and After

Continue Reading #LMA18 – Experience Management or My 2019 project

The Winston team is here to present on lateral success, especially surrounding their launch of their Dallas office (50 attorneys from nine different firms). But let me just say, it’s nice being in a room that is a good size and classroom sized. Yeah!! (Still no power strip, but girl can’t have it all in life).

The Panel

Learning Outcomes

Setting the Stage

Continue Reading #LMA18 – Lateral Acquisitions: Setting the Stage for Success

First off my rant: Seriously. Could LMA have given this program the smallest room available? Strategy with Jennifer Manton, Nat Slavin, and Wendy Bernero. Come on … learn your audience all ready.

Here we go:

In the past, law firms did everything, now we need to focus.

If you’re not strategizing, you have put yourself in a disadvantage in the marketplace. This is our new normal. The good ol’ days are not coming back. The client is the general contractor and you are the sub-contractor. Time to rightsize your thought process.
Continue Reading #LMA18: Strategy-Are you a talent, service firm? or a hybrid?

Good morning LMA. The General Counsel Panel has now begun. Yes, this is important. These are the clients. Talking about what’s important to them. If there is only one panel you can attend, this would be it. (plus all the others, but, this is the information you need to bring back to your firms.

Who are the Decision Makers?

This is not a one answer fits all question. Smaller companies, GCs are usually the decision makers. Preferred vendor lists. Teams. Chambers to verify (no find).

Question to ask your clients:

  • How do you make the decision on how you hire outside counsel

Tip: Show your subject matter expertise. 

  • CLE
  • e-alerts that are succinct
  • Websites
    • Deeper dive into the subject matter (articles)

Where do you go to research potential clients?

Continue Reading #LMA18 – The General Counsel Panel

The Hall of Fame and Your Honor Awards are being honored and showcased this morning at the 2018 LMA Annual Conference. These are our best members and our inspirations. And we are celebrating them this morning.

  • At 8:15
  • In the morning
  • On Day 2 of a conference.
  • In New Orleans.

I’ll just leave that here.

LMA Recognition Awards | Hall of Fame

I want to personally thank Ann Gallagher and Jeff Reade for your contributions to our association and to our profession as a whole. Thank you for blazing the path that I was easily able to follow.

Congratulations to all who were recognized with a Your Honor Award. The LMA conference is all about connecting and inspiring, so PLEASE click through and learn more about what your peers (and competitors) are doing:

2018 LMA Your Honor Awards Winners

Continue Reading #LMA18 – Honoring and showcasing the best of LMA

Okay, let’s begin with the rooms size. Who would have thought so many people would want to participate in a deep dive program on strategic planning lead by this group ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Let’s begin with the why? Why is strategic planning so popular again?

What’s the difference between strategy and strategic planning?

Kim: A…

AI is more than just a buzz word. AI is touching everything that we do, even when we don’t recognize it as doing so.

So, let’s start with the room is too small for a topic this relevant, especially considering last year the room was three times the size and PACKED. So, when the room is standing room only, I have no issues sitting on the floor.

AI doesn’t just understand the words, but understands what the words mean for a phrase like “raining cats and dogs.”

WHAT IS AI?

Mark Greene, Market Intelligence LLC, goes over what AI is. I went to the session last year. I know I tweeted on it, but apparently I didn’t write a blog post … sorry about that. It was one of the best programs I attended. But here are a couple slides from today:

WHAT IS WATSON?

Continue Reading #LMA18 – How Legal Departments are Leveraging AI