So, watching The Voice with the Sports Dude and hopped onto Twitter to … I can’t remember, because I saw this:

Really, I am quite humbled and taken aback.  I thank everyone who reads this blog, who has contributed a guest post, or a great idea, and thank you to the ABA Journal for such an incredible honor. And for mentioning my firm, Barger & Wolen.

Now, don’t forget to register and vote for your favorite Blawgs.

It’s that time of year.

The invoices and renewals are making their way to my inbox.

I’m going over the 2014 budget and looking to see who’s been naughty or nice.

I have to decide who stays and who goes. Who gets voted off my legal marketing island.

My number one request?

Show me the value!

Why should I renew my subscription, whether for a directory listing, or conference sponsorship? Did I get my $2400, $5000, or $10,000 in value?

Three recent and very real scenarios paint the picture for me.

Scenario 1: Annual association membership, including conference sponsorships at additional financial investment. Annual cost: Big Bucks. ROI: Great potential for new relationship building. Speaking opportunities. This group has the right people, but are we meeting them?? It’s definitely valuable, but expensive. Not too sure, but I need answers.

Continue Reading Breaking up is hard to do – Vendor Style

Monday morning and I have 30 emails (after deleting all the spam). Pretty standard.

Interestingly, there are some great legal business conferences and seminars being advertised by ARK, ACI, etc. that I would love to attend, or send some of my partners. Unfortunately, they are ALL in New York or Chicago.

What is it about the West Coast? We get NO love. Or very little love from the conference organizers.

I know that our naturally grown AmLaw 100 firms have all pretty much relocated their operations to New York in hopes of re-branding as a “national” or “global” firm, but there are still a lot of lawyers and law firms operating successfully from San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Portland, Seattle, not to forget our suburbs as well.

Might I suggest dipping a toe or ten in our waters? Host an event or two and build a following here? Might I suggest coming out in January. We have no snow, and, in L.A. and San Diego, we always have a burst of 80* weather to rub in the noses of our East Coast pals.

May I recommend Terranea as a location? L.A.’s ocean front resort? Check out the views …

The West Coast will be looking really good in a couple months. You might want to try it.

Some pictures just say it all, and Matt Homann nailed it with this one: 20131029-145415.jpg
As I am listening to Deb McMurray review her study, 2012-2013 AM Law 100 Websites Foundational Best Practices Survey, gotta say, some things just never change. When I am going over a bio review with my partners I tell them to read the bio from your clients’ viewpoint, and answer this series of questions:

Do you represent companies like mine? With business issues like mine? And do you have the solutions I am seeking?

If you cannot answer these simple questions, then your bio is crap to the reader. They are not there to figure out if you are a Super Lawyer, but if you can solve the problem that is keeping them up at night. If you cannot answer these simple questions, don’t worry about SEO, navigation, or any other concerns a web consultant is concerned about. It doesn’t matter if the content isn’t there and relevant to the visitor. So, once again: 1. Do you represent companies like mine? 2. Do you handle BUSINESS problems like mine? 3. Can you SOLVE business problems like mine? HT to Jeff Yerkey/Right Hat because he is sitting next to me and asked me to say hi.

I’ve been working on the business side of law for a long time now. I have attended NUMEROUS general counsel panels. I have read study after study. And I have to ask, “Are any of you listening?”

I was at a presentation yesterday with the good folks at Thomson Reuters. They put up a slide of the general counsel’s top concerns. And then they put up a slide of the managing partners top concerns.

I, being me, raised my hand and asked: “What do you have to say about the complete disconnect between what the GCs are concerned about and what’s keeping the MPs up at tnight?”

I think I caught them off guard with that question because the next slides had nothing to do with bridging the gap between the disconnect.

According to a recently released Altman Weil Chief Legal Officer Survey:

Inside – Outside Relationship
When asked to select the service improvements and innovations they would most like to see from their outside counsel, three of the top four CLO responses involved costs and pricing. CLOs’ first choice for change in law firm services was improved budget forecasting, followed by greater cost reduction, more efficient project management and non-hourly based pricing structures.

However, Chief Legal Officers appear to have little hope that law firms will rise to the challenge. For the fifth straight year, the survey asked CLOs to rate how serious law firms are about changing their legal service delivery model to provide greater value – and for the fifth year, the median rating was a dismal ‘3’ on a scale of 0 (not at all serious) to 10 (doing everything they can).

To balance the picture, CLOs were also asked how much pressure corporations are putting on law firms to change the value proposition. CLOs rated themselves at a median 5 on the scale, as they have for four of the last five years.

After five years of similar responses to this pair of questions, it’s seems pretty clear that Chief Legal Officers have decided to tackle these problems themselves, rather than rely on outside counsel to partner with them on change.

Yet survey after survey of managing partners still show law firms are way too focused and concerned about how to increase rates and billable hours as a strategic goal. Yes, they understand that they are under pressure to increase value to the client, but they don’t want to do so at the expense of their rates and hours.

Tim Corcoran wrote a great piece this week on Big Data: Big Deal or Big Win? I will pay him the highest compliment I can and say that I circulated the post to all my partners with a ‘MUST READ” in the subject header.

Tim breaks down how corporate legal departments and law firms can use their data to make predictive costs to manage projects, and clients.

I’m going to say it again, “Until a law firm places as much emphasis on achieving their clients’ highest goals, we will continue to run around in circles.”

Clients do not want us to not make money or be profitable. They want us to be efficient. They want to know where the hell their money is going. And they want to know that THEIR money is well spent.

They want to know, before they sign on the dotted line, what the project will cost, what the deliverables are, and what they can expect.

Clients do not want surprises.

Law firms want to be profitable. But sometimes they don’t know what that means or how to measure it. Working in a cost-center, I get that. You want to make money, so you often times look to where you can save money, or where the ROI does not directly link back to revenue.

Yes, it costs money to launch a new website. No, I will never be able to link back, with certainty, where we brought in a new client because of a website launch. Just like I cannot tell you how much business or opportunities you have lost out on because you haven’t updated your web bio in 15 years. How many people have clicked on and clicked off because there just wasn’t any content there to read? (Memo to self: send out annual reminder to attorneys to update bios with this year’s wins and accomplishments.)

Times they are a changing.

The habits of the new generation of decision makers is nothing like the prior ones. We all have to adapt to one another. To listen to what the other is saying. Private practice attorneys HAVE to pay attention to what their client are saying and what they want. It is just too easy in this 2.0 world to find someone else who will.

Associate Residency Programs: It’s Time

Between reading The Lawyer Bubble and this article from The American Lawyer, Calling All Unemployed Law Grads: Greenberg Is Hiring, I have to say, “It’s time, already.”

Well, in truth, I have said it before. Several times, actually. Click here to see >> Law Firm Internship posts on the Legal Watercooler.

What do we need to do to start a required residency program for recent law school graduates? A true internship where they will be vetted, properly trained, and find the niche that best fits their skill set and personalities?

We KNOW that the best of the best law schools DO NOT prepare lawyers for the actual work and practice of the law.

We KNOW that law firms are required to take these highly educated people with no skills and teach them how to be lawyers, versus a law school graduate.

And we all KNOW, wink wink, that the summer associate programs are not training grounds either.

So why not acknowledge what we all know and fix a problem that needs fixing already?

Have a 1-2 year internship where these young graduates get to rotate through the different departments: corporate, litigation, tax, IP, regulators, etc.

Let them find where their interests lie, and where they fit in as well.

Let them transition from student to corporate flack, learn the ropes of working in an office (the very first real job for most), and dive in in year two on a specialty.

Let them spend time not only working client files, but coming out of the shadows and attending client meetings, depositions, going to court to just listen and learn, without the pressure to bill, bill, bill (over bill).

And, yes, be paid a lot less money. Why? Because they are learning. They are not providing value … yet.

At the end of year two the associate will be as prepared and trained as they can be. The firm can then offer them a full-time position at a proper market rate, or they will be better equipped to take their skills to another platform, which they are doing any way.

And before anyone says, “They’ll never do it,” why give them a choice?

Doctors do not leave medical school without going through rotations. They don’t graduate and start treating patients the following Monday. They go through a residency program. And, for many, they follow that up by a fellowship. All the while making a moderate salary.

I hope more and more firms jump on the internship bandwagon. Properly train these young associates on not only the skills they need to practice law, but the skills they will need to manage the business-side of the law firm (including rotations in accounting, marketing, and IT).

Like most things legal-industry, the law firms will only be pushed into change by client pressure. But it would be nice to see a proactive partnership between the Association of Corporate Counsel, the American Bar Association, the state bar associations, and the law firms to come up with a system that will provide a platform for success.

After all, these young associates are coming out of school with $200,000+ in debt. They cannot afford to fail. Law school is too expensive to be a mistake.

Oh, you know how I feel about unsolicited and pitches from vendors I’ve never heard of before getting their call/email.

I just have to say, Philip Lew, whoever the hell you are, you got me with your prose.

I want you to personally know that I couldn’t delete or mark-as-spam your e-mail, as it moved me beyond words. So I’ll just share it with my readers:

Legalwatercoolerblog.com Team,

I thought you might like to know some reasons why you are not getting enough Social Media and Organic search engine traffic for Legalwatercoolerblog.com.

1. Your website Legalwatercoolerblog.com is not ranking top in Google organic searches for many competitive keyword phrases.

2. Your company is not doing well in most of the Social Media Websites.

3. Your site is not user friendly on mobile devices.

There are many additional improvements that could be made to your website, and if you would like to learn about them, and are curious to know what our working together would involve, then I would be glad to provide you with a detailed analysis in the form of a WEBSITE AUDIT REPORT for FREE.

Our clients consistently tell us that their customers find them because they are at the top of the Google search rankings. Being at the top left of Google (#1- #3 organic positions) is the best thing you can do for your company’s website traffic and online reputation. You will be happy to know that, my team is willing to guarantee you 1st page Google ranking for most of your targeted keyword phrases in our six month ongoing campaign.

Sound interesting? Feel free to email us or alternatively you can provide me with your phone number and the best time to call you. I am also available to meet you in person and present you this website audit report.
—————————————————————–
Best Regards,

Philip Lew

Marketing Consultant

PS I: I am not spamming. I have studied your website and believe I can help with your business promotion. If you still want us to not contact you, you can ignore this email or ask to remove and I will not contact again.

PS II: I found your site using Google search and after having a look over your website I recommend you to implement future technologies such as HTML5 and Responsive Design to make your site more accessible in mobile phone, tablets, desktop etc.

I get these emails with every post I make, so I know they come from spam-bots (no need to educate me on this one), but I am still taken aback by the tactic, and does this actually work?

Your blog sucks, so hire me to fix it. Hmmmmm. Is that like telling me I look fat in this dress, so you can work with me as a personal shopper?

At least Cassie Griggs tried to butter me up before I flagged her/it as spam:

I have read so many articles or reviews on the topic of the blogger lovers however this piece of writing is actually a nice paragraph, keep it up.

The Beach Body people don’t call me fat … they just send me pictures of people who look better than me in a bathing suit.

Come on, Philip. At least offer a girl a plaque.

busy-ladyI am not a huge promoter of products and services. So when I do, I mean it. I am a big fan of David Allen and his book Getting Things Done. Around 10 years ago, before he hit the stratosphere, I had David lead a program for my then-firm’s attorneys. He was so incredible that they asked if we could have him back. I used his systems. Still love my label maker. But I have been having trouble lately trying to get a system that worked across all my digital platforms, incorporating work, my personal life, Girl Scouts, my LMA commitments. Outlook just wasn’t cutting it. And this weekend I let something slip through the cracks. I forgot to sign my daughter signed up for a spring break trip and now it’s full. Ugh. While bitching and moaning about it to the Sports Dude, he commented that with so much going on in my life it’s amazing more things don’t fall through the cracks. Which sounds like a great thing to say when your wife is kicking herself for forgetting to do something so simple, but I have a life where I cannot let things slip through the cracks. Ever. I work with lawyers. So I decided to dust off my Getting Things Done and clean up my systems. OMG. Yes, There is an APP for this!! Finally!! It’s Get It Done. While not an official product of David Allen Company, it does rock the GTD philosophy. I love that I can use it on my desktop. I have it downloaded on my iPhone and my iPad. Everything is synced together. I need to figure out what to do when offline … but I’ll get there. InBox All I have to do is BCC my Get it Done inbox on an email and poof, there’s my project. While sitting on the train on the way home, I can file all my projects. First up, I assign it a an Area (Girl Scouts, Legal Marketing, Personal, Work), and then create a project. I can set reminder notes and tags. Ooooohh, and I get an email each morning reminding me what’s on tap for today: email My Outlook inbox is at ZERO at the moment. My Get it Done inbox will be at ZERO in a few minutes as I continue to file the items I just emailed myself. I might have FINALLY found the right solution. For $39/year, sounds like a good investment to me. As for my daughter, she is #3 on the waiting list that has about 17 kids on it. If she can round up another 13 they will open up another group and she’s good to go. But if you’d like to buy some See’s Candy, let me know … she’s fundraising for her spot.

My daughter is in middle school. The breeding ground for haters and bullies, so it is a conversation we are constantly having in our home.

Thinking back on my middle (then junior) high school days, at the same school, and my experience as an adult, I just told her:

You’re nobody without haters.

Haters are gonna hate. Bullies are going to bully. But really, I think they are just fans and secret admirers, but their egos won’t let them say so.

Think of it this way: You must be doing something right if you are ruffling feathers.

So embrace your bullies and haters.

Over the few weeks there are several Legal Marketing Association-related conferences, in addition to the local chapter and City Group events:

Ready. Set. Let the #LMAMKT AND #LMACME trolls go!!

Oh, the attacks on the speakers. What we do. What we say.

The attacks on the content. The profession.

It won’t stop all day. And then they’ll get mad when no one engages with them.

I don’t know about you, but when I really don’t like someone or something, I just ignore it. It’s called apathy. I just don’t care.

So, just for today and tomorrow, I will remind all of you to ignore the haters and bullies. As a story teller, I have my own reasoning (ask me about it tomorrow) as to why our haters HATE legal marketers so much. Continue Reading Haters, bullies, fans and secret admirers – LMA style

pointing-finger-vector1I was at a conference earlier this week, hanging out with the other exhibitors. Speaking with different marketing, business development folks from different industries. There were seasoned professionals. Entry level sales people learning the ropes. A mixed and diverse crowd from product to service providers. Inevitably the conversation would turn to the state of business and how we were gaining and retaining clients/customers. I started testing out my generational marketing positions, to see if others are seeing and experiencing what I am seeing and experiencing. Is my hypothesis of the generational shift in management impacting direction all in my head, or am I on to something? I spoke with one gentleman about 10 years older than me. A true Baby Boomer. He was being asked to do things differently than he’s been doing it for decades. He didn’t get all this marketing and outreach. What about relationships and how they used to do it? He wanted to go back “there,” wherever “there” was. He was being challenged by the times and he was definitely outside his comfort zone. When I referenced the Millennials, his retort was: “Is that the ‘entitled generation’ they’re always talking about?” And then he went on a mini rant.

You are running around, lamenting the advent of technology, the evolution of business practices, your resistance to change, and “Why can’t we go back to business as usual?” and you call THEM entitled?? Is it not as arrogant and entitled to expect the business world to never shift its axis because it will force you to change and evolve? To grow? Learn new things? Is it not entitled to expect your clients to use a certain software because it will be too expensive for you, the service provider, to upgrade and train your staff? And, besides, no one in your office wants to learn how to use it anyway? Is it not entitled to expect your clients to receive information the way YOU want to send it, not the way they want to receive it? Is it not entitled to expect your clients to slow down because you do not want to catch up? And when I start playing with the numbers, are not these members of this so called “entitled” generation the spawn of the Baby Boomers and older GenXers? The same ones who are now lamenting their existence? In my program we discuss making others feel less than to make you feel better about yourself. And is that not what you are doing every time you dismiss a Millennial as “entitled”? Are you not attempting to make yourself feel better in your own limited world by refusing to open yourself up and see where the Millennials and younger GenXers are getting it right? Millennials put family and personal life first. They want a true work/life balance. They cherish experiences. They don’t want to waste all of the daylight hours in an office with artificial lighting. They are happy to get the work done, they just don’t see why it has to be done between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (or 8:00 p.m. to prove how “loyal” they are), or within the walls of your ivory tower rather than from their laptop at home. And they are not necessarily driven by the same dollar that you are. While my peers bitched, moaned and complained about their Blackberrys interrupting their personal lives back in the ’90s, I embraced mine as liberating me from my desk so I could go have a life. And I never looked back. I don’t want to go back to the “way things were” any more than my great grandparents wanted to go back to the horse & buggy days once they bought the first automobile on their block, or the telegraph v. telephones, or rail travel v. air travel, or landlines v. cellphones, or card catalogs v. Google. Every generation will bitch and moan about the next. (Really?? Twerking??) But it’s not going to stop it from coming, changing, or the world evolving. And, yes, it’s happening at a quicker pace. So be careful when pointing that one finger towards “they” who are “entitled.” I was taught that when you point one finger out, there are three more pointing back at you.