It’s the beginning of a new year, and the client “road shows” are starting. Nothing like popping into town, meeting with your client, and having nothing meaningful or new to say.

What??? I’ve been doing this for a little while now and I cannot tell you the countless times I have received a call from a partner (or better yet, their assistant) saying “Hi Heather, I’m leaving later this afternoon to meet with some clients on the East Coast. Do you have any brochures I can take to leave behind?” Ugh!!!! Talk about wasting a perfect opportunity to add VALUE to your relationship with your client. Please, my lawyer friends, take this simple piece of advice: Leave the brochures at home and prepare a custom report for your clients. With a little advanced warning, this should not be a problem for any marketing professional to prepare, with your input and assistance. First Step: Take out a legal pad and ask yourself these two questions:

  1. You’re going to visit your client because …
  2. Your client cares that you’re coming to visit because …

(Question #2 is the more important one, by the way.) For some of you, these visits will be a prime opportunity for a client service review, and you can check with companies such as Wicker Park Group, Kohn Communication, and The WJF Institute for standard questions to ask. However, if your goal is to remind your client who you are, meet the new general counsel, garner more work, here are a few action items for you to take: Pre-step: If your firm has an in-house marketing professional, book a meeting several weeks prior to your trip so that they can prepare a comprehensive packet for you. If you do not have a marketing professional, you can still take these steps on your own.

  1. Prepare a short memo on all open matters for the client. If there are no open matters, prepare a review of recent matters handled for the client.
  2. If you are meeting with a new general counsel, make certain to include a review of all matters, and include bios and DIRECT contact information for the attorneys working on their matters.
  3. Prepare a short memo on litigation trends in your state, especially against the client and the client’s key competitors. Show them what “might” be on the horizon. You can use either West’s Monitor Suite or LexisNexis’ Total Litigator to quickly prepare a report. You can identify your client’s competitors via a product like Hoovers. Yahoo Finance will list competitors for public companies as well.
  4. Prepare a short memo on new laws, newly introduced bills, pending regulatory issues, etc. which might affect the client’s business and business interests.
  5. Include a list of CLE courses that your firm can teach – at no cost – to the client’s legal team.
  6. Prepare a list of “other” companies to visit while on your road trip who are similar to your current client. Hoovers is a great tool to identify these companies. If you cannot find an introduction to the legal counsel via your firm’s partners, or LinkedIn, you can ask your clients for an introduction while there. PLEASE NOTE: There are “competitors” and then there are “competitors.” Don’t ask your PepsiCo client for a reference over at Coca-Cola. However, your PepsiCo client will happily introduce you to their bottling company, a subsidiary, etc. Similarly, Carl’s Jr. won’t introduce you to McDonald’s, but they might happily introduce you to their contacts at Taco Bell.
  7. Download and READ the client’s annual report, recent financial filings, etc.
  8. Conduct a Google search of your client – review all Web, News and Blog entries. Make certain to do this one more time the morning of your meeting.
  9. Review your client’s Web site, taking special note of the Press Release section. Once again, make certain to review this the day of your meeting.
  10. Google everyone who will be in the meeting with you (ask in advance who will be joining you). Look for points of commonality.
  11. If you have not done so already, connect with your client via LinkedIn. Review their connections and take note of any introductions you would like made.
  12. Understand and appreciate your client’s BUSINESS as a whole, not just the legal work they send your way. Read industry journals to understand the current business, economic, political and legal trends facing your client.

Producing your materials

  1. Now, it is important to present this information in a clean, clear and professionally produced fashion that DOES NOT look like a deposition, and is written, for the most part, in English (as opposed to legalese). Dump those 1-2-3 and A-B-C tabs.
  2. You can create your documents just fine in Word. Just take the tutorial on how to use Styles. The trick here is the consistency of your fonts, headers, etc.
  3. Print out your materials onto a good quality paper, and off a good quality printer, preferably color.
  4. Utilize a wire or coil binding system. This will help you avoid that “deposition” look and feel.
  5. If you cannot do this in-house, I have two words for you: FedEx Office. You can upload and print directly from your computer, and pick up at the most convenient FedEx Office.

IF you didn’t notice the themes in this post, they are PREPARATION and CLIENT FOCUS. Add VALUE to your client relationships, and you will achieve your goals. Part 2: Client Road Show … What to Do When You Get to the Meeting?

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Romeo & Juliet, Act II, Scene II

A name says a lot. Just ask the folks whose name are on the door of your firm (or whose names are not). A new name signals a change, a new beginning, or perhaps an end.

Yesterday many of us received notice that Jaffe Public Relations has rebranded itself Jaffe PR … the R now standing for Reputation.

Reputation management is not a new term in the corporate arena, but one that has not been front and center within the legal marketplace. However, managing a firm’s (and it’s attorneys) reputation in today’s 2.0 world should be the focus of every marketing and PR professional servicing a law firm

According to Jaffe,

Law Firm Public Reputation encompasses all of the promotional work a law firm needs to do, in various combinations, to sustain a reputation and build more business.

It is the blend of law firm public relations disciplines, including: advertising, media relations, face to face and social networking, optimized content, Web sites, online marketing, crisis communications, legal rankings, speaking engagements, strategic planning and brand recognition now being recognized as law firm Public Reputation Management.

Building a solid reputation involves more relationships with more constituents than ever before.  A law firm’s audiences now span much wider than ever before:  prospects, clients, referral sources, laterals, employees, bloggers, journalists, rankings publishers, event organizers and more.

I would like to wish the best of luck to our friends at Jaffe with their new brand and focus.

I’ve written a few times about how I feel law schools are letting students down. I make my living working with lawyers, and I enjoy working within the profession. However, there are thousands of kids hoping to ride out the recession by going to law school not fully realizing the consequences of taking on an astronomical amount of debt in today’s job market. Buyer Beware: very few of you will attend a top tier law school and graduate in the top 10% of your class, and be offered a job making $145,000 – $160,000 per year. The ABA Journal is reporting that 1/3 of all law school grads will graduate $120,000 in debt:

Twenty-nine percent of law students surveyed said they expect to owe more than $120,000 at graduation, up from 23 percent in 2008, 19 percent in 2007 and 18 percent in 2006. The findings come from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (PDF), which garnered responses from 26,641 law students at 82 law schools in spring 2009.

Yet the huge debt load isn’t having much of an effect on career choices, the survey found. Of those 3Ls who expected to owe more than $120,000, 32 percent planned to enter public interest law jobs, compared to 27 percent of students who expected to graduate with no student debt. Similarly, 49 percent of those with the highest expected debt load planned to work at private law firms, compared to 52 percent of those with no expected debt.

And then I read Debt: The Silent Killer in today’s ATL. It should be required reading for all law students.

I graduated law school in 2003, owing Harvard University just under $150,000. At the time, I had no idea what starting my professional career $150K in the hole would do to my life. I figured I’d work hard, make money, and I’d pay my loans out of my general non-disposable income funds — kind of like my cable bill. Seven years, two careers, numerous deferments and defaults, and one global economic meltdown later, I still owe a ton of money. Now, however, I pay it to various debt collection agencies and lawyers. When prospective landlords run a pro forma credit check on my application, they come back looking at me like I’ve been convicted of multiple war crimes. Every raise I’ll ever get will be eaten up by the collection agencies until sweet death allows me one everlasting and satisfying default. And, oh yeah, I don’t even want to practice law anymore — I quit my Biglaw job because, despite the debt, I really wanted to have a job that I enjoyed. So I essentially purchased a $150,000 disposable good. My time working in Biglaw was kind of like a very expensive vacation that I debt financed. I mention all this because I am the cautionary tale prospective law students never want to think about. I mention all this because it is noble to crush false hope. I mention all this because there are way too many people poised to follow in my financially ruinous steps.

I’m not saying don’t go to law school … I’m just saying make certain that you do your due diligence. That you are aware of the debt to job potential out there. That you are making the right choice. That you are doing so with full awareness.

I don’t like marketing plans. For the most part, they’re too long, too complicated, too detailed, too focused on what you think someone else expects of you. They are too easy to forget, toss into a drawer and ignore. I do believe that they have a place, but I think they need to be as simple as possible if they are to be lived (see A Simple Marketing Plan).
I feel the same way about New Year’s resolutions. They too are too big, too complicated, too focused on another person’s ideals (anyone resolve to lose 10 lbs this year???), too unattainable, and too easily broken.

However, I do believe in daily goals and daily resolutions. Come on, I can do anything for just one day. Just for today:

  • I can clean out my in-box of today’s messages before I leave the office
  • I can call a client (in my case, an in-house attorney at my firm)
  • I can write a blog post
  • I can return the phone calls on my list
  • I can prep the ad for the magazine
  • I can schedule the ad placement for that conference
  • I can participate in networking (online or in person)
  • I can make plans for an in-person meeting with a fellow legal marketer
  • I can go to the gym and follow my trainer’s food plan
  • I can give more than I take

Just for today I can set goals and achieve them. By setting daily resolutions and having daily goals, I am setting myself up for success. By doing this, day after day, I will achieve something wonderful over a span of time (could be one week or one year). The end results might not be exactly what others expect, or what I expected myself, however, the flexibility will allow me to alter my plans as to best accomplish what needs to get done today. Flexibility will allow me to adjust my sails to the changes in the economy, in technology, in my personal and professional relationships. By focusing on what can and must be accomplished today, I can set aside worrying about things that I have no power or control over (yet). I’m not saying, implying or inferring in any way, shape or form that you should not have, nor should you abandon, long-term plans and goals. I am just saying, break those action steps into daily activities, actions and resolutions. Focus on what can and must be done today. Yeah, it does sound easier said than done, but, then again, I can do anything for just one day.

Marketing plans should not be complicated. They shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to put together. If there are more than five bullet points, you’ll never live it because you won’t remember it.

Oh, you can wrap numbers around what this all means – dollars, percentages, billable hours, revenue billed, received or realized – but those are the reports that end up in the drawer never to be seen again until it’s updated for 2011.

For most lawyers, you only need to concern yourself with a few things. And, if you’re like me, you never know where to start. So, here’s a starting point for you:
1) Current clients. What are you going to do to keep them happy so they keep sending you work?
a.
b.
c.
2) Referral sources: What are you going to do to keep them happy so they keep referring you new clients?
a.
b.
c.
3) Potential new clients & referral sources: What are you going to do to get their attention, and convert them into a current client/referral source?
a.
b.
c.
4) Reputation management: What are you going to do to get the word out about the services you provide?
a.
b.
c.
5) Communication: How are you going to communicate points 1-4?
a.
b.
c.
Now, it’s up to you to fill in the sub-bullets.

I have had a very long year, but one that has also gone by so quickly. I am so blessed, in so many ways, and while I am not immune from a pity pot, I never want to lose sight of all that is good in my world.

Yes, I’ve had some big changes in my personal life, yet nothing has prevented me from going to work every day, showing up as a mother, participating as a Girl Scout Leader, being present for my family and friends, or giving back to others who might not be as fortunate as I.

I know a lot of people out there are hurting every day: financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I sat in conversation with a woman last night who told me how she saved, a dollar at a time, here and there, $70 to purchase a Christmas gift for her 16-year old son. I have close family and friends battling illness, unemployment, and economic uncertainty. While I too feel worried about today’s economy, and have concerns for my personal financial security and that of my children, I have to turn to my blessings:

  • My children are healthy
  • My home is warm
  • My heart is filled with love
  • I have an abundance of friends, family and colleagues

May the season be filled with love, joy and peace for you and yours. May your New Year bring about new beginnings, new hope and new happiness.

Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

Heather Morse-Milligan

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Hey everyone, I finally took the 5 minutes to switch The Legal Watercooler over to a custom domain. We can now be found at www.legalwatercoolerblog.com.

Why the wait?? First of all, I assumed it would take longer to do than it did. Literally 5 minutes. Big bad on my part, but I started this blog as an experiment to learn about blogging, and I guess I learned a good lesson. I never really expected the success I have achieved with The Legal Watercooler. I started it for fun and for free, never imagining that I was building my own personal brand. So a personalized domain was never at the top of my list … once again, my bad, and lesson learned.

Why this domain?? Because someone snagged my domain while I snoozed. May I repeat … my bad. I had purchased, via a proxy, www.legalwatercooler dot com a year plus ago. I knew I’d convert over, but I had some other more pressing matters to take care of first. My ownership expired last month and a consultant to the legal industry bought it..

Oh, well, guess I learned a good lesson there … leave the cannoli, buy the domain.

Heather Morse-Milligan

Update: I deleted a paragraph where I was, well, snide, to say the least, towards the purchaser of the domain. That was, to quote myself, “my bad,” and I do apologize.

It’s the end of the year and as an attorney you are most likely sitting behind a closed office door trying to 1) bill, bill, bill to hit your numbers; or 2) collect, collect, collect to hit your numbers.

In between all of this closed-door time, I have a few simple “marketing” suggestions you can slip in when no one is looking:

  1. Review your firm bio. Do you need to update your cases? Speaking engagements? Articles? Does the narrative portion of your bio reflect what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it well? Does the narrative reflect the work that you want to do for the right types of clients??
  2. Call a client ever day and wish them a happy holiday. Yes, I know your secretary sent them a firm holiday card that you might or might not have signed, but a telephone call or voicemail, with no expectations of personal gain, is a nice touch.
  3. If your firm has a blog write a short post on a key business or legal issue your clients would find interesting. Something that has affected the way they conduct business (as opposed to how you make money). You can then send out a short e-mail to your clients, with a direct link to the post.
  4. Send a gift to your top 10 clients and referral sources. If you bill out at $500 per hour, why not spend $250 to show your appreciation. If your firm won’t pay for the gifts, then make the investment yourself.
  5. Write a LinkedIn or AVVO recommendation for a colleague, client or a referral source. Take time to note what differentiates this person from others in their peer network.
  6. Speaking of LinkedIn, if you don’t have a profile, or your profile is limited, invest an hour in updating the information posted. Sync your Outlook Contacts and start connecting with current clients, referral sources. Search out “lost” or “forgotten” clients and reconnect. Do a search of your law school classmates. Reach out to those you remember, even ever so slightly. What about that group you Summered with back when law firms still had summer programs?
  7. Join some LinkedIn Groups that reflect your clients’ industries, your specific legal specialty or practice, and your personal interests as well. You will also be able to find and join groups for your college, fraternity, sorority, etc.
  8. Reevaluate what you did in 2009 when it comes to marketing and business development. What worked well? What can you do better? What can you drop? What can you pass along to a junior partner or an associate?
  9. Stay on top of the news in 2010. Search out blogs on topics that are of interest to you and your clients and subscribe to the RSS Feeds via a Reader (I use Google Reader). These can include legal, business development/sales, legal marketing, industry specific blogs, etc.
  10. Pick up the phone and schedule some in-person meetings for after the New Year. Nothing, nothing, nothing will help you develop relationships like face-time. Visit your clients (if they are in another city); take a client to lunch (if they are down the block). If you have identified a new/potential client/referral source via social networking or social media, move the relationship ON-line.

Whatever you choose to do when your office door is closed is up to you. Just don’t wait until the door is closed on a relationship to do something.

It’s been a bit busy in my law firm life, but not so busy that I can’t find and appreciate legal/law firm humor.

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OK. The funniest bit about this video is 1) how truthful it is; and 2) how bad the audio is, but in a funny way.

Beyond the (bad) humor is the truth. As I have said here and here, when it comes to law school, are you willing to gamble $100,000 in the hope that you MIGHT have a job upon graduation day?

Karen Sloan’s article, “Going to law school? Proceed with caution,” in the National Law Journal (subscription required) summed it up well:

“Far too many law students expect that earning a law degree will solve their financial problems for life,” reads a recent message posted on the ABA’s Web site from the organization’s Commission on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs. “In reality, however, attending law school can become a financial burden for law students who fail to consider carefully the financial implications of their decision.”

‘BUYER’S REMORSE’
That message is at the core of A Law School Carol, which was produced by a 2009 graduate of a second-tier law school who has not been able to find a legal job and now is looking for work in other fields — a search he chronicles on his blog, Esq. Never. He views his decision to go to law school as a costly mistake (his debt is in the “six figures”), and hopes his blog and YouTube videos will prompt potential law students to delve beyond the conventional wisdom. A law degree is not a golden ticket, nor is law school a good place for directionless college graduates to plot their next move, he said.

“Like a lot of people, I took society’s view that law school is a good career move and leads to a stable job,” said the unnamed blogger behind Esq. Never, who agreed to an interview on condition of anonymity because he does not want to hurt his job prospects. “Unfortunately, I think a lot of employment career statistics aren’t accurate, and I ended up with buyer’s remorse.”

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfTyF_p1kUg&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

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The best message from the videos? Before deciding to go to law school, educate yourself and make an informed decision BEFORE you invest the money.

The ABA Journal just released their 3rd Annual Top 100 Blawgs. And while The Legal Watercooler isn’t on the list (WHAT???). some of my favorite blawgs are, including:

So take a look at this year’s top blawgs, add the RSS Feeds of your favorites to your reader, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite blawg in each category.