Legal Commentary

Getting Feedback from Your Best Clients

Posted on March 01, 2010
If you want to build a long term relationship with your clients, you need to elicit feedback. Conducting client interviews is one way to get this crucial insight. For more, here is my latest article in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

The Sweet Smell of Success

Posted on February 28, 2010
Even in good times (and by most measures, these are not good times) it is difficult to execute a long term marketing strategy. We are not wired as humans for delayed gratification. We want what we want now; no one wants to voluntarily postpone rewards for months or years...

The Sweet Smell of Success

Posted on February 28, 2010
Even in good times (and by most measures, these are not good times) it is difficult to execute a long term marketing strategy. We are not wired as humans for delayed gratification. We want what we want now; no one wants to voluntarily postpone rewards for months or years...

Get Help When You Need It

Posted on February 24, 2010
This post is dedicated to my accountant (who I generally resist contacting because after all, I'm smart and I should be able to figure this stuff out myself!) The other day, I was struggling with a tax question. I knew there was probably an easy answer, so I decided to run some computations myself...

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Get Help When You Need It

Posted on February 24, 2010
This post is dedicated to my accountant (who I generally resist contacting because after all, I'm smart and I should be able to figure this stuff out myself!) The other day, I was struggling with a tax question. I knew there was probably an easy answer, so I decided to run some computations myself...

Getting Your Life Priorities Straight-a Fictional Account

Posted on February 16, 2010
I'm not a big reader of fiction. With three teenagers, a wife who works full-time, a coaching business to run and a dog who also deserves some attention, I can still find time for squash. I even find time to do a fair amount of professional reading...

Getting Your Life Priorities Straight-a Fictional Account

Posted on February 16, 2010
I'm not a big reader of fiction. With three teenagers, a wife who works full-time, a coaching business to run and a dog who also deserves some attention, I can still find time for squash. I even find time to do a fair amount of professional reading...

What's In a Name?

Posted on February 08, 2010
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.Clearly Shakespeare was not giving advice about marketing when he wrote those lines in Romeo and Juliet. What you call your business can have a great impact on how you are perceived by potential clients...

What's In a Name?

Posted on February 08, 2010
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.Clearly Shakespeare was not giving advice about marketing when he wrote those lines in Romeo and Juliet. What you call your business can have a great impact on how you are perceived by potential clients...

Check Your Checks and Balances

Posted on February 05, 2010
This post by Jim Rhyner, worldwide lawyers professional liability insurance product manager, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is one of a series of guest posts on CounseltoCounsel. Special thanks to Jim for his contributions.In my last Counsel to Counsel post, I talked about recent financial scandals in the legal profession...

Check Your Checks and Balances

Posted on February 01, 2010
This post by Jim Rhyner, worldwide lawyers professional liability insurance product manager, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is one of a series of guest posts on CounseltoCounsel. Special thanks to Jim for his contributions.In my last Counsel to Counsel post, I talked about recent financial scandals in the legal profession...

If You Want to Build Business Relationships, Go for Small Gatherings

Posted on January 23, 2010
Every few years, I decide I'm going to attend the annual dinner of one of the charities I support. The event is touted as a great place for lawyers to meet each other but in truth, it's really a lousy way to meet new lawyers. I go because it provides me with a quick way to shake a lot of hands (i...

If You Want to Build Business Relationships, Go for Small Gatherings

Posted on January 23, 2010
Every few years, I decide I'm going to attend the annual dinner of one of the charities I support. The event is touted as a great place for lawyers to meet each other but in truth, it's really a lousy way to meet new lawyers. I go because it provides me with a quick way to shake a lot of hands (i...

8 Rules for Social Media Use

Posted on January 21, 2010
I've posted again as a guest blogger on the MA LOMAP blog. If you haven't seen any of my earlier posts about LOMAP on this blog (and you are a lawyer in Massachusetts looking for cost effective resources to help you run and market your practice ( i.e...

8 Rules for Social Media Use

Posted on January 21, 2010
I've posted again as a guest blogger on the MA LOMAP blog. If you haven't seen any of my earlier posts about LOMAP on this blog (and you are a lawyer in Massachusetts looking for cost effective resources to help you run and market your practice ( i.e...

Social Media and Your Overall Marketing Plan in the New Year

Posted on January 05, 2010
This Thursday, January 7, I'll be leading a discussion on how to integrate social media into your overall marketing plan. The session is sponsored by the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP), a relatively new entity that is already doing great things to improve the quality of legal practice in Massachusetts...

LinkedIn Poll Results

Posted on December 15, 2009
My wholly unscientific poll about LinkedIn has confirmed what I already thought: i.e. no one is really getting clients directly from LinkedInAlmost 1/2 of the respondents make minimal use of the tool. But the poll also shows that about 1/2 of my respondents have found it to be a useful way to strengthen relationships...

Keeping Up Appearances Could Cost Your Firm

Posted on December 14, 2009
This guest post by Jim Rhyner, Worldwide Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance Product Manager, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, is part of an effort to diversify the voices and opinions that appear in Counsel to Counsel. From pro athletes to Wall Street executives, big paychecks beget big egos ? and the same is often true in the legal profession...

Poll on LinkedIn Benefits

Posted on December 13, 2009
I've posted a poll on LinkedIn to find out how people in my network are benefiting from using LinkedIn (if at all). Click here if you would like to participate. If I get back any interesting results, I'll post the results on this blog.

Don't Forget to Turn On-line Relationships Into Off-Line Relationships

Posted on December 05, 2009
Social media helps us to greatly expand our reach. Through Web 2.0 tools, we can connect with professionals who we might not otherwise come in contact with (because of geographic distance or simply because we travel in different circles) and communicate with them over time...

Keep Up the Momentum During the Holiday Season

Posted on November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving has come and gone and between now and the end of the year, hiring will slow down at most companies. If you are in the unenviable position of job hunting right now, or even if you are gainfully employed but trying to build your law practice, this can be a tough time of year...

It's Not Just About the Fees

Posted on November 23, 2009
There is a lot of talk in corporate counsel circles these days about how to get value from outside firms. The ACC Value Challenge and the ACC Value Index are bringing the issue to center stage at law firms that serve a significant number corporate clients...

I'm Guest Blogging on the MassLOMAP Blog

Posted on November 19, 2009
This organization is providing some great resources to solo and small firm attorneys. I'm happy to add my two cents once in a while but I also look forward to continuing to read their very insightful commentary.

Study: Social Media Increasingly Used by Business Executives

Posted on November 19, 2009
An interesting new study documents that increasingly, CEO's and other business professionals are using social networks to help them in their decision making. Sounds like another good reason to join in the dialogue.

Social Media--On the One Hand, But On the Other Hand

Posted on November 12, 2009
A partner at Nixon Peabody lays out the risks and opportunities. Sounds like a lawyer grappling with the tension between what he knows is reality and what he fears could go wrong.

Nothing New About Legal Outsourcing

Posted on November 10, 2009
Firms have always sent some work outside the company (even offshore). Altman Weil jumps into the fray.

The Power of the Social Media Echo Chamber

Posted on November 06, 2009
Yesterday, Law.com published an article with the headline, Experts: Lower Associate Pay is Here to Stay. It was a provocative headline and one that I continued to see cited throughout the day in the Twitosphere. By the end of the day, I was convinced that lower associate pay was a "done deal"...

Creating a Memorable Blog to Market Your Law Practice

Posted on November 05, 2009
My next free webinar on November 18th.

Cut Hours,Cut Salaries and Increase Profits?

Posted on October 29, 2009
Increase your profitability while increasing work/life balance at your firm--that according to a study published in the ACC Docket.

Do You Send Thank You Notes to Your Referral Sources?

Posted on October 27, 2009
What about gifts? How would you feel if you kept referring work to another professional and never received a thank you?I know what I would do (and what I have done!) I'd stop referring work to that individual.

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