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Legal Marketing & PR

Legal Marketing Blog

By Tom Kane

Post Frequency: 3.6/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 13:55:00

Use a Secret Weapon for Your Next Presentation

Posted on February 23, 2010
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to speak to a trial lawyers' bar association. Not having a lot of experience on the plaintiffs' side of marketing, I decided the best approach would be to get some insight into what the organization was hoping to learn about marketing...

How Can You Stand Out From the Crowd? Do Unto Others

Posted on February 19, 2010
In good times and in bad, getting noticed is obviously a critical factor in developing business. But especially in these economic times, it is even more crucial to be doing the kinds of things that allows your firm to stand out from the crowd. In a post entitled "Getting Noticed" my friend Thom Singer over at Some Assembly Required points out one simple way to do that...

Law Firm Staff - An Untapped Marketing Resource

Posted on February 16, 2010
When I was in-house as the first marketing person in the mid-80's, I had no staff to speak of – as in none, except for a great secretary I shared with a lawyer. You can imagine how much of her time I got. I quickly learned to utilize any staff person - librarian, copy room people, paralegals, etc...

7 Mistakes PI (and Other) Lawyers Make When Marketing

Posted on February 11, 2010
A lot of mistakes made by lawyers when it comes to marketing and business development are pretty simple, and simple to overcome. They just must be recognized and dealt with. A reader sent along an email, which led me to an article by Kenneth Hardison of the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Managing Association (PILMMA) that was short, to the point and worth sharing...

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Is Widespread Use of Alternative Fees Still a Long Way Off?

Posted on February 09, 2010
According to a feature article in this month's InsideCounsel one consultant who helps clients structure alternative fee arrangements "estimates that only about 2% of total legal billings currently are being done on alternative basis - but he contends it's an increasing trend...

Here's a New Niche Legal Practice for Ya

Posted on February 04, 2010
Niche practices can be marketed more effectively and cheaper than a general practice in my opinion. Law firms that promote their niche practices will easily standout from the crowd; and can charge more for the practice, if they do. Two of my posts on niche marketing that come to mind from a few years back include "Narrow Your Niche for More Effective Marketing" and "Do You Have a Niche and What Are You Doing about It?" Take a look, because there is a hot new niche that just came on the market...

Public Speaking: Overcoming Stage Fright

Posted on February 02, 2010
A comment to a recent post of mine led me to a book about overcoming America's No. 1 Fear – public speaking. The title of the book Stage Fright: 40 Stars Tell You How They Beat America's #1 Fear by Mick Berry and Michael Edelstein got my attention...

Get Back To Basics: Throw Out That Technology

Posted on January 28, 2010
Those lawyers who are serious about marketing and business development need to throw away their iPhone and stop with that social media stuff, and get back to basics. Okay, now that I have your attention, and before you 'Baker Act' me (here in Florida people suspected of having mental problems can be incarcerated by the courts for up to 72 hours for a mental examination based on the recommendation of certain officials...

What Keeps Your Clients Up At Night?

Posted on January 26, 2010
If you don't know, shame on you. The most important element in marketing and business development is assuring the most solid, close, concrete, rock-solid, meaningful, close up, personal, etc., etc. (you get the drift) client relationships possible. If that is NOT your main focus, double shame...

Are You Just a Joiner or Doer When It Comes To Organizations?

Posted on January 21, 2010
From a marketing standpoint, I put involvement in organizations as No. 10 on my top ten marketing list of best practices for developing business. And, which organizations and what your 'involvement' consists of are very important. Jaimie Field had post on her blog yesterday entitled 'Rainmaking Recommendation #2 – Join and Join In' that speaks to those points...

When It Comes To Public Speaking, Ignite Your Audience

Posted on January 19, 2010
There are many who say when it comes to speeches, as for a lot of things in life, less is more. I'm not sure whether that's based on lousy speeches, or by keeping it short, it's easier to get your point(s) across more effectively. Whatever is the case I think brief is better when my priest gives a short homily; and although you may think it's because I want to get out of church quicker, that is actually not the case...

How to Lose Clients-Guaranteed

Posted on January 14, 2010
Everyone knows today that it is a buyers' market when it comes to legal services. One only has to pay attention to the surveys reporting that clients are dropping law firms that no longer meet their needs in terms of responsiveness, costs, communications, and otherwise fail to meet their expectations...

Six Reasons For Hiring a Coach

Posted on January 12, 2010
Now is a good time to consider gearing up your business development efforts. One way to do that is to hire a coach. And a post over on Jamie Field - Enlightened Rainmaking mentions six reasons for doing so: Even superstars have coaches, certainly all pro golfers do, as well as CEOs and other top producers (as I have mentioned before); good coaches provide valuable feedback and help keep you on the right track; coaches help strategize and develop action plans for you; keep you on target by ensuring focus and avoiding distractions; hold you accountable, (or what I like to refer to as friendly nagging); be both a cheerleader and booster, as needed...

No More Excuses - Get Out There Developing Business

Posted on January 07, 2010
As I alluded to in my last post, now that the holidays are over, it's time to kick it into gear. As Tom Singer puts it in his post of Tuesday, "The Time For Excuses Is Over:" 'Businesses (large and small) have realized that they cannot wait on the sidelines if they want success...

Getting More Referrals in the New Year

Posted on January 05, 2010
Okay, the holidays are over. Time to focus on business. And the best source of new business is from existing clients (either in the form of new matters or referrals), and other referral sources. I have talked about this several times before. But don't just take my word for it...

8 Marketing Resolutions for the New Year

Posted on December 30, 2009
There is still time to make a few resolutions for the New Year before the ball comes down on Times Square. My friend Trey Ryder suggests eight resolutions for 2010 in an article in his recent newsletter, primarily aimed at prospects. Most of his comments are applicable to clients and referral sources as well...

Mingle At Holiday Parties

Posted on December 22, 2009
Another encore post: December 4, 2005 Posted By Tom Kane Ignore Your Friends At The "Business" Holiday Party Hey, you can get together with your friends anytime. From a lawyer marketing standpoint, you don't want to waste a networking opportunity talking to your friends passing up the chance to meet or be referred to your next client...

Encore: Kane's Top Ten Marketing Tips

Posted on December 17, 2009
Due to a death in the family, I'll be doing encore posts from earlier years for the next couple of weeks that some of you may not have seen. July 5, 2006 Posted By Tom Kane Comments / Questions (1) Kane'sTop Ten Marketing Tips It's been awhile since I posted my top ten legal marketing tips, and I've never done so in a single post before...

Relationship Building During The Holidays

Posted on December 15, 2009
Due to a death in the family, I'll be doing encore posts for the next couple of weeks that some of you may not have seen from earlier years. November 20, 2007 Posted By Tom Kane Comments / Questions (1) Build On Your Relationships During The Holidays With the holidays fast approaching, don't miss out on the opportunity to building on your client relationships...

Hurry Up!! Visit Your Client and Take Them to Lunch

Posted on December 09, 2009
It's not too late. There are still a few weeks of the holiday season to go, before the doldrums of January set in. Go visit your key clients (okay at least those that are local) and referral sources to thank them for their business/referrals, and take them to lunch or dinner...

Are You Too Busy or Just Disorganized?

Posted on December 03, 2009
I'm reminded during this busy time of the year how important it is for lawyers and firms to start organizing their marketing planning for next year. The same theme is covered by Trey Ryder in an article in his current newsletter. Then I realized that both of us covered the same topic over 15 months ago when I reference his advice in a post at that time...

Marketing vs. PR vs. Advertising

Posted on December 01, 2009
Some lawyers not trained in business still miss the distinction between various terms used in conjunction with the general term 'marketing.' Marketing is a process not an activity. It consists of many things that together make up marketing – including public relations and advertising, which simply put are tools of marketing...

Be Especially Thankful to Those Who Help Your Business

Posted on November 24, 2009
Since this is officially 'Thankful' week in the United States, let's not forget all those great clients and contacts who help sustain our law firms and businesses. I got to thinking about how people forget to thank others based on a personal experience last week...

Don't Fuss About The ACC's Value Index: Get With The Program

Posted on November 19, 2009
Paul Lippe of Legal OnRamp has an excellent piece in yesterday's The AmLaw Daily which supports what I wrote about last week on the subject (I love it when really smart people confirm one of my viewpoints – notice I only said 'one'). Paul points out that ratings will happen whether law firms like it or not, and, in fact, always have (albeit less formalized) in the form of word-of-mouth ratings...

New Survey: Top Activities To Win New Clients

Posted on November 17, 2009
A survey by The BTI Consulting Group for Hellerman Baretz Communications LLC released today provides insight into how to distinguish yourself from other firms in landing new clients. According to the survey, which involved interviews with the 'top legal executives' at 28% of Fortune 1000 and 15% of Global 500 companies, the best activities fall into 3 main categories: Personal Knowledge, Credentialing, and Awareness type of activities...

Are You Offering Alternative Fees Yet?

Posted on November 12, 2009
Don't get left behind. My colleague Jim Hassett has talked extensively about alternative fees over on his Legal Business Development blog for months. Jim conducted interviews this year between June and September with many high level people at 37 of the AmLaw 100 law firms...

ACC Value Index: what's all the fuss about?

Posted on November 10, 2009
As reported in today's The AmLaw Daily some "Law Firms Cautious About ACC Ranking System." You may recall that the Association of Corporate Counsel announced their Value Index at last month's annual meeting in Boston; and that it involves ranking outside law firms "based on evaluations from in-house lawyers...

Quick Tips on Marketing Your Solo or Small Firm Practice

Posted on November 05, 2009
In case you missed '50 Ways to Market Your Practice' in the October 2007 issue of the ABA Journal's Law News Now it is certainly worth looking at, especially by solo's and small firms. Although you might think that some of the ideas are hokey, or would not fit your personal style or your particular practice, it still merits a quick read...

How Does Your Firm Stack Up Against The ACC Value Index?

Posted on November 03, 2009
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)'s Value Index was announced and shared with members at last month's annual meeting in Boston. As reported in my earlier post, the criteria for measuring outside law firm's performance is based on a grading system from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) relating to the following service areas: Understands Objectives/Expectations Legal Expertise Efficiency/Process Management Responsiveness/Communication Predictable Cost/Budgeting Skills Results Delivered/Execution Joyce Smiley in her November issue of 'Verbatim' relates that a key question is also part of the index; to wit: 'Would you use this firm again?;' and the ACC encourages 'law firms to adjust their client satisfaction criteria to match the Value Index...

Base Your Marketing Budget On Plans Not Percentages!

Posted on October 29, 2009
Since the budget process is underway in many firms for 2010, I thought it was timely to talk about next year's marketing budgets. Actually, I received a Google Alert last week about a post I did in the very first week I started blogging in January 2005...

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