January/February 2016

Transcription

AD M I NI S T R ATO R’ S A D VA N TA G E
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 ISSUE FOR THE GREATER CHICAGO CHAPTER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS
INSIDE:
Marketing Issue
10
14
Blogging for Better Results: 10 Winning Tips from a Marketing Pro By: Julie Ticsay
Who’s Who and Who Knows Why?
By: Peter D. Smith
16
From Boomers to Gen Y: Building a Multigenerational Marketing Program
By: Terry M. Isner and Keith Ecker
21
Enhancing Client Relations Through
Promotional Products
By: Kevin Garvey
28
Distinctive Give-aways to Reinforce a Winning Message
By: Ross Fishman, J.D.
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The Administrator’s Advantage January / February 2016
AD M I NI S T RAT OR’S A DVA N TA GE
From the Editor
ADM INI STRATOR’S ADVANTAGE
The Administrator’s Advantage
January / February 2016
Newsletter Editor:
Lisa Van Sant, CLM
312-648-2300
[email protected]
Phew, we made it past year end and on into the New Year. What a perfect time of
the year to be thinking about this issue topic, Marketing.
Inside we have many articles of interest including Blogging for Better Results,
Enhancing Client Relations through Promotional Products, Multigenerational
Marketing Programs and Who’s Who and Who Knows Why—email “opportunities.”
Newsletter Committee:
Susan Burdett
312-704-9400
[email protected]
Julie Van Eck
815-730-9500
[email protected]
Don’t forget to check out our Legal Levity section with helpful ways to keep the
winter blues away, scrumptious hot chocolate recipes and good humor marketing definitions.
And, look for the 2015 Year in Pictures section to see all the major events that transpired throughout
the year. We welcome comments, suggestions and contributions to our publication, as always. Please
feel free to send them to any member of the committee.
Jane Klenck
312-662-4662
[email protected]
Lisa Van Sant, CLM
Newsletter Editor
Deborah Kuchta, CLM
219-464-3246
[email protected]
Schoenberg, Finkel, Newman & Rosenberg, LLC
[email protected]
Printing:
Elk Grove Graphics
847-439-7834
Design:
Heiniger Design, Inc.
219-838-0243
[email protected]
Photos:
Front: Shutterstock
Back: Shutterstock
Event Photos: RoboToaster
Contents
Marketing Articles
Features
Blogging for Better Results: 10 Winning Tips
from a Marketing Pro.........................................10
By: Julie Ticsay
Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Who’s Who and Who Knows Why?..................14
By: Peter D. Smith
From Boomers to Gen Y: Building a
Multigenerational Marketing Program..............16
By: Terry M. Isner and Keith Ecker
A Chapter of the
Association of Legal Administrators
ALA Mission Statement:
The Association of Legal Administrators’ mission is to promote and enhance the competence and professionalism of all members of the legal
management team; improve the quality
of management in law firms and other
legal service organizations; and represent professional legal management
and managers to the legal community
and to the community at large.
Enhancing Client Relations
Through Promotional Products.........................21
By: Kevin Garvey
President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Welcome New Members . . . . . . . . . . 7
Member Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Business Partner Profile . . . . . . . . . 13
Year In Review Photos. . . . . . . . . . . 22
Bi-Monthly Event Recap. . . . . . . . . 24
Legal Levity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Got CLM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Distinctive Give-aways to Reinforce
a Winning Message ..........................................28
By: Ross Fishman
January / February 2016 The Administrator’s Advantage
3
Business Partner Sponsors and Advertisers
Business Partner Sponsors
The Greater Chicago Chapter wishes to thank all of our sponsors for their generous contributions and support:
Platinum Sponsor:
Next Day Plus
Gold Sponsors:
DTI
FSO Onsite Outsourcing
UPS
Silver Sponsors:
Garvey’s Office Products
Genesis Technologies Inc.
Keno Kozie Associates
Project Leadership Associates
Ricoh Legal
Warehouse Direct Workplace Solutions
Bronze Sponsors:
1st & Fresh
ABA Retirement Funds Program
Access (formally RhinoDox)
ALL-STATE LEGAL
Avanti Staffing, Inc.
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP
Beacon Hill Legal
Call One, Inc.
Canon Business Process Services
Canon Solutions America, Inc
CBRE, Inc.
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Coffee Unlimited
CORT Furniture
Cushman & Wakefield of Illinois, Inc.
Fifth Third Bank / Paycor
First Choice Services
Gregg Communications Systems
Gunlocke
HiTouch Business Services
ICG-Interior Construction Group, Inc.
IICLE
Impact Networking LLC
InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile
IST Management Services
Jensen Litigation Solutions
Konica Minolta Business Solutions
Lettuce Parties & Special Events
LexisNexis
Lower Electric
Merrill Corporation
M.G. Welbel and Associates, Inc.
Miller Bros. Engraving Co.
MilliCare by Floor Innovations
National Office Works - Club NOW
Optimized Benefits
PerfectLaw Software
Pohlman Court Reporting & Litigation Services
Porcaro Stolarek Mere Partners, LLC
Proven Business Systems
R4 Services, LLC
Rippe & Kingston
Robert Half Legal
SL Pensions
The Classic Group
The Horton Group
Tuttle Printing and Engraving
Werner Printing
Advertisers Index:
Algonquin Studios................................................ 15
DTI........................................................................ 19
FSO Outsourcing.................................................. 31
Garvey’s Office Products ..................................... 12
Genesis Technologies.......................................... 12
Keno Kozie........................................................... 20
Next Day Plus......................................................... 2
Project Leadership Associates............................... 5
Ricoh Legal .......................................................... 20
UPS ..................................................................... 35
Warehouse Direct Workplace Solutions .............. 34
Website Sponsors:
Algonquin Studios
Renew Your 2016 - 2017
Membership
You may not be an early bird but you can still renew
your membership!
To continue taking advantage of GCC’s exceptional educational and networking
opportunities, the listserv, our annual compensation survey and access to
knowledgeable business partners, renew your membership today! Membership
renewals are due by March 31, 2015.
Visit our website at www.alachicago.org
4
UPCOMING
EVENTS:
MARCH 8, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Roaring Twenties—2016 (Proceeds Benefit Chicago Legal Clinic)
Where: Untitled Supper Club
111 West Kinzie Street, Chicago, IL 60654
MARCH 15, 11:30 am to 1:15 pm
Bi-Monthly Education Meeting
Where: TBD
MARCH 17, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Joint Small/Mid-Size Firm Meeting (GCC Members Only)
Where: Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, LLP
One South Wacker Dr., 28th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
APRIL 3, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Small Firm Meeting (GCC Members Only)
Where: Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn, Ltd.
55 West Monroe, Suite 2300, Chicago IL 60603
LegaL Business and TechnoLogy
consuLTing soLuTions
Project Leadership Associates (PLA) is the largest
provider of business and technology consulting
services focused on the U.S. legal market. Since
1998, more than 450 law firms and corporate
legal departments have engaged PLA to
employ our proven expertise.
We deliver cost-effective legal solutions by
combining industry-leading technology knowledge
with our deep understanding of strategy, people,
processes, and legal operations.
APRIL 21, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Mid-Size Firm Meeting (GCC Members Only)
Where: TBD
MAY 4, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Large Firm Secretarial Managers/Supervisors Roundtable (GCC
Members Only)
Where: TBD
**PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK THE CHAPTER WEBSITE
FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON
UPCOMING EVENTS
our services
Strategy and execution
applicationS
» Integrate law department practice and
» Select and implement software
administrative functions
solutions designed for legal teams
» Plan and execute operations and litigation
strategy, implementation and outsourcing
» Develop and deliver legal intranets,
extranets and websites
» Leverage efficiencies via legal project and
matter management
infraStructure
» Test and deploy new and upgraded
BuSineSS operationS
technologies
» Save money and protect shareholder value
through effective quality processes and risk
management and general cost reduction
» Provide cost-effective eDiscovery collection, processing, analysis, review and production services
» Review, recommend and re-engineer corporate
» Support legal technology and IT
functions in insourced and outsourced
environments
» Upgrade to current versions
of Microsoft Office, Windows,
Exchange and Lync
legal department best practices and operations
For more information about PLA’s Legal Solutions, contact Dan Safran at [email protected] or call 312-441-0077.
5
President’s Message
Marketing Tips from our
Presidential Candidates
The theme of this edition of the
Administrator’s Advantage is marketing. I
can’t think of a better way to demonstrate
what in my mind works and what doesn’t
work from a marketing perspective than
by taking a page from the current slate of
Democratic and Republican presidential
candidates.
As I write this,
the Iowa caucuses are around
the corner and with that the
presidential race is off and
running.
Let me preface this piece by saying
that the opinions expressed herein
do not necessarily reflect those
of the Board of Directors of the
Greater Chicago Chapter. They
reflect my personal views and
of someone who remains at this
time an undecided voter. They are
not intended to show favoritism
toward any one party or candidate. I can
tell you though that I am not going to pull
any punches – my comments will touch on
the leading candidates for President. In my
view, they each have positive and negative
characteristics from a marketing standpoint.
With that understanding, let’s get started.
Acknowledge fault when you have made a
mistake. While I don’t share his political
views, it was refreshing to see Democratic
presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders
apologize at a Democratic debate to
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
for his campaign’s inappropriate viewing
of proprietary voter information that was
gathered by her campaign. He backed up
his words with action by firing at least one
staffer. He stated, “This is not the type of
campaign we run.” He further stated that
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anyone on his staff engaged in this type of
activity would be fired. Contrast this with
leading Republican presidential contender
Donald Trump who most people would
acknowledge has made at least a few
missteps along the campaign trail but has
not apologized and, by most accounts,
never apologizes even if he is wrong. The
same could probably be said of Hillary
Clinton whose apologies, if you want
to call them that, are at best tempered,
reserved and reluctant, i.e., “we could have
handled it better,” “in retrospect,” etc. These
presidential candidates seeking the highest
office in the nation need to take personal
responsibility and recall that it is with the
President that “the buck stops here.”
Take a stand for your principles even if it
may not be to your advantage (politically).
It is not entirely clear whether the reason
Donald Trump took a pass on the Fox News
debate just before the Iowa caucuses was
his concern that Megyn Kelly could not be
fair or some other reason. With Trump,
sometimes it is hard to say. At least on
its face, Trump took a stand for what he
John T. Podbielski, Jr., Esq,
[email protected]
thought was right and consistent with his
principles. He made it known that he would
not appear on stage if Megyn Kelly was one
of the moderators. Fox News refused to let
Trump dictate the lineup of journalists for
the debate and held fast. Trump did as he
said and didn’t appear – the debate went on
without him.
Honesty and credibility are important
and still stand for something. If there
is any area that has been problematic
for most of the candidates, it is this
one. For Governor Chris Christie, it’s
did you donate to Planned Parenthood
or did you not? For Senator Ted Cruz,
how does he fail to disclose that he
took loans from Goldman Sachs and
Citibank? For Senator Marco Rubio,
did he flip flop on his stance regarding
immigration and amnesty? For Trump,
did he really observe Muslims cheering
in New Jersey as the World Trade Center
towers came tumbling down? A high
percentage of voters, and you can count
Democrats in that equation as well, don’t
view Hillary Clinton as being honest and
trustworthy. Having integrity in your
words and deeds, at least in my mind, still
means something even if it doesn’t for our
politicians.
No one likes a bully. For some reason,
politically speaking, the opposite seems to
be true when it comes to Donald Trump. In
this presidential campaign, Trump seems to
have broken all of the rules. Many political
pundits at one point in time thought he and
his campaign were a passing fad. Not so
any longer. While some, including myself,
like his fresh approach of telling it like it
is and what Americans are thinking, there
are times he has clearly crossed the line. If you take some time to
examine what Trump says regarding his adversaries, at the most basic
level, they consist of insults, name calling, put downs and bullying.
Instead of putting forth facts to establish his arguments, his retort is
to call his opponents low energy, dummies, lightweights and stiffs.
While I would hope that Trump is not going to be able to insult his
way to the White House, things seem to be going his way, at least
for the moment.
There’s something to be said about being humble. I am sure you can
tell who I am referring to here.
You’ve got to change things up to keep people engaged. I personally
like Governor John Kasich from Ohio (not to say that he has a chance
or I will vote for him) – he’s about as moderate as they come. I would
call him a cross between a Democrat and a Republican - a guy with
conservative values who cares about the poor and downtrodden.
However, if I hear him say one more time what he’s accomplished
while he was Governor in the state of Ohio and chair of the House
Budget Committee, I will scream! Enough said.
There’s a lot to be said for determination and persistence. Here,
presidential contenders Governors Mike Huckabee and Jed Bush
and Senator Rand Paul all come to mind. Per the polls, all have
single digit support from voters but still keep plugging along. Trump
himself remarked that Paul should not even be on the debate stage
and Bush would soon be off the stage – not surprising coming from
Trump. Once the Republican frontrunner, Bush, in particular, has
taken a beating from Trump. Yet all these guys continue to show up
for all the debates and vie for votes.
What you say and how you say it matters. At least at this juncture,
the best speakers and debaters seem to be carrying the day and could
very well become President. To whom am I referring? Cruz, Rubio
and Trump. Cruz was formerly a debater on the Princeton debate
circuit. Rubio clearly is an excellent public speaker – he’s calm,
cool and poised. Trump uses tone, facial expressions and gestures
to get his point across. Bush, on the other hand, doesn’t inspire a
lot of confidence, at least in my view, with his public speaking. One
thing that I think Trump does exceptionally well, vis-à-vis the other
candidates, is that he uses simple words that most folks can relate
to. Words like good, bad and great are among those. One writer in
fact called Trump the “king of simple speech.” When you watch the
next debate, listen carefully to the words Trump uses and those of the
other candidates on the stage.
The Greater
Chicago Chapter
Welcomes its
Newest Members:
Jeremy Gresham
Director of Finance
Levenfeld Pearlstein (60 attorneys)
2 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60602
Suzanne Florez
Office Manager
Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC (38 attorneys)
140 S. Dearborn, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60603
Scott Watson
Office Administrator
Quarles & Brady LLP (107 attorneys)
300 N. LaSalle, Suite 4000
Chicago, IL 60654
Kareen Ly Janiak
Firm Administrator
Samuel J. Erkonen, P.C. (1 attorney)
24014 W. Renwick Road, Suite 105
Plainfield, IL 60544
Paula Lauhoff
Director of Business Operations
Paul Hastings (75 attorneys)
71 S. Wacker Drive, 45th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606
Maria Mora
Benefits Coordinator
Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. (50 attorneys)
10 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 3000
Chicago, IL 60606
Michael Hill
Assistant Controller
Gould & Ratner (50 attorneys)
222 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60601
ADMINIS T RAT OR’S ADVANTAGE
President, Greater Chicago Chapter of
the Association of Legal Administrators
Scott Lennon
Client Relations Manager
Pedersen & Houpt (30 attorneys)
161 N. Clark Street, Suite 2700
Chicago, IL 60601
Learn. Connect. Lead.
7
Board Members and
Chapter Advisors
2015-2016 Greater Chicago Chapter Board of Directors
President
John T. Podbielski, Jr., Esq.
Arnstein & Lehr, LLP
[email protected]
Community Relations Director
Ivie Cohn
Chicago Law Partners
[email protected]
Vice President/President-Elect/
Region 3 Representative
Mary Lynn Wilson, CLM
Cray Huber Horstman Heil & VanAusdal
LLC
[email protected]
Large Firm Director
Courtney M. Landon, Esq.
Quarles & Brady LLP
[email protected]
Vice President-Elect
Travis A. Larson
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
[email protected]
Secretary
Deborah A. Kuchta, CLM
Langer & Langer
[email protected]
Treasurer
Michael P. Motyka
Marshall Gerstein & Borun LLP
[email protected]
Past President/Historian
James Beavers, CPA
Hall Prangle and Schoonveld, LLC
[email protected]
Business Partners Relations Director
Betsy Amaya Kopczynski
Howe & Hutton, Ltd.
[email protected]
CLM Director
Mary Ann Rojas, CLM
Pugh, Jones & Johnson, P.C.
[email protected]
8
Membership Director
Susan Burdett
Sugar, Felsenthal, Grais & Hammer
LLP
[email protected]
Newsletter Director
Lisa Van Sant, CLM
Schoenberg, Finkel, Newman &
Rosenberg, LLC
[email protected]
Professional Development
Director
Travis A. Larson
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
[email protected]
Survey Director
Larry J. Fujara
Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hillard
& Geraldson LLP
[email protected]
Director of Member Experience
Sheri M. Stone
Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa
[email protected]
Finance Advisor
Alan Goldman
Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum &
Nagelberg LLP
[email protected]
Human Resource Advisor
Kim Hull-Wyrwas
Hall Prangle & Schoonveld, LLC
[email protected]
Legal Industry/Business Advisor
Amy McCormick
Dykema
[email protected]
Small Firm Director
Jane M. Klenck
Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C.
[email protected]
Operations/Communications
Advisor
Randi S. Kohn
Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman &
Dunn, Ltd.
[email protected]
Mid-Size Firm Director
Melanie Panzella
Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC
[email protected]
Career Services Advisor
Michelle Howe
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
[email protected]
Special Events Director
Deborah A. Kuchta, CLM
Langer & Langer
[email protected]
Communications/Website Director
Deborah A. O’Donnell, CLM
Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newberry,
Hilliard & Geraldson LLP
[email protected]
Member Spotlight
Tracey Gallegos
My name is: Tracey Gallegos.
I work for: Argonne National Laboratory.
The firm & practice is: We are a U.S.
Laboratory owned by the Department
of Energy and managed by the University of Chicago.
My title is: Legal Department Operations Manager.
I also work for: The Association of
Legal Administrators. I am honored to
be an instructor in ALA’s eLearning LI
Course: Business Trends in the Legal
Industry.
Before becoming an Administrator: I
attended school to work in the corrections system. I wanted to save juvenile
criminals from themselves! I ultimately
decided to save lawyers instead.
I have been working in the legal field
for: 12 years.
I have a: B.A. in Criminal Justice from
Judson University and am a Certified
Legal Manager.
I joined ALA Chicago Chapter because: I was clueless! I was a brand
new administrator in a brand-new administrator role and had to figure it out
as I went along. I learned so much from
being a part of the Greater Chicago
Chapter community.
To be successful in legal administration:
1)One must be “on” all of the time (I
get by even though my brain turns
off after the 10th hour or so).
2) Problem-solving skills are a must.
3) Recognize your deficiencies! Notice
when others excel in those areas you
don’t and be their friend.
4) Enjoyment of people. Of all kinds. Be
able to laugh and be willing to grow
another layer of skin.
The thing I like best about being an
LDOM is: The constant challenges
thrown at me day-to-day. Everything
never gets done yet I go home each
night with a sense of accomplishment.
One of the challenges of being in legal administration is: We must know
all of the answers in a role where “I
don’t know” is not acceptable.
The best advice I’ve ever received is:
Always…..be a professional in dress,
speech and action.
The best advice I would give to
someone who is just entering the
legal management field is: Run. (just
kidding) I would say know what kind of
leader you want to be and don’t compromise it. Personal integrity, respect
and credibility are hard to get back
once lost.
I try to motivate my staff by: I try so
hard to make people laugh in a very
stressful environment. Our work is not
fun – and can incite violent thoughts –
laughter is a requirement. Aside from
that, I motivate by recognizing a job well
done and turn a job not-so-well done
into a learning opportunity. There is no
problem that cannot be fixed. I also find
out what their aspirations are and, if deserving, do whatever I can to make that
happen – whether it be professional development, a raise, a cup of coffee or a
day away from the office.
If I weren’t an LDOM, I would: be working with youth in the corrections and/or
foster system. I volunteer as a CASA/
GAL for neglected and abused kiddos.
While the work tends to be incredibly
sad and leads to sleepless nights and
feelings of outright hopelessness, I feel
a tremendous amount of satisfaction in
my advocate role.
The last good book I read was: The
Second Edition of “Legal Project Management Quick Reference Guide”.
Yeah, I’m not kidding.
The last good movie I saw was:
Southpaw. It was tragically wonderful
(and I love me some Jake Gyllenhaal).
The last vacation I took was: My
“Happy Place” - Smoky Mountains,
Tennessee.
The one appointment I never miss is:
I’ve never missed a hair appointment in
my life.
In my free time, I enjoy: Free time?
That’s funny. Well, when I’m not at work,
I volunteer (as stated) as a CASA/GAL
for abused and neglected kids, I mother
the three children I have at home and
spend as much time with my eldest,
who is away at college. He plays football so during the season we travel to
attend games. My guilty pleasure if I
have alone time is binge watch Netflix.
And I’m really good at it.
And of course I post on Facebook and
Linked In for the Greater Chicago Chapter of ALA. It gets lonely out there so
don’t forget to LIKE us at https://www.
facebook.com/greaterchicago/?ref=hl
and join our group at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/5163128.
A DM I N I S T R AT O R ’ S A DVA N TA G E
January
February 2016
2016 The
The Administrator’s
Administrator’s Advantage
Advantage
January
/ /February
99
Blogging for
Better Results: 10
Winning Tips from
a Marketing Pro
By Julie Ticsay
Blogs can be a great marketing tool for
3. Be SMART About Goals – Decide
your firm and practice. Writing that
what you want your blog to achieve.
showcases your firm’s area of expertise
It may be helpful to think of outcomes
can position you as an expert in your
in terms of SMART goals – Specific,
field while increasing client and prospect
Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic and
interaction. A blog can be an excellent
Time bound. Just like your strategy, be
complement to a company’s marketing
sure to document it. Create a statement
strategy and can even generate business
that lists your goal or goals, and then
leads if done right. Following are 10
measure them periodically. You’ve heard it
guidelines I’ve compiled for setting up a
before: you can’t manage what you don’t
quality blog that will help your firm win
measure.
the attention of a growing list of readers
4. Develop Content Pillars – List
experts and influencers on Twitter. Or
out topics you plan to write about.
follow competitor and industry association
1. Strategy First – Before you begin
Relevant stories can engage readers,
blogs for ideas and inspiration. Be sure to
writing the first word, it’s important
while tips, industry news updates and
appropriately credit your sources!
that all involved understand why the
current research findings (with footnotes
blog exists. Is it to position your firm as
included!) offer useful information that
6. Take a Team Approach – A successful
the expert in a certain area? To increase
will hopefully get passed along or reposted
blog requires a diverse collection of
contacts and develop your network? To
to other sites, thereby increasing your
relevant skills and knowledge. Think
attract potential business to your website?
reach. When posting, opt for quality over
about people in your office or consider
Once you have the “why” in place, write
quantity. Plan to write only the number
new hires who can fill the following roles:
it down and form your strategy around it.
you can manage consistently; 2 to 4 posts
and clients.
per month may be a reasonable number.
blog content aligned with business goals;
2. Define Success - How will you evaluate
10
Content Strategist – creates systems to keep
your blog? You can look at things like
5. “Curate” Content – Posts don’t
maintains editorial calendar. Everyone
increased engagement with clients or
necessarily need to be original every time.
in the firm can participate by regularly
prospects, readership numbers or visitors
Curate content – that is, identify good
feeding ideas to the strategist.
to your blog page, leads, or even growth
material created by others and put your
in business. Whichever metric(s) you use,
own spin on it. Try online searches or
Copyrighter – writes content and can
don’t expect overnight success. Give the
set up Google Alerts on specific topics
interview guest bloggers if you decide to
blog time to develop as you grow and
(google.com/alerts). See what’s trending
use them occasionally.
expand your audience.
on social media sites and follow legal
Marketing
com) and Content Marketing Institute
an SEO Starter Guide, which tells you
(contentmarketinginstitute.com)
exactly how to optimize your content for
offer
free editorial calendar templates.
them! SEOmoz.com is also an excellent
source for information on SEO.
10. Make Connection Easy – Respond
in a timely manner to any comments or
questions on posts. Think of your blog
as a conversation starter to engage with
and listen to readers. Be sure your phone,
email and website are always featured
prominently, as well as links to any of
your firm’s social media sites. Make it
simple for people to contact you.
Designer – finds or creates graphics,
photos,
videos,
infographics
and
animation to use on the blog. Visual
elements help enhance your blog and are
important for search engine optimization
(more on that below).
Proofreader – has an “eagle eye” and
reads through content before posting. A
misspelling or grammatical error can cost
you credibility.
We’re not going to lie; setting up and
current web or marketing company to
maintaining a blog is a lot of work.
see if they offer or recommend a blog
But if done well it can make a strong
platform you can use. If that isn’t an
contribution to your firm’s reputation
option, WordPress and Squarespace are
while helping build relationships and
two popular, easy-to-use platforms that
bring in more clients. Give it the time and
you can set up to host your blog. A great
attention it deserves, and you could reap
advantage of these applications is that
some great rewards from this marketing
they include several built in SEO tools
tool!
publishing posts.
find your blog online.
9. Optimize for Search – It’s important
to consider Search Engine Optimization,
otherwise know as SEO, when writing
blog posts. That way, people searching for
find you. SEO involves using “keywords”
and phrases in your posts so that search
engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing
7. Create an Editorial Calendar – Stay
ahead of the game by planning your blog
content a minimum of three months in
advance. You can create a spreadsheet
using Excel or Google Docs (great for
Postcron
(postcron.
AD M INIS T RAT O R’ S AD VANTAG E
(see below), making it easier for people to
information on what you’re posting can
Approver – gives final approval for
collaboration!).
8. Choose a Platform – Check with your
can find you more easily and rank you
higher on their results pages. Use relevant
Julie Ticsay is
principal of Ticsay
Group, a Chicagoarea firm that specializes in branding and marketing
to help companies
sell more, grow
bigger and look better. Ticsay Group
partners with clients to develop brand
strategy, content marketing, packaging design and websites. Find out more
about Ticsay Group at ticsaygroup.com.
E-mail [email protected]. Or call
630.312-8495.
keywords throughout your post and
especially in your post title (but don’t
overstuff!). Google likes original photos
and video, links to relevant sites, and
fresh, well-written content. Google has
11
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12
Business Partner Profile
Bob McLoraine
My name is: Bob McLoraine.
My title is: Sales Executive.
I work for: Access Information Management and have been in the record
management industry for close to a decade now.
The company’s product or service is:
Document storage, digital conversions,
secured document shredding, and media vault services.
The company has: Branches in over 25
states, 4 countries and serving over 40
markets. We recently purchased a company in Brazil, which adds to our global
presence, which now includes Central
America, the Caribbean and a sister
company across the pond in Ireland.
Before becoming a business partner
to the legal market, I was: in the music industry for a dozen years, selling
for the largest recording distributor in
the U.S., which was fun for the younger
version of me not to mention the free records and concert tickets. I also worked
in the housewares industry selling gourmet products to upscale retailers and
the disaster recovery industry before
record management.
I support ALA because: The document
services we provide at Access are essential in the legal industry. The tools
we provide can help control the lifecy-
cle of the documents, from secure storage, imaging conversions, to tracking
the retention and completing secured
destruction.
nessed this for many years, I would love
to spend my time and talent helping
others in need, in that way. Just have to
get that winning lottery ticket!
To be successful in the legal market,
one has to: Have patience, be persistent and never give up!
The thing I like best about being a
business partner to the legal market
is: The people. I have worked in many
different fields and have found this
group in particular to be a wonderful
group of people.
The last good book I read was: Ghost
Rider by Neil Peart. Having played
the drums in my youth I consider Neil
Peart to be one of the all-time best rock
drummers and gifted song writers. He
experienced the loss of his Wife and
Daughter within a few months of each
other, which sent him on a motorcycle
ride through North America to find himself again.
The best advice I have received is: It’s
never too late to try again.
The last good movie I saw was: American Sniper. Intense!
The best advice I would give to someone just entering the legal market is:
Don’t give up on your morals.
The last vacation I took was: Traverse
City, Michigan (Heaven on earth!) My
family vacationed in Traverse City for
over 40 years, and I have the greatest
memories of summer days there.
I try to motivate myself and/or my
staff by: Making the moment a little
cheerier. Everyone does better when
they feel good.
Three things I do well are: I am organized, creative, and can do the flop shot
pretty well.
While I love my current job, my dream
job would be: A philanthropist. I had a
family member that was very generous
to others and had the means to make a
big difference in their lives. Having wit-
This past July many of my family made
it to Long Lake near Traverse City to
share perfect weather for boating, golfing, playing cards and quality time together by the lake.
In my free time, I: Golf, hike, travel and
recently, fly my new drone….what a
blast.
13
Who’s Who and
Who Knows
Why?
By Peter D. Smith
Early one morning, I reviewed my email and, to my surprise,
not only had I just won an Internet lottery and had inherited
a share of an African royal fortune, but I was also being
internationally recognized for being the top in my field via
Who’s Who for Executives and Professionals. No, wait, it was
World Class Professionals, or maybe it was … Business Leaders.
Regardless, all I needed to do was to fill out a short online
form and I would immediately be included in an exclusive
directory and shipped a beautiful plaque that I could hang
on my wall.
Now for many, this would be very hard to pass up, but
being a legal marketer who has received nearly 15 years’
worth of similar messages, I was all too aware that such an
“achievement” doesn’t hold much value.
As legal marketers and administrators, we have seen
many of these types of intrusive emails, most that are sent
directly to our attorneys. They offer inclusion in “exclusive”
national and international directories, many of which are
accompanied by incentives like the aforementioned plaque.
These directory listings are generally free; however, they often
require a hefty price to access these directories (what I like to
call vanity listings) once you are listed. And, if an attorney
signs up without researching the publication’s validity, he
or she is likely to generate even more junk mail. Attorneys
often don’t see this side, focusing only on the recognition
they supposedly received, and the directory in which they
will be listed.
As you likely have observed, attorneys are constantly being
bombarded by these types of “opportunities,” but don’t
always turn to their marketing department to help determine
which are valuable and can (or should) be used as part of
14
their professional marketing. Most of these directories hold little
value, as opposed to the few that, for instance, many firms may
choose to support, such as Chambers USA, Super Lawyers and
Best Lawyers/Best Law Firms.
So how do you determine which are legitimate and which are
not? Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you haven’t heard of the
directory, most likely others haven’t either. Thus, it is not likely
prospective clients will use the directory to seek counsel. A
couple of other tell-tale signs that the directory is not legitimate
are:
• the email received appears to have come from an
individual; however, the email address itself is very general
or comes from a Yahoo-type account; and/or
• there is no contact phone number in the email or on the
organization’s website.
Sometimes this evidence is not enough, and we need to provide
our attorneys with more than what we consider the obvious. If
your firm has an in-house library, this is a good place to start
since your librarians have access to many helpful resources. If it’s
not too much trouble, see if they can find information about the
organization that may suggest whether it is legitimate.
Over the years, I’ve compiled the following eight questions I
always ask the publishers of these directories to validate them
and to provide me with statistical information to share with the
attorneys, since oftentimes this information is not available on
the directory’s website:
IT’S 8:30 P.M.
Darn it, wasn’t there just one more thing
on your to-do list for today?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1. How long has the directory been in existence?
2. Are there any costs associated with being listed in or
accessing the directory?
3. What are the specific benefits of the directory listing?
4. What were the criteria for the initial contact with our
attorney?
5. What is the readership of this directory (online and hard
copy)?
6. Can you provide statistics on your website usage by
individuals listed in the directory as well as general visitors
to your website (click-through rates, etc.)?
7. What type of advertising is done to promote this
publication? Who is targeted?
8. Can you provide a list of references to contact?
ORDER OFFICE SUPPLIES?
UPDATE SOFTWARE?
SIGN NEW LEASE?
REFRESH WEB SITE?
RESEARCH BILLING SOLUTIONS?
CHECK
CHECK
CHECK
CHECK
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In the instances when I’ve needed to ask these questions, I have
never received a response.
My advice to anyone (attorney, legal marketer or administrator)
who receives one of these solicitations is to ask the above or
similar questions to make sure you are confident that the
directory is valid and worthwhile. Also, don’t hesitate to reach
out to your counterparts at other firms to find out whether their
attorneys have received similar recognition/solicitations—and if
they know anything about the publication.
ADMINIS T RAT OR’S ADVANTAGE
Peter Smith is Practice Development Manager
at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C. He can be
contacted at [email protected].
Consulting. Software. Web. Shiny New Watches.
Algonqui Studios ALA_George.indd 1
1/13/14
2:30 PM
15
From Boomers to
Gen Y: Building a
Multigenerational
Marketing Program
By Terry M. Isner and Keith Ecker
By and large, there are currently three
generations of lawyers working within a
law firm: Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and
Millennials. Each generation has its own
attributes and skill sets unique to them.
For example, millennials are much more
comfortable with new technologies,
particularly social media. Meanwhile,
baby boomers are more accustomed to
getting out from behind their desks and
interact with prospects and clients.
For those tasked with developing and
implementing a law firm’s marketing
program, the goal is not to force a square
peg into a round hole by forcing a baby
boomer to act like a millennial; the goal is
to understand each generation’s comfort
levels and talents so that they can be
leveraged for marketing success. In other
words, a marketing program is not a onesize-fits-all exercise. Trying to make it so
is just going to lead to, at best, frustration
and, at worst, failure.
So then what does a multigenerational
marketing program actually look like?
Well, to be honest, it’s nothing new.
We are not talking about starting a
revolution. We are talking about using
some practical sense. And it begins by
understanding that even with all the shiny
new technologies available to us – from
social media to e-marketing to websites
– the underpinnings of what makes
marketing so effective have remained the
same since the first human tried to get
another human to make a purchase.
16
5 Timeless Marketing
Principles
The following are five key
pillars of marketing. The
important thing to remember here is
that, regardless of the time, the place
and the demographics of the one doing
the marketing, these concepts remain the
foundation of our profession.
Relationship Building: Making personal
connections and building trust between
both parties is critical to successful
marketing. Without a relationship built
on trust, you really don’t have a leg to
stand on. Older attorneys tend to grasp
this notion quite easily, as they have grown
up making handshake deals on the golf
course. Younger attorneys, on the other
hand, have grown up using technology
to help form friendships. Once again,
neither tactic is right or wrong. They are
just different.
Communicating Value: Marketing’s
primary intent is to convince someone that
your product or service is worth investing
in. Therefore, communicating value is
a critical piece to the act of persuasion.
There are many ways to communicate
the same value principles, and how you
communicate these principles depends on
both the communicator (your attorney or
your firm as a whole) and the audience.
Storytelling: There is probably no better
way to communicate attributes of your
brand, including its value, than through
the vehicle of storytelling. It’s been
scientifically proven that information
couched in a story format is better
received and retained than information
that is not organized in such fashion.
This skill is one that older attorneys tend
to excel at, likely because the longer you
remain in the profession, the more stories
you amass.
Thought Leadership: Thought leadership
is a way to convey value while adding
credibility to your brand. While it might
not be as critical in the consumer products
space, producing and broadcasting
thought leadership is essential to anyone
who markets professional services. After
all, isn’t a law firm’s main product its
intellectual capabilities?
Corporate Culture: A concept that older
attorneys might consider a little “touchy
feely” but one that younger attorneys
grasp quite easily, corporate culture is
the core of any law firm’s brand. Actively
working to create a specific environment
built on unique core values should be a
priority for every law firm.
All attorneys, regardless of generation,
have the capability to contribute to all of
these marketing fundamentals. However,
how they contribute will be contingent
on their comfort levels.
Marketing
Stop Teaching Old Dogs New
Tricks
While it’s important to assess each
attorney’s unique comfort levels and skills
on an individual basis, we can make some
generalizations about attorney behavior
based on their generation.
For example, the most senior partners
(i.e., the boomers), who are in their
60s and 70s, are much less likely to
incorporate newer marketing trends and
technologies into their practices. In fact,
they are more likely to actively put up
resistance. However, they also hold the
most institutional knowledge and years
of experience, making them extremely
valuable in terms of relationship building
and mentorship.
Then we have the middle tier, the 40and 50-year-old attorneys. Unlike their
younger counterparts, these lawyers are
often heavily influenced by the traditions
of the legal industry, having worked
under the senior partners most of their
careers. Some have a greater aptitude for
technology than others, but most have
at least some high-level understanding
of how innovations like social media
function.
Finally, we have the youngest
generation of lawyers – the
millennials. Culturally, these
digital natives are drastically
different than their senior
counterparts, possessing a
completely different hierarchy
of priorities and relying much
less on tradition. They are
technology whiz kids, but
they are still green when it
comes to generating new
business and running a
successful practice.
New Marketing Ideas for the
Next Generation of Lawyers
Many law firms earmark most of their
resources for the senior-level attorneys,
including marketing and business
development support. While these
might be the biggest rainmakers, it’s
a shortsighted investment that fails to
consider the long-term success of the
firm. In other words, if a law firm does
not invest in its future, it will not have a
future. That’s why legal marketers should
advocate that marketing and business
development efforts are spread out across
the organization. These efforts should
capitalize on each generation’s strengths.
The following are three innovative legal
marketing tactics you can take to help
encourage success across all generations
of lawyers.
For example, senior-level attorneys
should have support finding speaking
opportunities. After all, they are the faces
of the firm and likely the most adept at
in-person communication. Meanwhile,
middle-aged attorneys could benefit from
business development coaching, as they
often came up through the ranks working
on accounts generated by the senior
partners. Finally, millennials could benefit
from senior-level mentorship. Pairing
younger attorneys with older attorneys
to create opportunities for knowledge
sharing is one tactic that can create a winwin for all parties involved.
As we acknowledge that we are working
with an unprecedented three generations
of lawyers, we have to begin rethinking
our law firm marketing programs to meet
the needs of all of our attorneys. Not only
will this help set the firm on a path for
long-term success, but it also will have a
direct impact on the firm’s ability to win
new business in the here and now, as
your prospects more closely resemble the
younger attorneys than the senior-level
baby boomers.
Develop incentives not tied to the billable
hour: The billable hour is the bane of law
firm innovation. While making money
in the present is important to keep cash
flow stable, focusing too much on billable
hours can disincentive lawyers from
developing new marketing initiatives or
investing time in marketing altogether.
Senior partners need to appreciate that
there is more to maintaining a successful
law firm than billing clients, and that
includes participating in media relations
programs, developing thought leadershiporiented content and booking speaking
opportunities. After all, anyone who
has studied the sales cycle knows that
PR and marketing are just as important
to the sales process as making the sale
itself. Some ways to incentive attorneys
to participate in marketing and PR
initiatives include providing bonuses to
the practice whose client alerts receive the
highest open rates, paying attorneys a flat
fee for contributing to practice area blogs,
and reducing billable hour quotas for
17
Marketing
attorneys who contribute substantially to
a firm’s PR and marketing efforts.
Build a top-down mentoring program
and a bottom-up marketing program:
One of the beauties of multigenerational
marketing is that everyone has a part they
can play. In the law firm environment,
older parties are the wise elders of the firm.
The knowledge they have gained through
experience is invaluable, and a smart
law firm will know that retaining that
institutional knowledge is a top priority.
That’s why legal marketers should work
to develop mentorship programs where
senior attorneys are paired with younger
attorneys to help learn the skills necessary
to one day manage aspects of the firm.
Likewise, law firm management needs
to have representatives from across the
firm come together to inform the firm’s
marketing and branding efforts. A law
firm’s brand needs to speak to its many
audience segments – including audiences
from multiple generations – and the
best way to do this is to get a diversity
of opinion in the room. Through these
opinions, legal marketers can develop
programs that speak to both niche
audience segments and the marketplace
as a whole in a way that is tremendously
more effective than if the strategy was
informed by only a few senior-level
partners.
Invest in technology: Don’t force older
partners to use technology they are
resistant to using. But do provide younger
attorneys with the technological resources
and training they need to be successful
now and in the future. This includes
technologies that automate activities so
that lawyers can remain actively involved
in law firm marketing while reducing
their time investment.
Once again, the core principles of
marketing remain the same regardless
of the tactics used. That’s why not every
lawyer needs to be blogging or tweeting.
Instead, legal marketers must appreciate
the unique strengths of each generation
of attorney and capitalize on those to
reap the greatest return. Doing so not
only maximizes the effectiveness of
your efforts, but it also spares you the
frustration of developing a marketing
program that fails to have a lasting
impact.
Terry M. Isner is the
President of Marketing &
Business Development at
Jaffe, the legal industry’s
full-service marketing and
PR agency. In his role, he
applies his decades of legal
industry experience to help
law firms inject creativity into their brands
and marketing strategies in order to increase
the return on their investments.
Keith Ecker is Jaffe’s
Content Strategist. With a
background in journalism,
marketing, public relations
and creative writing,
Keith provides innovative
content strategies to help
law firms better manage
their content programs, conceptualize moldbreaking content initiatives and tailor content
to directly speak to target audiences.
18
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20
Enhancing Client Relations
Through Promotional Products
Marketing
By Kevin Garvey
All of us receive some sort of promotional
products throughout the year. Just looking
around on my desk I see a grip strengthener, a
Purell dispenser, a flash drive, a micro screen
cleaner, a note pad, various pens, a smileyfaced keyboard brush guy, and a mini-Swiss
Army knife all branded with a company logo.
If you were to ask me to close my eyes and
guess what name was on each item, I couldn’t
tell you. That’s not because I don’t use any
of them (except for the grip strengthener
which I just threw away!!). In fact, I use my
mini Swiss Army knife a lot. My keyboard
brush guy comes in handy as well. I don’t
know what name is on the products because
I didn’t get overly excited about each
item when I received them. Finding the
perfect promotional product takes careful
consideration. It does not however, need
to cost a lot of money. In fact promotional
products are one of the lowest cost ways to
market your firm. And while there are plenty
of websites that sell promo products, having a
sales consultant that works with the category
every day can be quite useful when searching
for the perfect item.
The goal of giving a promotional product
should be to elicit the strongest positive
emotional reaction possible for the dollars
spent. Raising awareness of your firm is
certainly part of it, but if your client sees
your name on an item that they don’t value,
how does that enhance your relationship with
them? To do an effective job of generating the
desired reaction, you need to identify what
interests the person receiving the product. Is
your client base primarily men or women?
What’s the average age of the person? Are
they into sports or cooking? These questions
matter when making decisions on what to
buy. If your audience is very diverse, maybe
you should choose multiple items to imprint.
One of the neat things about promotional
products is that you can tailor your offering
to a diverse audience while still offering
(functionally) the same product. There are
literally thousands of different coffee mugs
on which you can put your firm’s name.
Depending on the mug you select, you can
convey seriousness or whimsy, traditional
values or modernity. I’m in my 50’s. Do
you give me the same mug as someone in
their 20’s? Maybe not. With promotional
products, you don’t have to spend a lot of
money to tailor your offering to your specific
audience.
At Garvey’s we want to promote the idea that
we work hard but have a sense of humor at
the same time. Most of our customers are
professional women. What might have been
our best promotional product ever (till it was
discontinued) was a 4” tall lava lamp. It ran
on a battery and (when turned on) projected
four different colors on the walls of a dark
room. It was a funny, cute little item! It
conveyed to the recipient that these guys have
a sense of humor. Whenever I would give
one away, I would invariably receive an e-mail
later in the day asking me for a few more. The
item couldn’t have cost more than $3.50, but
it did exactly what I wanted it to do. It made
the person receiving it smile! Six months later,
most customers would still know that it was
Garvey’s that gave them the lava lamp. They
would know it came from us because it made
an impact when it was received. It really was
a great item for our audience (professional
women). If, however, I gave one to a man,
he would have thrown it away before I left the
room!
I have a customer that is a national restaurant
chain. They have an imprinted pen that they
hand customers when it’s time to sign the
check. Dozens of times a night, customers
ask if they can keep the pen. They ask to keep
the pen because it is comfortable to hold and
writes beautifully. As a result they go through
thousands of pens a year. I constantly present
alternatives that would save them considerable
money, but they will not switch. They found
a proprietary pen that their customers love.
If they handed their customers a mediocre
pen, the customer would not ask for it and
an inexpensive marketing opportunity would
be lost. Because the customers value the pen,
they associate the pen with the establishment
and are reminded how much they love the
restaurant every time they use it.
Promotional products are one of the lowest
cost ways to market your firm. To maximize
the effectiveness of promotional products you
need to understand your audience first, and
then find an item that will generate a positive
emotional reaction. That doesn’t mean that
you need to spend a lot of money. There are
people available to help you with this task. It
doesn’t cost you anything to inquire! Good
luck with finding the perfect product for your
firm in 2016!
Kevin is Vice President of
Sales at Garvey’s Office
Products. His wife Barb
Garvey is the company’s
promotional products
consultant.
21
2015 THE YEAR
Another year has come and gone. Happy 2016 to everybody! This year was a great one for the Greater Chicago Chapter.
Let’s take a look back and see some of the great events offered and the amazing members who put the Great in Greater!!
Where old friends re-unite
Taking a break
2015 National
Conference in
Nashville
Only in Nashville
When it’s over - let’s relax with some music!
Gold Sponsor Soiree
Mingling
Friends hanging out
Chicago Rooftop - it doesn’t
get better than this
Law Firm Leaders Breakfast
Where everyone goes to see and be seen
A great presentation
Members of the audience
22
IN PICTURES
We have the best Business Partners
A message from the Pres…
09/15 Educational Conference
It’s all about the education
Volunteers are critical
And I thought my job was hard
Networking, networking, networking
The photo booth was a hit
A good time was had by all
2015 Holiday Party
Girls just want to have fun!
The boys are back in town!
23
Bi-Monthly Event Recap
The Price is Right — Isn’t it?
In case you missed the Panel Discussion
on Pricing Strategies for law firms that I
moderated, you can now read about what
you missed. On Tuesday, January 19, the
Chicago Chapter hosted a lively panel discussion with an All Star line up of experts
in this area at the Chicago Athletic Club.
Not only were the three panelists knowledgeable, but they each had their own
unique perspectives on this evolving trend
in our industry. The panelists were Patrick
Johansen, CLM, CPP from Seyfarth Shaw
LLP, Alison Larson from Neal Gerber &
Eisenberg LLP and Keith Mazierek from
DLA Piper LLP.
I had always been under the impression
that pricing was all about spreadsheets and
it was simply an exercise in identifying
the tasks involved in a matter, assigning
resources to those tasks at designated bill
rates and compiling a budget or proposal.
What I learned from the panel was something completely different, eye opening
and much more broad than using excel
as your primary pricing tool. Pricing re-
quires a strategy and a firmwide culture
for change. Attorneys within our organizations must realize that their clients are
looking for the best value, efficiency and
24
A great turnout to listen to the experts on pricing strategies.
tionship together on pricing strategy. One
of the challenges clearly is gaining acceptance and compliance with firm policies,
especially when many old school partners
are accustomed to the business as usual approach. Another approach suggested was
utilizing one attorney that has had success
with a more robust pricing strategy and
Patrick, Alison and Keith all approach the having him/her endorse the process within
strategy of pricing a little differently, but their practice groups.
one common
theme is appar- There was lively discussion on the inent. You need to creased use of alternative fee arrangements
gain a better un- (AFA’s), including the standard billable
derstanding of hour approach. The panelist agreed that
what the client’s various AFA’s are discussed more often,
goals are before but there has not been significant traction
opening up your away from the standard billing by the billexcel
spread- able hour. There is a clear sense though,
sheet. This has that clients are looking for law firms to
to start with provide services in a more efficient manyour attorneys ner than in the past, no matter what the
c o l l a b o r a t i n g billing arrangement. It may no longer be
more on pricing safe to look at similar matters performed
strategy.
One in the past to create a base for pricing new
panelist (name withheld to protect the matters going forward.
innocent) suggested hosting a bourbon
and beer night to talk with some of the One of the challenges that all law firms
partners about developing a working rela- have is extracting good data from their
predictable results. If your firm is not offering this or recognizing what their clients might be looking for, it was apparent
from listening to our panelists that other
options are available to our clients, both
internally within their organizations, and
with law firms or third party consultants.
Bi-Monthly Event Recap
from several sources: practice groups, the
marketing and business development departments and finance departments. Each
firm need to evaluate how to best utilize
their available resources and what reporting structure would work best for their
firm.
The last question I asked the panel was if
you could tell the audience one thing to do
to get started with a pricing strategy, what
would it be. Patrick suggested having interviews/discussions with your clients and
find out how well your firm is performing.
You might be surprised at what they have
to say and it may cast a new light on your
pricing strategies going forward.
Our panelists
accounting or CRM databases for use to
formulate pricing on new matters. No
matter how large or small the law firm, it
seems the attorneys or administrative staff
are not able to provide enough relevant
information about the matter during the
intake process. Often important characteristics about the matters are left out, i.e.,
size of the transaction, industry or specific
practice and/or specialty area. Without
good historical data, the process of pricing similar transactions becomes more
cumbersome and time consuming, leading to inaccurate information. Clients are
becoming more knowledgeable with the
incorporation of electronic billing vendors
and their expectations are higher that their
law firms can accurately predict the cost of
certain transactions.
been substantial overruns in costs and that Alan Goldman | Chief Financial Officer |
they cannot be billed to the client. Many Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelfirms implement phases or task codes to berg LLP | bfkn.com
monitor various stages of matters.
All three panelists have different internal
reporting structures, so there is no clear
organizational chart that defines where the
pricing role fits into a law firm. It is clear
that pricing decisions encompass feedback
A final step in pricing management is
tracking time and costs once a project is
awarded and underway. Our panel all
agreed that an interim process needs to be
put in place that monitors time and costs
against budgets. You don’t want to find
out at the end of a project that there have
25
2016-2017 Board Position Final Slate
The Greater Chicago Chapter, ALA
CHAPTER BOARD POSITIONS:
Jaquie Ohrt
, CLM
26
27
Distinctive Give-aways to
Reinforce a Winning Message
By Ross Fishman, J.D.
Law firms, like many other companies,
use promotional items to market their
name and keep their brand in the sights
and minds of current and propective
clients and customers. Or to reward and
build loyalty among their employees.
Who doesn’t feel pride in wearing the
polo shirt or jacket emblazoned with
their firm’s logo? Or in carrying the
firm’s monogrammed umbrella or
backpack or lunchbag or water bottle?
Everyone loves a free giveaway. But
in the business development arena,
the challenge is finding a product or
tchotchsky that is really unique and
will attract new clients. In the case
study below, Ross Fishman outlines a
campaign he worked on for the law firm
of Laner Muchin which incorporated
the use of a unique giveaway in a clever
and challenging way.
Laner Muchin
“The World’s Most-Responsive Law
Firm?”
Every phone call returned within two
hours. Hourglass mailing supports the
responsiveness challenge.
OVER 50% RESPONSE RATE TO
DIRECT MAILING
WHO:
Laner Muchin, a 40-attorney, Chicagobased labor and employment firm.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE:
For decades, clients have been
complaining about their lawyers’ lack
of responsiveness. “My lawyer won’t
call me back!” has been among the top
complaints in every
client survey for
decades.
Nonetheless,
few
firms have specific
policies
regarding
returning
phone
calls, and those that
exist weakly suggest
that client calls be
returned within 24
hours. Of course,
violators are never
punished; few clients
complain
about
their lawyers’ lack
of responsiveness to
others at the firm.
People may roll
their eyes, but no
one actually does
anything. Frustrated
clients quietly take their business
elsewhere.
For 50 years, Laner Muchin lawyers have
returned calls within just two hours. A few
28
years ago, we used this as the hub of its
marketing campaign, developing a series
of ad campaigns, brochures, and direct
mail to push the message to prospects.
We had changed the logo to incorporate
a stylized clock, and conceived a tag line,
“Two Hours. Period.SM”
We wrote the “Laner Muchin Challenge,”
which
created
a
first-response
competition
with
prospects’
existing lawyers. It
challenges them to
leave a message for
their lawyers, then
call Laner Muchin,
to see who returns
the call first. If
their current lawyer
does, we lose, and
so must donate
$100 to their
favorite charity and
buy them lunch.
(Get it? For just
$100 we get to
take some other
firm’s presumably
dissatisfied client
out to lunch….)
It was working great, and had helped
generate millions of dollars of new
revenue from brand-new clients, and
we were getting invited by Fortune 500
Marketing
companies to national beauty contests.
We needed something more for Phase II.
MARKETING GOAL:
Laner Muchin clients had become
accustomed to having their calls returned
promptly; to increase revenue, we needed
to push this message to new prospects,
to show Laner Muchin as the alternative
when they are feeling unappreciated by
their skilled-but-unresponsive lawyers.
We wanted to:
• Communicate with our top
prospects.
• Generate awareness and inperson meetings with VP,
Human Resources at top
Chicago companies.
• Create a casual, friendly
reason to call/follow-up
with prospects.
• Put a year-round reminder
of our two-hour phone
response
promise
on
our top prospects’ desks,
along with our contact
information, “Clock” logo,
and “Two Hours. Period.”
tag line, so prospects could reach us
easily whenever they feel frustrated
with their current lawyer.
RESEARCH AND PLANNING:
We extensively surveyed the existing
research and studies, and talked to
clients and in-house counsel regarding
what service issues were most important
to them, verifying our belief that
responsiveness was among their most
valued attributes. Further, a 2005
Corporate Legal Times survey of inhouse lawyers showed “Responsiveness”
was tied for first as the most important
contribution an outside lawyer can
make (even ahead of the outcome of
the deal). Elsewhere, “Responsiveness”
was declared the most important thing
a law firm can do to improve its client
relationships, besides reducing cost.
Laner Muchin has no internal marketing
professionals, so we had to drive this
from the outside and with internal
champions.
PRODUCTION AND
IMPLEMENTATION:
We elected to grab “Responsiveness”
as our differentiator, with the tag line
“Two Hours. Period.sm” After a visibility-
We delivered the hourglasses with a letter
that invited them to take The Challenge.
The hourglass acts as a daily reminder
and a tangible tool to implement the
Challenge. In part, the letter asks them
to:
1. Call your current lawyer and leave a
message to return your call.
2. Turn over this hourglass.
3. Wait a little while to give him/her a
head start, then
4. Call one of our lawyers and leave the
same message.
5. When the hourglass runs out, turn it
over again.
enhancing ad campaign, we wanted
to focus the next step narrowly toward
our 100 hottest prospects. For months,
we looked for an appropriate mailer to
spread our Two-Hour Response message
and cause more of them to take “The
Laner Muchin Challenge.” We looked at
countless promotional stopwatches and
other items, finally finding a striking,
foot-tall, hand-blown hourglass, but at
$50 each, they were outside our budget.
Research found a close-out retail source
at just $12 each. We went store-to-store
to buy their entire remaining stock. We
prioritized our top prospects and ran a
pilot program to gauge the projected
results.
“We will not only call you back within
two hours, we are betting we will call
you back first. If not, we will buy you
lunch and donate $100 to your favorite
charity.”
DIFFERENTIATION:
There isn’t another law firm in the nation
that is nearly as responsive as Laner
Muchin. The firm is positioned as the
alternative when you’re frustrated that
your existing employment lawyer doesn’t
call back quickly enough.
RESULTS:
The response to the mailings has been
overwhelming – a 50-60% response
rate! (You simply must call when you
29
Marketing
receive this significant, expensivelooking hourglass.) In initial tests, 25-30
percent of the hourglasses sent to nonclient prospects led directly to in-person
meetings, and 25-30 percent more
generated phone calls from the recipients,
many of which have requested more
information about the firm. The mailing
also gives us a reason to follow-up with
recipients who did not communicate
directly with us.
All from a $12 hourglass.
We even sent one to the local production
of The Wizard of Oz, after learning that
they’d broken their on-stage hourglass
and hadn’t found an appropriately large
one for captured Dorothy to watch while
awaiting her fate.
Ideas You Can Use
In lieu of business cards, 20-lawyer
Noland, Hamerly, Etienne and Hoss
distributed logo’d seed packets as part
of the marketing of its agricultural law
focused Lettuce Lawyer campaign.
Conceiving a useful, creative giveaway
can be difficult for law firms. It’s even
harder to find one that leverages the firm’s
brand message.
But you’re building your brand and
awareness if you can create something
interesting or useful that sits on the
clients’ desks and acts as a constant
reminder of the firm and its unique
differentiation. For example, Chicago’s
Levenfeld Pearlstein cleverly sent small
logo’d racecars when marketing its “Built
for Speed sm” campaign.
Three-lawyer Scandaglia & Ryan mailed
a popular Ty Inc. Beanie Baby bear as
part of a mailing announcing the hire of
Ty’s former general counsel.
The point is, don’t settle for the same
old thing as everyone else. Push your
promotional company to conceive of
something different.
AD M INIS T RAT O R’ S ADVA N TA G E
Ross Fishman, JD: Ross is the CEO of Fishman Marketing, helping law firms develop unique
differentiation and positioning programs, including websites and advertisements. Called “the creative
mind behind a host of law firm campaigns that have redefined the field,” Ross has built brands for
over 150 firms worldwide and given over 250 marketing presentations worldwide. A former litigator,
marketing director and marketing partner, he has received dozens of national marketing awards,
including LMA’s 1998 “Professional Achievement” award and the optional “Best of Show” honor five
times. A Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, Ross was the first marketer inducted into
the LMA’s inaugural Hall of Fame. He can be reached at [email protected]
30
One North Wacker, Chicago, IL 60606
31
Legal Levity
Blow Away
the Winter
Blues
1)
Go outside within two hours of waking up. Even if it’s cold, taking
a walk around the block and soaking in the natural daylight will help
mollify your blahs.
2)
Get a light box. Light therapy has been reported to work in 80% of all
cases of SAD. Some research shows that blue light may be slightly more
effective at reducing seasonal affective disorder symptoms than other
types of light. Doctors recommend sitting near your light box for 30
minutes each morning.
3)
Take vitamin D supplements. One study conducted during winter on
44 people without seasonal affective disorder found that vitamin D
supplements produced improvements in various measures of mood.
4)
Eat more complex carbohydrates. You might crave junk food and
greasy comforting things like pizza and mac ’n’ cheese during the
sluggish, cold winter months, but stuffing yourself with sugar and refined
flours will only make you feel even grosser. Complex carbs take longer
to digest, which means they don’t cause spikes in blood sugar that can
create roller-coaster moods, they also increase levels of serotonin in the
brain. Opt for whole grains and complex carbs like spinach, yams,
broccoli, beans, zucchini, lentils, skim milk, and more, which will fill you
up while also providing long-lasting nourishment.
5)
Make your house brighter. It’s all about getting as much natural
light into your house or apartment as possible. Keep your blinds and
curtains totally open during the day, and if necessary, trim the bushes
around your windows. Use bright colors on your walls and light-colored
upholstery. Clutter can be mentally discouraging, so clean your room and
house as often as possible.
6)
Stay social. Though it’s tempting to hibernate and avoid going out
completely in the winter — it gets dark at 4 p.m.! — force yourself to go
to parties and maintain your favorite social activities. Lolling around on
your couch marathoning Sherlock feels good in the moment, but in the
long run being around your friends will brighten your mood way more.
7)
Make your bed every day. It’s a simple way to feel accomplished.
Bonus: It will keep you from getting back into it!
8)
Take a winter vacation. Save up your frequent flyers miles and vacation
time for the winter months, not the summer months. If you can’t stand the
cold, a February trip to Florida or California can be just what you need
to make it through the brutal sleet ‘n’ snow season. Or if snow is kind of
your fancy, escape to a cabin or make a skiing trip. Getting a change of
scenery in the winter is seriously underrated!
9)
Get some exercise. Who wants to go to the gym when there are so
many grilled cheese sandwiches to be consumed? I know, I know. But
physical exercise is a proven depression buster, so don’t use winter as an
excuse to miss out on all those awesome mood-enhancing endorphins
and neurotransmitters.
10) Keep a set sleep schedule. Sleeping until noon on winter Saturdays feels
heavenly, but if you can, try to adhere to a regular sleeping schedule.
Because face it, spending a whole day in bed only makes you feel guilty
about all that stuff you should be doing. Right? Right.
11) Limit your caffeine intake. Soda with caffeine spikes your insulin levels
and drops blood sugar levels, contributing to a sense of fatigue. All of
that caffeinated coffee and tea can be dehydrating too.
32
32
Advantage
January / Advantage
February 2016 January
/ February 2016
Legal Levity
hot
chocolate
recipes
Real Hot Chocolate
INGREDIENTS
6 ounces Latin-style drinking chocolate bars
1/3 cup water
3 ½ cups nondairy milk
DIRECTIONS
• In a 2-quart saucepan with a lid,
combine the chocolate and water. Bring
to a simmer over medium heat, stirring
to melt the chocolate.
• Stir in the nondairy milk and continue to
heat until steaming, but take care not to
boil, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and use a molinillo,
wire whisk, or a handheld immersion
blender to beat the chocolate until
a thick layer of foam forms on top,
anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes.
• Alternatively, try pouring the hot
chocolate into a blender jar and pulse for
45 seconds or more to create the foam.
• Ladle the chocolate into serving cups,
making sure to include a serving of
foam on top of each.
Spicy Hot Chocolate
INGREDIENTS
4 cups coconut milk
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
¼ cup sugar (+ 2 tablespoons)
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon agave
DIRECTIONS
• In a medium saucepan heat milk until
scalding.
• Add 4 tablespoons cocoa, 1/4 cup
sugar and cayenne.
• Whisk until well blended and frothy.
• Spread agave on rims of cups (1/4
tablespoon per cup).
• Mix remaining cocoa and sugar in a
shallow dish.
• Turn each cup over and move around
mixture until rim is covered in chocolate
sugar mixture.
• Pour hot cocoa into each cup. Serve
immediately
Mexican Hot Chocolate
INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk or water / 1 ounce Mexican chocolate
DIRECTIONS
Heat milk or water and Mexican chocolate together in a saucepan.
When chocolate is melted and the milk is well heated, beat mixture well with a molinillo, or
use a whisk or immersion blender, until well combined and frothy. Serve.
What is
Marketing…
1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her
and say: ‘I am very rich. Marry me!’ – That’s Direct
Marketing
2. You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a
gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and
pointing at you says: ‘He’s very rich. Marry him.’ –
That’s Advertising
and get her telephone number. The next day, you
call and say: ‘Hi, I’m very rich. Marry me.’ – That’s
Telemarketing
4. You’re at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up
and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her
a drink, you open the door (of the car) for her, pick up
her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say:
‘By the way, I’m rich. Will you Marry Me?’ – That’s
Public Relations
5. You’re at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks
up to you and says: ‘You are very rich! ‘Can you Marry
Me?’ – That’s Brand Recognition
and say: ‘I am very rich. Marry me!’ She gives you a
nice hard slap on your face. –That’s Customer Feedback
7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and
say: ‘I am very rich. Marry me!’ And she introduces
you to her husband. – That’s Demand and Supply Gap
and before you say anything, another person comes and
tells her: ‘I’m rich. Will you Marry me?’ and she goes
with him. – That’s Competition Eating into your Market
Share
and before you say: I’m rich, Marry me!’ your wife
arrives. – That’s Restriction for Entering New Markets
33
Got CLM?
Test your knowledge
Mary Ann Rojas, CLM, CLM Director
Pugh, Jones & Johnson, P.C.
[email protected]
3. True or False: the words “Advertising
Material” must appear on the outside
of the envelope of every written
solicitation, unless the recipient of
the communication is a lawyer, or
has a family, close personal or prior
professional relationship with the
lawyer.
CLM study groups are currently in
session and are meeting both in the
mornings and evenings on various
days of the week. If you are interested
in attending any of the sessions,
please contact Mary Ann Rojas at
312.768.7810, or [email protected].
We would love to have you join us!
2C
2. What law firm name designations
may not be used on law firm
letterhead and in advertising media?
a. A law firm advertising in several
states, with offices in those states,
and lawyers’ names from each
state branch of the firm listed on
all branches’ letterhead, by state.
b. A trade name, e.g., Bayside
Immigration Clinic.
c. A current state Congressman, not
active with the firm while holding
public office.
d. A former founding partner’s
name, who has died.
Answers: 1C
1. May criminal attorney Sarah Shepard
advertise that she has successfully
defended 90% of her cases?
a. Yes, if that is a true and accurate
statement.
b. Yes, if she includes her name, firm
name, address and phone number
in the advertisement.
c. No, because even if the percentage
were true, it violates ethical rules.
d. No, because there is no definition
of what constitutes “successfully
defended.”
3True
Best Practices:
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34
ALA MEMBER SURVEY:
PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY TOP OF MINDEvent Photos
UPS surveyed 450+ attendees at the 2013 Association of Legal Administrators
(ALA) National Conference to uncover the most pressing business and
operational challenges and key focus areas of law firms in the future.
TECHNOLOGY & EFFICIENCY
CLIENT SERVICE
The greatest day-to-day challenges
Key focus areas for law firms in 2013
56%
Time management
46%
Managing costs
& expenses
30%
Office inefficiencies &
technology issues
49
%
$
49% 47%
41%
Client
service
Business
development
87%
Nearly half of ALA members surveyed
reported that their firms plan to invest in
technologies in the next year to increase
competitiveness and grow their business
of respondents identified
client service as
their top priority
DIGITAL VS. PAPER
MARKETING & BRANDING
Reported
marketing and
branding as
a key focus
in 2013
%
31
Following general correspondence items,
invoices and court briefings are the most
common documents moving to digital formats
Invoices
46%
YOUR BRAND HERE
EXPRESS ENVELOPE
Cost
management
Court briefings
Overnight shipping is essential for contracts and
client proposals, which are the documents least
likely to move to digital formats
Will invest in
marketing and
branding in 2014
More than half of
respondents report
that printing a firm’s
logo or branding on
an express shipping
envelope is beneficial
+50%
Client proposals & contracts
For more information on UPS services and solutions, contact:
Anthony Perrino at 630-800-6654, [email protected], or visit ups.com/professional.
© 2013 United Parcel Service of America, Inc. UPS, the UPS brandmark and the color brown are registered trademarks of United Parcel Service of America, Inc. All rights reserved.
35
A Chapter of the
Association of Legal Administrators
P.O. Box A 3936
Chicago, IL 60690
Special Thanks to Elk Grove Graphics
for printing this issue of
Administrator’s Advantage.
36

January/February 2016

Transcription

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