The Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America, generating an average of $5,600 per square foot and attracting more than 20,000 visitors a week, according to author Carmine Gallo, The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. She writes that when Steve Jobs first started The Apple Store he did not ask the question, “How will we grow our market share from 5 to 10 percent?” He asked, “How do we enrich people’s lives?”

Reading this made me ask:

Are law firms stuck in the merely “aspirational” phase of implementing sales and service (and most are) because their business model is to “grow market share from 5 to 10 percent by selling more services?”

Advice from Jan Anne Dubin on reaching clients through sales and service

So I called Jan Anne Dubin, a long-standing pioneer in legal services marketing (and sales), former Director to AmLaw 100 firms, and now Chicago-based adviser to professional firms of varied industries. I asked her to talk about the mistakes law firms are making and how shifting their business model to one that can “enrich people’s lives” might be the gateway to growth like The Apple Store has achieved. This post summarizes the highlights of that conversation. Attributions to Jan (in italics) are paraphrased from the notes I took and are not verbatim.

First, Jan told me that she knows of only a handful of law firms who have “cracked the code.” She said that, law firms are leaving way too much on the table in the sales and service side because their efforts are misplaced.

In Jan’s 25-plus years of legal services marketing, primarily as an in-house professional, she has seen first hand how her relationships, the ones she owns, have been the catalyst for new engagements for the law firms she has served.

New business engagements are almost always the result of a relationship of some sort or other between a contact in the law firm and a contact in the client organization. Everyone who touches the client experience must know that fundamentally it is not just the features of the practice that will open a door—it’s hard to differentiate. It’s not about having the sexiest brand statement or website, either—though all have a role to play. A door is opened because a trusted relationship exists. It’s as simple as that. If a relationship is motivated by “enriching lives,” i.e., adding value rather than generating revenue, magic can happen.

This seems obvious to me. Whenever I ask a group of lawyers where their last piece of new business originated, 9 out of 10 say; a personal referral—a relationship. Why then do law firms find it so difficult to trust the sales and service model?

She said that the first mistake many law firms make today is giving lip service to the buzzwords of sales and service thinking that this is forward motion.

 They might rebrand marketing roles, update professional titles, or hire a lawyer with personal rainmaking skills to lead the firm efforts, but this is equivalent to just talking about sales and marketing. They tend to misplace their focus away from the things that really need to happen.  (Not necessarily in this order.)

• Firms need to trust sales and marketing professionals.
• Sales and service needs to earn the trust of their organization, including any specific attorneys with whom they must align, in order to gain a seat-at-the-table (a very critical component). This process varies but typically involves the ability of the professional to demonstrate meaningful value to the client/attorney relationship. They will inculcate themselves with the client and attorney, be personable, open and innovative.
• Sales professionals need to cultivate their own relationships with individuals who are decision makers, end users, or referral sources.
• Anyone responsible for sales—attorneys and biz dev professionals—must understand and respect the dynamics of how relationships work.

The relationship may be between a lawyer or a client service and sales professional and the decision maker, the end-user, or a trusted referral source to the client organization; it varies, but there will be a relationship involved. Knowing where to look for new relationships and knowing how to move a relationship forward toward trust is where many lawyers and sales professionals fail—it demands your time, something most are not eager to give up. But, once a trusted relationship is established, if there is a need that you or your law firm can fill, you will likely be called upon to be part of the solution.

 The Apple Store Model

At The Apple Store, the non-commissioned sales staff is empowered to do “what they believe is the right thing to do.” It doesn’t matter how much time they spend chatting with customers about their families or their day, or whether or not the client leaves the store with a bag of Apples. Their first and most important job is to kick off with a beneficial relationship.

If you’ve ever been to an Apple Store you’ve probably experienced it. Apple Store sales staffers are coached to do the following:

• Approach the customer with a customized, warm greeting,
• Probe politely to understand their needs,
• Present a benefit oriented, not feature oriented, solution that they can take home today,
• Listen for and address unresolved questions,
• End the interaction with a fond farewell, and an invitation to return.

If you’re like most Apple Store visitors, a sale typically follows. Maybe not today, but the message was loud and clear—you are more than the object that increases our market share—Apple Store employees are there to enrich your life with their products and services.

The Apple Store Model translated for law firms

Professionals that take the time to own a relationship will find that it opens many doors. Law firms need to empower lawyers and sales professionals to do what they believe is the right thing to do. Jan explained that, you can’t come out selling; especially when the audience is the sophisticated in-house counsel buyer—they will run. Any sale of professional services has to be a pull not a push. The terms are these:

1. Do your homework
2. Research the industry of the person with whom you want to relate
3. Understand needs generally and during conversation intuit specifically
4. Listen more than you talk

The most acute skills for success, according to Jan, are the ability to listen, intuit, and apply information gained from discussions. That is where the magic happens.

Success comes when you can inculcate yourself into a relationship. This is important in order to posit solutions to a problem by offering several options from which they can choose, rather than simply reiterate the problem and deliver what you think the client needs.

Jan points to three top legal sales professionals that have this magic gift: Kristin Sudholz, Chief Value Officer, Drinker Biddle; Catherine Zinn, Senior Client Development Executive, DLA Piper; and Steve Bell, Chief Client Development Officer, Womble Carlyle.

They all have the magic and are able to add value to a client relationship. They work to understand the client problem beyond the obvious, do the analysis, synthesize what needs to be done, and then deliver several options, including the cost for each. And, they innovate. When you do all of this, you can create the magic—you will make it easy to be your client and you will earn the respect you need to do your job.

Finding relationships

Unfortunately, law firms can’t wait for prospects to walk into their retail store; they have to get out from behind their desk and find them. Jan recommends personal involvement in trade groups, associations, and conferences where, for example, general counsel hang out. She said such events are typically ripe with opportunity to meet new people and begin to cultivate a relationship.

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Annual Meeting has been a rich and rewarding destination for me, over the years. I put in the time and seek to meet new people and then cultivate relationships where synergies exist. When walking the halls, during the reception, or mingling with people at the hotel bar, I have uncovered numerous unexpected and unforced relationships with people that, down the road, have been instrumental in forging new business engagements.

She also said that,

You can’t sit behind your desk and expect new things to happen. You have to go out and be available to others. And, once a relationship starts, you can’t neglect it. It’s up to you to move it forward. Further, no two relationships are the same. “Every ball is different and the same approach to hitting it out of the park will not work every time.”

Jan’s advice to any firm that wants to create a loyal client is:

Remember, it’s not only the outcome of a deal or case that creates a loyal client—although that comes with the territory. It’s really about how well you can add value to everything that matters to the client, including things like budgeting, diversity, innovation, and catering to the relationship. You must constantly be working on the relationship. A loyal client is nearly always the result of a trusted relationship. 

The Good News!

For any one that would like to learn more about how to crack the code, Jan will be moderating a panel of General Counsel and other in-house counsel called “The Client Hot Seat,” (and I believe it will not be the usual suspects nor the usual outcome) at the Legal Sales and Service Organization’s RainDance Conference 2012 on June 5-6, Chicago, IL. It’s not too late to register. The panel will be interactive and you can be sure that there will be tangible, innovative ideas to take away.

Disclaimer: I have received a media pass for this conference. Everything I am reporting in advance of the conference is motivated by my interest in the topics being presented AND, by my desire to enrich the lives of my readers.

Most social media sites are FREE to partakers, right? WELL, “free” may be cutting too fine an edge, because social media is not exactly free. Company losses from social media missteps and data security breaches can be translated to monetary costs 84% of the time, according to a 2011 survey from Symantec. The top costs were: lost productivity; lost revenue; loss of organization, customer, or employee data; and damage to a company’s brand reputation. Litigation costs, regulatory fines, and reduced stock price are also among the costs companies identified.

It’s a commonly accepted fact that anyone with a web site now has the legal liabilities of a publisher. Law firm web sites typically post a disclaimer and some even include a discussion of privacy issues for visitors. But social media is a different beast. Additional exposures are now available to law firms (and companies), also for free, compliments of your partners and your employees who distribute information to the public via third party websites; i.e. social networks, content sites, and et cetera.

This blog post attempts to start a discussion about insuring the entity and mitigating missteps.

Can I purchase “social media insurance?”

No. After a bit of digging, I haven’t found a stand-alone insurance product called Social Media Insurance—for law firms or for any type of business. For now, law firms and businesses will just have to find coverage, if they want it, within existing products. The key, according to experts, is to know where to look and what to look for.

Let’s start by identifying the most common types of social media risk and liability:

• Advertising liability
• Defamation
• Employer hiring/firing practices
• Copyright infringement
• Security breach
• Privacy breach
• Breach of trade secrets, statements, or other confidential information

According to the expert sources I spoke with, here is where you might find coverage:

• First Party Coverage under a general business policy (BOP)
• Errors and Omissions Coverage (E&O) under a professional liability policy
• A stand alone Cyber Liability policy
• Brand Impairment policy
• Employment Practices Liability (EPL) policy
• Media & Advertising liability policy
• Business Interruption Coverage policy

Across the board, the experts with whom I spoke to strongly suggested that law firms and businesses should review their current insurance coverage for clarification and confirmation that online activity is covered in both professional liability and general business policies.

Thanks to Brad Shear, Angela Elbert, Sonya Rosenberg, Neil Hughes, and Bob Stalker, I now have enough information to be dangerous. 

(Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am not affiliated with any insurance products or agents. In fact, I don’t know beans about insurance and I only know enough about the law to fill an ice bucket—well, maybe a large cooler. Please do not consider my comments to be advice in any way. I’m just a “cub reporter” poking into Pandora’s box. Your stories and knowledgeable comments, however, are welcome!)

The General Business Insurance Policy

Brad Shear, Law Office of Bradley Shear, is an attorney with an active social media presence, blogging at Shear on Social Media Law since 2009, and whole lot more.

Brad told me that he has obtained written confirmation from his general business policy insurer that his blog, his Tweets, and his digital content are covered should any unforeseen mistake occur.

“If you are going on line, it is expected that as a professional you have certain responsibilities. Still, where social media channels are concerned, if it’s not spelled out in your business coverage policy as social media, you should get assurance that you, and your employees’ activities, are covered. This may be found under a rider related to electronic communications; i.e. email, websites, etc., but, it’s important to confirm specifically.”

He also mentioned that the most recent renewal of his policy required a much more lengthy questionnaire than in the past. Hmmm.

Media Coverage

Angela R. Elbert, a partner at Neal Gerber Eisenberg, Chicago, helps clients identify potential risks and helps them work through insurance coverage options as well as litigate complex insurance coverage disputes when necessary. While she hasn’t seen a lot of claims against law firms, yet, she told me that:

“At least every one I’ve looked at so far has enough risk there to include media liability to their coverage.”

She explained that, for example, defamation related to things you’re doing on the Internet or on your website—is sometimes, but not always, included in a media liability component of your E&O coverage. At a minimum, Ms. Elbert advises law firms to consider adding media coverage in their E&O policy, especially if they are active in social media.

Neil Hughes, President of Hub International Midwest, an insurance brokerage firm that specializes in developing custom insurance programs for law firms and other businesses echoed that advice:

“Law firms should review their current E&O policy to insure that electronic communications are covered—they probably are—but not all E&O policies are created equal.”

I asked if media coverage within an E&O policy might be channel specific, i.e. print vs. online, or other. Mr. Hughes suggested that it’s worth asking:

“A general malpractice policy could potentially have an exclusion for Internet related activity – especially if the insurer sold a stand-alone media product.”

 Privacy Coverage

According to Ms. Elbert, “privacy lawsuits are going like crazy.” One example she gave is the Zip Capture lawsuits being filed in California, involving merchants who ask for zip codes at the check out and subsequently may face liability for privacy breaches.

“[Coverage for] privacy breaches can be contained in E&O policy, D&O policy, general liability policy covering personal and advertising issues, or a stand-alone cyber policy. But, while there may be privacy coverage in one of those policies, many general liability insurers do not want to pay under that clause.”

Although a law firm isn’t in the “retail” category, per se, it would probably be wise to check out the fine print…you’re familiar with that, right?

Cyber Liability

The concept of cyber liability takes into account first- and third-party risks. The risk category includes privacy issues, the infringement of intellectual property, virus transmission, or any other serious trouble that may be passed from first to third parties via the web.

Mr. Hughes suggested that a stand-alone cyber liability policy might be redundant for the type of risks a law firm would face via social media activity primarily because confidential information breaches are typically covered in an E&O policy. However, he added that the decision deserves scrutiny and that every law firm’s activity and risk tolerance varies:

“While traditional insurance policies typically have not handled these emerging risks of cyber liability; i.e., hackers, theft of employee’s identity information, or theft of intellectual property, in recent years claims have increased and limited coverage under traditional policies has become available.”

Brand Impairment

Brand impairment coverage, typically a stand-alone policy for businesses that might have risks related to product recall, is built into some policies on the professionals’ side, I assume because it is rare. Still, brand impairment happens. While it does not typically fall into the liability bucket, if it happens via social media—very viral—there are sure to be huge expenses related to public relations and restoring good will.

CORRECTION: My apology to Ms. Elbert for incorrectly interpreting where one might find Brand Impairment Coverage. She emailed me this morning stating, “I don’t agree that there is coverage per se for brand damage. What may be included in a cyber policy is coverage for pr (public relations) responses to help reduce brand damage.” Ms. Elbert suggested that coverage under a first party property policy or a crisis management component under a cyber policy should protect against money you’re out because of brand damage related to a social media misstep.

Employment Practices

Sonya Rosenberg, an employment law attorney at Neal Gerber Eisenberg, Chicago, and frequent speaker on social media and employer/employee issues, suggested that an Employment Practices Liability (EPL) policy might be available in the right context.

“In lawsuits where information is sought and found on public social media profiles, i.e., pages, blogs, videos, etc., and are factored into failure-to-hire-claims they will likely fall under general discrimination laws.”

However, she went on to say that:

“Abuse cases are just starting to come out of the woodwork, and as always, the lawsuits trail the practical developments. But as far as lawyer and law firm conduct involved in employment lawsuits and social media, I’m not seeing a trend. The Stengart case in the New Jersey state court might be a related example. Stengart involves the production of emails in litigation, which came from an employee’s private personal email account.”

Mitigating Risk

An October 2011 report from law firm DLA Piper revealed that while social media is being embraced in the corporate world, the pace at which it is developing is such that organizations’ policies and procedures are struggling to keep up.

Their research found that 65 percent of employers responding actively encourage the use of social media for work related activities. Twenty-one percent have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee displayed on a social media site about another individual and 31 percent because of information posted about their organization.

Despite this, the report found that only a small proportion (25%) of businesses had a stand-alone, dedicated social media policy, and less than half (43%) had a social media policy that existed alongside another, such as an IT or HR policy.

Source: Knowing Your Tweet From Your Trend: Keeping Pace With Social Media In The Workplace, Shifting Landscapes, Report 4.

Interesting, right?

The best defense is an offense: Have a social media policy and enforce it.

Ms. Rosenberg believes that an insurance policy alone is not enough. Law firms and companies need to proactively mitigate social media risk by doing the following:

• Have a social media policy,
• Educate active users in the details of what is in the policy and exactly what is expected of them,
• Include guidance on business appropriate behavior (younger employees may not know),
• Update the social media policy frequently as the medium evolves, and,
• Enforce your policy.

“To the extent an employer decides to issue a social media policy, they need to be willing to enforce the policy, including any disciplinary actions outlined in the policy,” said Rosenberg. “They should be enforcing and taking steps, if not, it’s a pointless policy. Are they actually doing it? Not in all cases. But those who have implemented them and want to be taken seriously need to enforce them.”

Bob Stalker, Senior Vice President at Hub International Midwest, said:

“Companies (law firms) that are being more proactive with policy, employee compliance agreements, and education generally see fewer claims. You can mitigate exposure by having good employee contracts.”

Mr. Shear also elaborated on the importance of enforcement:

“In general, I advise that if you have a policy you must enforce the policy, educate about the policy, and follow the policy. If you’re not going to abide by it, why bother. For firms who have a lot of people online, people need to know what to expect.”

He gave as an example of what not to do: ESPN (sports network)

ESPN revised its social media policy last August (2011) to include a clause that reporters must tweet all news through ESPN platforms (accounts). Within two weeks, an employee (a radio broadcaster) tweeted on an individual account breaking the news that Payton Manning’s injury was worse than reported—an obvious violation of the new policy. However…

“When ESPN found it they did not do anything,” said Mr. Shear. “When the next person violates the policy, they have no teeth.”

The Wrap.

The discussions generated during these interviews revealed many interesting details, as well as did my extended Internet research, that cannot be contained in a single blog post. I will revisit soon. (Subscribe to the VMO!) For now, I don’t think professional liability insurers are poised to threaten a shut down of social media engagement as a condition of coverage. I do, however, think we will see products surface in the near future. As Mr. Shear suggested to me:

“If and when the insurance industry develops specific product, my best guess is that we can look to how insurers treated online content for the last 15 years. Social media insurance products are likely to mirror those from the era (1994-95) when law firms first started hosting websites.”

Endnote:

Special thanks to Nathan Darling, Kim Perret and Betsi Roach of the Legal Marketing Association Task Force on Social Media Ethics for inciting me to dive into the subject! This post is truly an effort inspired by the LMA advocacy efforts. We can expect to hear more from the LMA on this topic and other law firm management related issues in the future.

If you have further questions, I encourage you to contact the experts directly.

Bradley S. Shear is the Founder and Managing Partner of the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear. Bradley is an internationally recognized attorney, consultant, speaker, and writer. He is the first private practice lawyer in the United States to work with a state government (State of Maryland) to draft social media law. His blog, Shear on Social Media Law is the first blog to focus on social media law and public policy issues and is syndicated by the publisher of The American Lawyer and The National Law Journal through its Law.com Blog Network. Bradley is an adjunct professor of sports management at The George Washington University and print, radio, and television news outlets regularly request his commentary and insight. He has testified in front of the Maryland House of Delegates, the Maryland Senate, and state administrative agencies on social media and digital law matters.

Angela R. Elbert counsels clients on complex risk management and insurance issues and helps them obtain the maximum recovery possible when claims arise. She focuses her practice on advising entities and boards of directors on a wide variety of risk management issues, including indemnification agreements, obtaining insurance with the most favorable terms available in the marketplace, financial insolvency concerns and insurance aspects of corporate transactions and other business contracts. She has significant experience in handling complex insurance coverage litigation, other commercial litigation, mediations and arbitrations, with an emphasis on representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes nationwide involving virtually every line of insurance. Based upon interviews with her clients and peers, Angela has been described as a “leading light” whose “breadth of knowledge is matched only by her commendable work ethic,” reports Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

Sonya Rosenberg counsels and represents employers in various labor and employment-related matters. Her experience includes counseling employers through the many aspects of the employment relationship and representing employers in administrative proceedings and through various stages of litigation at the state, federal district and appellate court levels. Sonya has given multiple presentations and authored multiple articles on various employment-related topics, including discrimination, blogging in the workplace, social networking sites, non-compete agreements, workplace violence, conducting reductions in force and notable changes and developments in labor and employment law. Sonya is currently on the Board of ELIT (Executive Leaders In Transition), a professional network group dedicated to human resources and finance executives in transition.

Neil Hughes and Bob Stalker can be reached via Hub International Midwest.

On a typical day, Catherine Zinn sits in on a lot of meetings. She meets with existing clients, new clients, firm executives, and partners. After a full day of meetings, she represents the firm at networking events and seeks to identify prospects. Sounds like just another ho-hum day in the life of a client development professional at any law firm—or not. You see, Catherine is the Senior Client Development Executive at DLA Piper, the largest law firm on the globe, and she doesn’t just attend meetings, she “owns” many of them. More importantly, the results of these meetings are tangible, for example, contributing in part to an overall 11% increase in revenue in 2011.

Catherine Zinn, Sr. Client Development Executive, DLA Piper

When Catherine agreed to meet with me this week, over the phone, in advance of her session at the upcoming Legal Sales and Services Association (LSSO) RainDance 2012 Conference, we talked about what makes the DLA Piper sales team top performers and how her meetings are a genuine catalyst in driving firm revenue.

“In every corner you can point to at least one win that never would’ve happened, but for the sales team. The partners and leadership know this and we are very well regarded.”

(Talk about job security! Wow!)

Sales Professionals Are Integrated Throughout the Firm

Formal sales departments are still relatively new for law firms, and non-existent in most. Perhaps even stranger is the fact that many lawyers are still reluctant to allow client development executives to interact with their clients! I asked Catherine about that.

“Though not always the case at many law firms, at DLA Piper, we speak directly with clients and work with prospects. A key ingredient to our success is that our sales executives have a seat at every table.”

She explained that the sales professionals are also not under-valued in internal meetings.

Our sales executives are not order fillers or the de facto scribe at internal executive meetings. The firm does not view the world as us and them (SIC) lawyers and non-lawyers. Everyone is given permission to achieve on their merits alone.

(Yes, Virginia, even a “non-lawyer” has real value to contribute!)

“We are integrated with every pillar in the firm; practice leaders, clients, accounting, research, the library, marketing, management, etc. In many cases, we drive the meetings. We develop the agenda, bring up the difficult issues, and we make the judgment calls.”

Whether internally among partners or externally among clients and prospects, Catherine explained that her charge is to keep her proverbial finger-on-the-pulse to insure a healthy environment in which to drive revenues.

The Recipe

Catherine suggests that there are four primary components to a strong client development program (the ingredients of the secret sauce):

1. Direct relationships with the top.
2. Regular meetings with current, and new, clients.
3. Internal collaboration.
4. Lead generation events.

No surprises in this list. Many an excellent law firm gives some degree of lip service to all four components, however, as Catherine pointed out, and I agree, it’s the execution of those steps that will make the difference.

On Direct Relationships with the Top:

“The effectiveness of the sales team is dependent upon respect and inclusion from the top down. The global CEO of our firm loves what our sales team does. We communicate frequently. We are folded into the management team, not by a mandate or organizational chart, but because we deliver results.”

On Meeting With Current Clients:

“I’m focused, fairly exclusively, on general counsel relationships. I am 100% sales and business development, meaning 50 percent of my time is spent selling to prospects, typically general counsel of Fortune 500 companies, and 50 percent meeting with current clients, again typically general counsel, to talk about how the relationship is working.”

She told me that in these meetings she tries to uncover what’s working and what’s not in order to improve services, or, as only a sales person can expect, expand the relationship to provide additional services that make sense for the client and the firm.

She explained that client relationships aren’t on the entitlement plan—relationships are earned. You can’t build a loyal relationship with a client if you’re not connecting frequently and executing on your word. The sales team fills an important co-role in client service delivery.

On Meeting With New Clients:

“Every new client gets attention from our sales team. First, I sit down and do a needs assessment. I try to learn what’s going on in their company, their preferences, challenges, what’s working with other outside counsel relationships, or not, and generally to see if anything pops. Then, together we create a planned program for their account. We follow through, follow up, reassess, revise, and make sure we are exceeding expectations.”

How comforting for a new client to know they have an ombudsman of sorts that they can contact for a service issue without be charged by the hour for an attorney’s time. After all, it’s what happens after-the-sale that makes the difference between an indifferent client and a loyal client, right?

On Internal Collaboration:

Driving the internal pipeline is critical to the sales professional’s success at DLA Piper.

“It is nearly impossible to create internal collaboration and cross selling within sectors without knowing what your colleagues have been doing to move things forward.”

Catherine leads a face-to-face, weekly regional meeting with their corporate department partners, who are typically viewed as the client relationship partner.

“I sit down with about 20 partners every week to discuss the pipeline. We use this meeting to make our colleagues generally aware of what we’ve been doing. We each report on any client meetings that we had that week, update each other on where we are with prospects, and generally hold one another accountable.

“The sales process is dependent upon internal coordination and these meetings are a key component.

“And, when the sales professional ‘owns’ the meeting, they stay on it and manage the bejesus out if it. Energy and execution is my focus, and when you ride others to do the same, sales happen.”

On lead generation:

“If I’m not attending a general networking type of event such as the Silicon Valley Association of Corporate Directors, I may have helped plan an event, placed the speakers, brought in a VIP group of clients, or have driven the attendance at the event to insure that just the right people are involved. In all cases, I am both representing the firm and mining for opportunities.”

It’s hard work and it’s working.

DLA Piper saw an 11% increase in revenue last year, according to Catherine.

And, while she admitted that not all of it can be attributed to the efforts of the sales teams (the firm has an active strategy in acquiring lateral talent), there’s little doubt from anyone that the client development team is earning their keep.

Catherine emphasized that not one size fits all. She gives credit to the firm leaders who approach the business of law with an entrepreneurial philosophy.

What is working for DLA Piper may not work in another firm, but it is definitely a starting point for brainstorming where legal services sales teams are concerned.

That’s why she plans to make her session at RainDance 2012 highly interactive. Using a white board to record attendees’ ideas, she will guide the group through what no doubt will be a very lively discussion. I’ll follow up with Catherine after the conference to report on the VMO blog about the outcome of the session.

About RainDance 2012

It’s in Chicago, June 5-6. It’s the only focused event of its kind, designed to educate law firms in addressing sales and service challenges. Follow on Twitter @LSSO_org

Greentarget, Zeughauser Group and Inside Counsel magazine just released survey data that updates their oft quoted 2010 findings on how corporate, in-house law departments are using social media with The 2012 In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey. (News release below.)

Just 19 months ago the ‘power users’ were the under-40 crowd. Today, the survey shows that, hey, even lawyers in their 40′s, 50′s and 60′s—the decision makers—are jumping onto social media more frequently to, in my words, “better understand their choices.”

What’s new?

That’s right, they’re out there listening, reading and evaluating the private practice attorneys who every day conduct a type of dog and pony show as they post to their blogs, Tweet their successes, and network on LinkedIn. But that’s where it sort of ends. Don’t expect to get the GC to engage in Twitter banter with you nor comment on your blog—they’re not engaging as frequently as they are stalking. The survey’s executive summary states that of the 86 percent of the in-house counsel bar that use it at all, 68 percent use it to listen exclusively, while just 32 percent say they both listen and engage with others. So, the majority of in house counsel is essentially invisible and largely prefer to consume content without interacting on new media channels. (Interestingly, this I believe tracks close enough with the North American population in general. The last available (free) social media engagement data reported in 2008 showed that 48% of online U.S. adults were spectators and only 18% creators, 25% joiners and 44% inactive. From Groundswell, by Charline Li, Josh Bernoff for Forrester Research. These numbers have been updated, but I don’t have access to them.)

Lawyers win.

Though not surprising, it looks like the best new media marketing strategy is to credential lawyers as subject matter experts using social media, blogs and even Wikipedia entries rather than waste time trying to brand the whole firm, or so the data suggests: 

By having articles, decisions, opinion columns, background on precedent-setting cases, and similar material featuring firm attorneys cited as references in a Wikipedia entry, firms can showcase the expertise of their attorneys in front of in-house counsel. It is important to note that Wikipedia has very specific rules on how entries are to be edited, and a very active community of editors who do not tolerate the use of Wikipedia as a promotional tool. This further supports the notion that law firms should use Wikipedia to enhance existing articles by adding to the fingerprint of reference material contained within those articles, rather than promoting themselves via firm-focused entries.

Analysis.

The full report does a good job at logging the tally of responses and goes a step further to offer analysis which should be of help to those law firm marketing pros that seek to gain traction in the inner sanctum of corporate law departments with their social media activity. However, after I digest the report I hope to return with my own analysis on how I believe private practice lawyers and law firms can use the data to their advantage. 

At the end of the day, a big shout out to the report creators and sponsors, Greentarget, Zeughauser Group and Inside Counsel magazine and their teams.  I can’t help wondering what goes through the in-house counsel’s mind after being asked about their social media behaviors.  I wonder why they were willing to participate? Do they want to help lawyers and law firms better understand how they hire lawyers and law firms? Are they encouraging them to continue to reveal themselves through social media as a more efficient means; i.e. process improvement tactic? Or, maybe they just want them to know that “you never know who’s watching!”

In my 2010 book published by WEST, social.lawyers: Transforming business development, I tell the story of Robert Thomas who landed two Fortune 100 clients without ever submitting a response to an RFP, simply because the general counsels both reported that (paraphrased) ‘we read your blog, we know what you know and it’s like getting to hear your lawyer think out loud and we like what you’re thinking!’ Pretty cool, huh?

Certainly, no longer is it okay for any lawyer trying to develop new business to be absent from the social web!

Cheers,

NEWS RELEASE from Greentarget

Social Media Adoption by In-House Lawyers Growing, Signaling New Opportunities to Reach Buyers of Legal Services

Second annual In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey shows generational usage leveling off; prominent blogs influence hiring decisions; in-house lawyers “invisible users” who consume content without interaction

Chicago, IL January 25, 2012 – A survey released today by communications firm Greentarget, consulting firm Zeughauser Group and InsideCounsel magazine finds that older in-house lawyers—those in their 40s, 50s and 60s—are using social media in far greater numbers than they were in 2010. The survey (#GCSocial on Twitter) highlights key factors that influence hiring decisions among buyers of legal services, and provides new insights for law firms to reach current and prospective clients more effectively through digital communications. The results show dynamic progression from the study’s 2010 figures, the first year the survey was conducted.

“The days of the younger ‘power users’ is quickly fading as older counsel are using social media tools with greater fervor and frequency than they were just 18 months ago,” said John Corey, founding partner of Greentarget. “Whether it the continued emergence of blogs, the untapped potential of LinkedIn or the vast implications of in-house counsel listening quietly rather than actively engaging on the social web, the research provides timely new perspective and guidance on how to implement and measure social media strategies geared to the in-house community.”

The In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey measures how corporate lawyers’ use and perceptions of new media have changed and what they are using digital communications to do.

The Highlights:

• Prominent blogs influence the hiring of outside counsel. Eighty-four percent of respondents say they think blogs are credible, and more than half think a prominent blog will influence clients to hire that firm.
• Blogs declined in daily readers from 2010, but an increase in weekly and monthly readers more than made up for it.
• General counsel say they read firm-branded or law firm attorney-authored blogs slightly more often than they read blogs written by professional journalists.
• LinkedIn is the most dynamic example of older lawyers increasing their usage of social media, with the majority of respondents of all ages using it at least weekly.
• Communications between law firms and their clients is slowly but steadily going social, as evidenced by a modest increase in respondents who said they were using new media tools to access content from their outside firms.
• Just seven percent of respondents say they have visited the Wikipedia page of their outside counsel. However, 87 percent say they use the platform to research issues, indicating law firms should consider a different approach to the e-encyclopedia.
• Most in-house counsel listen but do not interact online. This suggests that firms cannot accurately measure the ROI of new media by pursuing dialogue and interaction with client-side lawyers.
• Hardware innovation is influencing legal marketing as a growing percentage of respondents are using mobile devices—smartphones and tablets—to consume industry news content.

“By addressing not only where in-house counsel congregate online, but also what they are using digital platforms to do and what kind of content they find most meaningful, this research provides fresh insights into how legal marketers can better adapt and align their new media strategies with marketing and business development,” said Norm Rubenstein, partner of Zeughauser Group

Added Thomas Duggan, Group Publisher, InsideCounsel: “It is fascinating to see how media consumption habits are changing. For instance, blogs—both those that are firm-branded as well as those that are maintained by traditional editorial operations—play an increasingly prominent role as niche media outlets for news and commentary about legal issues.  As the leading publisher serving general counsel and other top in-house legal professionals, we are committed to keeping our finger on the pulse of how the in-house community is using new forms of media to stay informed and connected.”

To download a summary of the research report, click here. For more information, contact John Corey at jcorey@greentarget.net or 312-252-4100.

About the Survey’s Authors

About Greentarget (www.greentarget.com)

Greentarget is a strategic communications firm focused exclusively on the communications needs of highly competitive business-to-business organizations.  We counsel those who counsel the world‘s most sophisticated businesses and direct the conversation among their most important audiences to help deepen the relationships that impact the long-term value of their organizations.

About Zeughauser Group (www.consultzg.com)

Zeughauser Group is the firm of choice for legal industry leaders seeking to increase their competitive advantage and profitability, enhance market position, and strengthen organizational culture.

About InsideCounsel (www.insidecounsel.com) 

InsideCounsel is the premier monthly magazine serving general counsel and other top in-house legal professionals. It is the oldest monthly magazine published exclusively for the in-house community with an editorial mission to provide the strategic tools that general counsel need to better manage their legal departments and fully understand the business risks companies face today.

Sending a digital eCard to a huge database list of “everyone,” without taking a moment to…

• reflect that behind each name is a real person,
• jot a simple note, and
• add a hand written signature…

…is equivalent to diet mashed potatoes.

If you’re going to serve mashed potatoes without the butter, milk, salt, and gravy, why bother. I think eCards, too, miss several critical ingredients. Even the ones that come from an individual’s email address (rather than from info@) seem cold and aloof, no matter how clever the design. It’s impersonal. Besides, who wants diet food over the holidays? We get sooo many emails every day, and there’s a chance your eCard will end up in the spam filter.

Oh the dilemma!

Now, I understand the problems that law firms face during the holiday card season:

1. Lots of cards to send
2. Can’t agree on a design
3. It’s time consuming to sign them all (my secretary can do it)
4. It can get complicated coordinating signatures from multiple lawyers working on a single account
5. Getting it done in time

On the flip side, eCards solve several problems:

1. Your database is set up for email blasts so there’s no extra effort
2. Some people still think they’re cool, especially the animated ones, no matter what design you choose
3. You don’t have to sign them–your digital signature is in your email template–extra marketing points for a link to your website or social network
4. No postage–though there are production costs
5. It’s easy to push send and be done with it

Another point of view

Still, it seems to me that since being a lawyer is a relationship-based profession, taking time at the holidays to send a real card with a personal note and a handwritten signature is not asking too much. (I’ve yet to see an eCard with a personal touch but I hope I’m wrong and someone can share one with us.)

I also know that much has been written and said about whether or not law firms should be sending holiday eCards or not, and from a practical point of view, it is much more efficient. But, I’m wondering, have we lost some of the specialness of holiday greetings in the process? Am I being over sentimental?  Do you have an opinion?

Here’s mine…

Being a very web and technology oriented person, I pondered to myself as I started to carefully choose, address, sign, and jot personal notes on a pile of over 100 paper holiday cards this week. I said to myself,

“This is a lot of work! Shouldn’t I be using a more “contemporary” channel to wish my colleagues, clients, and friends a happy holiday? Just think of all the time I’d save by sending an eCard. Plus, if I sent an eCard, I could include links to my website, promote my blog and encourage recipients to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn.”

My answer came quickly, loud and clear: NO! You see, as I went through my list, checking it twice, each name caused me to reflect on the individual. It brought to mind the valuable meaning they lent to my business or personal life. Some reminded me of the satisfaction I received working with them, the challenges we met, or the failures we endured. Others made me very thankful for their support over the years and the laughs or tears we shared.

I thought of their careers, their families, and their personal or professional goals of which I sometimes knew. This process made me very thankful to know each one of those names on my list. In fact, looking at the stack, I felt humbled to be associated with such great clients, colleagues, and friends. I would not want to give up this process for anything. I don’t want to send these valuable people diet mashed potatoes.

Then, I visualized the addressee receiving their mail one day, opening the envelope, admiring the card, and taking just a minute to read the note and signature—maybe even thinking “how nice of her to think of me,” and placing it somewhere in their office to add some cheer.

It isn’t every day that an opportunity to send a note to someone who has added meaning to my life—whether in deed, word or income–comes along. This once a year tradition makes it special. I don’t know about you, but getting a real card (birthday or holiday) in the mail always makes me feel a bit more special and I remember the sender fondly.

Plus or minus

While I realize there may be a time and a place for both types of greetings, I would think an attorney in the relationship business would jump on this opportunity to prepare and send a personal greeting to each of the 100 most important people in their contact database, just to let them know they were thinking of them. It would, IMHO, dull the constant dripping of every day email communications that seem to only deliver briefs, bills or bad news, right?

Will you be sending “real” holiday cards this year?

Last week on VirtualMarketingOfficer.com I wrote about How To Promote Your Law Blog and it turned out to be a pretty popular post, so I figured there are enough readers who are looking for ideas in this regard—thanks to all who re-tweeted the post; Twitter was driving a lot of the traffic according to my WordPress Stats. Over the weekend, I thought, hey, I wonder how many blogger/readers are using Alexa? (I have no business interest or other connection to Alexa, except being a registered user.) Then I thought, why not ask? Are you using Alexa to monitor the health of your blog, understand your audience, and build a more strategic approach?

If the purpose of your blog or website is to gain exposure and influence readers to pick up the phone and hire you, you should know about Alexa and add it to your blog or website tool kit. What is Alexa?

Alexa is “The Web Information Company.” It provides (free) information about all websites including data about; Top Sites, Internet Traffic Stats and Metrics, Related Links, Site Reviews, Site Ownership contact information, and a few other really valuable paid services. They’ve been pursuing their vision of intelligent Web navigation since 1996. Alexa is one of the largest Web crawls with an infrastructure that can process and serve massive amounts of data.

Okay, so what does this mean for you? Read on…

Web Intelligence

To promote your blog or law firm website (Going forward in this post I use these two types of sites interchangeably.) and to develop the right audience (the one most likely to engage your services), knowing how these sites are performing in search results across the web will be an important component of your strategy. With Alexa tools you can do that.  Further, you can see how you compare with your competitors’ websites. This type of competitive intelligence should allow you to make some informed choices that will make your site a better tool for revenue generation and not just a millstone around your neck.  

Install the Alexa Toolbar

There are two choices. You can install the toolbar up top in your browser menu or install it as a status bar at the bottom. Either works. I use the status bar.  Open your site (or any site) in a browser window and then right click the little icon in the status bar and you’ll get an expanded menu of options.

Select Traffic Stats. A window will open and give you all the traffic stats about the open site in your browser. Other choices include:  Search Analytics, Audience, Reviews, Related Links, Clickstream, or Wayback Machine to see earlier versions of the website or blog.

Traffic Statistics

Before I started using Alexa I relied solely on my WordPress Stats and Google Analytics (all good). I’d learn which posts were most popular, how many visitors a day, where they were coming from and what search queries they used, but with Alexa I can uncover a whole lot more to help me gain clearer focus.

The Traffic Rank shows me what percent of total visits to the site are referred by search engines. Approximately 12% of all visits to my blog site are referred by search engines.

Alexa tells me that: 32% of visits to my blog site are bounces (one page view only), but two thirds stay approximately seven minutes, spending 60 seconds on each page view.

In plain English, this data allows me to make some assumptions:  My search optimization is working but I’d like that 12% to become 20% as readers who reach my blog via search are likely brand new prospects. A third of my visitors hit the home page, read the current post and leave. But, at least two thirds read more than one post! Keeping an audience for seven minutes tells me that readers are getting a deeper picture of my knowledge base and expertise.

It also tells me that because visitors are spending a minute on each page view a lot of my content can be skimmed or read in a minute—this has always been one of my goals—making content easy to skim—I write to reach busy professionals. I want them to be able to quickly assess my value, how that might help their law firm, then pick up the phone and hire me to fill in any “specialty marketing” gaps.

Alexa tells me that 73% of visits come from the US where it has attained a traffic rank of 274,702 (not bad considering my niche focus but certainly can be improved) and my audience, based on Internet averages, is comprised more frequently of females who are in the age range 45-54, have no children and are graduate school educated. (Perfect! Leaders and decision makers!)

Search Analytics

The most recent top search queries sending visitors to my blog are “virtual marketing,” “proskauer rose” (I did a post about their iPad purchases), “jayne Navarre,” “alternative fee agreement,” “marketing officer,” “law firm business card,” “where do CMO’s get their ideas from,” “marketing partner forum,” and “social media secrets.”

Alexa also told me that this month the search query “corporate counsel social media” is driving traffic to the site at an increased rate of 1.30%, while “law firm business card” has declined by 1.22%.  With this information, a strategic choice would be to write a new blog post about “corporate counsel and social media,” “social media secrets” or “iPads in AmLaw firms.”

If you’re working a Search Engine Marketing campaign, Alexa will give you a run down on the most apparent opportunities for you based on Query Popularity scores and Query Competition Index (QCI). A topic for another day….

Reputation Score 

The Alexa Reputation Score is based on how many “incoming links” a site has. Links coming into a website are important because they indicate to search engines a measure of authority and popularity of site content.

Click on the Reputation Score for your site (or any site) you’ll get a list of the top sites that have added an inbound link to the content.

Then, make a few assumptions.  Based upon “who” is linking in to your site and “what” content on your site has been attracting inbound links you could create more content like that to attract more links.  Or, use the information to uncover the types of bloggers or sites interested in your content and then search for and reach out to similar bloggers (use the Alexa Top Site Category Search) or site owners by email with an excerpt of a relevant post and a link to it; just in case they are so inclined to one day use it for an outbound link. Though this takes more work than writing a check to a Link Building agency, the links will be authentic, valuable, meaningful, and ethical (and make you a richer blogger as you drive new revenue through the threshold of your blog).

Don’t neglect to link your blog or website from your profile on directory sites. While not of the same quality as being linked to from a top blog or news site, these do count as inbound links and grows your Reputation Score. ** see note below

As your reputation grows, it can open up doors that didn’t exist before. For example, I’ve been contacted by a publicist to review several very high profile business books, which I assume was in part based upon my ability to drive inbound links—it’s a web! (The more links you attract, the more authoritative you become.)  Although I primarily review books to alert my readers to great resources, as an added bonus the inbound links they create builds my web credibility!

If the purpose of your blog or website is to market your law practice, and your site doesn’t have any incoming links, there’s a problem. Either your content isn’t getting found or isn’t being read by other bloggers, news sites, or those who could link in to your content. In this case, you’ll need to work a little harder at creating some connections and build strategic content that will attract inbound links. Go to other similar sites such as yours that have high reputation scores and study their Alexa data to see what they are doing and what you might replicate.

Claim your site

Don’t forget to claim your site with Alexa. With a free registration, you can “Claim Your Site” and update site title, description and contact information which is all effective for making sure the search engines know what your blog or site is about.

Paid Services

For a small fee, via Alexa paid services, you can optimize your site, grow your traffic, and improve user experience without a long-term contract. The Alexa Site Audit performs a deep analysis of your site to reveal potential problems and provides recommendations to help you improve your site. You can get the one time audit or sign up for the monthly plan. Learn more…

Alexa Search

I’m going to leave this for another post because there is so much you can do with an Alexa Search,  but meanwhile, when you’re on the site, try it out, play around in there. You can learn a lot by looking at Top Sites in specific categories to see how you measure up and what you could do to improve.

Conclusion

If you or your law firm use Alexa, tell us about your experience in the comments; love it, like it, lukewarm? If you’re not using Alexa, check it out and remember to come back and tell us about your experience. Thanks!

**Note on Inbound Links from profiles on social networking sites like LinkedIn. Alexa only counts the first inbound link from any site. Therefore, if all the attorneys in your firm have the law firm website link in their LinkedIn profile, it only counts as one inbound link. No big deal, but just wanted to clarify that. Still, any lawyer in your firm with a blog site should definitely include that link in their profile to generate a separate inbound link to their blog site.

In a nonscientific reader poll conducted for SmartBrief on Social Media, leading marketers (of all types) were asked:

Does your company have a formal training process for employees before they’re allowed to blog, tweet or post other social media content on behalf of the company?

The responses were mildly shocking;

• 70.66 percent said NO,
• 18.56 percent said YES, and
• 10.78% replied “not applicable.”

Frankly, I say, NOT training all employees for social media engagement is equivalent to giving anyone in the organization blind authority to speak to the press/public/clients/prospects/partners/etcetera on behalf of the entity!

We Have A Social Media Policy

You’re probably already thinking—“We don’t need training, our law firm’s social media policy clearly states that employees or Partners engaging in social media must never speak on behalf of the law firm without prior permission. They are required to state that views expressed are their own. Further, we require everyone that puts our law firm on their social media profile as their employer to abide by our policy and guidelines. And…we monitor our firm name using Google Alerts. And….”

I have had the privilege of setting up social media strategy, policy and programs in dozens of law firms over the past three and a half years and I can assure you that simply issuing a policy and/or guidelines without MANDATORY training for attorneys and staff doesn’t cut it. There is plenty of room for personal interpretation of guidelines and rules.

PRACTICAL POINTER: In addition, I’ve seen many law firms skip over the FACT that social media is a fluid form of communication. Why is this important to keep in mind?  Because rarely does the user take the time to review the “guidelines” before posting anything, particularly when they have a tid-bit of gossip that needs to get out to their network, pronto or they are reacting to something said by another without thinking! This is often referred to as SMAD—Social Media Affliction Disorder. One becomes so engaged in the medium that it impairs their frontal lobe—that valuable part of the brain that controls impulse.  Look no further than some fine examples of social media fail caused by SMAD in corporations such as Chrysler, Nestle, Red Cross, Ketchum, and Kenneth Cole. In most cases the communications department made these mistakes or the social media staff person responsible for feeding the social media beast, but in other cases it was the CEO (see Kenneth Cole)! No one is immune. SMAD is real.

Training Leads to Better Execution or a New Job?

Long accepted management principles assure us that training employees leads to better execution. Although law firm dollars are being stretched further these days and fewer are devoted to training, much less to something as dubious as social media, some types of training can be vital to the health and welfare of the law firm—social media training is one of them. At the very least your whole marketing team needs to be trained by someone who knows the landscape very well and can tell the story convincingly.  Further, we’re all still in the early stages of defining best practices. So if you had that training a year or two ago, it’s time to refresh the memory as well as update it to keep up with the latest developments.

Not All Training Is Equal.

In my experience there are four core groups that need social media engagement training:

1. Senior Management/Senior Partners/and anyone that is only marginally engaged in social media but needs to be aware of the mechanics as well as the liabilities.
2. Partners, associates, law clerks, and paralegals that frequently engage with social media.
3. Marketing personnel and particularly those whose job it is to feed social media content and conversation.
4. All other law firm employees, including receptionists, file clerks, HR staff, secretaries, legal assistants and etc.

Each of these groups arrives to training with different perspectives, needs, and precepts. Although I’m often brought in for delivering a basic briefing on social media to key leaders or training on tools for marketers, there never seems to be a priority on training the whole organization. I’ve been preaching it since day one: guidelines and policy tend to remain in the theory stage–stuck in a drawer or the firm Intranet, until they are taught in a physical setting.  I’m not saying law firms aren’t training beyond the boardroom level, in fact, in some cases the marketing staff take my training and share it with the general firm population. This is good. No matter who or where the training comes from, the critical point here is to be aware that there are various levels of training and various messages to be communicated in order to reach those four audiences where they live, work and breathe if the training is to have effect. Still, some training is better than no training. Don’t you agree?

Jeremy Victor, the editor in chief of B2Bbloggers.com on this topic for SmartBlog for Social Media says it like this:  (paraphrased)

Though some argue training is an opportunity for employees to gain new skills and use them to find new jobs…“The only thing worse than training people and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” Zig Ziglar

So, readers of the VMO blog: What’s in your training room? Training sessions on appropriate social media engagement? Or, lights off? Share your thoughts, success stories, and challenges to training in the comments. We all learn more from shared insights. Thanks!

Listening to a law firm administrator explain how he handles internally sensitive issues at his law firm over a business dinner one evening, I remarked, “You’re a benevolent dictator! Sounds like it’s working for you! Management by consensus may be an easier path, but it is a sure path to confusion, or worse, inaction, right?” He agreed, but added that it wasn’t for the weak of heart because it did not come easy. A few days later I was contacted by book publicist Kevin Small, requesting a review of an advance copy of a new book, The Benevolent Dictator, by Michael Feuer, co-founder of OfficeMax and founder of Max-Wellness. What a coincidence! I eagerly agreed and dove into the book with relish, hoping to glean some nuggets to be passed along to my clients and colleagues in the legal profession. I was not disappointed. I hope you’ll too find lots of encouragement and ideas. Then, share them with the readers of the VMO blog.

This book is a gem. There are practical lessons that we already know but will benefit from re-visiting and others that were entirely new to me. Here’s the short list of what this book has to offer:

• Always be prepared to turn to Plan B…and sometimes C and D.
• Learn how to make every dollar last
• Manage by the three P’s: Persistence, Perspiration, and Performance
• Pot stirring 101: The key to continuous reinvention
• How to put lightning back in the bottle again and again

One of my favorite chapters.

Anyone who has a role in launching ideas in their law firm will totally relate to Chapter Six: “GOYA—The only way to really test an idea.”

“You should… begin by undertaking a process in which I’m a big believer: GOYA, or, Get Off Your Ass. …Take that idea and start testing it. …Go to places where people shop and buy. Walk around and watch how they do it. You envision how your idea would make it better, easier, and faster for people to do something that they’re currently doing poorly, with difficulty, or slowly. You see if your concept has legs.”

Now, you might argue that in the law firm it’s not about shopping and buying. And I would counter: It is! Nothing will get you to the table quicker than if you truly understand how your clients (i.e, partners, management, bosses, etc.) work in order to get them to buy into a new idea.

Have you ever been on the line for a client’s success, been responsible to bring in a million dollars in revenue, or felt the demands on the one commodity lawyers have to sell—time? If not, before you present that new idea walk a mile in a lawyer’s shoes—it ain’t easy. How busy lawyers juggle multiple clients, stay up to date on the law, and find time to develop new business can be a herculean task! (Not to mention family, philanthropy and oh yeah, personal time.) A CEO, COO or CMO (Director, Administrator or manager–whatever your title) with an idea and only a vague concept of the impact the idea will have on the practicing lawyer is certain to be less effective. The Benevolent Dictator will inspire you!

When Communicating, Cut to the Chase.

“One size never fits all, and events must dictate your tactics. This means that as the boss, you must instinctively understand when to be an observer and when you must get your hands very dirty, very quickly—in order to survive, succeed, or excel.”

Assertions that start with a negative followed by a litany of unpleasant consequences will be counter productive. (Avoid being forced to focus only on the risk factors!)

“It’s certainly true that you must tell your team members what they need to know, not just what they want to hear. Sprinkling perfume on a smelly problem doesn’t make the fragrance better. …But, starting with statements like, ‘If we don’t increase sales in the next month, we might have to let go of many of you,’ or, ‘We either save money on expenses, or we go down the tubes’ …is counter productive.”

It’s common sense, but we get into bad habits. Feuer suggests that you can jump start acceptance by explaining the issue and the anticipated fix by using a logical, positive tone and focusing on the good rather than the bad. However….

“If some of your people ignored this first sweet-laced mandate, then home in on those who might need a trip to the woodshed to understand what you really meant. Target your second message to the noncompliant laggards with the old school, stronger-style message, as in, “What part of ‘no’ didn’t you understand? If all else fails…a ton of bricks will get the job done, too.”

Ah…the Benevolent Dictator! I love Feuer’s writing style and I think you will too. There’s great advice on handling crisis, growing your company (i.e. law firm), and gaining trust and respect from your employees (and your own bosses!). Seriously, I know I recommend a number of business books from time to time, but this one is a must read. Truly practical, sensible advice that everyone in the legal profession needs to read—lawyers, managing partners, marketing partners, administrators, COOs, IT, Human Resources, and of course CMOs!  Do yourself a favor. READ THIS BOOK. Then come back and drop a note about a nugget you found and share the wealth!

Michael Feuer co-founded OfficeMax in 1988, starting with one store and $20,000 of his own money. During a 16-year span, Feuer, as CEO, grew the company to almost 1,000 stores worldwide with annual sales of approximately $5 billion before selling this retail giant for almost $1.5 billion in December 2003. In 2010, Feuer launched another retail concept, Max-Wellness, a first of its kind chain featuring more than 7,000 products for head-to-toe care. Feuer serves on a number of corporate and philanthropic boards and is a frequent speaker on business, marketing and building entrepreneurial enterprises. “The Benevolent Dictator,” chronicles his step-by-step strategy to build business and create wealth. Published by John Wiley & Sons in late spring 2011.

ISBN: 978-1-1180-0391-6
Hardcover/US $24.95

Order from The Benevolent Dictator website @ $16.95.

How are you preparing to take your law firm into the “Social Business” era?  Perhaps this is the first time you’ve heard the term used?  Here’s a definition:

Social Businesses combine fully integrated sets of tools, channels, and processes with people that embrace and cultivate a spirit of collaboration and community throughout the organization—both internally and externally. It’s not B2C or B2B, it’s P2P – that’s People-to-People or Peer to Peer.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could fluently and seamlessly communicate and collaborate with people both inside and outside the law firm on your most important matters? Wouldn’t it be great to deliver such value to clients and in turn build even stronger internal relationships between every department, from HR to marketing, to time and billing and information technology? Then become a social business!

While you may already be accessing some of the more popular social media channels to reach out to the marketplace—maybe you’re using Facebook for employee and attorney recruiting, or you’re proactively managing your LinkedIn Company Page, have a “push” presence on Twitter and posted some educational videos on You Tube—there’s more involved in becoming a “social business.” You’re not a Social Business until all the moving parts integrate people, communications and work product to deliver a meaningful outcome. This is the one thing that truly distinguishes a social business model from a traditional business model—social integration for results.

Now, before you say “our law firm will never be a social business,” or start worrying that you’re already behind the curve, take a deep breath, relax, open your mind, and learn how you can become a social business.

Corporations Take the Lead.

As is usually the case, law firms aren’t going to be first. Corporations have already taken the lead in becoming social businesses—many have been in the social media space long before law firms even knew social media existed. They are integrating their social channels and moving human capital into place, getting closer to the mark. Granted, it’s a work in progress, or so it seems, as I’ve heard no report of anyone having perfected a formula yet, but they are getting close. And, I predict that it will be sooner rather than later that savvy clients will look for their service providers to join the revolution and become social businesses. Here are some case studies of social businesses from the IBM website.

Attributes of a Social Business

What are the attributes of a social business? An early adopter, IBM, weighs in about this topic on their website:

• A Social Business is engaged—deeply connecting people, including customers, employees, and partners, to be involved in productive, efficient ways.
• A Social Business is transparent—removing boundaries to information, experts and assets, helping people align every action to drive business results.
• A Social Business is nimble—speeding up business with information and insight to anticipate and address evolving opportunities.

I see glimpses of start-up law firms becoming social businesses. But wow! Can an established law firm become a social business? Maybe a better question is: What happens if they don’t? What happens when their best clients become social businesses and they are focused elsewhere?

Transitioning to Social Business

Michael Brito, Vice President of Social Media at Edelman Digital, believes that “…organizations cannot have effective, external conversations with consumers, unless they can have effective internal conversations first.” He prescribes “the three pillars of social business as the process and foundation with which businesses will transition into social businesses: People, Governance and Technology.

• Organizations begin humanizing business operations.
• Organizational models are formed to include social media.
• Organizational silos are torn down between internal teams.
• Governance models and social media policies are created.
• Social becomes an essential attribute of organizational cultural.”

More ideas from Michael’s forthcoming book, The Evolution of Social Business, can be found here. I especially like his diagram on slide #2.

Social Business Tool Box

Everything a social business does is focused on helping team members; business partners, colleagues and customers, solve business problems and be most effective. To do this, social businesses need tools that allow people to easily find and collaborate with colleagues, customers and partners, essentially increasing efficiency and efficacy. Those tools need to store, manage and deliver in real time all resources, people, information and channels so that work product can be easily accessed and shared from anywhere. [Hello cloud!]

To save you time, I did a little digging around to identify a few items a social [law firm] business might consider in setting up their social business toolbox.  Here are my top four.

1. Social CRM
2. White label, private social network (collaboration software or cloud computing)
3. Listening tool(s)
4. Web channels for distribution and brand exposure

Social CRM:

Traditional CRMs (Customer Relationship Management software) typically manage client details such as contact and marketing information.  For example, they track what newsletters and invitations go to whom, who knows who, and so forth. Much of what a social business does has a marketing play too—building the right human resources, gaining exposure for offerings, anticipating client needs, attending to important client details. But, a traditional CRM is not enough for a social business–they need social CRM. Social CRM moves beyond the straightforward, strategic tactics used to organize, automate and synchronize.  A social CRM provides innovative ways to interact with their customers and prospects by taking into account the new ways people communicate and interact via cloud, social media and social networking sites. Google+ is one new tool that is aiming for this market in a big way. Salesforce.com bought the social media monitoring service Radian6 last spring and is leaping ahead in social CRM strategy. Of course there are others. Read more here.

White Label Network:

A white label network is essentially an enterprise collaboration solution enabling personal and organizational effectiveness. One component of enterprise collaboration invokes social networking technology. This technology gives fast access to everyone in an individual’s professional network, including colleagues, clients and partners, enabling them to access and interact with the people, information and project materials they need to get their work done. These private networks facilitate communications among teams helping them work together and build stronger relationships across organizations. I’ve long been a proponent of private social networking technology for the law firm environment and do not believe enough firms are taking advantage of it.

No matter the size of your budget or size of the network you wish to create, there is something for everyone. If you’re looking for a software solution you might consider Microsoft Sharepoint or IBM Sametime.  For a more economical, web-based solution, one of my favorites right now is BloomFire. Follow this link to a description of nine other white label social networking solutions tested by TechCrunch. Or, for small firm or individual needs, check out Google’s Cloud Apps. It may be just the right fit when it comes to cloud collaboration. You might even opt to create a small, private discussion group on Facebook, which would meet the needs of certain lawyers who already have a presence and network on the site.

Listening Tools.

There is no substitution for a face-to-face client interview and I’m not even suggesting that social comes close to that kind of listening, however, social listening can provide insight into customer needs, competitive intelligence, and identification of prospective clients who have problems you can solve. Social listening will help you find and engage with customers. It will help you anticipate and meet their needs in ways that should differentiate you from the competition. At the very least, a simple social listening tool like Google Alerts can be used to track primary client names, companies, and issues. If you have a lot of listening to do and are willing to pay for this information, you could deploy a solution like Manzama. Manzama was created specifically for the listening needs of law firms. There are of course many others. Here is a wiki of 201 social media monitoring solutions.

Distribution and Exposure.

A social business needs a social public face. Luckily, we are in an era where content marketing is valued. There is no end to the types content law firms can create. But writing and distributing educational content to gain exposure is just one part of the equation. Social businesses go beyond pushing out press releases, white papers, and articles—they engage in the public dialogue. Dialogue in the social marketplace can build presence and alignment with valuable constituencies, including clients, prospects, referral sources, the media, politicians, and others—worldwide. Engagement in the social marketplace typically leads to greater business development opportunities and stronger relationships. Therefore, a social business will have a thoughtful and professional presence on websites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It will post useful content on blogs, SlideShare, and You Tube. And, I repeat, it will engage in the marketplace dialogue. This of course is the most time consuming and perhaps difficult piece of the social business model to integrate, but also the most necessary for proper exposure and positioning.

Social Media Integration.

There is no magic to setting up a social business system. There is, however, some magic involved in successfully removing organizational silos between internal teams and creating permission based governance models and policies that everyone can agree upon and live with. Ultimately, shifting the organizational culture to a distinctly social culture requires not only a bit of magic, but also leadership, consistency and an unwavering desire to use technology to create a stronger law firm.

Your turn; what do you think? Are we ready? How soon do you think we’ll see the first truly “social law firm”? Who will be first?  Is anyone even talking about social business in your firm? Is it too soon? Are any of your clients asking for a more social work model? If so, what are you going to do to make it happen?

The jury is (almost) in. We do not, thankfully, anticipate a Casey-Anthony-super-sized-post-verdict outrage when the American Bar Association codifies its Commission on Ethics 20/20 proposed amendments to the Model Rules in 2012. According to the Commission’s recent proposal and report, lawyers are almost certain to avoid any new draconian restrictions on social media activity as were feared by some. We do, however, expect to see some clarifications that should make ethical conduct for lawyers using social media a bit more predictable.

BIG shout-out to the ABA Commission and it’s Co-Chairs, Jamie S. Gorelick and Michael Traynor for their hard work in sorting through the collective knowledge submitted in response to the September 2010, “Issues Paper Concerning Lawyers’ Use of Internet Based Client Development Tools.”  Their initial draft proposals in the “Lawyer’s Use of Technology and Client Development” discussion, released on June 29^th, appears to be spot on: “No new restrictions are necessary in this area.” Just clarifications.

“Technology has enabled lawyers to communicate about themselves and their services more easily and efficiently, and it has enabled the public to learn necessary information about lawyers, their credentials, and the particular legal services those lawyers provide as well as the cost of those services.”

“Lawyers, however, need to ensure that these communications satisfy existing ethical obligations. The Commission’s proposals are designed to give lawyers more guidance regarding these obligations in the context of various new client development tools.”

Clarifications.

The clarifications offered by the Commission will undoubtedly help lawyers and marketers to proceed without fear of the unknown—sort of. They’re not going to stymie your participation, but it’s still up to the individual to exercise judgment. Check out what a few bloggers have say here and here.  For readers who want a quick run down in layman’s terms, read on…Note: it took this seasoned marketing professional several readings—think double speak—to get to the practical implications, so, feel free to leave a comment if you have something to add or if you think I’ve got something wrong here. I hope this helps…

A prospective client, a potential client, and a solicitation

The distinction between communications with a “prospective client” was found needing clarification (Rule 1.18). A prospective client is one in which communications give rise to a client-lawyer relationship.

In short, the Commission identifies several precautions that lawyers should take to prevent the inadvertent creation of a “prospective” relationship and to ensure that the public does not misunderstand the consequences of communicating electronically with a lawyer.

Translation: This boils down to the what, where, when, and how disclaimers are used, for example, on a law firm’s website, email messages, blog site, or etc.  Also, a lawyer is advised to gauge their risk tolerance for being conflicted out of representing an adverse party of the “prospective” client should they chose to decline representation of the prospect–but this holds true for offline conversations as well, so nothing really earth shattering here, except that it brings the following into play….

Clarification of “prospective client” in advertising Rule 7.3

Advertising and other forms of marketing by definition are targeted to future clients—clients with whom the lawyer has had no prior contact and therefore are not technically “prospective clients.”

To avoid confusion, the Commission proposes to replace the use of “prospective” in Rule 7.3 with “potential;” a new term not yet clearly defined, but is understood to imply the universe of public persons—all possible future clients. Again, the distinction being that a “potential” client has not previously made contact with a lawyer but a “prospective” client has.

Translation: It’s okay to use social media and Internet advertisements to promote your services to future (“potential”) clients. Keeping in mind that compliance with all current aspects of advertising found in Rule 7.3 is necessary.

I have a website with a live chat line. Is that okay?

Rule 7.3 also addresses, and prohibits, most kinds of in-person, live telephone, and real time electronic solicitations, but permits other forms such as direct mail and email with a disclaimer such as “Advertising Material” clearly displayed.

Today, however, lawyers can post information on their social or professional networking pages (which function like websites) and can enter into conversations via those pages (like email) with “potential clients,” sometimes in “real-time” and sometimes not.  Ah… the complexity! To clear up the ambiguity, the Commission proposes that:

 “…a lawyer’s communications constitute a solicitation when the lawyer offers to provide, or can be reasonably understood to be offering to provide, legal services to a specific potential client.” (Emphasis added)

How this might play out: Let’s say you have a live chat option on your law firm website, the kind that pops up and asks the visitor if they have questions or would like assistance. If the visitor chooses to use the chat screen, that visitor is initiating contact with the lawyer or their agent. This may also be analogous to a “contact us” form.

It is important to note that the prohibition in Rule 7.3(a) applies only to lawyer-initiated contact. Rule 7.3 does not prohibit real-time electronic contact that is initiated by a potential client. In the instance described above, the website visitor has made the initial contact with the firm. The visitor has chosen to visit the law firm’s website, indicating that they have some interest in the website’s content. It is appropriate at this juncture for the law firm to offer the website visitor live assistance.

Practical pointer:

Of course, once assistance is offered and a conversation ensues, the potential client becomes a prospective client and all the conditions of the prospective client relationship apply, i.e. you may set yourself up to be conflicted out of working for the other party. That adverse party may, in fact, be a current client! You will need to develop a conflict check process before discussing a case with any contact that comes over the transom via your website, electronic communication, or any social media outlet—something many law firms have yet to address but would be advised to do so.

Translation: It is okay to communicate in real-time about your services with “potential” clients via social media and the Internet.  This clearly does not violate rules pertaining to solicitation: Responses to requests for information or advertisements that are not directed to specific people are not “solicitations.”

Another example found in the Commission’s report includes advertisements that are automatically generated in response to an Internet search. The Commission wishes to clarify that these are not solicitations because the “advertisements are generated in response to Internet research.” These responses are more analogous to a lawyer’s response to a request for information initiated by a potential client than an unsolicited and targeted letter to a potential client who is known to be in need of a particular legal service—which is a solicitation.

Translation:  It is okay to buy ads on search engines—it is not solicitation.

Will you recommend me?

Things get a little murky when the Commission tackles “recommendations.” Model Rule 7.2(b) essentially prohibits a lawyer from giving anything of value for recommending the lawyer’s services. While this Rule is clearly written to prohibit a lawyer to pay “runners” to engage in in-person solicitations, i.e. ambulance chasers, the commission recognizes that “a number of new forms of lead generation such as pay-per-click and pay-per-lead services have surfaced with the rise of the Internet.” Although these Internet “referrals” do not “typically use in-person solicitation or employ false or misleading communications” they do involve payment for what might be considered a recommendation. Therefore, the Commission says this Rule needs clarification because “in a limited context some fees should be permissible.”

Truly, Internet “referrals” via search engine ads, Facebook ads, or even Sponsored Twitter Search Results are not all that different than paying for the ads you run in the local press, or a magazine publication. In each of those traditional examples, paying your advertising, PR or Internet marketing agency folks to create and place those ads fall into the same bucket—and are allowed under 7.2.

Translation: It’s okay to pay for sponsored ads, Facebook campaigns and search engine key words. Unfortunately, this clarification does not resolve the most frequent question I am asked: “Can I accept recommendations on LinkedIn?” Seems that since this is not a paid referral, recommendation, or solicitation, it’s okay? Check with your State Bar for any prohibitions on client testimonials for the answer that is specific to you.

Is my Facebook promotional give-away a “recommendation” under 7.2(b)?

In regard to Rule 7.2(b), the Commission’s report included a case study of a law firm offering free branded t-shirts to Facebook Fans who would subsequently send in a photo of them wearing the shirt and that would be posted to the firm’s Facebook Company Page. In the strictest sense, the wearing of this t-shirt this may be perceived as a “recommendation.” Further, the gifting of the t-shirt compensation. Hmm. Interesting, right?

Well, the Commission smartly suggests that clarification be made to Rule 7.2(b) along the lines that the gifting of a t-shirt and a subsequent photo of a person wearing it is not inherently a recommendation of their legal services.

Translation:  Go forth and Facebook your t-shirts—well, maybe after the proposed Comments and Amendments are codified in late 2012.

Don’t make false or misleading communications on social media.

Finally, an easy one. The Commission decided that there would be no further need to develop new or different restrictions to the prohibition against false and misleading communications found in Advertising Rule 7.1.

“This Rule is readily applicable to online advertising and other forms of e-communications used to attract new clients.”

However, smart firms will include a reminder in their law firm policy to the effect that: In every thing you do or say on the Internet, by all means, do not spread false or misleading information about you or your services. For more ideas on constructing a social media policy for law firms, read this previous Virtual Marketing Officer post.

What’s ahead?

The Commission plans to release proposals with regard to other issues on its agenda no later than September 2011. The Commission will submit to the ABA House of Delegates final versions of all of the Commission’s proposals in May 2012, for the House of Delegates’ deliberation at the August 2012 ABA Annual Meeting. In the meantime, the Commission seeks and welcomes feedback on its proposals and reports to date.

Comments in response to the Initial Draft Proposals on Lawyers’ Use of Technology and Client Development are due August 31, 2011. Comments may be submitted to Senior Research Paralegal, Natalia Vera at natalia.vera@americanbar.org.

Go forth, ethically, and prosper!

Virtual Marketing Officer