During the Legal Marketing Association’s Social Media Shared Interest Group’s 12 Days of Social Media last year (say that three times fast), my friend Lance Godard predicted that 2015 would be the year of content marketing. And he’s one smart guy, so I always listen to him. As he says: 

After all, content marketing has been around forever (long before that’s what we were calling it that, anyway). And we’ve been talking specifically about content marketing in the legal profession for a year or two at least. So why do we think it will change your life in 2015?"

Because it’s catching on in a big way (think LinkedIn Publisher, for starters)… And that means law firms – and legal marketers – are going to have a lot more competition for their written materials in 2015. They’re going to have to stop taking a haphazard, ‘let’s-keep-tweeting-and-posting-on-Facebook-the-links-to-our-content" approach to getting their work in front of the people who buy their services. They’re going to have to write better, to tell better stories, to articulate the skills they have to solve the problems their clients face, using the very language that those clients use to describe their problems. They – and that means all of us, too, – are going to have to get better at this, to spend more resources, to develop stronger strategies, to stop doing the things that don’t work and start doing more of those that do."

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Content Marketing

It’s one of my favorite posts of the year – my recap of the Superbowl commercials! Recall, if you will, those Staples commercials with "It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing as parents ride shopping carts gleefully through the store followed by glum kids, and you’ll have some idea of how excited I am over the superbowl of advertising. 

Before I jump into my absolute favorites (instead of just "The Good" this year, I’m splitting it into "The Great" and "The Good"), I wanted to make an observation – social media is a big part of any viewing experience for me, and the Superbowl was no different. While watching the game, I was also checking in on Twitter and Facebook, and it was interesting to gauge the reactions of the people I follow and engage with to the same commercials I was watching. 

Often, I would have one reaction to something, and then others would have a completely different reaction, and I’d find myself getting sucked into "groupthink" a little bit, and changing my mind. So I’ve worked hard to bring you the commercials that I like best, and offer my lessons for legal marketing. I heard several times last night that people were generally unhappy with last night’s crop of commercials, but I thought that while there were a few major duds – we’ll get to those in later posts – they were mostly very, very well done for a change. Now, on with the great! 

Continue Reading Superbowl Commercials – The Best of 2015

Today, I’m bringing you the final installment of my recaps from the Viewabill webinar (recording and audio available here). We’ve learned some really interesting things about what both inside and outside counsel are thinking these days in this climate of change, and the conversations around all of these issues should continue – the one lesson we should all take away from these is that communication among all of those involved in legal services is paramount. 

Thanks to Viewabill for inviting me to listen in, and giving me the opportunity to get a preview from a couple of their panelists! I look forward to the next session.

The final session of the morning was "Legal Tech and You:" 

Lawyers are looking for new ways to compete and position themselves as being at the forefront of an oversaturated market, and clients are demanding more efficiency, transparency, and affordability from their legal service providers. What do you look for when considering implementing legal technology and where do you see the next phase of innovation headed?"

Continue Reading Legal Technology – What’s Next?

Building on Viewabill’s last webinar session (audio and presentation recording here), they moved into a discussion of transparency, and its impact on the inside/outside counsel relationship. Per their session agenda,

What role has sharing matters via Viewabill played in fostering collaboration throughout the legal process, and what overall impact has it had on your professional relationship with each other?"

The participants in this section include: 

Panelists:
Daniel Baker, Sr. Operations Lead, LinkedIn Legal
Mike Haven, Senior Corporate Counsel, Legal Operations and Litigation, NetApp
Vincent Cordo Jr., Global Director of Client Value, Reed Smith, LLP
Rick Howell, Director of Financial Systems, Perkins Coie, LLP
Justin Liu, Associate General Counsel, MGM Resorts International
Karen Anzuini, Chief Information Officer, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Moderator:
Robbie Friedman, CEO + co-founder, Viewabill

Continue Reading Fostering Collaboration Between Clients and Lawyers: The Transparency Piece

Following the first part of the Viewabill webinar (recording with audio available here), we headed into the next presentation, "Measuring Up." Viewabill says: 

It may come across as unseemly to acknowledge, but at its core, the practice of law is a business. What are some key performance metrics that firms use to determine whether they consider an engagement to have been "successful" and what is currently being done with those metrics in areas such as employee performance, operational efficiency, and predictive models?"

Clients apply their own set of metrics for determining quality, value, and success. What are some of the metrics they use when selecting outside counsel?"

Metrics and data are where it’s at these days, so it’s important to hear what both sides of the legal coin are doing. The speakers for this panel were: 

Panelists:
Vincent Cordo Jr., Global Director of Client Value, Reed Smith, LLP
D. Casey Flaherty, Corporate Counsel, Kia Motors
Rick Howell, Director of Financial Systems, Perkins Coie, LLP
Michael Hourwitz, Chief Financial Officer, Venable, LLP

Moderator:
Kenneth A. Grady, CEO, SeyfarthLean Consulting, LLC

Continue Reading The Buzz About Metrics

After hearing about some of the trends inside legal departments during the first part of Viewabill‘s webinar last week, the moderator opened it up to all of the panelists for their thoughts. Since panelists included both those inside legal departments, and those in law firms, it was a fascinating look at the push and pull of their relationships. 

To remind you of who the players are: 

Panelists (corporate counsel):
Daniel Baker, Sr. Operations Lead, LinkedIn Legal
Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff/Director of Legal Operations, NetApp
Panelists (law firms):
Vincent Cordo Jr., Global Director of Client Value, Reed Smith, LLP
Peter Lane Secor, Director of Strategic Pricing and Project Management, Pepper Hamilton LLP
Michael Hourwitz, Chief Financial Officer, Venable, LLP

Moderator:
Robbie Friedman, CEO + co-founder, Viewabill

Continue Reading Interplay Between Inside Legal Departments & Law Firms

On Monday, I listened in on Viewabill’s inside/outside counsel webinar – it was a long one (two and a half hours), so I’ll be breaking up my recaps by session to share with you.  I love listening to inside counsel speak about the dynamics of their relationships with their legal services providers, and there were some great thoughts shared by all sides in these sessions. 

First up is "Friends in Need." From Viewabill: 

Corporate legal departments are under increasing pressure to become ‘commercially aware’ and rise to the challenge of fulfilling the role of business partner, driving the company’s business objectives and risk profile. Inside counsel discuss their evolving role and what outside counsel can do to alleviate some of the pressure."

Law firms are also under pressure. Client value and legal sourcing teams are prominent in firms today; over 50% of the AmLaw 200 already employ a Pricing Director position to oversee project management. Stretched between serving as a resource for the firm’s clients while simultaneously battling internal resistance, law firms discuss how they handle the ‘new normal’ and ways clients can help bring about change."

Continue Reading Trends in Inside Legal Departments

 

   

 

 Member of the International Lawyers Network

 

The ILN is proud to announce our latest "Firm of the Month" – Davis & Gilbert LLP, New York!

Founded more than a century ago, Davis & Gilbert LLP is one of the largest single office law firms in New York City with more than 110 lawyers. They serve the legal needs of their clients both throughout the United States (since many of their clients have multiple U.S. operations) and internationally as clients’ needs dictate. Their practice reflects the leading industries driving New York’s economy. These include such dynamic service sector businesses as financial services, marketing communications, new media, fashion and retail, cosmetics and luxury goods, publishing, technology, hospitality and sports and entertainment. Their industry concentrations, combined with their sophisticated subject matter expertise, allow their lawyers to provide practical and specialized advice to businesses whose key assets are people and their ideas.

Their legal services include the full range of corporate and finance transactions (with an emphasis on middle market M&A), real estate, advertising and intellectual property, litigation, labor and employment, executive benefits and compensation, insolvency, tax and estate planning. Davis & Gilbert has been recognized for the past three years by The National Law Journal in its annual “Midsize Hot List” of the top twenty midsized firms in the United States, and they are one of only two firms to have received this honor so consistently. Additionally, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 U.S. and “Best Law Firms” have given national recognition to the firm’s Advertising, Intellectual Property, Corporate, Employment, Employment Litigation and Real Estate practices. They are especially proud to be consistently recognized in The BTI Consulting Group’s “Client Service A-Team,” an elite list of client service leaders amongst law firms nationwide.

Full descriptions of Davis & Gilbert LLP’s services, expertise, and lawyer profiles are available on their ILN profile.

Lindsay Griffiths
Director of Global Relationship Management
International Lawyers Network

Lindsay Griffiths

 

Learn More

 

Main Contacts: 

Michael Lasky

Michael Lasky

Email: mlasky@dglaw.com
Telephone: (212) 468.4849

Practice Groups:
Litigation; Public Relations Law

Joseph Lewczak

Joseph Lewczak

Email: jlewczak@dglaw.com
Telephone: (212) 468.4909

Practice Groups:
Advertising, Marketing & Promotions; Entertainment, Media & Publishing; Intellectual Property

Mitchell Karsch

Mitchell Karsch

Email: mkarsch@dglaw.com
Telephone: (212) 468.4860

Practice Groups:
Corporate

 
Alan Griffiths

“Davis & Gilbert LLP is a perfect example of the excellence and dedication to client service that the ILN seeks in its members. They are well-deserving of the title of Firm of the Month." 

Alan Griffiths
Executive Director
International Lawyers Network

+001.201.594.9985

www.ilntoday.com

 

One of the things I’m always thinking about is how to network better or differently. A lot of the articles I read offer the same tips, spun in a different way – and that’s important, because I can always get something out of implementing the tried and true.  But when I find something unique, I’m definitely excited to share it!

Last night, I came across this piece from Branding Magazine, with "5 Tips to Network Like the Pros." My last couple of posts have introduced the idea that big data is going to become more and more important for clients choosing lawyers, but that doesn’t mean the impact of relationships goes away. 

Bearing that in mind, let’s make 2015 the year that we supercharge our networking. Branding Magazine offers 5 tips, but for this Two for Tuesdays, let’s take a look at two of them, and how they relate to the legal industry.

Before we start, let’s first consider a couple of important points that the article makes about why networking is so essential – beyond just for building client relationships. In case you’ve ever thought that networking was a waste of time…

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Pro-Networking in 2015

We’re about an hour away from Viewabill’s two-hour webinar today on the topic of improving the attorney-client relationship! On Friday, I shared an interview I had done with Casey Flaherty of Kia Motors. I also had the pleasure of speaking with another of the panelists, Dan Baker, who is the Senior Operations Lead for LinkedIn Legal. 

Dan’s role at LinkedIn runs the gamut – he described his day as always moving the needle forward on a myriad of projects, from their pro bono program, career leveling, managing contracts, requisitioning, planning/forecasting, event planning, goal setting and tracking, spend reporting, liaising with others, budgeting, knowledge management, engaging firms, and much, much more. 

As a lady who wears lots of hats herself, I could absolutely sympathize with Dan’s role…and his need to make things as streamlined and efficient as possible. 

Friends in Need

The first session Dan will be a part of today is "Friends in Need," with inside and outside counsel discussing their changing roles, and how the other can help them. 

Continue Reading “Relationships Matter, But Not if We Can’t Afford Them” An Interview with Operations Lead, Dan Baker