Everyone and their brother will be writing posts this week about making plans and resolutions for 2015. Since I’m focused on finalizing my own marketing plan and jumping into the new year, it’s on my mind too, so I’m adding to the chatter. 

But I’m giving some thought to what I can add to the conversation that’s different to what you might be hearing elsewhere, and I’ve come up with the following two tips for you. 

Tip One: Throw Everything Out

It can be awfully tempting when you begin your planning to start with what you had the previous year. And while it’s absolutely important and valuable to build on the previous year’s success and progress, it can be just as useful to start with a clean slate. 

Heather Morse talks about how she starts her planning by cleaning off her white board.  And that’s what I’m encouraging you to do – wipe off your white board, start with a blank sheet of paper, mentally wipe your brain clean and start fresh.

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Planning for 2015

You may recall that at the beginning of 2014, I put together five posts on my wishes for you for the coming year: 

More than wishes, these posts were full of challenges to you on how to make 2014 a better year professionally. So how did you do? Let’s see if I took my own advice in 2014…

Plan & Be Open

I am, by nature, a huge planner. I LOVE lists and keep them everywhere, and I enjoy the challenge of putting together a marketing and business development plan for the coming year. So this was a no brainer for me. 

 

Continue Reading 10 Wishes for 2014 – How did we do?

For today’s Two for Tuesdays, I’m cheating a little and giving you a preview of a post I’ve written as part of the 12 Days of Social Media, which the Legal Marketing Association‘s Social Media Shared Interest Group is putting together.  As a side note, our 12 Days posts are open to everyone (not just LMA members), and I encourage you to read through them – there are some great tips and tools in there! 

I’m responsible for the 8th Day of Social Media (which is tomorrow), and tasked with sharing 8 Helpful Hashtags. I’m not going to divulge any of the eight, but I will share with you some information on why you should care about hashtags, and two ways to use them.  If you’re not familiar with what hashtags are, definitely check out tomorrow’s Day 8 post for a primer. 

Why Care About Hashtags?

So who cares about hashtags anyway? Sure, it seems fun and funny to make up a hashtag here and there to add to your tweets or Facebook posts (#justsaying), but why should they matter to lawyers and legal professionals? I’m here to tell you that there are PLENTY of reasons.

 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: What the Hashtag?

 

   

 

 Member of the International Lawyers Network

The ILN is proud to announce our latest "Firm of the Month" – Kochański Zięba Rapala & Partners of Poland!

Kochański Zięba Rapala & Partners was established in 1998 by Piotr Kochański, advocate and member of the Warsaw Bar Council and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) Bar. KZR&P currently consists of more than 70 fee earners and over 100 employees co-operating through offices in Warsaw, Krakow and Lublin. They are a full scope, business-oriented law firm, dedicated to providing clients with innovative and efficient legal solutions of the highest professional standards in various practice areas.

The distinct benefit of the firm is that they do not just provide clients with a “standard” law service, but they handle each case in a multidisciplinary manner, combining experience and knowledge from related fields of law. This comprehensive, “one stop shop” approach is highly appreciated by their clients, as it is efficient and leads to better quality and results.

They have not only experts’ legal knowledge and experience, but also the knowledge of the given market and the needs of individual sectors. They have gained comprehensive practice while advising various sectors, including financial institutions.

Full descriptions of Kochański Zięba Rapala & Partners’ 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: 

Rafal Zieba

Rafał Zięba

Email: r.zieba@kochanski.pl
Telephone: +48 22 326 96 00

Practice Groups:
Financial Law; Business Law; Tax Law; International Taxation; Commercial Transactions; Capital Markets; Commercial Litigation

Rafal Rapala

Rafał Rapala

Email: r.rapala@kochanski.pl
Telephone: +48 22 326 96 00

Practice Groups:
Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Law; Commercial Law; Securities; Asset Protection

Karolina Marciniszyn

Karolina Marciniszyn

Email: k.marciniszyn@kochanski.pl
Telephone: +48 22 396 96 00

Practice Groups:
Patent attorney, head of Industrial Property Administration Department

 
Alan Griffiths

“We’re thrilled to announce Kochański Zięba Rapala & Partners as our ILN Firm of the Month, with their excellent work and dedication to the Network." 

Alan Griffiths
Executive Director
International Lawyers Network

+001.201.594.9985

www.ilntoday.com

 

Somehow, it’s already December. 

I know, I can’t believe it either. But it’s true. And you know what that means – it’s time to review 2014 and prepare for 2015. A lot of people have already started this process, but I like to leave it until after our last conference of the year, so that I can incorporate as much feedback from my clients as possible. 

For me, December is a time of reflection. I take out my marketing/business development plan (which I have been reviewing throughout the year, not just this month) and take a good look at it. So in the shuffle to get through all of our year-end activities, try these two tips to have an even more productive 2015. 

Tip One: Review

While each new calendar year is a fresh start, there’s no better way to begin your planning than by taking some time to look back first. Hopefully, you’ve been regularly reviewing your marketing/business development plans, so you have an idea of where you stand in terms of accomplishments. 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesday: Review & Prepare

It’s hard to believe that only three days ago at this time, I was snorkeling with my clients in Costa Rica and seeing my first sting ray! Spending a few days with my clients always gets me thinking about networking, as you know, but it also gets me thinking about client service. So for today’s Two for Tuesdays, I have two tips for improving client service!

Tip One: Say Thank You

In the US, this week is Thanksgiving, so people are talking a lot about gratitude and what they are thankful for. After a tumultuous few years in the world economy, I think we can all agree that along with family and friends, we’re also pretty grateful for our clients. What better time to tell them?

While I advocate active gratitude on a yearly basis, Thanksgiving can be a good reminder for this. Reach out to your top five clients this week and thank them. Even if you’re not in the US, use it as a reminder to offer your clients your gratitude. Try: 

  • Thank you for trusting me with your business. 
  • I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with you. 
  • Thank you for being a client. 
  • I appreciate being your business adviser. 

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Client Service

You are in for a treat today, while I’m away at the ILN’s Regional Meeting of the Americas – we have a very special guest post! We’re welcoming Joanne Thorud, the Director of Marketing for the ILN’s Boston member, Davis, Malm & D’Agostine. She’s talking about one of my favorite subjects – client service – and shares with us an excellent post on why communication is so important in keeping clients happy. 

***

Last week, I attended the Legal Marketing Association New England’s annual regional conference in Boston. The theme of this year’s conference was Simplify to Maximize. There were a dozen programs and over 30 speakers who presented topics focused on cutting through clutter and static and delivering clear and concise messages. One message that resounded in almost every program I attended was communication is key to maximizing client relationships. It is not a new or revolutionary concept, but it is extremely relevant, especially in today’s legal climate.

Continue Reading Silence Isn’t Golden When it Comes to Managing Client Relationships

Since our Regional Meeting of the Americas kicks off on Thursday, there’s no more appropriate time to check in with some networking tips than today! We’ve covered a lot of "to dos" when it comes to networking, so today, I thought we’d take a look at what we should avoid doing when it comes to networking, and how to fix any networking mistakes we might make. 

In early October, Mashable shared this great list of the 5 Worst Networking Flops, and How to Recover From Them. There are two that are particularly important for lawyers when networking, and those are the two we’ll focus on in today’s Two for Tuesdays. Add your big pet peeves for networking in the comments, and your suggestions for recovering from them! 

Flop One: Too Much "You" in the Conversation

Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you – you’re deep in conversation with someone you’ve just met (or even someone you know well), only to realize that you’ve been talking about yourself the whole time! What to do?

Continue Reading Two for Tuesdays: Networking Mistakes

We are happy to announce that this month’s firm of the month is Cordero & Cordero Abogados, who will be hosting our Regional Meeting of the Americas this week! 

   

 

 Member of the International Lawyers Network

The ILN is proud to announce our latest "Firm of the Month" – Cordero & Cordero Abogados of Costa Rica!

Cordero & Cordero Abogados is a prominent and well-respected law firm in Costa Rica. It was established in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1940 by its founding partner Mr. Hernán Cordero-Zuñiga. Currently, it congregates a team of high-level attorneys, paralegals and specialized staff capable of assisting domestic and international clients with their everyday legal needs.

This general practice law firm strives to serve its clients on the basis of strict ethical principles, excellence in the services it provides and a personalized interaction with all of its clients. Since 2001, it expanded its Real Estate, Corporate and Foreign Investment practices to Liberia, Papagayo and the Tamarindo and Flamingo areas.

Full descriptions of Cordero & Cordero Abogados’ 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: 

Ricardo Cordero

Ricardo Cordero Baltodano

Email: rcb@corderoabogados.com
Telephone: +506 2258 2525

Practice Groups:
Corporate, Real Estate, Condominium Law, Due Diligence, and Maritime Zone Law

Hernán Cordero

Hernán Cordero Baltodano

Email: hcb@corderoabogados.com
Telephone: +506 2667 4242

Practice Groups:
Banking & Finance, Corporate, Real Estate, Energy Law, Transactions and Joint Ventures

 
Alan Griffiths

“Cordero & Cordero is hosting our 2014 Regional Meeting of the Americas in Guanacaste, and we’re excited to experience their warm hospitality!" 

Alan Griffiths
Executive Director
International Lawyers Network

+001.201.594.9985

www.ilntoday.com

 

On Tuesday, we had the pleasure of welcoming David Ackert of The Ackert Advisory for a special webinar presentation on Development Strategies for Associates. 

David began by sharing the agenda for the session, which included looking at: 

  • Getting a head start: why business development at the associate level is so critical
  • Leverage points: playing to your strengths
  • Networking strategies
  • Mentorship
  • Establishing credibility in your niche: this is a key way associates can start to differentiate themselves as they’re going about business development

Getting a Head Start

Business development for associates is all about getting a head start. David mentioned that the techniques that he’d address are designed to be as efficient as possible, because lawyers don’t have a lot of time at any level to do the kind of business development exploration that they might have in a more idea setting. They have to get there quickly. 

Continue Reading Development Strategies for Associates – A Webinar Recap