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Open Plea to Legal Marketers … little help?

Me Learning to be Humble

Asking for Help ... Hat in Hand

Being the Practicehacker doesn’t mean I know everything. Take law firm marketing for instance.  
In real life I run a 3-lawyer suburban Chicago practice engaged in what I call “Small Business” law; i.e. we do pretty much everything a small business or its owners need their lawyer to do, including:
  • Business start-ups, incorporation, organization
  • Contracts: drafting, review, enforcement, terms
  • Hiring and firing of employees and contractors
  • Commercial litigation, collections, and defense
  • Real estate transaction, liens and construction
  • Business, stock and asset, sale and purchase
  • Divorce and estate planning for entrepreneurs
  • Bankruptcy, reorganization, crisis management
I can’t think of any aspect of practice organization,management, or marketing that I couldn’t improve. In fact, I am absolutely certain that I must learn to do a lot of things better. Of course, if I had to single out one thing for attention at the moment, it would have to be our law firm marketing.
Full disclosure: I’ve never been satisfied with my firm’s online or social media presence. I mean, my name is out there, but the picture that emerges of my firm seems fragmented and weak. Then again, my off-line presence is no better. I’ve prepared and delivered seminars, given talks both locally and nationally, and have had articles published all over. But to what end?
The worst part of the problem is that it feels like my office is being severely underutilized. After a harrowing couple of years in this see-saw economy, I finally have a stable team of trained lawyers and staff, with more becoming available all the time. But if what we have to offer does not reach the right Clients, it’s wasted. That’s the hardest part of the problem: matching the right skills with the right Clients and keeping the process going.
There is one final caveat: I need new marketing initiatives to have a measurable ROI so we can decide whether to stay with it, pivot, or abandon it and start over.  If anyone thinks they can take a crack at evaluating our situation, or knows someone else who can, please get in touch or leave that information in the comments to this post.  
Thanks to everyone who thinks they can help.

17

09 2011


by practicehacker
posted in bankruptcy, Blogging, business, Career and Job, competition, current-events, employment, facebook, Google, law office, Marketing, media, new media, old media, practice, practice management, referrals, social media, social media tools, the business of law, tips, twitter, Video, website, websites, Wisdom of Crowds, work, youtube
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Instant Law Clerk

Ilc_banner

This is the second really good practice hack that I’ve come across in a week, and it incorporates all the best things about the new, new Internet (Web 2.1?): crowdsourcing, naming your own price, friction-free transactions, and cheap labor.

Cheap labor, you say? You bet. Instant Law Clerk uses the cheapest, most plentiful resource in the world – law students – to deliver research to practicing attorneys faster than they can do it themselves, and at a fraction of the cost. The idea is so simple, it’s a wonder law schools haven’t monopolized the market themselves. The recipe is compelling: take one practitioner short on time and resources but in need of research to make it to trial or to meet a briefing schedule; add a law student in need of cash and real-world experience; and you’ve got a match made in Internet heaven.

So now the only question you need to answer is: Are you still doing your own research? Why? When you can simply enter a question to be answered and name your price at www.instantlawclerk.com? Their team of 2nd and 3rd year students from around the country is ready to do the research so you can analyze, review, and ultimately use the results in your pleadings, letters, and memoranda.

Leaving you with more time to play golf … er … prepare for trial.

Posted via email from practice (redux)

12

09 2011


by practicehacker
posted in business, collaborative tools, community, crowdsourcing, current-events, disruptive technology, hacking, law, law office, legal marketplace, legal research, outsourcing, practice, practice management, startup, technology, the business of law, tips, tools, web 2.0, websites, work
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A Very Yahoo! Timeline

The Rise and Fall of Yahoo.pdf Download this file

 

As we all know by now thanks to articles like this one, Yahoo -! that stalwart pioneer of the World Wide Web and harbinger of search engines to come – has fired it’s CEO and put itself up for sale. Which raises the question: How did Yahoo! go from Hero to Zero in just over a decade? Funny you should ask … I’ve put together this handy chart to answer that very question.

Posted via email from practice (redux)

 

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07

09 2011


by practicehacker
posted in business, current-events, startup, web 2.0, website, websites
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Client Papers – Secure Sharing for Lawyers

Client Papers

I was recently contacted by Dan Decker, COO of Client Papers, which provides a simple and inexpensive online document repository for secure sharing of documents.

According to Dan, as a sole practitioner and owner of a software company he was disappointed with available solutions for document sharing. In particular Dan says that he was after the elusive simple, stand-alone, file sharing solution. When he couldn’t find one he did what all good entrepreneurs do – he built it. The result is Client Papers.

The site is as simple as they come, has only 3 pricing levels, and tops out at less than $50/mo. for unlimited storage, attorney and staff users, and client users.

Bonus: the first 20 readers who sign up and mention Practicehacker get an additional 2 months for free. Posted via email from practice (redux)

10

06 2011


by practicehacker
posted in business, chart, collaborative tools, community, current-events, disruptive technology, document automation, document exchange, e-discovery, enterprise, ESI, google docs, knowledge management, law, law office, practice, practice management, radical transparency, records, remote, the business of law, unbundling, web 2.0, website, websites
1 Comment

Opzi Upgrades Galore!

You remember our piece about Opzi,  the Q&A sensation that’s sweeping the nation? Sure you do. Well, Opzi has upgraded and is delivering more bang for your buck. Changes in this iteration include:

  • Improved stability
  • Attach files to pages
  • Embed images and video
  • Easily link between pages
  • Create”Read-only” users

Sign in here and see for yourself. 

Also, the company welcomes feedback here.

Posted via email from practice (redux)

 

Tags: , ,

07

06 2011


by practicehacker
posted in apps, Blogging, browser, business, chrome, collaborative tools, community, cool stuff, crowdsourcing, current-events, disruptive technology, DIY, extension, Foursquare, Glympse, location-based, mobile, Opzi, practice, Quora, technology, the business of law, tips, tools, website, websites, Wisdom of Crowds
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40tech

40Tech
Tech for people over 40? Really? I’m not sure whether I should be gratified or insulted.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from practice (redux)

15

05 2011


by practicehacker
posted in Blogging, business, community, practice, website, websites, Wordpress
No Comments

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