Law Firm Management

In-house counsel have, after years of grumbling, finally motivated law firms to act differently, putting client needs above the law firms' own arcane business models and billing policies. However, few law firm leaders view these changes as positive, so many do a poor job of promoting their enhanced capabilities as a competitive advantage.

For attorneys and law firm marketers, the advent of smartphones means a new frontier for gathering information ' and a new competitive arena.

Most, if not all, law firms have a professional presence online these days, so that is no longer a key differentiator ' but what they do with these websites is. Smart firms are moving away from static text-only websites that look just like their competitors' websites and are rarely, if ever, updated with fresh content. And they're doing something else, too: focusing on branding.

Wow, what a year 2011 was. While the economy barely hung on for many law firms that had once seemed invincible, our legal marketing colleagues around the country were busy innovating to heights not seen before in our professional space. It is a great time to be engaged in marketing law firms, indeed.

e-Discovery issues are becoming increasingly more complex while associated review costs keep rising dramatically ' often threatening to overshadow the substantive issues of the litigation or investigation at hand. Because of this, more and more corporations are turning to a two-tiered model when it comes to new matters: one law firm (or separate group within the law firm) that will focus on preservation, collection and review; and a separate team of lawyers that will focus on the actual merits of the case.

Economic nexus statutes are sweeping across the nation. The consequence for law firms is that your firm may be required to file a tax return in a state which no firm member or employee has even been in.

After years of study, thousands of hours of congressional testimony, hundreds of hearings and uncountable public comments, the Department of Labor issued Reg 408(b)2 and 404(a), designed to force better disclosure. With this better information, it is hoped that both plan providers and participants will make better decisions, leading to improved retirement preparation for America's workers.

Publicity, which is a basic purpose of the media release, uses the release as a basic tool. It's not an end in itself, despite the artistry of a good release. Its purpose is to communicate ' an idea, a fact, a product's value or superiority. It should inform, it should be read by a target audience, it should clarify or persuade. And it should get published.