I COULD LEARN A LOT FROM YOU <i>What Can Product Marketers Teach Us?</i>
It's been suggested by several readers that our orientation toward professional services marketing, as opposed to product marketing, is a prejudice. Admittedly, it's at least a bias against a pervasive academic view that the techniques of marketing a product apply equally to marketing a professional service. And indeed, the most successful professional services marketers tend to look to other professional services firms for answers and the best ideas, as well as for validation of their own ideas and processes. Still, it would be foolish to automatically preclude any idea that's been forged in a marketplace of ideas. In a rational world, we take ideas from any reasonable place, accept the good ones, and eliminate the ones that are bad or not applicable. That means that are things to be learned by professional services marketers from the Toyotas and Microsofts and Dells of the world.
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Health Care Account Choices for Law Firms
With the rising care of health costs, many law firms are finding it economically difficult to provide their employees with health insurance. One of the ways law firms are mitigating this issue is by offering health insurance plans with greater employee out-of-pocket expenses. Congress offers several types of tax-favored accounts that a law firm can provide to its employees that can be used to pay for these additional medical expenses. Each type of account comes with advantages and disadvantages, which are explored in this article.
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Your People In the World
The hazards of misunderstanding, always present in human communication, are multiplied in the intercultural environment, and manners, language and knowledge of geography are only parts of the problem. People need a framework for recognizing, collecting and applying what they will be learning throughout their careers in this new world.
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Do Associates Still Care About Making Partner?
Whether the frequent gripe is true that 'associates today don't want to work hard and pay their dues like we did,' what is certainly true is that a number of forces have conspired to make equity partnership less attainable and less desirable in many firms than it used to be. As the typical law firm career path becomes more fluid, less traditional and less predictable, law firm leaders and associates alike are struggling to come to terms with what the changes mean for recruiting, retention, professional development, promotion, capitalization, individual contribution and compensation, just to name a few of the many question marks.
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Career Journal: When the Call Comes
In 2008, despite some law firms feeling the brunt of the economic woes besieging the country, many are still in the hunt for marketing talent. It should come as no surprise that when you combine that temptation with the general dissatisfaction felt by most, you have so many willing to take the leap.
IS DIVERSITY A PREFERENCE OR A VALUE ADDED?
IS DIVERSITY A PREFERENCE OR A VALUE ADDED? AS someone who has operated extensively on both the buyer and seller sides of the legal profession, I'm naturally prone to preaching the "understanding your client" doctrine as the key best practice for all marketing and business development efforts. While I've taken some pains, in this publication and elsewhere,to define what "understanding your client" actually means, it is important to remind ourselves that the process of getting…
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How to Tailor a Partner Scorecard To Your Individual Firm's Goals
Last month, we reviewed what a partner scorecard is and why keeping score is important. This month we review how to tailor a scorecard to your individual firm's goals.
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Law Firm Management Is Cash Management
Money. Every firm has it. But unfortunately, some people want to take what doesn't belong to them, and they may seek out ways to target your firm's cash. The elements of motive, opportunity and rationalization are present in nearly every scheme. Eliminating or mitigating any of these factors will make it more difficult for a fraudster to target your firm. In a tightening economy, it is more crucial than ever that you remain diligent about protecting assets. The identification, implementation and testing of internal controls over cash receipts and disbursements is a critical step, because even small dollar amounts taken over months or years can add up and entangle your firm in a costly situation.
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