LJN Newsletters

  • Media & Communications Corner: Who Are They Going to Call? Someone They Know

    When "sales" was still just a five-letter word in law firms, lawyers found some comfort in the basics of marketing. They could get the name of the firm "out there" without actually having to do much themselves.
    In the last 5 years, though, firms have increasingly looked at activities such as media relations, seminars, brochures and Web development as low return activities. Business development, in contrast, seemingly offers a much higher return on investment by focusing the money on the prospects most likely to buy. As a logical extension, a number of firms have shifted their marketing budget largely to business development activities. And, even from the point of view of a strict marketer, this is not all bad.

    June 28, 2005ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Book Review: Free Publicity

    Free Publicity is a concise but substantial look into the mechanisms and motivations of the modern media. The book is full of short and succinct examples of how ordinary people and businesses have been successful using the press to promote their own agendas. As the title suggests, if you know how to work the system, you too can spread your message around the world without spending a cent.

    June 28, 2005Charles Gillis

  • How Not To Get 'Whacked' By Journalists

    There are those in PR who are just plain annoying. I used to think ' during my live TV days at CNN ' What is their objective? Getting to speak to me, or pitching a story? I think for many, it was the former. If they didn't have their pitch down in 20 seconds, they lost me and got "whacked!" For many, I never returned calls. Nothing personal, I just didn't have time to return all of them; if I had, I would have missed my deadlines and been out of a job!
    Here are some basic rules for how not to become a public relations flack that's whacked!

    June 28, 2005Paramjit Mahli

  • A Client Perspective On Law Firm Marketing and Sales

    As the competition for premier legal work continues to stiffen, firms are increasingly forced to change the way they position, promote and sell themselves. Firm leaders and marketing professionals face a daily battle of convincing their professionals that the tactics of 15, 10, even 5 years ago may no longer be relevant.
    Often, the most persuasive ammunition a marketing agent can possess is the opinion of a client ' someone who is a professional buyer of legal services.

    June 28, 2005Craig Levinson and Gabriel Miller

  • Best Practices of Cross Marketing and Selling New Services To Clients

    Cross selling is an elusive goal for law firms. The idea is simple: To interest clients that are using one practice area in using a second or third area. But the devil is in the details, and most cross-selling plans fail as soon as they meet one of several common objections.
    As a result, to paraphrase Mark Twain, everyone talks about cross selling, but nobody is doing anything about it.

    June 28, 2005Larry Bodine and Michael Cummings

  • Opportunity In Crisis

    We often perceive a negative outcome in a legal case or a discredited witness in a trial to be a crisis, and we react principally to the danger attached to that concept. Our response at these times can make the crucial difference between success and failure. With every crisis, we must make a concerted effort to discover the opportunities inherent.

    June 28, 2005Gina F. Rubel and Laura Athavale Fitton

  • News Not All Good For Google ' Or Its Advertisers

    Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you always should." Never has that saying had more meaning than when it comes to Internet advertising. True, this new avenue for advertising has helped some companies exponentially increase their business, but the methods for "re-directing" prospective customers have come under great scrutiny by the courts in the last 6 months. Recent decisions warn that keyword advertising through paid placements such as "Sponsored" or "Featured" ads could lead you directly to the defendant's table in federal court.

    June 28, 2005Melissa L. Klipp

  • New News

    Recent developments of note in the Internet industry. This month:
    FCC Requires VoIP to Clean up Its 911 Act
    House Votes to Eliminate Spyware
    Intermix Settles Adware Suit with Spitzer

    June 28, 2005Compiled by Sam Fineman

  • Trademark Law Shapes Internet Pop-up Ads

    Despite their negative public images, Internet pop-up ads and unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam) have transfigured marketing. Like spam, Internet pop-ups can be lawful if they are not deceptive.

    June 28, 2005Jonathan Bick