LJN Newsletters

You've seen or experienced the benefits of coaching firsthand. Now you want to persuade your firm to institute a coaching program for business development and/or general professional development. How do you go about it? The best approach is one that combines rational arguments, strategic "lobbying" and appeals to the ultimate decision-makers - in a way that best matches each individual's personal style.

This month's question:
We occasionally receive RFPs for work that we really don't want. How can we gracefully phrase the "thanks but no thanks" letter?

Whether you're building a marketing staff, replacing departing employees or expanding the skill sets available for your firm, you'll make better hires if you use a few simple steps to clarify and control the process.

Imagine, for a moment that, instead of being an attorney, you are a pile of tea. I'm fairly certain no one has ever asked you to do so before, but bear with me. You are a pile of tea. Not a big pile. A few ounces. And, truth be told, you aren't much different than any other pile of tea. You might be a slightly different flavor. You might be decaffeinated. And, while tea connoisseurs might disagree, to almost everyone else, let's face it, tea is tea. Now, here's your choice: You can put yourself in a generic box with the local supermarket chain's logo on it and sell on aisle 14 for $1.99, or you can pack yourself into a fancy white box decorated with Japanese higura characters with delicate cranes and bonsai trees, call yourself Tazo, and sell at Starbucks for $4.99.

If you've watched "That '70s Show" and lived through the era, you get a good chuckle out of reminiscing. If you're a bit younger, the music, clothing and situations may seem like strange rituals. So it is with the changing landscape of law firm marketing. For firms who market successfully, the promotional-based approach of the '80s has morphed into something that's far more strategic and owes more to long-range planning than it does to short-term tactics.

What is the single biggest marketing expense at many large law firms? Not hip, computer-animated television commercials. Not bold, full-page ads in The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. Certainly not pens and tote bags handed out to clients and law students.

News and developments in legal tech.

Founded in 1845, Robinson & Cole LLP is a commercial law firm with more than 200 lawyers in six offices throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. As with most firms, our time and billing system is critical to daily operations. Vast amounts of information go into the system, but extracting data in a meaningful way was always a struggle.