The MLF 50/II
April 27, 2006
Once again, our readership has requested that we launch a listing of The Top 50 Small to Mid-Size Law Firms in Marketing and Communications. I'm a big believer that many smaller firms can 'do more with less' in terms of marketing dollars. I've seen very inventive and forward thinking marketing strategies come out of some of smaller to mid-size firms, and so for that reason and many others, here is an opportunity for those firms to showcase their marketing and communications strategies. This listing will bring to bear all the achievements of these firms. My hope is that as many firms as are eligible will submit essays so that the listing will showcase these worthy firms.
The Rich Are Different
April 27, 2006
A clash of attitudes colors the current debate over the extent to which the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) should apply to small public companies. The most visible argument is that small companies should not have to shoulder the same compliance burdens as large companies do, simply because they can't afford to. But that premise is being challenged by studies, derided by a number of commentators, and viewed with public skepticism even by some SEC Commissioners. It assumes that were money no object, small and large companies should be regulated the same. If that assumption is true, then any argument for relaxed compliance that hinges on expense is vulnerable. Cost seldom satisfies as a reason for not doing something that ought otherwise be done. However, it is wrong to assume that the main difference between small and large companies is how much money they have. Large and small companies play very different roles in the national economy and in the minds of investors. The very large companies really are different than their smaller brethren, and not just because they have more money.
Is Your Hotline AAA-Rated?
April 27, 2006
Many organizations have hotlines that are needlessly weak or even ineffective, and they often don't even know it. There are no up-to-date, authoritative standards for hotlines. This has forced SEC registrants and their auditors to use an unusually high degree of judgment in evaluating the effectiveness of hotlines for Sarbanes-Oxley ' 404 reporting. Non-registrants are even more vulnerable to 'phantom hotline syndrome.'
Proving ROI on Marketing By Measuring Marketing Effectiveness
April 27, 2006
Management guru and author Peter Drucker said, 'If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.' So why is it that so few law firms measure their marketing efforts? Why is it that so many CMOs that are getting hammered by partners to demonstrate ROI on their efforts can't do it?
Majority Voting
April 27, 2006
The labor union-driven movement to require that directors be elected by a majority vote rather than a mere plurality has gained traction with remarkable speed. As highlighted by Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP's company-by-company Study of Majority Voting in Director Elections (available at www.ngelaw.com), majority voting has become a marquee issue for the 2006 proxy season that creates the specter of unintended consequences, such as triggering change of control clauses in credit agreements. While a powerful force by itself, majority voting is a component of a group of governance 'reforms' that signal a shift in the balance of power between boards and stockholders.
PM Forum North America, New York Chapter: The New and Improved Version!
April 27, 2006
Back in 2004, I wrote an article announcing that the PM Forum was arriving here in the U.S. and that the New York Chapter was being launched. That was then and this is now. The new and improved version is having its inaugural soiree in New York City on May 4th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Club Metropolitan.
<b>Technology In Marketing: </b> Attorney Blogging: Best Practices
April 27, 2006
Obtaining a high search-engine ranking may no longer be enough to realize the business potential of a blog. The reason is that as the use of blogs as a marketing tool proliferates among lawyers, differences in quality between blogs covering the same topic will become evident. There are only so many blogs that prospective clients can read on a daily basis, and as the number of choices grow, readers will become more and more selective. It is therefore critical for any lawyer launching a blog to consider 'best practices' that will set his or her blog apart from the pack.
