TechnoLawyer: Law Firm Marketing/Publications/Web Sites

Think you know everything about starting a new practice? Notwithstanding your legal talent, you also need business talent — a key ingredient in the launch of a successful law firm. In this article, legal coach and consultant Edward Poll differentiates business from law and explains how to create an environment in which both can thrive. In doing so, Ed lays down ten Do's and Don'ts.

In July, we reported that Reed Smith had fired prominent blogger and TechnoLawyer member Denise Howell (she coined the word "blawg"). I'm pleased to report that Denise has a new gig — several actually. ZDNet has hired her to pen the legal blog Lawgarithms, and Leo Laporte of TechTV and TWIT fame has hired her to create a podcast called TWIL (This Week in Law). In addition, Denise continues to write her personal blog and record the Sound Policy podcast at IT Conversations.

Longtime TechnoLawyer member Lewis Kinard has assumed the title of CEO and General Counsel of Practice Manager Group, developer of Practice Manager, a soup-to-nuts case management solution. Kinard previously served as the company's COO. Kinard's story is similar to that of Victor Kiam — he liked the product so much, he joined the company.

Finally, TechnoLawyer member and law firm trainer extraordinaire Carole Levitt of Internet for Lawyers has published the latest edition of Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet, which explains how to use the Internet to investigate just about anything — from digging up dirt to impeaching someone's credibility to finding missing people, property records, political party affiliations, unlisted phone numbers, cell phone numbers, and much more. Read it before your adversary does!

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In the late 1990s, entrepreneur Josh Harris set up a Web site at weliveinpublic.com, and set out to do exactly that. It proved a short-lived experiment — and he lost his girlfriend in the process. It just goes to show that a toilet cam is not a good idea on so many levels.

Earlier this month, Law Office of Perry Zivley, a husband and wife law firm in Houston, embarked on a similarly public experiment — taking their firm from the stone ages to the 21st century in 30 days — including a blog.

Marketing and technology consultant Jamie Parks has set up a blog to report on the progress, and has posted the first of what looks to be several video interviews on YouTube. He has also uploaded the recording of a marketing strategy meeting in which he discusses online marketing with the Zivleys.

So far this experiment is more interesting in theory than in practice. Nonetheless, listening to the strategy meeting is something of a guilty "fly on the wall" pleasure. Let's hope Jamie takes this work in progress to the next level in the next few weeks (and let's hope he tells the Zivleys about TechnoLawyer). Take a peep.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Lots of people claim that they can help your site achieve a high rank in Google. The search engine optimization (SEO) industry has grown rapidly over the years. However, because SEO requires knowledge more than any particular skill (unlike, say graphic design), you could do it yourself if you have the time and inclination (as we have done at TechnoLawyer).

To get started, go to the source. Read Google's article entitled Webmaster Guidelines.

Then, subscribe to the High Rankings newsletter.

Finally, consider adding a blog to your site (at your domain name). A blog is the cheapest available content management system, which will enable you to add content without programming. Blogs have a reputation as highly-personal soapboxes. But group blogs that cover news and information can perform just as well in Google. This type of blog would replace the pages on your traditional site for articles and firm news. Actually, you could keep those pages as well and have them dynamically update as you add material to your blog.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

TechnoLawyer member and law firm business coach extraordinaire Ed Poll has published not one, not two, but three new books.

Like any business, law firms need capital to grow, but law firms cannot sell equity so they often seek loans instead. In The Banker Lawyer Relationship, Poll explains how to develop a winning relationship with a commercial bank. Learn more.

Everyone likes a secret as long as they're among those in the know. In More Secrets of the Business of Law, Poll covers everything from raising your rates to exceeding your clients' expectations — and much more. Learn more.

Today, we all suffer from a shortening attention span. Well, either that or we're devoting more of our attention to silly videos on YouTube. Whatever the cause, Poll meets you halfway with Business Competency for Lawyers, a 30-minute read free of technical jargon that covers everything you need to know about running a law firm. Learn more.

Finally, TechnoLawyer member and legal technology uber-consultant (God?) Ross Kodner has launched a startup company called Factum, which will provide online legal technology CLE programs. In his press release, Ross promises that Factum's "programs are radically different from the mainstream put-you-to-sleep, raw-presenter-staring-at-a-camera typical online CLE presentations." Factum launches next month.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Via Technolawyer member, Oklahoma Bar Association executive, and legal technology blogger Jim Calloway comes news of a free eBook, First 100 Days: Transitioning a New Managing Partner.

Written by legal business consultant Patrick J. McKenna, the eBook features an essay chock full of advice and action lists followed by pearls of wisdom from managing partners at various law firms (McKenna's clients perhaps?).

The content is great, but unfortunately the eBook uses NXTBook, a user-unfriendly eBook viewer. In case you're wondering why McKenna didn't use PDF format, NXTBook sponsored the eBook. Nonetheless, it's worth the read, particularly since you can print a copy. Read First 100 Days.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

On February 11, 2002 in this newsletter, I wrote: "Despite the years of competition, the case management market still has many players. But last year, West Group acquired ProLaw and Lexis-Nexis allied itself with Time Matters. Will further consolidation occur? Will we ever see a roll-up or merger involving a case management solution and an accounting or time-billing solution?"

Since then, LexisNexis has acquired Time Matters and PCLaw, and more recently CaseSoft and Dataflight. Thomson-West, Wolters Kluwer, and other companies have also made strategic acquisitions.

What does it all mean? Veteran technology reporter John K. Waters attempts to answer this question in his Law.com article, LexisNexis Mergers: Toward a Microsoftesque Monoculture?

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Thanks to you, TechnoLawyer was among the first publishers to identify Dell's customer service problems, which have contributed to the company's woes. Dell has even launched a blog to address concerns and keep customers apprised of its restructuring efforts.

But Dell has another problem. For consumers and small businesses, computers are once again being perceived as cool — a word few people would use to describe Dell's product line. By contrast, Apple and HP have unveiled stylish computers this year with slick TV ads to match. HP even lets you create your own version of its ads. Dell recently acquired Alienware, but those high-end machines have a limited audience.

If Dell shores up service and remains competitive on price, will that be enough? Or must it also start designing PCs with sex appeal across its entire product line?

Update: It looks my crystal ball was crystal clear for a change. On July 27, 2006, BusinessWeek published an article entitled Microsoft, Design Guru about how a group within Microsoft is trying to persuade PC manufacturers to build sleeker, sexier PCs.

From the article: "The Windows Vista Industrial Design Toolkit, hand-delivered to about 70 designers, contains everything a PC maker needs — color palette, suggested materials, even graphics for icons and power buttons — to create computers, laptops, and peripherals that hew to Vista's look. A separate booklet exhorts hardware makers to eschew drab, utilitarian boxes. Microsoft is providing the toolkit for free and vows not to strong-arm any company into incorporating the concepts."

About TechnoEditorials

A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Earlier this year I proclaimed 2006 the year of mobile video. Well, uhm, I think was off by about five years. Maybe ten. Instead, I should have proclaimed it the year of YouTube, the site that finally delivered on the promise of online video — for both filmmakers and their audience. One aspect of my prediction has come to pass, however — lawyers using online video as a marketing tool. For example, Allison Margolin, a criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles, created a 3:35 minute film about her work and uploaded it to YouTube. So far it has garnered 1,751 views.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Most lawyers wouldn't admit getting fired to their friends much less blog about it, but that's exactly what Denise Howell (former IP Memes contributor) did last week after being fired from Reed Smith. Her Post in her Bag & Baggage blog has sparked a flurry of supportive Posts from fellow bloggers. Notwithstanding this publicity, the facts remain a mystery — and may never see the light of day. Will this event become a turning point in the way law firms handle sensitive personnel issues? Only time will tell.

Read Denise Howell's Post, Have Aeron, Will Travel. Read what other bloggers have had to say.

And speaking of large firm antics, two weeks ago we reviewed Billable Hours, an amusing spoof about partners in large law firms. About 1,000 of you got to see the film before it was yanked from YouTube for reasons we don't know. Fortunately, we found another copy of the film. Watch it while you still can.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.