Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

Were you a member of the famous LawMarketing Listserv when they hired a bus to take us to Tavern on the Green in New York for a party just for us?

That was awesome. It was one of many amazing events in the life of the LawMarketing Listerv. But after 17 years it has been retired and relaunched on Yahoo Groups. John C. Ford, Director of Editorial Services of Hellerman Baretz Communications covered the highlights in an interview with me:

Back in 1996 there was no place online where legal marketers could get quick answers to questions like, “Are you doing a client survey?” “How much does that new job pay?” “Do you know about a good graphic design shop?”

So two colleagues and I in Chicago started the LawMarketing Listserv when this was whiz-bang technology. At the time, I was the marketing director for Sidley in Chicago and needed to be able to send an email to dozens of marketing colleagues quickly and easily. This listserv was the answer and it quickly grew to 1,000 members worldwide by word of mouth alone.

We got so big, that The American Lawyer magazine hosted a party for Listserv members at Tavern on the Green in Central Park in New York. A bus picked us up at the hotel where the LMA conference was, and we went to our own special, fancy event. It was a magic event where people who had become fast friends on the Listserv got to meet each other in person. We had door prizes, free drinks and special black “G4P” buttons. Ostensibly, G4P mean “going for profit.” But if you were in the know, it stood for “gluttons for punishment,” which is how many law firm marketers feel.

Read on about the LawMarketing Listserv in Quick Questions for . . . Larry Bodine, where the interview covers:

What was the impetus for starting the listserv, and what was the initial reaction to it?

Do you have a favorite memory from your time moderating the listserv?

If you were to create something like the listserv today, what format would you choose?  A Twitter chat?  A LinkedIn group?  Something else entirely?

What is the biggest mistake you see firms making in their social media efforts?

By the way, the LawMarketing Listerv has risen from the ashes in a new Yahoo Group that you can join for free at Groups.yahoo.com/group/Lawmarketing.