Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

Survey of Women Lawyers Reveals Shocking Results

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

The 2008 National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Survey produced some shocking data, including that, on average, a female equity partner earns $87,000 a year less than a male equity partner.

The best way for a woman lawyer to reach the position of equity partner may be to make a lateral move: two-thirds of the new women equity partners in the sample were laterals, and 31% of all new equity partners were recent laterals.
Women continue to be markedly under-represented in the upper levels of law firms.
The majority of women who start as associates in firms do not reach the position of equity partners. Fewer than 16% of women lawyers are equity partners.
Law firm leaders, including governing committees and managing partners, are overwhelmingly male.
Even in the best of circumstances, women are promoted to equity partner at only about half the rate as men.

Nearly 97% of large firms have implemented women’s initiatives, which provide a combination of programs on professional development, networking, mentoring and/or business development. Given that women’s initiatives and formal programs for business development skills are relatively new activities in firms, it is too early to say whether these various programs will enhance the level of business development among women lawyers.

For the full NAWL survey please visit: http://www.nawl.org/Assets/Documents/2008+Survey.pdf. It is the only national study of the nation’s 200 largest law firms which annually tracks the progress of women lawyers at all levels of private practice, including the most senior positions, and collects data on firms as a whole rather than from a subset of individual lawyers.

NAWL is a national organization devoted to the interests of women lawyers and women’s rights. Founded in1899, NAWL is the only national women’s bar association with individual and organizational member nationwide, including law firms, law firm attorneys, corporations, in-house counsel, government attorneys, law schools, and law school professors.

"Elevator Pitch" Post Deleted

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:33:40 -0500

I sincerely apologize for the crude and offensive "Elevator Pitch" post I put online last week. In the clear light of morning, it is clear that it was anti-Semitic and repellent. I want to thank all the people who commented and called me about it; I listened and took what you said to heart.

I have deleted the post. It was a mistake to repeat a crude joke that I heard in rural Illinois, and I should have known better. It was a worse mistake to say it was the "best" of its kind, when actually it was hideous.

The post offended people I admire and hold near. I certainly don't espouse the kind of thinking behind the obnoxious "elevator pitch" and don't want anyone to think I do. A friend called me, recounting how he heard a Holocaust survivor describe being evaluated by Dr. Mengele in a concentration camp, but was fortunate to be passed over. I was horrified and immediately deleted the blog post. A member of my own family was captured in the Second World War and imprisoned in a Russian concentration camp until the 1950s, and there was nothing funny about it.

I regret I didn't delete it sooner, and should have had the good sense not to put it online in the first place.

Marketing the Marketing Department

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Nothing is more frustrating when a an MBA or JD who has toiled in the firm's marketing vineyards, striven mightily to generate new business for the firm, and vainly proposed great ideas like CRM, client surveys and competitive intelligence only to have them ignored -- than it is to have a lawyer at the firm ask:

"What exactly do you do in marketing?"

The ever-successful Iris Jones of Chadbourne & Parke in New York has come up with a remedy: print a one-page directory of the Business Development and Marketing Department, naming the marketing professionals, describing concisely what they do and listing their phone number.

Examples:

Iris Jones - Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer, 212-408-1143

Oversees the functions of the department
Manages department strategic plan, budget
Principal leader of client development efforts
Lead strategist on presentations and proposals: business development trainer
Builds and facilitates client teams

Andrew Blum - Media Relations Manager, 212-728-4519

Liaises with the media, handling proactive and reactive PR with reporters, editors and producers
Places bylined articles and op-ed pieces
Distributes press releases and internal announcements

The one-sheet, distributed firmwide, also describes 19 additional professionals in New York, London, Moscow and Warsaw:

Director of Marketing Leslie Stenull, Staff writer & Editor Van Wallach, Design & Creative Services Manager Andrew Watts, Business Development Manager Angelica Crisi, Business Development Coordinator Arlene Dominguez, Conference & Events Manager Michelle Shirian, Marketing Technology Manger Thomas Vitale, Marketing Coordinator Kwasi Mendoza, Marketing Coordinator Alaina Maggio, Corporate Business Development Specialist Stephen Ruben, Litigation Business Development Specialist Michael Coston, Marketing Coordinator Kieran Morgan, Marketing Consultant Lesley Wright, Editor/Marketing Coordinator Amanda Dahler, Marketing Coordinator Jurgen Dersch, Marketing Manager Monika Grzybowska and Administrative Assistant Alessandra Composto.

LTN AWARDS Deadline Extended to Dec. 3 - Nominate your firm/law dept.

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:00:00 -0500

By popular demand, Law Technology News has extended the deadline to enter its 2008 LTN Awards to WEDNESDAY DEC 3.

Especially in tough economic times, here's an opportunity to showcase your organization's technology stars -- and projects. Toda y, as Doug Caddell (a former winner of IT Director of the Year) says, you can't just sell your legal skills -- who also have to "sell" your technology. What better way to demonstrate your success than winning one of beautiful lucite stars signifying that your organization is the best of 2008?

The process is simple and painless... Just download the application at www.lawtechnologynews.com (click on LTN Awards on top nav bar) -- or visit www.tinyurl.com/LTNawards

Categories include:
• IT Director of the Year (your IT director or a IT key staff member)
• IT Champion of the Year (a non-IT person at your organization who has helped advance technology adoptation)

• Most innovative use of technology in:
-- A trial
-- A law firm
-- A law dept.
-- A pro bono project

The eligibility period for projects is July 31, 07- July 31, 08.

As Nike sez, "Just Do IT!" and as the NY Lottery sez, "You can't win if you don't enter!"

Questions? Contact Kevin Iredell kevin.iredell@incisivemedia.com

White & Case Lays Off 70 Associates, 100 staff

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:01:56 -0500

From the AmLaw Daily Blog:

White & Case said it will lay off about 3 percent of its global legal and staff head count as part of a review of firm operations in light of the economic downturn.

The layoffs, first reported on the blog Above the Law, will affect about 70 associates and 100 staffers, spokesman Nicholas Clarke says.

"We are living in a time of unique economic challenges, and well-managed, successful businesses, including White & Case, must assess their operations in light of current market realities," chairman Hugh Verrier said in a statement. "We believe this is a necessary step to adjust to the global economic downturn and to ensure a strong, long-term future for the firm."

Related articles:

The cuts affect all of White & Case's U.S. offices and its London outpost, Clarke says. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Miami, and Washington, D.C. Following the layoffs, the firm will employ roughly 4,900 lawyers and nonlegal staff.

Despite the layoffs, White & Case insisted in its statement that it "anticipates a strong 2008, with significant revenue growth across our globally diverse network." Clarke says net income is also up year-to-date. White & Case posted $1.373 billion in gross revenue in 2007, with profits per partner of $1.67 million.

Nevertheless, the firm said it was "exercising prudent business judgment" in anticipation of a weakened global economy in 2009.

The layoffs follow the closure last month of White & Case's Dresden and Milan outposts. Those closures affected 20 lawyers. The firm has also retained consulting firm McKinsey & Company to conduct a review of its global business. Clarke says neither the office closures nor the hiring of McKinsey are related to the layoffs.

White & Case says the layoffs are in part driven by a decline in attrition rates. It also says those being asked to leave will receive a "competitive" severance package. Clarke declined to provide more details on the package.

New Technology Affects Public Relations

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

I just picked this up from a public relations agency:

New technologies have made an impact on how newsrooms operate. Journalists are simultaneously facing added on-line duties and large staffroom cuts and are increasingly dependent on the internet and press releases. Yet most PR professionals continue to use traditional press release distribution methods. You need to stand out from newsroom clutter by delivering a highly branded and media rich press release directly into the hands of journalists and bloggers.

Indeed, 85% of journalists prefer to receive press releases via the internet (as compared to 6% via fax, 5% via mail and 3% via terminal). Moreover, the more information you can put into the hands of journalists—images, backgrounders, translations, video, etc.—the easier it is for them to tell your story.

The Silent Treatment from the Boss Means You Could be Laid Off

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

If your boss suddenly stops talking to you, it may be a warning sign that you will soon be laid off, according to Debra Cassens Weiss.

The Wall Street Journal talked to job coaches and management consultants to put together a list of warning signs. They include:

Your boss stops making small talk with you, even though he or she continues to shoot the breeze with other co-workers.
Your boss takes longer to respond to your e-mails.
Your boss excludes you from meetings you once were invited to attend, or makes you feel as if you are no longer part of the “inner circle.”
You are passed over for plum projects and given production-oriented tasks instead.
Your work gets reassigned.

If you see the warning signs, it’s best to talk to your boss so you can correct any problems before it’s too late, experts told the newspaper. They also advise those worried about their jobs to update their resumes and start networking to prepare for a job search.

Lawyers Among WSJ "50 Women to Watch"

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:25:57 -0500

Several lawyers lawyer made the list in today's "50 women to Watch" section of the Wall Street Journal, and the only practicing lawyer is Marcia Goldstein of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. "

"Marcia Goldstein sits atop what is arguably the hottest legal practice of the moment," the newspaper says. "The New York lawyer is head of bankruptcy and restructuring at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, which has long advised many of the nation's biggest debtors," including American International Group in an out-of-court restructuring. In court, she is lead bankruptcy counsel to Washington Mutual Inc. and LandSource Inc., a Louisiana-based land-development company. And her team is also handling many other massive matters, including the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

"I foresee a continuation of companies in distress in a variety of sectors for the next 24 months," Ms. Goldstein says. Ms. Goldstein, age 56, who attended Cornell University for college and law school, has practiced with Weil for more than 30 years. Some of her past greatest hits include serving as bankruptcy counsel for WorldCom Inc. (which was later subsumed into Verizon Communications Inc.) and Parmalat Finanziaria SpA.

Other lawyers included in the "50 to Watch" list are:

Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister of France. Before becoming trade minister in 2005, she spent five years in Chicago as chairwoman of international law firm Baker & McKenzie.
Pamela Daley, Senior Vice President, Corporate Business Development at General Electric. The Princeton University graduate honed teaching skills as an adjunct professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she graduated top of her class and edited the law review. A tax lawyer by training, she was a partner at the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 1989 when GE attorneys recruited her. A year later, she was GE's top mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer.

Women with legal duties include:

Barbara Desoer, President, Mortgage, Home Equity & Insurance Services, Bank of America. She's not a lawyer, but she negotiated a settlement with 14 state attorneys general targeting Countrywide's lending practices. The $8.4 billion legal agreement seeks to modify loans by reducing principal owed or lowering interest rates for 400,000 subprime and adjustable-rate borrowers.
Nicole Seligman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Sony. Not a lawyer, but she oversees legal, compliance and internal-audit issues across the Japanese company's broad range of businesses.

Defense Bar Launches Blog

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

The Defense Research Institute, the organization that is to the civil-defense bar what the American Association for Justice is to the plaintiffs' bar, recently launched a blog, For the Defense, as an adjunct to the organization's magazine of the same name.

"We also have a new blog, that can be found at http://forthedefense.org and we will be encouraging members to post. Of course, we welcome comments from others throughout the legal industry. We anticipate a most robust dialogue on the diverse issues facing the legal profession now and in the future. Speaking for DRI members, I wonder if you could include a link to DRI’s blog on yours so that we can continue a regular dialogue," said Marc E. Williams, President-Elect of DRI. He is partner in Huddleston Bolen in West Virginia, and is a trial lawyer with a complex litigation practice.

Matt Homann's 10 New Rules of Legal Marketing

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

According to lawyer and marketer Matt Homann of St. Louis, "Legal Marketing has changed. It used to be enough to keep an ad in the yellow pages and belong to the Rotary Club. Not anymore. Times are tough, so I present to you Ten "New" Rules of Legal Marketing. Let me know what you think.

"My lawyer can beat up your lawyer" isn't a marketing strategy. "My lawyer will call me back before yours will" is.
Google tells me there are 337,000 "Full Service Law Firms” out there. Which one was yours again?
Unless the person who founded your firm 100 years ago is still alive and practicing law, he's completely irrelevant to every client who's thinking of hiring you.
Market to a "want" not to a "need." By the time your clients realize they "need" you, it's often too late -- for them and for you.
Your “keep great clients happy” budget should exceed your “try to get new clients” budget by at least 3:1.
Thanksgiving cards say you're thankful for your clients' business. Christmas cards say you're just like everybody else.
Having the scales of justice on your business card says you're a lawyer -- an old, stodgy, unimaginative, do-what-everyone-else-has-done-for-fifty-years lawyer. Same is true for your yellow pages ad.
Speaking of yellow pages, don’t abdicate your marketing strategy to their salespeople. They don’t know marketing. They only know how to sell you a bigger ad each year.
Your future clients have been living their entire lives online and will expect the same from you. If you’re invisible on the web, you won’t exist to them.
The single best marketing strategy in the world is to find your best clients and ask them, "How do I get more clients like you?"

TV vs. the Web for Law Firm Marketing

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

I asked my networks the following question: "I’m advising a law firm that is spending a ton of money on TV advertising (they do some plaintiff PI work, but also have a billable-hour business practice.) Which is a better marketing medium: TV or the Web? Give me your opinion."

Experts from the LawMarketing Listserv and other forums answered, coming from the fields of law firm marketing, advertising, web development, public relations and marketing strategy across North America. A majority favored spending marketing dollars on the Web because of its ability to target clients and measure results. TV was recommended for global law firms with mammoth budgets.

The analyses came from Steve Matthews, Art Italo, Frank Feather, Gail Jordan, James Archer, Mitch Talenfeld, Carrie McCray, Lisa Dutton, Dan Wallace, Thomas VanHaaren, Gerald A. Riskin, Heather M. Milligan, Dale H. Tincher, Andrew Havens, Rich Klein, Cecilia Alers and Bob Weiss.

For the details of their responses, please visit the Lawmarketing Portal at www.lawmarketing.com.

Obama Presidency is Good News for the Legal Profession

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:33:38 -0500

In my opinion, the election of Barack Obama as President brings all sorts of good news for the legal profession.

Regulatory law. After 8 years of minimal regulation of business (except for crackdowns on illegal aliens), lawyers with a regulatory practice will see much more activity in their practices. If your clients include banks, private-equity funds or large oil companies, they will be targets of the new administration and will need plenty of counsel from you.

We will once again see trials, which had nearly disappeared from America's courts. This is good news for defense and plaintiff lawyers alike. Tort reform has been so effective that there are hardly any trials any more. The National Center for State Courts reported that the number of jury trials dropped 44% in the last 10 years. The movement has killed many areas of personal injury practice by limiting damages and making it difficult to file a cause of action to begin with. But the Republican party and its corporate support base for tort reform is shattered. Meanwhile the American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA) will actively work to make it easier to bring

Product liability cases
Class actions against pharmacy companies
Limit companies' use of federal regulations as a shield from litigation under state law
Eliminate mandatory-arbitration clauses in consumer contracts.

Health Insurance Companies. If your firm represents insurance companies that write health care coverage, you can expect to advise them on a raft of coming regulations. Get ready if any of the following are your clients: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, Aetna Inc., WellPoint, Inc., CIGNA Corporation, Kaiser Permanente, Humana Inc., Luxottica Group S.p.A., Medco Health Solutions, Inc., HealthSpring, Inc. and Genworth Financial, Inc.

Green Clients. You're in good shape if you represent companies that reduce green-house gases, supply alternative forms of energy like wind-power, make hybrid vehicles or increase renewable energy resources. Sure, their stock prices are down right now, along with the rest of the S&P 500. But the new administration will be creating tax incentives and possible new funding your clients will want to know about from you.

Real Estate. Residential real estate closings are fewer than ever, it seems. But I predict that the new administration will force banks getting a piece of the $700 bailout to make mortgage loans, and not use the money to acquire competitors. Further, he's proposed a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures, affecting 6.5 million households. Banks dump foreclosed homes on the market, depressing prices. This discourages people from selling their homes. An increase in mortgage loans and break from the foreclosure flood can ramp up real estate closings.

Meanwhile, there is a boom in litigation in subprime loan/credit crisis litigation that includes:

For big firms, filing securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, and ERISA lawsuits against failed lenders and investment banks. The plaintiffs include borrowers, shareholders, investors, issuers & underwriters, retirement plan participants. Defendants include lenders, issuers, underwriters, rating agencies, accounting and law firms, bond issuers and hedge funds.
For smaller firms, representing homeowners renegotiate terms or come up with "short sales" with their lenders.
Suits on behalf of developers, investors and contracts against banks that cut off their credit before the real estate projects were completed.
Advising home owners on J.P. Morgan's new offer of option adjustable-rate mortgages, which allow homeowners to make a minimum payment, as credit card companies do.

Labor Law. Union members dwindled to only 12% percent of employed wage and salary workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the new administration is expected to shift the balance of power in favor or unions and against employers. In his speech to the AFL-CIO, Obama said, "We're ready to play offense for organized labor. It's time we had a President who didn't choke saying the word "union." A President who knows it's the Department of Labor and not the Department of Management. And a President who strengthens our unions by letting them do what they do best - organize our workers." More union members mean more contracts for labor lawyers to negotiate and write.

Government Contracts. There will continue to be work in this practice, but it's less likely to be for defense contractors as the U.S. withdraws from Iraq. I predict that the new contracts to be awarded will be for green technology, alternative energy producers, Internet projects that support network neutrality, expansion of broadband access, and construction of roads, highways and bridges.

Bankruptcy. According to Bruce Zirinsky, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, some of the amendments to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005 will be repealed, especially the ones that made Chapter 11 less of a safety net for companies. It has become in vogue in recent years to have quickie Chapter 11s, according to Zirinsky. But as more companies are forced into Chapter 11, there will be more of a sentiment that bankruptcy protections are more important. BAPCPA took out the rights of Chapter 7, making it harder for individuals to hold onto nonexempt assets. "But as we see more and more mortgage foreclosures, I think people will try to reform this law," he said.

In sum, Obama's rising sun logo is the light at the end of the tunnel for law firms.

Black October for Layoffs in Law firms

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0500

The profession has demonstrated that that article "2009: Another Year of Economic Darkness for Law Firms" is based on fact. Law.com has even created "The Layoff List" as a running tally. (Also see below.)

There are plenty of ways using law firm marketing to respond to the economic downturn and I'll be speaking about them at two events:

The Harold Levine Real Estate Institute
November 12, 2008 - 9 AM to Noon
UBS Tower
One North Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606

TAGLAW: Professional Skills Course
Friday November 14, 2008 - 10:45 AM to Noon
Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront
St. Petersburg, Florida

Join me in Chicago or Florida to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just take a look at the layoffs that have hit major law firms this year, particularly in October:

The demise of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner, announced October 28, 2008. This was preceded by the firm's slashing 26 associates and 85 staff members in March.
The dissolution of Heller Ehrman, announced in late September.
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal October layoff of 37 lawyers, 75 staff members, and 12 lay timekeepers. This follows Sonnenschein's dismissal of 124 employees, including 37 attorneys, six of whom were partners, in May.
Jenner & Block’s firing of additional 10 partners in October, on top of its firing of other 10 partners in May.
Katten Muchin Rosenman and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal layoff of 21 associates and counsel in October.
Clifford Chance's dismissal of 20 lawyers in October.
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft cutting 96 attorneys in July.
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge layoff of approximately 10 associates in March.
Ten U.S. partners and two dozen associates voluntarily leaving Thacher Proffitt & Wood starting in January after a severe slump in the structured finance practice.

85% of Firms Offer Business Development Training to Lawyers

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Get More Clients.
Make More Money.

Visit http://tinyurl.com/6xvudu

In response to the bleak news about the economic prospects for the legal profession, smart law firms are training their lawyers to bring in new business. A new survey by The BTI Consulting Group of Boston found that 85% of law firms offer formal sales and business development training to their lawyers.

"A rising level of new income solves all sorts of problems," said a law firm managing partner in California, where I'm conducting a one-year sales training program.

The special BTI report, "BTI’s Benchmarking Law Firm Marketing and Business Development Strategies, was released to members of the Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO), an organization I highly recommend you join. According to the report, law firms are still devoting 2.1% to 2.6% of gross revenues on their complete marketing budget, including salaries. This figure has remained constant for several years.

Big firms spend more: the average marketing budget for an AmLaw 100 law firm is $9.83 million, or $59,800 per equity partner. For the AmLaw second 100, the average marketing budget is $4.08 million, or $42,600 per equity partner.

Put another way, the average marketing spend per attorney (partners and associates combined) is $14,500 for law firms of all sizes combined.

Marketing budgets include many things ranging from salaries to business development to advertising and public relations. Focusing just on the business development budget, law firms budget as follows:

Client relationship development: 29%
Training: 18%
Consulting services: 9%
Practice-specific seminars: 8%
Public relations: 5%
Research: 5%

The chart below illustrates that law firms are focusing in the right place: getting new files from current clients.

This highlights three trends:

Firms focus on getting to know clients better—a proven differentiator and business development tool.
AmLaw101-200 firms invest in more training—looking to lawyers to develop more business.
Mid-sized firms also leverage more outside resources such as consulting services.

Business development is the top goal for 43% of CMOs for this year, reflecting a major shift from the previous year when business development was the top goal for only 27% of CMOs.

BTI's report reflects 600 individual interviews conducted over a 4-year span, including more than 100 brand new interviews with CMO’s at the world’s largest law firms (55.0% of the AmLaw100 and 52.5% of the AmLaw200).

Bad Economy Forces Thelen Reid Out of Business

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:49:33 -0500

According to a report in New York Lawyer, the Partnership Council of 400-lawyer Thelen announced it voted to dissolve the firm. The firm expected to close on Dec. 1.

An early sign of trouble for Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner came last March, when the firm laid off 26 associates (which was 10% of their associates) and 85 members of its support staff, including members of the west coast marketing staff. In March the firm had 600 lawyers. Recent reports surfaced lately that top Thelen lawyers, including Chairman Stephen O'Neal was negotiating for a spot at to Howrey and rainmaking energy partner Ellen Bastier was on the cusp of joining Reed Smith

Thelen was an international AmLaw 100 law firm with offices in Hartford, Los Angeles, New York, Northern New Jersey, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, San Jose, and Washington, DC.

The news report says that about 60 lawyers could end up at Nixon Peabody -- which until recent weeks had been viewed as a potential merger partner for Thelen. "Was it a surprise today? No. Was it a surprise overall? Yes," a San Francisco associate told Law.com. "I mean, two years ago we were in a strong position."

"It's very disappointing, even though it was just a matter of time," said a legal secretary, asking not to be named. She will be at Thelen until the end of November, and said she doesn't know what's next for her. But even some partners don't know where they will end up, she added.

Thelen issued a press release saying there was no single reason for the collapse.

"The decision to dissolve the firm was precipitated by several economic factors, including recessionary pressures and numerous partner departures over the past year, both of which have negatively impacted firm revenues," the release said. "For the past several months, Thelen management has aggressively sought a full firm merger. Unfortunately, the most promising merger opportunity was derailed by conflicts, and all other full firm merger discussions terminated last week."

The news was another blow to the San Francisco legal community, which only a month ago saw the demise of century-old Heller Ehrman.

The firm, formed in 1924, merged with New York's Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner, but the marriage has since been widely viewed as problematic. Name partners Peter Brown, Richard Raysman and Jeffrey Steiner -- and more than 100 other Thelen lawyers -- have left this year.

"No partner in a San Francisco law firm will look at what happened to Heller and Thelen and not think, 'Will my firm be next?'" said Richard Gary, a legal consultant who was the chairman of Thelen from 1992 to 2003.

Beat the Recession With an Organized Business Development Program

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Get More Clients.
Make More Money.

Visit http://tinyurl.com/6xvudu

Does business development at your firm look like a Warner Brothers’ cartoon with lawyers dressing up as hunters, going out into the business forest and shooting at anything that moves? If your business development seems more about “wascally wabbits” than verified business leads, you aren’t alone.

However, if you practice premeditated business development, this year can be the very best in your career no matter what the economy is doing.

Even in difficult economic times, there are opportunities galore. A recent survey showed that 60 percent of corporate clients were unhappy with their primary law firms. That's a chance for you to put their businesses into play.

There are also threats out there. Your firm's top 50 clients are on the target list for every other law firm, so make sure you have a very close relationship with your clients and that they are satisfied with your work.

Your individual sales plan

If you really want to boost the revenue you bring in to your firm by $75,000 to $100,000, you must have a written plan to devote 100 to 200 hours per year to business development. One hundred hours a year is only two hours a week, and any lawyer can find the time to meet referral sources for coffee, take clients for lunch, or attend a trade association meeting after work.

Your aim is to develop or deepen relationships with clients because new business comes in person. Your plan should be filled with face-to-face meetings with clients and targets. The firm's Web site, brochure, articles, newsletters, public relations, direct mail marketing, announcements and press releases will generate leads for your sales effort, but you have to go out and make the sale.

Elements of your plan

Page One

Page one of your individual sales plan should be a list of your top ten clients. Set a date when you will visit clients at their premises and make plans to get to know as many people there as possible. This is the low hanging fruit: clients already trust you, send you work and mail you checks.

Before you schedule that first on-site visit, carefully consider the following points.

Page Two

Page two of your plan should be a list of your top ten referral sources. You need to meet with them in person, too. You want to be clear on two things: that they know what kind of work you are looking for and that you understand what sort of referrals they want in return.

Page Three

These two pages are generally enough to fill up a year's worth of sales effort. But you should also write a page three, which is a list of targets, executives and general counsel whom you already know but who are not clients of the firm yet. Your goal is to meet them, strike up a business conversation and discover how your firm can serve them.

Of course, business development should not be a solo effort. Your firm will generate much more revenue if 10 to 20 lawyers each write business development plans and "go hunting" as an organized effort.

Key element of an organized approach include:

Carefully selecting lawyers who have already shown some business development acumen. These lawyers are the future of the firm. It's not necessary to include rainmakers in the group because they're already doing what they're supposed to. And there's no point in including "library lawyers' with no interest in having their own clientele, because they'll just be a drag on the program.
Training lawyers on how to sell legal services. For lawyers, practice development is very different from being a "salesman" who is pitching products. For lawyers, new business come in-person, and lawyers need training on developing relationships. Lawyers also need to focus on the industries and practices that generate the most income for the firm -- and put less effort into the rest.
One-on-one coaching. As you begin to become active, you'll run into obstacles such as "what do I say..." or "what do I do..." in various situations. You'll need guidance from an experienced coach in business development to get them over these obstacles.
Continuing education. To keep the group momentum going, lawyers should gather monthly for one-hour programs -- live or on the Web -- that answer the common questions they have and to go into detail about the points raised in the initial training.
Internal roundtables. If the firm has a marketing director, this professional should organize monthly meetings of program participants, to share their challenges and develop solutions as a group. The roundtables are also excellent moments to share successes and describe how they were achieved.

This is exactly how we've designed the Apollo Business Development Program. If you actually take the time, write your business development plan and carry it out, this year can be the best financial year financially in your career. You just have to get out there and do it. Please feel free to Inquire today about the Apollo Business Development Program at http://tinyurl.com/6xvudu

2009: Another Year of Economic Darkness for Law Firms

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500

New research shows a dark economic picture for law firms during the next 12 months:

The current year will represent a significant downturn for the legal industry as a whole. Across-the-board rate increases will not be possible in 2009 .
Profits per partner in 2008 will on average be flat to a minus 10 percent, as compared to profit levels in 2007, causing a severe strain on many firms.
Law firms are unlikely to see any significant turnaround until late 2009.
There will be a significant contraction across the industry over the next several months as firms are forced to lay off legal and non-legal staff, slow down the hiring of new attorneys, restructure operations, and weed out unprofitable practices.
In most law firms, productivity dropped significantly in the second half of 2007 driven by sharp downturns in real estate, structured finance, and transactional practices. That slowdown continued into 2008, and has been deepened by the current crisis in the financial system.
The current downturn has not yet been significantly offset by increases in other traditionally “counter-cyclical” practices like bankruptcy, litigation, and regulatory work.

These grim facts are reported by Hildebrandt International in their Special Client Advisory: Fall 2008. The key passage in the report states:

Stay in close touch with your clients, especially those key clients that are important to the firm’s future. Now is not the time to save money by cutting back on productive marketing expenses. Your clients are experiencing the same anxieties and uncertainties as the firm itself, and ramping up communication to them will stand the firm in good stead when economic conditions improve. Lawyers have time on their hands, so put it to good use with increased focus on client development, client teams, and appropriate business development training.

For a related story, read "ACC/Serengeti Survey: The Economic Picture for Law Firms Gets Worse" on the LawMarketing Portal at www.lawmarketing.com

The Economic Picture for Law Firms Gets Worse

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:38:08 -0500

As the law firm recession enters its second year, new research shows that corporations are sending less work outside, rate increases will be smaller in 2008 than in the past, and 40%+ corporations have fired some of their law firms.

The new research reveals that one reason for the economic downturn in the legal profession is that corporations are sending less legal work to law firms, and handling more work by in-house lawyers. Median spending on outside counsel last year fell 9.1 percent. Making matters worse:

The legal profession has been in a recession for one year now, as evidenced by high-profile layoffs at major law firms.
Rate increases for 2008 will be smaller than in the past.
More than 40%+ of corporations have fired some of their outside counsel during the prior year.

The 2008 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey found that median spending on outside counsel was at the lowest level in the eight years the survey has been conducted. “A growing amount of work being kept in-house, this year’s median spending on outside counsel continues a downward trend begun last year, falling to the lowest in survey history. This year’s median outside counsel spending was $1 million (compared with $1.1 million in 2006, $1.8 million in 2005, $1.3 million in 2004, $1.6 million in 2003, $1.2 million in 2002 and $1.1 million in 2001).”

“Median outside counsel spending continues to vary significantly according to the size of the company, with:

Small companies at $350,000
Medium companies at $852,000
Large companies at $4.8 million,” it reported.

The primary driver of corporate legal costs is outside legal spending, which is roughly double the spending on in-house counsel. However, during the past several years the ratio has shifted in favor of law departments, reflecting the increasing recognition of the value of in-house counsel and the legal work being done in-house.

For the rest of the story, visit the LawMarketing Portal at www.lawmarketing.com.

63% of Law Firms say Client Satisfaction Surveys are Top Business Development Tool

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Some of the surprise statistics that came to light during the Chief Marketing Officers' Forum in New York were:

Almost two-thirds (62.7%) rated client interviews and surveys as a “very effective” or “extremely effective” strategy for leading to business development. Almost 29% rated this strategy as at least moderately effective; only 8.5% rated the strategy as ineffective.
More than half of all firms are conducting client satisfaction surveys -- up from roughly 40% as reported by other surveys.

These surprises were delivered by Charles J. Lowry of New York, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Incisive Media’s ALM Research, based on the 2008 ALM Research Survey Report: Law Firm Business Development Practices Survey.

He reprised the presentation in last weeks' Webinar Getting Client Feedback to Generate More Business along with law partner Patrick Lamb, founder of the trend-setting Valorem Law Group in Chicago.

Should law firm's conduct client satisfaction surveys? "It's a no brainer," said Lamb, who has personally conducted more than 60 client satisfaction interviews. "Clients LOVE them, and ultimately, nothing else matters. Plus they make great economic sense. It costs five times as much to find a new client to replace one that your firm lost because of inattention."

Client surveys also generate new work and favorable referrals from that client, according to Lamb. Not that law firms should use surveys as a direct marketing tool, Lamb emphasized. But the good will generated by conducting a survey will dispose the client to send more work and build word-of-mouth advertising about the law firm.

Only 3% of Legal Work is Influenced by Directories

larrybodine@comcast.net (Larry Bodine) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:35:57 -0500

There are three ways that law firms can waste their money:

Shoveling bales of cash out of the back of a moving pickup truck.
Starting bonfires with wrapped packs of $100 bills.
Buying a listing in a directory of law firms.

Speaking at the recent Chief Marketing Officers' Forum in New York, Peter Columbus, the Director of Business Development for Kaye Scholer and Mark Messing, Chief Marketing Officer of Weil, Gotshal Manges, presented research showing that directory listings are worthless.

There are now 950 surveys and rankings of law firms, including Martindale-Hubbell, Chambers, Leading Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, 204 “Best, Super or Top" lists, 175 largest law firm lists, 122 “Rising Star” lists, 103 Diversity-focused surveys and 90 Workplace satisfaction lists, according to research by Jaffe Associates. And all of them generate little to no new business for law firms, Messing said.

Directories are published primarily as profit-making ventures that appeal to lawyer egos, and to help publications increase their readership, in my opinion.

When Acritas research surveyed in-house lawyers in 2007 about what sources influence their consideration of law firms, none spontaneously mentioned law firm directories. Instead the corporate lawyers said they relied on referrals from companies, personal experience, referrals from colleagues, the reputation of the firm, publications and articles, referrals from outside law firms and referrals from peers.

Overall, three quarters are not at all, or only marginally, influenced by directories in their selection of law firms, according to the research. When Acritas asked, "Do you ever refer to directories when selecting law firms?" the respondents said that less than 3% of work is influenced by directories.

Law firms are getting wise. Some 30% of AmLaw 100 law firms are no longer listed in Martindale-Hubbell. Some law firms have adopted policies that they will refuse to be listed in Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers, according to Messing.

"When I go to client offices, I don't see any lawyer directories on their shelves," Columbus said. "I don't think any corporation chooses a law firm based on a paid directory listing. You should not waste your money on a directory profile."