#Day2
Derek Maine
This was my first Annual
Conference. I have been a Legal Marketer since July, 2013. While I’ve worked at
law firms for my entire career, up until July, 2013 I only wistfully looked at
the marketing department in the firms I worked at. In other words, I don’t even
know what I don’t know. It’s my single biggest strength and my single biggest
weakness. I look at everything through fresh eyes. I am also missing, or just
learning, concepts and tools that have been obvious to most for many years. But
I do have a hunch that the theme of attorneys “buying in” is not new this year.
Attorneys understand the importance of marketing, probably more so in this
climate than ever. And it is short-sighted to assume that attorneys have no
innate marketing skills. After all, plenty of attorneys are able to pay their
light bill without a marketing department. So why does the issue of attorneys “buying
in” keep getting uttered in panel discussions, the exhibit hall and during
coffee breaks?
I think the question of “buying
in” isn’t about attorneys believing or not believing in the power of marketing.
It’s the issue of someone telling them what works best. And that someone is
often not an attorney themselves. It’s difficult for any intelligent, driven
individual to hand over the stewardship of their work ex fide fiducia. Actually,
here we go: no one likes to be told what they have done that has worked before
does not work anymore. We don’t like to change, we don’t like to be told we
have to do something. And we want to exert control over our work. Attorneys
have no trouble buying into the principles, but they may be hesitant to buy
into specific tools and techniques that marketers are advocating. So the very
first thing I do when I receive push-back on any project or initiative is
reflect. What is my logic and is it sound? I build my case to myself and, if
that case holds up, I sell it. I look at the partners in my own firm as the
very best sounding board and critics. If there is a lack of “buy in,” and it’s
not rooted in clear realpolitik, the problem is most likely not with attorneys
refusing to buy in. The problem is me and what I’m selling.
I attended this year’s conference
with the Marketing Partner at our firm. I wanted her to be inundated, as I would
be, with the strategies, tools and techniques. How would we view the themes and
concepts differently? Would we hear the same message? Early on in day one, my
colleague lamented that many panel discussions were critical of attorneys and
focused on some negative generalizations that deal with professionals hesitancy
to adopt change. I didn’t hear that. She was clear, “I already know this about
attorneys, I want to know what to do about it.” I always defer to bumper
stickers for the important lessons in life. So, be the change, I say. Because,
truthfully, there isn’t always something you can do about it. Some people,
across all facets of work and life, do not want to put in the frustratingly
slow and hard work necessary to reap the rewards. So spend more time and
resources with those attorneys that do.
The first panel discussion for me
on day two was “Trends in Media/PR for Law Firms in Terms of What’s Valuable
and Effective Today.” Again, a quote from the program landed me in the chair. “…but
now even online media can be a fool’s game.” Tell me more.
Paul Webb, Director of Marketing at Young Conaway Stargatt &
Taylor LLP was the single best panel speaker I saw at the conference. He had a
tremendously interesting story on how his firm used an office move to build up
an entire PR campaign in a very creative fashion. And then we started talking
about rankings. What started as a whisper of annoying surveys to fill out, in-office
politicking and affirmed total lack of client interest in how or why an
attorney is ranked soon became a roar. Everyone hates having to do this. It
serves no purpose. Everyone does it anyway. I heard this over and over
throughout the conference and now we were going to discuss it out in the open.
Paul Webb asked if anyone in the room knew of a client that hired an attorney
based on a ranking. Someone raised their hand. It was the first time he had
heard of that. It was suggested that one possible useful tool in rankings is
recognizing attorneys that do not always get the spotlight. That sounds like a
nice thing. Chambers came up for the
26th time. I’ve been hearing about Chambers for a while, but nowhere near the amount of chatter going
back and forth at this conference. One of the first things I did when I got
back to my office was check out Chambers
& Partners. The website smelled of mahogany and rich leather. I knew
the names of almost all of the law firms on the shortlist. The brands were
large, institutional, old, international, conservative and boring. The website
gave my computer this weird virus where now everything around me was 1983 and cartoonish
financiers and their bespeckled counsel drank dry martini’s and smoked cigars in
the back room of a restaurant that does not exist anymore, sitting in high back
red booths.
For a civil defense firm the best
work, the really ingenious creative cost-saving legal work is known by the
attorney and the client. That’s it. It is actually always unethical and most of
the time illegal for it to be any other way. It’s not ranked, recognized, Super
Lawyered or Best Lawyered. There is no SEO formula and no app for that. I
submitted a press release, for immediate distribution, to all major networks
and outlets: Attorney called client back immediately and resolved an issue
before it became a legal claim; billed 0.1. Even The Onion passed.
The room was huge. Every chair
was taken up. Extra chairs were brought in. Legal Marketers sat down in the
back and in the rows on the side. “Quick Fixes: Innovative Solutions in Law
Firm Business Development” was, from my view, the most popular breakout session
of the conference. Dave Burns,
Director of Client Services at Farella Braun + Martel LLP {shortlisted for Best
Real Estate Firm by Chambers and Partners
2014] had a story to tell. His firm is serious about diversity. As in, they don’t
have a diversity pamphlet and document tucked away on their intranet. They get
out in the community and practice what they preach. And, it turns out, they
were so good at it that their clients wanted in. They committed to something
and benefited their community with their work and their clients noticed and
wanted to get involved to help. This is the future of our industry. This is the
success story. This is the theme. And it’s not just our industry, it’s
everywhere. The American Dream as a shared experience and goal as opposed to an
individualistic ideal.
Melanie Green, Chief Client Development Officer at Faegre Baker
Daniels, had a nice problem to have. Her firm had just merged. All of a sudden
there were a lot more innovative, intelligent attorneys at their disposal. She
needed them to talk to each other. At a firm retreat, catering to the
competitive nature of attorneys, they set up a trade booth style show where
attorneys would get prizes for visiting other practice groups in the firm and
having conversations. Follow-ups were identified and tracked. There was some
trouble with buy-in. Alcohol was served. It worked. In planning for this year’s
event the firm leadership admitted that they needed forced interaction so that
attorneys didn’t just spend their time socializing with colleagues they already
knew, but branched out and networked with their new colleagues. How many
connections were made, how many shared clients with varied needs identified,
how many in-house referrals gathered? Well, lets just go ahead and be crass. How
much revenue did Melanie Green and her team generate for the firm by putting on
an internal trade show? How much revenue did Dave Burns and his team generate
for the firm by believing in ideals enough to put in the time, money and effort
to commit to them?
Bringing people together. Sharing
ideas. Learning birthdays, the names of children, favorite sports team, most
underrated Coen Brothers’ film. Using digital tools to more effectively
coordinate face to face interaction. In the same room. With your laptop closed.
With your phone in your pocket. Being interested and present in life. I buy
into all of that.
Thank you for reading. I will
have one more post tomorrow wrapping up the conference. If we are lucky enough
to meet, as a starting point; April 15, 1982, Wyatt & Zoe, North Carolina
Tarheels, A Serious Man.
Thurs
4/17/14: There is no “New
Normal.” There is Normal & There is you
(#AirportGiftShop)
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