Recently, I was talking to a lawyer about the ideal mix of business with pleasure, in the context of successful business development. This attorney observed that a lawyer in his firm with lots of clients seemed to devote most of his life to his practice. All of this successful lawyer’s social and community activities revolved around clients or potential clients. His personal life was hardly separate from his work life. This lawyer I was speaking with wondered if he should take the same approach. Should he be marketing 24/7? I hate to sound like a lawyer, but the answer is both yes and no. First, I’ll provide the “yes” answer. Then, I’ll provide the “no” answer. Mixing business with pleasure is necessary Think of the most successful lawyers you know at your law firm, or in your practice area or community. The most successful lawyers tend to live and breathe work. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are workaholics: some are and some aren’t. What they all share in common is that all of their outside activities seem to be work-related, even though the primary purpose of the activity may not be. They regularly mix business with pleasure. One of the more familiar examples of mixing business with pleasure is to purposefully take a vacation with the spouse and kids to a location where a client lives. Some take it a bit further. The spouse plans where to go, but the lawyer is able to find someone at this location with whom to schedule at least one breakfast or lunch with a work-related purpose. This is a win/win. Good for business development, as well as a possible tax deduction for your vacation. A less-familiar example of mixing business with pleasure is the lawyer who attends the wedding of a relative and makes one or two contacts at the reception that could prove to be beneficial months or years down the road. Mind you, these lawyers don’t attend the wedding thinking, “I’m taking a dozen business cards tonight and will work the room until they are gone.” Rather, they routinely introduce themselves to strangers and show genuine interest in the people they meet. Inevitably, some of the conversations become work-related and, well, you know the rest. Mixing business with pleasure is not necessary Whenever I share the above examples of mixing business with pleasure with other attorneys, the usual reaction is, “Huh? You mean I can’t turn it off on vacations?” or “Give me a break. Are you saying I should be marketing at weddings and bar mitzvahs?” I usually respond that I don’t think you need to market 24/7 in order to be successful. It’s okay to have some boundaries as long as you devote a reasonable amount of time overall to business development activities. But then I ask, “How successful do you want to be?” If you have the type of personality that doesn’t mind mixing pleasure with business (and a family that can tolerate this tendency), why not? Many of these efforts are long shots. But, if you play enough races, long shots do come in. Meeting people at a specific wedding will rarely lead to business, but a pattern of meeting people at all of the events you attend will eventually pay off. Mixing business with pleasure: Do what you want If you develop a personal marketing plan and execute it well, you’ll do fine at business development. Go ahead and turn off your marketing personality whenever you want. Mixing business with pleasure is not required. But it can work. Consistently mixing business with pleasure can lead to great results. In either case, you’ll still be a success. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

Job security is on the radar screens of most lawyers. Many lawyers, however, perceive that their jobs are very secure, when in reality they are not. Due to a false sense of security, these lawyers often neglect the networking they should be doing. Continue reading post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

Many myths surround successful rainmaking in the legal profession. Perhaps the biggest myth is that only attorneys with an outgoing and gregarious personality stand a chance of attracting clients. Continue reading this post at www.lawyernomics.avvo.com Read More

How important to career success is “face time” in the office when compared with the same amount and quality of work done at home? Yahoo! and Best Buy recently received a considerable amount of press (traditional and online) regarding this issue. In both cases, the companies made changes to increase face time in an effort to improve communication and collaboration, as well as profits. Yahoo! starts the trend First to take the stage was Yahoo!. In late February, new CEO Marissa Mayer announced that Yahoo! employees may no longer work from home. This is the same Marissa Mayer who was hired last year while pregnant, came back to work after a two-week maternity leave and has a nursery next to her office (paid for with her own funds). The rationale for the new policy according to Yahoo HR: To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together. Best Buy cancels ROWE Best Buy was next. Early this month, the company proclaimed that its innovative flexible work program known as ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) was no more. Through this program, corporate employees could work flexible hours outside of the office. It was based on the premise that level of productivity was more important than number of hours worked, and location. According to Best Buy: In the context of a business transformation, it makes sense to consider not just what the results are but how the work gets done. It’s ‘all hands on deck’ at Best Buy, and that means having employees in the office as much as possible to collaborate and connect on ways to improve our business. Does this apply to law firms? These company leaders clearly believe that collaboration is a critical driver of maximum productivity and results. Is the same true for law firm leaders? Probably not. In a company, measuring employee productivity can be difficult. In a law firm, it is easy to measure billable hours. Measuring productivity by revenue billed and collected is a darn good metric when profits are the desired result. Many law firm leaders probably don’t care whether the billing is done at the office during regular office hours or done elsewhere. They don’t care much about collaboration, as long as the hours are billed and collected. From an analytic perspective (favored by most lawyers), the debate over the wisdom of the new policies at Yahoo! and Best Buy is probably irrelevant to lots of law firms. However, there is still a lesson to be learned. These developments should be a wake-up call for lawyers to reassess the value of face time in the office. Perception is reality These two prominent corporations, and probably many more, perceive that collaborative face time is very important. That same is likely to be true of some law firm leaders. A lawyer who exceeds a firm’s billable-hour targets while working outside the office may be perceived as less of a team player than a colleague who bills the same number of hours while in the office. On the face of it, that doesn’t make much sense. But in fact perception is extremely important. Liking and trusting your colleagues Also crucial but often underestimated are the “soft” benefits of collaborative face time. The legal profession is relationship-based. This is the rule for clients andco-workers. Successful attorneys have clients and colleagues who like them and trust them. It takes sufficient face time to create that relationship with colleagues. Plus, associates who hope to make partner need at least one good mentor.Face time is required to create and nurture this important relationship. Finally, there’s office “intelligence.” In order to know who’s “up” and who’s “down” — and why – a lawyer needs to spend face time with colleagues. Showing up is a big part of the battle Don’t get me wrong. I am a strong believer in work/life balance and well aware that flexible hours and working from home can be very important for many who strive for better balance. But make this choice with your eyes wide open. Carefully calculate the benefits of “showing up” at times, rather than working remotely. Read More

Recently, I attended the mid-year meeting of the Association for Continuing Legal Education. ACLEA is the primary organization for CLE professionals from bar associations, law schools, law firms and for-profit entities, as well as other CLE professionals like me. I’ve been attending ACLEA meetings for about a decade. I always leave with some interesting new thoughts about the future of CLE. Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

Referral sources are the lifeblood of many successful attorneys. Old standby places to meet new people and establish relationships with referral sources include bar and trade associations, as well as business community organizations (such as Chamber of Commerce or Rotary). Although the missions of these groups vary significantly, referrals are the inevitable reward for active participation. Continuing reading this post at www.lawyernomics.avvo.com Read More

I’m frequently asked how much time and money should attorneys spend on marketing. Like a true lawyer, I reply that “it depends.” There is no magic percentage of revenue or billable hours to be allocated to business development activities. The answer to this question will vary by practice area, geographic location and budget. But when asked about the two most important marketing tools for attorneys, my answer is rarely “it depends.” The answer is your networking efforts and your website. No matter how much time and money a lawyer decides to spend, spend it in these two areas. Networking Works Like it or not, law is a relationship-based profession/business. Always has been and always will be. People hire lawyers whom they like and trust. Although liking and trusting can sometimes be achieved without face-to-face contact, an attorney’s best relationships are usually made in person and enhanced by networking. The type of networking I recommend, stresses one-on-one coffees or lunches, and perhaps the occasional client-entertainment-type activity. Social Media What about it? It is most effective when used as a marketing tool to expand your network by laying the groundwork for personal meetings. Websites Make Your First Impression With marketing legal services, you have only one opportunity to make a strong first impression. Prior to the advent of the Internet, this first impression was usually made at an in-person meeting. Today, the first impression is typically your website. Make it count. The circumstances that caused a potential client to check out your website are irrelevant. The visit could be the result of a Google search or a referral. No matter the circumstance, you want to leave the best possible impression. The lawyer with the best website will get the first call. And there may be no second call. Plenty of posts on the web provide excellent suggestions about the look and feel of a good law firm website, as well as the content. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many lawyer websites don’t follow even the basics. These include the following: Make your website easy to read and navigate. If it takes more than two seconds for a visitor to look up an attorney’s bio, your site needs work. Make sure your website contains: This is who I am, this is what I do, this is who I do it for, and this is how you can reach me. Tell stories that demonstrate how you can help clients solve their legal problems. This matters so much more than where you attended law school, all of the deals you have worked on or a list of your representative cases. Double Down on Networking and Websites Use networking to develop relationships. Use your website to inform and impress. Spend your time and money in these two areas and, trust me, your phone will ring. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

The most important ABA Model Rule governing professional conduct in the area of legal marketing is Rule 7.1, which covers communications concerning a lawyer’s services. All states have adopted this rule, worded exactly the same or very close to it. The rule provides: Continue reading this post on www.attorneyatwork.com Read More