InsideLegal

What percentage of revenue do legal vendors spend on marketing? 2012 InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey Now Open

2012-01-24T04:32:22-05:00

What percent of total revenue do legal vendors spend on marketing? What about your competitors? How does your budget compare?

You can read the results to that question from our 2008 legal vendor survey here, but better yet, you can complete the 2012 InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey (takes approx. 10 minutes) to find out how your marketing budget compares to other vendors, what your competitors spend on marketing, where they advertise, what market research they value, etc. In exchange for participating, you'll be the first to receive the full results report upon survey completion (for free) and we'll also immediately email you the complete 2008 survey report with data from 97 legal vendors to review in the meantime. Here are the details...

Since joining legal in 1999, we had searched for industry marketing and spending benchmarks that are commonplace in other industries that don't exist within the legal community. Knowing what your peers are spending on marketing and getting a better feel for what marketing strategies work and why is essential. For that reason, in 2008 InsideLegal conducted its inaugural Legal Vendor Marketing Survey that covered marketing budgets, the marketing mix, public relations, market research and the relevance of specific legal technology events and it yielded 97 unbiased and independent responses. We now feel the vendor community is ready for a follow-up survey - especially considering the major economic downturn we experienced. We encourage all vendors interested in getting better data surrounding their marketing and PR efforts to complete the survey and get engaged in the ensuing conversation.

With that said, we are currently inviting legal technology vendors (CEOs, VPs, directors, marketers, managers and anyone with keen insight and understanding of their corporate marketing strategy and plan) to complete our 2012 InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey. We received 97 responses to our 2008 survey and we'd love to exceed that. The 42 questions will take participants 10-13 minutes to complete and all respondents (with completed surveys) will receive the final results. All results are kept completely confidential. In addition, upon completion of the survey, we will immediately send you the results report from the 2008 InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey. Take the time and complete the survey now and you'll have that information before LegalTech New York next week. The 2008 survey included the following, and much more, from a wide mix of legal vendor respondents:

% of revenue spent on marketing
what publications they advertised in
reviews on the top legal conferences
top categories of marketing spend
market research recommendations

Here is a glance at the 2012 InsideLegal Vendor Marketing Survey questions:

Marketing Budgets: How much are you spending on marketing efforts and how does this compare to other vendors?
Marketing strategy: Who do you market to? What are your key marketing objectives? What aspects of your marketing program have you outsourced?
Marketing Events: How do you rank/rate the big legal events such as LegalTech and ILTA? Does your company host a User Conference?
Advertising: Where do you advertise? What is the mix of print vs. online?
Public Relations: What is your media relations approach? What is included in your (and your competitor's) PR plan?
Market Research: Who uses research to support marketing and sales efforts? What type of research proves most effective? What industry surveys do you and your competitors follow?

Not Twitter savvy but don't want to miss out on the LegalTech NY buzz?

2012-01-24T01:59:40-05:00

There is a wealth of information and industry buzz that takes place on Twitter around tradeshows, but we realize not everyone is active on or comfortable with Twitter. We've created a webpage on InsideLegal that will allow you to follow the LegalTech buzz without having a Twitter account or any social media experience. This page will constantly update and you can view this page any time between now and two weeks after LegalTech. Hope this helps!

View InsideLegal's LegalTech NY Twitter Activity Page

InsideLegal Master Legal Events Calendar Updated for 2012

2012-01-24T01:29:37-05:00

Since 2001, we have been compiling the InsideLegal Master Legal Events Calendar, the most comprehensive international legal events calendar (on this site and printed in various legal publications) and we have just completed the update for the remainder of 2012. For 2012, you’ll find over 110 events spanning more than 250 days of legal conferences spanning all facets of law management - technology, security, marketing, eDiscovery, business development, law practice management, financial, knowledge management, global business, training, legal education, risk management - as well as vendor user conferences and events geared towards corporate counsel, legal administrators, paralegals, trial lawyers, law libarians, etc.

We welcome any links to the calendar and if you have an event that you would like considered for addition, email us the details. Please send:

Dates
Event name
Event host/producer
City, state
URL

LegalTech New York 2012 Agenda Word Cloud

2012-01-13T15:14:10-05:00

In a couple of weeks, a few thousand people will convene at LegalTech New York for 3 days of exhibitions, networking and technology sessions. To give an overview of what will be covered in those sessions, we have again created the LegalTech New York agenda word cloud, visually displaying all words/themes included in the event's 3 days of sessions. Size of selected words dictate how often they have been mentioned or referenced within the agenda. [Click on image to enlarge]

You can view our word cloud from LegalTech NY 2011 here to compare. Subscribe to InsideLegal throughout the show as well as our @insidelegal twitter handle for timely updates.

Ignite Law 2012 Announced!

2012-01-12T22:11:26-05:00

For the past two years, we at InsideLegal have partnered with Matt Homann of LexThink to produce Ignite Law, an interactive and thought-provoking mind-sharing event focused on the future of law practice and technology. We are back for 2012, but with a new name "LexThink .1 Law" - a name which reflects not only the way lawyers bill (in 1/10 hour increments), but also the six minutes each presenter is given to speak - and a new focus - "serving the client better" in the twenty first century. The event will be held on March 28th, the eve of the ABA TECHSHOW, in the Hilton Chicago. The ABA Law Practice Management section will return as a marquee sponsor.

As always, anyone interested in speaking at LexThink .1 can submit their ideas and topics for consideration. Speaking proposals must be submitted via the LexThink .1 Law site between January 30 and February 10 and voting on the topics by the legal community takes place February 13-24. Anyone interested in submissions, voting or other details regarding the 2012 event, should visit PointOneLaw.com or follow the associated twitter handle and hashtags ….@Point1Law #Point1Law #IgniteLaw.

We look forward to your submissions and to seeing you in Chicago!

Read the complete press release here.

ILTA Hosting the Advanced IT Track of LegalTech New York - Free to ILTA Members!

2012-01-09T14:29:38-05:00

Once again, ILTA will be hosting the Advanced IT Track on the Monday of LegalTech New York and it is free for all ILTA members to attend. Here is the schedule for January 30th...

10:30 am - 11:45 am iLove for the iPad: Tips, Tricks & Apps
The iPad has become an incredible mobile tool for lawyers, but it can often be a challenge for IT departments. But there's no denying the fact that the iPad is becoming part of the contemporary legal technology tool belt. In the first part of this session, we'll explore how the iPad can be integrated into a law practice and discuss security, infrastructure, and compatibility. In the second part of this session, we'll go into "app-overload" and cover legal apps, note-taking apps, signature apps, PDF apps, office apps, and even some fun apps. This session is for everyone that needs to learn more about how the iPad can benefit legal professionals.
Speakers: Brett Burney-Burney Consultants & David Neesen-CIO, Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP

2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Talking Technology to Lawyers
Attend this session to understand how the most successful technology leaders communicate with lawyers about technology strategy. Hear how these CIOs have been able to innovate with technology by gaining firm management support and engaging lawyers in the value technology brings to their practice.
Speakers: Gina Buser-CEO of Traveling Coaches; Bob Dolinsky-CIO, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan; Terry Pressley-CIO, Leonard, Street and Deinard; C. Kirk Scruggs-CIO, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

3:45 pm - 5:00 pm Six New Technologies You Should Know About
In this interactive session, IT leaders and technologists present a rapid-fire discussion and answer audience questions about six new technologies important for law firm IT operations. Topics include "The Role of the Cloud in Your DR/BC Planning", "Expansion of Video Conferencing Beyond the Conference Room", "Next Generation VPNs", "Riverbed Data Consolidation and Cloud Strategies" and "Lync 2010 Experiences".
Speakers: Marcus Bluestein-Kraft & Kennedy, Inc.; Scott Christensen-Director of Information Technology, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP; Jim McCue-IS Manager, Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A.; Mark Brophy-Director of Information Technology, Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC; David Michel-Chief Information Officer, Burr & Forman; Eric Hunter-Director of KM, Bradford & Barthel, LLP

ILTA members wanting to attend the entire conference can also receive a 15 percent discount. To register for the entire LegalTech New York 2012 conference, make sure you select the *Discounted MasterPass option to receive the ILTA discount. We'll see you in New York...

Calling All Legal IT Leaders ... Ways to Maximize Your Media Exposure

2012-01-09T11:40:09-05:00

Recently, InsideLegals' Jobst Elster had an article published in ILTA's Peer to Peer publication on the topic of "New Ways to Maxminize Your Media Exposure." We originally moderated a related session at ILTA 2011 and joined by accomplished co-panelists Randi Mayes, ILTA's Executive Director; and Ayelette Robinson, Director of Knowledge Technology at Littler. It was a well rounded conversation that spoke to making the decision on whether or not you'd want to (or need to) make the investment to begin writing for legal IT and general IT publications. With that said, Ayelette in particular, spent quite a bit of that time articulating the benefits of being published based on her personal success as a legal IT author and presenter. Reasons to start writing included elevating your name and reputation; positioning and representing your firm as forward thinkers, and giving your clients to engage and educate themselves vis a vis your subject matter expertise and thought leadership.

As described in the Peer to Peer article, there are numerous obvious and less obvious ways to maximize the exposure you have worked so hard to create.

Here are 4 easy (obvious) tips for maximizing your media expsosure:

Bolster Your Web Presence: Post your freshly published content within your firm’s or department’s “news” section and add it to your online profile. If you don’t have a profile with vitals including a biography, articles written, presentations given and areas of expertise, create one and keep it current.
Share with Clients, Prospects, Partners and Colleagues: Seek reprint permission for your content, so you can share articles at will with those who want to know (colleagues, firm management, clients, friends and partners) and those who ought to know (prospects, investors and other legal influencers).
Embrace Social Media: Post new content on your Facebook page; pick some relevant LinkedIn groups and add your topic as a new discussion thread; extract interesting facts and tweet about them with a link to the original article; and send your content to bloggers you know, admire or would like to know for comment and feedback.
Enhance Firm Presentations: Based on relevancy, make sure your articles and subject-matter expertise make their way into new business presentations and prospect pitches. Work with your marketing folks to figure out the right mix of self-promotion and thought leadership.

And 7 more that are perhaps a bit less obvious but equally 'do able':

Turn the Article into a Webinar or Podcast: Inexpensive technology tools now enable us to quite easily extend a static article into a multimedia bundle of content. Your article on a cloud-based DMS can be transformed into a 45-minute podcast on the same topic with the inclusion of experts that can share more information than the original article.
Contact the Editor or Publisher About Contributing on a Regular Basis: If you enjoyed writing your article and like what you see on the exposure and feedback front, it might behoove you to seek a permanent contributor role with the publication. Many legal publishers are understaffed and low on resources, and often times they are happy to add a regular columnist to help fill their pages.
Offer Your Services to Others: Look for other media outlets (magazines, blogs, websites, e-zines and newsletters) that might be interested in what you have to say. Send them the article as an “FYI” and offer yourself up as a subject-matter expert. They’ll know who to call the next time they need an expert who deals with, for example, cloud-based security risks.
Encourage Feedback by Rewarding It: Editors love to know what their readers think about certain articles and topics, but usually only those with complaints take the time to voice their opinions. Turn this paradigm on its head, and foster collaboration among your readers by rewarding them for being vocal. When promoting your content via social media tools, incent your community to comment on your blog post by offering up affordable freebies such as gift cards, t-shirts or other promotional items.
Manage Your Online Identity: As you begin to amass content and increase your online exposure, take sometime to manage your online presence. Companies such as Vizibility, for example, will help individuals or companies organize and share their online identities, including personalized Google search results and handpicked professional profiles. This provides a “one-stop, one search”look at all your content and contributions.
Leverage QR Codes: A Quick Response (QR) code typically points to an online resource, such as an individual’s profile or related articles, quickly accessed via smartphones and mobile devices. A recent Vizibility survey, “Infographic: QR Code Usage in Legal Marketing,” found that 86 percent of law firms plan to use QR codes to market their individual attorneys, with more than half pointing individual QR codes to biographical information and contact details. Why not use QR codes for your articles as well?
Integrate It All: While achieving an integrated marketing approach to everything you publish will most likely require some heavy lifting from your marketing group, the value of having everything you say and do in one place, with the same message, accessible to a diverse target audience is incredible. Case in point: Fulbright & Jaworski recently published its latest “Litigation Trends Survey Report” and made it accessible via a dedicated Web page with options to attend a results-focused webinar, join a LinkedIn and Facebook discussion or follow key stats via their Twitter feed. The website also included links to official press announcements, as well as articles and blog posts dedicated to the topic.

You can read the remainder of Jobst's article and the full December 2011 issue of ILTA's Peer to Peer publication here.

Also, you can view the original "Generating Media Exposure for IT Leadership" presentation from the original ILTA11 webinar here.

Feel free to contact Jobst if you would like to discuss this topic and how you can make a bigger splash with your writing and speaking efforts.

Inaugural InsideLegal Thought Leaders Digest Spotlights College of Law Practice Management

2011-10-28T09:59:48-04:00

As those familiar with InsideLegal know, we have always had a 'soft spot' for thought leadership ... Especially within the last three years, we have stepped up efforts to advocate and promote legal thought leadership with programs such as Ignite Law, the “In Their Own Words” law firm leaders series, and the introduction of thought leadership-themed panel discussions as part of ILTA's vendor education program at the annual conference and the ABA TECHSHOW. InsideLegal’s Thought Leaders Digest is the latest effort. The Digest is a digital publication consisting of concise articles, essays, ‘ask the experts’ Q&As and commentary addressing law practice-specific and legal profession spanning topics and themes.

The inaugural Digest is focused on organization we have the upmost respect for but have always felt does not get the recognition and awareness it deserves - The College of Law Practice Management. Specifically, the COLPM issue spotlights members’ (COLPM Fellows) legal expertise and knowledge of the profession while introducing COLPM to a wider, international legal audience. The COLPM Fellows are the ‘who’s who’ of law practice management and as an organization recognize innovation and ingenuity via the InnovAction award and foster collaboration and education through its annual Futures Conference.

It’s time to “share the wealth” so to speak and the COLPM-themed InsideLegal Thought Leaders Digest does just that with a series of thoughtful essays and ‘ask the Fellows’ questions addressing law practice futures; legal education; workplace diversity; KM; alternative business structures; legal technology; marketing; and pricing. The Digest includes critical essays by Jordan Furlong, Marc Lauritsen, Ron Staudt, Ron Friedmann, Kendal Tyre, Tony Williams, Ed Poll, Ida Abbott, Marcia Wasserman, Burkey Belser, and Caren Ulrich Stacy. An ‘Ask the Fellows’ series includes questions by Richard Susskind, Matt Homann, Toby Brown, Jobst Elster and JoAnna Forshee with corresponding answers by dozens of COLPM Fellows.

The 24-page InsideLegal Thought Leaders Digest, COLPM issue, can be dowloaded at http://bit.ly/ILDigest1 and will be distributed at the COLPM annual Futures Conference, October 28-29, Chicago-Kent School of Law in Chicago.

COLPM Futures Conference Heading to Chicago

2011-10-19T09:09:40-04:00

The College of Law Practice Management (COLPM) is hosting their annual Futures Conference next week (October 28-29) at the Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago. The Futures Conference includes an interactive program featuring thought-provoking leaders who present on or facilitate discussions on the future of the legal profession and the resulting challenges to law firm leadership and management. The 2011 Futures Conference is co-chaired by COLPM Fellows Ron Staudt and David Hambourger and themed "Challenging the Law Practice Management Model". The conference is specifically designed to offer ideas that are meaningful to firms of all sizes, across all legal disciplines - "best practices in law firm management can be both universal and scalable."

Although InsideLegal has been a sponsor of the COLPM's InnovAction Awards for a few years now, we first attended the Futures Conference last year (an incredible event). We were the most impressed with the attendee list consisting of the 'who's who' of legal exchanging ideas about the future of the business of law globally. This conference is for law firm leaders, managing partners, executive directors, chief marketing officers, directors of professional development and law school deans and is open to non-COLPM members to attend. [I believe they still have a couple of spots left if you are interested in attending you can register here with InsideLegal rate of $395.]

The 2011 Futures Conference sessions include:

What is the Future of Price: Defining Value in Value Billing: The future demands that law firms and their clients put a value on the services lawyers provide. The great recession and its law profession aftermath are driving more and more clients to demand fixed fee arrangements to ensure certainty and reduce legal costs. Law firms and their clients struggle to find solid principles that define that value. Hear how clients define value when hiring a law firm and how firms define value. Help identify universal concepts that can measure value across boundaries. Help invent the language of value for law practice. Expect an interesting, lively and spirited exchange. Moderator: Ronald Staudt, Chicago-Kent College of Law; Toby Brown, Vinson & Elkins; Paul Lippe, Legal OnRamp, and Ellen Rosenthal, Pfizer

Law Factories vs. “Bet the Farm” Firms: Will law firms of the future need to segment clients in new ways? Might some firms focus on “industrialized” practices: hyper-efficient work using automation and low cost resources? Might others focus on “bet the farm” cases using mainly top legal talent? If the market does segment, will it do so by practice, by firm, by matter type or along some other dimension? Many factors could either drive or support this. Join us as we explore alternative business structures in the UK and beyond. Moderator: Ron Friedmann, Integreon and Toby Brown, Vinson & Elkins

Disruptive Technologies/Innovative Thinking: Theorists like Clayton Christensen and Richard Susskind remind us that technologies themselves are rarely disruptive; it’s the business innovations they enable. Yet it’s clear that aspects of today’s transformations in the legal services delivery system are being driven by the dramatic economies of advanced new technologies. What’s going on? What should we expect? Moderator: Marc Lauritsen, Capstone Practice Systems; Richard S. Granat, SmartLegalForms, Inc., and DirectLaw, Inc.; Maura R. Grossman, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and Kingsley Martin, KIIAC LLC

Law Practice Without Borders: The American legal market is by far the largest in the world, about $260 billion annually. But the future legal marketplace will be truly multinational, following the lead of an increasingly globalized economy. Already, the most innovative and dynamic developments in the legal sphere are taking place outside U.S. borders. This session explores the latest trends in key legal markets worldwide, including the UK, India and China. Moderator: Jordan Furlong, Edge International; Simon Chester, Heenan Blaikie, LLP; BieBie Que, Leximetrics, LLC; and Pamela Woldow, Edge International

Future View: Do You See What I See?: Where should we focus our attention? What have we already missed? How can we best prepare for “what’s next?” This panel will offer provocative prognostications on the law practice management landscape from a number of perspectives and market segments. Moderator: Sally Fiona King, SNR Denton; Ross Fishman, Ross Fishman Marketing; Dave Hambourger, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Chris Murray, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. and Chris Petrini-Poli, HBR Consulting

Innovation, With Velocity: The pace of change in the legal marketplace during the last several years has been unprecedented. This session explores what innovation is and is not. What are the barriers to innovation in law firms and how can we overcome them? Learn how your firm can install a sustainable, systemic innovation initiative. Session leaders: Tom Clay, Altman Weil, Inc. and Raymond Bayley, Novus Law

Serving the Profession Today and Tomorrow: The College has an action agenda to “…make a difference, and use the talent, skill and experience of the Fellows to improve the profession.” Since 2009, the College has partnered with the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to participate in regular program performance visits designed to observe and improve the operations of legal aid organizations it funds. Over lunch Fellows who have volunteered their consulting expertise to this effort will describe their experiences. LSC executives will map out the state of the need and identify opportunities for College efforts to meet some of the need. All Fellows are encouraged to offer opinions and ideas on how the College could improve the future of the delivery of justice.

The Legal Vendor Acquisitions Continue...ADERANT Announces Another Purchase

2011-10-07T10:59:24-04:00

At the ILTA conference a little over a month ago, financial practice management provider ADERANT made quite a stir with their acquisition news, purchasing both CompuLaw LLC, (calendaring and court rule automation) and Client Profiles ('end-to-end' case management software for small to medium law firms) including their CRM4Legal product.

Then, on October 3, Elite announced that they acquired FWBS, developers of MatterCentre and MatterSphere tools with a strong presence in the APAC and EMEA regions.

Well, the legal technology vendors remain on an M&A roll ... As of this morning, ADERANT has announced the acquisition of RainMaker Software, financial and practice management software for mid to large sized law firms.

The M&A 'arms' race used to be limited to West (now Thomson Reuters) vs. Lexis, with the occasional eDiscovery vendor thrown in, so this recent trend definitely mixes things up. Add to that, record M&As on the law firm side (Altman Weil just reported a 78% increase from 2010), and this might just be the best time to own a business card and stationary printing business.