Legal Practice Pro - Marketing, Managing and Growing Your Law Firm

Does Your Press Release Do Your Law Firm More Harm Than Good?

Jay Fleischman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:41:15 +0000

Press releases can be useful for lawyers, even in this digital day and age. It’s a good way to get out the word about some newsworthy event like a major victory or new initiative, though cultivating relationships with the press before you have a potential story is far more likely to bear fruit. Still, sometimes the old ways are good enough.

Lots of lawyers are using online press releases as a means of attracting valuable inbound links and attention, thereby raising their SEO profiles. Nothing wrong with that, either.

The disturbing trend I’ve been seeing, however, is the dissemination of online press releases for evens that are far from newsworthy. It’s the online equivalent of broadcasting your child’s first successful use of the potty.

Actually, it’s worse than that because the potty trip is exciting for at least the parents and grandparents.

Consider, for example, the free consultation in bankruptcy. In many areas, the lawyer doesn’t charge for their first visit with a potential client to talk about bankruptcy. It’s a non-issue no matter how you slice it.

In spite of that fact, some lawyer in Los Angeles has taken it upon himself to pump out a press release claiming, “Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer, Hamid Soleimanian, Offers Free Consultation for Personal Bankruptcy Cases.”

To channel the Church Lady, “Well, isn’t that special?”

Think that’s one-in-a-million? Guess again, my friend.

Another bankruptcy lawyer – this one in Tahoe, California – has put out a release stating, “Reputed Bankruptcy Attorney is Now Serving the Tahoe Area, California.” I’d let this one slide if it weren’t so painfully obvious that it was crafted solely for the perceived SEO benefits. Take this section of the, “release,” worded so badly as to make the reader doubt whether these lawyers can properly speak and write the English language:

“We help our Tahoe bankruptcy clients get out of debt and go on with their lives. Being in bankruptcy practice for more than 13 years, we have filed and handled thousands of cases and have helped them to save millions of dollars”, says the spokesperson of Bk-help.com, when commenting about their services.

Free consultation is offered by the law firm for Tahoe area residents who finds them in difficult financial situations. “We deliver a Tahoe bankruptcy attorney representation that is second to none with our focus on providing courtesy and excellence to all our bankruptcy clients”, the spokesperson adds further.

There are more, but I thought it best not to belabor the point.

A press release can be a useful tool, or it can make you look like you’re blatantly gaming the search engines with useless crap to clog up the pipeline. I’m willing to make a bet that after a few releases like the ones above, the law firms will never get a second glance – even in the event that these folks have something newsworthy to report.

The ones I’ve highlighted here do nothing of value to the world. They’re outright manipulations of the system, making the lawyers look bad. The first one screams, “Hey, I’m just like everyone else in town!” and the second proclaims, “We can barely string together a coherent sentence!”

That’s a shame, too; these may well be excellent attorneys who have much to offer their communities. They may be competent, caring and worthy choices for people looking to solve a particular legal problem. Their offices may be staffed with intelligent people who genuinely care about delivering the highest level of client service. None of that is remotely evident in these releases, though.

So next time you decide to promote your firm using a press release, consider whether it’s actually news or just a thinly-veiled attempt to get some SEO juice. If it’s the former then good for you. But if not then maybe not so much.

Image credit: BenSpark

Do Your Emails Make Your Look Like One Of Those %*&^%&^$ Lawyers?

Jay Fleischman — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:44:06 +0000

You’re busy. I get it. And your email provider allows you to have one of those autoresponders. I get that, too.

There’s nothing wrong with an autoresponder to let people know you may not get back to them for a few hours, or that you check your email on a specific schedule.

It sets expectations. Good work.

But there’s a limit.

There is such a thing as coming off like a pretentious and pompous ass. I point you to Exhibit A, received from a lawyer to whom I had sent an email earlier in the day:

I receive approximately 75-100 emails per day. It is often impossible for me to respond the same day or within a week to the emails I receive. As such, please review the following disclaimer:

If you are an attorney:
Please note that due to the volume of emails, I cannot accept service or notice via email and if your recent communication is an attempt at such, please call my office immediately to notify my staff of your communication. (xxx) xxx-xxxx

If you are a current client:
IF you are in need of a response in a quick manner, please call my office and let my staff know that you have an urgent request. If they are able to assist you they will, if it is something that requires my attention, they will contact me and notify me of your concern. We strive to respond promptly to our clients, however do so in a “triage” format where emergency matters, time sensitive matters and court matters are addressed first. We appreciate your understanding and patience to this protocol. You may always call the office and have a telephone conference call scheduled to discuss your concerns, if you are unable to wait for a response.

If you are a potential client:
Please note that unless you have retained our firm by signing a fee agreement and/or paying a retainer, I am not able to give legal advice and will likely not be able to respond to your email questions. You are more than welcome to call the office and schedule an appointment.

Here’s how I translated this email in my mind:

I get a lot of email, and I don’t feel like reading and responding to it. I don’t feel particularly inclined to hear from clients or potential ones by email. Please don’t send me anything unless you’re OK with it being ignored.

Have someone read your autoresponder and give their opinion of what it says to them. Don’t take the chance that your clients, colleagues and friends will think you’re just another one of those self-important lawyers.

If you hate email, don’t give out your address.

Image credit: RambergMediaImages

A Sure-Fire, 100% Premonition For Legal Marketing In 2012

Jay Fleischman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:00:41 +0000

As December winds to a close, we’re bombarded with predictions for the upcoming year. Everyone wants to sound off about what’s going to happen next year. Blogging will be hot, Twitter will be super-hot, Google+ will be on fire, Foursquare will explode, and somehow Yellow Pages advertising will make a comeback.

The reality is that nobody can reliably predict what’s going to happen.

Case in point (and stay with me to the end, please).

There’s a musical group called Girls’ Generation, and they’re one of a growing number of South Korean pop bands hitting the U.S. and the rest of the world by storm. I’ve been listening to their music for the past year, and I’m betting you think I’m the only one who’s heard of them.

Not so. On October 23, 2011 SMTown, a South Korean entertainment company, sold out Madison Square Garden with their SMTown Live ’10 World Tour. Fluke? The L.A. stop on the tour, held at The Staples Center, was a sell-out as well.

Girls’ Generation’s YouTube video for Gee, a disposable enough tune that sticks in your head and makes you want to dance around the living room like a maniac, has been watched 60 million times. You click the insights bar next to the number of views and you’ll see that it’s been watched as much in the U.S. as in Asia.

Never saw THAT coming, did you?

Here’s the video. I don’t understand Korean, but suspect the lyrics aren’t all that deep.

My point, and I do have one (aside from getting you to watch the video and have the hook stick in your skull), is that our predictions are informed solely by our existing worldview.

We walk around with blinders, thinking that everyone in the world is just like us. I drink Coke Zero, so I assume you want one if you come to visit my house. You’ve been advertising in the Yellow Pages ever since you opened up shop 20 years ago, so you can’t wrap your head around the possibility that people in your area are getting their answers by asking friends on Facebook or interacting with lawyers on Twitter.

We can’t predict. Doesn’t matter what infographics you look at, or who you listen to. It’s an educated guess at best.

So here’s my premonition – not a prediction, but a lock-solid guarantee – of what’s going to happen in 2012.

2012 will continue the evolution we’ve seen for the past decade or more, as communication channels open up and consumers of legal services demand more of their service providers.

You never know what will be the next big thing. All you can do is keep watching the trends, learning every new skill you can pick up and soaking it all in.

Get cracking, folks. To channel Margo Channing, fasten your seatbelts – it’s going to be a bumpy year!

Got your own predictions for 2012?

Image credit: PiYe -

Why You Should Stop Being An SEO Chaser

Jay Fleischman — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:00:36 +0000

Blogging is a big deal for people looking to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, build credibility and authority, and get seen on the search engines. All too often, however, we see lawyers who focus on the SEO benefits of blogging to the exclusion of all else.

These are the dreaded “SEO Chasers.”

Maybe they’re writing this content on their own, or perhaps they’ve hired a ghostblogger. If it’s the former then I can see the issue. If it’s the latter, they need to demand a refund.

The reality is that good content written with an SEO slant is difficult to produce, but well worth the investment of time and energy. It reads well, entertains, and informs. It’s not awkward, and only a trained eye could tell it was written with any knowledge of search engine optimization.

There’s a reason for that.

Let’s say your blog sits at the top of the search engines results page for a critical term. Your law firm gets hit with thousands of visitors, and the blog catches fire. But you get no clients, and nobody calls. Looking at your blog analytics you find that the bounce rate is through the roof.

People are clicking onto your blog, but then they flee because the content is awkward and robotic.

You forgot that the point of a blog is to get people to realize that your law firm is awesome. And in so doing, you got hung up on the technical aspects of search engine optimization rather than in the content itself.

Why not just write what your prospective client wants to read about? If you’re a bankruptcy lawyer, consider discussing not only relevant aspects of the Bankruptcy Code but also some personal finance tips. Maybe a thing or two about how to survive and thrive on a limited income?

Get people to visit your law firm blog, website or other online property by with the promise of great information. Keep them from leaving by delivering on that promise. The SEO stuff will work itself out.

Deal?

Image credit: peyri

The Ghost In The Lawyer’s Blogging Machine

Jay Fleischman — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:30:34 +0000

There’s a trend of legal blogs going up with nothing but ghostwritten articles. Is this a shortcut to the top of the search engines or a valuable means of getting information to your prospective clients?

Part of what I do each morning is flip open my Google Reader and check out the other legal blogs to which I subscribe. Not only do I read what the members of the Legal Practice Pro listserv are writing, but also bankruptcy and consumer protection blogs in general.

Lately I’ve seen a number of blogs experience an explosive growth in their content. One, run by one of the largest consumer bankruptcy law firms in the United States, will often pump out 3-4 new pieces in a single day. This isn’t low-quality crap, either – it’s pretty good.

In spite of the fact that this blog is nominally penned by the attorney whose name appears on the door, there’s no doubt that this lawyer has outsourced his blog duties. The pieces are well-written, contain captivating (if not stock) photos, and read like they were written by a seasoned personal finance writer.

This isn’t the only lawyer who’s jumped on the ghostblogging bandwagon. In fact, I have two friends who are using the same ghostblogger for their bankruptcy blogs. They didn’t tell me, but I confronted each of them and they copped to it.

I’ve tried hiring ghostbloggers in the early days of my blogging career, but it never worked out. I end up spending double the amount of time editing the pieces and giving them my voice. By the time I published the pieces they were completely re-written and there was no trace of the hired gun to be found.

Finding a freelancer isn’t too difficult, and I’m not opposed to hiring outsiders to add valuable content to your blog. It’s not up my alley but I get that some people aren’t interested in pouring their thoughts onto the screen day in and day out. Still, isn’t there something disingenuous about claiming ownership of a piece that isn’t yours?

If I worked with my law school professor as a research assistant on a law review article and wasn’t given at least a footnote of credit, I would have been offended. When I was interviewed by a major national magazine in connection with a story some years ago about the debt buying industry, I was enraged that my name wasn’t in the article.

Sure, a ghostblogger willingly surrenders ownership when he or she takes the job, but does that make it right?

In the world of unbundled legal services, lawyers in some states who assist in the drafting of court documents need to disclose their involvement. It’s designed to put the court on alert about the quality and nature of the pleading, and that makes sense.

Some other noted bloggers have put ghostblogging to task. Give them a read:

Ghostblogging will be the death of social media in the law by Kevin O’Keefe
Are Ghostwritten Legal Blogs Unethical? in the ABA Journal
Why It’s Ridiculous To Argue About Ghost Blogging by Mark Schaefer
The Death of Social Media by Mitch Joel

By putting your name on a piece of content over which you did not have sole control, are you lying to your readers and prospective clients? Are you using ghostbloggers on your blog? Share your thoughts – I’m curious to hear what you think.

Image credit: NRK P3

The Dark Knight Rises [Cool Movie Trailer]

Jay Fleischman — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:42:22 +0000

Christian Bale is awesome as the Dark Knight. Though I still think any of the X-Men could kick his ass.

It’s The Practice Of Law For A Reason

Jay Fleischman — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:46:06 +0000

16 years ago today I opened my practice. I knew nothing – none of the field in which I currently practice, nothing of running a viable business, and zero about the definition of success. All I had on my side was youthful optimism.

December 19, 1995. I was 25 years old and had been admitted to practice for about 9 months.

No clients, no money, no valuable knowledge.

What did I do? I set to work.

Every night was spent in the law library in midtown Manhattan. Every day was spent in court poring over case files. I spent time online (yes, the Interwebs existed) and did what I could to piece together scraps of knowledge.

When I landed a client, I charged a fraction of the market and let them know I wasn’t the most experienced guy on the block (indeed, in the building). My first bankruptcy petition took about 80 hours of work to draft.

Now, 16 years later I still practice law. I don’t mean that I am still a lawyer. I still practice – I learn, I try, I do what I can to get better. I’ll never be perfect, but I’m always trying.

You’ll never be perfect either. Put in the work, learn the craft and be diligent.

Sometimes you’ll make a mistake. That’s the imperfection of life. Learn from those mistakes, and do everything possible to rectify them. It’s all you can do.

And every day, go out there and practice.

Here’s to the next 16.

Image credit: littlemaiba

The Democratization Of Publishing And What It Means For Lawyers

Jay Fleischman — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:52:29 +0000

When I was in high school I wrote short fiction and dreamed of the day I’d be a published author like Heinlein, Ellison or Sturgeon. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get anyone in the industry to give it a second look. Good thing, too – it was atrocious.

If I were doing it all again, things would be different. The walls have come down. What this means for lawyers – for anyone, in fact – is monumental.

GalleyCat recently published Amazon’s Bestselling Books Of 2011. There’s some Grisham, Tiny Fey’s book, and the Steve Jobs biography. All good choices, none surprising.

But look more closely at the list and you’ll see something notable: two books, The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan and The Abbey by Chris Culver, made the list based solely on Kindle sales and were independently published using Kindle Direct Publishing. Chan beat out Grisham, coming in at #4. Culver got in the door at #9.

Two books brought to light without a publishing house, and sold on Kindle only.

A published book means instant credibility in your field and a level of authority beyond all others. It’s the gold standard, pure and simple.

Up until now, that credibility could not be garnered alone. Publicists, agents, promoters, publishing houses with millions of dollars in budgets just to get you out the door and into the hands of readers.

Now, 20% of the top books sold by arguably the largest retailer of reading material are produced without any of those levels.

Think about that for a minute.

The spread of information was once reserved for a chosen few, those with connections who could find an agent and a publishing deal. Now it’s in the hands of each and every one of us. Self-publishing existed, but the means of distribution were clunky at best. You could get 1,000 books printed and bound, but they’d sit in your garage unless you pounded the pavement.

Now Amazon and the other online book retailers provide you with that means of distribution. All you need to do is work your online and offline contacts to promote your work. It’s not like snapping your fingers, but the power is incredible.

Think you need the approval of a publishing house to put out a book that your prospective clients would find helpful and that would make you THE authority figure in your field? Not so much.

All you need to do is grab a keyboard and start typing. Save it to PDF, convert it to ePub or Kindle format and go through the simple steps of getting it onto Amazon, Barnes & Noble’s website, and iBooks. You’re now a published author.

What if you did a series of blog posts, packaged them into a Kindle book, and sold it online?

How about taking that client introduction packet you hand out and turning into a roadmap for people looking to hire a lawyer in your field?

What sort of authority would that build?

There’s no overhead, no inventory, and nothing holding you back.

What do you have to say?