Lawyer - News

Corporate governance is one of the main concerns for American corporations. In this show, we will discuss the compliance issues that companies are facing and the General Counsel’s role. Is the GC the ‘guard-dog’ so to speak for corporate compliance? Join co-hosts and Law.com bloggers, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi as they welcome our experts. Coast to Coast turns to Attorney Lanny J. Davis, partner from the Washington D.C. office of the global law firm, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Gary Levine, President and Founder of Two Step Software, Inc. that provides tools for compliance and Professor Charles Elson, Chair in Corporate Governance and the Director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. No comments

Hugh McLeod of GapingVoid has a manifesto by Chris Houchens called “Marketing by committee.“

From it:

If one person can produce ineffective crappy marketing, imagine what a committee can do.

No comments

On LexBlog, Kevin O’Keefe points to a study by my alma mater, Northeastern University, on “What Makes a Successful Corporate Blog?“

The study identified five factors as important to the success of a blog:

1. Culture- If you’ve got culture traits that are interesting to people (think Google) or if you’ve got culture problems (think Dell or Microsoft), showing what your company’s culture is really like is a great reason to blog. With the Google scenario, you’re giving customers a glimpse into a fascinating company, and giving behind-the-scenes info on a universally loved brand. On the other hand, when you’re dealing with consumer distrust or bad PR, blogging (if done correctly) can help repair a tainted reputation.
2. Transparency- Blog readers want to read authors they can trust. They don’t want to read blog posts by a company that is trying to take a thinly veiled approach at hawking their products. It really is a balancing act. Sure, your company’s blog can help sell products/services. But at the same time, you don’t want to seem like like you’ve got too much of an agenda.
3. Time- It takes time and research to write a worthwhile blog.
4. Dialogue- You’ve got to talk with your audience. You’ve read the cliche “Blogs are a conversation.” Well, they are. And successful blogs are conversations between the audience and the writer(s).
5. Entertaining writing- When the blogger brings a unique style to the blog, it makes the blog so much more interesting.

How does this relate to law firm blogging?

Culture- I don’t see how law firms would offer a glimpse inside their inner workings on a blog. Unlike Google or Microsoft, law firms aren’t trying to persuade the masses  to use their products. A law firm’s target is much more narrow in scope, and would not likely benefit from showing how business is conducted (not to mention issues of confidentiality).

Transparency- Law firm bloggers have seemed to do a great job with transparency. Rather than having huge, blinking ads saying “BE A CLIENT!!!!!! WE’RE THE LAW FIRM FOR YOU!!!!!!!”, attorney blogs are best when they establish the author as an expert on an issue. And since that expertise is essentially the service clients are purchasing, there is more benefit in the content and the writing than advertising the firm. Am I saying attorney bloggers should get rid of any mention of their firms, or get rid of links and contact information for their firms? Absolutely NOT. That’s the point. But the idea is to gain trust, then gain the clients.

Time- This is a big issue with law firm bloggers. When the time you spend writing can be so easily calculated into opportunity cost figures, the question of “is it worth it?” will always come up.

Dialogue- For the most part, law firm blogs are good at encouraging conversation. When the attorney is an expert on an issue, they’re likely to embrace discussion.

Entertaining Writing- Without style, reading a law firm blog, regardless of the expertise of the author, can be, well, boring. But when you have a writer that can make a sterile subject seem interesting, you’ve got something.

No comments

I apologize for posting so infrequently this month, but I’ve been working on some “behind the scenes” projects that are very exciting (to me at least!).

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something for legal bloggers (and with a name like LawFirmBlogging, I probably should post on-topic articles from time to time), so today I’d like to share a new site with you.

Zippy.co.uk is a technorati-like search engine for blogs, but it has a LOT of information. Type in the URL of your blog, and you’ll get the following information:

• Internal Links
• External Links
• External/Internal Link Ratio
• Total 2 Word Phrases
• Total 3 Word Phrases
• Total 4 Word Phrases
• Textual Content
• Alexa Ranking
• Google PageRank
• Google Backlinks
• Number of Indexed Pages in Google
• Yahoo Backlinks
• MSN Backlinks

Aside from providing a way to centralize data from the different search engines, the 2, 3, and 4 word phrase count is especially useful. Since most people only enter 2-4 words in their search engine queries, knowing your keyword density is very important. Clicking on the Total 2,3 and 4 word phrases reports will give you a rundown of your frequently occurring keywords, with both a count and the keyword density.

If you’re looking for a quick, dashboard-like application that gives a very good overview of how your blog is performing, it’s worth doing a quick search with Zippy.co.uk

No comments

Many believe that business has been bad for the economy, but not for the top law firms. In this show we will explore the trends behind the growth in partners, associates and the new firms who have joined the NLJ 250. So what are the fields of practice that may be causing this growth and why the rise? Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi, ms with three great guests all with different perspectives. Coast to Coast welcomes Leigh Jones, reporter for the National Law Journal, Attorney Daniel L. Goldberg partner at Bingham McCutchen involved in new business unit, Bingham Sports Consulting LLC and Attorney Eric L. Garner, managing partner of Best, Best & Krieger. Don’t miss it! No comments

From print journalists and blawggers to television reporters and radio personalities, the law is constantly changing and we are kept informed by the individuals who bring us the news. On this show we will hear from those who report on the law-a producer and a reporter. Join co-hosts and Law.com bloggers, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi as they turn to those who report the law. Coast to Coast welcomes, Erin Mooney, producer of NPR’s Justice Talking and David Frank, Senior News Reporter from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Don’t miss it No comments

When I was a little kid, my sister and I had a Saturday morning tradition. Our mother would give us each a couple of dollars, and we’d walk about a mile to Mike’s store. Mike’s was a tiny little convenience store with many different kinds of penny candy, and it was very popular with kids.

One day, on our way back home, I opened my little paper bag full of candy and pulled out a Cow Tale. I took a bite and hated it! I was right next to the canal, so I threw the rest in (the candy, not the wrapper!). I then noticed that no less than ten small fish swarmed the cow tale and ate it immediately.

The next Saturday, even though I hated the candy, I bought more cow tales. I went back to the canal to see if I could replicate the results. The answer: fish love cow tales.

What’s my point?

Let’s think about what would happen if my intent was to catch a lot of fish. I’d probably first think about worms, lures, etc. I might even go to the tackle shop and ask. Or turn on the T.V. and catch a fishing show. If it were today rather than when I was a kid, I’d just go online and do the research.

I’m sure I would get a lot of information on what works, what doesn’t, and I’d get lots of suggestions. But it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t end up with Cow Tales.

There’s a lot left to be discovered. Don’t just rely on what has been done in the past. Sometimes you need to throw candy in the canal and see what happens.

No comments

On December 1, 2006, new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will take effect and change how civil cases will be tried forever. In this Coast to Coast we discuss the e-discovery changes, what the impact will be for corporate America andhow companies can prepare themselves before the new rules take effect. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J.Craig Willams and Robert Ambrogi as they get insight into the world of e-discovery from the experts, Michele C.S. Lange, Esq., staff attorney in the Electronic Evidence Services group at Kroll Ontrack Inc. and Dennis Kennedy, well-known lawyer and legal technology consultant based in St. Louis, Missouri. Don’t miss this program! No comments