A dozen of Ross Fishman's case study-based "What Works" marketing columns from the ABA's Law Practice magazine, plus the LMA's "Best of Show" award book for International Lawyers Network (ILN) campaign

1. Your
Honor
AwArds
Best of Show
2008 Winners shoWcase

2. Best of Show: International Lawyers Network
Art and artifice combine for Best of Show:
International Lawyers Network’s
Multi-Media Campaign
Getting 5,000 lawyers in 70 countries to pay attention to any-
thing like an ad campaign defines the words “ultimate challenge,”
according to Lma’s Your honor judges. Yet that is just what this
multi-media campaign delivered by the international Lawyers
Network (iLN) set out to do. it has met with “super Bowl”
success so far, and the judges have honored this program with
Best of show for its boldly creative and deft approach.
No newsprint ads, no direct mail, no press releases or inter-
views…this campaign takes a radically different visual twist.
With a goal to convince the 85% less-active lawyers in the
international Lawyers Network to become active, the campaign
needed a simple message with a stop-you-in-your-tracks visual
to hook the target audience of bright, overworked and time-
cramped lawyer members. and the budget was limited.
“We needed to grab them quickly with a powerful, unexpected
image and tell our entire story within five seconds – and
get them to talk about it with their peers,” according to iLN
spokespeople.
how to do it? the creators came up with ideas for life-sized,
out-of-the-box designs made of sticky plastic that could be
applied to a variety of surfaces without damage. these would
be two-dimensional figures so large and theatrical they startled
2

3. the passer-by and made him
or her stop, take note and tell
someone else.
the final selection of adhesive-
backed images took shape as
people of various nationalities
and career modes, out-of-pro-
portion and representative hats,
and renderings of exotic travel
destinations. these “trompe
l’oeil,” or visual deceits, would
be applied to bathroom
mirrors, elevator doors, even
interior walls of a building or
law office.
the hats, a representative
sample of international
headdresses, were applied
to restroom mirrors and
positioned high enough to “fit”
the heads of the onlookers.
the message, “imagine you need
a lawyer in (that representative
country),” gave clarity to the
surprise, out-of-context reflection
in the mirror.
illusory “people” affixed to mir-
rors smiled at bathroom visitors,
reminding them that “the iLN
is always with you, worldwide.
www.iLN.com.” these sticky
images resembled people from all
over the world.
there were more. a set of
elevator doors – cloaked in
plastic sheeting adorned with
words and images reminiscent
of various countries (camels for
egypt, for example) – reminded
the onlooker of his or her membership in international Lawyers and asian countries led to an excited discussion and far-reaching
Network. mock, life-sized doorways, slightly ajar and leading to ideas about other applications for the products.”
exotic, mock locales, were “affixed” to various interior walls. the following meeting in Phoenix gained the same swell of
initial approval was thunderous, nearly 100%. “our first presen- enthusiasm – complete buy-in by the group and a desire to
tation was in istanbul, to the european regional meeting,” said send the materials electronically to kick off the program.
the group’s representative. “these lawyers are conservative; the campaign’s entire budget was a fraction of a global print/
marketing is not something they have adopted as readily as U.s. media/ad undertaking of comparable scope: $20,000 took care
firms have. the presentation to 50 attorneys from 35 european of interviews, research, creative development and production.
3

4. 4. mULtimeDia CamPaiGN
First Place: Goldberg Simpson
Movement, Agility Key to Campaign
starting from a blank slate – no marketing materials at all
– Goldberg simpson was challenged to create something
that would establish it as not only a great firm but a standout.
to compound the challenge there was little synergy within
the 30-member firm, combining conventional business lawyers
and tragic personal injury specialists; high-dollar divorces and
high-volume house closings, international adoption specialists
and front-page criminal attorneys. this seemingly mismatched
Louisville outfit badly needed the cohesion of a brand. the
firm took the bait.
What resulted caught the eye of the Your honor judges who
bestowed the first-place award for multi-media Campaign to
Goldberg & simpson.
an intense research phase identified key commonalities
within the firm: energy, leadership, creativity and a type a
business attitude. With that in mind, marketing products first
developed included a new logo and tag line, “a law firm that
really moves.” New ad materials and website images showed
creativity and action – men, animals, women running, jogging,
riding ahead of the pack.
Web copy reflected agility and a willingness to move: “Clients
tell us we’re different from those big, lumbering downtown
law firms. We move. We don’t bog down our clients’ business
plans with process, procrastination and endless reconsidera-
tion. We help our clients make timely decisions and then
move swiftly to put those decisions into effect.”
SM
in another unusual move, silhouettes of different athletic
images -- e.g. horse racer, basketball player, runner – were cut
out of the firm’s new logo to demonstrate the firm’s deft and
targeted approach.
Distribution channels included more traditional - newspapers,
A Law Firm that Really Moves.TM magazines, community sponsorships – and more creative
- manicures that featured logo-painted nails, floaty pens, and
running-man billboards, unusual for a corporate law firm.
the reaction and success were immediate. Within two weeks
of launching stage one, the firm began receiving the type of
resumes they’d targeted for firm membership.
accomplishments were impressive on any scale, but especially
with the allocated budget. the entire campaign, including
message, creative work and production of logo and identity
materials, billboard, pens, direct mailers, announcements, web
site, ballet-related materials, etc. – all were produced for less
than $100,000.
18

5. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
INTELLIGENCE, INSIGHTS & TACTICS FOR YOUR LAW PRACTICE
W H A T R E A L LY W O R K S ?
All the right moves.
Not all firms can align
their marketing with
their practice areas.
Some gallop to the
fore by branding their
culture and style
instead. How? With a
message that conveys
their personality—
and impeccable
execution. Floaty pens
help, too. Lots and
lots of floaty pens.
Turn the page to learn the
strategy behind Goldberg
Simpson’s aggressive and
quirky campaign.
INSIDE What Really Works 10 • Trends 12 • ABA TECHSHOW Q&A 16 • Ask Bill 18 • Strategy 19 • LPM News & Events 20
January/February 2008 Law Practice 9

6. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
What REALLY
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
Branding a Firm’s Progressive Personality
hen your firm and your lawyers
W are creative and dynamic but
the practice mix is fluid and
BY ROSS
FISHMAN
eclectic, what value proposition do you sell? Your overall style and
innovative approach is the key—but the message and execution
must be consistent and thorough.
WHO Goldberg Simpson, a 30-lawyer firm and estate matters, while defending
in Louisville, KY. headline-grabbing criminal cases. It’s
like a restaurant that serves lobster and
BACKGROUND Goldberg Simpson is a chicken nuggets … and sushi and grits.
midsize law firm by the standards of the The mix makes no logical sense—until
Louisville market. It competes aggressively you realize that the synergy is not
with the city’s large firms—although it between the practice areas, but the
isn’t really built along a traditional full- lawyers themselves. They’re all hard-
service model. This firm is more like a charging, Type-A personalities. In each
collection of opportunistic boutiques: a area, they either lead the pack or they
group of small, efficiently run, largely don’t bother practicing there.
independent practices brought together In addition, management views the
under one roof by some dynamic leaders. firm as a business and, in professional
Sure, the firm has the typical range of services, the best businesses have the
business-oriented legal services, including best people. So Goldberg Simpson puts
sophisticated corporate and litigation equal emphasis on attracting and retain-
practices. But it also closes 3,000 residen- ing top professionals, which means a
tial real estate deals per year; has an insur- strong focus on building a defined
ance-defense practice down the hall from culture—and having fun. They’re high-
a catastrophic personal injury plaintiff’s energy, but not high-strung. Loud-
practice; and handles high-dollar divorces mouth jerks or raging egos are quickly
and high-profile adoptions. It also shown the door.
represents wealthy families in trust
MARKETING GOALS The firm wanted a
campaign to increase its visibility and
name recognition, one that would
differentiate it by conveying its
strengths and thereby drive new busi-
ness and improve lateral hiring. But
how do you brand a firm as eclectic as
this one? Clearly you can’t focus on a
specific practice area—but you can
10 January/February 2008 Law Practice WWW.LAWPRACTICE.ORG

7. Works
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
LAW FIRM MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
market the culture and personality. horse or wearing race helmets by the while doing things that “really move”—
We wanted to show the business water-cooler. These ads are supported dribbling basketballs, tossing volley-
community that Goldberg Simpson is by a series of running-lawyer billboards balls, carrying field hockey sticks, rid-
a young, vibrant, very cool business along the main highways heading ing bicycles and more. Every time you
firm, a smart choice for executives downtown, helping to promote the turn a corner at lunchtime, you’ll see
seeking sophisticated services provided firm’s relocation to a hot suburban cor- another happy sports team dribble,
in an agile, personal, cost-effective ridor with the giant caption “We jump, hit, toss or play something.
manner. For laterals, we wanted to moved so you wouldn’t have to.”
showcase the firm’s unique culture so To have additional fun with the RESULTS We hadn’t fully launched the
that top lawyers feeling frustrated “moves” theme, we created floaty pens campaign before the results began to
working in stuffy firms would see with the image of a running lawyer show. The local newspapers wrote a
Goldberg Simpson as the alternative. that were so hot we’ve had to reorder. number of articles, and the firm attracted
We wanted to convey the firm’s sense We changed the firm’s Web site to two more best-of-class partners who
of excitement, that it’s admitted the ads and
creative and progres- billboards brought the
sive—a firm on the firm to their attention
move, where the most and persuaded them
interesting and inno- to join.
vative things are hap- There’s a palpable
pening. excitement coursing
The tag line to through the firm.
convey the firm’s With Goldberg
overall style and innovative, fast- show the smiling managing partner Simpson on the town’s collective lips,
paced approach became clear. running, while a small runner moves all the firm’s employees see how much
Goldberg Simpson is: “A law firm that in the corner. Interior pages repeat the greener the grass is here. Now that the
really moves.” horse and helmet ads, and retouched firm owns a clear theme, ongoing exe-
headshots place the lawyers in front of cutions are easy and all the firm’s mem-
IMPLEMENTATION We started by revising horse races and running tracks. bers are looking for new “moves” ideas.
the firm’s bland logo to a bold and col- To further generate conversation, in One idea that was a natural for them
orful one conveying the “moves” the summer we glued Goldberg was to become a primary sponsor of
theme. And we also created an addi- Simpson logos to hollow cicada shells both the local triathlon and the
tional half-dozen versions with that clung to downtown trees. It was a Moscow Ballet’s Louisville tour—we
cutout silhouettes of things that rare once-every-17-years opportunity. even created a ballerina logo for the
move—including racehorses, jet Having a “moves” theme offers the promotional materials, as well as print
planes, arrows, motorcycles and even opportunity to further stir up the ad materials showing dancing lawyers.
running lawyers. To create interest and campaign to create a splash that the High-quality resumes are pouring in, as
reinforce the brand, every lawyer’s city will talk about. So to visibly and new people seek to jump on board the
pack of business cards alternates with memorably connect the firm to speeding Goldberg Simpson train. LP
different versions of the logo. “movement,” we are hiring small
Ross Fishman (www.rossfishmanmarketing.com)
We developed advertisements that, groups of high school sports teams to specializes in marketing training and creating
among other images, showed a suited walk around downtown Louisville differentiation programs for law firms worldwide.
lawyer as a smiling jockey on a race- wearing Goldberg Simpson T-shirts
WWW.LAWPRACTICE.ORG January/February 2008 Law Practice 11

8. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
What REALLY
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
Narrowing Marketing Efforts to a Single Industry
ndustry marketing is an effective way to
I differentiate your services. Of course,
by focusing on this level, you are mar-
BY ROSS
FISHMAN
keting to a smaller audience. But by marketing more deeply, you develop
the kind of close relationships that generate business more quickly.
WHO Noland Hamerly Etienne & Hoss, a were deep in dirt. Moreover, no other
20-lawyer firm in Salinas, California firm had staked out the territory as the
leading agriculture-oriented law firm
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE Noland Hamerly was in the area.
a skilled but unremarkable full-service So instead of broad and shallow, we
firm. It had never done any marketing, decided to go deep and narrow, develop-
and now aggressive new competitors were ing a focused industry-based campaign
moving into town. The firm wanted to targeting a specific audience: the Salinas
develop more business by increasing its Valley’s fruit and produce growers, ship-
visibility as a high-quality business law pers and ranchers. Making Noland
firm in its core geographic market, the Hamerly the go-to firm for them would
Salinas Valley. To drive new revenue bring in significant new business.
quickly, it needed something that would
have an immediate impact. RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION Our
research showed that this community—
MARKETING GOALS A tight budget required one of the nation’s most vibrant agri-
making some tough decisions about cultural areas—has significant and var-
allocating resources. Marketing broadly ied legal needs. Plus, an internal study
to the business community as a high- found that it was already the firm’s
quality full-service law firm would be a largest industry group, even though the
costly and long-term process—it was too firm had not actively marketed to it yet.
general a message. This firm needed So we created “The Lettuce
something unique. Lawyers,” a memorable, easy-to-spell
Through the windows of the firm’s and alliterative title, to make it feel
offices, mile after mile of rich farmland more like a tangible thing. Next we
was visible. Green fields of broccoli, arti- bought both lettucelaw.com and
chokes and lettuce stretched as far as you lettucelawyers.com to make it easy to
could see. I asked whether they had any find the practice online.
agriculture clients. Of course they did. Now we simply needed to use a range
Every local firm did. It was the region’s of tools to show the firm’s intimate con-
dominant industry. And Noland nection with the industry. We started by
Hamerly had a long history in that designing a unique logo and stationery
industry—many of the firm’s founders for the ag practice, modifying the firm’s
8 December 2007 Law Practice

9. Works
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
LAW FIRM MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
existing logo by morphing its tradition- distributed lettuce seed packets with What Do We Do?
al ampersand into a green sprout. (See the new logo as business cards; and Ideas You Can Use
page 8.) And for agriculture-specific created client giveaways, including Clients crave industry expertise, but it’s
business cards, we developed a double- logo’d bib overalls. hard for them to find—which means that if
entendre “Together We Grow” tag line. The firm’s LettuceLaw.com you can develop expertise in an industry
The core of the campaign was a col- micro-site boasts luscious images of and demonstrate that through your mar-
lection of creative advertisements local landscapes, as well as the adver- keting, you can build significant business.
showing the lawyers dressed in suits in tising imagery. In addition, even The goal is to become an industry
though the agriculture practice was insider and know more about the industry
than any other lawyer. So you need to get
the primary marketing push, we
active and visible, by regularly attending
updated the general firm site with a
industry meetings, writing for trade publi-
complementary design. This was both cations, speaking at industry conferences,
to showcase the firm as a high-end joining committees and working to
provider and to show the lawyers who become a leader. Soon you’ll be recog-
weren’t representing the agricultural nized in industry circles as the lawyer who
sector that their marketing needs knows their business, their concerns, their
were not being neglected. jargon. It’s not only great marketing; it also
makes you a better, more value-added
RESULTS The broadcast marketing tac- lawyer.
tics grew momentum and visibility, Select an industry where you have a
supporting the lawyers’ face-to-face head start. Does your spouse have a job
where you have an established network?
activities as they focused in on local
Do you have an outside interest that you
agriculture trade groups and began
can blend with your practice? Do you
writing articles, speaking and net- have clients you enjoy who are in a small
working. And when the ads launched industry? Where is there growth potential
in the California trade magazines, or an area that is currently ignored or
almost immediately clients and com- underserved by other law firms?
American Gothic-style postage stamps petitors took significant notice. The Whatever you select, you should enjoy
were one tool used to help position the buzz grew in the local agriculture the industry and the people who work in it
firm—and draw free publicity. community, and judges even men- because you’re going to have to spend a
tioned the ads in court. lot of time inside that industry.
agriculture settings—as the American The entire campaign to lock the The more involved with it you become,
Gothic farmers (a la the Grant Wood firm into a market-leader position the more you learn, and the more you
learn, the more valuable you become.
painting), casually parking their tractor has brought in new agriculture
Once you get some traction, you’ll find
in front of the firm, lifting NHE&H clients, while also delighting existing
that prospects talk among themselves
lettuce crates and the like. clients, who are sending the firm about your knowledge, leading to new
We also created tools to encourage more business as a result. business and more referrals.
the media to write about the firm, Ross Fishman (www.rossfishmanmarketing.com) —Ross Fishman
using free publicity to expand the specializes in marketing training and creating dif-
ferentiation programs for law firms worldwide. A
campaign’s reach and credibility. For Fellow of the College of Law Practice
example, we created firm-specific Management, he is an inaugural member of the
American Gothic-style USPS stamps; Legal Marketing Association's Hall of Fame.
December 2007 Law Practice 9

10. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
INTELLIGENCE, INSIGHTS & TACTICS FOR YOUR LAW PRACTICE
W H A T R E A L LY W O R K S ?
WHAT WORKS?
So you want to grow your firm
by opening an office in a new
state and city with an aggressive
growth market where you have
low name recognition. You need
to recruit top local lawyers—and
you need to do it fast. Think
extremely bold materials that
will whack your market over the
head. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Turn the page to read What
Really Works to learn how Carlton
Fields cuts through the clutter
in the Atlanta legal market.
INSIDE FRONTLINES People & Places 10 • Trends Report 12 • Strategy 13 • Ask Bill 14 • LPM News and Events 16
July/August 2007 Law Practice 7

11. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
What REALLY
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
Recruiting in a New Market with Shock and Awe Tactics
our campaign will be dead on
Y arrival if what you need is imme-
diate impact and try to a splash
BY ROSS
FISHMAN
with a mediocre series of ads that trickle out one at a time. Solution:
Front-load for massive visibility.
WHO Carlton Fields, a 250-lawyer national and regional firms had also
full-service firm. opened Atlanta offices recently, although
BACKGROUND Established in 1901, most of them had limited, if any, local
Carlton Fields is one of Florida’s oldest name recognition either. The new firms
law firms. It is also one of the state’s seemed similar, if not interchangeable,
largest, with offices in Tampa, Orlando, and few of them were really fighting to
Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, St. get noticed.
Petersburg and Miami. It had called So although Atlanta was an aggressive
itself “The Florida Firm” since 1992. legal market, the firm had an outstand-
But when it developed a growth plan ing opportunity to one-up the other
that including opening offices outside newcomers—if it could leverage its rep-
of the state, beginning with Atlanta, utation and quality-of-life ratings.
Carlton Fields found that it had a MARKETING GOAL: Carlton Fields needed
recruiting problem. significant name recognition among
To comprise the ranks of its planned highly skilled Atlanta partner-level
office, the firm’s aggressive lawyers within weeks. The project began
growth goals targeted high- near the beginning of recruiting season.
level partners at top Atlanta The objectives were to (1) inform the
firms. The firm had signed a lateral targets of the firm’s dominance in
lease for significant office the Florida market for credibility, and
space that it needed to fill (2) showcase its friendly work environ-
with top local lawyers quick- ment. And because Atlanta is such a
ly. However, despite the fact large and saturated market, the cam-
that Carlton Fields was a ter- paign materials needed to be extremely
rific firm with high quality- bold to cut through the clutter.
of-life scores in AmLaw sur- RESEARCH: We interviewed headhunters,
veys, it was having trouble lawyers who had accepted or rejected the
getting its headhunter calls firm’s job offers, prospects, consultants
returned because of its low and other parties to pinpoint the mar-
local name recognition. keting challenges and obstacles to suc-
Initial research disclosed cess. The firm then conducted market
that another problem was research to identify its competitors and
that dozens of prominent learn more about the invasion of new
8 July/August 2007 Law Practice

12. Works
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
LAW FIRM MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
out-of-state firms. one right after the other, multiplying What Do We Do?
IMPLEMENTATION: We developed three the campaign’s early impact. We negoti- Ideas You Can Use
primary messages: (1) Credibility, (2) ated a good deal with the publication, Good campaigns will make you money,
Work Environment and (3) Recruiting. and the shocking red color caused the but they’re costly—which puts them in a
We then created a four-ad series of ads to jump off the page. If you read the precarious position in a firm’s budget.
humorous, colorful, eye-catching ads paper, you couldn’t miss the ads. Not a For example, firms typically buy a “13x”
that used both visual stereotypes of chance. We reduced them in quantity advertising rate in monthly magazines,
Florida (e.g., sunburns, beaches and and frequency after the first few weeks, which is the point of frequency where
alligators) and connected the firm’s after the initial impact was achieved. the multiple-placement discount begins.
roots with similarly iconic imagery that We also reprinted them as 8.5 x 11- Then the firms run their ads once each
conveyed the concept of either “lawyer” inch glossy handouts and mailed them month, which seems perfectly logical.
After three to four months, though, the
or “Atlanta” (e.g., a giant Georgia peach directly to lateral prospects at select tar-
bean counters who live in every firm will
and the city’s downtown). get firms. Therefore, the hottest targets
start asking, “What clients have these
Firms often trickle out their cam- not only saw the campaign materials in ads generated?”
paigns evenly over a long period of print, but also saw them landing on In other words, “Since the ads start-
time, such as one ad each month for a their desks. ed running, how many CEOs we have
year. Instead, we chose a shock-and-awe RESULTS: Anecdotal evidence indicated never had contact with have called our
strategy—front-loading the advertising that the campaign attained massive visi- receptionists and said, ‘I saw your ad
placement, thereby overwhelming the bility in the Atlanta legal community. and would like to hire one of your attor-
Atlanta legal market with the impact in Every Atlanta lawyer we surveyed neys, any attorney, to take my company
the early weeks. remembered the ads and commented public’”? At less-sophisticated firms, if
To reach the campaign’s broad audi- approvingly on the content. Most you answer “None,” or “I don’t know,” the
ence, we decided that a single publica- importantly, they remembered the mes- consequence is that the campaign is
then probably teetering on life support
tion was the most appropriate advertis- sage—the name of the firm, its Florida
dead, if not officially dead.
ing vehicle—specifically because there roots, and that it was seeking laterals.
Powerful, potentially effective pro-
was a very well-read local legal publica- Research with local headhunters indi- grams often die young, before they’ve
tion, the Fulton County Daily Report. cated that the recognition problem was had a chance to succeed, and the
Most of the target audience read this completely solved. The success rate of efforts and opportunity for greatness are
publication and we had to hit those headhunter calls more than doubled, squandered. Once dead, the opportunity
readers quickly with ads that caused and in-person recruiting success tripled. won’t come back around for at least
them to (1) take notice and (2) remem- And the entire campaign cost less than another five years, or at the next man-
ber the firm name, the message and what half of one headhunter fee. agement turnover at the earliest. For
it offered. We wanted to make a big The next year, the campaign ran campaigns to succeed in firms that do
splash instantly—in case another com- again and we added another couple of not have lots of marketing experience, or
petitor saw what we were doing and versions to the mix. have potentially short attention spans,
you need to create a big buzz, fast. The
decided to do it, too. Carlton Fields’s Atlanta office now
best option is to market the heck out of
DIFFERENTIATION: In the first weeks of the has 21 top-quality lawyers.LP
it early and create a big buzz as soon as
launch, we ran two or three half-page or possible, so people can feel the differ-
two-third-page ads two or three days per Ross Fishman (www.rossfishman.com) specializes ence. Spend much of the money early
week on consecutive odd-numbered in marketing training and creating differentiation and whack your market over the head
pages near the front of the newspaper programs for law firms worldwide. A Fellow of the
with your campaign. — Ross Fishman
College of Law Practice Management, he is an
(e.g., pages 3, 5 and 7), so readers turn- inaugural member of the Legal Marketing
ing the pages saw the ads in sequence, Association's Hall of Fame.
July/August 2007 Law Practice 9

13. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
What REALLY
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
Distinctive Give-aways to Reinforce a Winning Message
ost firms have lawyers who
M are known for the stacks of
unreturned message slips gather-
BY ROSS
FISHMAN
ing dust on their secretaries’ desks. So if you return client calls faster than
the rest, you have a real differentiator to promote. One great way to do it:
Put something on the prospects’ desks that will keep you front of mind.
WHO Laner Muchin, a 40-lawyer we developed a series of brochures, ad
Chicago-based labor and campaigns and direct-mail pieces to
employment firm exclusively repre- push the message to the firm’s market.
senting management. We changed the firm’s logo to incorpo-
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE For decades, clients rate a stylized clock and conceived the
have complained about their lawyers’ tag line“Two hours. Period.”
lack of responsiveness. Nonetheless, We also wrote the “Laner Muchin
very few firms have actual policies Challenge,” which created a first-
regarding returning phone calls, and response competition with prospects’
those that exist weakly suggest that existing lawyers. It challenges people to
client calls be returned within 24 leave a message for their lawyers, then
hours. But the lawyers violate those call Laner Muchin to see who returns
policies, and no one in management the call first. If the callers’ current
does anything. Frustrated clients lawyer does, Laner Muchin loses, and
quietly take their business so must donate $100 to the callers’
elsewhere. favorite charity and buy them lunch.
It’s a vastly different (Get it? For just $100 Laner Muchin
story at Laner, gets to take some other firm’s presum-
Muchin, Dombrow, ably dissatisfied client out to lunch.)
Becker, Levin and The campaign had helped generate
Tominberg, a labor millions of dollars of fresh revenue
and employment firm from brand-new clients. But to contin-
that was established in ue growing, the firm needed to push its
1945. In all the years of message to more new prospects. And
its existence, the firm’s we needed something extra for the
lawyers have returned second phase.
phone calls within two hours. MARKETING GOAL In communicating with
Yes, two hours. Remarkable. prospects, we wanted to show Laner
This outstanding responsiveness Muchin as the alternative for other
serves as the hub of a marketing cam- firms’ clients when they feel unappreci-
paign that began two years ago, when ated by their skilled-but-unresponsive
8 September 2007 Law Practice

14. Works
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
LAW FIRM MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
lawyers. The phase-two objectives were remaining stock. We prioritized our What Do We Do?
to generate awareness and in-person top prospects and delivered the hour- Ideas You Can Use
meetings with human resources VPs at glasses with a letter that invited them Conceiving a useful, creative give-away
top Chicago companies, while also creat- to take the “Laner Muchin Challenge.” is difficult for law firms. There are only
ing a casual, friendly reason to follow up DIFFERENTIATION In part, the campaign so many logo mugs, mouse pads,
with them. We decided to do a give- letter asks prospects to turn the hour- pens, baseball caps, umbrellas, T-shirts
away gift, to put a year-round reminder glass over; leave a message asking their and golf balls that clients can stand—
of the two-hour phone-response prom- current lawyer to return their call; and we hear that most of them get
ise on top prospects’ desks. And so they leave the same message for one of tossed. It’s even harder to find one that
leverages the firm’s brand message.
could reach the firm easily, we wanted Laner Muchin’s lawyers; then when
But you are building your brand and
the reminder to include contact infor- the hourglass runs out, turn it over
awareness if you can create something
mation, the firm’s clock logo and the tag again and see who has called back first interesting or useful that sits on the
line of “Two hours. Period.” by the end of the second hour. Thus, clients’ desks and acts as a constant
RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION We the hourglass serves as a tangible tool reminder of the firm and what differenti-
extensively surveyed the existing to implement the challenge. ates it from its competitors.
research and studies and talked to At the same time, sitting on the For example, Chicago’s Levenfeld
clients and in-house counsel regarding prospect’s desk it acts as a daily Pearlstein cleverly sent small logo’d
what service issues were most impor- reminder of the firm—and its position racecars when marketing its “Built for
tant to them. This verified our belief as the alternative when you’re frustrated Speed” campaign.
that responsiveness remains among the that your existing employment lawyer Three-lawyer Scandaglia & Ryan
attributes most valued in lawyers. doesn’t call back quickly enough. mailed a popular Ty Inc. Beanie Baby
bear as part of a mailing announcing
Elsewhere, responsiveness was declared RESULTS The reaction to the mailings
the hire of Ty’s former general counsel.
the most important thing a firm can do has been overwhelming, with a 50 to
In lieu of business cards, 20-lawyer
to improve its client relationships, apart 60 percent response rate! (You simply Noland, Hamerly, Etienne and Hoss
from reducing cost. We elected to grab have to call when you receive this sig- distributed logo’d seed packets as
“responsiveness” as our differentiator, nificant, expensive-looking hourglass.) part of the marketing of its agricultural
to accompany the firm’s tag line. In initial tests, 25 to 30 percent of the law-focused “Lettuce Lawyers”
After a visibility-enhancing ad cam- hourglasses sent to non-client campaign.
paign, we wanted to focus the next step prospects led directly to in-person The point is,
narrowly toward our 100 hottest meetings—and 25 to 30 percent more you don’t want
prospects. For months, we looked for generated phone calls from the recipi- to settle for the
an appropriate mailer to spread the ents, many of which have requested same old thing as
two-hour response message and cause more information about the firm. The everyone else.
Push your
more of them to take “The Laner mailings also give Laner Muchin a
marketing
Muchin Challenge.” We looked at reason to follow up with recipients
people and
countless promotional stopwatches and who have not communicated directly promotion-
other items, finally finding a striking, with the firm. al compa-
foot-tall, hand-blown hourglass. At $50 All from a $12 hourglass. LP ny to con-
each, however, they were outside our Ross Fishman (www.rossfishman.com) specializes ceive of some-
budget. Then research uncovered a in marketing training and creating differentiation thing different.
programs for law firms worldwide. A Fellow of the
closeout retailer offering the hour-
College of Law Practice Management, he is an —Ross Fishman
glasses at just $12 a piece. We went inaugural member of the Legal Marketing
store-to-store to buy their entire Association's Hall of Fame.
September 2007 Law Practice 9

15. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
INTELLIGENCE, INSIGHTS & TACTICS FOR YOUR LAW PRACTICE
W H A T R E A L LY W O R K S ?
What works? Too many firms
rely on safe, bland marketing—
and wonder why it fails. Boring
marketing takes forever to gain
traction. Wildly innovative mes-
sages, visuals and activities get
attention more quickly, at a
much lower cost. Of course,
it’s also harder to persuade
lawyers to try those things.
What happens when a firm
does break out and tries
something new?
Turn the page for our new column,
What Really Works, and get the
story behind Shefsky & Froelich’s
full-service identity makeover.
INSIDE FRONTLINES Trends Report 12 • Benchmark 13 • Ask Bill 14 • Strategy 15 • LPM News and Events 16
June 2007 Law Practice 7

16. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
What REALLY
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
Identity Update for a Full-Service Firm
ou can’t differentiate full-service,
Y midsize law firms. They all look
alike. They all do the same thing, the
BY ROSS
FISHMAN
same way. Heck, half of their lawyers used to work for competitors, so all
their marketing gets muddled into the middle. Unless …
Shefsky & Froelich: Putting had increased significantly and an
Imagination to Work impressive group of new senior part-
WHO Shefsky & Froelich, a 70-lawyer ners had enhanced the firm’s practice
full-service Chicago firm. and reputation. The clients were now
larger, more-sophisticated companies.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE Shefsky & Froelich The firm’s charismatic founders had
historically had a reputation as a busi- developed great individual relation-
ness-oriented firm representing small, ships and so hadn’t invested in market-
entrepreneurial clients. In recent years, ing the general firm. More recent rain-
though, the firm had gone upscale in its makers were individually renowned
client base and its senior partners. The and so the marketplace was not aware
percentage of large, institutional clients of the firm’s current composition. The
firm was not well-known, and those
who knew of it had a decade-old view.
It was losing work to less-skilled but
better-known firms. Good clients were
telling the lawyers that they couldn't
hire them for larger matters because
the firm wasn’t high-profile enough.
We needed to do something that
caused the marketplace to view S&F
differently, to leverage its historically
creative reputation, but in a way that
moved the firm up a tier in perception.
We needed a new identity, a new
message, and a visual treatment that
supported it.
The challenge with full-service firms
Caption text here is how to distinguish them from the
describing imagery
countless other seemingly skilled, look-
usedCaption text here
describing Caption text alike firms. “We're smart” isn't differen-
here describing imagery tiating. Neither are claims that the firm
usedimagery used
8 June 2007 Law Practice

17. Works
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
LAW FIRM MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
is skilled, service- or client-oriented, IMPLEMENTATION One word that came up
dedicated, ethical, excellent or any of repeatedly during the interviews was
the countless generic platitudes firms “imagination.” It was how S&F lawyers
mumble when they have nothing to say. develop new solutions to tough prob-
How often do we hear clients plead, lems. Imagination is a strong word. It
“Gosh, if only I could find an ethical, says “creativity” in a more interesting
dedicated law firm”? Not very. way, and it was a word we could own.
We needed something strong,
fresh and unique. And with a limited DIFFERENTIATION We trashed the original
budget, we needed to do it boldly skyline-burdened Web site and created
enough that people would quickly take ImaginationLaw.com. Bell-bottoms
notice. This meant a complete image were in style when their logo was
overhaul, from logo to Web site to designed, so it needed to be refreshed, What Do We Do?
brochure. Boring marketing takes for- and we conceived “Imagination at Ideas You Can Use
ever to gain traction. Wildly innovative Work” as the tagline. Just before we Conceiving a unique message is hard.
messages, visuals and activities get launched, General Electric began using Executing it creatively is even harder.
attention more quickly, at a much lower it! There was no real risk of confusion, Convincing lawyers to let you launch it is the
cost. Of course, it’s also harder to per- but marketing partner Allan Slagel still hardest part. Long ago, I’d storm into a
suade the lawyers to try those things. preferred to use our second choice, lawyer’s office with an idea that was guaran-
“Putting Imagination to Work.” teed to make the firm rich and famous. And
MARKETING GOAL The audience was both they'd recoil in horror. It was so obviously a
internal and external. We needed to RESULTS It gave them a message to go brilliant idea, why didn’t they see that? Why
show the lawyers how they were to market with. There’s a new spring do law marketers routinely complain that
unique and also explain it to in the lawyers’ steps, and the firm is their lawyers get in the way?
Here’s what I’ve learned. Lawyers are
prospects. Volvos are safe. Baker & growing and attracting more top
smart, but most haven’t had marketing class-
McKenzie is global. My wife is fun. lawyers and clients. Administrator
es. So if you want to try something new,
What word could this firm stand for? Georganne Binnie was integral to the
educate them first, before showing them the
re-branding and talks with pride
idea. Springing powerful new ideas on a
RESEARCH AND PLANNING We interviewed about how the cool new image has
lawyer is the easiest way to hear “no.” (They
nearly the entire firm, listening for improved the firm’s recruiting, too.
were expecting gavels and globes and you
themes. We gleaned that S&F lawyers Clients love it, and other Chicago showed them … this?)
have a unique focus on finding nontra- firms admit to borrowing the Web site Teach the difference between good and
ditional solutions to clients’ problems. design. It differentiates the firm in bad, between safe and effective, between
They’d always been this way. Cid head-to-head competitions and helped dull and powerful. Help them see what catch-
Froelich recalls the early days—with bring in a multi-million-dollar case in a es their eyes and what doesn’t. And then
few clients but plenty of time—sitting national RFP. This marketing thing—it show examples of the extraordinary market-
around thinking up brand-new solu- just might catch on. LP ing used by high-end firms. Once you have
tions to tough problems. After they Ross Fishman (www.rossfishman.com) specializes in prepared them to accept great work, make
developed a solution to some interest- marketing training and creating differentiation pro- your recommendations. That’s what works.
grams for law firms worldwide. A Fellow of the
ing problem, they’d figure out who College of Law Practice Management, he is an inau- The safe answer is always “no.” The hard-
they knew who had that problem, gural member of the Legal Marketing Association's er answer is, “Okay, let's try it.”
then call and tell them what they’d Hall of Fame. If a brilliant idea is rejected by smart peo-
discovered, and often get hired. Clever. ple, it wasn’t sold effectively. — Ross Fishman
June 2007 Law Practice 9

18. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
INTELLIGENCE, INSIGHTS & TACTICS FOR YOUR LAW PRACTICE
W H A T R E A L LY W O R K S ?
This is no time for stage
fright. Too many firms shy
away from using head-turning,
art and text in their
advertising for fear of tarn-
ishing their image and drawing
the ire of ethics boards.
But good drama can draw
attention and results—and
build a stronger brand.
Turn the page for What Really
Works, and get the story behind
Williams Parker’s dramatic leap
into advertising.
INSIDE FRONTLINES What Really Works 10 • Trends Report 14 • LPM News and Events 16 • Five Things 18
October/November 2007 Law Practice 9

19. LAW PRACTICE
FrontLINES
What REALLY
M A R K E T I N G M A N AG E M E N T T E C H N O LO GY F I N A N C E
Dramatic Flair Grabs the Applause in Advertising
hen your competitors get
W assertive with their advertising,
you can’t just sit back mired in
BY ROSS
FISHMAN
old-school attitudes. It’s time to raise the curtains, act based on new
thinking, and go for center stage with your marketing.
WHO Williams Parker, a 48-lawyer full- believing it to be demeaning to the firm
service firm in Sarasota and the profession. For a smaller city,
BACKGROUND Williams Parker Harrison Sarasota prides itself on its remarkably
Dietz & Getzen is a highly skilled full- strong cultural and arts communities,
service firm in Sarasota, Florida. It has a and the firm’s marketing activities
strong estate planning practice and an eld- involved mostly charitable giving and
erly client base of wealthy retired people community board activities.
and local business owners. The firm his- Although Williams Parker is the
torically avoided external marketing, largest firm based in Sarasota, its market
research began to show that smaller,
younger, more aggressive competitors
were increasingly better known and had
started image advertising. Fortunately,
their advertising was bland—but it was
likely just a matter of time before the
quality improved and the ads started to
gain traction.
If Williams Parker didn’t become
more aggressive, and fast, it risked losing
market share to the upstarts. But there
would be significant challenges to over-
come. This was a conservative firm cul-
ture that disliked marketing and advertis-
ing. Any campaign would have to comply
with Florida’s marketing ethics rules,
which are the nation’s most restrictive
and prohibit most types of creative
advertising. Plus, the firm owned its own
three-story office building and had run
out of offices, so it could not physically
add more lawyers—it could only achieve
revenue growth by generating higher-
dollar, premium business.
10 October/November 2007 Law Practice