ChatGTP has been making headlines as one of the “smartest” chatbots on the market. It is easy to use and free to use. Simply come up with a topic or have it come up with one for you based on what is trending then sit back and let ChatGTP draft your next article. If it is that easy should lawyers be using it when developing marketing content?

In reality, no, lawyers or anyone that is creating legal content should not be using AI exclusively. ChatGTP has not passed a bar exam after all so it cannot provide legal advice or . . . [more]

This is the second of a two-part series regarding Associate churn. My earlier post focussed on the Associate. This one focuses on the law firm.

The other day, an international client of mine thinking about re-entering the Canadian marketplace asked me why there was so little loyalty in Canadian law firms these days. He was referring to the amount of lawyer churn in most law firms. I don’t believe this issue is limited to Canadian firms, but the question made me think back over my past 30+ years in law firms and how things have changed.

What’s the Value

Marketers can move very quickly, embracing change, and often need to drag lawyers kicking and screaming. There are a number of trends that have evolved over the past few years that continue to have prominence in the industry. Firms that embrace them are moving further ahead of the rest.

1. Content marketing
   This is still a great way to get your name out and the benefits are many. However, if your clients don’t have time to read long case updates, give them a short highlight video instead.
2. Social
   Use social as a client retention tool, highlight what your clients are doing

I have always looked beyond our industry to see what is working in other industries and if there are ways to incorporate their ideas into our practice. Often this means considering other professional services industries but I find that looking beyond what may seem like a natural connection can provide surprising opportunities.

With that let me say, I have been Formula One fan for a long time and it recently struck me just how similar law firms are to F1.

There are 10 teams in F1, with each falling into one of three distinct groups. The leading teams (Red Bull, . . . [more]

Typically, lawyers work from 40 – 80 hours per week. If they are able to bill out 2/3rds of that time, they are lucky (or organized). But it could be better. The difference between billed work and the rest of that time is often wasted or at least under-utilized time. That’s because most lawyers don’t have a clear sense of what they want to achieve in a year, a month, a weak, a day. They might know generally, but wishes don’t move mountains. Plans do.

As a lawyer coach, I NEVER forget that time a lawyer spends working, learning, marketing . . . [more]

“I think it’s exciting. Marketing is exciting. Lawyers must embrace it.”
– Tom Curry, Managing Partner, Lenczner Slaght

For legal marketers, building strong, trusted relationships with partners and management is vital to a thriving career. If you’re lucky, you might even work at a firm with a savvy Managing Partner who understands the power of building a dynamic legal marketing function.

Tom Curry is the Managing Partner at my firm, Lenczner Slaght. When I first met Tom, I was immediately impressed by his knowledge and passion for marketing and business development. Tom is a legal marketer’s dream. He is . . . [more]

Video can be an absolute game changer in your business development arsenal. It provides the same benefits of developing great written content while allowing users to feel a connection with you as a person. It’s versatile, fun, informative and shareable on so many platforms.

If there is one thing that the pandemic has done, it has made people more comfortable on camera. Whether it is Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, we are more comfortable seeing each other on video now than ever before. When done right, video can capture the attention and understanding of your target audience in under two . . . [more]

“Simple ideas are easier to understand. Ideas that are easier to understand are repeated.
Ideas that are repeated change the world.”
– Simon Sinek, Author & Speaker

There are a lot of things I love about working at a small law firm. Access to lawyers and senior leaders is more frequent, building relationships with everyone across the firm is actually achievable, and getting real-time insights into the practice of law happens daily. But for me, the main feature has been the ability to implement simple ideas, that demonstrate my experience and expertise, quickly and effectively.

If you are a sole . . . [more]

Many lawyers dislike the idea of selling. It is not why they got into law and it is not something many are comfortable engaging in. Firms tend to stay away from using the word “sales” by talking about business development and client service.

The main aim of a sale is to generate profit. The difference in sales vs. service is that servicing aims at supporting new and old clients in order to increase client satisfaction. A practice thrives by creating an experience that is not only satisfactory but builds upon multiple client concerns.

For a lawyer, the focus should always . . . [more]

“Customer service is the new marketing, it’s what differentiates one business from another.”
– Jay Baer, Author

Every legal marketer will tell you that they have two sets of clients – internal lawyers as well as the firm’s clients. For those of us working at larger firms, at any given time, our clients can also include Human Resources, IT, Knowledge Management, Finance, and so on. Similar to lawyers with demanding clients, legal marketers cannot predict the requests that will come in on any given day. But after a few years in these roles, many tend to master how best to . . . [more]

For many, creating content can seem like an intimidating task. With over 130,000 lawyers in Canada, finding a way to stand out is imperative to building a book of business. Creating content is a tool all lawyers have available to them but very few know how to strategically include content creation in building their profile and, in turn, their book of business.

If you use content creation to build your profile, one of your key goals should be in anticipating what client wants to read next, and how to get your expertise out to that network. For marketing, providing information . . . [more]

I provide a wide range of services to law firms, so I can always tell what’s happening in the industry by the run on certain types of services.

Sometimes I seem to do nothing but coaching; lawyers wanting to improve their personal skills in a range of business areas. Other times, it seems that everyone wants to sell their firm. We’re sort of in the middle of that right now. But the real push this year so far has been for strategic plans. Normally, each plan looks completely different because each law firm is different. They are in different stages . . . [more]