Online Video Has Become the Tie Breaker for Professionals
I spoke with Brian Albert, the founder and developer of TheLaw.tv, which is both a legal news and information website for consumers, as well as a producer of online videos for lawyers. TheLaw.tv has purportedly shot and distributed more than 100,000 videos over the last four years. By way of background, Albert is a lawyer and a broadcast journalist, who has interviewed Barack Obama, Alan Dershowitz, and Eric Schmidt, among many others.
We discussed the genesis of TheLaw.tv and how video transforms the experience of those who visit websites of providers of professional services. He advised that online video creates trust, showcases legal aptitude, and improves conversion rates. It also helps lawyers convey knowledge, compassion, and personality.
Highlighting that lawyers are now more open to and interested in video, TheLaw.tv has recently launched a promotion offering free websites for lawyers.
Listen to our interview below:
Reinventing Marketing With a Rocket
I spoke with Larry Port, the founder and CEO of Rocketmatter, a cloud-based legal practice management and time and billing software product, about Rocket X1, the company’s new Internet marketing agency and hosting platform.We discussed the company’s mission to combine public relations, website design, search engine optimization, and marketing. Port noted that by building accountability in marketing, leveraging analytics, and structuring a creative message, users will realize unprecedented results.
Reinventing Legal Training
I spoke with Desiree Moore, an attorney and the founder of Greenhorn Legal & Greenhorn Bold. Moore is also the author of: Thrive – A New Lawyer’s Guide to Law Firm Practice (American Bar Association, 2012).
We discussed her venture providing what she describes as “the foundational information law students and lawyers need,” her motivation for writing Thrive, and the launch of her on-demand practical skills training series, which focuses on professionalism, time management, communication, networking, and marketing, among other core competencies.
Listen to our interview below:
Disrupting Legal in Six Minute Increments
I spoke with Matt Homann and JoAnna Forshee, producers of the annual LexThink.1 legal innovation conference, which is being held in Chicago on Wednesday April 3rd on the eve of the ABA Techshow. Homann is the well-known founder of LexThink, a legal innovation consultancy, as well as the creator of the popular [non] billable hour blog. Forshee is the CEO of InsideLegal, which she describes as “the insider’s guide to doing business in legal technology.”Homann noted that LexThink.1 started 4 years ago as Ignite Law. Participants have 6 minutes (as in one-tenth of an hour of billable time) and 20 slides, which rotate every 18 seconds, to convey their ideas on this year’s theme – disruption. Prior sessions focused on the future of law, the future of legal tech, and client service. (I had the privilege of participating in the inaugural event in 2010, with a session called: What I Learned About the Future of Legal Marketing From Playing Wii Bowling With a 4 1/2-year old.)Ten speakers selected by “more than one thousand votes cast” online will cover a variety of topics ranging from Big Data or Big Brother (Eric Hunter) and Don’t Do What You’re Good At (Jay Shepherd) to Knowing the Unknowns (Roe Frazer) and LegalZoom is Eating Legal’s Lunch (Mark Britton). The only participant, who has appeared in all four productions is Will Hornsby, who will be discussing Gaming the System: Are lawyers ready to game-up?Forshee notes that speakers typically rate the difficulty of the experience at about an eight on a ten-point scale and Homann suggests that in addition to practice, participants should focus on their transitions to get comfortable telling a story in equal segments.Those interested in following the sessions on Twitter can search for the Hashtag: #lexthink.
A New Ecosystem of Information Management and Governance
I spoke today with Craig Carpenter, the vice president of marketing and business development for Recommind, a maker of information management, governance, and analysis software. We discussed how the company views the legal tech landscape, the client concerns that are driving change, key trends that will characterize the new year, and how he sees the legal industry evolving in the future.Carpenter expects 2013 to be the year when law firms formally adopt technology solutions to address the velocity of information that is consuming most organizations.
Igniting a New Era in Legal Marketing
I spoke with Mark Britton, founder and CEO of Avvo, and Sachin Bhatia, the company’s Vice President of Product, about Avvo Ignite and the antidote to what Britton describes as traditional “gum and paper” legal marketing. Watch our discussion and a demo below:
The Transformation of Professional Communication
I spoke with Mike Maslanka, an employment law partner and head of the Dallas office for Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP. We discussed his new role as the creator of Mike Maslanka @ Your Desk for the Texas Bar, the organization’s new YouTube channel designed to educate lawyers and members of the general public on key legal issues. He noted that the programming reflects a new trend in the way that professionals communicate.
Listen to our interview and watch his episode about The Difference Between “Right to Work” and “At Will” Employment below:
The Power of a Routine for Professionals
Seth Godin’s recent blog post – The Simple Power of One a Day – captures the essence of how professionals can generate momentum from incremental innovation. He highlights that there are at least 200 working days a year and we can commit to completing a single marketing task on each one of them, including:
- Sending handwritten notes
- Blogging about a client’s experience (with permission, of course)
- Making an introduction
- Reading the first few chapters of a business or ‘how-to’ book
- Using video to teach your clients to do something
- Taking a 10-minute walk and writing down at least five ideas for how to improve what you offer the world
- Changing something on your website and tracking its effectiveness
- Helping a non-profit in a significant way
“Enough molehills is all you need to have a mountain,” Godin concludes. Please feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment and I would be happy to send you a PDF of my tip sheet, which includes a variety of additional ideas that will help you create opportunity.