Law Firm Performance in 2012: Help Wanted By: Miranda Sevcik, Principal

Transcription

1 October 3, 2012 October 2012 Newsletter Media Masters is a Houston based firm that creates strategic communication plans for attorneys and law firms. At Media Masters we specialize in legal public relations, reputation branding, law firm marketing, litigation communications and oncamera media and deposition training. This month's article by: Miranda Sevcik, Principal Media Masters is Legal Media and Marketing in Houston and Beaumont Law Firm Performance in 2012: Help Wanted By: Miranda Sevcik, Principal According to recent research published by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Wells Fargo s law firm lending group, which surveyed 115 firms in July on their performance in the first six months of 2012 shows the economic climate has not been kind to the business of law this year. The results were not stellar, Jeff Grossman, National Managing Director for Wells Fargo s Legal Specialty Group, said on Friday. We think the second half of the year is going to be softer than the first half.you tend to see transaction work slow down during an election year. In general, between January and June of this year law firms costs outpaced their revenue growth. Overall revenues were up about 3% while general expenses (money spent to hire more lawyers and stuff, buy new computer systems, etc.) grew by about 6.5%. Here s the good news: if you re one of the highly profitable firms that has been raking it in despite the down economy, expect more of same. Click HERE for the YouTube video!!

2 The firms that do the choicest deals and transactional work those with profits per partner of $2 million or more are pulling ahead of the pack, Mr. Grossman said. Those firms, many based in New York, saw net income increase almost 1% compared to the first six months of That s in large part because they were able to control expenses, he said. UPCOMING EVENTS October 3, 2012 Houston Baptist University, Houston "Communicating to the Media during a Crisis" Not doing so well: most other folks, who are either treading water or seeing their profits drop amid tepid demand for legal services. Because the market is very soft, the firms below the $2 million profits per partner mark got hit hard in terms of revenue, Mr. Grossman said. Partners may need to step it up. While productivity rose among associates, partners increased their total hours worked by less than 1% among the firms surveyed, a mix of AmLaw 100/200 firms and regional players. It is a grim outlook, Mr. Grossman said. But I don t think we can forecast that a lot of industry players will fall by the wayside. That s because firms are busy sandbagging against future hard times by amassing capital perhaps chastened by the mammoth failure of New York firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP earlier this year. FOLLOW US ~ This summer Miami s Greenberg Traurig LLP took some heat when it issued a capital call for the first time in a decade. The firm called the call a prudent move to create a further equity cushion at the time and said it was not prompted by any financial distress. Mr. Grossman said lots of firms are raising capital and some do it every year. More than half the firms in the AmLaw 100, he said. More and more firms, in order to track laterals they want to tell partners that they have a very strong balance sheet. We need more Facebook friends!! Click HERE and Like us to receive updates about the latest and HOT TIP OF THE MONTH

3 greatest tools to incorporate into your marketing strategy that will turn you into a rainmaker. Do you Have a Firm-Wide Social Media Policy? Get One! By developing a social media policy, companies can ensure everyone plays by the same rules, and that brand ambassadors have a clear understanding of what constitutes appropriate use. Integrate these top five factors in creating your firm policy! 1. Determine appropriate content With this policy as a guide, organizations can manage the expectations of their online communities by including a brief description of the platform's intended use as part of their profiles. For example: "The Widget Factory's Facebook page is an online forum for members of the widget community to exchange stories and ideas. To keep the community enjoyable for all, we ask that you not use profane language in your posts and comments." 2. Establish a clear separation between personal and professional lives. Many of us answer work s from our personal smartphones. For some, weekends include time in the office or time spent working remotely. Establish a clear guideline for what constitutes a personal page and professional page. 3. Determine how social media will be used to communicate during a crisis? When disaster strikes, the last thing any organization needs is people on the inside sharing their opinions on social media. Take the time to let your team know how you will handle

4 social media in a crisis and what the company's policy is on divulging crisis-related information. 4. Who is authorized to represent the brand on social media? Within your social media policy, clearly identify who is authorized to serve as a brand ambassador. Take the time to outline criteria for who can and cannot create and maintain individual brand ambassador accounts for the company, and what the terms are for operating such accounts. 5. Determine if its okay to update Facebook during work. Some companies do not permit social media use at work. Don't make employees guess. Take the time to include a section on social media use at work. When you develop a social media policy, use clear, concise language and confirm that all employees have read and agreed to the policy terms. BREAK FROM THE BRIEFS Think your law firm name is confusing or too long? Check these out and imagine the poor receptionist answering the phone!

5 Call TODAY to schedule an in-house CLE for your firm!! Forward this message to a friend Tel: (713) Fax: (832) miranda@mediamastersonline.net