BEYOND THE BAR CLIENT SERVICE AND PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT: BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER AN ASSOCIATE S MARKETING CHECKLIST 2.0 Rss Fishman, J.D. CEO, Fishman Marketing, Inc. 2000-2009 Fishman Marketing, Inc. BEYOND THE BAR
PRACTICE TOOLS: FIRST YEAR ASSOCIATES PAGE 3 SECOND YEAR ASSOCIATES PAGE 4 THIRD YEAR ASSOCIATES PAGE 5 FORTH AND FIFTH YEAR ASSOCIATES PAGE 5 SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH YEAR ASSOCIATES PAGE 7 2000-2009 Fishman Marketing, Inc. 1356 St. Jhns Ave Highland Park, IL 60035 Telephne: 847/HEADLINE (847/432-3546) Email: inf@ fishmanmarketing.cm Website: www.fishmanmarketing.cm 2
AN ASSOCIATE S MARKETING CHECKLIST 2.0 Belw is a step-by-step checklist f the marketing activities that can turn anyne int a business generatr. As an assciate, yur gal shuld nt be t bring in wrk, but t psitin yurself t get high-quality legal wrk when yu need it, later. Gradually, ver time, build a tight, ~250-persn netwrk f peple wh hire lawyers, influence the hiring decisins, r refer business t them. Few clients will hire an assciate fr quality wrk, s spend these years building yur resume, reputatin, and name recgnitin amng a significant, specific audience. In the lnger term, the shrtest path t building a sustainable practice is t becme an expert in a small industry r sub-subset f a larger industry clients declare industry expertise t be amng the traits they value mst in their lawyers. Brad industries like real estate, financial services, health care, insurance and cnstructin are t bvius; select a smaller, mre bscure area where yu have existing experience, interest, r cntacts. The answer might nt be bvius nw; just recgnize it when it cmes alng, and be practive beginning in yur furth year. Fcus n helping peple, nt lking fr wrk, s yu are viewed as a knwledgeable industry insider, nt a needy salespersn. Build clse relatinships and wrk will cme. FIRST-YEAR ASSOCIATES Yur first pririty is t learn t be a great lawyer; marketing shuld be a distant secnd. Yur primary marketing activity is simple: make sure yu dn t lse the peple yu already knw. Jin ne lcal bar assciatin r the ABA and get actively invlved in ne targeted cmmittee within yur practice area (cntinue thrugh partnership). Read the firm s website and brchures t learn abut its range f services and clients. Develp relatinships with attrneys within and utside yur practice area. D nt spend yur career eating lunch at yur desk. G ut at least: Once each week with a lawyer within yur practice area. Twice each mnth with a lawyer utside f yur practice area. Regularly with friends and cntacts. Draft a bigraphy, fllwing the firm s frmat. Update it regularly Build yur netwrk. Create mailing list f friends and cntacts: Law schl classmates Fraternity and srrity friends High schl and cllege friends Cmmunity-assciatin and prfessinal club cntacts Keep in tuch with yur existing netwrk thrugh traditinal tls and technlgy: Events, newsletters, hliday cards, breakfasts, lunch, phne calls LinkedIn, Facebk, Twitter etc. (see belw) 3
If yu dn t have a Facebk page already, create ne. Keep it casual but prfessinal. Check it weekly, frm hme. Jin yur law schl alumni Facebk grup. Cnnect with yur friends, especially thse frm law schl. If yu dn t have a LinkedIn page already, create ne. Keep it prfessinal. Check it twice-mnthly, frm hme. Jin yur law schl LinkedIn alumni grup. Cnsider starting a grup fr yur specific graduatin year. Cnnect with friends and acquaintances, especially thse frm law schl. Request prfessinal Recmmendatins as apprpriate. If yu dn t have a Twitter accunt, create ne. Check it daily, frm hme. Pst weekly n smething relating t yur jb, r interest. Fllw peple within yur legal and business areas f interest. Sign up fr at least tw Ggle Alerts at ggle.cm/alerts. Fr the Search Terms, use yur name and yur firm s name (in qutes). Include easy misspellings and variatins f yur name and yur firm s name (e.g. "Rss Fishman" "Rss H. Fishman" and "Fishman, Rss"). Create a cmprehensive Ggle Prfile at ggle.cm/prfiles. Link it t yur Facebk, LinkedIn, and Twitter accunts. Befre yu engage in any scial media (Twitter, Facebk, LinkedIn, etc.) read yur firm s scial media plicy. If the firm desn t have ne, help write ne. SECOND-YEAR ASSOCIATES Yur first pririty as a secnd-year assciate remains learning t be a great lawyer; marketing is still a distant secnd. Stay in tuch with yur friends and cntacts. Cntinue the First-Year Assciates activities, abve. Cntinue adding new names t yur mailing list, and LinkedIn and Facebk netwrks as yu encunter them: Bar assciatin cmmittee members Yur peers within client cmpanies Peple yu meet at netwrking functins Alumni-assciatin cntacts 4
Read bar assciatin and legal prfessin trade magazines and law-specific blgs t imprve yur technical skills (cntinue thrugh partnership). THIRD-YEAR ASSOCIATES By nw yu re getting a better handle upn yur legal practice. Cntinue fcusing n technical skills, but yu can begin practively grwing yur netwrk. Cntinue the First- and Secnd-Year Assciates activities, abve. Build yur resume by participating actively in yur bar assciatin within yur area f interest. Vlunteer fr a cmmittee and wrk tward a leadership psitin. Write a brief article n an area f interest fr a cmmittee newsletter. Give a speech n an area f interest fr a cmmittee newsletter. Increase marketing effrts devte sme time each week t a practive netwrking activity, including e.g. lunch, breakfast, dinner, sprts, netwrking events, etc. Read legal and targeted industry publicatins (cntinue annually thrugh partnership). Subscribe t blgs and fllw peple n Twitter frm leaders in these industries Add select client and prspect names t yur Ggle Alert in qutes, e.g. Fishman Marketing. Use selective infrmatin as a reasn t call, cngratulate, r recnnect. Send clipped articles with brief handwritten nte indicating Cngratulatins r I thught yu might find this f interest. FOURTH- AND FIFTH - YEAR ASSOCIATES As yu cntinue refining yur legal skills, it is nw apprpriate t spend mre time expanding yur netwrk and building yur external reputatin and resume. Remember that prviding the highest-quality technical skills and extremely respnsive client service are essential elements f the firm s marketing t existing clients. Unless yur practice area is driven thrugh lawyer referrals (e.g. persnal injury, divrce, r admiralty) yu shuld nw reduce yur bar assciatin activities and surrund yurself with prspects, nt cmpetitrs. It is nw time t fcus yur effrts mre narrwly. Cnsideratins in identifying the niche r industry t target include: Did yu grw up in a family business? What hbby, passin, r special skill f yurs wuld clients value? What jb did yu have befre law schl? What s hanging n yur walls r sitting n yur credenza? Where d yu r yur spuse have an established netwrk? What d yu knw that ther lawyers dn t knw that wuld benefit sme grup f clients? T help yu identify yur narrw niche, visit a public library t review Gale Publishing s multi-vlume Encyclpedia f Assciatins. 5
Brwse thrugh the easy-t-use 40,000-assciatin directry t identify the best grups r trade assciatins serving yur target industry. Lk fr a natinal assciatin with an active lcal chapter. Call them t learn mre abut their members and request a membership kit. If the membership includes legal-hiring decisin-makers, cnsider jining the grup. Once yu have selected the grup r trade assciatin, yur ultimate gal is t becme ne f the usual suspects in that grup, a highly visible, friendly, helpful, active cntributr: In additin: Attend the mnthly meetings Netwrk regularly, get t knw everyne. Be helpful, ffer advice and assistance. Spend a cuple years learning mre abut the industry and the assciatin members. Keep the cnversatins fcused n them: D 20% f the talking, mstly asking abut them and their businesses. The mre they talk, the smarter they think yu are, and the mre they like yu. Be actively interested in them. D nt lk fr wrk r sell yur firm r yu will be shunned as a vendr. Learn abut yur clients and prspects cmpanies and industries. Read industry publicatins and blgs regularly. Cnduct nline research peridically t stay current n their issues and needs. Read cmpany websites regularly, especially the What s New and Press Release sectins. Fllw them n Twitter. Create a Ggle Alert fr each cmpany and imprtant individual. Start keeping an nging list f cases and/r transactins, with ne-paragraph summaries f the details (whm yu represented, what issues and dllars were invlved, hw it was reslved, hw the client benefited, what was significant abut the matter). Ntify Marketing f significant cases and/r transactins yu are invlved in, r aware f, fr media purpses. Write an article fr a legal r industry publicatin n new issues, trends r precedents. Tweet weekly n these issues. Pst n blgs relevant t yur area(s) f interest. Cntinue annually thrugh partnership. Present a speech t a legal, industry, r cmmunity assciatin. Cntinue annually thrugh partnership. Help present a firm seminar t clients and prspects. Cntinue updating yur mailing list, and LinkedIn netwrk, supplementing them with: 6
Oppsing cunsel. Yur peers inside client cmpanies. Cntinue adding t yur Facebk netwrk with friends and less-frmal cntacts. Engage in at least ne face-t-face marketing effrt per week breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, sprts, scial event, seminar, cnference, assciatin meeting, etc. Prvide Marketing with client-cntact infrmatin fr client-service activities. Offer t hst a meeting at the firm fr a grup in which yu re active. SIXTH-, SEVENTH-, AND EIGHTH - YEAR ASSOCIATES Wrk with a practice-grup leader t set annual business-develpment gals. Cntinue the activities listed abve, supplemented with additinal activities: Actively seek ut a strng business-develping partner t serve as a mentr. Meet with cntacts at ther prfessinal-services firms (accunting, financial services, public relatins, practice-area butiques) t identify strategic-partnership pprtunities such as mutual events, client teams, and referrals. Wrk t a leadership psitin in yur selected industry assciatin. Use technlgy t help grw and stay in tuch with yur netwrk, e.g. blgs, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Cnsider half-page advertising in the industry publicatin. Engage in at least tw face-t-face marketing effrts per week. Visit clients facility, ffices, factry, r stres, at n charge. Dress apprpriately fr the lcatin Tur the plant, meet emplyees, ask questins, Becme mre familiar with their industry s legal and business issues. This is critical: D nt sell. Gd luck! Rss Fishman, J.D. CEO, Fishman Marketing, Inc.. 7