At a recent Marketing Partner Forum, organizers presented the results of a Thompson Reuters survey of law firm marketers. Two points in particular jumped out at me: (1) The “most-important initiative” for the law firms was improving business development; and (2) the top challenge to business development was lawyer engagement. The longer I work with lawyers, the more I am convinced that the problem firm management has engaging lawyers lies with the marketing/business development side of the house, not the other way around. Sure, there are some skeptical or even downright recalcitrant attorneys when it comes to marketing. But for most, I believe the lack of engagement comes because they haven’t found a way to be comfortable in their business development skin. ... READ THE REST

The modern world is a raucous symphony of noise. The squawks and pings of mobile devices are only the latest additions to a cacophony of rings, bells, announcements, conversations and other noises producing distractions, even stress, in our daily professional lives. Interestingly, getting things done — being productive — is largely a result of silence. In fact, the quieter we can make our internal and external worlds, the more productive we become. Here are five ways to leverage short periods of silence during the frenetic day. ... READ THE REST

Last week, we asked a handful of legal technologists to be our reporters at LegalTech New York. The scoop? Cybersecurity topped the hot topics list (made hotter still with news that another big health-care company had been breached). But security shared the LTNY headlines with Monica Bay — the long-time Law Technology News Editor-in-Chief announced her retirement. As for new product bombshells, it's relatively quiet out there, with upgrades, tweaks and collaboration among technology companies filling the news. Keeping things interesting, though, the ALM and the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics collaborated to bring in seven start-up exhibitors — and some fresh air. Now, in their own words, here's what our LTNY reporters found most intriguing. ... READ THE REST

I shocked my contacts at the beginning of the year when I announced that I joined another law firm. (I know, I never thought it would happen either.) I am now of counsel at an IP boutique firm called Venjuris in Phoenix. I still have Carter Law Firm, though, for professional speaking and writing purposes. Shifting from solo life to a multi-lawyer firm has been quite a change. ... READ THE REST

Contrary to what some social media pundits would say, conferences where people show up and interact in person have not gone away. Not only are they around to stay, but most legal marketing pundits (including yours truly) agree that attending conferences can offer valuable business development opportunities. But how do you know whether a conference will be really valuable, especially since an out-of-town conference will likely cost a few thousand dollars and the loss of billable time? Your best bet is to weigh several factors. ... READ THE REST

One of the great story lines from the movie "Caddyshack" is Carl Spackler's (Bill Murray) epic battle with the pesky golf course gopher. While the gopher proved to be a tougher adversary than Spackler expected, and ultimately outwitted the hapless greenskeeper, Spackler learned a few important lessons in his quest to rid Bushwood of the "varmint." One of them — which I discuss below — actually has relevance to this article.

The proliferation of smartphones and tablets in the workplace has dramatically changed how business is conducted, and the legal profession is no exception. Nearly everyone has a mobile device, but how many of us use these devices to their full potential? Think about how you are using your smartphone in your daily affairs. Can that same technology do even more to help you give your clients the best possible representation?

My practice focuses on franchise and entrepreneur law. A little over a year ago, I launched Franchise Euphoria, an educational podcast about franchising and business. Truth be told, the No. 1 reason I started it was to help aspiring entrepreneurs and others interested in franchising learn more about it. Sure, I thought it would benefit me as well. But I wasn’t 100 percent clear on how it would help my practice. I just knew it was an opportunity to try something different. The response and level of engagement I have received since launching has blown me away. To date, I have completed over 100 episodes, and Franchise Euphoria is a top-rated iTunes Podcast. It has been downloaded thousands of times and listened to in 82 countries and growing. Beyond the numbers, there are three significant ways that my podcasting has boosted my law practice.... READ THE REST

There’s oh-so-much talk about social media and lawyer marketing. So we decided to get some facts of our own. In our first Attorney at Work Social Media Survey, conducted in December, we asked readers about their social media habits, preferences and attitudes. More than 450 readers responded to the survey, including 340 lawyers (56% female, 44% male), weighing in on their use of social media and their perception of its value. There were some surprises, of course, along with confirmation of things we knew all along. ... READ THE REST

In 2014, I spent a lot of time focused on the future of lawyers. One highlight of that was spending time with legal futurist Richard Susskind, who was our guest at the Oklahoma Bar Association's annual meeting in November. I also met and listened to Indiana University law professor William Henderson (recently named "most influential" person in legal education). Henderson brings as much data and analysis to the future of law discussion as anyone. I myself addressed several state and local bar meetings about my thoughts on the future of law, in particular for solo and small firm lawyers. So how do I advise solo and small firm lawyers to brace for the future? Here are a few thoughts. ... READ THE REST