We always look forward to tips from Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West, the hot-ticket event presented by the Legal Marketing Association's Bay Area Chapter and the Bar Association of San Francisco. For this Friday Five, the BASF's Kerstin Firmin is sharing her notes from the 2013 conference, held this week in San Francisco. (Watch for some terrific content marketing tips from the BASF's Sayre Happich next week, too.) Technical and social skills don’t always go hand-in-hand. But in today’s marketplace, it is crucial to master (or hire) both. According to John Ray, Google's Industry Head - Legal, there are over 375 million legal-related online searches per month in the United States. Ray, who spoke Tuesday at the 2013 Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West, said you can be a brilliant attorney, but if potential clients can’t find you, you are losing out on business. At the same time, opportunities to interact socially are increasing. In addition to optimizing your firm's online presence, though, remember that your online and offline social skills are crucial to building trust. Here are a few tips from the conference. ... READ MORE

The most successful salespeople strongly believe that sales is a numbers game. In other words, you don't have to be an ace or a homerun king to be successful at business development. You just have to keep pitching and swinging in the general direction of the clients. The more at-bats, the more runs (clients) you are likely to earn (win). When putting together the networking portion of your marketing plan, it helps to have a “numbers game” mentality. Let’s say you compile a list of 10 prospective clients or referral sources to meet for coffee or lunch. After that, you contact these people to try to set up something. What’s a good “hit” rate? ... READ MORE

Who are these “enterprising lawyers”? Actually, they are easy to spot. Look for the happier, more engaged lawyers. Deeply invested in the power of the work they do for their clients, they have ample interests beyond the practice of law as well. And they seem to have more energy for getting things done than anyone in the crowd. You probably know an enterprising lawyer — you may even be one! Today we're talking with Andy Greene ... READ MORE

In "Your Law Firm's DMS: Put the Past Behind You," Brian Ruthruff and Dodie Edelstein identified new features lawyers can expect in today's document management systems (DMS). In this follow-up, they have advice for making the successful leap to a new DMS.  Upgrading your existing document management system, or designing an entirely new law firm DMS, does not have to be a huge drain on time and resources. Be aware of common pitfalls and use a systematized approach, and the process can be relatively quick and painless. ... READ MORE

It’s no secret that links help your rankings on search engines. It’s also no secret that likes, follows and +1’s are signs of popularity and working their way into search engine ranking factors as well.

The Internet is many things to many people. For some, it’s an educational resource. For others, it’s a place to socialize or attract customers. Unfortunately, still others view the Internet as their personal battlefield. Blogs, social media communities and online review sites have become platforms for anyone with an axe to grind, or for taking swipes at competitors. It may be hard to imagine yourself or your law practice as the subject of an online hit job. After all, if you provide your clients with the best legal representation possible, what do you have to worry about? A lot, unfortunately. Clients can fire off an impulsive unfavorable review, while a misinformed blog post can mix up names or trial outcomes and saddle you with a permanent and inaccurate online record. Even a photo of a college night out can be the first thing a prospective client sees when searching your firm if you don’t keep close tabs on your online reputation. ... READ MORE

You are a member of an organization that holds quarterly dinner meetings with a speaker. You look at your calendar and realize the next meeting is Wednesday night — drat! But, dutifully, you show up just in time to sit down for the meal, chitchat briefly with the people to your right and left before the speaker starts his address, and then sneak out during the applause. If you are like most lawyers, you will give yourself credit for going. In my book, however, you get a failing grade. ... READ MORE

Meeting tight deadlines for filing motions is stressful by itself. But it's even more nerve-rattling when legal research, drafts and comments are scattered all over the place and not accessible when needed. In a typical law firm, email-based workflows are a big part of the problem. Substituting a secure cloud collaboration system for the email workflow can overcome this problem, helping law firms save time and money throughout the process. To illustrate, let's say your firm is working on a motion for a personal injury case, in which emotional distress is one of your main arguments. Here are three ways the right cloud program can make motion drafting more efficient. ... READ MORE

If you like this sort of thing (and I really do), the P3 Conference was an energizing, cutting-edge event that, for the first time, brought together three traditionally discrete disciplines — pricing, practice improvement and project management — to compare notes on some big trends in the practice of law.

Krebbs came to me for advice. It seems one of his associates had called in sick the day they were to prepare massive final documents for a filing, leaving Johnson high and dry to finish it by himself. That very same night, however, Krebbs saw this guy's Facebook status — complete with selfies, mind you — about the romantic day he'd had with his girlfriend in the city. Needless to say, Krebbs was pissed, but he couldn’t figure out the best way to react. Should he fire the associate for lying? Make him take vacation instead of sick leave? Berate him for leaving Krebbs in the lurch? All — or none — of the above?