We feel honored at Attorney at Work to count some very smart people as our Advisors. Names we can easily brag are “internationally known,” “widely respected” and “wildly successful.” They are practicing lawyers, technology wizards, academics, management consultants, published authors and just plain luminaries. But they all have one thing in common: Each is a pioneer in some aspect of the enterprise of practicing law. From time to time in the Five, we like to show off a bit of their wisdom. Most of them blog, all of them publish, producing consistently solid stuff to help you succeed in your career and your life.
It’s Easy to Show off Someone Else’s Work
This time, we’re showing off four blog posts and a podcast. All are thought-provoking. We bet at least one of them changes your thinking or practice in some way.
1. The Big Snore. Not. Like us, you’ve probably been seeing more and more video on law firm websites. Should you or shouldn’t you include video in your marketing and client education plans? This post from Burkey Belser on the BrandThinking blog gives you a ton of information to help you make that decision without putting you to sleep with mountains of data. Our favorite bit of advice? “You get no video credits for having lousy video on your site.”
2. Did Video Kill the Lawyer Star? The latest podcast from Tom Mighell and Dennis Kennedy tackles the topic of video for lawyers as well. Did you know 48 hours of new video are added to YouTube every minute? No wonder lawyers are intrigued. Everyone is intrigued. In this recording, Tom and Dennis survey the tools for creating and distributing videos and share observations and tips about jumping in.
3. In Our Private Universe(s). If you haven’t changed your mind about a potential hire based on what you see on their Facebook page, you will sooner or later. Or someone will change their mind about you. In this post on Stem Legal’s LawFirm Web Strategy blog, Jordan Furlong explores the two online universes—professional and personal—and shares his own way of minding the gap.
4. Sit and Read. While we’re on the subject of how you look on the Internet, Steve Matthews posted a great little article revisiting the transition from paper reading to electronic reading of PDFs and how it can (and will) impact the usability of your law firm website. Obviously more people are reading on tablets. And search effectiveness is impacted when your material is in a PDF. Where is this all heading and how can you anticipate? Check the post for helpful best practices.
5. Save a Few Bucks. Bob Ambrogi’s LawSites blog is always among the first to report interesting new Internet resources. This week, he spied mylegal.com and their Groupon-like deals on supplies and services specifically for lawyers: trial technicians, office furniture, jury consultants, court reporters and more. Read the post. It’s a great service to know about and it can never hurt to check for deals before buying.
