Leadership for Lawyers

Naked Conversation Interview

Richard Levick interviews Shel Israel, co-author of Naked Conversations, a book about blogging and social media.  Why is social media important?

"When we wrote the book, blogging was social media. But now, if you’re a business, or an institution, or an individual, you can blog, you can create video, you can Twitter, or you can do combinations of them all. You need to identify and utilize the tools that are right for you.

But, what’s important isn’t the tools. What’s important is the ability to have two-way conversations with your customers rather than sit around and devise marketing methods filled with adjectives and legal disclaimers and shovel them into the foreheads of people who just don’t want them."

Read the interview here.

Why is this important to law firms?  Lawyers and their firms need to listen to thier clients, or their clients will find lawyers that listen.  Client interviews and surveys are a good start, but firms need to find multiple channels to receive client feedback and to listen to their preferences. 

BTW, Shel Israel is now moderating a video blog on Fast Company TV called Global Neighborhoods.  Check it out.

While you are reading the article, check out Levick's new book, "Stop the Presses" and their prescient blog, by the same name.  The book is a must-have reference about litigation public relations for the C-suite, lawyers, and marketing folks. 

Immoral Marketing

Brian Freeman, former marketing director for Faegre & Benson, has just released his first book.  Immoral is a crime thriller full of violence, sex and intrigue.  I haven't read it, but it is on my birthday list.  The critics have praised the book, and Brian's writing.  In fact, the International Book of the Month club (and others) have chosen Immoral as their monthly pick.  It has been in print only a few weeks in the US, but it is already published in a dozen languages.

I'm reading Immoral because of my respect for Brian.  I met Brian weeks after I started my first law firm marketing job.  He let me pick his brains and figure out how to survive this crazy profession.  Over time, I felt a little competitive with Brian.  Faegre has always had a strong marketing program, particularly on the web.  For years the Faegre web site was named "top law firm web site by internetmarketingattorney.com.   This year, both Faegre and my firm were ranked in the top 5, but alas, his was first and ours was fifth.  Maybe we'll have a fighting chance now that Brian is writing a sequel to Immoral and has left law firm marketing forever. 

Brian is a brilliant marketer, creative writer, and a great guy.  I wish him the best with his new writing career, and look forward to reading Immoral.  Brian's web site is bfreemanbooks.com.