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Volume 1  Number 3 |
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Tools and insights on the best practices in personal and professional development that impact every lawyer’s success and satisfaction.
FOCUS ON
The Art & Science of
RAINMAKING
RAINMAKING
Three of Atlanta’s notable rainmakers doing what they do best.
Left to right: Chris Molen, Paul Hastings; Kathryn Knudson, Powell Goldstein and Mike Bowers, Balch & Bingham
(Umbrellas courtesy of Brooks Brothers, Lenox Square)
A recent study by BTI Consulting Group on marketing and client relationships found that when law firms engage in a combination of 12 interrelated, client-focused marketing activities they produce $2.64 in profits per attorney for every dollar earned by the average firm. Yet only 4.1% of firms currently implement and practice all 12 activities. Our Focus On cover stories discuss why.
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
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After 20 years and consulting jobs with over 300 law firms, Sally Schmidt has learned a few things about what works and what doesn't in law firm marketing. Some of her observations may surprise you. TCL interview with Sally Schmidt, Schmidt Marketing
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For years, professional service providers fooled themselves into believing good work would speak for itself and carry the relationship. That
day is long gone.
By Alf Nucifora, Nucifora Consulting Group |
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Interviews with 140 law firm marketing executives and nearly 800 Fortune 1000 general counsels yielded startling results about how law firms manage their marketing and client relationships. Or don't.
By Marcie Borgal, BTI Consulting Group |
D E P A R T M E N T S
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Because attorneys are educated to listen "quickly", i.e., only as long as it takes them as the expert to come up with an answer, far too often they miss the chance to formulate the best answer. Which lies inside the client.
By Nancy Kline, Time To Think, Inc. |
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DIVERSITY
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With law firms employing three - soon to be four - very different generations of attorneys and staff, the potential for generational conflict is abundant.
By Lynne C. Lancaster, Bridgeworks |
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LEADERSHIP
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Only when internal mutual trust and respect is high, can a firm dedicate its available energy to communicating its value proposition to clients and prospects. By Ellen Moran, Leadership Dialogues and Bob Ornstein, Adizes USA
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NAVIGATING YOUR CAREER
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Saying good-bye to a fixed salary and borrowing against the equity in my property was certainly scary. But it dragged me out of my comfort zone and opened me up to a world of new possibilities.
By Simon Tupman, Lawyers With a Life |
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Joseph was a successful but dissatisfied attorney. When he found out he wasn't hard-wired to be managing partner, things began to change.
By Dori Stiles, YellowWoods Consultants |
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WOMEN IN THE LAW
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If marketing oneself carries with it the risk of being seen as "unfeminine", then women who want to develop new business will need to take that chance.
By Ellen Ostrow, Lawyers Life Coach LLC |
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WORK/LIFE BALANCE
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When confronted with awkward situations in the workplace we often think we must either suffer in silence or engage in an angry confrontation. Smart politics offers an antidote. And it's win-win. By Holly English, Post, Polak, Goodsell, MacNeill & Strauchler, P.A.
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S E C T I O N S
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CLE CALENDAR
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This magazine is part of the Atlanta Bar CLE Board's "Whole Lawyer" initiative. Our objective is to enhance the very quality of life of our membership. In addition to traditional practice-specific seminars, this spring we'll feature sessions on Estate Planning for Lawyers (May 12) (Psst! If you don't have a will, you really need to come!) and How to Become a CLE Presenter (May 19).
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LETTERS
From The CLE Board Chair |
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Is rainmaking art, science or alchemy? Mostly it's drilling down to the core of what you know and believe in and drawing on this to connect with others.
By Bob Wildau, New South Mediation Services |
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From Readers
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The primary issue facing law firms today is not the "women's issue" as articulated in Dr. Ostrow's article, but that Generation X doesn't fit the law firm paradigm.
By Maggie Joslin, McKenna Long & Aldridge |
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From the Editor
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When lawyers are skilled at managing relationships, their clients, the firm and the lawyer prosper. Unfortunately, few attorneys enjoy it or are good at it.
By Don Hutcheson, Editor & Publisher |
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TREND WATCH
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A recent NALP Foundation study suggests that many first, second and third year associates have already decided to leave your firm. Women and minorities lead the way.
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BOOK REVIEWS
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Today's executives are sophisticated buyers who select professional advisors from increasingly competitive service industries. What does it take to become an extraordinary professional advisor and consistently provide value to clients? By Jagdish Sheth and Andrew Sobel
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© Copyright 2005