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Partnership Prospects-a Clubhouse Room for Law Firm Associates (May 7 at Noon ET/11 CT/9 PT)

Are you a law firm associate thinking about your partnership prospects? Join a great group of career and marketing professionals (and other ambitious associates like you) for an informal discussion on Clubhouse. Clubhouse is a new platform where people can gather and have conversations that mimic real life. No recordings, come or leave whenever you want, ask questions, or just listen.

I’ll be joined by coaches from around the country Alay Yajnik, Lana Manganiello, Steve Fretzin (who I met through my business networking group ProVisors), and Clubhouse guru Kristyn Brophy.  They each bring years of experience in building a legal practice and building a satisfying legal career.

For now, you need to have an iPhone and if you are not already a member, you’ll need to find someone to invite you to be a member of Clubhouse.  If you are already a member, click here to join at Noon ET on May 7.

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Deborah Danger Receives a Jenny for Creative Use of Humor

Deborah Danger, of DangerLaw, has been awarded a Jenny for her creativity in marketing her practice.  In her case, Deborah makes very effective use of humor as a marketing tool.

I met Deb through my business networking group, ProVisors.  (ProVisors is filled with creative professionals who may be in line for future Jennys.)

Deb offers a 5% discount to any client who makes her laugh.  Offering this discount not only has the benefit of making clients feeling like they are getting better value, but it also serves as a way to break the ice in addressing uncomfortable subjects.

According to Deborah: Many people find estate planning a dismal chore.  I don’t blame them. The task at hand is imagining the world without you in it. There is nothing more heartwarming than when one of them says something ridiculous that makes me laugh…and then they laugh and exclaim, “We made you laugh!  We get a 5% discount!”  It changes the entire tone of the meeting and deepens the professional trust they place in me and usually allows for a deeper exploration of their intentions.

In addition, Deb has created a board game which she calls Why Wonder When You’re Six Feet Under? She incorporates the game into her talks to prospective clients. It is like the T&E version of an escape room. Players draw cards which raise an array of challenges that can be solved through effective

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How Can Senior Attorneys Transition Their Practice and Get Value

Right now, there are hundreds if not thousands of law firms with aging baby boomer partners.  How will their firms survive into the future, how do they pass the reins to the next generation?  What options do senior attorneys have to transition their practice?  In my latest interview on the Counsel to Counsel Podcast, I speak

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Simplicity is the Key to Marketing Success

You don’t have to be a professor of English literature to come up with language that communicates what you do. In fact a complex message is likely to get lost.  We are bombarded all day long with marketing messages. The ones that stick (and the ones that will lead to quality  referrals–i.e. work you want to do), should be understood by a child in elementary school.

Here are two slides from a great presentation I heard in the Fall (“Sizzle or Suck”) that elaborate on this point in a very meta way (simplicity to get across the point that simplicity is key).  The presenters included

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What is Coaching? Listen to Two Mock Sessions with a Master!

Wondering what coaching really is?  In two recent episodes of the Counsel to Counsel Podcast, Beth Masterman (who’s name is very fitting), coaches Steve, a 9th year associate at an AmLaw100 firm. Steve (who is played by Steve Seckler), has been passed over for partnership and is is trying to assess his career options.

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And the Winner is…

We are please to announce the first winner of The Jennys!  Zohar Nevo, a talented corporate associate at the law firm Foley Hoag, has been selected for his continued ability to employ creativity in marketing his legal services.  Zohar, who is always thinking out of the box, was actually the inspiration for The Jennys.  While practicing at Yigal Arnon & Co.,  one of the leading law firms in Israel, Zohar created the Zohar Nevo Awards which he handed out liberally to colleagues he liked.

Zohar has a regular practice of sending whimsical postcards to colleagues, business contacts, and clients whenever he is traveling around the world.  But he will also send interesting postcards he finds close to home (he sent me one he found at Brookline Booksmith).

Earlier this winter,

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Episode 58-Managing Your Exit (Career Succession Planning– with Bill Lahey, Esq.)

With aging baby boomer in their senior ranks, 100s of law firms  throughout the country are facing succession planning issues.  How can the firm make a successful transition and ensure the long-term viability of their practice?  How will the younger partners step into the role of managing client relationships so the clients are well served in the future?

Underpinning all of this is a reality for many firms. Lawyers are living longer, practicing longer, and have very strong professional identities as lawyers.  What will these attorneys do when they are no longer chairing a department?  What are some of the creative strategies that lawyers have used to figure out What Comes Next.

Bill Lahey, has thought a lot about that subject.  Bill began his career in the public sector, worked for one large firm, one small firm and over 4 years, cut his hours by 20% per year and is not entirely out of the practice of law.  Along the way, Bill has experimented

Read moreEpisode 58-Managing Your Exit (Career Succession Planning– with Bill Lahey, Esq.)

Introducing “The Jennys”-For Creativity in Professional Services Marketing (Because “The Stevies” Was Already Taken”)

Some of my best (and worst ) inspirations come to me at 4:30 a.m.  That happened to me in early February when I woke up thinking about all of the creative marketing ideas I’ve heard about in the last 12 months.  Some of them have come from clients, some from fellow ProVisors members, and some from lawyers and other professionals I meet who have a flair for garnering attention.

I decided at that moment that it would be great to give out awards for all of this creativity.  I then began ruminating in bed about Latin phrases I could adapt (“The Juris Doctor Awards”, “Marketing In Limine”, “In Re: Marketing”).  Suddenly, I was hit with a brilliant inspiration!  I’ll call it “The Stevies”.  Later that day, in a moment of greater clarity, I reached out to a graphic designer to start working on the artwork.  Several days later, I received the sad news:  The Stevies was already taken.

Despite the fact that my award was really just for fun (?parody), I decided that it was better idea to use another name and not risk a cease-and-desist letter (thank you Dan Batterman for that advice).  After some deep thought

Read moreIntroducing “The Jennys”-For Creativity in Professional Services Marketing (Because “The Stevies” Was Already Taken”)