<b><i>From the Second Annual MLF 50:</b></i> Two Standout Firms Focus on Client-Centric Marketing
November 30, 2006
Two firms from the MLF 50 are standouts in the area of client-centric marketing activities and for different reasons. <br>The first, Winston & Strawn, led by Director of Business Development and Marketing Partner Barbara C. Sessions, embarked on an overall visibility campaign with an overarching theme on client-focused service and they did this via their Web site.<br>No less outstanding in harnessing client-centric based marketing is the firm of Holland & Hart. In 2006, the marketing department, led by Director of Marketing Mark Beese (or as he refers to himself the 'Marketing Guy') engaged in several new initiatives; each of them intimately involving the firm's clients, with the goal of deepening Holland & Hart's relationship with current clients and attracting new ones. The firm's advertising campaign has evolved to highlight innovative and successful clients as part of the Holland & Hart trademark western wilderness.
The Best of MLF 2006
November 30, 2006
As 2006 comes to a close ' and in keeping with tradition ' we will take a look back at the topics that defined this past year in the areas of marketing, business development, media and, most recently, management issues.
Looking Outside the Firm for On-Point Work Product
November 29, 2006
The value of a good lawyer is not proven in redrafting maps of familiar ports, but rather it is secured by successfully navigating uncharted waters. Sophisticated purchasers of legal services understand this, and they expect today's lawyers to quickly locate, validate, update and utilize past work product where it is prudent to do so. Forward thinking firms now utilize tools to effectively mine their own documents, but I was recently introduced to an amazing concept: Why stop looking for precedent documents at your firewall, if you can just as easily access documents filed by your competitor? The ramifications of this new concept are astounding.
e-Discovery Tools and Choices
November 29, 2006
Electronic discovery software is on the move. Programs are improving, new players have been entering the market and consolidation is rampant.
Practice Tips for Document Comparison
November 29, 2006
There are a variety of products and tools available for comparing Microsoft Word documents. Within native Word, edits can be tracked using the track changes tool that, by default, marks document edits with an underline as text is inserted and a line through text that is deleted. However, many firms have a policy against using the track changes feature because of concerns about metadata. As each edit is marked, Word also notes the author of the change and the date and time the change was made. Additionally, a record of the last 10 authors is embedded in the document as well. However, metadata scrubbers have eliminated this issue by allowing users to retain tracked changes but eradicate the metadata they contain as well as remove the complete author history. Tracking changes is finding new popularity in law firms because of the metadata cleaning capability.
<b>Professional Development University: </b>Feedback Made Easy For Partners
November 29, 2006
Partners are saddled with one of the most important yet difficult tasks related to managing a team of lawyers: providing constructive feedback. Feedback is a partner's tool to improve performance, efficiency and service quality.<br>The objective in giving feedback is to enhance performance by supplying information to guide the individual toward the level and quality of work that is expected.
Are We Approaching a Profitability Plateau?
November 29, 2006
As we turn the calendar to 2007, law firm leaders will once again be able to tell their partners that their firm hit ' or exceeded ' budget and that their income will increase. That's the good news. <br>The bad news is that, as firms have grown more profitable and pushed harder on the drivers of their firms' economics, it is becoming difficult to identify ways to ensure that the double-digit increases in profitability will continue. After all, the economic model of law firms has only a handful of levers (rates, realization, leverage, utilization, expenses). Once firms pull as hard as possible on each lever, there is not much more they can do. For law firm leaders, managing the expectations of their partners will become a more difficult challenge, particularly since a good portion of those partners have come to expect double-digit increases in profitability each year.
Courts Step Up to Plate in Battle Against Spyware
November 29, 2006
Several months ago, the New York attorney general filed suit in a New York state court seeking an injunction against Direct Revenue LLC enjoining the firm from secretly installing spyware or sending ads through already installed spyware. <i>New York v. Direct Revenue LLC</i>, No. 401325/06 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co.). The suit has resulted in public disclosure of some of the most reviled Internet marketing tactics by a company that recently claimed it had changed its evil ways and has resulted in allegations of financial connections to some 'good guy' Internet behemoths such as Yahoo, Vonage, MySpace and others.
When Is a Settlement Not a Settlement?
November 29, 2006
In April 2006, setting off in a new direction, the Appellate Division held that settlement agreements that favor a tenant can be unenforceable. <i>Drucker v. Mauro</i> 814 NYS 2d 43 (1st Dept. 2006). There was a two-justice dissent, but the appeal to the Court of Appeals was recently dismissed due to non-finality. Thus, Drucker needs to be looked at to gauge when a settlement is indeed a settlement in landlord-tenant disputes.
