The Lawyer Parent

Ask children who have lawyers for parents and they will tell you said parents are not only a source of embarrassment but can be real drags. As we celebrate the holidays and families are congregating,  it may be time to see ourselves through our children’s eyes. The trouble for the child undoubtedly begins before birth.

lawyer parent 

The gynecologist becomes aware that one of the child’s parents is a lawyer. The method of questioning alerts the doctor that you want detailed, soundly reasoned information. Little Jane or Jack is also listening and the discomfiture caused by the lawyer parent is beginning.

Being born doesn’t help. Now the scrutiny becomes more intense. Every diaper change is preceded by discussion regarding method, frequency, and type of diaper. More dialogue about the sleep position, the type of food, proper attire perhaps some research is needed before a decision can be made.

“Do the job,” the by-now-uncomfortable child thinks. “Is it going to be this way all my life?”

It is time for pre-school. The child is excited about being with his peers. The search for the proper pre-school was long, intense with many high-level parental conferences. Finally, a decision is made and the child is off to school. One day the children are talking about their parents.

trash truck

“My Mom/Dad is a lawyer,” says your child proudly. “What’s a lawyer do?” asks Andrea.
“Reads stuff and talks,” says your child.
“Is that all?” asks Ed. “My Dad drives a trash truck.”
“Now that’s really cool,” says Andrea.
Your child comes home and asks, “Why don’t you drive a truck?”

Move on to elementary school. Little Jack, now in second grade, has become resigned to the dullness of your occupation. Career Day is coming up. He comes home with a note from the teacher asking for parents to come in to talk to the class.

“You don’t have to go; I know how busy you are,” he says in an effort to avoid any embarrassment.

“No, I would love to speak to your class.”

 “Okay,” he says politely, head bowed.

You gear up for your performance. After all, you have spoken to groups before. You stand up on your legs in court all the time. Talking is what you do for a living. What would the class like to hear?
Maybe give a discussion of the First Amendment? Or, perhaps talk on the rights of children? You research your topic, you have notes, and you are prepared. Wearing your best suit, carrying your briefcase, off you go to your child’s class.

The teacher greets you and explains that you will speak after Mark’s Dad, the builder. Mark’s Dad has a tool belt, brings in some wood and proceeds to build a birdhouse—complete with turret and weather vane—in 5 minutes.

A hard act to follow, but you are prepared. Your child introduces you. You start your speech.

lawyer parent speaking to class

“Have you been on television?” asks one student.
“No,”
“Oh,” Your child wiggles in his seat.
“Do you carry tools? Like Mark’s Dad?”
“No, I carry a briefcase.”
“Oooh” they say. Your child wiggles some more.
“Do you build stuff?” asks a voice from the back of the room. You suspect the questioner is Mark.
“No, I research the law and write briefs.”
“Oooooh,” they say. Your child has about disappeared under his desk.
Finally, the teacher says, “Thank you, Ms. Lawyer.”

Your child walks you to the door and the ordeal is over for both of you. The class moves on to Sally’s Mom, who shows them how to make an origami bird.

The teenage years are no picnic when you have a lawyer for a parent. First of all, lawyers have strange senses of humor. They tell weird stories and they tell them anywhere—in front of your friends, their parents, and their friends. People look at them and wonder how they can believe that the fact that little Johnny, sent to live with his Aunt Tillie who placed him in a fancy private school where he proceeded to teach the other little boys socially unacceptable behavior, is hilarious.

Then there is the questioning. Lawyer parents ask annoying questions. Where are you going? Why? Who are going with? What time will you be home? Do I need to call the other parents? Other parents ask those questions, but lawyer parents demand answers.

They will start their cross-examination with “Isn’t it true that...” They call the other parents. And, if you end up in trouble for some transgression or another, they bring in several lawyers to straighten out the mess, causing you even more humiliation. Nothing is simple for lawyer parents.

Going through life with a lawyer parent is not easy. On the other hand, they do know how to read, research and write. They also know how to argue. They will cause you to think and have reasons for your conclusions. They will force you to clarify the issue of a situation.

While they do not drive trucks, carry neat tools or build anything, they are handy to have around when a problem arises. They will take it on, protect your rights and stand in your corner all your life.

Lawyer Parent to the Rescue

(Excerpt from "Why do we do that?"commentary on lawyers and the law.)

Now We Can Advertise

Lawyers and Seltzer 

New lawyers starting a law practice in the 1800 America could advertise their business. Using mass circulars, handbills, posters, ads in the local community papers, they let the citizens know of their existence. In 1908, however, the American Bar Association (ABA) published the Canons of Professional Ethics, which abolished advertising by lawyers.

The ABA believed that lawyer advertising was unprofessional and cast a negative light on the profession. There was also the concern of encouraging frivolous cases and clogging the courts. According to the Chicago Bar Association, “The most worthy and

effective advertisement possible…is the establishment of a well-merited reputation for professional capacity and fidelity to trust.”

Lawyers were, however, allowed to be listed in legal directories, like the SBM Member Directory, and could also print business cards and use professional letterhead. They were back to the days of face-to-face networking, building their relationships with clients one person at a time.

Bates v State Bar of Arizona

That is how things stood until 1974, when John Bates and Van O’Steen founded their practice in Arizona. They decided to focus on a large number of small cases such as uncontested divorces, adoptions or simple bankruptcy to support their practice. To get the word out, they placed an ad in the Arizona Republic on February 22, 1976.

The State Bar of Arizona suspended Bates and O’Steen for six months. The lawyers challenged the decision and eventually the matter was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled in their favor. The Supreme Court removed the ban on advertising stating that it “inhibited the free flow of information and kept the public in ignorance.”

The Court, however, did allow the State Bars to “regulate” advertising to make sure the information offered was true and didn’t mislead consumers.

The day after the Supreme Court decision in 1977, Group Matrix, an advertising agency, obtained their first legal client. In those years, they advertised for personal injury lawyers on television, radio, outdoor advertising on billboards, benches, taxis, buses and yellow pages. Over time, the yellow pages have faded away and the agency added a web service. 

How do lawyers advertise in 2016?

In many ways, advertising of legal services follows the same path it followed in the early years. We still advertise on TV, radio, billboards, taxis, buses and benches. What has changed is the addition of the Internet which gives lawyers another way to gain name recognition, impart information to prospective clients and establish their brand by creating websites and writing blog posts.

And, we are subject to the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct on advertising, which are in the section titled “Information About Legal Services.” One of the rules requires “A copy or recording of an advertisement or communication shall be kept for two years after its last dissemination along with a record of when and where it was used.” {Rule: 7.2 (b)} That rule includes material on your website. Remember to give it a read.

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The Social Media

The lawyer sitting next to you at the conference is busy writing a tweet for Twitter, another is taking a selfie to post on Facebook. It seems that everyone except you are busy using social media to market their practice. Should you jump into the social media pond?

Maybe, maybe not.

Social media has its good and bad points. To understand what is best for you, your first step is to analyze your practice. Understand the legal service you offer in order to know your target market—their age, demographic, economic position. Knowing your practice will help sort out the pluses and minuses of using social media and decide which social media platform is right for you.

What is social media?

Social media is defined (Merriam Webster) as: “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)”

Think Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and so forth. Each attracts a particular audience. If that audience includes your target market, you could consider joining the group.

The advantages of using social media:

·      Social media marketing is cost effective AKA free. You can sign up, create a profile and post information without paying a cent.

·      You can reach consumers that never come to your speaking events or read your newsletter or your blog. Your tweets find new readers who will comment or retweet your tweet to their followers leading to an even larger audience.

·      You gain name and brand recognition.

·      People come to know you by your choice of words, style of writing, topics you pick. Use an easy to read style, offer real information and show them you are approachable and they will be loyal and frequent readers.

·      Social media builds relationships.

·      Use visitor analytics and readers’ comments to learn more about your audience. Knowing their interests will help you find topics for them.

·      You can post a link to social media on your website and your SBM Enhanced Profile, making it easy for readers to find you.

The disadvantages of social media marketing:

·      Time—time is money, time spent on social media is not billable time, time you don’t have, which means if you start a social media be sure you are aware that time must be set aside to continue the postings.

·      Content needs to be written, edited, revised and published—again a time issue.

·      Social media creates demands on your talent; posts need to relevant to your practice and interesting to a wide variety of readers. Fortunately, as a lawyer, you have access to a variety of topics with the weekly SBM e-journal and the SBM news-links posted daily.

·      You lose control of your content. Everything you publish is available to be commented upon positively or negatively by all who read it.

·      Social media doesn’t have a quick return on your investment. It builds relationships and firm loyalty over time so you need to decide to be in it for the long haul.

Social media can bring many benefits and increased profits to your practice, but it does come with limitations. With good planning, you’ll be successful. If you decide to start a social media account, it could be you taking “selfies” and posting news items to your readers at the next conference. You’ll be in good company.

  

The Millennials are Coming. Are You Ready?

As of 2015, the millennials, defined as those born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, outnumber both the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers in sheer volume. (Pew Research http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/) By 2020, 46 percent of the US workforce will be millennials. And, it is reported that these individuals account $1.3 trillion in annual spending, which doesn’t include millennial—influenced spending by their parents and grandparents.

Who are millennials?

For some of my readers, they are your children and grandchildren. Studies show they have the following characteristics:

                                                                   

•  They work and play online, mostly on mobile devices.

            •  They welcome access over ownership in a new “sharing” economy, think UBER, bike sharing.

•  They expect media, information, services and purchases to be available on demand.

•  They are socially aware and assume that companies, firms, individuals will be active in the community and give back.

            •  They know more about technology than any other generation; they live in a world of sharable information.

What legal issues could millennials, aged 18-34 in 2015, have?

They are buying houses, estate planning for their children, starting businesses or helping their aging parents. And some are having criminal problems. MADD reports that the 26-29 year olds (20.7 %) have the highest rate of drunk driving. Think about how your services can be of use to this younger audience.

How can lawyers reach millennials?

Millennials are never out of touch—they live by their mobile phones and expect the information they need such as reviews, social media commentary, price comparisons to be instantly available. For law firms, that means their website, profiles and blogs must be mobile friendly. Your law blog should be informative, short, engaging and easy to read on a smaller screen.

Being active on social media such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn is an effective way to ensure millennials see your firm, interact and engage with you, learn something from you and eventually employ your legal services.

In the interests of hands-on research, I texted my millennial grandson, Collin, 22-year-old, bio-molecular engineer living and working in New York city, asking one question—How would you find lawyer? He texted back, “I would ask one of my fraternity brothers who are lawyers.” And “I would Google my geographic area and the kind of service I needed. Then I’d check their website and then try to find some sort of review or blog post written by a past client.”

Two marketing concepts are at work here. He began the usual way, asking friends for referrals, showing the importance of face to face marketing. Then he used the millennial way—going to the Internet to find and investigate lawyers in his area. And, it’s reasonable to assume he would do this on his phone.

Would millennial Collin find your mobile friendly, easily accessible website?

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LinkedIn--The Professional Networking Tool in Your Toolbox

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the professional networking tool in your marketing toolbox. It is a business oriented social networking service. Think of it as a tool to help you organize all the networks of fellow lawyers and clients who refer work to you. And it does so in a way you can understand with results you can see.

To be effective on LinkedIn, you need a marketing plan for its use.

Start by asking yourself “What do I want to accomplish with LinkedIn?” 

Do you want to:
• Build your client base
• Cultivate relationships with particular businesses
• Search for a position
• Create your own web presence outside that of your firm or
• Establish your expertise?

Whom do I want to attract?

If you’re searching for a position in a law firm, you want to attract the attention of law firm managers, recruiters or human resource departments. On the other hand, if you want to build your client base, your profile and publications should address potential clients’ needs. Tailor your message to fit your intended goal.

Your Profile:

Now you know why you’re on LinkedIn, you can create an effective profile, one that uses some of the keywords that your reader uses to search for a lawyer such as “Traverse City Elder Law Lawyer.” Write your profile in first person (“I”) as if you were talking to that client in your office. Add to your profile using LinkedIn sections. Upload your video, write a short blog for the publications section, and, if you volunteer, add volunteer organizations. Remember to include a picture, your skills in the skills section and make sure your title states clearly the type of law you practice.

Marketing Toolbox

Build a network
Remember that LinkedIn is a professional networking site. Its purpose is to build relationships. Start by connecting with people you know. Send invitations to connect on LinkedIn as part of your follow-up after you meet new people at an event. Add something personal to the standard invitation such as reminding them where you met.

Use LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn offers groups for every situation one can imagine and while some may be of little value, some are helpful. If you search the profiles of the people you want to meet, you will find the groups they belong to. You can join the group and follow the discussions, commenting and adding articles or links.

Updates

Updates are short messages you share with your network. You can send an update directly from your home page using the update box. Experts say that 80% of updates should be news or information for your readers and 20% about you. Review the updates posted to your home page and comment when appropriate.

LinkedIn is about networking and building relationships. Check your homepage or read the update e-mails for news about others in your network. Respond with a congratulatory note or information that can help them further a project. Taking a few minutes to scan your home page, respond to updates and send comments can bring good results when done with your goals in mind. And, remember to include a link to your LinkedIn home page on your SBM enhanced Profile page in the Member Directory and your website.

Build a Better Blog, Readers Will Come

Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. Ralph Waldo Emerson

     The phrase, attributed to Emerson in the late nineteenth century, is actually a misquotation of a much longer statement that has morphed into a metaphor about the power of innovation. It means that if you develop something superior to a device that is widely used, you will succeed.
     The same is true of Blogs. Create a blog that offers quick and useful information your clients and potential clients can use, written in a format they can understand, is fresh and interesting and gives them a reason to return and you will have built a better blog and consumers will beat a path to your door.

How to build a better blog:

A Better Blog=More Readers

     Understand why you’re writing it. Do you want to be seen as an expert, build an awareness about your firm or simply add fresh content to your website? Maybe it’s all three. A well-defined strategy will keep you and your reader interested.
     Decide what you want to say. Think about the clients you have. What type of problems are they experiencing? Perhaps, there has been a surge in questions about the Health Care Law or the change in the formula for child support. Define your subject matter clearly and the post will be easier to write.
     Start with an engaging title. Effective titles are short. Titles that ask a question, use numbers such as ‘6 ways to peal an orange’ or solve a problem such as ‘how to peal an orange’ are attention grabbers.
     Compose compelling copy. A story with facts that set up your topic will get the reader’s attention. Write clearly using plain English and keep it short. A 300 to 500-word blog is sufficient. Blocks of text are tiring. To keep the reader on the page, break up text:

• Use bullets to emphasize key points,
• Add images, videos and graphics, and 
• Bold or underline material.

     Review and revise. Write it, set it aside and come back in a few hours or the next day. You’ll be surprised at what needs changing.

Now you’ve built a better blog. What next?

     First, publish it on your website’s blog page and your blog hosting site. Second, let the social world know it exists. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and an e-mail blast to announce its posting. Third, market it on Social Media; let your followers know of the new publication. Soon fellow lawyers and clients looking for the information offered will beat a path to your door.

Write a Book for Clients

     “Let’s write a book,” said Dick to partners Sally and Jane sitting across from him at the oblong walnut conference table of SDJ Law, LLC. 
     Both women lifted their heads and stared at him. 
     “Yes, a book,” he said, “a book for our corporate clients. A book will establish us as experts in our field, encourage the right clients to call and provide helpful information to our clients and colleagues.”
      Dick is right. A book, written by you for the benefit of your clients and colleagues, is an innovative marketing tool. Your book can be given to attendees at your next seminar, displayed in your lobby and featured on your website. It is concrete item that prospective clients take home and refer to when they have a need. And, it puts your name and contact information in their hands. 

6 Easy steps to put a book together.

Write a Book for Clients

     First, consider that a book of this type doesn’t have to be a 300-page tome. It can be about 40 to 75 pages or 10,000 to 20,000 words. If your firm has been writing weekly blog posts on your practice for several months, you have a good start on content for a book. Twenty weeks of roughly 500 word posts gives you 10,000 words or enough for a 40-page book. 
     Second, know your ideal clients and what they need. Most blogs are far to wide-reaching. They try to do too much in too little space. To be effective, you need to narrow the topic down to one small part that is the greatest concern to your clients. 
     For example, SDJ’s practice handles a wide range of legal matters affecting corporate clients such as contracts, copyright and trademark, annual reports, corporate meetings, employee relations, mergers and acquisitions, etc. They need to narrow the focus of the book to one topic; one that they care about as that will improve the writing. They select contracts as their topic.
     Third, now that there is a topic, create a working title and theme for the book. If the topic is annual reports, a title—Understanding the parts of a contract—might work as a start. The theme is: Helping clients understand some basic contract principles.
     Fourth, outline your book. You can probably use some of your blog posts from the past and create new ones in the coming months. For our example, SDJ could focus on the various types of contracts clients may have to review. 
     Fifth, compile your chosen blog posts into one document, add a cover, an introduction, a table of contents and a conclusion and you’re done. Using Amazon Kindle for an e-book or their Create Space for a Print on Demand book takes time to set up, but is free. Other services are available to take over the whole formatting and printing process for a cost.
     Sixth, once the book is available, put some in your lobby, link to it on your website and social media and post it under publications on your SBM Member Directory
     You now have a book that is helpful to prospective clients and your colleagues and can establish you as a thought leader in your area of practice. 

The Wonderous World of #Hashtags

Definition of hashtag: word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text, such as a tweet. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

     For most of us, the # icon is a symbol of measurement. It stands for a pound as on 1#. But, for many, it is type of label used in social media to make it easier for users to find messages with specific content. The hash (#) character is placed in front of a word or phrase (tag) used for description and placed either in the main text or at the end of the message. 
     Historically, the pound sign was first used in information technolo

how to use #hashtags

gy to identify a special meaning. Over time, some suggested using it on microblogging sites such as Twitter and it took off in 2007 after it was used in tweets relating to the San Diego forest fires. Internationally, it became a writing style for Tweets during the 2009-10 Iranian election posts. Now #hashtag is also used on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest and many more. 
     Hashtags are not registered or controlled by any one user or groups of users. They live in perpetuity and don’t contain any set definitions, which means that any hashtag can be used for any purpose and by anyone. It is also important to think about which hashtags to include with your post since they can have a huge influence on who finds or fails to find what you are writing about. Going to the wrong audience can cause great content to be lost in Internet land. 
     Keep your hashtags short. Limiting them to one or two words is best. #thisisaverylonghashtag is too hard to read. 

Hashtags on Twitter

     Because of their expanded use, hashtags have become valuable. Adding a hashtag in your Twitter post will make your content noticeable by anyone with an interest in your topic or word. For example, #unbundling. If it is mentioned and hashtagged in your Tweet, anyone searching for that word in Google or in Twitter could find you regardless of whether they are a follower or not. 
     Hashtags can appear anywhere in your Tweet—beginning, middle or end. Tweets with hashtags get more retweets and favorites than those without. Keep it simple, however, don’t use more than two hashtags per post. In other words, don't #spam #with #hashtags and only use hashtags that are relevant to the topic.  
     Clicking on the hashtagged word in your Tweet shows you all the other Tweets marked with that keyword. Twitter reports that hashtagged words that become popular are often included in trending topics. 

Hashtags on Instagram and Pinterest

     For those who like to post and tag photos, Instagram and Pinterest are the places to be. Unlike Twitter, use as many hashtags to categorize your photos as you want since using them will increase your followers. 

Hashtags on Facebook

     Hashtags are not as popular on Facebook. When you add a hashtag to your post, the people you’ve shared your post with can also see it in that hashtag's feed. For example, if you share a post with a hashtag with Friends, they can see your post in that hashtag’s feed. Remember, if you use a hashtag in a post you share to Public, and allow people to follow you, your post will appear on your public profile and in that hashtag's feed.

Hashtags on Google+

     Google+ is not Twitter so it’s important to remember that a Twitter approach will not net the same results. Google recommends that you pair your hashtags with images since photo sharing is the most popular activity on Google and limit yourself to 2-3 hashtags per post.  
     Hashtags are an organizing tool. Using them well on your social media sites can identify your content, bring more readers to your posts and expand your network of possible clients.