INSIGHTS + GUIDANCE ON
THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP PR FOR LAW FIRMS
During a recent podcast conversation with my co-host Jay Harrington, we covered a variety of indices and both leading and lagging indicators of legal marketing efficacy, until I switched gears near the end and surprised Jay with a plot twist. This, in essence, framed the answer to a listeners question, “If you could measure only one key performance indicator, what would it be?”
A lawyer who succeeds at business development typically has learned to enjoy the process itself, while a lawyer who struggles tends to fixate on failures, doesn’t feel in control of his circumstances, and blames externalities for poor outcomes. In other words, lawyers who succeed over the long term approach business development with a “growth mindset” and not a “fixed mindset.”
“Too many attorneys are unhappy." Five lamentable words that headlined an article by Jay Harrington at Attorney at Work served as the precursor and pretext to Tom Nixon's first read of "The Productivity Pivot," a book just released by Jay Harrington that identifies and endeavors to overcome the root cause of career dissatisfaction for lawyers. Read Tom's review to learn why he claims the book "...will change your mind. It will change your daily routine. And, yes...it may even change your life.”
Although the era of quarantine and social distancing has limited our business development programs, thought leadership content remains unscathed. To wit, here are six critical components to a successful business development program that you can’t achieve without thought leadership content, to add to the list of all of the other obstacles the current pandemic has erected along your path to professional growth—things you can’t do, but content can.
The media industry is depending on outside sources for content and ideas while publications are shrinking, so there’s less room for some of the “fluff” that used to run. What’s needed in this best-worst environment is what I like to call “modern PR” — a blend of strategic thinking, thought leadership insight and business acumen, with a dash of understanding of the modern media landscape mixed in. To realize these benefits, law firms must put themselves in the shoes of the reporters — the gatekeepers — standing between a firm and the audience it hopes to reach.
When we launched The Thought Leadership Project podcast one year ago, Jay Harrington and I kicked off of our very first episode discussing the importance of targeting a narrowly defined niche. Since recording that first episode, Jay and I have gone on to interview and chronicle a number of success stories that prove the rule. Reviewing them just might give you the courage to go small, in order to hit it big.
We are halfway through 2020, and what a year it has been. Now is a great time to reflect and reset, and establish some goals for the second half of the year. To help you think creatively and strategically about your objectives, we have compiled five of our most popular posts from this year for your reading pleasure during a week that tends to be a bit more laid back for many lawyers and legal marketing professionals.
Before an associate can become a partner, other partners must think of the associate as a partner. An associate must begin to exhibit the characteristics and behaviors of someone with an ownership stake in the firm. Accordingly, even as a young associate, the best way to impress a partner is to start acting like one. Here are four ways associates can perform above their pay grade, and impress partners in the process.
