Excited Utterances

I began as a skeptic: of book clubs, of self-help books, of a bunch of former Marines applying U.S. military leadership principles to the business world. But I signed up for the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Southeast Region’s book club anyway, because when you're the mother of an energetic toddler, the only way to find time to read a book is to literally schedule it into your calendar. We discussed one chapter per week. And that’s when I became a believer. Beyond the perk of connecting with an inspiring group of legal marketers from across the southeastern United States, the book itself was eye-opening. Too many “aha” moments to mention, so here is just my top takeaway from Spark – how to lead yourself and others to greater success. By Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch, and Sean Lynch. Understand your values and live them . This exercise is foremost about becoming aware of what you truly value. Values are the principles or qualities that are important to you – like famil...

Former employees of a firm are a great potential referral source - if you manage the relationships correctly. The business case has already been made for alumni programs, and if you're reading this you likely agree, so I will cut straight to how to ensure your alumni program is worth your effort.  (Note: this formula is for legal marketers at smaller to mid-sized firms looking to start an alumni program. I'll post a follow up article in a few months on how to step up your alumni game once you have a basic program in place. ) Collaborate with your HR team to compile a list of former lawyers’ contact info. Add them to your firm’s CRM system. (If HR doesn't have these records, look to accounting, LinkedIn, and your current lawyers to help build the list.) You may want to include business services staff as well as lawyers . Create an alumni communication, set the frequency, and send relevant firm announcements. Feature individual alumni in your communications. Make sure...

Having recently completed the last of my Chambers submissions for the 2018 publication, I'm sharing my tips while the process is still fresh in my mind. Before you know it, it will be time to get cracking on submissions for the 2019 edition. My advice pertains to referees, the interview, and the researcher and overall process. Referees are (not) the easiest part Throw together your list of referees, submit it, and forget about it. Wrong. Use your 20 spots strategically. Be thoughtful about who you list. The best client referee doesn't need to be the CEO of the company; pick the person who is familiar with your work and will sing your praises. Similarly, better to list someone who will be more likely to respond to the Chambers researcher than the person with the most senior job title. Ask referees for permission to list them before you do so. You can ask the researcher when he/she plans to contact the referees, and then give your referees a heads up to look out for Chamber...