Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it.
It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” Peter Drucker
At the recent annual meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel, general counsel from companies of all sizes discussed how they are selecting, evaluating and managing outside counsel. A recent article discussing the highlights was posted last week in The National Law Journal. The article focused on a few key areas, with the first being “flex time.” Once major retailer is looking for law firms that offer firm employees flex time. Now why would a retailer care if the law firms they retain offer flex time? What do they get out of that? I doubt it’s really because they want to make the world a better place for working moms.
Continue reading What Do General Counsel Want?
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“It is only at the first encounter that a face makes its full impression on us.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Not long ago just having a website was enough for a lawyer to demonstrate being current with the times. At least it seems not long ago to me. Then again, nearly half of my career was before there was wide spread Internet use. Exactly when the “Internet” was created depends on how you define it. Some historians trace it back to the Soviet Union and the United States military in the 1950’s. But the Internet as we know it today was not a common household term until the mid-to-late 1990’s. Remember the “information highway” commercials? I remember watching them and wondering what the heck they were talking about. How things change.
Today most lawyers have some web presence. But is “presence” enough?
Continue reading Website Designer’s Oath: “First Do No Harm”
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” Marilyn vos Savant
In some of my earlier postings I discuss breaking client development into separate tasks and having participating attorneys only do those tasks they are most suited for. The idea is to capitalize on the individual’s natural talents and strengths in combination with others to contribute to a well rounded marketing program. While it makes sense, it’s not much help for the solo practitioner. So what can a soloist do to develop business on his own, with no one to share in the heavy lifting?
The ideal law firm marketing plan has several components. There will usually be some networking and expert positioning involved. A well designed, active website with good search engine optimization is also helpful, among other things.
Continue reading If You’re Pavarotti, Just Sing: Effective Business Development in a Solo Practice
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.” Confucius
You know the drill. If you want a bigger and more stable client base, you need to network. That means getting out there, talking to people, building relationships. But what if you need clients NOW? What if you don’t have the time to spend socializing without guaranteed results? What if you go around visiting and visiting and visiting and never getting any business out of it? Can you really afford to spend time at functions you have no desire to be at if there is no guarantee that you will meet someone that will bring business in the door? Thoughts like these are exactly the sort of thing that discourages many attorneys from embracing the networking road to business development. I understand. I’ve been
Continue reading How to Get Noticed in a Crowd and Look Good at the Same Time
Samira Mery Lineberger, Esq.
“Success demands singleness of purpose” Vincent Lombardi
Ever have one of those days when you start one thing, only to be distracted by something else? You start working on the something else and then get distracted again. Before you know it, hours have gone by and you realize you’ve been busy all day, but haven’t accomplished a thing.
Like those days when you can’t get anything done because you can’t stay focused, marketing efforts without focus can be totally unproductive and no more effective in generating a return than gambling. If you do not develop a clear and focused plan to generate business, you might as well just donate your money to a local charity. At least a donation is something you could feel good about.
One of my favorite
Continue reading The Secret of Life is “One Thing”
