What you'll learn in this episode:

• Benefits of going virtual and why this model is on the rise.
• Challenges of managing a virtual firm and what mistakes to avoid.
• How having a virtual office can be leveraged as a marketing tool to prospective clients.

About Marcia Watson Wasserman:

Marcia Watson Wasserman, founder and president of Comprehensive Management Solutions, Inc., is a seasoned legal management professional with more than 25 years of experience. She provides C.O.O. to Go™ services to boutique and mid-sized law firms. Her expertise includes operational management reviews, management development and training, succession planning, strategic planning, retreat facilitation, and financial management. Prior to consulting, Marcia served as chief operating officer and executive director of several Los Angeles-based and national law firms, including an Am Law 200 firm.

Marcia leads monthly Managing Partners' Roundtables for more than 50 law firms focused on elevating the legal management discussion and sharing best practices. She serves as an associate editor for the American Bar Association's Law Practice magazine and is a member of the Publishing Board of the ABA's Law Practice Division. She frequently presents on law practice management topics at local, regional and national conferences, and her writings can be found in leading legal publications. She is the co-author of "Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion for Your Firm and Employees" (ABA 2017). Marcia's efforts have garnered the recognition of her peers, as she is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management.

Additional Resources:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• "Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion for Your Firm and Employees"

Transcript

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How Ackert Inc.'s various platforms help lawyers, law firms and legal marketing departments systematize and track marketing and business development efforts.
• How to overcome resistance from lawyers and staff when integrating technology.
• Examples of how Ackert Inc.'s technology and consulting has moved firms forward.
• Trends in marketing and business development technology.

About David Ackert:

David Ackert, M.A., is the President of Ackert Inc. and business development mentor to thousands of high-achieving professionals in the legal, corporate, finance and accounting sectors. Over the past two decades, David has developed and implemented revenue acceleration programs for hundreds of firms around the globe.

Widely recognized as a pioneer in business development innovation, David is the founder of several technology platforms, including Practice Boomers (a business development e-learning program), Practice Pipeline (a leading sales pipeline management system), Practice Viewer (a business intelligence platform) and Practice Driver (a business plan management system).

Additional resources:

• Ackert Inc. Website
• The Ackert Advisory Website
• Ackert Blog
• David's LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Ackert Inc. LinkedIn

Transcript

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How SeltzerFontaine goes beyond attorney placement to consult on business strategy such as career development and billing rates.
• How law firms of all sizes are incorporating diversity and inclusion in their hiring practices.
• Why mental health diagnoses are becoming a growing part of the diversity conversation.
• What steps smaller firms can take to become more competitive in the diversity and inclusion arenas.
• How metrics are showing that firms should look beyond a candidate's law school and grades when making a hire.

About Valerie Fontaine:

Valerie Fontaine is a founding partner of SeltzerFontaine, a legal search firm based in Los Angeles. She places attorneys with law firms, corporate law departments, governmental entities and nonprofits as well as consults on career and practice development and law firm office management and expansion. Prior to SeltzerFontaine, Valerie practiced law with a prominent Los Angeles firm and entered the legal search profession in 1981.

Valerie is a frequent speaker on topics related to attorney job search, partner recruitment and placement and career development, and has published numerous articles in the national legal press. She is the author of "The Right Moves: Job Search and Career Development Strategies for Lawyers," now is in its second edition.

Valerie is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and serves on its Ethics Committee. For many years, Valerie served on the Board of Governors and the Advisory Council of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA). She was UC Hastings' 2002 Alumnus of the Year, past president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the UC Hastings Alumni Association, honored as the 1998 L.A. Alumnus of the Year, the first woman president of the UC Hastings Foundation and was a longtime member of its Board of Trustees. UC Hastings' Clara Foltz Feminist Association honored Valerie with its Role Model Award.

Additional resources:

• Website
• Valerie's Website Bio
• Valerie's LinkedIn
• Twitter

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How investment banking approaches business development differently compared to the legal industry.
• What brand alignment is and how it is distinct from "branding" as a whole.
• How to conduct a total refresh of a company's assets to create a cohesive, unified brand experience.
• How the backing of an executive committee and consistent communication with staff can overcome resistance to marketing efforts.

About Kira Sandmann:

Kira Sandmann is the Vice President of Marketing at Cleveland, Ohio-based Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), an investment banking and financial advisory firm serving the global middle market. She has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and business development across law, non-profit and financial organizations.

Kira provides BGL with strategic direction on all facets of the firm's marketing and business development, including branding, practice growth and digital marketing. She works with the firm's professionals to identify what makes them unique and how to communicate that value with personality so that it resonates with the right audiences, ultimately converting those relationships into revenue.

A longtime member of the Legal Marketing Association, Kira is the immediate past chair and current secretary of LMA's Ohio Local Steering Committee.

Additional resources:

• Website
• Kira's LinkedIn
• Kira's Twitter
• Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LinkedIn

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How hiring a business development representative can benefit your firm.
• How to address pushback from your lawyers.
• Key traits to look for in a legal sales professional during the hiring process.
• Advice for smaller firms looking to hire sales professionals.

About Keith Donovan

Keith Donovan is the Managing Partner and Chair of the Executive Committee at Morris James, a law firm based in Delaware. As Managing Partner, he develops sound business strategies and policies for the firm, oversees firm operations with a strict focus on ensuring superior client service and leads firm operations.

With more than 25 years of experience litigating personal injury cases, Keith represents insurance companies, insureds, individuals injured due to the negligence of others and plaintiffs in injury and insurance-related matters.

Keith frequently speaks on personal injury insurance issues and on trial techniques and strategies. He is often selected by his peers to serve as an arbitrator or mediator.

Additional resources:

• Website
• Morris James LLP LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Keith's Bio
• Keith's LinkedIn

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How today's legal environment is creating unexpected challenges for succession planning.
• Why it takes a minimum of five years to adequately plan for succession at a small firm.
• What steps to take to prepare for succession transitioning.
• What role legal marketing, business development and recruiting professionals play in the process.
• What obstacles many firms face when trying to prepare for leadership succession.

About David Roberts

Dave Roberts is a CPA and partner in charge of the Law Firm Services Group at Armanino LLP, one of the top 25 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the United States. He has more than 30 years of experience working with law firms of all sizes. He and his group have consulted with more than 1,200 law firms regarding strategic planning, partner compensation arrangements, succession planning, partner withdrawal and retirement, organizational reviews, profitability improvement, partner retreats, dissolutions, and mergers and acquisitions. Dave has authored numerous articles for the American Bar Association Journal and California Lawyer, and he co-authored "Financing the Start Up Law Firm," published by the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management section.

Additional resources:

• Website
• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The best way for legal marketers and business development professionals to develop frontline sales skills.
• How the sales process is different from a business development initiative.
• How small firms can make use of data and metrics in their marketing and business development.
• Why specializing within a particular industry creates opportunities for firms.

About Clare Block

Clare Block is the Director of Business Development at Fox Rothschild LLP based in the Philadelphia office. She has been working in legal marketing and business development for the past 29 years, and draws on a wide range of skills to coach attorneys on how to build their client relationships. Clare oversees the development of individual business plans, client targeting, media planning and events.

Clare is the 2020 Director of Member Engagement for the Legal Marketing Association Northeast Regional Board.

Additional resources:

• Fox Rothschild Website
• Fox Rothschild Twitter
• Fox Rothschild LinkedIn
• Fox Rothschild Facebook
• Clare's LinkedIn

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The power and networking potential of LinkedIn.
• Why senior lawyers are often reluctant to properly use LinkedIn.
• The first five action steps lawyers should start with to revitalize their LinkedIn profile.
• How law firm marketers and business development professionals can persuade lawyers to use LinkedIn.

About Brynne Tillman

Brynne Tillman is the LinkedIn Whisperer and CEO of Social Sales Link. For more than a decade, she has been teaching entrepreneurs, sales teams and business leaders how to leverage LinkedIn for social selling.

As a former sales trainer and personal producer, Brynne adopted all of the traditional sales techniques and adapted them to the new digital world. She guides professionals to establish a thought leader and subject matter expert brand, find and engage the right targeted market and leverage clients and networking partners for warm introductions into qualified buyers.

Brynne is the author of "The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: A Tactical Guide to Social Selling."

Additional resources:

• Website
• Speaker Special – 2 Private Sessions for the Price of One
• Brynne Tillman's LinkedIn Profile
• The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: A Tactical Guide to Social Selling Book
• Twitter

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How Buying Legal Council serves its members and legal marketing professionals in the area of legal procurement through advocacy, education and networking.
• The three key takeaways from Buying Legal Council's conference on data-driven decision making.
• Why the involvement of procurement officers in the process of obtaining legal services is here to stay and will only increase in the future.
• Why diversity & inclusion and pricing have become particularly important to companies when selecting legal services.
• Examples of innovative strategies businesses have implemented in their procurement processes.

About Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein

Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein is the executive director of Buying Legal Council, the international trade organization for legal procurement, and an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and Fordham Law School in New York.

An expert on the purchasing behavior of clients when buying legal services, Silvia is an editor and author of several books, articles and Harvard Business School case studies on the topics of legal procurement initiatives and law firm management. She holds a Legal Lean Sigma & Project Management White Belt certification and is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management.

Silvia earned her PhD at Nottingham Law School (UK) and holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Universität Bayreuth (Germany) and Warwick Business School (UK) as well as an Undergraduate Degree in Economics from Universität Bayreuth (Germany).

Additional resources:

• Buying Legal Council Website
• Legal Procurement & Legal Operations Handout
• Harvard Business School Case Studies:
  • GlaxoSmithKline: Sourcing Complex Professional Services
  • Riverview Law: Applying Business Sense to the Legal Market
• Law Review Articles:
  • "I Didn't Go to Law School to Become a Salesperson—The Development of Marketing in Law Firms"
  • "What We Know and Need to Know About Legal Procurement"
• Legal Procurement Handbook
• Winning Proposals: The Essential Guide for Law Firms and Legal Services Providers
• Twitter
• Buying Legal Council LinkedIn
• Silvia's LinkedIn

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How Gabe's career path differs from that of most law professors, and how he came to focus on legal innovation and technology
• How Gabe's time working for the U.S. Government in the Secret Service influenced his decision to go to law school
• Why Gabe left working at his law firm and moved to academia, and why he is passionate about his role as a professor
• How Gabe inspires passion for technology in his students, and how legal innovation offers an opportunity to be creative seldom found in law school
• What kinds of legal technology and innovation courses are available at Suffolk University Law School
• How Gabe's students often find a new career path by integrating legal innovation into their careers
• How teaching students to think creatively and find innovative solutions to legal problems is the cornerstone of Gabe's work
• Why legal writing is an important component in law students' education and teaches them to approach problems and communicate results
• How Suffolk Law offers an Online Legal Innovation and Technology Certificate to help practicing law professionals get up to speed
• What free educational tools are available to help legal professionals better understand the technologies and systems available to them

Gabriel Teninbaum is a professor and legal technologist at Suffolk University Law School. He serves as Director of the Institute on Legal Innovation & Technology (LIT), the LIT Concentration (akin to an undergraduate major), and the LIT Certificate (an online program for legal professionals).

During his time at Suffolk Law, he has taught more than 10 different courses (including classes held in Hungary, Sweden, and at MIT) and published more than 30 law review pieces and other articles. In addition to his work at Suffolk Law, Prof. Teninbaum has also – simultaneously – held appointments as a Faculty Associate at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, as a Visiting Professor at the MIT Media Lab, and as a Visiting Fellow at the Yale Law School Information Society Project.

He is the founder of an educational technology startup, SpacedRepetition.com, which was named one of the Top 20 Legal IT Innovations in the world by ALM/Legal Week Intelligence; is a former trial attorney at Sugarman in Boston; and, before law school, protected dozens of dignitaries including two sitting U.S. presidents while serving as an Operations Support Technician in the U.S. Secret Service.

He has been named to the FastCase 50, which honors the law's smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders; and called perhaps the most tech-savvy law professor in the country by the ABA Journal, which named him to the Web100 (the top 100 legal professionals to follow on social media).

Additional resources:

• Website
• Twitter
• Website