Lunch Hour Legal Marketing

It's a special bonus episode. Recently, Conrad appeared on the long running program Lawyer 2 Lawyer and he had loads of fun, so we decided to run it for you here. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to Lawyer 2 Lawyer. --------- Many attorneys have received an offer of an award recognizing them as a distinguished lawyer in your city or state. Perhaps the message, coming as an email or a message on Facebook, offers a custom plaque, an inscribed crystal, and/or an appearance in a publication, and all for the low, low price of the membership fees to the awarding organization. Who would ever pass up such a rare opportunity? So are we looking at a pay-to-play here? A scam? What is the application process? And should lawyers beware?! On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Craig Williams is joined by Conrad Saam, founder of Mockingbird Marketing, to talk about the award industry, the constraints for legal marketing, and what lawyers should do if they receive a solicitation promising an award for a price.

In a special Halloween edition, Conrad and Gyi share their top 10 legal marketing horror stories. Are you dragging your practice to an early grave with some of these? Long-term marketing agency contracts? Renting instead of owning your website and domain name? Misunderstanding web traffic data and metrics? Or––dun dun duh––Letting Phone Calls Go Unanswered (even if you think you’ve hired a reputable service)? Scary stuff.  Plus, in the news, trends in legal mergers and acquisitions, the upcoming Clio Cloud Conference, and some frightening survey data about offering clients discounts and devaluing your practice.  Watch this channel next week for a special bonus Lawyer 2 Lawyer episode featuring our very own Conrad Saam. But there’s no need to wait! Click here to find all the great content from Lawyer 2 Lawyer. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Clio.

Conrad and Gyi take on the elephant in the courtroom. Clio’s Legal Trend Report shows us potential clients are interested in both pricing and payment plans, but as lawyers, we’re reluctant to go there. Why?  Explore options on how you can better position yourself. Are you less expensive than the competition? More efficient? A better value? Dig into the marketing opportunities that make you special based, in part, on your pricing model. Hey, the other guy is doing it. If it’s something you’ve never considered, it’s probably time you did.  And in the news (maybe related, just a bit!) we’re seeing a spike in inflation, even if the Fed wants to call it transitory. Look around, everything seems to be going up … except legal fees? Plus, Facebook (and its global apps) go down. In legal tech, what’s up with Smokeball legal matter management? Changes in Google marketing? Let’s talk.  Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Clio. Mentioned in this Episode: Clio Legal Trends Report: https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/ Smokeball: https://www.smokeball.com/ Google changes: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-5-pack-32208.html and  https://whitespark.ca/blog/2021-wlss-day-1/ Facebook ad revenue damage due to down time https://www.snopes.com/news/2021/10/04/facebook-ad-revenue/ Thumbtack: https://www.thumbtack.com/k/affordable-divorce-lawyers/near-me/ Yelp: ​​https://www.yelp.com/nearme/cheap-divorce-lawyers Hello Divorce, https://hellodivorce.com/   Erin Levine podcast: https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lunch-hour-legal-marketing/2021/09/hello-erin-levine-of-hello-divorce/ Pricing Podcast with George Psiharis: https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lunch-hour-legal-marketing/2021/06/pricing-to-get-hired-bridging-the-gap-between-lawyers-clients/

Erin Levine, founder of Hello Divorce, joins Conrad and Gyi to explain how her innovative tech platform streamlines and demystifies the divorce process for clients while allowing lawyers to practice law – not schedule appointments, manage clients, and waste time with administrative tasks.  Entrusting basic drafting, scheduling, and filing work to a robot, though, does have one obvious conclusion––fewer tasks to bill for. But if you’re worried about your bottom line, don’t freak out just yet. Levine says Hello Divorce isn’t built to put you out of business but, by allowing clients to only use lawyers for what they need, to open up a broader pool of paying clients and improve the process as a whole.  Hello Divorce and services like it may be harbingers of the future legal industry, so it’s time for you, dear lawyer, to start thinking about how to adapt your practice and messaging to fit in. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Clio.

We know you’re a lawyer, so what? That’s not enough. What makes you stand out? Gyi and Conrad share tips on making your practice stand out in a country awash in lawyers. Know the difference between simple branding and real positioning.  Also, a BIG change is coming to Google searches. It’s driving SEO specialists nuts. Plus, new findings from Clio show the importance of marketing your tech capabilities in a post-pandemic world. What are prospective clients looking for? Learn more at Clio.com/solo.  And of course, “Dumb Sh*t Lawyers Do” (like, say … not reading their marketing agency contracts).  Need to bone up on your marketing basics? Check out our prior LHLM 101 episode on Pay-Per-Click. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Clio.

Pop quiz: Which LHLM hosts earned early paychecks running a paper route, and which pumped gas? Gyi and Conrad discuss their early forays into working life. Then, Gyi and Conrad then wade into the dispute between the North Carolina Bar Association and Google over Google’s recording of phone calls related to ad leads. In the recurring segment, “Dear State Bar Regulators,” Gyi lists the pros and cons of recording, third-party access, legal ethics, solutions, and the gap between tech advances and bar rules. On the topic of bar rules, Arizona’s decision last year to invite non-lawyer ownership has attracted an application from the behemoth un-law firm Legal Zoom. Conrad explains the model in terms of MBAs running medical practices that hire doctors. He and Gyi discuss how Legal Zoom might operate, ID impacted practices, and how lawyers can compete. Listen for instructions on how to get half off of the ongoing Bedlam Conference. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LawYaw and Clio.

As venture capital investment continues to sweep the legal market (and our news segment), Gyi and Conrad celebrate the $2 million seed round funding for Hello Divorce. Yay! In the segment, “Dumb Sh*t Lawyers Do,” the two discuss the case of a lawyer reprimanded for raking an unhappy client over the coals. They also discuss a Streisand Effect case in which a roofing company sued a couple because of their negative online review. The guys share their tips for responding to unflattering reviews and navigating these perilous waters.  And to wrap things up, the pandemic has undoubtedly knocked back law firms onto their heels. But, how have lawyers who continued their marketing investment fared? Should you batten down the hatches and rely solely on organic traffic? Do you need to start doing Tik Tok dances? The data may surprise you. Gyi and Conrad break it down and look ahead to the uncertain future. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LawYaw and Clio.

Providing remarkable service is a no-brainer when it comes to earning a steady stream of referrals. It’s so basic that Gyi and Conrad aren’t even counting it in their lists of ways to get referrals. So what other methods are you probably overlooking? For one: give referrals. No one said it better than Paul McCartney in a classic SNL interview with Chris Farley, “The more you give, the more you get.” Getting clients in the door through referrals is great, but how do you budget for your marketing efforts? Whether a firm wants to take over Texas or just keep the lights on, Gyi and Conrad discuss why successful firms dedicate a portion (and how much) of their revenue towards marketing efforts. They also compare/contrast marketing effort and marketing infrastructure. Think gas v. engine. Listen to the end, and grab your popcorn, for Gyi and Conrad’s pop culture recommendations. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LexisNexis® InterAction®, LawYaw and Clio.

Professors Gyi and Conrad teach us about the ABCs of CPCs, then appeal to bar leaders to revisit anti-competitive ad rules. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LexisNexis® InterAction®, LawYaw and Clio.

Gyi and Conrad reassure that the sky isn’t falling despite the latest SEO panic and explore pricing controversies with F.O.P. George Psiharis. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LexisNexis® InterAction®, LawYaw and Clio.