Is the Virginia State Bar Just Wasting Lawyers' Time?

You can leave you comments here about the random advertising audits being done by the Virginia State Bar.

Marketing Your Law Firm - What's First?

Most lawyer in small firms have no plan whatsoever. They just go about marketing randomly. That's a huge mistake.

Marketing Your Law Firm - What's First?

Most lawyer in small firms have no plan whatsoever. They just go about marketing randomly. That's a huge mistake.

Connecticut Bar Complaint Against Total Attorneys Goes Down in Flames

In Connecticut, the government wanted to prosecute (as criminals) several attorneys who participated in the Total Attorneys advertising program. That "trial" went down in flames after the government put on its case.

Don't Miss The 2010 Great Legal Marketing Conference!

The 2010 Great Legal Marketing SuperConference is just around the corner! Mark your calendar for June 11 and 12, if you are ready to learn how to build a law practice that not only survives the economy, but actually thrives.

Virginia Lawyer Advertising Rules Could be Changing

Proposed changes to lawyer advertising and solicitation in Virginia have recently been made. These amendments will be an extensive revision of Virginia’s advertising rules. Read this blog to learn more.

Restrictions on New York Attorney Advertising Rejected by Circuit

Most of the new rules regarding lawyer advertising in New York have been rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Judge rejects Hospital Challenge to Prevent Attorney from Blogging About Case

Virginia judge says attorney can blog about whatever he wants. Hospital had filed motion for attorney to remove blog and withdraw from case.

It's Official - JumpStart 2010 is Sold Out!

I'm excited to share some big news with you today. With a final surge in registrations just after the holidays, JumpStart 2010 is now sold out. This marks the fifth consecutive GLM conference event to sell out (and the earliest).

Solo and Small Firm Lawyers...its not ALL about Tiger Woods

While the rest of the world is being misdirected as to where to spend their time...the smart lawyers are getting their marketing stuff together and planning a trip to Northern Virginia. (It won't be about Tiger--but check out why here.)

Michigan State Bar idea of "Good Lawyer Advertising"

It's no wonder lawyers  all over struggle with advertising and marketing their practice. Here's an article from a law school professor, published in the Michigan State Bar Journal, telling lawyers that "telling the facts" is a great way to differentiate yourself.

You gotta read the article to see the examples...you'll laugh or cry!

Michigan State Bar article shows lawyers how to advertise effectively.

Ben Glass Highly Critical of South Carolina Bar Ethics Monitors

There's a very interesting new case out of the South Carolina Supreme Court about lawyer advertising that should really upset South Carolina lawyers (even though the end of the story is good) because of all the money wasted in a really stupid effor to shut down a TV ad.

Legal Marketing Expert Ben Glass Featured in Newsweek Magazine

Attorney Marketing Guru Ben Glass was Featured in Newseek Magazine in November, 2009.

Ben Glass Great Legal Marketing Newsletter Service Launched

Besides my website, the marketing technique that I most heavily rely on is my client newsletter.

The E-Myth Attorney, Michael Gerber Book due out in 2010

We've just heard that estate planning marketing guru Robert Armstrong has teamed up with Michael Gerber (of E-Myth fame) to pen a new book for lawyers.

More information about The E-Myth Attorney is here and we'll keep you updated as we hear more.

Connecticut Grievance Committee Says "Felony" to Those Who Participate in Total Bankrupcty Program

Here is the the to the rather amazing complaint filed against lawyers who participate in the Total Bankruptcy program.

Virginia recently withdrew a proposed opinion regarding Total Bankruptcy while Connecticut seems to want to charge these lawyers for engaging in felonious conduct.

Here is the Complaint regarding Total Bankruptcy.

The Connecticut Complaint--Total Bankruptcy--Legal Ethics Enforcement Gone Wild

I've now had a chance to review to review the Connecticut attorney grievance committee's complaint agains the attorneys who participate in the Total Bankrupcty advertising system.

First let me say that I'm no great fan of these Internet mass advertising sites. I think attorneys can do better on their own with a little educational marketing. That being said, I understand that some attorney would rather pay another to help with marketing than to develop educational information/websites, etc. themselves. Also, note that I have no dog in this fight. I don't do bankruptcy cases and don't know anyone who is a participating member of Total Bankruptcy. I don't know Kevin Chern and have never spoken to him.

I did file a comment with the Virginia State Bar that opposed a recent proposed legal ethics opinion that was itself "opposed" to Total Bankruptcy. At the time, however, I was  unaware of who the target company was.

That being said, this Connecticut complaint seems rife with unwarranted conclusory allegations all designed to label Total Bankrupcty.

The entire complaint is premised on the shaky foundation that Total Bankrupcty is a for profit (and thus illegal) lawyer referal system. My view is that no rational consumer (the ultimate judge) would look at the Total Bankruptcy site and come to the conclusion, as the chief ethics counsel for Connecticut does, that Total Bankrupcty present potential clients with bankrupcty information "in such a wasy that suggests it is an indepedent agency recomending an attorney's services."

It simply does not. Go and look at the site yourself. No rational, objective consumer, would think that the site is an independelnt agency.

Its an ad for legal services. Simple. Nothing more, nothing less.

At page 6 of the complaint, it gets really bizarre. It complains that the site "capitalizes on the financially insecure consumer's fear of debt, poor credit rating, shame and crditor harassment."

So what? That's marketing 101.

The Complaint agrees that the site contains a ton of useful information including information about whether bankruptcy is the right choice for you, a government "means" test and advice on life after bankruptcy.

That's marketing 101.

The Complaint then alleges that the site purports to be evaluating a potential clients needs because it has check off boxes asking questions like "how much debt do you have and where is the debt coming from."

The complaint  says that these check off boxes "imply that Total Bankruptcy is considering these factors in determining which local attorney is right for the client."

No it doesn't.

Lawyer advertising ethics rules purportedly exist to protect consumers. There are almost no consumer complaints filed about lawyer advertising. Complaints come, by and large, from competitors.

At "worst" Total Bankrupcty could beef up its disclaimers and make it known that lawyers are buying an "area exclusive" marketing opportunity.

There.

Problem solved.

Instead, the Connecticut Bar wants to charge 5 lawyers with felonies.

Which path will protect consumers?

Better disclaimer or jail?

Market for young attorneys continues to be quite difficult

Virginia Lawyers Weekly has an article in this weeks edition about the use of "contract attorneys" by large law firms. These are, by and large, highly qualified young attorneys for scanning and coding documents per $25 an hour. They spend hours and hours a day reviewing thousands of documents.

I wonder if the law firms feel any guilt whatsoever about completely ignoring the business side of the practice of law

? In failing to teach lawyers how to start and grow a business? How to market?

Using a Blog as Your Firm’s Spokesperson

Read this article to learn how Fortune 100 companies are using their blogs to attract publicity.

What was that Niche Market Spam Email?

Recently, our blog post on Niche Marketers Spam received some attention. Folks were asking questions about it through our live chat box. Some were suggesting that its "OK to send blanket emails to a known class of a class action."

Well, here was the email that was sent, bulk and unsolicited.

And I ask, which class action would this be?

What is a Ben Glass Legal Marketing Seminar Like?

When you come to a Great Legal Marketing Conference one of the things we do is show you at least a hundred examples of what I call the "good, the bad and the ugly" with lawyer marketing. I'm not making judgments here about whether it's a good thing or a bad thing to use the sound of a bird in your ads. (That's for the state bar ethical theorists to pontificate about.) What I teach is the most effective use of your next dollar and you next hour in terms of the marketing side of running a law business. How much sense does it make to keep handing over your hard earned and well-deserved dollars to the marketing reps selling you the crap that I see on TV, in the Yellow Pages and on the Internet, without ever knowing whether you are getting the best return for your money? I can show you how to improve it, track it, measure it and most important, grow your profit from your advertising.

AVVO allowing anonymous, defamatory statements

Twice this week I've been contacted by attorneys who have had nutballs post anonymous, defamatory statements, on the "attorney rating" page.

Attorneys find it very difficult to respond to this sort of garbage without violating the attorney client privilege.

One attorney even claims that one person is creating numerous fictitious accounts in order to  post numberous defamatory statements on the AVVO site.

What is AVVO's response to this?

WebWeavers Event Hosted By VA Women's Attorneys Association

I'll be speaking this Friday, September 25, at the Virginia Women Attorneys Association's Fall 2009 two-day Webweavers event. The VWAA has put together  a group of ten speakers versed in various aspects of online marketing and developing a unique web presence.

My presentation will be titled "Marketing In Good Times and Bad" and, you guessed it, I'll be talking about how to continue to defy the recession and how to make yourself immune to the woes of the economy. I'm not sure if you can still register but it's worth a shot. Check out the VWAA Webweavers Brochure and Registration Form for more information. It's located at the Lansdowne Resort out in Leesburg and they even have a golf tournament set up so come enjoy the resort and learn how to improve your practice!

Most bar ethics rules presume that consumers are idiots

Most other small business owners laugh when I show them how ridiculous most lawyer advertising ethics rules are. Imagine not being able to give out 2 business cards to someone (North Caolina) or having to seek pre-approval of every newsletter you send (Kentucky).

Now the chair of the  American Bar Association's Section of Law Practice Management says he agrees.

Here is an interesting editorial on lawyer advertising ethics