Effective Ethical Lawyer Marketing for Personal Injury Attorneys from Attorney Ben Glass

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Ethics

Is the VSB Wasting Your Time With its "Routine Lawyer Advertising Ethics"
Ben Glass teaches a roomful of attorneys about the ethics of attorney marketing at a Great Legal Marketing conference in Fairfax, VA 22030.
Second Circuit Decision in Alexander v Cahill, New York Advertising Rules
South Carolina Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel Wastes Time, Resources
Opinion from South Carolina Supreme Court on Lawyer Advertising dismisses a complaint
total Bankruptcy Connecticut Grievance Committe
Virginia State Bar Withdraws Ethics Opinion on Third Party Websites
In this hypothetical, an attorney wishes to become a member of a lead-sharing organization, which can be either a for-profit or not-for-profit association, in which members pay a $500 membership fee, and meet once a week. The membership fee is not distributed, in whole or in part, back to any member, but rather pays administrative costs of the organization
Google Adwords Lawsuit
Is LexisNexis Just Trying to Be Like Great Legal Marketing?

Legal Marketing Coaching and Mastermind Groups

Great Legal Marketing, From Idea to Business

Militant Time Managment for Lawyers

Print Ads Run By Great Legal Marketing

DC Trial Lawyers Marketing

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General

1/7/2010
Ben Glass
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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).

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing

12/10/2009
Ben Glass
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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.

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing

12/4/2009
Ben Glass
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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.

Labels: advertising for attorneys ethics in lawyer advertising

12/1/2009
Ben Glass
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Ben Glass Great Legal Marketing Newsletter Service Launched

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

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing law newsletter for clients

10/21/2009
Ben Glass
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Using a Blog as Your Firm’s Spokesperson

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

Labels: advertising for attorneys blogging for lawyers

10/17/2009
Ben Glass
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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.

Labels: advertising for attorneys Ben Glass Lawyer Marketing Great Legal Marketing Super Conference

9/26/2009
Ben Glass
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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?

Labels: advertising for attorneys AVVO

9/21/2009
Ben Glass
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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

Labels: advertising for attorneys ethics in lawyer advertising

8/29/2009
Ben Glass
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Your Great Legal Marketing Ideas are Great (and its not all about advertising!)

Ben,

I am writing to thank you for some of the great ideas you have shared in your Great Legal Marketing materials.

I needed to find another associate after one of my existing lawyers had an "entrepreneurial seizure" and decided to form his own form. I created a long advertisement based on the letters in your GLM marketing materials. I was astounded on the number of people who applied who had exactly what I was looking for! In the past, I did generic ads, and got both a fairly low response rate and an even lower number of respondents who were the right fit for the position. This experience alone is worth what I have paid to GLM thus far.

I am hoping to have similar success stories to report in the future on my marketing efforts. I published my first book, The Insider's Guide to Texas Car Accident Cases, and have started running television commercials pushing the book. I hired Foster to redo my website. And I just sent out my first newsletter to 1,600 current and former clients.

Thanks for everything.

Sincerely,

Michael Cowen

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing Ben Glass Lawyer Marketing

8/29/2009
Ben Glass
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"Hidden Video" from attorney marketing expert who drives the marketing vultures crazy

Here's a "sneak video" from today's shooting of the TV show in Hollywood. There will be more later but it may take some time to put it all together. ...

Labels: advertising for attorneys Ben Glass Lawyer Marketing

8/13/2009
Ben Glass
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A Major Misconception About Attorney Marketing (and why you are missing it)

Let me ask you this question:

Once a prospect makes contact with you, how long do you think it takes them to make a decision about who to hire as their attorney?

Most lawyers think that the hiring decision is made quickly and if they don't respond right now, they won't get the case.

From our own data and from the conversations we are having with Great Legal Marketing members, this is not true.

The best personal injury cases are signing fee agreements anywhere from 31 to 365 days after starting down our marketing system.

This means that if you are not marketing to them with a consistent, automotic, useful and interesting follow up marketing campaign, you are missing a huge opportunity.

So let me ask you: what does your marketing to a prospective client look like after day 31?

Those of us who have a well thought, ethical and effective marketing campaign are marketing to these prospects in a vacuum. You are quitting way too early.

Labels: advertising for attorneys

7/17/2009
Ben Glass
Comments (1)

Lawyers.com no longer publishing A.V. rating

I received the email below advising that neither Lawyers.com nor Martindale.com would be "publishing" my "A.V" rating next to my "listing" unless I paid them $50.00.

Oh wow.

Like consumers really go to Lawyers.com or Martindale, rather than Google, to look for a lawyer. Thousands of potential clients come through the BenGlassLaw.com website a year. I talk to a ton of them. Not a one of them has reported to me that they even know what lawyers.com or martindale.com is, let alone recognize it as a primary source of useful information about finding a lawyer. No, looking at ads that all look pretty much the same is not the way consumers hunt for a lawyer and smart lawyers know this.

Anyway, here's the email I got:

Dear Benjamin W. Glass,

Martindale-Hubbell works with American Registry to help AV Rated attorneys such as yourself maximize the opportunity for leveraging your Peer Review Rating.

As one of a select few attorneys to have achieved the highest possible rating of AV, we want you to be aware that your rating is currently NOT being displayed on Lawyers.com or Martindale.com.

To restore the display of your rating normally costs $59. Now through July 24, you can both save 15%, and pay by invoice on net 30 terms. Here's how:

Simply reply to this email with the subject line "Yes, Please Invoice Me for my AV Rating Display" and we will take it from there.

You will be invoiced for $50.15 and your AV Rating will once again appear beside your listing on both Lawyers.com and Martindale.com.

If you have any questions or concerns about this fee or being invoiced, please contact me, Pat Barnes, by replying to this email, or by phone at 800-892-6998 x2.

Sincerely,

Pat Barnes
Account Manager, American Registry.
By the way, here's the listing they do have for me:

Benjamin W. Glass, III
3915 Old Lee Highway, Suite 22-B
Fairfax, Virginia
(Ind. City; Seat of Fairfax Co.)

Benjamin W. Glass, III practices in the following areas of law: Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury; Wrongful Death; Insurance Coverage; ERISA Litigation; Disability Insurance
Admitted: 1983, Virginia; 1984, District of Columbia; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia; 1997, U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia
Law School: George Mason University School of Law, J.D.
College: College of William & Mary, B.A.

Do they really think that adding "A.V" to that is going to make a potential client call a lawyer?

Labels: advertising for attorneys lawyers.com martindale.com

7/17/2009
Ben Glass
Comments (1)

Great Lawyers.com website

After my last post about Laywers.com "pulling" my A.V. rating I thought I'd go look and see what kinds of websites they are producing these days.

I did a simple search for personal injury lawyers in Fairfax.

Here's what I found -- this was near the top so I expect the firm was paying extra to be there. I deleted the firm name because the website is so bad its embarrassing. (By they way, Lawyers.com was running a banner ad for a Danville, Virginia law firm on the right hand side. So someone IS paying for that. So, for a "Fairfax, Virginia personal injury" search they run (and presumably charge for) and ad for a firm more than five hours away!!

In fact its hard to believe that anyone is actually paying for this.

OVER 40 YEARS OF COMBINED EXPERIENCE IN PERSONAL INJURY AND PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE

Thank you for your interest in the law office of XXX and XXX, PLLC and welcome to our web site. Our goal is to provide the highest quality legal services, to aggressively represent our clients' interests, and to secure results in a timely fashion. Please visit our firm profile and attorney pages, where you will learn about our practice focus and credentials. We welcome the opportunity to talk with you and to discuss how we may be of service.

Labels: advertising for attorneys

7/5/2009
Ben Glass
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Lawyers Should Check out artist Annette Polan

Lawyers often feel a twinge in their stomach when I talk about "marketing over mastery," the concept that being the very best lawyer in town if often no marketing advantage at all.

Learn to be the best marketer (or at least vastly improve your marketing skills) and watch you revenues, happiness and "hero factor" with your family improve.

Think you can't do it? Take a look at this artist who is bucking the norm and ask yourself, "how could I use what she is doing in my business?"

Labels: advertising for attorneys entrepreneurship marketing over mastery

5/14/2009
Ben Glass
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Attorney Web Marketing Report Now Available

America's top web marketing guru, Tom Foster, has just published a report on the biggest errors that lawyers make with their web marketing.

Click here to get The Attorney Web Marketing Report.

Labels: advertising for attorneys internet marketing for lawyers

5/13/2009
Ben Glass
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Update on Great Legal Marketing Super Conference

Here's the very latest information on what you can expect when you attend the 2009 Great Legal Marketing Super Conference.

Remember, there is a reason that wealth is unevenly distributed in America and its got nothing to do with upbringing, race, religion or politics.

You have a choice to make about whether your life and your law practice is everything you want it to be.

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing

5/4/2009
Ben Glass
Comments (1)

Attorney Rachel Kugel Marketing Teleseminar for Lawyers

Rachel Kugel has announced that she is holding a free teleseminar...

"How to Close More Prospects, Increase Fees, and Go into the Office Less"

You'll discover everything I did to increase the number of prospects I turn into clients to 90%, double my fees, and accomplish all of it even though I now hardly ever meet a prospect in the office!

On the call you'll learn:

-The system I use to ensure I don't waste hours of my time in long free consultations just to find out that the prospect is a tire kicker.

-How I went from right out of law school to thriving practice in a matter of months. Once I figured out these strategies, my practice doubled quickly!

-What to do to end the dog and pony show of "selling" prospects on your experience and services. With my 1-2-3 step strategy prospects will be pre-sold and begging to retain you by the time you speak with them.

-How to double your profits with less time spent in the office, even without a lot of staff or huge office changes.

-How to identify the four "practice killers" and make sure they are not lurking in your practice.

Want to be part of this free teleseminar? Go here to register, the call is free:

www.dreampracticesecrets.com/teleseminar.html

To your success,

Rachel Kugel

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing marketing seminar

4/14/2009
Ben Glass
Comments (0)

Danger Will Robinson: StarPosition.com

More unsolicited email from yet another web company.

You have to ask....how good can they really be when they send me (a personal injury lawyer in Virginia) an email directed to divorce lawyers in Austin?

But hey, you be the judge!!!

(I espcially like the part about the "other" 13 search engines!!!!!)

Here it is:

Subject: Divorce Lawyers--Please read

Hello,

I represent a company called Star Position, a company that does what's known as advanced search engine placement. We reach a Network of over 35 million people who are predominantly US based. Our Network is entirely opt-in, and the users on our Network allow us to present them with a preferred choice whenever they are looking for anything on the top sixteen search engines. (GOOGLE, YAHOO, MSN and thirteen others.)

I seek one source to send the users on our Network, from the major search engines, for divorce lawyers in Austin and surrounding markets.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience. I am in the office daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pacific time.

Best regards,

Kathleen Daigle
Sales Manager, Star Position
Phone: 800.481.2979, ext 2003

Labels: advertising for attorneys

4/13/2009
Ben Glass
Comments (1)

Danger Will Robinson: TopRankingLinks.com

My advice regarding buying one way links back from 'high PR' sites.

Stay away.

Here's an email that I, a personal injury attorney got from TopRankingLinks.com

Two quick thoughts:

Why does anyone need to spam these days (I did not solicit the marketing piece--that is spam.)

How good could these guys be when they aren't even the slightest bit careful in the beginning?

Bottom line--deal with legitimate we developers. Its easy to find them. Just look at the top ranked sites in your market area for your specialty. Its a decent bet the firms behind the site are good at what they do.

Hello, my name is Steve Wilson and I am an internet marketing specialist.
I was looking at websites under the keyword bankruptcy attorney fairfax
and came across your site vamedmal.com. I see
that you're ranked #8 on page 17 in google.

I am not sure if you are aware of why you are ranked this low but more
importantly how easily correctable this is.

There is no reason you cannot have a top three ranking for any keyword
which is important to you based on your site structure and content.
You have a very nice site.

You need significantly more one way anchor text backlinks. If you are
interested I can help you with this...

I am talking about getting you ranked for ALL your keywords. Adding new
backlinks on a steady and consistent basis from high PR quality websites
is what produces the rankings you are looking for vamedmal.com.

The right kind of links are very critical in getting top ranking....and I can
hand deliver these quality links to you.

My partners and I own 1000's of websites and offer private linking to hundreds
of website owners just like yourself.

I did not send this email out to very many people but I am currently
reaching out to a list of your 'keyword competitors' as well. But I do
favor your website because I can see your website monetizing the targeted
website traffic this can deliver.

I have your contact info as: phone #703.591.9829. Is it ok if I give you a
call?

If so, just hit reply and give me the green light to call you for free consultation.

I have a very simple way to prove that what I do works and it is risk free
for you to try. Nothing beats seeing the results with your own eyes.

Is it ok if I give you a call? I would love to pursue this further over the
phone with you or should I go somewhere else?

Sincerely,

Steve Wilson
Senior Executive
TopRankingLinks.com

P.S - I am talking about keywords that produce the right kind of traffic...
Traffic that delivers leads, sales and profits. Because getting a ranking
that does not generate leads and sales is worthless.

Is it Ok to give you a call? If so, just hit reply and tell me specifically
who to ask for when I call and what time of day is best to reach that person.

Labels: advertising for attorneys internet marketing for lawyers

4/11/2009
Ben Glass
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Trust and Estate Planning Attorney talks about Great Legal Marketing

One of the questions we get is: I'm a [name a legal specialty], will Ben Glass's Great Legal Marketing system work for me.

The answer is that we have members across all consumer specialties. Here, nationally recognized trust and estate planning attorney Dave Frees tells why he comes to the Great Legal Marketing Conferences.

Labels: advertising for attorneys Dave Frees Trust and Estate Planning Marketing

3/17/2009
Ben Glass
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Visiting Disney With America's Premier Experts

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing

3/9/2009
Ben Glass
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Why Some Firms Will Thrive, Others Fail, in a Recession

Almost every day there's another headline of massive lay offs at giant law firms. This puts added pressure on the solo and small firm as attorneys flee the major firms to start up their own practices.

There will be firms that thrive in this economy and no, its not just about their practice areas. Its about how they live their lives.

Read Why Some Law Firms Will Thrive in This Recession

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing Ben Glass Lawyer Marketing

3/9/2009
Ben Glass
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Getting Calls from AskMyLawyerNow.com???

It has come to my attention that a "Becky Patrick" from "AskMyLawyerNow.com" is calling our members to pitch something. She refers to the "Ben Glass system" and says her system would be a "perfect fit."

Just letting you know that I don't have any relationship with her, do not know what she is pitching...so do your own due diligence but don't be mislead that I have somehow endorsed them.

This morning their askmylawyer.com website appeared to be down, so I couldn't even see what they were offering.

Ben

Labels: advertising for attorneys askmylawyernow.com

3/6/2009
Ben Glass
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Ben Glass Named to America's Premier Experts

Fairfax, VIrginia Personal Injury Attorney Ben Glass named to America's Premier Experts.

“We are proud to honor Ben Glass as one of America’s PremierExperts™. He does a remarkable
job of coaching and mentoring attorneys on advertising and marketing that is both effective and
ethical. We know he will be a great addition to America’s PremierExperts™ Class of 2009,”
Nick Nanton, Esq. co-founder of the organization said.

Labels: advertising for attorneys attorney marketing Ben Glass Lawyer Marketing

2/25/2009
Ben Glass
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Niche Marketers Network -- Spammers

Have you received an unsolicited bulk email from Niche Marketers Network. Attorneys who are involved with them are, in my opinion, skating real close to the legal and ethical edge. Here's more on Niche Marketers Network.

Ben Glass

Labels: advertising for attorneys ethics in lawyer advertising

Effective, Ethical Marketing For Attorneys

Can you do a public seminar and take on clients?

Date: 09/03/2010

A lawyer wants to do a public seminar. A law professor says he can as long as he doesn't take on clients.

Here is the original article about Roanoke Mayor David Bowers

Read carefully what Jim Moliterno, a law professor at Washington and Lee University, had to say.

Here's my answer as to why he is wrong.

A video landing page that lawyers can use to generate leads

Date: 09/03/2010

we are running a radio ad in the Northern Virginia area. The sole purpose of the ad is to drive listeners to a video landing page that makes a terrific free offer, just for watching a video . (it also answers the 4 most frequently asked questions about personal injury cases.

you can see the page and watch the video

Ben Glass's 4 Most Frequently Asked Questions for Personal Injury Cases

Web Marketing 101 for Lawyers

Date: 08/07/2010

Most lawyers are completely missing the boat when it comes to web marketing. They are getting ripped off by some major companies who know more about billing you than they do about effective marketing.

Tom Foster teaches the basics of web marketing in this video.