Attorney Advertising - Personal Injury TV ads

Why You Should Have a Video Section on Your Website

2010-08-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

Video has become standard on modern attorney marketing websites. So much so that if you do not have it, many of your potential clients will think you are behind the times and look for a lawyer who is more current. Others will just get bored and move on. When used correctly, a video section on your website can be a very powerful tool giving you the marketing edge.

Video on your website can serve as the extended version of your law firm’s television advertising campaign. On TV you have a very limited amount of time to get your point across. Your video can give the deeper and more meaningful version of the story.

People are getting lazier and lazier when it comes to reading. Many visitors just won’t bother with reading the text on your site. Some will skip it based on how the text is laid out, or if there are too many words. Video on your website allows you to reach and communicate your message to people who will not read and those who have difficulty getting the meaning out of written words.

Your potential clients are busy. Besides laziness, some people just don’t have time to read through all the information. Maybe they want to check out several attorneys, or they might just have something else to do. People are multitasking. They can play your video while they do other things, and the key points will still get their attention.

Video has a visceral effect that text just can’t compete with. It will motivate and move your audience to take action and to do it now. Text alone is not as motivating. Sure, there are sales letters that create a sense of urgency in their readers, but that kind of over-the-top sales pitch is not appropriate for your law firm’s website.

Your video still needs to be backed up by good solid web content. The video will grab them and get them hooked emotionally, but many of your prospects are still going to want to do some detailed research to find out if and how they can really benefit from your services. Put the facts they need in the text. The two will work together synergistically.

To learn more about using video on your website, please contact the attorney marketing experts at Network Affiliates today.

2010-08-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

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Your Receptionist is the Very First Person to Speak to Prospective Clients. Is That Person Your Ambassador of First Impressions?

2010-08-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I suggested that you change your law firm receptionist’s title to Ambassador of First Impressions. That may sound like a silly title, but many companies have made the change from receptionist to ambassador, or director, of first impressions because it works. It is a constant reminder of the receptionist’s important role in client relations.

Receptionists are referred to as gatekeepers because clients have to get past them to get to you. You have probably been on the other end of this yourself more than a few times. If your receptionist believes that her top priority is to be an obstacle that keeps clients and potential clients away from you, well, that is exactly what she will do.

If your attorney marketing is great and you are getting lots of calls, but they are not converting into clients, you need to look into the impression your receptionist is making when she takes those calls.

The last thing a person seeking a personal injury attorney needs is another obstacle, another problem, another battle to fight in order to get help. Initiating a lawsuit is scary. Your potential clients are seeking an ally that will make the process easier.

If your law firm’s receptionist is warm and helpful, starting with that very first phone call, it indicates that you welcome new clients. It implies that you and everyone else in your firm will be helpful, too.

On the other hand, if your receptionist gives potential clients the impression that you do not have time for them, they will assume that you do not need or want their business. They will move on to a firm that does want to help them and is easier to do business with.

With over 25 years of experience in attorney advertising, the marketing experts at Network Affiliates have learned the value of client relations. We can help you with more than your advertising campaign. We can teach you and your staff how to convert those prospects into clients. Please, contact us today to learn more.

Update on Google Maps and How It Can Work For You!

2010-07-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

In the past year, we have talked about the importance of Google Maps and also about the importance of obtaining positive reviews from your clients on popular review websites. You can re-read those posts here and here.

In giving presentations over the past month or so, I have been noticing some interesting things with Google Maps. There are a few developments and features of Google Maps that your firm could be taking advantage of to improve your rankings. Here are some examples.

When we look at the results for the search term, “denver personal injury lawyer,” you will notice a few things. One is that there is now a sponsored link in Google Maps. This is a listing that you pay for ala Pay Per Click. A sponsored listing guarantees a spot in Google Maps for a certain price. The only problem is that the user can clearly see that your listing is sponsored. This is an option for those of you who have Google Maps pages that aren’t performing well.

You’ll also notice that all of these listings have reviews. In competitive markets like Denver, reviews are becoming a necessity to rank well it seems, especially for firms located far away from the city’s epicenter. Google Maps give preference to businesses located closer to the city’s geographical center. Since most of you probably aren’t interested in moving your business just for better rankings on Google Maps, there is an alternative: get more reviews. As you see in the Denver example, the O’Sullivan Law Firm is located far away from the city’s geographical center. But, because they have 6 reviews, their Google Maps listing appears in the first 10 listings.

Another city that shows how beneficial user reviews are is Minneapolis.

Most of the listings in the top 10 are very close to the center of Minneapolis except for one. This one outlier, Schmidt Law Firm, appears because their firm has accumulated 23 reviews on different review websites. While it will take time for your firm to obtain reviews, it is very important that you consider this option for improving your Google Maps rankings. This is especially true if your firm is not located in the downtown area of the city you practice in.

As you can see, there are firms out there aggressively taking new approaches to Google Maps to improve their rankings. In many cases, these methods are proving to be effective especially if your office is located away from the center of the city. If your firm needs assistance with its Google Maps listing or Internet strategy, please contact Network Affiliates today.

Dunbar’s Number: How it pertains to your law firm and how it can help you increase your business

2010-07-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

A hot topic recently in the social media sphere has been that of Dunbar’s Number. Dunbar’s Number is 150. Dunbar postulates that a human can maintain a social relationship with only 150 people. While this theory has certain applications in the social media circle, I was thinking about how this relates to your law firm.

Customer service used to be an option. If you were the only game in town, you could get away with having less than stellar customer service. Now, it’s not an option. It is absolutely necessary to treat every client like they are your only client.

In speaking with many of you and having recently digested the results from the 2009 KPI Survey, I understand most PI lawyers handle a lot of pre-lit cases. In some firms, your lawyers handle over 200 cases a piece at any given time. If you believe in Dunbar’s Number, what are you doing to make sure that every client you represent is being taken care of? Granted, not every single one of those 200 cases requires your lawyer to know all of their clients’ children’s’ names, favorite restaurants and mother’s maiden name. However, what sets many firms apart is their attention to detail and the fact that their clients feel like they are being represented by not just a lawyer, but by someone they trust, someone who genuinely cares about them.

How do you ensure every client is getting the personalized service they deserve? There are a number of ways to cut into Dunbar’s Number. Most include making sure you have a database system and a communication mechanism to help you interact with all of your clients on a more personal basis. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a very important aspect of marketing. The best cases that come into your firm are cases that come from referral clients. Mastering the art of CRM can elevate your customer service, differentiate your client focus and improve your client relationships.

Need help with CRM or ideas to help manage your clients’ cases more efficiently? Contact us today.

Does Placing Commercials in the News Work?

2010-07-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

People watch the news and they consistently watch the same news programs on a regular basis. Viewership of other programs will fluctuate. Even with the availability of online news, television is still by far the most popular news source. More than half of all Americans claim to watch TV news on a daily basis. Local news is the most popular on TV, followed by network news.

Placing your law firm’s television commercials in the news does more than get your name in front of a large audience. First, it has the benefit of targeting a different audience than some of the daytime programs you may already be advertising in. It also keeps your name in front of these prospective clients, because people tend to watch the same local news programs every day.

Advertising in a news program may also lend an air of credibility to your ads – particularly if you develop ads with the fact that they will be running during the news in mind. When people watch the news they are of the mindset to be informed rather than entertained. They believe that what they are watching is more serious and real than the shows they watch for fun. If you produce ads to appeal to people with this mindset, they will associate your advertising with the news, making it feel more like information and substance than fluff.

Another option is a news sponsorship. Since only one advertiser can sponsor a segment, it has the benefit of cutting out your competition. Your prospective clients see your ads during the news, but not your competitors’ ads. This makes your commercials even more powerful. They are not watered down by other ads for the same type of service. If a prospective client remembers seeing the ad and is waiting to see it again so he can write down your phone number, it will be your commercial that airs.

To learn more about media planning for lawyers, and the best placement for your commercials, please contact Network Affiliates today.

Is Your Current Agency Helping You With Your Marketing Beyond TV? Why Not?

2010-07-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

Television is still the most effective form of advertising for attorneys, but if you are using it alone or if your TV advertising is not designed to work with your other marketing efforts, you are missing out on the real benefits of TV. If your current law firm advertising agency is not helping you with your entire marketing strategy, and going beyond TV, they are not helping you get the full value out of your TV advertising.

Your TV advertising must be integrated with all of your marketing. The connection between your law firm’s website marketing and your TV campaign needs to be strong.

People who see your personal injury ads on TV must be directed to your website where they can learn more about you, your experience and your results at their convenience. Your website gives you the opportunity to expand on your expertise and help your clients learn about what you can do to solve their problem.
Prospective clients who start their search for legal help online should instantly recognize your law firm from your TV campaign when they find your website. Your image should be consistent.
The videos on your website should also be consistent with the TV ads they have seen. Videos on your website can expand on the short videos your prospects see as TV ads; again, providing them with a chance to learn more.

TV advertising is important for reaching your audience and generating direct response leads, but today it is also a branding vehicle and a way to direct them on how to get more information about you. Today’s prospects are information junkies and they want to see more before they pick up the phone.

Today’s clients are saturated with names and advertising, not just on TV and the Internet, but also on the radio, on billboards, and in print. You have to compete with all that they are bombarded with to keep their most immediate attention and be the first name that comes to mind when they have a need. That means you need to do more than reach new prospects. You have to keep in touch with your past clients and contacts with database marketing, or another firm will snatch them right out of your hands.

To learn more about comprehensive marketing strategies that can increase the ROI on your Broadcast campaigns, please contact the legal marketing experts at Network Affiliates today.

Beware: Insurance Companies and Their Lawyers are Watching You and Your Clients On Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, and Other Social Networking Sites

2010-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Social networking sites are extremely popular. As an attorney, you know that while these sites can be powerful marketing tools, even your “personal” pages and entries are not really private. You know anything you post online is potentially subject to scrutiny by your adversaries. You know to assume everything you do online is public and can be used against you.

Common sense dictates that everything you do online should be approached with caution, especially with all of the embarrassing news stories about people who have posted photos and information they later came to regret. However, many of your clients still do not understand the impact that their Facebook, MySpace, Blogs or other social networking posts can have on their personal injury cases.

Many of your clients think of these pages as something they do for fun that is purely personal. They do not use social networking for business purposes and do not think of them from that perspective. In fact, some Internet users access the web solely to use social networking sites to interact with friends and family.

Some myths that your Clients may believe about social networking:

Setting my pages to “private” means only the people I authorize can gain access to them.
Deleting my pages, pictures, or posts will make them go away.
Everyone knows that everyone lies about himself or herself online to “look cool.” They cannot be considered reliable evidence.
As long as I do not say the accident was my fault my social networking posts cannot hurt my case.

The truth is:

Private pages can be subpoenaed.
Deleting your entries does not wipe them out. They may have been backed up by the hosting company and can often be found even after you attempted to delete them.
Yes, everyone knows that people lie, exaggerate, and sometimes create elaborate false personas online.
Insurance companies and their attorneys can use your social networking activity against you in ways you could never imagine. Maybe you posted about going to a party when you were on your way out the door on the night of your accident, implying that you could have been drinking when you accident occurred. Your posts may have no obvious connection to your accident at all, but can still show a pattern of behavior that could hurt your credibility.

Always ask your clients if they use social networking sites. Explain the risks and how the insurance companies will use these sites against them. Do it for your own sake so you do not encounter any unwanted surprises.

For ideas on how to talk to your clients about social networking and the Internet, contact the law firm marketing experts at Network Affiliates today.

The Pros of Laminated Business Cards

2010-06-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Using laminated business cards, vs. bare cardstock, is a small tweak in your marketing strategy that can make a big difference in results. Your laminated business cards are not just for prospects and new contacts. You need to send them out to your current and past clients to get the full benefits.

Current and past clients already have your contact information so why would they need your laminated business card?

Do not assume that your clients have actually retained your contact information or that the information that your past clients have is actually current. If your old cards were not laminated there is a good chance they have been lost, damaged, or tossed out.

• Sending out your laminated card ensures that clients have your current contact information, including your website and email address, and that they have it handy.
• A laminated card will last longer and stand out in a stack of business cards. Your clients can find them more easily when they need to contact you.
• Since they stay in good shape, they are less likely to be thrown away with a tattered stack of cards and your clients will be more likely to pass them on, for referral purposes, for much longer than a regular card.
• Laminated cards give the impression of permanence. Sending them out is another way to keep in touch with your past clients, and remind them that you are here to help.

You can get a little creative with the laminated cards and encourage your clients to carry them. For instance, one marketing strategy for personal injury attorneys is to create a two-sided card with your contact information on one side and “What To Do If You Are In An Accident” on the other side. If you are on top of your attorney-client relations, and you have collected the data about your clients’ families, you might even take this a step farther and send these out to clients when their child is turning 16 and about to get his or her driver’s license.

To learn more about simple, but effective, marketing strategies and how to make them work for your law firm, please contact Network Affiliates today.

Not Following Up With Past Clients is the Biggest Hole In your Boat!!!

2010-06-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here I go again. I am going to keep pounding this into your head until you get it, and then I’ll keep reminding you because it is that important. Why are you spending so much of your law firm’s money on TV advertising to bring in new clients if you are just going to let them go? If you are not keeping in touch with your past clients, you are squandering your goldmine; gold that you paid top dollar for and put hard work into accumulating.

Imagine going shopping for the perfect suit. Your old standby has been discontinued, so you are starting out fresh. It’s like buying a suit for the very first time. You fight the crowds at several stores, try on different styles, finally find the one that is just right for you, and pay dearly for it. Now imagine wearing that suit only once, throwing it away, and repeating the process every day for the rest of your career. That is how you are doing business if you do not follow up with past clients.

A brand new client is also your most expensive client. Your past clients will give you repeat business and they will send you referral business, but you have to stay in touch with them. You have to continue to educate them about all the types of cases you handle and that you are still here to help them, their friends and their family.

All it takes is a little routine maintenance. It is the easiest and least expensive part of your marketing, and it yields some of your best quality cases. You do not have to win these people over. As former clients, they are already sold. You do not have to screen them to find out if they are the kind of client you need and want, either. This is virtually free business. Why are you letting it go?

Network Affiliates can design a database marketing campaign for your law firm that will help you mine your richest resource with very little time, effort and expense on your part. You will see a wealth of quality cases come in from this type of marketing that vastly increases your ROI on your past marketing. This is where the real payoff for your marketing budget lies. Do not let it slip away.

Why Your Law Firm Should Be Involved in Your Community

2010-06-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

Does it make $$$$$?

Yes it does! Involvement in your community is one of the most valuable types of marketing your law firm can do. It is the kind that does not look like advertising, and the kind that brands you and your firm in a very positive light.

It usually involves “donating” something. That “donation” can be time, money, or some item of value. An item of value may be something that you own, but no longer need. If you choose to give your time, you must choose events or causes that are of real interest to you. Causes you actually care about. In some cases, you can even create your own events to fit your interests or passions.

Community involvement has always been good PR for lawyers, but today it is more important than ever. People are trying to “go local.” They are making an effort to support businesses in their own communities. Getting your name out there gives your neighbors a chance to find you and work with you. Supporting your community is a tremendous way to give back to those who give to you. And it provides people the opportunity to get to know you. People do business with those they know and respect.

When you and others in your firm personally attend community events, people get to know you. They get to see that, “Hey! He’s not such a bad guy after all.” They are even more impressed than when you give your time and money, because the general public will assume that as an attorney you have money to burn, but putting some real time and effort into it means you really care.

Network Affiliates has been helping lawyers promote their law firms for over 25 years. We can help you come up with ways to get involved in your community that are unique, fun, and meaningful to you and others in your firm.

How many times does your law firm get a chance to make a first impression?

2010-06-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

What really happens at the front desk?

When a prospective client walks into your law firm for the first time, it is a turning point. In just a few seconds, many elements converge to create an impression of your firm that will be lasting and very difficult to change. This potential client’s mood and attitude toward you will be firmly set during his experience in your reception area, before you have any direct or personal influence. By the time they get to meet you or one of your attorneys, most of them will already “know” whether they will want to work with your law firm – or not. In a worst-case scenario they will leave without ever seeing you.

Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of your potential clients coming in for their first appointment? What do they see, hear, and smell when they walk through the door and while they wait to see you? How do they feel? Is it a warm and timely welcome? Are they treated as if their presence and their time are valued?

Each member of your staff whom they encounter, and every interaction (or lack thereof) that they experience, will reflect directly on you. Because your clients have no way to judge the quality of your legal skills, the attitude and behavior of your staff will be seen as an extension of your own attitude and a predictor of your performance. If your receptionist or anyone in your firm treats your prospective client like he is a nuisance, or anything less than a top priority, he will anticipate the same or worse treatment by you.

On the other hand, a great experience at the front desk makes a lasting impression, too. A sense of trust is generated right away. When your prospective clients are welcomed and treated like they are wanted, it gives them hope. They are there because they need help, and now it looks like something is going to happen. You want to help them. This immediately feels like progress, no matter how small.

Your attorney advertising can bring people in, but it will not make them stay. That first impression when a new client walks in for their initial consultation is a powerful decision making moment, and your staff has to be prepared to convert the prospect into a client just as much as you do. To learn more about effective attorney-client relations, please contact the attorney marketing specialists at Network Affiliates today.

P.S. Tip of the Day: Change the title of your receptionist to Ambassador of First Impressions!

Contrary to Advertisers’ Fears 95% of Viewers Still Watch TV Live

2010-05-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

When DVR’s came out, advertisers feared that people would start recording the majority of the shows they watch and simply fast forward through commercials. Some believed it would be the end of TV advertising, and called it the “TiVo effect.” This fear was so strong that in 2004, Forrester Research released a survey in which it found that the majority of national advertisers planned to cut spending on TV commercials by 20% or more when the devices became more common in households.

Many advertisers have, in fact, cut back their TV spending for this very reason. That was a mistake. A three year study, conducted by Carl Mela, a professor in Duke's Fuqua School of Business, and researchers from the University of Chicago, has found that there is no TiVo effect after all. Ironically, the purpose of the study was to find the effect, but it could not be done.

According to the study, 95% of viewers still watch TV live. It found that people who have TiVo have the same shopping patterns as people who don’t. Mela also mentioned that you do not have to have a DVR to avoid watching commercials. As we all know, many viewers always have and always will use commercials, including personal injury lawyer TV commercials, as a chance to leave the room without missing part of their show, and those who stay can always just change the channel.

What astonishes me is that advertisers feared this effect so strongly that they took action with no data or evidence to back it up. In fact, we had evidence that it would not happen. We have been through this before. In the early 1980’s we saw the same fear over VCRs. Back then, it was a new issue; an unknown. This time around it is not a new ability, just a new device.

The bottom line for personal injury lawyers is, television advertising is still the most effective advertising you can buy, and we do not see anything on the horizon which will change that. The Internet has posed a much more viable threat than the upgrade from VCR to DVR, and even that has not shaken the effectiveness of TV. It has enhanced it. Today, your law firm needs a web presence to complement your TV presence, not replace it. The two work synergistically.

Network Affiliates has been developing TV ads for attorneys since 1981. If you are ready to get started on effective advertising that will not be set back by unfounded fears, please contact us today.

eCase Status – Keeping in Touch With Your Clients Digitally

2010-05-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest and most common mistakes law firms make when it comes to attorney-client relations is failing to communicate in a timely fashion. Some clients have an insatiable need for handholding, and will never be satisfied. Most, however, just want to stay abreast of their cases and need verification that things are moving along. Even those who want more personal attention feel better if they have updates at their fingertips.

eCase Status is a powerful tool that can automate a large portion of your communication with clients, minimizing the need for phone conversations and satisfying your clients’ need for access to information about their cases.

There has never been a time when clients liked having to wait for information and updates on their cases, but there used to be a time when waiting was just part of the process. With today’s technology, waiting is unnecessary, and most of your clients know that. Those who haven’t caught on yet will very soon. Instant access to information is a key factor when people are choosing who they will do business with. Law firms, no matter how successful or highly recommended, are not immune to being judged by this standard.

The beauty of a system like eCase Status is that it is a win/win setup.

Your clients can access the latest information on their cases, as well as old information they may have forgotten or simply do not have on hand, at their convenience, any time, anywhere, without having to wait for you to respond or be available to talk to them.

You can spend your time actually working on the case rather than on the phone giving your client updates, without causing your clients to worry about your lack of communication. You will be more likely to return calls in a timely fashion and improve the quality of your conversations, by cutting down on unnecessary calls. Even though you are spending less time on the phone each day, your clients will feel like they are getting more attention.

To learn more about keeping in touch with your clients digitally, please contact the legal marketing professionals at Network Affiliates today.

Why Should I Do Press Releases?

2010-05-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

Press releases are an absolutely brilliant way of marketing your law firm. They are virtually free advertising with more credibility and value to your audience than an advertisement. A press release highlighting your law firm’s success – when published by a news source – is thought of by the reader as news, not marketing. A press release is informative, not just a sales pitch. Press releases are necessary to compete in today’s market.

Press Releases Have Evolved

Before the Internet, law firm marketing professionals sent press releases to news and media outlets in the hopes that they would publish them, at the least. In best-case scenarios the press release would generate third party coverage of your firm or event. Either way, this was free advertising that came across as newsworthy. Because it was published by respected sources by their choice, rather than paid advertising, it was deemed credible by its audience.

We still use that type of press release, but today we have new methods of distributing press releases online and they serve wider purposes.

You and Your Potential Clients Have Control

With the Internet, you can publish your press release through various third party websites that do not require the approval of an editor. Your press release can be an informative article with very specific target audiences that you reach through web searches by your keywords, rather than trying to hit the right audience by going through the right media outlet.

In addition, press releases have the dual benefit of helping your law firm website marketing through link building.

Your audience benefits from this system by having access to the information that is useful to them, that they are actually looking for, rather than what is chosen for them and handed to them.

Why Press Releases Are Necessary in Today’s Market

Online press releases generate traffic for your website. They have become a very basic marketing tool that your competitors are using, and therefore, you must use them if you want to keep up.

Press releases also let the public know that you are alive and active, not just a static presence. They give you a chance to announce your victories and the availability of your services. You can demonstrate your expertise in specific practice areas, and when potential clients read informative press releases they feel that they have already received something of value from your firm.

Network Affiliates can help you generate and place effective press releases. Please, contact us today to learn more.

Why Should I Keep in Touch With Past Clients and Contacts?

2010-05-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

Stay in touch with your past clients and contacts and they will do your best marketing for your law firm. Past clients can turn into referrals and repeat business and just because you declined a prospect’s case doesn’t mean that he or she won’t have a good one the next time. Referrals are the source of your highest quality calls and cases. Keeping in touch is mining your best resource. You worked hard to establish this contact base and it contains a much higher concentration of valuable business for your firm than the outside world of complete strangers.

Reaching out cold to get the attention of potential clients who have never heard of you or never thought of working with you is like starting over every time. It is expensive and you have to prove yourself and establish trust. It is a necessary part of the process, but it should be used to build your database of contacts, as well as to bring in new cases.

You have already done the hardest part of the work in establishing these connections. Now, you need to maintain them through an ongoing database marketing campaign for attorneys.

It is natural to assume that the clients you have worked with in the past and the people you already know will automatically remember you when a need arises or if someone they know has a need. As time passes, however, you become past tense in their minds, and they may even forget about you entirely. Here are a few tips to make sure that you get their referrals.

First, treat them well from the minute they contact your law firm. Even if you decline their case, make sure they know that you appreciate their interest in your firm. Let them know that you value them.

Second, stay in contact with current and former clients as well as all people who have contacted you through your legal advertising campaign. Make sure you collect their email addresses and cell numbers. Treat that information like the gold that it is. Encourage them to “Like” your Facebook Fan page and to follow you on Twitter.

Then, stay in touch. Let them know about your successes and community activities through social media like Facebook and Twitter as well as through ongoing enewsletters.

By keeping in touch you stay fresh on their minds and you keep the connection current. Post to your Facebook Fan page at least two times a week. Post regularly on Twitter. Send out a monthly email blast or enewsletter. Focus the bulk of this information on community events and charities. Only occasionally throw in something about your firm’s successes or let them know about a new type of case you are handling. Instead of being regarded as someone they used to know or that they worked with once, you should seek to be regarded as someone they know and trust today.

When you keep in touch, you are active and part of the present. You are not a distant memory; you have an active relationship. Your contacts will be more likely to think of you and they will have your information on hand so they can get in touch or pass that information along.

Network Affiliates can show you a variety of ways to keep in touch with your past clients and contacts, without sinking too much of your precious time into the process or being obtrusive. If you would like to learn more about making use of your existing contact base, please contact us today.

Helping Denver Health....

2010-04-27T17:45:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, April 29th, Jeannie Ritter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannie_Ritter, Colorado's First Lady and Dr. Robert House http://www.denverhealth.org/portal/Services/BehavioralHealthServices/AboutUs.aspx will be visiting our offices to participate in a video shoot we're producing to help Denver Health promote the Pavilion Project, a brand new children and adolescent psychiatric unit (CAPU) located on Denver Health's campus. See attached brochure for more information.

In addition to the brochure, we're also creating a landing page and an interactive piece, both of which will incorporate the compelling video assets were producing.

What Being Able To Track Your Media Can Do For You

2010-04-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

If you read the title of this post and thought, “Boy, he really harps on tracking,” I have not really gotten through to you yet. If you are not tracking your media, your law firm advertising campaign is flying blind. If in-depth discussions about the technical aspects of media tracking make your eyes glaze over, you are not alone. However, you should find the benefits far more exciting.

Media tracking is what allows you to fine tune your marketing strategy. It is the magic ingredient that can turn your impressive attorney marketing campaign into an effective one. When you can precisely track your media you can see:

• Which ads are generating calls, and which of those are generating quality calls
• Where your web traffic really comes from
• Whether your blog posts and social media efforts are generating clients or merely a time sink

Being able to track your media means you can:

• Adjust the placement of your advertising to improve targeting so that you do not just get increased call volume, but calls that turn into clients
• Make efficient use of your social media time, adjust the kind of posts you make and where you make them
• Pull the ads that just aren’t working to make room for those that do
• Avoid pulling effective ads
• Stop spending money on ineffective media and channel those funds into the avenues that generate clients

This level of media tracking is not simple. You need sophisticated software and the ability to analyze the results. We have both.

To learn more about how you can truly track your media, please contact the legal marketing experts Network Affiliates today.

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2010-04-21T15:21:00.001-07:00

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Why You Should Use Testimonials in Your Law Firm Advertising

2010-04-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

Testimonials in attorney advertisements are a powerful, free tool that you should be taking advantage of for some very basic psychological reasons.

The words of real people, actual clients, carry more weight than any of the advertising copy your potential clients know was carefully and professionally crafted to impress them. It is an automatic reaction to be more impressed by something that sounds natural and spontaneous than something designed to sound good.

People find what others say about you to be more believable than what you say about yourself.

Testimonials can say things that you cannot really say yourself. When your clients sing your praises or gush about what a great person you are and what a wonderful job you have done, it sounds like you must really be a great attorney and a great person. If you say those things about yourself, you just sound like you are tooting your own horn. If you talk about yourself with the emotion that gives testimonials their real punch, you will sound arrogant and maybe a little nuts.

Testimonials are tangible, specific, and meaningful examples of what you and your law firm can do for your client rather than abstract possibilities. They speak of the personal impact not just dollar amounts. Sure, a million dollar settlement or award sounds good to most people, but hearing about how it changed someone’s life for the better is what touches a nerve, makes it personal, and really gets people to fantasize about the benefits your services could translate to in their lives.

Proof of a past accomplishment is better than a promise. This works in two ways. To your prospective client, it is not just a possibility; it has already happened. For you, it is a way to demonstrate to the prospect what you can do for them without making specific promises or implied guarantees that might get you in trouble down the road.

To learn about how to ask for testimonials gracefully and how to use them in your advertising legally, please contact the legal advertising experts at Network Affiliates today.

How To Market and Advertise Your Firm on Google Maps

2010-04-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

A relatively new wrinkle to Google’s search algorithm has involved a feature called Google Maps. Google Maps is a feature of the organic search results that displays local businesses on a map that are close to the localization that you are searching. So, for example, if you search “personal injury lawyer minneapolis,” the following results appear.

As you can see, the map results appear above any of the other organic search results. What this means is that the Google Map feature is a very, very important part of search engine optimization because it is the first thing a user sees when performing a search on Google. Results in Bing are the same. Here is a quick screenshot of the same search but on Bing.

Again, Bing displays the map listings above the other organic listings.

What does this mean for your law firm? This means that if your firm isn’t ranking well in the local sections of Google and Bing, that your firm could stand to improve its SEO.

How do you rank well on Google Maps and Bing Local? Here are a few steps you can take to ensure your law firm is making the most of its local listings.

Register for Google Local and Bing Local

Do a search for your firm on Google and Bing. Does a map listing pop up in the organic search results? If so, your firm is listed in Google and Bing local. If not, go to these two pages and register your firm.

Google Local
Bing Local

There are step-by-step instructions to register your business for the above local search services. Once you have registered, your website should begin appearing when you search for your own firm. Now, the next step is to get your website to rank for larger keyword searches.

Add content to your local listings

Google and Bing both look for content as a ranking factor for your local page. Adding videos, pictures, descriptions of your business amongst other things help your business rank for local searches. Let’s take a look at a well-optimized Google Maps listing and what sort of content is included. I did a search for, “new york personal injury lawyer,” and these were the results for the Google Maps section.

So, here is what the Google Maps page looks like for the number one ranking PI lawyer in New York City.

As you can see, this law firm has updated their Google Maps page with pictures, video of their law firm, and a keyword rich description of their practice. Let’s take a look at their details page so you can see what type of information search engines like.

The details of their firm have keywords in them, but they follow the basic rule of SEO in not stuffing descriptions areas with nothing but keywords. Instead, the description gives the user a great overview of their practice in few words and with relevant keywords. This details page also pulls information from SuperPages.com and findlaw.com, which will benefit your firm if you have information on other websites such as these.

While this firm has a great Google Maps page, there is one area where it can be improved.

Reviews

One area that can help immediately boost your firm’s rankings on Google Maps is a review of your firm on a reputable review source. I discussed some of these outlets in a previous blog post, but as you can see in the picture above, four of the top seven lawyers on Google Maps in New York City have reviews for their firms. In competitive markets, this is very important and will help your other organic SEO efforts as well.

If you need any assistance with your internet marketing strategy, please contact us at Network Affiliates today. We would be happy to discuss everything about your internet strategy from your website all the way down to your Google Maps efforts. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

Advertising without Violating the Bar Rules

2010-03-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

Federal and state regulations on advertising affect everyone. Attorneys face even more challenges in advertising trying to comply with state bar rules. The laws that apply to other types of businesses help to protect against fraud and misleading claims. Some state bar rules go much farther placing restrictions on the use of spokespeople, testimonials, endorsements, use of verdicts and settlements. Some state bars even require specific wording in all of your law firm’s advertisements. Each state is different, and if your firm operates in more than one state you may find that your advertising must comply with multiple state bar advertising rules.

Many of these rules are dated and do not reflect the reality of how law firms advertise today or the sophistication of consumers. Unfortunately, we are stuck with rules that differ in each state, are constantly changing, and often are unclear in their wording. Some state bar rules can be cost prohibitive, requiring that even online advertising be reviewed, for a fee, before it can be launched.

Changes to Florida state bar rules made in January regarding attorney websites are the latest and most talked-about problem right now. Attorneys in Florida have until June to bring their websites into compliance.

Attorney advertising is not optional in today’s world. You cannot avoid these issues by choosing not to advertise or by simply shooting for what seem like the “least risky” advertising methods, which may or may not truly be in compliance and will certainly not be competitive. To keep your edge in advertising without violating the bar rules, you need to work with professionals whose job includes keeping up with the changing rules.

Because we work with advertising attorneys throughout the country, we are familiar with the legal advertising rules in each state. We also have the experience to tell you how to remain in compliance while still running an effective ad campaign that generates business for your law firm.

To find out more about how you can stay competitive while staying in compliance, please contact Network Affiliates today.

Meeting Reveals Need for Referral Marketing

2010-03-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

The roundtable discussions at our recent attorney networking meeting in San Francisco included some of the most illuminating discussions yet. After Tammy Kehe reviewed the results from the Key Performance Indicators survey, the attorneys chimed in about what was working and not working for them.

One of the themes had to do with big cases. We heard from several of the attorneys that while their business was profitable from the standard auto cases, it was a few big cases that turned 2009 from a good year into a great year. When asked about where those "big" cases came from, the response was simple - "referrals". Even after paying out a 1/3 referral fee, these cases still made the difference between a good year and a great year.

So, the question came up, how do you generate the referrals? Following are a few of the responses and some ideas to chew on:

Start by being a great lawyer. You will never get big case referrals unless you can establish yourself and/or your firm as being able to handle the bigger, more complex, cases. You have to start with a track record of success.
You have to network with potential referring attorneys - lawyers who are in your jurisdiction who either don't have the expertise or the resources to handle big cases, and lawyers in other jurisdictions who might be looking for a lawyer or a firm to handle a big case for them in your jurisdiction.
Develop a reputation as the "go-to" lawyer or law firm for the big case by giving seminars, writing articles, publishing press releases on successes, highlighting your verdicts and settlements on your website, etc.
Send out e-newsletters and collateral marketing material to noncompeting attorneys -and to your client database. Network presented several case studies on how these efforts led to a very high ROI in both leads and referred cases.
Become active in your state AAJ society.
Pay to be included in the AAJ Leaders Forum.

If you want other lawyers to refer big cases to you, you have to invest the time and energy to develop those relationships. Yes, it's a lot of work, but the payoff is well worth it. Some of it you have to do on your own, but not all of it . At Network Affiliates, we can help you build your referral marketing. Call or email us today to find out how.

San Francisco Meeting Reveals Need for Referral Marketing

2010-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

We recently completed another of our semi-annual networking sessions with our clients. The meeting - at The St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco - was attended by a number of clients, both old and new as well as Network Affiliates' staff and experts in a range of areas including law firm marketing, media buying for lawyers, TV advertising, internet marketing for attorneys and more.

The meeting included presentations on media buying opportunities for law firms, case studies on successful collateral marketing strategies, and mobile websites. Our TV producers also presented some excellent concepts for the next round of TV ads. The concepts were critiqued and honed by the attorneys in the room and we are excited to see how the new creative comes out. Look for that at our next meeting.

The feature presentation was given by Michael Smith of SBC & Associates. It was entitled "Strategically Positioning Your Law Firm in 'Good Times' and 'Not So Good Times'". Michael elaborated on six things to help you make your firm stronger:

Learning to work on your practice instead of in your practice
Recruiting, hiring, retaining and motivating the "Right Staff"
Strategic planning
Professional management - Hiring a COO
Targeted marketing and business development
Developing and maintaining a dashboard of key performance indicators

Obviously, each of these items was dealt with in depth and many great ideas evolved from the presentation and the participation by the attendees. This presentation was a refresher to many of the attendees, but everybody came away with some good ideas to implement in their own practices.

Is Your Law Firm Ubiquitous?

2010-03-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Think about that question for a moment. Is your law firm everywhere? I don’t mean literally everywhere, but is your law firm making the most out of its marketing efforts? Anymore, it is important to think about your law firm from a holistic perspective. Before, it was easy to just put an ad on television and wait for the phone to start ringing off the hook.

Now, that sort of thinking doesn’t work. Lawyers have become very savvy marketers. Very savvy marketers with deep pockets, nonetheless. And while your law firm might have a website, a polished TV campaign and a great staff, which law firms have survived that don’t have these things? The answer is probably not that many, which means your law firm has to elevate its game in order to compete.

So, how do you compete? By being ubiquitous and by having a comprehensive, holistic approach to your law practice. That means having an Internet campaign that dovetails with your TV ads. That means sending your clients home with relevant, informative collateral material that leaves them with all of the answers they could ever need. That means becoming educated about everything that is going on in the legal world as a whole.

Ubiquity is the new normalcy. So, to tie this all up, answer the question in the title of this blog post. If your answer is anything other than a profound, “Yes,” perhaps it is time to re-think your practice. Even if it is a yes, is staying pat going to yield consistent and sustainable results in the future?

If your firm needs with creating a comprehensive marketing campaign, contact Network Affiliates today.

How Do You Buy Media In This Difficult Market???

2010-03-01T05:29:00.000-08:00

Do you know what your Cost-Per-Point is? Do you really know why you are buying what you are buying?

Media buying for your law firm needs to generate both short term and long-term value for it to be effective. You have to calculate the true value of each buy, and utilize strategies to build and maintain your brand.

Cost-Per-Point
Before you can know what your cost-per-point (CPP) is, you have to know what CPP actually means. You probably have the general idea that CPP is the cost of reaching a certain number of people. Cost-Per-Point (CPP) analysis is used by most media planners in developing and allocating market budgets and setting rating point goals. It is defined as the cost of reaching one percent of the target audience within a specified geographic area.

This is not to be confused with cost per thousand (CPM). Cost Per Thousand (CPM) is the cost of reaching 1,000 homes or individuals with a specific advertising message. CPM is a standard advertising measure to compare the relative cost efficiency of different programs, stations, or media.

CPM is relatively easy to determine. CPP is more complicated, but it is the number that you need to know the real value of the negotiated rates. For instance, if you were offered a very low CPM to place a Workers’ Compensation ad on a program that is primarily watched by people 65 and older, it would not be a good value because only a small percentage of the viewers who see the ad are in your target audience. The CPP for the same ad during the same program would be much higher, and provide greater insight in the efficiency and value of running in that program.

Do you know the true analytics behind your current media spend?
You need the right software and media knowledge to analyze the real media costs. If you don’t have this information or effective evaluation tools, you might as well be placing your media dollars on the craps table.

At Network Affiliates we use media planning and placement tools and specialized buying software that allows us to evaluate the targeted demographics and ratings, as well as the cpm's and cpp's for each program and time period considered for each campaign.

How you buy is just as important as what you buy. You have to know how to work around crowded TV markets. And, you have to go beyond television to market effectively. Building a recognizable brand through TV advertising and exploring and including a careful mix of secondary media is both an art and a science.

With over 28 years of experience in attorney marketing, Network Affiliates knows how to bring all this together and help you make the most effective and efficient media buys within your budget. Please, contact us today.

Our Technological Advantage in Lawyer Advertising

2010-02-21T05:23:00.000-08:00

At Network Affiliates we have invested in the cutting edge technology you need for all aspects of lawyer advertising, from producing your television ads, to making the best media buys, to tracking the results.

Post Production Impacts the Quality of Your Law Firm’s TV Ads
Our in-house resources allow us to produce the high quality videos you must have to compete on TV without breaking your budget. We also own our own post production studio, Crosspoint, which puts the finishing touches on your television ads.

Post production is far more than the just simple editing. The quality of your post production can determine whether your law firm’s TV advertising campaign looks like another local ad campaign or a national ad campaign. You may have noticed that the deleted scenes included in the special features on some DVD’s look like low-quality home movie footage and wondered how that raw material could ever be turned into the Hollywood quality feature film you just watched. It’s all in the post production.

Just how good is Crosspoint’s post production? It produced spots that aired in this year’s Super Bowl.

Media Buying for Lawyers
Once you have created those ads, and your other forms of advertising, you must place them and place them wisely.

In order to buy media for lawyers in today’s market, you must have sophisticated media buying software. We use STRATA media buying and planning software to determine the demographics, ratings, share and reach for programs, stations, and dayparts in all 211 markets.

We also subscribe to a service that tells us exactly what your competition is doing. We know when and where they are placing their ads, how much they spend, and which ads they are running. This allows us work around the crowded TV markets to out-maneuver the competition.

With over 28 years of experience in creating and placing ads for attorneys, we have had the opportunity to investigate and evaluate the available technology as it develops. We know what to look for, what works, what is worth investing in, and what will give our clients the edge that they need. Please contact us today to learn how we can put our technology to work for you.

Is Your Case Management System Really Set Up To Do GREAT Intake?

2010-02-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

Do you know the difference? Are you aware of your options? Do you know how to create a great intake system or how it would benefit you?

While there are some great case management systems available today, none of them are client and marketing friendly. Systems like Legal Files, Needles, AbacusLaw, Amicus, Client Profiles, and a few others are great for managing your case files, but they are not intake / prospect / client friendly.

When a new, prospective client calls your office, you need a program at your fingertips that will make the interview process as smooth and easy as possible, allowing you to collect the right information, record it properly, and track it. Failure to collect and correctly enter the right information during that first contact can create a multitude of problems including:

• Database errors
• Inability to run sensible marketing reports
• Failure to follow up, leading to failure to convert prospects into clients

The good news is that there is software on the market today that can sit in front of your case management system and make it very easy to help you interview a new prospect. Then completely follow the client through the case.

Your intake software needs to accomplish several things while being user friendly. Of course, you need the basics such as name, contact information, and the nature of the case.

You also need to record how the caller heard about you, so you can figure out what is working and what is not when it comes to marketing. You are tracking more than just the number of calls with this information. You have to tie it to the quality, value and type of case. You need to know which of your law firm’s ads and ad campaigns are generating prospects that turn into clients and which ones are just generating inquiries. Without accurate intake, you cannot make these determinations.

Your intake software should also help you turn prospects into clients by generating the right notices and reminders to help you follow up with these prospects in an informed and timely fashion.

Tools Needed To Buy Media In This World

2010-02-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

What tools do you have in your advertising arsenal? Are you able to know exactly what your competitors’ schedules are so you can “out-position” them?

Research suggests that for every client you engage you miss nearly 20 others. That means missing out on almost 95% of potential clients. Imagine what it would do for your case intake if you could reach even a portion of them. So, how can you do it? How can you acquire more clients?

Invest In Competitive Tools
Does your ad agency or media buying service allow you to completely and comprehensively know exactly where your other competitors are placing their commercials? Do you have this information at your fingertips when you are planning your media buy so that you can better strategize and work around crowded TV environments? Buying without this knowledge is like going to court without completing discovery of the defense’s case.

When was the last time you dissected your media plan?

If you haven’t done it in the last five years, you might not even be aware of the tools that are available to you today. Cutting-edge market-analysis technology, database mining and media tracking devices are helping law firms compete more effectively than ever in the marketplace. Your competitors are using these tools. If you’re not, you could be handing them the lion’s share of potential clients.

You Don’t Have To Do This Alone
As a lawyer and business owner, there are some marketing tactics only you can affect. For instance, you cannot hire someone to take your colleagues out to lunch or to maintain significant referral relationships. But, there are many aspects of legal marketing and advertising that do not require your personal involvement. Selecting and purchasing the best tools for media planning and placement is definitely in that category.

At Network Affiliates, we have invested in these tools so you don’t have to. We use sophisticated media software that allows us to determine the demographics, ratings, share and reach for programs, stations, and dayparts in all 211 markets. We have access to all of your competitors’ TV ads. We know what ads they are running, where they are running them and how much they are spending, so we are educated and informed to spend your money wisely.

Our clients have the advantage of knowledge. Shouldn’t you?

TV Messaging... Where is Your Silver Bullet?

2010-02-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

You may assume that as long as you are on TV and your ad is well placed, it will be effective. Getting your name and number out there is not enough. Television is still the most powerful advertising medium for law firms, but if your message gets lost in a sea of other ads you may as well throw your advertising dollars out the window.

Too many law firm advertisements look alike and say the same thing. Even if you are sending the message that speaks to your target audience, if your ads don’t stand out, your prospect may wind up calling someone else, even when she had you in mind in the first place.

Think about it. A prospective client needs to hire a personal injury lawyer. She vaguely remembers having seen your ad, but can’t remember your law firm’s name or phone number. She is watching TV hoping to see your ad again to write down your number and call you. Another law firm’s ad appears. It is basically what she remembered. So, she writes down the other firm’s name and phone number and makes the call.

With so many attorneys advertising on TV, how can you prevent this from happening? There is no easy answer. It takes time. It requires some serious competitive intelligence. It requires a dedicated and committed advertising and marketing team with the ability to develop a message that will set you apart – an ad campaign that won’t be confused with all the other lawyers on the air. You need to be sure that when a prospect wants to call you, she remembers your ad, and your law firm, and calls the right number.

And, don’t fall in love with your own TV ad. Maybe you came up with the creative concept. Your partners, associates, and your friends and family all love it. Remember, that the concept and the message that you love may not resonate with your potential clients. It doesn’t matter how much you love it, if it doesn’t speak to your potential clients, it needs to go. You have to put yourself in their shoes, or work with someone who can.

The creative team at Network Affiliates has over 28 years experience developing messages and ad campaigns that generate business for lawyers. We understand how to put ourselves in your clients’ shoes. We know what stands out, and which messages speak to the people you need to reach. We know the difference between a message that sounds great and a message that will get your prospects to call you. Please, contact us today to learn how you can send the right message – and get more business.

Toll Free Vanity Phone Numbers

2010-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

At first glance, everybody loves the idea of a toll free vanity number. It’s catchy, it makes you feel clever, and everyone will remember it so that’s the number they will automatically dial when they need an attorney, right? Not necessarily.

Vanity numbers can be very effective, but they do not always deliver the promised benefits. Many of our clients have found that they get excellent results from a simple phone number that is easy to remember, such as one with repeating numbers. The key to success is not just the number, but the effectiveness of your law firm advertising campaign that brands the number in the mind of your prospective client.

Getting Value out of Toll Free Vanity Numbers is Not Simple
Getting real value out of a vanity number requires more than just a catchy name or word in replace of digits.

It must be a seven digit word, one that people will not confuse with something similar. It must use 800, rather than the alternatives 888, 877, or 866 for most people to actually remember it. To really milk the value out of a vanity number, your branding has to be consistent over a long period of time and emphasize the number in your law firm’s TV, radio and print ads.

A Few Concerns about Vanity Numbers
Some vanity numbers will generate wrong number phone calls for you; an annoyance, but one you could live with. However, your potential clients may reach the wrong place of business if they do not remember the number precisely, and that can cost you business. This is more likely if your vanity number is not an 800 number (888, 877, or 866).

Vanity numbers may irritate some people who struggle with converting the letters to numbers. This may become more problematic as consumers convert to smart phones with full keypads. If you look at your blackberry, you can see that the numbers and the letters don’t match up with a traditional phone keypad.

Network Affiliates can Help
Sometimes the flashy concepts backfire. With over 28 years of experience in attorney advertising, the marketing experts at Network Affiliates have learned the difference between costly marketing gimmicks and comprehensive marketing strategies that really work. If a vanity number will help your advertising campaign, we will tell you – and, because we have relationships with several vanity number providers, we can help you get a good one. Contact us today to learn more about effective phone numbers and other “little things” that can mean big ROI for your law firm’s marketing campaign.

Tracking Your Advertising

2010-01-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

Be honest.... YOU ARE NOT TRACKING. How can you make intelligent decisions when you do not know what is working?

You know you need to track the effectiveness of your advertising. You need to know what works and what doesn’t so you can stop doing the things that do not work and keep doing the things that do work. But, do you really know how to track?

You ask the prospective caller…So, where did you hear of us?
They say they “saw you on radio”. Maybe the yellow pages, maybe TV. Maybe on a sandwich board on 8th and Main Street?

Tracking is complex. You cannot simply sit back and guess. You may assume that your phones are ringing more this week because of a new ad, and you may be wrong. It could be a minor change in your law firm’s media buy, a flurry of hits on your law firm website, or maybe an older ad has just started driving the message home and picking up business. Or, you may be right, but those calls may not be quality calls that result in new cases.

You are probably familiar with some of the old, basic ad tracking techniques such as tying a special phone number to a particular ad campaign or the promotional codes that retailers sometimes use. Today, you must have a much more sophisticated tracking system in place, and it must be comprehensive.

Just think of all of your marketing and advertising tactics. Of course, you must track your TV and radio ads, but you also need to track your online advertising. (You should insist that your website marketing firm uses Google Analytics.) As you branch out into social media, you need to track the effectiveness of your posts. That includes the comments you make on other blogs. Even if you participate for your own pleasure, it is still marketing and you need to track it.

Obviously, technology can help you with your tracking on many levels, but you also need to ask your clients why they decided to call your firm in the first place. Gather all this information in your client management software such as Needles, Client Profiles, etc. If your firm’s software doesn’t help you evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing, you should be looking for some new software….

When you make marketing decisions based on guesswork, even guesswork that seems logical, you are just throwing your money and time around aimlessly. Not only do you risk dumping money into something that does not work, you may wind up pulling your best ad because you do not know it is bringing in business.

Also, gather information from your colleagues about what their tracking data shows. At our semi-annual client networking meetings, our clients share this information with each other and it makes them stronger and more effective. As an ad agency that has been working with law firms since 1981, we also have years of empirical data about what works and what doesn’t. It all comes into play.

When you start to get the picture of how tracking really works and what is involved, it can be overwhelming. You do not have to do all this yourself. Network Affiliates has a proprietary tracking system called AdTrack that we use in combination with your advertising, so you can really evaluate the effectiveness of your legal advertising campaigns. Contact us today to find out how you can finally track your advertising and make the best marketing decisions.

Do You Have a Referral Strategy?

2010-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

If your best cases come from referrals, why don’t have a comprehensive referral strategy? A better question may be: do you even have a simple plan in place to generate referral business?

With everything else you do, The BEST cases come from Referral, Agree?

The quality of the cases is high, and people who are referred to you by someone they trust are much more likely to contact and work with you than those who consider you a stranger. Referrals mean being vouched for; you skip the part where potential clients are still trying to decide if you are really above board or any good at what you do. Many people even feel obligated to work with someone who has been recommended to them, whether it is for legal services or another type of service.

But, you already now all of this, right? So, why aren’t you tapping into it?

WHY?

It is easy to think of referrals as something that just happen. Of course your friends, colleagues, and existing clients are going to send business your way. They know you, they like you, and they know that you are the right person for the job. That is probably all true, but you probably are not the first thing on their minds unless you put yourself there.

Your referral base does not just operate quietly and effectively in the background without some stimulation on your part. You must maintain active relationships with your clients and other lawyers for this resource to work for you. A haphazard approach, intending to get in touch, will not make it happen. You must have a plan and stick to it.

You can start with the basics.

Top of Mind Awareness – Client Relationship Management for Lawyers - Communicate with your clients regularly; greeting cards, newsletters (e-newsletters), any kind of communication to keep you on their minds. Pick one and be consistent.

Being consistent is the key to succeeding in Advertising!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Social Media Networking offers a tremendous tool to generate referrals, but, as with the others, you must be consistent. Set up a Facebook Fan Page for your law firm – and post on it regularly. Talk about your successes. Talk about how you contribute to the community. Post video as well as text comments. Take advantage of LinkedIn to build your professional network. Join groups and post comments about issues relating to your areas of expertise. There are many more opportunities here, but you have to have a plan and stick to it.

Network… Network… Network… Call other attorneys, take them out to lunch, attend events, and make these activities a part of your schedule. Do not wait until you get around to it. Rotate who you contact. Make a list and make sure you so not just focus on the people whose company you enjoy most. Do prioritize your list according to those who you know are your best referral sources.

Your law firm’s advertising campaign can help with this, but if that is all you do, you will miss out on some big cases. Keep in mind that your ad campaign will help with this only if you develop an effective brand within your community.

Do not forget to thank people for referrals. It will keep them coming. Do it right away and make it sincere, personal and meaningful. When appropriate give a heartfelt gift.

To learn more about creating a comprehensive plan for harvesting referrals, contact Network Affiliates today.

Group Advertising Programs – Do They Work?

2010-01-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Group advertising programs work for some firms, some of the time. In our experience, the key to success is using a group or network with strong brand name recognition. A good example of this is the Jacoby & Meyers Legal Network. This program works because of the Jacoby & Meyers brand name, which dates back more than thirty years.

Without the brand name, however, group advertising campaigns can be an ineffective use of your limited legal advertising budget. No matter what your budget, you need to ensure that you generate the maximum return on your investment.

What You May or May Not Get From Group Advertising

With a group advertising campaign you pool your budget with a number of other law firms. One reason to participate may be your desire to maintain your anonymity. Another common reason applies to law firms in large markets that may be unable to afford the expense of an effective advertising campaign on their own. The group or network approach may enable you to reach a larger audience than you could afford to reach on your own.

There are a few potential downsides: You need to ensure that the agency managing the campaign actually invests the bulk of the group’s advertising dollars into the media. Avoid group advertising programs that lack name recognition and do not guaranty that a specific portion of your investment goes into the media buy.

Another risk with a group advertising campaign is turnover within the group. Many group campaigns lose participants because some members of the group generate more leads – or are more effective at converting their leads – than others. When this happens, the group advertising budget may decline causing the lead volume to decline for everyone. Again, it pays to go with an established group with a strong brand and name recognition to minimize this risk.

What You Know You Will Not Get

One thing you know up-front that you will not get from group marketing is any kind of personal name recognition or branding. Just remember that branding does bring long-term value. When your potential clients know who you are, they can seek you out in their time of need and at their convenience. In the long run, the brand recognition will add value and increase your referrals

With over 28 years of experience in attorney marketing, Network Affiliates knows how to create a marketing strategy that will be effective for your firm within your budget, giving you the best value for every dollar you spend. Please, contact us today to learn more about your options.

So What Do you Do Story......

2010-01-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a pleasant New Years.
I went to a party and each time I met someone they asked..."So what do you do"?
How do you generally respond to this question? Most lawyers I know just say: "I’m an attorney."
Responding in this way means nothing, relays no benefits and is boring.
The real response should focus on what value and benefits you bring to the table.
In other words, if you’re an IP lawyer, why not state, "I protect the trade secrets and intellectual property of companies so they can maintain a competitive advantage."
Or, "I’m a personal injury attorney and I help injured people make sure they get fully compensated for their injuries."
Another style of "elevator pitch" can be:
1. Ask a question like..."Do you know how when people decide to end their marriage they are overwhelmed by all the decisions they have to make concerning property, custody, and support"?
2. "What I do is protect and help people gain control of all these issues by providing them cost effective legal advice every step of the way so they can protect their assets and provide them peace of mind during a difficult time in their life."

Can you see the difference it will make when you answer the question with what you actually can do for the person?
A unique and benefit-laden elevator speech will not only set you apart from other lawyers, but will show your prospects the value you deliver.
These two different ideas will set up apart every time someone asks ...so what do you do?
Stay well.
Cole
http://www.Findcareersuccess.com
(609) 306-8098
The Silver Group Ltd.
8 Dorchester Lane, Suite A
Moorestown, NJ
08057
US

Civil Rights Hero Falls From Grace:

2010-01-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

Following is an interesting article I found on CNN. It is worth reading.

Bobby DeLaughter, the prosecutor who secured the conviction in the infamous Medgar Evers Mississippi murder case, is himself now headed to prison.It was DeLaughter's dogged 1994 prosecution and the subsequent conviction of Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith that helped trigger the reopening of dozens of civil rights cold cases.

DeLaughter became an instant hero of the civil rights movement. Alec Baldwin portrayed him in the 1996 movie, "Ghosts of Mississippi," and his closing statement was once dubbed one of the greatest closing arguments in modern law.

A Fall From Grace

Bobby DeLaughter, who is best known for successfully prosecuting a white supremacist in the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers, was to begin serving an 18-month prison sentence Monday for lying to the FBI during a corruption probe. Here, DeLaughter appears in court July 30 in Aberdeen, Miss.

Ryan Moore, AP

"Is it ever too late to do the right thing?" DeLaughter told the jury of eight blacks and four whites. "For the sake of justice and the hope of us as a civilized society, I sincerely hope and pray that it's not."DeLaughter would go on to become a state judge in 2002. His years in the robe came to an end in 2009, when DeLaughter pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to an FBI agent in a far-reaching corruption probe that has rocked Mississippi's judicial system.

When DeLaughter was sentenced in November, Byron De La Beckwith's son sat in the chamber wearing a Confederate flag pin on his red blazer. His father had also worn a Confederate pin during the 1994 trial.DeLaughter is to begin serving his 18-month prison sentence today at a facility in Kentucky."

The man has now been destroyed, politically and economically. It's that serious," said Charles Evers, the brother of Medgar Evers.He said he is trying to raise money to help pay DeLaughter's expenses while he's in prison. "What can we do but fight for a man who fought for us?" he said. "I want DeLaughter to know I'm behind him 100 percent."DeLaughter's attorney, Tom Durkin, refused CNN's request to speak to the prosecutor-turned-judge ahead of his incarceration."

Bobby DeLaughter remains a civil rights hero, and nothing is going to tarnish that," Durkin said. "The penalty he's paying is enormous, and I think it's sad and unfortunate. But that's simply the way it is."

Over the past month, CNN spoke with more than a dozen lawyers in Mississippi about DeLaughter's fall from grace. They paint a picture of an ambitious man with a brilliant legal mind who ran afoul of the law -- of friends betraying friends and of big-time money corrupting the system. Some take delight in his downfall; others call it a tragedy that has stained the legal community.In the end, the lawyers said, DeLaughter trusted one man too much: his mentor, Ed Peters, who exploited their friendship and then turned on DeLaughter to avoid prison."

This is a Shakespearean tragedy in the sense that a person falls from grace due to their own character defects -- in this case, misplaced trust in a friend and, perhaps, some combination of ambition and hubris," said Matt Steffey, a law professor at Mississippi College School of Law.

The story of DeLaughter going from civil rights hero to convicted felon is complicated, involving years of contentious litigation in his courtroom.At the heart of the case is Dickie Scruggs, a high-powered lawyer who made tens of millions of dollars in tobacco and asbestos litigation. Scruggs is the brother-in-law of former Sen. Trent Lott and is now serving seven years in prison for trying to influence Mississippi judges, including DeLaughter.

According to prosecutors, Scruggs wanted to get to DeLaughter through his mentor, Peters, to try to influence DeLaughter's ruling in a high-stakes case, potentially worth $15 million. Peters received $1 million in illicit payments as compensation for his actions, prosecutors say. Peters was granted immunity in exchange for his cooperation."

Mississippi would like to shake its image of being tied to civil rights crimes and the good ole boy network, and we see these two things overlap here," Steffey said."

It's enormously unfortunate for a person like Judge DeLaughter who, at the very least, accomplished heroic things with bringing Byron De La Beckwith to justice. And it's tragic for the people of Mississippi -- that the end story here is that he is a corrupt judge in prison."

DeLaughter has denied taking any money in the case or that he was improperly influenced. In his guilty plea, he admits to only obstruction of justice; the more serious charges of involvement in a bribery scheme and mail fraud conspiracy were dismissed as part of the deal."

To me, he is a tragic figure because he had a good career and he threw it away," said attorney Bill Kirksey. "He became an embarrassment to the legal community, to the judicial community and, I would hope, to himself."Kirksey has an ax to grind with DeLaughter. He was one of the attorneys representing the client who stood to gain millions in the case at hand.

Kirksey and DeLaughter also trained under the same attorney several decades ago; Kirksey believes DeLaughter turned his back on everything they learned."Bobby DeLaughter betrayed every single oath he ever took. He betrayed the whole system of justice that we live by," Kirksey said."You measure a man by the whole of his life, not part of it. When the measure of the man is that he's dishonest in the end, then you have to wonder why he did anything in the beginning."

Merrida Coxwell was one of two lawyers who represented De La Beckwith in the 1994 trial. He has known DeLaughter for three decades, first as a defense attorney, then a prosecutor and finally as a judge."

Quite frankly, I thought he was a very moderate, straight-down-the-line judge," he said.

He was shocked when allegations first surfaced. For a judge to be caught up in such a scandal, Coxwell said, is unfathomable. "If you can't have justice inside the justice system, then it's no good at all."

Morris Dees, the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, represented Myrlie Evers, the widow of Medgar Evers -- the NAACP leader who was gunned down in his driveway on June 12, 1963.He says only one man had the guts to seek prosecution in the case when two previous trials years before ended without convictions."

If Bobby DeLaughter hadn't been around, it would never have happened. I can guarantee you that," Dees said. "It was the first modern-day prosecution of one of these old civil-rights-era murders, and it resulted in the prosecution and convictions of a large number later."

DeLaughter's bravery in seeking justice in the Evers case, Dees said, makes it tough to swallow his more recent failings as a judge. "Certainly, when a judge is put in prison and pleads guilty," Dees said, "it certainly tarnishes his legal and judicial reputation."Charles Evers said he will continue fighting for the man who fought so valiantly for his brother. "

We will do whatever's necessary to help him get over his dilemma, and I'll say that over and over again."Evers blasted prosecutors for offering immunity to Ed Peters, DeLaughter's mentor who avoided jail time even though he was the one accepting illicit payments. "

The man who squealed on him should be going to jail," Evers said."

I hope that some day justice will be fair and equal. ... It's not fair and equal in this case."

Creating Your Law Firm’s Brand

2009-12-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

Creating your law firm’s brand is one of the first steps to effective marketing. When done correctly this is a powerful tool that carries your message and sets the tone for your marketing campaigns. It becomes easily recognizable and it has meaning. The goal is to establish positive and accurate brand recognition.

In order to do this, we must start with authenticity. Your brand must be created to fit your firm. It must realistically represent who you are and you must be able to live up to what it promises. A great looking logo and catchy slogan will get you nowhere if they do not accurately represent your firm. Recognition generates expectations.

When creating your brand we take many factors into consideration. How do you want to represent yourself? What sets your firm apart from all the others? Who are you trying to reach? How do you want them to remember you? Always bringing the answers back around to check, does this really fit?

If not, is it what you are striving to become and can you make the necessary changes? You see, branding is more than just your name, logo, and colors. It is not just how you are represented. It must be backed up in person. It is a two way street, and everyone in your firm is a part of it.

When you work with Network Affiliates in creating your brand, we get to know you so the results align with who you really are, send a positive message, and you maintain that branding, that image, naturally.

Client Communication Strategies

2009-11-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

If you are putting all of your marketing budget and energy into bringing in new clients you are missing out on your most effective audience – your existing clients. They know you, they like you, and they know that you get results for them. That doesn’t mean they are always thinking about you, though. You need to stay fresh on their minds. You do not have to convince them of anything, just remind them that you are there and let them know about services you offer that they may not be aware of or remember.

Network Affiliates’ creative services can help you stay in touch with your clients with a variety of client communication tools so you can mix it up and keep their attention.

Oversized post cards let you say more to your clients, but still get their attention because the message is right there in front of them without having to open anything. They are brief and to the point and lead your client to your website to learn more. They can be used for announcements or they can be educational.

Custom law firm brochures remind your clients of who you are and what you do. They are in line with your firm’s branding so it is not just another brochure that goes straight from the mailbox to the trash can. They will go into your client’s files for quick reference, much like a takeout menu.

Firm video brochures combine the best aspects of direct mail and television advertising. They have the power that only video can deliver and you know unquestionably that they are reaching your target audience. Your client will know that you made a special effort to deliver this important information to them.

Mail inserts are an inexpensive, but effective way to let your clients know about services you offer that they have not yet taken advantage of.

Greeting cards remind them that you are human. You are thoughtful and courteous and you really do take the time to remember them.

Contact the law firm marketing specialists at Network Affiliates today to learn more about effective client communication strategies for law firms.

Writing an Effective Press Release

2009-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

To be effective your press release must first get published and second it must get your readers’ attention.

In order to get your press release published you must strictly follow submission guidelines. Contact every media outlet you plan to send your press release to for the most current guidelines, including the format in which they prefer to receive it as this may change over time.

Before you begin, you need to think about some questions yourself. Should you be writing a press release at all? Is it news? Why will people want to read about this? Is this useful information? Why and how will it prompt readers to take action (call you)? The answers to these questions should guide your writing. Remember this is news, not an advertisement (even though it really is marketing).

Be timely. Is this relevant today? Does it relate to current events? It doesn’t necessarily have to, but you need to think about why this is news today. It could be as simple as announcing your own event or accomplishment. If you are announcing an accomplishment, ask yourself why anyone should care. Does it do anything for or mean anything to your readers or are you just tooting your own horn?

Your opening will make or break the press release. You must get your readers’ attention with the headline and in the first sentence, so these should get the most of your attention when writing your final draft. Make your point in the first paragraph. Make it an overview that lets them know why they should read on. Save the details for later.

Don’t get fluffy, and leave out the exclamation points. Avoid flowery language, and excessive adjectives, but do use strong adjectives where appropriate. Your press release does not need to be long; it needs to be powerful. If you find yourself padding with unnecessary words for length, maybe you don’t really have anything to say.

Do include the pertinent details – who, what, when, where, and why. You are trying to motivate your readers to take some kind of action, so don’t leave them hanging. Do not assume that they will be so impressed that they will do their own research. Give them the information they need.

Include every contact option you can, and double or triple check to make such it is accurate with no typos. An incredible press release with one wrong digit in the phone number or a typo in your email address may as well not exist. Again, do not expect your audience to be so motivated that they will look up the right phone number if the one you provide does not work for them.

For more tips on writing an effective press release, please contact Network Affiliates today.

Are You Capturing All of Your Calls?

2009-11-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

When your marketing works potential clients are motivated to pick up the phone. They should be encouraged to call 24/7 so that they do it now while it’s fresh on their mind instead of forgetting or putting it on that never-completed to-do list. If you do not capture and respond to the call, it may as well have never been placed.

Existing clients are more likely to contact you during normal hours of operation, but sometimes they will call as soon as something comes up, from the scene of an accident in the middle of the night, for instance. If you do not respond, those clients will seek help elsewhere.

What goes wrong in call capturing?

First of all, some callers will not leave you a voice mail. Sometimes, voicemail systems fail to record or save the message, but don’t expect your callers to think of that when they never hear back from you, and if you say you didn’t get the message they will think it’s due to incompetence somewhere within your firm or that you are lying.

You have a few options to improve your call capturing.

A live answering service will prompt callers who avoid voicemail to leave a message. Make sure you use a service that will record the numbers of any callers who refuse to leave a message so you can get back with them.

If you are willing to take the calls yourself, you can forward your calls to your cell phone or home phone. If you forward to your home phone make sure that you answer in a professional manner and that anyone in your household who answers the phone is instructed to do the same. This is not a good option for capturing nighttime calls, but it can work well when you must be out of the office during business hours and if you want to take calls personally on the weekends.

At the very least, use caller ID. Check it every morning, or have your assistant check it. Write down every number and check that against your voicemail messages. Make returning calls your first order of business every day. If you can’t do it yourself, assign the task to someone who can at least call and say that the message was received and you will be getting back to them personally this morning or by the end of the day. Make sure you do it. If possible have the person who calls back ask for more information so you can prepare for the call.

Of course, your callers should never, ever get a busy signal. Double up on capturing calls that come in while the line is tied up by forwarding to voicemail and using call waiting ID. Every time you get off the phone, check your voicemail and the caller ID to make sure that you did not miss an important call.

Generating Positive Word of Mouth on the Internet

2009-11-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

Word of mouth advertising is very powerful, but hard to obtain. It’s hard to create because the advertising must come unsolicited from the consumer. In the past, creating positive word of mouth took tons of time, energy and resources. With the advent of the Internet, however, generating positive word of mouth has become much easier to capture.

An area of the Internet that is growing rapidly is the realm of social media. Within the social media world, there’s a website called Yelp which can help your law firm generate more positive word of mouth. Yelp is a review website where people post reviews about local businesses. These reviews come from the unfiltered minds of your clients.

So now I bet you’re asking, how do these reviews benefit my law firm? It’s really quite simple. People often times take to the Internet to search for a lawyer. If you search for a law firm with a local term, like Denver Personal Injury Lawyer, a map will pop up above the organic search results. In these listings are reviews from websites like Yelp. The more reviews your firm has, the more relevant your listing becomes in the eyes of Google. And if these reviews are positive, those results become more valuable to your potential clients. Unbiased opinions from peers can sometimes be the most powerful endorsements you can receive as a lawyer.

Here is an example of a Yelp page from a lawyer in San Francisco that is getting high marks on Yelp. After reading reviews like that, wouldn’t you want to hire that lawyer if you had some sort of immigration issue to handle?

One thing to keep in mind is that Yelp is not the only website which allows users to post reviews. Google Local allows you to post reviews as well as Bing Local. Those results will go straight to the search engines, which is beneficial to your search engine rankings. Here some other notable examples of review websites:

Citysearch
Insider Pages
Yahoo Local

On top of empowering your clients to post reviews in these spaces, you should also pay attention to what people are saying about your firm on these websites. Spotting a negative review and responding to it could mean the difference between getting a case and not even having a chance at getting a case. Managing your online reputation is important and these websites will help you leverage your positive reputation.

If you have any questions about Yelp or Internet marketing in general, please contact us.

Developing a Comprehensive Law Firm Marketing Strategy

2009-11-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Effective marketing involves more than running a television ad or throwing up a quick website. To bring in new clients and keep your old clients coming back, and to make the most of your marketing dollars, you need a comprehensive marketing strategy.

What does a comprehensive law firm marketing strategy include?

This will vary somewhat depending on what is appropriate for your firm and in keeping with your branding and budget, but there are some basic components that, when used together, work for most firms.

Television ads are still a crucial part of marketing. The key is to have ads that stand out from the competition and a media buy that will put you in front of the right audience.

Direct mail is one of your most cost effective options. It is a great way to keep in touch with your existing clients, staying fresh on their minds and getting referrals. It is another oldie but goodie that should not be pushed aside. Bottom line? Direct mail marketing works.

You absolutely must have a law firm website. It needs to be more than just an online business card. You need informative and interesting content so that potential clients feel that they are already receiving value from you before they even pick up the phone. It lets them know that you know your business and what you can do for them.

These basics are just the beginning and the core of your comprehensive law firm marketing strategy. Timely press releases, choosing the right type of ads, deciding when, how often, and in what way to use direct mail campaigns, and so much more go into developing your marketing strategy.

It may sound overwhelming, but we will help you the way you help your clients deal with difficult situations. Please, contact us today to find out how we do it.

Remember Stella Liebeck who Sued McDonalds.

2009-11-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

Remember Stella Liebeck? The lady that had the audacity to sue McDonalds for serving coffee that was so hot she had to have skin grafting? Watch the trailer of this movie currently in production....www.hotcoffeethemovie.com/trailer

Strategic Marketing Consulting

2009-11-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

Strategic marketing is a long-term approach to your marketing plan that makes for more effective and streamlined marketing. It allows you to stay current without having to constantly scramble to get in on today’s hot topics. It means less time and attention spent on marketing for you, and never having to make radical changes midstream.

Strategic marketing also helps you get the most out of your marketing budget, making the best use of every penny. It allows you to buy when prices are their best and avoid expensive marketing emergencies.

Strategic marketing consulting helps you develop your strategic marketing plan. Developing your brand or evaluating and fine tuning your existing brand is an important part of the process, but there is so much more.

We identify your marketing goals. Developing a database marketing strategy is crucial. Generating business from existing clients and referrals is less expensive, more rewarding, and should be included in the plan.

We identify your target audience and how to reach them. That may not be who you think it is.

We also look at what your competition is doing and what we can do to give you the edge. You do not want to follow the same path as they are. You want to stand out, and your marketing needs to work in such a way that it is not just directly vying against another firm.

We look at trends to anticipate changes in your potential clients’ needs and interests. Strategic marketing is about anticipating what the hot topics will be six months from now and planning for them. It also means planning for flexibility, being in a position to respond quickly to changes without changing your entire plan midstream.

With over 25 years of attorney marketing experience, Network Affiliates provides strategic marketing consulting that really works. Contact us today to learn more.

Improving Client Relationships

2009-10-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

Improving your relationships with your clients means better retention rates and more referrals. No matter how happy you believe your clients are, there is almost always some area in which you can improve and make them happier.

Create realistic expectations
You may be tempted to wow a new client by promising them the moon, but if you can’t deliver your client will see it as either incompetence or dishonesty on your part. And, they will spread the news.

More difficult to deal with is the client who comes to you with unrealistic expectations already established. Some clients often have a strong sense of entitlement and feel that they have been grossly wronged.

Your job is to create realistic expectations while remaining sympathetic and being on their side. Acknowledge that they deserve better, but be clear about the limitations of the law. Make sure they understand that these limitations were not your idea.

Know your client
No one can be expected to remember all of the details about each client they see or speak to, but forgetting any detail will plant a seed of doubt in your client’s mind. Always take good notes, writing down the personal details that do not necessarily apply to the case as well. Before meeting with or calling your client, review your notes.

Ask timely questions. You don’t have to get too personal, but if they are returning from a vacation or their kid just had a birthday party, mention it. And, by all means, have the details of their case straight and fresh on your mind.

Communicate promptly
One of the easiest ways to put people off is to be slow about returning calls or emails. You may be too busy to give a thorough response right now, but just letting them know you got the message and you are going to get back with them on the matter as soon as possible means you are paying attention and have the respect to show them common courtesy.

No one wants to feel like their case is on the back burner.

Keep in touch, even if nothing has changed
Keep your clients updated on the progress of their case. Even if nothing has changed, give them a call or send a quick email just to check in and let them know everything is still on course. And, if something does change, let them know right away even if it requires no action on their part.

Finding the weaknesses in how you and your firm deal with clients can be tough, but necessary. Bringing them in is only the beginning. To learn more about how your firm can improve client relationships, please contact Network Affiliates today.

Getting Started on Blogging

2009-10-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome back to the second part of my ongoing blog about topics related to social media and the Internet.

I was planning on posting a blog about how one sets up a blog and gets going with blogging for my second blog. However, I think a better place to start would be this great post I read from leading social marketer, Chris Brogan. He published a nice little piece on how to start using social media if you are a small business. It has some great pointers and further reinforces the fact that if you are standing still when it comes to using the Internet, you are falling behind.

Advertising on TV is not enough anymore. Competition during these tough economic times has only increased and more small businesses are looking for inexpensive alternatives to marketing on TV. One of these avenues is the Internet, and if your firm has not at least considered marketing on the Internet, you are doing yourselves a disservice.

Now that we got that out of the way, where do you set up a blog? Good question. Here are some options.

Blogger:

Google’s very own blog platform. We at Network Affiliates use Blogger and we think it works out quite well. It can be set up to match the look of your existing website and can even be posted on your existing website. Best of all, it’s free.

WordPress:

WordPress is a free, open source blogging platform. What does open source mean? It means anyone is free to make modifications or improvements to the program. This means that if you have a handy IT person who knows your business, they could potentially add functionality to your blog. Pretty cool, huh? You can also buy themes for WordPress if you want more sophisticated tracking, looks, and other things.

TypePad:

TypePad is the only non-free blogging platform I will mention in this post. It costs a $15 a month for a pro membership, which will give you all of the functionality you could possibly need. TypePad also provides a great mechanism for publishing your content on Facebook and Twitter.

All of these platforms, again, integrate seamlessly with your current website. And while these are just three examples of widely used and respected blogging platforms, there are hundreds of others out there. These three mentioned in this blog post are great benchmarks for comparison, though.

After you get your blog registered with a blog service, the tricky part begins: developing content. How do you develop content? That is the topic for another post. Until next time, take some time to visit the other posts on this blog or some from your colleagues. Visit them to see how you might use a blog. Thanks for reading. Be on the look out for another post in the near future.

- Clay Frickey

Law Firm Advertising Strategy Evaluations

2009-10-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

In any business, effective marketing is a full time job. If you choose to handle your own marketing it can quickly eat into the time you need to spend doing what you do best. It is easy to fall into the rut of ineffective or mediocre advertising.

If you got off to a powerful start, you may not be keeping up to date because you simply don’t have time to stay on top of it. Or maybe you had some brilliant ideas, but something is off in the execution and your advertising is not reaching the right audience. The wrong placement that does not effectively hit your target demo can cause the very best message to fizzle because your potential clients never see it.

Do you know if your law firm’s advertising is working? Do you know how it compares to what the competition is doing? Is it as effective as it can be, or could it use some improvement? Do you need an entirely new approach? Do you just pay the bills and hope for the best?

An advertising strategy evaluation is a basic component of effective marketing. It lets you know what is working, what you need to keep doing, and what needs to be changed. Without it you are shooting in the dark.

It may sound simple on the surface. You run your ad and you either get more business or you don’t. In reality, you have to know how long it should take for your advertising to produce results. Get impatient and you may give it up before it has had time to be effective. Maybe your advertising has your phone ringing, but you are not converting potential clients into actual clients. You need to know why and how you can change those results.

The legal marketing experts at Network Affiliates can give you the answers you need. Let us evaluate your current marketing strategy today.

South Beach Client Meeting

2009-10-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Network Affiliates Client Meeting in South Beach last week was a tremendous success. Many of our clients were in attendance. The meeting was preceded by two days of custom production where a number of attorneys shot custom TV Ads. We covered a lot of material at the meeting including Howard Hyden as the featured speaker explaining how “customer focus” can improve your “Positive Word Of Mouth” referrals. The new syndicated legal advertising campaigns were well received as were some of our custom ads and marketing materials. The Silberstein Awad & Miklos medical malpractice brochure handed out by Jeff Buenz also generated very favorable reviews.

The meeting covered a lot of ground, and one highlight for me was the first speaker - Gibson Vance of Beasley Allen. Mr. Vance, who is the President Elect of the AAJ, explained that many firms are ignoring valuable product liability claims. He spoke about the potential product liability claims involving single vehicle accidents – including single vehicle tractor-trailer accidents. Many of these cases are turned down because the driver was at fault, but Mr. Vance pointed out that if there is a death or serious injury, single vehicle accidents should be evaluated for product liability.

He listed several examples of product liability claims arising out of single vehicle accident cases that ranged from the obvious to those that can be discovered with in-depth investigation. Among other things, they include:

Roof crush.
Faulty seat belts.
Ejection through the back or side windows.
Fifteen passenger vans.
Tire blow outs.
Reclining seat backs.
Defective door latch.

He encouraged each of the lawyers to forward any such claims involving serious injury or death to Beasley Allen. His firm will not pursue the personal injury claims – the referring attorney could handle those. Beasley Allen would just investigate and pursue the potential product liability claims and share legal fees with the referring attorney.

Mr. Vance also mentioned that many product liability lawsuits arise out of workers’ comp claims. If the claim involves a serious injury (amputation, death, paralysis, etc.), Beasley Allen will evaluate the potential product liability claim for no charge.

He mentioned some other claims with good potential as well including FLSA claims that are very easy to evaluate simply by adding three questions to your intake form. He said that he would forward those questions to Network Affiliates for distribution to the attorneys.

Overall, the talk gave our clients some simple ways to generate some additional revenue from clients that are already calling.

Holidays - Marketing to Your Clients

2009-09-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

School is well on its way and it will be holiday season soon. You can make the holidays work for you in a variety of ways.

As much as we hate to look at it this way, the holidays can be a painful reminder of lost loved ones. We miss those who are no longer with us more poignantly during those times when we should be celebrating together.

Holidays are also ripe with accidents. For many families a holiday marks the anniversary of an accident that either killed a relative or destroyed their life.

The holiday season is the perfect time for you to give your potential clients a gentle, tasteful reminder of your presence and how you can help them.

You must approach holiday season marketing efforts carefully. You do not want to look like a vulture preying on their grief. There are several avenues you can pursue to get yourself in front of your potential clients, but stay in a positive light.

You may want to incorporate a public service message into your television campaign, such as one reminding the public of the high accident rate and to drink responsibly during the holidays.

Contributing to a charity or participating in a charity event, can also remind the public of who you are, what you do, and that you care.

Of course, you want to blog about it. If you are doing something charitable, mention it in your blog. If you are not, you can still talk about safety and lost loved ones with a personal tone rather than a blatant push.

Please, contact the legal advertising specialists at Network Affiliates today to start your holiday season advertising planning. We can help you. Please call.

Combating the Guilt

2009-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Once again, on the subject of motivating potential clients to take action, you must take into consideration the obstacles that prevent them from taking action and how you can remove those obstacles.

Those with the strongest, most deserving cases are often the very people who will not take action out of a sense of guilt. It is unfair, but it makes sense. An opportunist, looking to make a quick buck, will come to you with anything they think they might be able to sue for; or even make something up.

The clients you want have a good case and will be honest with you about the circumstances involved. But potential clients with a conscience may be easily swayed by the propaganda that says litigation is hurting society in general. Right now we hear this a lot with the health care debate and passions are running high.

Medical malpractice is a leading cause of death, yet only a tiny percentage of victims take legal action. These victims need to be reminded and reassured that by suing they do not cause harm and that failing to take action is what allows the wrongdoing and death to continue. You have to turn around the thought that suing would be selfish and show them how it serves the greater good.

For individuals, choosing to initiate a lawsuit is a big decision. Letting your potential clients know you are there for them and how they can benefit from your services is just the first step. Chipping away at the barriers between fantasizing and taking real action is necessary if you want to bring them in. Our legal advertising strategies can help you do that.

Motivating Your Audience to Take Action Now

2009-09-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

It is human nature to put things off, especially when they seem complicated and possibly expensive. You already know the importance of educating your potential clients about contingency fees to counter the assumption that they cannot afford a personal injury attorney. It is equally important to inform them of time limits in a way that motivates them to take immediate action.

Most people are familiar with the term “statute of limitations”, but may not have a full understanding of what it means to them as plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit. There are several common misconceptions.

One misconception is that if you are in the right and someone has done you wrong it does not matter if you miss a deadline. Good prevails over evil, the law is on the best man’s side, and all of those idealistic notions that make for a willing and positive client, but can cost them their case. On the other end of the spectrum are the pessimists who assume that it must be too late already, so why bother.

The third common misconception is a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. It is the assumption that time limits are simple and consistent and accurately portrayed on television. People with this misinformation get the basic concept of the statute of limitation, but typically have an amount of time in their mind that they are sure applies to their case, and they are usually very wrong.

Your law firm’s advertising campaign needs to correct all three groups without scaring any of them off. You must communicate a sense of urgency that clearly negates the first misconception, “If you wait too long you will lose your rights forever, no matter how right you are.” At the same time, you don’t want that to convince the second group that it really must be too late. You can avoid that by attacking the third misconception and letting your audience know that every case is unique and that statutes of limitations vary depending not only on the type of case but the jurisdiction.

At Network Affiliates we have the experience to help you get the right message across in your legal advertising campaign; one that will create a sense of urgency while reassuring your potential clients that meeting with you is an opportunity for them to gain a clear understanding of their rights. Please, contact us today.

2009-08-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

The Social Media Revolution: How to Use Social Media in Your Law Firm (Part 1)

Hi there. My name is Clay Frickey and today I will be sharing with you part 1 of a running series of blog posts on how to use social media in your law firm. I hope it is informative and will get you thinking about what opportunities there are for your law firm on the social web.

Social media has become the hot new movement in the world of advertising and marketing. Recently, I watched a video that shows the impact of social media on the cultural landscape. Here is a link to the video:

http://thedenveregotist.com/article/4806/the-social-media-revolution/

So, what does all of this mean to you? Do lawyers need to be concerned about their online presence? Absolutely! More and more lawyers are beginning to dip their toes into the social media waters. Some dove right in, using services like Twitter and have amassed thousands of followers that read their tweets. Here’s an ever updating list that contains all of the lawyers that JD Supra follows on Twitter. As of today, there are over 700 lawyers using that JD Supra follows.

http://scoop.jdsupra.com/2008/09/articles/law-firm-marketing/145-lawyers-and-legal-professionals-to-follow-on-twitter/

Does this mean that if you aren’t on Twitter, that you’re going to lose market share to your competitors? Not necessarily. If you haven’t considered Twitter or the benefits of blogging or search engine optimization, on the other hand, you would be doing yourself a disservice.

So, what’s the next step if you aren’t actively engaging in social media? First, educate yourself on the topic of social media. Search on Google for legal marketing blogs. Then, read what your competitors are writing about. This will give you guidance on how to write your blog and show you how your web presence can improve. Then, after finding some other blogs that you like, comment on blog posts you agree or disagree with and start a conversation. After being involved in a conversation on these blog posts, you will begin to see the power of blogging and the internet in general.

Next time, I will be discussing how to set up your own blog and how to use it to drive business to your law firm.

The Power of Testimonials

2009-08-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

Never underestimate the power of a personal story. Testimonials reach people in a personal and emotional way that facts simply cannot do alone. They remind your audience that you work with real people, individuals just like them.

If you have ever tried to sell a home you are familiar with the concept of letting potential buyers see themselves in your home. Your real estate agent or house staging consultant will ask you to depersonalize by putting away family photos and making the décor more neutral so that people looking at the house can mentally superimpose images of themselves, their families, and their stuff in your living space.

Testimonials can help you accomplish a very similar goal, but by doing the opposite. Where we tend to see homes as a very personal space, easily overwhelmed by the personality of the current owner, images of your office can easily make your firm appear too cold and unwelcoming; too business like. Testimonials can neutralize that effect. They allow you to maintain your image of professionalism while helping your clients visualize themselves working with you one on one. Seeing examples of real life people who have unique and personal anecdotes to share about how you worked with them, sets their minds on the course of imaging the little personal touches that would come into play in their situation.

Then, of course, there is the believability factor. You can rattle off the numbers and give the statistics for your success. You can even tell specific stories yourself. But hearing it from the horse’s mouth has more impact. Seeing the real emotion and hearing the authentic voice and wording from a client who has benefitted from your help in their time of need just sounds more real and tangible, no matter how honest and believable you are to your potential clients.

When you incorporate testimonials into your television ads, they need to come across as authentic, but still need to maintain a certain level of professionalism. The clients on the screen should not look too polished and destroy the credibility factor, but they should be well groomed and well spoken. It is a careful balance.

Please contact Network Affiliates today to learn more about the power of testimonials and how to achieve that balance that will bring clients in rather than turning them off.

Internet and Television Marketing Work Together

2009-07-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

If you are still trying to decide whether to aggressively market on the Internet or focus on television ads, you should know that this is not an either/or question. You should be making good use of both, and the two will compliment and complete each other.

Your television ads are indispensible. They get you out there in front of your potential clients. TV ads keep your name and the reasons potential clients need you fresh on their minds, whether they are actively looking for help or not. They can generate a call from someone who does not know how or is not inclined to get online and research their problem.

Your web presence rounds this out and gives you credibility. Consider your website like an online office. It is where people go to see you and learn more about you after they see your television ad, or after doing a web-based search for an attorney or their particular problem. Even those who rarely search the Internet expect you to have a modern and informative website. Today, if a business does not have a website it immediately raises a red flag.

Those who do use the Internet will be prompted by your television ad to look you up online. From there they can learn more about you. How do you really present yourself? Does your website demonstrate knowledge and experience with the issues they care about? Many potential clients who see your ad outside of business hours may not pick up the phone and call assuming that a call would just go to an answering machine or voice mail, but they will be willing to send an email to you right now.

Please contact Network Affiliates today to learn more about making television and the Internet work together for your firm.

Remind Potential Clients that Medical Bills Are a Leading Cause of Bankruptcy

2009-06-22T05:49:00.003-07:00

A recent Harvard study found that 62% of bankruptcies in 2007 were health care related. More than 75% of those who filed for bankruptcy due to health related financial problems had medical insurance when the problems began.

How does that happen and why am I bringing it up?

Health insurance just doesn't cut it. It does not pay all of the medical bills and it does not help at all with lost income.

When a person is injured, they may believe that health insurance will bear the brunt of the expense. That kind of thinking may delay panic, but it is flawed and it only puts off the real financial problems that follow.

First of all, insurance rarely covers everything. There are deductibles and co-pays that the patient will have to deal with out-of-pocket. And, if you have ever dealt with insurance, you know that there are many things that just aren't covered.

Then there is the lost income during recovery and the reality of losing insurance coverage if the injury costs them their job.

Your potential clients need to be reminded that they cannot just sit back and rely on health insurance to cover their losses. In the beginning, it may look like something they can handle, but it can quickly spiral out of control, as it has for so many before them.

Norton Frickey: Special Thoughts From Special Friends....

2009-06-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to have known NF and benefited greatly from his wisdom and guidance, not just in how to manage my practice but in how to approach the fullness of life. He was an icon in the legal field and an inspiration who will be greatly missed. My deepest condolences go to his children and grandchildren.
David Klein

Mr. Frickey's passing is sad news, indeed. He was a man who's word was his bond and it was my great privilege to have known him since 1982. I flew into Denver then to see him and was met at the airport by his son, young Norty, who, along with sister Janet, would later so ably receive the mantle of leadership from their father. There is a lot that can be said about Mr. Fricke. One remarkable thing is how he endured all the tough times. I know he suffered through times of deep disappointment that would have driven many men to cynicism. But, not him. He saw the better nature in people and acquired a wisdom that inspired those who knew him. He helped me through some tough times of my own. He didn't ask anything in return. He helped because that was his nature. I don't know how you replace the irreplaceable. He will be greatly missed.
Pat Carr

To the Frickey family, Network Affiliate Members and Network Affiliate Staff:
None of us would know each other were it not for Norton Frickey who I first met on July 28, 1995 in Vail.
We are all in his debt for our prosperity. He was a kind, generous, thoughtful man who showed the same demeanor and attention to the bus boy cleaning our table as he did to the biggest member of our group.
I last saw him in Las Vegas several years ago, and he told me that would be his last convention as flying had become too uncomfortable for him. I told him then what a pleasure it had been to have known him and how he had enriched our lives in so many ways. His legacy is the very fine Staff he had put together at Network Affiliates, the Members over the years and the thousands of clients he has introduced to each of us.
We are all better for having known Norton and have benefited from his vision and leadership. Joan and I send our most sincere condolences to our extended Network Affiliates family.
Herbert Thornbury

Dear Harlan:
I am very sorry to hear this. I always thought Norty would live forever. He was a good and honest man. We will not see another like him pass this way again soon. We will miss him and we share with his family in his loss.
George Fleming

Tammy and Harlan: In a unique way NF lives on in perpetuity every time a commercial runs much like the MGM “Lion” and the 20th Century spotlight or the Screen Gems torch-bearing Goddess, whoever she is. He was a true gentleman, good friend and of course a golden source of wealth and riches for all of us. He will be missed.
Lawrence"Larry" Levin

I am also deeply sadden by Norton’s death. I met him about 25 years ago, and started my marketing career because of his influence. He had vision and determination in an era when lawyers who advertised were treated poorly by many establishment lawyers. The profession owes him a great deal.
Norton was a mench in every sense of the word. He will be deeply missed, and he will be hard to replace. My best to his family.
Herb Friedman

Although I never had the pleasure of meeting NF, I feel fortunate to have received the benefit of his creative vision for more than 15 years. I have also enjoyed the camaraderie and family closeness many of you speak of while fishing for trout in my backyard with Norty, Jr. and while working with numerous members of NetAff's dedicated staff throughout all of these years. I have no doubt that the warmth and closeness shared by the entire NetAff crew with all of its clients was also a large part of NF's vision.
My sincerest sympathy to Norty, Jr. and family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this most difficult time.
With best regards,
Dennis Ellis

I am saddened by the news of the passing of NF. I certainly enjoyed knowing him all these years. Please let Norty and Janet know that my prayers are with them in this time of sorrow. As you know he was more than just a business contact—a real friend. I will miss him.
Gordon Crawford

Tammy,
Please pass on the heart felt condolences of Dave,Lou and me and everyone else at Gold Khourey and Turak to the family.We have been associated with Network Affiliates since 1986.I always thought the success NF enjoyed was attributable to his belief that his success was a function of our success and our success was his foremost concern.I think that is his most important legacy and a value that to this day still sustains Network Affiliates.We all owe him a considerable debt.
Please let me know the arrangements.Thanks.
Jon Turak

Tammy,

I am so very sorry to hear that Mr. Frickey passed away. It is a rare to know a man who accomplished so much in one lifetime. I would like to extend my family’s deepest condolences to the entire Frickey family and the extended Network family. If there is anything we can do, please do not hesitate to call upon us. Thanks Tammy.
Keith V. Trantolo
Attorney

As one of the original two Network Affiliate clients I can only add, well said. I remember my first call to Network Affiliates when NF picked up the phone himself. From the beginning I knew that I was doing business with a man of great integrity, ingenuity & courage. We both wondered if TV in such a small market #132 in the US would be viable. I was present when he announced stepping down and handing the reins over to Norty. He was in fact a great man who left a wonderful legacy. I remember the early days when he demanded that all ads be of the highest quality both in content & production. Every time I saw him he asked me if I was related to "Virgil Trucks" (a major leaguer of four decades ago). I guess he finally believed me when I sent him a signed baseball card. Norton & the team he leaves at Network Affiliates has had a tremendous impact on me and my family. Picking up the phone in Clare, Michigan after seeing his add in Trial Magazine was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Jay Trucks

Dear Tammy,
Thank you for conveying this very sad news. NF was a legend - a forward-thinker ahead of his time - and he played a pivotal role in changing how lawyers in America do business, and in opening the doors of justice to the "little people" who had no one to speak for them, little education, and no access to assistance. Any of us would be proud to have that said of us.
We will all miss a truly wonderful gentleman!
John Saxon

This is certainly shocking news, Tammy. I was just about to write a note to Norton (I always called him “Norton” for some reason, not NF) to apologize for not getting out to Golden to see him on my trip to Denver last week. There is so much that I have to be grateful to him for and so many good times that Betsy and I have to remember with him and with his family. This is a great loss, coming all too soon. Please let me know when the memorial service will take place as I will want to be there if possible. The only thing that might keep me from coming out there is that my father is also dying and is not expected to live more than a few more days.
Don Lowery

Please convey our condolences to the Frickey family. I am aware of his legendary status and had the pleasure of seeing and listening to him speak at one of the conventions I attended several years ago after becoming affiliated with Network Affiliates.
Abe Kalfus

On behalf of the partners and employees of Arrington Schelin & Herrell, I wish to convey our deepest sympathy to Norty, Janet, their families, and, the extended family at Network Affiliates, upon the death of Mr. Frickey. As Tammy said, in a most eloquent way, he distinguished himself among his colleagues with his pleasant and innovative style. All can be justly proud of his contributions and accomplishments to the advertising and legal communities. He is remembered with respect and admiration and he will be missed.
We extend our condolences to his family. We hope that time and memories will help lessen the burden of their sorrow, and that they may draw comfort from knowing that others care and share in their loss. Please let us know the arrangements and how we can help.
Brenda Kieser

Our sincerest sympathies to his family and everyone at Network Affiliates.
Mel Wright

Our thoughts are with the Frickey Family and everyone at Network Affiliates.
David R. Montlick

Branding: Do You Really Get It?

2009-06-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

It is easy to overcomplicate the concept of branding. Like it or not, everyone has it. The key is guiding and cultivating it. Making your brand what you want it to be, making it stand out, sending the message that you want people to recognize and identify with you and your firm.

We tend to think of branding in corporate terms – company image, the marketing message, and all of that. We think of McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, or GM. Recognizable slogans, the look and feel of something big, often something we have lived with all of our lives. Branding and institutions seem to go hand in hand.

Translating branding down to the individual or a small company (a group of individuals) can feel counterintuitive; the opposite of personal. This is where we lose the connection; where the term replaces the meaning.

Your brand is really just your "voice". It is your image and your style. It is how people identify you, what sets you apart from the crowd. It happens naturally, whether you are aware of it or not.

Your firm's brand must be authentic, but that does not mean you cannot control and shape it. It is the natural outgrowth of you and everyone in your firm and everything that the public sees and experiences when they come in contact with you and your firm in any way. This includes your marketing and much more.

Network Affiliates has over 25 years of experience working with attorneys, identifying their authentic brand, cultivating that natural spark and making it recognizable and meaningful to their potential clients.

Norton Frickey: A Great Man....

2009-06-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

It is with great sadness that I send this email to you all today. Yesterday morning, Mr. Frickey ("NF" as we affectionately referred to him) passed away at his home in Colorado. He was 84 years old. As you can expect, Norty and his brother Doug and sisters Janet, Charmaine and Kim and their families are in the process of working through a great deal. We will let you know of the memorial service particulars once they are finalized.

I know I speak for all of us, who have learned, and grown and prospered in ways too numerous to mention, due to an idea that a unique man had more than 30 years ago. NF was not only the pioneer in the field of legal advertising, he was a pioneer of great ideas, of great challenges, of great debates, of great risks, and of great gains! It's difficult to imagine where we would all be today without NF. He prided himself on molding and building these businesses at 940 Wadsworth with his family. And, he considered us all part of his family. He shared a tremendous fondness and respect for all of you, who were always more than "clients" to NF. You too, were an integral part of his family.

There are few people who impact the number of lives that NF has impacted so positively. From the "little guy" who he so pridefully represented in court, to his fellow brethren in the legal field whose business landscape he single handedly changed with but one television commercial back in the late 70's, to the associates he demanded so much from in every aspect of business, to each and everyone of us who he truly valued.

He was loved, admired, and respected. Mr. Frickey was a good man with a good heart to show for it! To say "he will be missed" is simply an understatement.

Tammy Kehe

Thinking of the Future

2009-06-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

Your potential clients need help now. They are dealing with the immediate financial fallout from their injuries and the economy. They are in grave danger of trading their futures and their children's futures in for a quick fix.

We all know that insurance companies give injured parties the short end of the stick in exchange for expediency and under the threat of getting nothing at all. Personal injury victims may not know that or may be so desperate for help right now that they are willing to take less than pennies on the dollar just to get something and get it fast.

Your mission - as an advertising lawyer - is to remind them that the insurance companies will try to cheat them and that their future is on the line. By sticking with it, hiring your personal injury law firm, and taking the insurance companies to task, they could be preserving their retirement, their children's college opportunities, and just the basic quality of life that they are accustomed to or expect to achieve in the future.

This message reaches two types:

Those who had some savings, but have spent it or expect to spend it because of their injuries and are looking for a way to replenish

Those who did not have any reserves in the first place and need money now, but need far more than the insurance company will shell out

The first group will easily see the value in pursuing compensation.

The second group is more desperate. They need reassurance and advice on how they can get by until their case is resolved if they refuse the insurance company's immediate offer.

They also need to be reminded that if they accept that pittance, it will not go far and they will quickly be back in the situation they are in today, but without the option of pursuing compensation that will benefit them long term.

Our legal advertising production team has produced hundreds of effective television ads for personal injury attorneys. Let us help you remind your potential clients to think of the future.

Mass Torts Update from our friends at Levin, Papantonio:

2009-06-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

June 2009
Levin Papantonio Client Obtains Jury Award in Tobacco Case
Three Levin Papantonio attorneys recently received a $30 million verdict in one of many Florida tobacco lawsuits. A Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to hand over $5 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to a Florida widow whose husband died of lung cancer in 1995. The Martin case is one of the first to be tried after the 2006 ruling of the Florida Supreme Court in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. that de-certified a class action against the tobacco companies.
Mr. Martin started smoking in the mid-1940s before there were warnings on cigarettes. "We walked into the courtroom saying that Mr. Martin shared some of the blame for his inability to stop smoking," Levin Papantonio attorney Bobby Loehr said after the trial concluded. "R.J. Reynolds claimed that they were blameless." In deciding the case, the jury ruled that the deceased smoker Benny Martin was 34% responsible for the lung cancer damages and that the tobacco company was 66% at fault. They further found that the company’s conspiracy to conceal information about cigarettes was a legal cause of the death of Benny Martin. Despite the fault placed on Mr. Martin, under Florida law, there is no reduction of the award when fault is based upon intentional conduct, such as a conspiracy.
R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies conspired to make their products more addictive to customers and withheld information from the public about the dangers of smoking. “The jury here saw three weeks of evidence of exactly what the tobacco company tried to conceal,” Matt Schultz said. “This punitive award will hopefully deter these kinds of corporate activities in the future.” For more articles on the trial go to http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906020310 or contact Matt Schultz MSchultz@levinlaw.com, Bobby Loehr BLoehr@levinlaw.com or Rachael Gilmer RGilmer@levinlaw.com.
Fosamax MDL
In Fosamax osteonecrosis of the jaw project, the MDL judge has set a Daubert hearing for July 9 and 10, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Court will hear arguments pertaining to Merck's challenge to the PSC's general causation experts as well as pertaining to the PSC's challenge to the scope and duration of Fosamax's clinical efficacy. The first trial in Fosamax is set in the MDL, beginning August 11. Levin Papantonio shareholder Tim O'Brien is lead counsel for the PSC and is also lead trial counsel for the August 11 trial. You can contact Tim O'Brien at TObrien@levinlaw.com with any questions you may have regarding the Fosamax MDL Litigation.
Chinese Drywall
On Wednesday May 27, 2009, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation heard oral arguments on MDL 2047: In re: Chinese Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation. The JMPL, convened in Louisville, Kentucky, heard arguments on the transfer of the litigation to the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Florida and the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Defective Chinese drywall, used in new home construction during the U.S. construction boom from approximately 2004 to 2006, is causing widespread problems for homeowners whose homes were built or remodeled with the defective material. It is suspected that Chinese drywall was used in 41 states, although the majority of the problems are surfacing in the Southeastern United States.
Levin, Papantonio is currently pursuing cases on behalf of homeowners whose homes have been damaged by defective Chinese Drywall. For more information please contact Amanda Slevinski at ASlevinski@levinlaw.com.
Avandia
Avandia is the second in a relatively new class of oral anti-diabetes drugs referred to as "glitazones." The first, Rezulin, was recalled in 2000 after causing numerous liver failure deaths, while the third, Actos, seems to be more innocuous than its two predecessors. More and more physicians are switching their patients from Avandia to Actos or other, safer diabetes medications. However, Avandia, or "Rosiglitazone," has been on the market since 1999, and some physicians continue to prescribe it even today in spite of numerous studies and meta-analyses from highly-respected institutions demonstrating unmistakably that it causes a substantially increased risk--in diabetics--of congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction. Though numerous authorities have called for it to be removed from the market, Glaxo Smithkline has refused to do so, even after its sales have plummeted and the American Diabetes Association says it should not be used. GSK continues to claim publicly that Avandia is safe, but internal emails produced in discovery show that company officials concealed data from studies showing they were concerned that Avandia was dangerous even as they were pushing for FDA approval. Without question, GSK is concerned about the effect of a recall on litigation and the filing of new claims, so they publicly stand by Avandia, even though most scientists favor use of other medications for diabetes.
There are several thousand cases filed in state and federal court in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and more cases are being filed every day. Time is of the essence on these claims, however, as the defendants have taken the position in open court that the statute of limitations began to run at least by May 2007, when the New England Journal published Dr. Stephen Nissen's meta-analysis of 42 studies concluded that diabetics taking Avandia stand a 43% higher chance of suffering heart attacks than diabetics not taking Avandia. While a black box warning added in November 2007 has persuaded some doctors not to use Avandia, because it has little demonstrated efficacy in long-term trials and yet clearly increases cardiovascular disease risks, we maintain that Avandia should be banned outright. Levin-Papantonio continues to investigate claims involving major cardiac injury, macular edema, and broken bones. Please contact Ben Gordon at BGordon@levinlaw.com with any questions regarding the Avandia Litigation.
Gadolinium
Staying true to form, the Gadolinium litigation continues to truck forward at an aggressive pace. Case-specific discovery in the Trial Pool cases for the MDL (Northern District of Ohio) is in full swing with depositions being set nearly every day. With the defendants continuing to fight Product Identification at every corner and expert reports due soon, everyone involved in the litigation has been putting forth impressive efforts to keep this litigation on track and moving forward. Contact Lea Morris at Lea.Morris@levinlaw.com with any questions in regards to Gadolinium.
Calaxo
Smith and Nephew introduced the "Calaxo" bioabsorbable screws for ACL knee repair surgery in early 2006, and distributed the screws to orthopedic surgeons roughly between March 2006 and August of 2007. The devices were recalled in the United Kingdom and in the United States in late August 2007, after numerous reports of adverse events involving soft tissue swelling, pain, and an "infection-like" process that can lead to multiple surgical revisions. Patients tend to get better initially, only to later have the knee start to swell and ache, causing extended periods of disability which may become permanent. While Smith and Nephew has not stated publicly the reason for the recall or the source of the problem, they claim to have established a panel of experts to study the problem. Although other companies make similar orthopedic knee screws, Smith and Nephew's addition of materials aimed at hastening the bioabsorbtion process may be to blame in the failure of these screws. Levin-Papantonio represents dozens of victims with Calaxo knee screws and are at the forefront of this litigation. Please contact Ben Gordon at BGordon@levinlaw.com with any questions regarding the Calaxo Litigation.
Medtronic Intrathecal Infusion Pump Recall
Levin Papantonio is investigating cases involving Medtronic's Intrathecal Infusion Pump. These implantable infusion pumps are used to infuse opioids, baclofen, or chemotherapy drugs into the intrathecal space in the spine. In 2008, certain models of this pump were recalled by the manufacturer because of reports of inflammatory mass (granuloma) formations at the tip of the intrathecal catheters. Development of a mass can lead to severe neurologic injuries. The risk of developing such a mass appears to increase over time, and with higher doses of certain opioids. For more information about these cases, please contact Pete Kaufman at (850) 435-7107 or pkaufman@levinlaw.com.

Mobile Web Site Marketing. It is Here, NOW! Get on it or your Compeditors will first!

2009-06-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Educate yourself about Mobile Web Sites before your competitor's do.
WhatA mobile web site takes the essential information from your fi rm’s main web site and displays it on a mobile platform. Most cell phone devices can not display traditional web sites and require that a mobile version be developed. Mobile sites are necessarily light on graphics and style while concentrating on the critical information you want mobile users to know about your fi rm. As a result, they are easy to navigate and truly accessible anywhere, which can make you accessible anywhere. Your existing and potential clients who access the internet on their phones are people on the go and in the know. Having a mobile web site for your fi rm paints you an industry leader. Without a mobile site you are locking out 22.3 million web users daily. How many of those represent a case to you?
WhyAs technology fi nds its way to more and more potential clients, the demand for immediate access to information skyrockets and the need to provide that information becomes harder to ignore. In a one year span, January 2008 to January 2009, there was a 107% increase in mobile web users in the United States. A mobile web site that represents your fi rm is a differentiating factor between you and your competition. This investment will give you a strong competitive advantage and generate new leads resulting in more conversions. The longer you wait to utilize this new technology the further behind you fall.
HowFrom the framework of your existing web site we can build a mobile site in just one week for around $3,000. This is a one time set up cost with no hidden expenses or fees. Call Harlan Schillinger at 800-525-3332 today for more information on how to take advantage of this opportunity.
ScenarioA potential client gets in a major accident on the side of the interstate and is injured. While he is sitting in the ER waiting for the doctors to help him he pulls out his cell phone and searches for PI Lawyers in Delaware. When Google can only fi nd one site that is compatible with a mobile device it pulls up your site and the victim clicks on the “I Need Help” button. A representative calls him and sets up a meeting for the very next day with one of your lawyers. Conversion.
For a mobile legal web site example go to: http://mblx.netaff.com

Working on our website

2009-06-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

We are currently in the process of redesigning our website. It has been a long and time consuming process. It has involved multiple designs (until we settled on one that we liked) as well as a lot of video production - getting footage of our staff and our clients. We have shot new still photos of each member of our legal marketing team.

Now we are working on the content. Let me tell you, that is a time consuming process. While we are known for our syndicated TV ads for personal injury lawyers, our mix of marketing services for attorneys goes far beyond that. It is challenging to communicate all that we do. In addition to syndicated TV ads, we offer:

Custom TV advertising for lawyers - we offer a range of ads from simple mass tort ads that we can turn around and have on the air in a few days, to branding / image building campaigns for lawyers, to hard hitting direct response ads with attorney spokespeople.
Media Planning and Buying Strategies for law firms - every one of our media buys is carefully crafted based on the goals of that specific law firm client, the strength of each station and program, and the demographics of the market. Each campaign is aggressively negotiated to make sure we get you the most effective media buy for your law firm based on your goals.

And there is a lot more including:

Radio Advertising
Print Advertising
Outdoor Advertising
Database Marketing
Branding and Image Advertising
Brochures and Collateral Material for Law firms
Direct Marketing
Hispanic Marketing
Internet Marketing

I am hopeful that the new website will do a better job of communicating all that we do.

Blogging, another way to talk to your clients

2009-05-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

A blog is a good way to reach out to potential clients and let them know there is a real person behind the name. It shows that you take enough interest in your field to write about it on a regular basis, and that you have a desire to keep your readers up-to-date on the latest developments.

Blogging can be an easy way to capitalize on your marketing dollars, but it should not be approached haphazardly. There are some tricks to successful blogging.

Your posts should appear on a regular, consistent basis.

While your blog may be rather personal and informal, for many readers that is the draw of a blog, it still needs to be consistent with your brand. It doesn’t hurt to throw in something fun now and then, but overall you should keep your posts relevant.

When readers comment on your blog you need to respond and respond in a timely fashion. It is a direct reflection of the attention and respect you give to your clients. When a potential client posts a comment and it goes ignored, they will expect their phone calls to be treated the same way.

Many of your potential clients will not post a comment at all, but they will look at the comments and your responses, and they will form judgments. If they see that you are involved and responding on your blog, they will feel more confident about getting personal treatment when they hire you.

Your response should be relevant, not just the same automatic response to every comment, but you do not have to compose a lengthy response to every comment.

Following are a few effective law firm blogs:

These are just a few things you need to know about blogging. I would be happy to help you learn more about putting a blog to work for you, without turning it into a time sink. Please email me or call me with questions.

Should You Completely Abandon the Yellow Pages

2009-05-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

More and more people are abandoning phone books for the internet. Many people still keep the latest books, but rarely if ever use them - choosing to do Google searches instead. When you combine that with the number and size of law firm ads in the Yellow Pages - as well as the cost of Yellow Page advertising, it may seem like a waste of money to continue to buy full page or double truck yellow page ads.

Here are some considerations:

Some people still use the Yellow Pages, but that number is declining each year.
If you have a strong Internet presence - where you show up high on the Google, Yahoo MSN and Ask search results for searches like "_____ personal injury lawyer", "______ accident attorney", "malpractice attorney", etc., you should consider a significant reduction in your Yellow Page advertising budget.
Not every potential client has access to the Internet. For example, a victim's family may be staying in the hospital for the first few days following a catastrophic accident. The Yellow Pages may be where they turn to find a lawyer. For these people, it may make sense to maintain a presence in the Yellow Pages - to make it easier for people to look up your name or your firm's name. While most people who already know you by reputation or through your advertising campaign will get your phone number through the Internet, many will look you up in the Yellow Pages or the White Pages. A small presence in the phone books - possibly just a Bold listing or an In-Column Listing should be enough to serve this purpose.
At Network Affiliates, some of our clients still generate business through the Yellow Pages. In most of these cases, however, they are on the back cover or the spine. A few have found success by having a presence in smaller books outside of the main metro area. However, the vast majority of our clients are telling us that they want to find a way out of the Yellow Pages because they are not as effective as they have been.
Tracking is key. You have to use unique phone numbers. When people call using these numbers, dig a little. Did they just look you up because of your ongoing branding through your law firm's TV advertising campaign or did they actually find your ad in the Yellow Pages.
Several of our clients have significantly reduced their Yellow Page expenditures and seen almost no drop in intake volume.
Yellow Page reps make it really hard to reduce the size of your ad. Often, they will even charge you more for smaller ads. Some of my clients have reported that this is the straw that broke the camel's back and caused them to completely abandon anything more than bold listings in Yellow Pages.

If you choose to continue Yellow Page advertising, monitor the results carefully to make sure they are really working for you.

Contact Network Affiliates today to learn more about evaluating Yellow Page advertising for lawyers.

Do Your Clients Know How You Are Giving Back to the Community?

2009-05-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Your clients need to know that you are the best at what you do and that you can win. They also need a reason to believe that you are fighting for them, not just your take.

How does giving back help them believe that? It shows that you care about something other than yourself. It can show that you care about helping people and about justice.

You should be proudly advertising your pro bono work, the donations you make, and any volunteering that you and your family participate in. Do you support any non-profits with free legal help? Let your clients know, and let them know why it is a cause that you personally believe in.

Have you adopted a dog from your local Humane Society for your kids? Work it into the conversation. It shows that you are a regular person with a heart. Do you remember what a hot news item the Obama's dog decision was and the huge public call for them to adopt a dog from a shelter? There is a reason for that. If you can capitalize on it you should.

Donations and volunteer work can also be a great form of "free" advertising. Donations can buy you a plaque, a listing and a link on a high profile website, and a mention in a newsletter or other publication. Volunteering can get you in the paper or on the news.

Your potential clients are looking for someone who can get the job done, but it is just human nature to want to work with someone who you believe is a good person and who you feel supports the issues that are important to you. Let them know that you are a real, caring, and well-rounded person who uses your success for good, not just for yourself.

For more ideas on how to let your clients and potential clients know how you give back, and how to make that work for you, contact Network Affiliates today.

The Importance of Keeping up with Existing Clients

2009-05-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Your marketing plan must include staying in touch with your existing clients. You've already done the work of getting their attention, bringing them in, gaining their trust, and proving first hand that you can deliver. Most of the work is done, but you can't afford to neglect them now. If you can keep your brand on top of their minds, they can be some of your greatest marketing assets.

Repeat business
It may seem obvious to you that when a former client is injured or involved in an accident, he will just pick up the phone and call you. Some will, but some may need a reminder. Maybe they've lost your contact number. They may not realize you handle a specific type of claim or for some other reason think that you can't help them with their current needs. Or, they may simply put their need for an attorney on the back burner and neglect to call you.

Your marketing plan should include reminding your clients that you are there, and making sure that they are aware of all of the services you offer, not just what you have done for them in the past.

Referrals
No matter how much your clients love you, most of them have other things on their minds. Many may not even realize that you would welcome referrals. Not only do you need to stay in front of your clients and in their minds, you should be letting them know that you appreciate referrals. And when you see them in person, make it easy for them by giving them more than one business card.

Client relationship marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies available to a lawyer. The keys are consistency and effectiveness of your marketing communications. You have to do it right. The experienced legal marketing team at Network Affiliates can help you with this process. Let us help you make the most of this valuable resource that is already at your fingertips.

Consistency, Recognition and Credibility

2009-04-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

While you are already aware of the importance of branding your law firm, you may be overlooking consistency. All of your marketing efforts need to support and convey the branding of your firm, and that extends to your law firm's database marketing and Internet marketing including your blogs and social networking. It must be backed up by the experience your clients have when they make human contact with you and your firm.

The last thing you want potential clients to think when they contact you is "Did I get the right firm? This is nothing like what I expected." That implants seeds of doubt about your honesty and even your competence. It feels like you are not as involved as you should be. The evaluation process starts over and on a less positive note.

What you do want is the comfort and credibility that comes with consistency. When clients get what they expect (or an even better version of what they were expecting) things flow. They feel good and like they have already begun to engage in the process with you even before you meet. The relationship is already established in their minds. They are more likely to continue this forward motion with you, rather than shopping around.

Blogs and social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, have become popular and powerful marketing tools. Both are more personal and less formal ways of communicating with your potential clients and that can really draw people in and help them feel connected to you. That is where their power lies and something you should take advantage of if you use these tools, but you need to maintain the image and feel of your firm as you do this.

One way to maintain this consistency is to develop the right branding in the first place. One of the benefits of working with Network Affiliates is that our agency has extensive experience in legal advertising and marketing as well as the breadth of resources to help you develop the marketing strategy and materials that establish your brand in a way that is authentic and in keeping with your real life presentation.

Contact the legal advertising specialists at Network Affiliates today to bring consistency, recognition and credibility to your marketing plan.

Tuning in to the Pulse of the Nation

2009-04-17T07:05:00.000-07:00

Right now people are worried about money and it is not just their jobs and their bills that have them concerned. As the Tea Parties across the country illustrated on April 15th, they are angry about having money taken out of their pockets and given to big business. Why is that important to you? Because it can change attitudes about taking these businesses to court.

This is when people become less concerned about "frivolous lawsuits" and start thinking about taking these companies to task and holding them accountable. It is a time when some will begin to realize that tort reform is just a scam to protect big business. Potential clients who were too proud to sue or felt like lawsuits were "the wrong thing to do," are angry about bailouts; angry about watching themselves and other individuals suffer while big business gets handouts.

People have been tired of being cheated, ripped off, and taken advantage of for a long time, but not until recently have so many expressed a willingness to take action.

You can show them the way; a course of action that kills two birds with one stone. They can hold these dishonest corporations responsible for their actions and in the process take care of their own financial problems.

Contact Network Affiliates today and let us help you get the message to your potential clients that you can help them win back the money that was taken from them.

Does the Public Really Understand Contingency Fees?

2009-04-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

What is the number one thing that stops people from pursuing a lawsuit before they even think about the facts? Money! Only the wealthy win lawsuits. It takes money to hire an attorney. It doesn't matter how good your case is, the person who can afford to hire the best lawyer wins.

As an attorney you may be somewhat insulated from what people think it takes to hire a lawyer or to sue for what they are rightfully owed. You know you work on a contingency fee basis. You really, really do. Honestly. No question about it. That's just how things are done. Right?

Sure it is, on your end. But the buzz among the people who need your services is a misinformed, cynical, pop culture misconception that attorneys are very expensive, and "a good attorney" costs even more. Try going out sometime, pretending like you're not a lawyer, and telling people they don't have to pay upfront to get the help they need - and that a highly successful lawyer with multimillion dollar verdicts will represent them with no retainer. They'll tell you that you are naive, you don't know what you are talking about, or you've seen too many movies. Life just doesn't work that way. There's always a catch.

Your marketing mission is to convince potential clients that they can get top notch legal representation, and they don't need a dime to do it. How do you do that? How do you get the message across that they don't have to spend the money they do not have without sounding like you are offering a free trial or mimicking those late night TV ads that offer "installments of $19.99?"

You rise above it. Show them you are successful. You are well established. Time and time again you have shown that you have the resources to win justice for your clients without any up front payment. Develop your brand as the honest broker who takes care of the victims.

It is a fine line to tread, but when done correctly, it will bring in the clients who know they have good cases and just need the opportunity to be heard.

Network Affiliates has over 25 years of experience in crafting marketing and advertising campaigns for attorneys that effectively communicate this message while improving your brand in a way that demonstrates your integrity in the eyes of the public. Contact our legal marketing experts today to learn more about how you can get the message out to potential clients that they can afford the best representation - and they only pay when they win.

Legal Newsline Quotes Harlan Schillinger

2009-04-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday while I was in the Philadelphia airport on my way back from a client meeting, I received a call from Chris Rizo - a reporter from Legal Newsline. Apparently, he had read some of my blog entries and wanted me to comment on a story about whether trial lawyers' practices are recession proof.

Here is a link to the article.

Thank you, Chris.

Regards,

Harlan Schillinger

Are You Sticking to the Plan?

2009-03-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Is your marketing plan failing you or are you failing to stick to the plan? Great marketing begins with a great marketing plan, but the best laid plans are only as good as the follow through. So, here we are, three months into 2009. Doubtless, you started off the year with every intention of doing it right and that included effective marketing.

You made your plans, you were excited. It all looked great on paper, but now you aren't feeling it. You aren't seeing the results that you expected and the year seems to be off to a less than bountiful start. You know that marketing is important, but you keep putting it off. You keep meaning to get to it. Somewhere in the back of your mind you know you had a great plan; a plan that would work. But marketing isn't what you do. It's not your real job, it's a periphery task.

This is the trap that most lawyers fall in to, especially those who are passionate about their work and truly great at what they do. It is the Achilles' heel that turns great artists into starving artists while the mediocre rise to fame and fortune (in their own lifetimes). It is the reason why the best attorneys are not always the most financially successful.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a marketing guru to prosper like one. You only need the business savvy to delegate your marketing needs to the experts while you focus on what you do best. Network Affiliates has been helping law firms since 1981. Attorney marketing is our passion. It is what we do. Period.

If you need help implementing your law firm's marketing plan - or developing an effective marketing strategy, call or email our legal marketing experts today.

Press Kits: By Cole Silver

2009-03-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Harlan,
I used to work for a state senator who told me that it doesn't matter whether people speak ill or good about you...you should only worry when they stop talking about you!
So...do you have a press kit? Since most press or media people will request a press kit, it's time for you to put one together. A press kit is nothing more than a collection of editorial and promotional materials that are distributed to the media, as well as prospects and clients, which include information about you, your solutions and the reasons you're "newsworthy".
Journalists use these materials to learn about you but a press kit can also be used for many other marketing purposes. When putting a press kit together, it should include a folder with an insert for your business card, client list, testimonials, biographical sketch, prior press releases, professional photo, articles and white papers written by you and may also include case histories, and one page fact sheets. Anything that increases or enhances your credibility should be included in the kit, making it a much more effective marketing tool than the standard brochure most lawyers use.
If you really want the skinny, my good friend Gina Rubel, author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers will be presenting a workshop on this very issue on Thursday April 30, 2009 in Warrington , PA. She's a lawyer and the expert so if you really want to get noticed, you should contact her.
Thanks and stay well.
Cole

The Silver Group Ltd.
8 Dorchester Lane, Suite A
Moorestown, NJ
08057
US

Staying Afloat

2009-03-12T21:42:00.001-07:00

If you're getting spooked by the headlines about law firms and layoffs, keep in mind that the personal injury caseload is not dropping. In fact, it may be increasing as people who would normally avoid a lawsuit at all costs, even though it is the appropriate course of action for them, are realizing that it may be the only way that they can stay afloat financially.

The thing is, while we hear about our overly litigious society, people who have real cases often believe that getting the compensation they need and deserve is just a pipedream. The people who need your help the most don't believe that they can beat the insurance companies and big corporations that should be paying out even if they fully believe they deserve compensation.

This is where the right marketing comes in. Here and now, your advertising can deliver the message that it can be done. That the "little man", the individual can and will have the power of a successful law firm, that has not bowed out due to the economy, backing them in their fight with no out-of-pocket expense. Remember, most people, when faced with the prospect of getting what they deserve via a lawsuit, still believe that hiring a lawyer is a luxury reserved for the wealthy.

Now is the time to remind your prospective clients that you are there for them; that you are still there for them. Network Affiliates can help you craft the ads that deliver the message that you are still going strong. That you are a reliable resource for those in need when all else seems to be failing. Contact Network Affiliates today and start reaching the audience that is looking for your help.

Medical Device Safety Act

2009-03-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Following right on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling preserving injured patients' right to sue drug makers, legislation has been introduced that could have a similar impact on defective medical device cases.

The Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 was introduced Thursday by House Subcommittee on Health Chairman Frank Pallone and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. If it passes it would reverse a February, 2008 Supreme Court decision that shielded medical device makers from lawsuits brought under state laws. Based on that decision thousands of lawsuits against device makers were dismissed by lower courts.

The Medical Device Safety Act is supported by a wide variety of groups including the Alliance for Justice, AARP, the American Bar Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, National Conference of State Legislatures, and numerous other groups.

Analysts believe that the measure will pass. If it does, this will be a one-two punch in favor of injured parties. As it stands now, many victims of drug and device makers may be feeling discouraged and hold the false belief that the lawsuits that could help them get back on their feet are a waste of time.

You have the opportunity to help break the good news through your advertising campaigns and to capitalize on the trend toward protecting consumer rights. The creative team at Network Affiliates can incorporate these new developments into your marketing plan and help you get this encouraging message out to your potential clients. Contact Network Affiliates today to find out how you can benefit from these changes.

Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Preemtion. We Won!!!

2009-03-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

MARCH 4, 2009, 11:12 A.M. ET
Supreme Court Allows Patient Lawsuit Against Wyeth
By MARK H. ANDERSON and BRENT KENDALL
WASHINGTON -- In a loss for the pharmaceutical industry, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Wednesday that a Vermont woman can sue Wyeth for injuries she suffered after taking one of the drug maker's medicines.
Justice John Paul Stevens, in the court's majority opinion, said Food and Drug Administration oversight of drug labeling doesn't prevent the filing of state-level consumer liability lawsuits against drug companies.
"In short," Justice Stevens wrote, "Wyeth has not persuaded us that failure-to-warn claims like Levine's obstruct the federal regulation of drug labeling."
Justice Stevens added that "Congress has repeatedly declined to preempt state law" and that recent Bush administration changes to FDA policy claiming "that state tort suits interfere with its statutory mandate is entitled to no weight" in the Wyeth case.
The ruling affirms an opinion by the Vermont Supreme Court.
At issue was a lawsuit by Vermont guitarist Diana Levine, who lost an arm to gangrene after Wyeth's antinausea drug Phenergan was inadvertently injected into one of her arteries during a push IV injection. Ms. Levine had gone to a clinic for treatment of a migraine headache.
Ms. Levine argued that Phenergan's labeling, though approved by the Food and Drug Administration, didn't provide proper warnings of the risk of administering the drug through a push IV injection instead of using an IV-drip. A Vermont jury awarded her $6.7 million in damages. The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the award, ruling that FDA drug regulations don't prevent a company from being sued under state law over drug labeling.
Wyeth argued that Ms. Levine's lawsuit, which was based on Vermont law, should be preempted by federal drug regulations. The FDA, Wyeth said, knew of the drug's risks and benefits and instructed the drug maker to use labeling that accommodated both. Wyeth said it wasn't free to change the warnings on the label.
Joining Justice Stevens in the majority were justices Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Clarence Thomas. Although Justice Thomas concurred with the outcome, he did so under a different line of legal reasoning. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito dissented.
"This case illustrates that tragic facts make bad law,'' Justice Alito said. "The court holds that a state tort jury, rather than the Food and Drug Administration, is ultimately responsible for regulating warning labels for prescription drugs."
The case is Wyeth v. Levine,

TV: More Effective than EVER! Really!!!!

2009-02-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Guess Which Medium Is as Effective as Ever: TV
Despite All That Ails the Toob, Marketers Can Still Reach the Audience They Are Looking for -- Even Web-Obsessed Youth
by Jack Neff Published: February 23, 2009
BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- The drumbeat of doom for TV advertising has sounded for more than a decade -- DVRs, channel surfing, fragmentation, clutter, the flight to digital media ... Jay Leno moving to prime time. Now the recession has even TV's most reliable moneybags of yore, such as Procter & Gamble and General Motors, yanking big wads of cash off the table.
Yet a funny thing is emerging from the smoldering ruins of what may be the ugliest quarter TV has ever encountered financially: a growing body of evidence which suggests not only that TV advertising still works, but that it may be working better than ever. Analyses by people and companies that have studied or made bets on advertising effectiveness for years find no evidence that all of the problems TV advertising faces have done anything to render it less effective.
A seven-figure ethnographic study due to be released next month by the Nielsen Co.-funded Council for Research Excellence from research firm Sequent and the Center for Media Design at Ball State University appears set to punctuate that point, finding that TV remains the dominant medium even for reaching youth, despite the inroads of digital and social media, according to a person familiar with the research.
If time shifting, ad skipping or clutter really were rendering TV less effective, then it should show up in marketing-mix analyses that have been done since the early 1990s as a lower average sales lift per gross rating point over time.
It doesn't, according to Marketing Management Analytics (MMA),* a unit of Aegis Group's Synovate. "We haven't seen a significant trend in the erosion of effectiveness of TV," said Douglas Brooks, senior VP of MMA. In fact, MMA, which reports to clients each year on its findings regarding aggregate TV effectiveness, has seen a slight uptick in effectiveness in recent years.
Offline driving onlineMMA also has found a surprising spillover effect for TV in digital media: About a third of search queries for brands studied are driven by offline advertising, particularly TV -- a higher proportion than that driven by online-display advertising, Mr. Brooks said.
Leonard Lodish, a marketing professor at Wharton and one of the authors of the 1995 "Why Advertising Works" study, has discovered equally surprising results. He's found that TV advertising actually became more effective, not less, after 1995, in a paper published in 2007 by the Journal of Advertising Research, soon to be updated in a new study now awaiting publication by the same journal.
He got at the findings differently than MMA, and with less statistical modeling required, by using data from Information Resources Inc.'s BehaviorScan markets and other matched-market tests that compared different levels of spending in different test markets. Specifically, the average volume lift from incremental TV spending has increased since 1995, according to the study by Mr. Lodish, Wharton colleague Abba Krieger and University of Houston marketing professor Ye Hu.
One reason could be that commercial avoidance, fragmentation and clutter actually increased the reward from spending more. But the study also found a similar, if smaller, improvement since 1995 in volume lift for brands when they had any amount of TV vs. having none at all.
Despite the improved effectiveness since 1995, more than half the advertisers (16 of 29) in the study still lost money by running their TV ads. "The ones that did make a profit, though, did very well," said Mr. Lodish, to the extent that on the whole, advertisers in the study made a profit from their TV ads after 1995, but lost money before 1995.
Creative mattersThat's obviously a serious caveat to the value of spending on TV. The other caveat is one that other marketing-mix analysts also report from client work that creative quality makes a big difference, in many cases explaining more about success and failure than media choices.
Mr. Lodish said he still doesn't really know how TV advertising effectiveness could have increased since 1995. Mr. Brooks can't really explain it either, though he has a theory that the highly analytical clients using marketing-mix modeling or matched-market tests may compensate for the impact of DVRs, fragmentation and clutter by making smarter bets.
"When the fish get finicky," he said, "it makes you a better fisherman. The presentation of the bait and how it's delivered -- getting it in the right spot at the right time -- becomes critical."
The other question Mr. Brooks often hears these days is whether recession historically has caused the average sales lift per GRP to decline. The answer, at least based on data from the relatively mild recession of 2000-2001, is no.
Looking for even more evidence? Executives at A. Eicoff & Co., a unit of WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather that's one of the biggest direct-response TV shops in the U.S., said response rates from its TV ads haven't deteriorated at all over the years. "The death of TV has been exaggerated," said William McCabe, the shop's senior VP-business development.~ ~ ~

Direct Mail Works

2009-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

With television, radio, and the internet, it is easy to overlook the power of one of the oldest and most cost efficient forms of advertising - direct mail. While it may seem antiquated and lackluster, direct mail marketing reaches people. It is personal, and in today's high tech environment where few people bother to write a real letter on paper, it is refreshing and comforting - a tangible document that conveys a sense of stability and permanence rather than the fly-by-night feel of email and other electronic communications.

Direct mail uses the advantage of timing by getting the message in front of your potential clients when they are ready to give it their attention. They also see it when they have money on their minds. It's right in there with the stack of bills, and if you have reached the right audience, it can offer the solution to the bills that they are trying to figure out how to pay at that very moment.

Direct mail is very cost-effective, but to maximize your ROI it has to be done right. Scattered, random mailings will not do the trick. You want to send very targeted, personalized advertising, not junk mail. In order to accomplish this, you need to work with an experienced creative team who will target the right audience with the right message, and that message has to be consistent with the branding of your firm.

Your list must target potential clients, people who need your services. The list must be accurate, free of duplicates, and embarrassing misspellings. Your mailings should be personally addressed to individuals.

The message in your direct mail must fit the recipients. You must offer them something they need now. It has to get their attention and be meaningful to them. That message must demonstrate consistency and reliability when your audience follows up on it. When they visit your website, it should reflect what they saw in the mailing. It should be immediately recognizable. When they call or visit your office your staff should be familiar with the mailing and ready to answer the questions it may generate.

If you are ready to put together your direct mail campaign, contact Network Affiliates today so we can help you create targeted and effective mailing.

Getting More Value from Your Advertising Budget Because of This Crazy Economy

2009-02-13T06:26:00.001-08:00

As other law firms slash their advertising budgets in a knee-jerk reaction to the economy, the demand for prime advertising slots is declining and you can get more bang for your buck. Law firms that are continuing to advertise are dropping their highest price media slots in favor of cheaper ones and that means that the most coveted placement is now being offered at bargains like never before. You could actually wind up paying less for the best spots than your competition is paying for the less desirable spots they hold onto.

Not only will you get your name out there while you the rest are huddled in the shadows, but you can get the best placement at a discount, possibly at a discount that will outlast the downturn in the economy. Right now you have the opportunity to negotiate and lock down the good price. Our Media Buyers are reporting that our personal injury law firm advertisers are actually paying as much as 25% less than a year ago. When the economy turns around and other law firms are trying to buy up media slots again, they will have to pay more, but if you lock in your rates, you can continue to advertise more effectively with a smaller budget, edging out the competition.

At Network Affiliates we already have the connections to have the first word on these good deals as they become available and we know how to negotiate even better deals than what are offered, bringing you the most value for your advertising buck.

Contact us today to find out how you can optimize your advertising dollars today and take advantage of this crazy economy.

Courts Competing for Your Business - Are You Ready?

2009-02-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

With state deficits growing, even the courts are not immune to budget cuts, layoffs, and even closures. While this can mean more delays and raised docket fees in some courts, it may also work in your favor as others look to more creative solutions to their financial woes.

In a speech last week, Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe of Philadelphia recognized the value of civil cases and the funds they can generate. According to the National Law Journal, "Dembe is looking at the civil side of the court, counting on civil attorneys to generate revenue for the court. She said she wants to make the Commerce Program and the Complex Litigation Center for mass torts even more attractive to attorneys 'so we're taking business away from other courts.'"

While the courts compete for your business, we understand that what you really is the right marketing approach to ensure that you get the right kind of cases. At Network Affiliates, our creative advertising team stays on top current legal developments so we can fine tune your legal advertising. We know how to respond quickly to new cases - whether it is a recalled drug or an aviation accident. We will make sure your ad campaign stays on top of the curve without compromising the unique brand of your law firm. With over 25 years of experience marketing for lawyers across the country, we understand how to combine the branding that is so important for setting you apart from the competition with the right media placement to make sure you are reaching the right clients at the right time.

Contact us today so we can start creating legal ads for you that are both current and enduring.

Have You Cut your Marketing Budget yet? Should you? Should you Not?

2009-02-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

In a recession, marketing budgets are often the first to get slashed. For many that means cutting programs, cutting spending and cutting staff in order to make it through the economic downturn. But marketing in a recession isn't about marketing less, it's about marketing better and smarter. In this issue of Customer Connection, I want share with you techniques for marketing more efficiently and effectively, particularly on a tight budget.
How to Build Customer Loyalty in a Recession
While it may seem counter-intuitive on the surface, the simple fact is that strong companies use a recession to take advantage of weaker competitors. How do they do it? They stay true to their core values and optimize the customer experience. When faced with new budget constraints, they focus their resources on proactively engaging existing customers, cross selling to current customers, and encouraging former customers to buy again. Bruce Temkin, with Forrester studied nearly 5,000 consumers and examined the correlation between how customers rated a firm's customer experience and two measures of loyalty: 1) their willingness to buy another product from the firm, and 2) their reluctance to switch business away from the firm. His analysis covered 112 firms across nine industries. Here are three takeaways from the research you can use to make sure you company stays in a position to capitalize on the business up-turn that lies somewhere ahead.Continue to champion the differentiated customer experience. Forrester's Research shows that there is a correlation between customer loyalty and a firm's customer experience. Make sure that your senior management is making budget cuts, and changes that will not make a significant impact on the customer experience. Prioritize your moments of truth. There are several critical times during a customer's relationship where a decision is made - by the customer - to continue or discontinue interacting with a company. This may be the first bill, a customer service call, a retail experience, a Web site...any event that helps clarify the relationship with a particular brand, product, or service. We call these "moments of truth" and how a marketer interacts with the customers can significantly increase (or decrease) the long-term viability of that relationship. With less money to spend on wide-ranging customer experience efforts, it's even more important to pick the right moments of truth to meet customer expectations. "Switching intentions can swing 18%. When it comes to the consumers' reluctance to shift business to a competitor, those in the top quartile of the CxPi were 6.8% higher than the industry averages, while firms in the bottom were 11.2% below the average, noted Bill Band, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research.Identify and protect your most valuable customers. Find ways to improve the customer experience and increase business with your "best" customers. In addition, leverage buying history, and knowledge about customers to re-connect, stay in touch, and demonstrate the value that the brand brings through the products and services. Band recommends, "You may want to increase spending in some areas and make up for it by entirely cutting off other areas. It is crucial to deliver the best experiences for your most important customers, even if it means lower priority segments may have to suffer."Overall the research concluded that in an economic downturn, firms need to keep customer experience momentum and chart a course toward Experience-Based Differentiation.

A Message of Hope is Powerful in Troubled Times

2009-01-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

Bad news about our economic woes, predictions that things are going to get worse before they get better, and news of huge layoffs dominate the airwaves. People are scared. Your potential clients already have problems and see nothing but more problems down the road.

And the news doesn't get any better for you - people are driving less because they're not working and they can't afford to pay for gas. The housing crisis has led to significantly less construction in many markets across the country. All this translates into fewer auto accident cases, fewer construction accident cases and fewer workers comp cases. Preemption and tort reform aren't helping either. You're getting squeezed - just like your clients.

Bad economy and the pie is shrinking.

How can you get more cases?

Now is the time to think outside the box. All this bad news creates an opportunity for you. Now is the time to position your law firm in a way that stands out from the crowd. Our experienced legal marketing team has developed custom advertising campaigns to brand law firms across the country since 1981 and we know how to set you apart in the minds of your prospective clients. Now is the time to position you and your firm as the lawyers who help victims and their families get back on their feet. In the context of these challenging economic times a message of hope will resonate like never before.

We'll help your law firm develop a powerful advertising message that offers hope to your potential clients and positions you as the ray of light in a sea of darkness. This is a message that will stand out - especially today.

Many attorneys come to Network Affiliates after years of frustration with ads that look and sound the same as every other law firm in the market. They come to us because we have the creative talent to change their image and separate them from the crowded field. They know that more of the same will just get the same results.

Now is the time. Challenges always create opportunities.

Call the legal advertising experts at Network Affiliates today and we'll help you create a message that people will remember - and one that will generate more business for your firm now and into the future.

Mass Torts update from Levin, Papantonio:

2009-01-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

January 2009
Fosamax
The first Fosamax osteonecrosis of the jaw case will be tried in New York City in August of this year. Levin Papantonio shareholder Tim O'Brien is lead counsel for the trial as well as for the MDL, which is situated in the Southern District of New York. Additionally, all New Jersey state court cases were consolidated late last year and a New Jersey discovery and trial calendar will be entered soon.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association demonstrates that the risk for Fosamax induced osteonecrosis exists even for short term users of Fosamax. Meanwhile, the FDA recently released data, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, linking Fosamax to cancer of the esophagus.

For more information, contact Levin Papantonio attorney Tim O'Brien at TObrien@levinlaw.com

Rhino
Various Plaintiffs have filed a Joint Motion for Transfer and Coordination under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, which is now referred to as MDL No. 2016, In Re: Yamaha Motor Corp. Rhino ATV Products Liability Litigation. The JPML hearing on this matter is scheduled for January 29, 2009 in Ft. Myers, Florida. Several jurisdictions have been suggested as appropriate for the MDL, including California and Texas. Opposition motions have been filed by numerous Plaintiffs, Yamaha defendants, and various retailer defendants. Our firm continues to advance our state court litigations and recently received a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals denying Yamaha's Request for Interlocutory Appeal of a decision denying Yamaha's Motion to Dismiss on the grounds of forum non convenience. Our firm has several trial dates this year, with the first scheduled to begin in May in Orange County, Texas. We continue to evaluate and accept new cases.If you have questions, please contact Troy Rafferty at TRafferty@levinlaw.com or Kim Lambert at Klambert@levinlaw.com.

Medtronic Leads
On January 5th, Judge Kyle, judge presiding over the Minnesota MDL dismissed, with prejudice and without leave to amend, all claims in the Individual Master Complaint as preempted by Reigel and Buckman. Judge Kyle has also issued an order to show cause why a specific individual complaint should not be dismissed because it alleges claims different from the master complaint. The deadline to respond to the show cause order is March 13, 2009. Additional information may be found at http://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/MDL-Fidelis/index.shtml or you may contact Kim Lambert at KLambert@levinlaw.com

Gadolinium
The Gadolinium MDL continues to move forward making progress daily. In an effort to move this litigation along as quickly and as prudently as possible, the PSC has worked with Judge Polster in the Northern District of Ohio to set discovery, trial selection and pre-trial deadlines that can best serve these catastrophically injured clients. Most recently the PSC has been focused on the complex task of product identification for all MDL cases as well as sorting through the many cases to choose the 10 case that the PSC will put up for Trial Selection. Levin Papantonio's Troy Rafferty and his fellow members of the PSC continue worked hard to maintain the balance between moving the litigation along as quickly as possible to ensure these clients are able to see their day in court, and setting manageable deadlines that allow time for proper discovery of the millions of pages of documents already being produced by Defendants Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., GE Healthcare Inc., Bracco Diagnostics Inc., and Mallinckrodt Inc. If you have any questions about the Gadolinium litigation, Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents, or Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, the crippling condition at the center of this litigation, please contact Troy Rafferty at TRafferty@levinlaw.com or Lea Morris at Lea.Morris@levinlaw.com.

Securities Department
Levin Papantonio Files Another Fifty Morgan Keegan Bond Fund Claims
To date, Levin Papantonio has filed cases on behalf of 100 institutional and individual investors who have lost more than $60 million in the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond Fund (RIBCX), the Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income Fund (MKHIX), the RMK High Income Fund (RMH), the RMK Multi-Sector High Income Fund (RHY), and the RMK Strategic Income Fund. These funds have declined more than 80% in the past 12 months because of the undisclosed risks and the exposure to both the subprime and mortgage markets. We expect to file another 155 arbitration and state court claims by the end of the year. The consortium of law firms currently represent more than 265 institutional and retail investors who have lost more than $150 million dollars.
Broker-Dealers Fail to Disclose Risks Associated with Lehman Principal Protected Notes
Several major brokerage firms, among them UBS, Merrill Lynch, and JP Morgan, sold nearly $70 billion of these principal protected notes in the past year. Many financial advisors recommended these products to retired, risk-adverse investors without informing them of the potential risk. Many investors were not even told that the Lehman Brothers-created products carried significant risk. Levin Papantonio continues to accept cases on behalf of investors who were misled.
Levin Papantonio Files Claims on behalf of Investors who were misled in the Citigroup MAT V Hedge Funds
Levin Papantonio continues to accept claims against Citigroup Alternative Investments (“CAI”). Citigroup advertised these funds as alternatives to fixed income but inadequately disclosed the substantial risks to investors. In fact, quantitative analysis has demonstrated that the pricing inefficiency Citigroup attempted to capture in Mat V was in reality a risk premium built in to the market. The fund has lost over 75% of its value after the too-little-too-late settlement offer to investors. We continue to accept Mat Five cases from across the country. To date, Levin Papantonio represents investors who have lost more than $7 million because of the undisclosed risks and poorly constructed investment products.
Levin Papantonio is Filing Multiple Securities Arbitration Claims Based on Unsuitable Recommendations to Concentrate Portfolios in the Financial Sector
Levin Papantonio continues to accept cases against broker-dealers on behalf of investors holding concentrated equity positions, including common and preferred stock. Many investors’ life savings were not diversified across industry sectors or were not allocated to investment grade fixed income. Instead, portfolios were concentrated in the financial sector through common and preferred stock and fixed income. This concentration caused many retail investors to lose a disproportionate amount of their life savings.
Levin Papantonio's Securities Department is headed by Peter Mougey. Peter can be contacted at PMougey@levinlaw.com.

Do You Have a Personal Marketing Plan in Place for 2009?????

2009-01-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

WEISS' MONTHLY MARKETING BRIEF
By Bob Weiss

You say you don't have time to complete a personal marketing plan, but here's how to get on track for 2009 in 15 minutes.

If you're too busy or disinclined to write a detailed personal marketing plan for 2009 here's how you can build one in Outlook in 15 minutes.

List your top three clients and top three referral sources from the past 24 months.

These should be people who have the ability to send you desirable work from clients who pay. (If you personally see regularly the people you list-- more than quarterly in your normal activities--don't put them on this list. Our goal here is to establish frequency of contact, to keep those referrals coming. Also, do not list them if you currently have a regular flow of matters from them, and do not expect your last file from them to close in, say, the next six months.

Open your calendar in Outlook. Schedule the six people you will contact by phone or email every 90 days for the next 12 months.

The first time the names pop up this year, you will call each person. Tell them what matters you have been involved in, and ask them what is new with their business or practice, and how you might help them get more desirable work.

Many lawyers say they find these conversations a bit awkward. If that's the case, call after hours and leave a voice mail. (You'll be surprised how many people call you back. After all, they're your best contacts!)

The second time the names come up on your calendar during the year, send each person an email. Keep it short. Topics might include a recent change in the law that could affect them, or their clients or customers. Make sure it's relevant, that information you are sending somehow likely affects their day-to-day business affairs.

Repeat the calls and voicemails, and the email on this schedule every 90 days.

Of course, I recommend you spend more time than this developing a strategy and tactics for the coming year. But, busy lawyers are often disinclined to formalize their personal business development; at least until something untoward happens to their book of business.

If you want to take a more formal approach to your personal marketing this coming year, there are a number of forms online from which to choose, some longer and more detailed than others. We have two-page form on our website you can download free at themarketinggurus.com.

Class Action Settlement Requires Giveaway of $175 Million in Free Cosmetics

2009-01-23T05:57:00.000-08:00

An unusual agreement has department stores across the country overrun by customers eager to claim free products. The class action settlement in a lawsuit against several major department stores has required the stores to give away $175 million dollars worth of high end cosmetics. They began giving the products away on January 20, 2009 and will be giving them away through January 26 or until supplies run out.

The lawsuit, filled in 2003 against several cosmetics manufacturers and department stores, accused the defendants of conspiring to keep the price of certain cosmetics artificially high by agreeing not to offer sales and limiting their inventory. The settlement was approved in 2005, by U.S. District Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the Northern District of California.

Defendant stores participating in the settlement include Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, and 10 other department stores. The plaintiff class includes customers who purchased cosmetics from the defendant stores from May 29, 1994 through July 16, 2003.

Class members may claim one free product each, and their free product is to come from the same manufacturer that made the product they purchased during the class period, unless the store has run out of products made by that manufacturer. Class members have a list of products to choose from, and the stores will make substitutions or issue rainchecks.

It is estimated that 21.6% of the plaintiff class will be compensated. However, customers are not required to produce receipts or any proof that they are eligible for the free products. The story has been in the news and the stores are swamped with customers lining up for their free cosmetics. We may never know how many of the free products truly made their way into the hands of the customers they were meant to compensate.

Class actions like this are an example of how creative many lawyers can be in finding new ways to generate legal fees. Sometimes, it is not enough to just keep doing the same old things the same old way. You have to try something different. Here at Network Affiliates, we have been helping lawyers find new and better ways to generate legal fees for years. Whether it is mass torts, client relationship marketing, client networking meetings or internet marketing, we make sure that our clients are always on the cutting edge.

Harlan

Zyprexa Settlement. 1.42 Billion Dollars!

2009-01-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

A WSJ NEWS ROUNDUP
Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to pay $1.42 billion to settle a probe into alleged improper marketing of the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The announcement and amount were expected, as Eli Lilly said in October it had set aside $1.42 billion for a potential settlement.

Zyprexa, which is approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has been Lilly's top-selling drug, garnering the company more than $37 billion in world-wide sales since its U.S. approval in 1996.

Bloomberg News/Landov
Zyprexa, an antipsychotic, isn't approved as a dementia treatment.
The Indianapolis-based company said it will pay $800 million to settle civil suits, including $438 million to the federal government and $362 million to states. It will pay $615 million to resolve the criminal probe and plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation for promoting Zyprexa as a dementia treatment.

The company didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the civil cases.

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia have been investigating whether Lilly played down side effects of Zyprexa and promoted it for unapproved uses. The settlement removes the specter of a criminal indictment of Lilly, which could have threatened the company's lucrative business with Medicare and Medicaid.

The company has been resolving thousands of lawsuits as well as state investigations. In October, it agreed to pay $62 million to 32 states and the District of Columbia that had been probing consumer-protection claims.

LEGAL MARKETING FOR DUMMIES (Crazy Economy Version)

2009-01-15T13:49:00.000-08:00

Indisputable facts show that companies with the guts and insight to maintain or increase marketing and advertising during a down economy will gain on and edge out their competitors.

It may look bleak out there, but here's one tried and true legal marketing rule in here: Now is not the time to stop advertising. In fact, we would encourage you to think twice-and do just the opposite.

When others are suffering from a loss of case load and quality, your firm can be gaining critical market share. Riding out the economy with a smart and strategic promotional plan is the ultimate return on investment. And we can get you there.

As the pioneer of advertising for lawyers, Network Affiliates has 27 years of experience positioning, selling and branding law firms to out-think the competition in the aggressive world of law. Our dynamic, multifaceted team of experts can craft customized, cost-efficient TV ads for the No. 1 marketing medium or develop a strategic advertising campaign to target consumers using new media ranging from the Internet to cell phones to satellite radio.

As a full-service agency, Network Affiliates provides comprehensive, big-picture media planning down to exclusive niche marketing tools for mass tort and targeted Hispanic channels.

A second opinion costs you nothing-and is just a phone call away. Please reach out to me at 1-800-525-3332 and I'll be happy to provide a complimentary, confidential evaluation of your current marketing approach.

Harlan Schillinger
Vice President/Director of Legal Marketing

New jersey Jury awards $12.9 M in Accutane Case.

2008-12-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

New Jersey Jury Awards $12.9 Million to Three Patients Whose Use of Roche Acne Medication Accutane Found to Cause Severe Bowel Illness

Last update: 9:06 a.m. EST Nov. 20, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Nov 20, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Three Florida residents took Accutane as teens, developed inflammatory bowel disease; Plaintiffs represented jointly by law firms Hook Bolton; Seeger Weiss; and Beggs & Lane
In another major courtroom verdict linking powerful acne medication Accutane with long-term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an eight-person jury in Atlantic City has found that pharmaceutical maker Hoffman-La Roche (OTCQX: RHHBY; VTX: ROG.VX) failed to provide adequate warning of the possible condition to three patients who began taking the drug as teenagers and shortly thereafter developed severe forms of IBD. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $12.89 million to be apportioned among the three individuals, now aged in their mid-to-late 20s.
The verdict capped a five-week trial in New Jersey State Superior Court and follows a series of recent plaintiffs' wins here and in other state courts against Nutley, NJ-based Roche over allegations that Accutane was a cause of severe bowel maladies, in some cases even after the plaintiffs discontinued use of the drug.
The three plaintiffs are all Florida residents -- Kelly Mace, 25, of Pensacola, along with Jordan Speisman, 27, of Gainesville, and Lance Sager, 28, of Ft. Lauderdale. All were first prescribed Accutane nearly a decade ago while still in their teens to relieve adolescent acne. All three succumbed to various forms of IBD, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, while taking Accutane or shortly thereafter. Mr. Speisman is expected to shortly undergo surgical removal of his colon; Ms. Mace and Mr. Sager will rely on medications in an effort to manage their disease in the future. As a result of their disease, all suffer from a dramatic increased risk of colon cancer.
Roche first advised physicians about a possible association between Accutane and inflammatory bowel disease in 1984. In the ensuing years, the evidence accumulated by Roche and outside scientists demonstrated that, far from a coincidence, Accutane was in fact inducing inflammatory bowel disease in Accutane patients. Nonetheless, Roche failed to strengthen its warnings either to patients or prescribing physicians.
The jury saw evidence of Roche studies, never published for the scientific and medical community, that Accutane's by-products damage the gastrointestinal tract and lead to degeneration and erosion of the intestinal lining -- a trigger for IBD.
Significantly, those studies, which were performed in animal models specifically to test the gastrointestinal safety of the drug, tested exposures that were lower than those seen in patients taking Accutane. Also in Roche's files but not shared with the medical community, were hundreds of patient reports of IBD in connection with Accutane use. Notably, in numerous of the reports, the symptoms of IBD appeared with Accutane use, subsided when Accutane use was terminated, but then recurred following re-introduction of the drug. Roche repeatedly determined internally that Accutane was the best and only explanation for these IBD reports.
In reaching their verdict, jurors had to address four specific questions:

1. Did Roche fail to adequately warn plaintiffs' prescribing physician
about the risk of IBD from Accutane that either Roche knew or should have
known about prior to when the patients first began using the drug?
2. Is the use of Accutane a cause of IBD in some people who take it?
3. Would a stronger warning have prevented the plaintiff from taking
Accutane?
4. Was Accutane a substantial factor in causing this plaintiff to develop
IBD?

Having answered "Yes" to all four questions, the jury then turned to the issue of what amount of money would "fairly and reasonably" compensate plaintiffs for their injury? The jury awarded Mr. Speisman approximately $8.64 million; Mr. Sager $2.62 million and Ms. Mace approximately $1.63 million. Punitive damages were not sought in the case.
"After years of denials, Roche will at last be forced to accept responsibility for its actions and the horrible illness its drug has burdened me with. While I am pleased with the jury's verdict, it's too bad that Roche can't give me my life back," said Mr. Speisman.
"This is an important outcome and consistent with the recognition by the medical community that Accutane is a trigger for IBD," said David Buchanan, a partner with Seeger Weiss in New York who served as co-counsel to the plaintiffs at trial.
"We applaud the jury's diligence and hope their verdict will finally break down the arrogance and stonewalling by Roche in denying Accutane's role in the prolonged illness of so many patients who took the drug unaware of the extreme, prolonged effects it would have on their intestinal tract," he added. He noted that Roche faces as many as 600 Accutane cases around the country.
Michael Hook with the firm Hook Bolton of Pensacola, Florida served as lead counsel in the case. Mr. Hook stated, "It is unconscionable that faced with so much scientific proof that Roche has continued to deny its culpability in these cases. Since first acknowledging in 1984 that Accutane may be associated with IBD, the company has collected a mountain of evidence showing that Accutane in fact induces, causes, and aggravates IBD. Yet, Roche never shared that information with prescribing doctors or patients. Shockingly, Roche had internally contraindicated Accutane for IBD, another fact not shared with the medical community."
Mr. Hook added. "As a result, the labeled warnings on IBD haven't changed to reflect the likely link, which most certainly would have caused most doctors to rethink prescribing Accutane and led patients to reconsider their potential for acquiring this horrific and debilitating disease."
The trial team also included Steve Bolton of Hook Bolton and Mary Jane Bass, Jack Lurton an

Accutane Trial Team Wins Again......

2008-12-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

Accutane Trial Team Remains Undefeated With Six Straight Jury Verdicts
The Accutane Litigation Group, comprised of the firms of Levin, Papantonio; Hook Bolton; Beggs & Lane and Seeger Weiss, is pleased to announce that, after 6 weeks of trial, it took a New Jersey jury less than 4 hours to return verdicts in favor of three plaintiffs totaling $12.9 million dollars. These plaintiffs developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease that had not reached the stage that required surgery. Three earlier trials for surgical clients resulted in judgments in excess of $25 million dollars. Congratulations to the trial team lead by Mike Hook with Hook Bolton. Other members of the team included Steve Bolton with Hook Bolton; Dave Buchanan with Seeger Weiss: and Mary Jane Bass, Jack Lurton and Jack Zoesch with Beggs & Lane.

Angle Reyes Hits a Big one with The Pain Pump Litigation.

2008-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Jury Awards $16.5 Million in
Duragesic® Case

On November 17, 2008, HORP&B achieved a $16,560,000 verdict for the family of a Cicero, Illinois woman who died while wearing a Duragesic fentanyl transdermal pain patch. After a 3 week trial, a Chicago jury found two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries liable for the death of 38-year-old Janice DiCosolo, a mother of three.

Duragesic is a patch containing a gel form of the opioid drug fentanyl, which is 100 times stronger than morphine. On February 15, 2004, Mrs. DiCosolo died as a result of using a defective Duragesic patch that her doctor had prescribed to alleviate the intense pain she experienced from a neurological condition called "reflex sympathetic dystrophy." The patch was part of a lot of patches that ALZA recalled in 2004 due to seal breaches that allowed leakage that could cause an increased, life-threatening absorption of the drug. That same year, an FDA investigator found deficiencies in ALZA's manufacturing practices and quality control assurance policies and procedures.

HORP&B Partners Jim Orr and Michael Heygood were the lead attorneys representing the DiCosolo family in the case against the defendants, Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc. and ALZA Corporation. Orr and Heygood were assisted in the case by HORP&B Partner Charles Miller.

According to Jim Orr, "They knew this patch was dangerous and defective but they continued to sell it and make money, and that's the only reason Janice DiCosolo is dead." Michael Heygood added, "They even knew there was a safer design, one that would prevent the fentanyl from leaking, but they chose not to use it."

This is the second Duragesic case where HORP&B has prevailed on behalf of a client who lost a loved one due to a defective fentanyl patch. Last year, a federal court jury in Florida awarded $5.5 million to the father of 28-year-old Adam Hendelson, who died while using a Duragesic patch that was prescribed for hip pain.

Shoulder Pain Pump Free Teleconference:

2008-11-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

Shoulder Pain Pump Litigation:
Free Teleconference
Levin, Papantonio is currently investigating cases involving intra-articular pain pump catheters. These devices are temporarily implanted in the shoulder during surgery and have been linked to a serious injury known as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL). This is an extremely painful condition involving the deterioration of cartilage in the shoulder joint.

For years, surgeons have favored the intra-articular pain pump for pain management. These flexible plastic catheters deliver pain medication directly to the joint, and can extend the effectiveness of other shoulder numbing agents for up to 48 hours.

But this pain relief comes at a terrible price. A study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that these pumps were associated with PAGCL. This association was greatest when the intra-articular pain pumps were used to deliver a combination of the painkillers bupivacaine and epinephrine directly into the shoulder joint space. In spite of this knowledge, the manufacturers of these pumps have persisted in recommending that physicians deploy the pumps to inject medicine directly into the joint space.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Join Pete Kaufman with Levin Papantonio for this
FREE TELECONFERENCE
Hosted by Mass Torts Made Perfect
Friday, November 21st at 11:30am, (Eastern)

The FREE call-in number is 888-803-6413.
(Please call in 5 minutes early to participate in the call.)

You may also view a supporting Power Point presentation, during the call, at
www.masstortsmadeperfect.com

Mass Torts update from Levin, Papantonio.

2008-11-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

November 2008
Fosamax
The District Court presiding over the Fosamax MDL involving osteonecrosis of the jaw claims has set the order of the first three such cases to be tried. The three cases selected for trial were drawn from a pre-determined pool of cases that was established by the District Court in one of the initial case management orders. The Plaintiffs Steering Committee (of which Levin Papantonio shareholder Tim O'Brien is Lead Counsel) selected one case, which will be tried in August 2009. The District Court selected one case, at random, which will be tried in October 2009. And Merck selected one case, which will be tried in January 2010. All cases will be tried in New York City.

In addition to Fosamax ONJ cases, Levin Papantonio is representing clients in Fosamax cases involving low energy, non-traumatic fractured of the femur (thigh bone). A recent Cornell University study revealed data showing that long-term Fosamax users were at risk for such fractures. Email Tim O'Brien at TObrien@levinlaw.com

Gadolinium
The Gadolinium MDL is making progress at record speeds. In an effort to move this litigation along as quickly and as prudently as possible, the PSC has worked with Judge Polster in the Northern District of Ohio to set discovery, trial selection and pre-trial deadlines that can best serve these catastrophically injured clients. Levin Papantonio's Troy Rafferty and his fellow members of the PSC have worked hard to strike a balance between moving the litigation along as quickly as possible to ensure these clients are able to see their day in court, and setting reasonable deadlines that allow time for proper discovery of the millions of pages of documents already being produced by Defendants Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., GE Healthcare Inc., Bracco Diagnostics Inc., and Mallinckrodt Inc. If you have any questions about the Gadolinium litigation, Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents, or Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, the crippling condition at the center of this litigation, please contact Troy Rafferty at TRafferty@levinlaw.com or Lea Morris at Lea.Morris@levinlaw.com.

Trasylol
The Trasylol litigation is in high gear. The PSC has fought for an aggressive discovery schedule and the first MDL case is set to be tried in January 2010. In that effort, Levin Papantonio's Brian Barr recently took the deposition of Dr. Thomas Chin, Bayer's Associate Director of Pharmacovigilance for the United States. Between now and the first trial, there is a lot of work to be done and Levin Papantonio is in the middle of it all, not to mention potential clients are still out there looking for representation against Bayer for the damage this drug caused to them or their loved one. If you have any questions about the Trasylol litigation please contact Brian Barr at BBarr@levinlaw.com or Lea Morris at Lea.Morris@levinlaw.com.

Heparin
The Baxter Heparin litigation has been moving along well. We are currently involved in the MDL, which is located in the Northern District of Ohio. We hold a position on the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee and are participating in discovery with the Defendants at this time. The discovery process is currently in its earliest phase, though we have propounded extensive discovery requests on the Defendants. So far, we have received some crucial documents evidencing specific lot numbers and distribution codes, but are expecting many more documents that will shape the liability aspects of the case. We continue to evaluate our current cases as we receive and review medical records and documents from the defendants. As well, we are still evaluating and accepting new cases. Please contact Scott Barnes at SBarnes@levinlaw.com.

Shoulder Pain Pump Litigation
Levin, Papantonio is currently investigating cases involving intra-articular pain pump catheters. These devices are temporarily implanted in the shoulder during surgery and have been linked to a serious injury know as Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL). This is an extremely painful condition involving the deterioration of cartilage in the shoulder joint.

For years, surgeons have favored the intra-articular pain pump for pain management. These flexible plastic catheters deliver pain medication directly to the joint, and can extend the effectiveness of other shoulder numbing agents for up to 48 hours.

But this pain relief comes at a terrible price. A study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that these pumps were associated with PAGCL. This association was greatest when the intra-articular pain pumps were used to deliver a combination of the painkillers bupivacaine and epinephrine directly into the shoulder joint space. In spite of this knowledge, the manufacturers of these pumps have persisted in recommending that physicians deploy the pumps to inject medicine directly into the joint space.

For more information, contact Pete Kaufman at PKaufman@levinlaw.com.

In re: Digitek Products Liability Litigation; MDL No. 1968
On November 5, 2005, Judge Goodwin entered Pretrial Order #4 appointing the members of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee as well as laying out some general issues that will be developing in the coming weeks. Judge Goodwin expressed his desire to coordinate with the judges and counsel involved in the Digitek state court litigation, focused primarily in West Virginia and New Jersey. Matters to be developed include establishing a protocol for Digitek tablet inspections, issues related to acceptance of service and applicability of a master tolling agreement.

Levin, Papantonio is actively involved in the Digitek MDL, with Robert Blanchard being among those appointed to the PSC. Email Amanda Slevinski at ASlevinski@levinlaw.com with any questions regarding the Digitek Products Liability Litigation.

Vioxx
Levin Papantonio attorneys continue to work on Vioxx claims one year after the national settlement was announced. We are still working with clients and the Vioxx claims administration to ensure that our clients receive the maximum settlement available on their cases. The claims administration hopes to have all heart attack cases reviewed by April 2009 and to start stroke case reviews in February 2009 and finish sometime next summer. If you have any questions about the settlement process please contact Rachael Gilmer at 850-435-7159 or RGilmer@levinlaw.com.

Securities Department
Levin Papantonio's Securities Department is headed by Peter Mougey. Peter can be contacted at PMougey@levinlaw.com.
Levin Papantonio Scheduled to Arbitrate One of the First Morgan Keegan Bond Fund Claims
To date, two of the three arbitrations arbitrated across the country have resulted in awards for the investors. We have filed cases on behalf of 50 institutional and individual investors who have lost more than $50 million in the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond Fund (RIBCX), the Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income Fund (MKHIX), the RMK High Income Fund (RMH), the RMK Multi-Sector High Income Fund (RHY), and the RMK Strategic Income Fund. These funds have declined more than 65% in the past 12 months because of the undisclosed risks and the exposure to both the subprime and mortgage markets. We expect to file another 155 arbitration and state court claims by the end of the year.
Lehman Principal Protected Notes
Several major brokerage firms, among them UBS, Merrill Lynch, and JP Morgan, sold nearly $70 billion of these principal protected notes in the past year. Many financial advisors recommended these products to retired, risk-adverse investors without informing them of the potential risk. Many investors were not even told that the Lehman Brothers-created products carried significant risk.
Citigroup Hedge Funds
Levin Papantonio continues to accept claims against Citigroup Alternative Investments (“CAI”). Citigroup advertised these funds as alternatives to fixed income but volatility in the credit market proved that the hedge funds were far less reliable than they were marketed. In fact, quantitative analysis has demonstrated that the pricing inefficiency Citigroup attempted to capture in Mat V was in reality a risk premium built in to the market. The fund has lost over 75% of its value after the too-little-too-late settlement offer to investors. We continue to accept Mat Five cases from across the country.
Levin Papantonio is Filing Multiple Securities Arbitration Claims Based on Unsuitable Recommendations to Concentrated Portfolios in the Financial Sector
Levin Papantonio continues to accept cases against broker-dealers on behalf of investors holding concentrated equity positions, including common and preferred stock. Many investors’ life savings were not diversified across industry sectors or were not allocated to investment grade fixed income. Instead, portfolios were concentrated in the financial sector through common and preferred stock and fixed income. This concentration caused many retail investors to lose a disproportionate amount of their life savings.
Levin Papantonio Moved for Lead Counsel Status in First Trust Mutual Fund Class Action
Levin Papantonio has moved for lead counsel status in a class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the First Trust family of Strategic High Income mutual funds ("First Trust"). The First Trust mutual funds, the Strategic High Income Fund (FHI), the Strategic High Income Fund II (FHY), and the Strategic High Income Fund III (FHO) held some of the riskiest and most illiquid collateralized debt obligations ("CDO") on the market. In the second half of 2007, the funds dropped more than 50% and lost a total of $250 million when the underlying debt securities lost their value. In fact, the First Trust mutual funds were at the bottom of the peer group due in large part to their substantial CDO holdings.

Extinction Threatens Yellow-Pages Publishers

2008-11-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

Good Monday Morning,

Our Associate Media Director Cindy Kallman shares the attached article with us relating to the Yellow Page Industry from the Wall Street Journal. With their market share eroding, Yellow Page reps will be very forceful in their sales efforts. Several publishers have developed new products in an effort to maintain their clients' spending levels. If you aren't tracking your response from your Yellow Page ads, you should be. RCF (remote call forwarding) numbers will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign.

Enjoy the read......

Tammy Kehe
Vice President
Network Affiliates

Extinction Threatens Yellow-Pages Publishers
By Emily Steel , WSJ.com
14 HOURS AGO
Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

The yellow-pages industry is running out of lifelines.

In recent years, as its customers migrated to the Web -- flocking to sites like Google -- the telephone-directory business followed, hoping the Internet would be its salvation.

But that strategy hasn't panned out. Now, the economic downturn is sending the already ailing business into a tailspin.

The audience for online yellow pages remains relatively small, and traffic growth is slowing. So many directory services are vying for the ad dollars of local businesses that no single site has an authoritative roster.

Meanwhile, ad dollars are drying up as small businesses -- the industry's bread and butter -- find it harder to pay bills or have cut their spending sharply.

Print and online ad spending on yellow pages will plummet 6.3% next year, more than double the rate of decline expected for broadcast TV, according to forecasts by Wachovia analyst John Janedis. Within the next four years, ad spending will fall 39% in print directories alone -- the steepest projected decline across all local-media categories, according to media-research firm Borrell Associates.

"It's pretty darn hard out there for everybody, and those that have less staying power, it just looks like it's going to be a difficult environment to be able to hang on in the long term," said Dave Swanson, chief executive of R.H. Donnelley, a Cary, N.C., yellow-pages publisher, during a conference call on the company's third-quarter earnings.

Facing the real prospect of extinction, the publishers, many of which have considerable debt, have been slashing jobs, scrapping dividends and exiting unprofitable markets. Shares of two of the biggest publishers, R.H. Donnelley and Idearc, have plummeted 99% in the past year.

"The main pure-play companies do not have capital structures that would enable them to endure perpetual high-single-digit or double-digit declines in cash flow and remain viable entities or solvent entities over time," says Mike Simonton, an analyst with Fitch Ratings.

Yellow-pages publishers have spent the past several years attempting to reinvent themselves, launching a slew of digital offerings for advertisers, and retraining their sales forces to sell digital ads alongside print ads.

But Internet revenues remain anemic. At less than 10%, online-ad dollars make up only a modest portion of total revenues and aren't growing fast enough to offset steep declines on the print side, says Mr. Simonton.

Analysts say yellow-pages sales teams face an inherent conflict. While they are pressured to sell both print and online ads, Internet ads are often a third of the price of the print product. The top priority for the sales teams often is to sell the print book first, then sell the digital products.

Even if online revenues were growing at a faster clip, analysts are cautious about the prospects of online-only directories. Yellow-pages ads are the only form of advertising many small businesses buy, and the online ads are typically sold in conjunction with print listings, Mr. Simonton says. That means that if businesses aren't buying the print ad, then the online ad disappears too.

In a last-ditch attempt to succeed online, some publishers have struck ad-sale partnerships with Internet companies like Google. White Directory Publishers, which publishes directories in 90 small to medium-size markets, says it is often more effective for small businesses to have a presence on Google than on a directory Web site. But many small- to medium-size businesses don't have the expertise or time to create effective Web sites or buy and track search ads, so White Directory is offering to do it for them.

"They all believe they have the URL and the Web site that's going to win," Jeff Folckemer, chief operating officer and chief executive-designate of White Directory, part of Hearst Corp., says of the directory companies. "Our philosophy immediately was to go right to the big guys."

Mr. Simonton cautions, however, that even if publishers survive, any growth they achieved since the last downturn, in 2001, will be short-lived. "That extra growth coming from new businesses are the first to fold in a downturn. You basically give back in one downturn what took seven years to grow."

Write to Emily Steel at emily.steel@wsj.com

Supreme Court confronts a Grievous Injury:

2008-11-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

November 7, 2008
New York Times
The Court Confronts a Grievous Injury
For years, the Bush administration has worked with industry to try to water down the public's protections by preventing states from enforcing rules and regulations tougher than those required by the federal government.

It has tried to apply this policy of pre-emption to rules issued by a slew of federal agencies and is now asking the Supreme Court to approve its improper ideological stand when it comes to drug safety.

On Monday, the court heard arguments in the case of a Vermont musician who lost her arm after being injected with an anti-nausea drug. There is no doubt that Diana Levine was badly injured by a drug made by Wyeth. The only question is whether the Supreme Court will uphold her right to sue the company over its failure to adequately warn of a drug's dangers. Or will it buy the arguments of the industry and the Bush administration that companies like Wyeth should be protected from such lawsuits in state courts if the products that caused the injury met federal regulatory standards?

The administration wants approval by the Food and Drug Administration to be the final word in these cases, not state laws like Vermont's that often require the manufacturer to meet a higher standard in warning doctors and patients about potential dangers. The court should rule in favor of Ms. Levine.

Ms. Levine went to a clinic seeking relief for a migraine headache. She received Demerol for her headache and Wyeth's Phenergan to combat nausea, both administered by injections into the muscle, which is the preferred route of administration. When the headaches persisted, she returned for more treatment.

This time, the same medicines were administered by an intravenous "push" technique that is known to be risky - using a needle inserted into a vein. A physician's assistant mistakenly hit an artery, with catastrophic results. Ms. Levine quickly developed gangrene; her hand and lower arm had to be amputated. She sued the physician's assistant, the supervising physician and the clinic for malpractice and won an out-of-court settlement, as well she should have.

Then she sued Wyeth for failing to warn the clinicians to use the much safer "IV drip" technique, in which the drug is injected into a stream of liquid flowing from a hanging bag that already has been safely connected to a vein, making it highly unlikely that the drug will reach an artery. A trial court awarded her $6.7 million, and the Vermont Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Now Wyeth, supported by the Bush administration, has asked the Supreme Court to reverse the verdict on the grounds that Wyeth complied with federal regulatory requirements.

We do not buy Wyeth's argument that it did everything it needed to, or could have done, to warn doctors about the dangers involved in the treatment Ms. Levine received. Wyeth did warn of some dangers of the drug treatment, in words approved by the F.D.A., but the state court was well within its rights to conclude that those warnings were insufficient.

And that is the greater point. When Congress revised the federal law governing the F.D.A. in 2007, drug companies wanted, but did not get, a provision shielding them from this sort of lawsuit. The drug industry and its administration allies now want the court to ignore the absence of express legal language and grant drug companies immunity based on a phony assertion that state lawsuits improperly usurp federal regulatory authority.

For the court to broadly endorse the concept of "implied pre-emption" in this case would show disrespect for the considered decisions of Congress and could foreclose injury suits involving not only drugs, but also motor vehicles, household products and other things. The ultimate effect would be to undermine consumer safety.

Far from usurping the F.D.A.'s power, litigation aimed at holding drug companies liable for problems like those in this case complement the agency's efforts to protect the public. For many years the F.D.A. welcomed state failure-to-warn suits as reinforcing those efforts; two former commissioners, David Kessler and Donald Kennedy, made that point in a brief in the case.

Only under President Bush did the agency overrule its top staff members and try to pre-empt such suits. We hope this business-friendly Supreme Court will preserve the consumer protection that state tort actions often provide. Otherwise, the incoming president and Congress will need to pass corrective legislation.

Marketing your Law Firm in this Economy!

2008-11-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

It may sound counter intuitive to increase advertising when the economy is steadily decreasing. But marketing is heady stuff. Some of the weakest times for the economy are actually the strongest times for advertisers - like you.

While the competition may be stalling or scaling back, your firm can prosper simply by maintaining or refocusing efforts on a few dynamic legal service marketing strategies.

Remember: Now is not the time to cut back. It's the perfect time to consider a second opinion about how to maximize your marketing resources and begin (or continue) to reach out to highly targeted audiences with the right message for today's economic climate.

We'd like to help you do just that. With 27 years of legal advertising experience, Network Affiliates is the pioneer of advertising for lawyers. Our full-service agency is home to an expert team that knows the underbellies of law firms and just how attorneys tick. Every day we translate that to:

Creative, cost-effective commercials

Custom TV production

Comprehensive media planning

Mass tort and Hispanic marketing niches

And that's just that’s the short list. We listen. We weigh in. Then we work until you're satisfied and we've successfully met a shared mission: to increase your firm's case load quality and quantity.

Ready to discuss some confidential marketing options for your firm? Please give me a call at 1-800-525-3332 and I'll be happy to provide a complimentary evaluation of your current strategy.

Sincerely,

Harlan M. Schillinger
Vice President/Director of Legal Marketing
800-525-3332
www.netaff.com/legal

The American Trial Lawyer: A new and exciting group.

2008-10-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

The American Trial Lawyer
The Real Mavericks of the Legal World we Live in:

By now we're sure you have all received personal invitations to become members of the newly created American Trial Lawyer. The brainchild of J. Keith Givens and Michael Papantonio, the group is limited to 5,000 attorneys interested in marketing their firms through emphasis on current legal, political and economic issues. To quote from the opening pages of their new magazine, "we want to understand our opponents' strategies and tactics and become better advocates for our clients by keeping abreast of new legal trends". The colorful, extremely informative magazine "(embraces)...the opportunities and (addresses)...the challenges representing individuals in America's 21st century courtrooms".

If you have not joined this group already, we suggest strongly that you learn more about the group and consider becoming a member. To learn more about The American Trial Lawyer, please request the Fall 2008 magazine and/or visit their website at www.theamericantriallawyer.com.

Weathering The Storm Seminar: By Cole Silver

2008-10-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Harlan,

Hope you're well.

Obviously, lawyers and law firms are not immune to the ongoing market turmoil. With increased competition, an uncertain economy and our clients facing economic hardships, demand for legal services is down this year. Recently, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog predicted that in 2008 many lawyers will be lucky to meet last year's revenues.

If you're looking for ways to weather the downturn and get CLE credits, I have teamed up with The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly and have put together a dynamic panel of experts to discuss the Five Most Dangerous Business Trends Facing Lawyers Today...and How to Overcome Them.

I know the panelists and I can promise you'll get a lot of new and dynamic ideas to grow your practice in today's challenging legal market.

You can find out more about the seminar at : http://www.palawweekly.com/plw_net/business_trends/default.aspx

Stay well.

Cole
The Client Ambassador
Ph: (609) 306-8098
cbsilver@yahoo.com
http://www.findcareersuccess.com
Client Development for Lawyers Who Hate to Sell

The Silver Group Ltd.

8 Dorchester Lane, Suite A
Moorestown, NJ
08057
US

Television Strategy! Are you in or Out!

2008-09-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Strength and Strategy of Television
Advertising
No other format has the potential to reach so many people so fast or with greater impact. But with sloppy placement, you may miss out on your ripest markets. While you are intently focused on your older target, the younger generation may be turning to your competition when the time is right. The television market draws from a vast pool of 80 million Americans between the ages of 10 to 29, more than the baby boomer generation. In a few short years, by 2010, this group will form the majority of the 18-to-49 demo that is the bedrock of all TV advertising and, hopefully, a loyal source of clients.

One of advertising's biggest myths is that people have quit watching TV. Have you? Or anyone else you know? Actually, according to Nielsen Media, people watch more TV than ever before - they just watch it differently. Even while television is used as background noise during dinner, its power to reach people is great. The old world of three networks has expanded to include cable, satellite and DVR's. Reality shows, creative competitions, educational series and documentary-style programming have wooed a new market of watchers in every age group. The typical viewer who has 120 channels watches about 20 of them, but with innovative new programs being added regularly, new watchers are constantly being groomed and recruited.

Too many law firms mistakenly ignore the TV goldmine

You've heard the mantra "TV advertising WORKS!", but if you're not placing strategically, you could be wasting great ads. And if you're not following the trends in the TV world, you could be ignoring easy targets. Fundamental shifts in TV viewing are already underway. Nielsen Media Research says DVR users aged 18 to 49 already time shift about 41% of their primetime viewing of broadcast networks - and this group watches a lot of TV: The average 18- to 49-year-old person watches 31 hours of television a week, which is up from five years ago. The biggest issue isn't fast-forwarding through ads. If you have a good program people will watch it, and if you have a good ad they will pay attention. The biggest problem is the fragmentation of viewership. Now that you're armed with knowledge, it's time to turn it into muscle. Time to pinpoint what our core group is watching.

Cue the all-important Media Buyer. That's where expertise in media analysis, planning and placement becomes critical. The days of buying rotators on 3-5 stations are over. Depending on your product, depending on your demographic, depending on your competitive landscape.....these all play into the need to have a "Media Gatekeeper" watching over every single penny you spend to ensure your hard-earned money is being spent in the most efficient and effective manner. Are you squeezing each format to produce highly visible advertising that translates into calls? If you're not investing in crucial media resources, the answer is most likely no.

Media planning and placement is equally, if not more important, than creative messaging. Their job is to help you find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the advertising rainbow. Elite media teams spend thousands of dollars each year updating in-house media planning resources to dissect client market areas and design comprehensive media recommendations. This measured approach, utilizing trusted media advisory and evaluation services, allows for precise calculation and discovery of the most strategic advertising formulas to reach the right people in the right place at the right time-to reach potential clients and prompt them to call.

What is the cable penetration in your market? Are you buying stations or programs? Are your stations delivering the gross rating points you are paying for each and every quarter? Are you running rotators or buying program-specific? What is your reach and frequency? How much are your competitors spending and WHERE are they spending their media dollars? Take the time to explore these issues and invest in the power of television with the help of an experienced media team. Time is money and your efforts will most certainly pay off.

Looking to grow your business in 2007? Interested in learning what opportunities exist in your market? Give us a call at 1-800-525-3332 or email for your individual market analysis.

Put us to the test right now.

Stop what you're doing right now and take 10 minutes to call me at 1-800-525-3332. I'll give you two new ideas on how you can strengthen your TV Marketing today. You've got absolutely nothing to lose and a powerful practice marketing tool to gain.

Sincerely,

Harlan Schillinger

Network Affiliates,

2008-09-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Attached is an official memo from AIG about their status.

Good news: The Fed is propping them up.

Bad news: The former head of Allstate will be running the show !

Judge Cap's Vioxx Fee's for Lawyers involved:

2008-09-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have not yet heard, Judge Fallon capped ALL attorneys’ fees, including common benefit fees, at 32% of the net recovery. The interim awards are to be distributed to claimants and counsel with all of common benefit fees to be taken out of the remainder. Fallon discusses at great length the “economies of scale” noted by Judge Frank and the “simple” claims process which results in substantial awards, thereby justifying a reduction in fees. Attached is a copy of the Order.

It is horrible: Judge Fallon waited until after everything was done and the unilaterally cut all private fee contracts down to 32%. He did this with no motion, no notice and no hearings on the matter. As there is an additional 8% which will be deducted from Attorneys fees for Common Benefit work done by the PSC, the final fee will be only 25% a reduction of 45% off all prior 40% contracts.
Many are saying that they simply cannot continue taking on the big pharmaceutical companies, with the attendant risk and expense, for that kind of return.
.

Mass Torts update from Levin, Papantonio

2008-09-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Levin Papantonio Mass Tort Update
August 29, 2008
Vioxx Settlement Payments
Merck will begin making Vioxx settlement payments in August of this year but most plaintiffs will have to wait much longer before receiving any money. Merck will begin to make an interim payment, estimated at 40% of the plaintiffs total settlement amount in the next few weeks. The initial payments though are only for heart attack plaintiffs. The stroke plaintiffs will not start being paid until February 2009. Plaintiffs will receive payments on a rolling basis after a multi-step review process. Therefore one heart attack client may receive payment in September while another one may not receive any money until January. With 50,000+ claims to review, it is going to take quite some time before all payments are completed. Nevertheless Merck has committed to paying all eligible claims and can no longer walk away from the settlement. For more information on the Vioxx Settlement, contact Rachael Gilmer at rgilmer@levinlaw.com or (850) 435-7159.
Read the CBSNews Article
Read the BusinessWeek Article

Kugel Mesh Early Neutral Evaluation Program Broadened to Include Non-ring Break Cases
Judge Mary Lisi, the presiding judge in the Kugel Hernia Mesh patch Multidistrict Litigation, issued an order Monday broadening the court's "Early Neutral Evaluation" program to include non-ring break cases. Recalls of Bard's Kugel Hernia Mesh patches were initiated in 2005 because of a defect involving the device's monofilament polypropylene ring, which is designed to cause the patch to spring open after being inserted laproscopically. The order indicates that the extent of Bard's liability may be considerably wider than previously thought. Questions about the Kugel Mesh patch litigation should be directed to attorney Pete Kaufman, of Levin, Papantonio's Mass Tort Department. You can reach Pete Kaufman at pkaufman@levinlaw.com.
Read the MDL Order

Fosamax MDL District Judge Remands MDL Cases to State Court
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the presiding Court in the Fosamax MDL No. 1789, has remanded several cases to state courts in the States of California, Florida, and Illinois. In a lengthy order, the District Court also taxed costs and fees against Merck for the improvident removal of the cases to federal court. Levin Papantonio shareholder Tim O'Brien is the Plaintiffs Lead Counsel in the Fosamax MDL and has pledged to work closely with the state court groups in order ensure that multiple cases are ready for trial in mid-2009. Regarding the District Court's order, Mr. O'Brien said, "Federal jurisdiction is, by design, one of strictly prescribed parameters. The District Court's order deftly outlined those parameters, applied them, and put the state court cases where they belong - - in state court." A copy of the order is attached. Levin Papantonio is representing Fosamax patients who have been diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the jaw or who have had low-energy subtrochanteric femur fractures after long-term use of Fosamax. For information regarding Fosamax claims, please feel free to contact Tim O'Brien at tobrien@levinlaw.com. For more information relating to the Fosamax MDL, you may always feel free to access the MDL PSC website at www.fosamaxmdl.com.

Yamaha Rhino Demonstrated for CPSC
On July 28, 2008, Yamaha's professional drivers demonstrated the new 2009 Yamaha Rhino for the CPSC and the public. Of course the 2009 models include a modified door, new seatbelt latch and webbing, a reminder light to wear a helmet and seatbelt, along with several other features. Unfortunately, no modifications have been made to address the instability of the vehicle. At the demonstration, the public was invited to ride as a passenger so long as boots were worn and waivers were signed, but they were not permitted to drive. Please contact Kim Lambert at klambert@levinlaw.com for any questions regarding the Yamaha Rhino litigation. For information on CPSC injury reporting requirements and violations for failing to report injuries, please go to the following links.
Read the CPSC Article
Read the Access Article

JPML Enters Transfer Order in Digitek Litigation
On August 13, 2008, the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation entered an order transferring the Digitek products liability litigation to the Southern District of West Virginia. MDL No. 1968 In re: Digitek Products Liability Litigation was assigned to Judge Joseph R. Goodwin. The litigation consists of eight actions pending in six districts, which will now be transferred to the Southern District of West Virginia. At the time of the MDL hearing, the Panel was notified that fifty other related actions had recently been filed in other districts, those actions will be treated as potential tag-along actions. State court litigation will likely be focused in West Virginia and New Jersey, as Defendants Mylan and Actavis Totowa, LLC have their principal places of business in the two states, respectively. For more information on the Digitek litigation, contact Amanda Slevinski at aslevinski@levinlaw.com.
MDL Transfer Order

Gadolinium Litigation
Levin Papantonio continues in its long tradition leading the charge against Big Pharma by taking on several of its key players in the Gadolinium litigation. Because of its paramagnetic properties, solutions of organic gadolinium complexes and gadolinium compounds are used as intravenous contrast agents to enhance images in medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Gadolinium-based contrast agents have also been used in Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA). Gadolinium in not found naturally in the human body, as a matter of fact, in its free state, Gadolinium is extremely toxic. Studies have liked Gadolinium-based contrast agents with a rare, debilitating and untreatable condition called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis. NSF is a systemic disorder with its most prominent and visible effects in the skin, but it can also affect the internal organs, and joints. Patients with NSF describe swelling and tightening of the skin, usually limited to the extremities but sometimes involving the trunk. The condition may develop over a period of days to several weeks. In many cases, the skin thickening inhibits the flexion and extension of joints, resulting in contractures. Severely affected patients may be unable to walk, or fully extend the joints of their arms, hands, legs, and feet. Complaints of muscle weakness are common. The skin changes may start as reddened or darkened patches, papules, or plaques. In time, the skin may feel "woody" and the surface may resemble the texture of the peel of an orange. Patients may experience burning, itching, or severe sharp pains in areas of involvement. There is no treatment for NSF, there is no cure for NSF, and there is only one cause…Gadolinium-based contrast agents. An MDL has already been formed for this litigation, and Levin Papantonio is playing a major role in it. Troy Rafferty is a co-chair of the Plaintiff's Executive Committee. If you are interested in getting involved in this litigation please contact Troy Rafferty at trafferty@levinlaw.com.

ReNu Litigation Continues
Two years after Bausch and Lomb removed its contact lens solution, ReNu with MoistureLoc, from the market, the litigation continues to move forward. Levin Papantonio is committed to ensuring that its injured clients receive compensation. We have met with experts and reviewed hundreds of cases, in order to pursue only those cases where serious eye injuries occurred. If you have any clients who were diagnosed with fusarium keratitis while using ReNu with MoistureLoc, please contact Rachael Gilmer at rgilmer@levinlaw.com or (850) 435-7159.