Category: Law Firm Newswire – Law Firm Marketing

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) April 21, 2015 - Custom Legal Marketing is launching a new nationwide series called CLM Conversations. The event promises to be everything attorneys can't get from a crowded convention, offering attorneys a chance to have a real conversation about their online marketing with a CLM expert, entirely free and without the pressure to sign a contract on the spot.

To start the nationwide tour, Custom Legal Marketing is heading back to its hometown: Tampa, Florida. The first of 10 Conversations scheduled for 2015 will be held at the Tampa Club on May 13.

Skip the Sales Pitch
Every day, lawyers contact Custom Legal Marketing, expressing frustration with their websites, their marketing personnel, and the high-pressure sales reps who field their calls at marketing companies. Custom Legal Marketing's lead Legal Marketing Enthusiast, Jason Bland, decided that lawyers deserve a more customized path to information.

“We wanted to bring lawyers together in a small platform to hear their challenges and help them discover real solutions, without pressure or crowds. Lawyers need the opportunity to have a conversation that fits into their busy schedules,” said Bland.

The CLM Conversation platform is unlike any other opportunity currently available to law firms. It combines expert advice with the opportunity to bring specific, real questions to the table. Lawyers should know what to expect before signing up for the free event:

• All Conversations are held in large conference rooms at society clubs and Class A business centers, so that attendees can enjoy a comfortable setting.
• First, the CLM Enthusiast will share an actionable marketing tip, called a Conversation Starter. This is usually a 20-minute presentation, accompanied by literature the attendees can take with them to help them employ the strategy at their own firms. A 10-minute discussion to clarify any questions about the presentation follows.
• Then, the conversation starts. Attendees have an opportunity to ask about any marketing challenge their firm is facing, including search engine rankings, local marketing, social marketing, website-related questions, link building and other online marketing topics.

Once as many questions as possible have been answered, attendees will part ways. CLM does have availabilities for some practice areas in some U.S. cities (the company only works with one firm in a given practice area in a given metro area), and those who have taken part in the conversation will receive contact information for their Legal Marketing Enthusiast, should they wish to follow up with more questions and/or launch a larger relationship with CLM.

Space for Tampa's CLM Conversation is very limited, so click here to reserve your seat.

CLM Conversation – Tampa, FL
Conversation Starter: Getting High-Value Visitors with Low-Cost Clicks

Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Time: 10:00AM to 11:30AM
Location: The Tampa Club
101 East Kennedy Blvd Suite 4200
Tampa, FL 33602

See other CLM Conversations at http://www.customlegalmarketing.com/seminars/.

Custom Legal Marketing
An Adviatech company
Toll Free: 1.800.789.6451

Custom Legal Marketing Wins at the 13th Annual Horizon Interactive Awards Competition for New Jersey personal injury law firm's website, Petrillo & Goldberg Law.

San Francisco, CA (Law Firm Newswire) April 1, 2015 - The Horizon Interactive Awards, a leading international interactive media awards competition, has announced the 2014 award winners to highlight this year’s “best of the best” in interactive media production.

Custom Legal Marketing, an Adviatech company was recognized for their excellence with a Silver award for the Legal Website's category.

Jason Bland of Custom Legal Marketing said, “We are honored to receive this award. Our team worked very hard on the Petrillo & Goldberg website. It was truly a fantastic experience with this firm and they were very supportive throughout the development process.”

The 13th annual, international competition saw over 1200 entries from 27 countries around world including: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and nearly all 50 of the United States of America.

An international panel of judges, consisting of industry professionals with diverse backgrounds, as well as an end user panel evaluated categories ranging from online advertising to mobile applications. The 2014 winning entries showcase the industry’s best interactive media solutions including web sites, mobile applications, print media, interactive displays, public exhibits, online advertising, video, email and more.

“The 2014 competition represents an amazing display of digital artistry, innovation and craftsmanship,” said, Mike Sauce- Founder of the Horizon Interactive Awards. “We have continued to see a trend where an emphasis is placed on consistency of the digital experience across all touch-points of user interaction from desktop to tablet to mobile phone. In this year’s competition, we were astounded by not only the responsive, full screen and immersive desktop experiences but the optimization of screen real estate and attention to purpose for tablets and other mobile devices. All this while providing engaging and rich multi-media solutions to users. The bottom line, our 2014 winners truly do exhibit a mastery of the optimal blend between aesthetics, outstanding content, innovation, usability and performance.”

The Horizon Interactive Awards holds the competition each year with the winners being announced the following April.

To see the award winning website, visit http://www.petrilloandgoldberg.com/.

About Custom Legal Marketing
Custom Legal Marketing, an Adviatech company is based in San Francisco, California. They provide legal marketing services to mid-sized law firms. Learn more at www.customlegalmarketing.com/.

About the Horizon Interactive Awards
In its 13th year, the Horizon Interactive Awards was created to recognize excellence in interactive media production worldwide. Since 2001, the competition has received tens of thousands of entries from many countries around the world and nearly all 50 US States. Each year, those entries are narrowed down to the “best of the best” to be recognized and promoted on and international stage for their excellence. The judging process involves a Horizon Interactive Awards advisory panel, end user panel and a worldwide panel of judges consisting of industry professionals. Winning entries are dubbed the “best of the best” in the interactive media industry. For more information, visit www.horizoninteractiveawards.com.

Learn more at http://www.customlegalmarketing.com/.

Custom Legal Marketing
An Adviatech company
1111 Kearny St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone: 1.415.449.1985
Toll Free: 1.800.789.6451

Custom Legal Marketing's Blog

• No Comment: Why Law Firms Should Disable Commenting
• How to Catch Typos on Your Law Firm’s Website
• Get the Most Out of Your Law Firm’s Videos
• How to repurpose webinars for maximum marketing impact
• Google Chrome’s AdBlocker and Your Law Firm’s Marketing Efforts
• How Law Firms Should Adapt to Mobile-First Indexing
• The 2018 Content Marketing Plan for Law Firms

San Francisco, CA (Law Firm Newswire) April 14, 2015 - While it may not be breaking news that WordPress is popular, a new Custom Legal Marketing Lab report shows how popular the content management system is on sites that reach the top of search results.

Custom Legal Marketing recently published a report outlining the “Characteristics of the Top Two Ranking Personal Injury Websites in U.S. Cities.” For each of America's largest metro areas, the research team in the Legal Marketing Lab specifically reviewed the personal injury law firm websites that naturally ranked in the top two positions in Google search results.

The team considered commonalities – including responsive layouts, custom designs and content management systems – in their examination. The report was based on the auto accident subset of personal injury keyphrases, which the study called “America’s most competitive legal keywords.” In many of the reviewed cities, the pay-per-click value of these keywords exceeded $100 per click.

Content management returned the biggest surprise in their results. Even given prior awareness of its popularity, WordPress dominated the elite group of high-ranking websites beyond expectations. Half of the top-two-ranking personal injury websites in the country are using WordPress as their content management system. This, in turn, reveals a critical peace of data for law firms: not only are American lawyers adopting the popular content management system frequently, they are achieving high rankings with it.

The study did not reveal a clear second place winner for content management systems. The other half of reviewed websites currently use a variety of content management systems using HTML files without a backend system.

The open-source WordPress was not the only version of the popular platform that appeared in the report, either. The paid, hosted version of WordPress was the most popular do-it-yourself site builder appearing in the top results for the reviewed competitive terms. While only five percent of reviewed websites are presently using a do-it-yourself solution, the group is dominated by the hosted WordPress service.

The study is available on the Custom Legal Marketing website and the Custom Legal Marketing to Go App available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Get the full report at http://www.customlegalmarketing.com/lab/.

Custom Legal Marketing
An Adviatech company
1111 Kearny St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
Toll Free: 1.800.789.6451

CLM BLog

• How Local Events and Sponsorships Can Power Link Building
• How Law Firms Can Identify Their Local Competitors
• Google My Business Adds a New Feature for Posting Positive Reviews on your Law Firm’s Listing
• A Guide on How Law Firms Can Safely Redirect Their Web Pages
• Picking Memorable Photos for Law Firm Content
• A Google Error is Deindexing Pages: Should your law firm be worried?
• How to Optimize Your Law Firm’s Mobile Website for Voice Search

Chicago, IL (Law Firm Newswire) March 31, 2015 - Legal practice managers' average pay rose 18 percent in 2014.

The latest industry-leading research findings on compensation and benefits trends in law firms was released today by the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). The Enhanced Law Firm Compensation & Benefits Survey data shows that practice area administrator salaries increased by an average of 18 percent in 2014, with principal law firm administrators faring nearly as well with a 15.3 percent increase, and Paralegal Mangers a 12.6 percent increase.

The 1,169 participants in the survey receive a discount on the final data, which include enhanced features such as staffing ratios and billable hours, and also allows participants to electronically benchmark their own firms’ response data against the marketplace. The survey data and an executive summary is available to both participants and non-participants at: http://www.alanet.org/compsurvey.

The reports provide comparative salary and benefits by country, city, region and ZIP code. Foreseeing trends in new responsibilities and positions in firms, ALA also added ten new management positions and 15 staff-level positions in 2014, as well as paid leave benefits and turnover rates. ALA’s Large Firm Key Staff Compensation Survey provides a deep dive into C-level compensation at firms with more than 100 lawyers. Twenty-seven percent of respondents are firms with more than 400 lawyers.

More than half (56 percent) of the U.S. locations that offered a medical plan for employees cover 75-99 percent of premiums, and about one in five cover the entire premium. One-third of the U.S. locations indicated they do not pay any part of the premium for their employees, while one-fifth of locations pay the entire premium for their employees. The majority of U.S. locations that offer short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment cover the entire premiums.

Methodology

The web-based questionnaires were designed jointly by ALA and iLumen Inc., based on similar surveys conducted in previous years. Survey programming and data collection were handled by iLumen. To avoid compromising respondent confidentiality, results were not reported for items that had fewer than four valid responses (fewer than three for the Large Firm Survey, due to the relatively small data set). Of 1,169 respondents, private law firms accounted for 95 percent of the total population.

For an Executive Summary of the research, and to purchase the full reports, which include a breakdown of benefits offered by organization type, firm size and region visit http://www.alanet.org/compsurvey or call 847-267-1252.

About the ALA Enhanced Legal Compensation and Benefits Survey

Conducted annually for more than 25 years, the Enhanced 2014 Legal Compensation and Benefit Surveys included 1,169 responses from law firms and law departments reporting on 48 positions in 25 metropolitan areas. Data includes annual base salary and total benefit and compensation data for non-lawyer positions, including wage and bonus information. Participants can easily benchmark against the marketplace and create custom reports and dashboards, using their firm data with highly customized reporting capabilities. Download the Executive Summary or purchase the full reports at: http://www.alanet.org/compsurvey.

About the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA)

ALA is focused on the delivery of cutting-edge management and leadership products and services to the global legal community. It identifies and provides solutions to the most critical strategic and operational challenges its members and customers face today, and prepares them for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. For more information on ALA, visit http://www.alanet.org.

We’re moving! ALA headquarters is relocating to Presidents Plaza, 8700 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 110S, Chicago, Illinois 60631, on April 1, 2015.

Marquette, MI (Law Firm Newswire) February 24, 2015 - Michigan Public Act 310 of 2014, effective Dec. 31, 2014, adds 5 new exemptions for family–owned homes, cottages and camps from uncapping the taxable property tax assessment.

Prior to the new law, the children and other loved ones who inherited homes, cottages, or camps often could not afford to keep them, as annual property taxes doubled, or tripled, because of uncapping rules.

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s Klooster decision in 2011, the use of a joint-tenancy prevented property tax spikes. But joint property unduly exposed jointly-owned properties to the divorce and debt claims of the children named as joint owners.

Public Act 310 adds 3 new trust exemptions that will allow children to inherit homes, cottages and camps without the fear of uncapping.

The use of an irrevocable trust is allowed under P.A. 310. If such a trust is properly designed, under Medicaid, it will prevent the loss of the cottage or camp from a nursing home admission. This is subject to a 5-year waiting period under Medicaid.

There is a rental or business purpose trap under P.A. 310. To avoid the trap, resort must be made to the joint tenancy exemption.

Learn more at http://www.upelderlaw.com

The Elder Law Firm of Anderson Associates, P.C.
148 W. Hewitt Avenue
Marquette, MI  49855
(906) 228-6212
Fax:  (906) 228-6219
upelderlaw@upelderlaw.com

New York, NY (Law Firm Newswire) February 4, 2015 - The Lower Hudson Valley Special Education Task Force, a regional affiliate of the New York State Special Education Task Force, is pleased to announce its kick-off training and discussion event, “Emotional Disabilities and Anxiety in Youth: Parent and School Partnerships that Work”

This event will take place on February 27, 2015 from 9:00AM to 12:00PM in the auditorium of the Westchester Institute for Human Development, 20 Hospital Service Road South, in Valhalla.

Discussion will focus on the increasing concern and awareness of children with anxiety and emotional disabilities. According to recent Center for Disease Control statistics, approximately one in five children in the U.S. will experience a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder between kindergarten and graduation. Failure to address children’s mental health needs can lead to poor academic performance, behavior problems, school violence, substance abuse, suicide, and criminal activity. Often, parents and school districts do not heed or understand early warning signs. As a result, a child’s situation may spiral into crisis before schools or parents can work together to develop a plan that keeps the child in public school with appropriate services.

Speakers at this event will be:

- Dr. Suanne Mallenbaum, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

- Stephanie Roebuck, Esq., Keane and Beane PC, School District Attorney

- Marion Walsh, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP, Parents’ Attorney

- Dr. Carolyn McGuffog, Director of Educational Services, Pleasantville Central School District

- Dr. Jeanean Hergenrother, School Psychologist, Pelham Union Free School District

- Michael Orth, Westchester County Deputy Commissioner of Community Mental Health

Parents, teachers, special educators, psychologists, and other professionals are encouraged to attend.

The mission of the New York State Task Force is to improve educational access and outcomes for students with disabilities through a collaborative statewide network of stakeholders representing a variety of roles in addressing the special education needs of students in New York State. Specifically, the newly forming Lower Hudson Special Education Task Force will focus its efforts on enhancing knowledge and connections between parents, school districts, individuals with disabilities and service providers invested in the education of students with disabilities and providing a forum where these stakeholders can discuss issues, policies, best practices, proposed changes to law and regulations impacting students with disabilities. Through its focus on collaboration, the Lower Hudson Special Education Task Force offers a unique and effective approach to addressing the needs and concerns of all stakeholders, thereby improving understanding and reducing conflict.

For more information about this event, please contact Nanette Saturn of Putnam Independent Living Services at nsaturn@putnamils.org or at 845-228-7457 x1109.

Lincolnshire, IL., (Law Firm Newswire) February 3, 2015 - Legal Management magazine, an award-winning provider of news and solutions for professionals in the business of law, is now available by subscription. Members of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) automatically receive the magazine as part of their membership, and now all legal professionals can get an insider’s look.

Legal Management features the issues of vital importance to law firm managing partners, executive directors, legal administrators and functional specialists. Every month readers gain essential information on legal industry trends, law firm and corporate legal department management, including proven efficiency models, strategic planning, human resources, financial issues and more.

A 10-issue-per-year subscription to Legal Management costs $195 and provides fingertip access to greater productivity and profitability, in a fully interactive digital format. Subscribe at: https://www.alanet.org/legalmgmt/

The legal management industry’s leading magazine was also recently awarded the prestigious APEX Award in the category of Best Digital Publication, and bestowed an Honorable Mention in the coveted Folio Awards, also as Best Digital Publication.

Legal Management’s editorial staff welcomes legal business industry news tips and independent legal industry writers. You may contact them at publications@alanet.org

About the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA)

ALA is focused on the delivery of cutting-edge management and leadership products and services to the global legal community. It identifies and provides solutions to the most critical strategic and operational challenges its members and customers face today, and prepares them for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. For more information on ALA, visit http://alanet.org

San Francisco, CA (Law Firm Newswire) January 19, 2015 - The internet is still a relatively new development, and industry regulations are still in flux, with net neutrality being one of the most debated and important issues at hand. In the most recent issue of Bigger Law Firm Magazine, Justin Torres helps law firms understand the net neutrality debate, as well as the impact net neutrality could have on their work.

Torres writes that, because online marketing relies on the easy distribution of content, including bandwidth-heavy content like videos, law firms would feel the impact of the elimination of net neutrality. If implemented, such a change could hinder the flow of content, potentially preventing firms from adopting or creating technology innovations and from distributing content that goes against internet service providers' (ISPs')’ views.

Currently, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require that ISPs treat all internet traffic equally. Internet service providers, including Verizon, AT&T and Comcast, are lobbying to overturn these net neutrality rules. They plan to charge companies, and possibly internet users, for access to certain websites, and to slow down access to companies who do not pay their fees.

As Torres explains, in January 2014, Verizon filed a lawsuit against the FCC, arguing that the FCC did not have the authority to dictate how internet service providers operate because they are “service providers,” not “common carriers” like telephone companies. 

Following the ruling, AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon began throttling Netflix, until the video streaming giant made paid peering agreements with each company.

The major ISPs, along with others in the the industry, are the biggest opponents of net neutrality. They argue that, with ever-increasing amounts of data moving through the internet, it costs more now than in the past to provide internet service. Without net neutrality, these companies would allow bandwidth-heavy websites to pay for access to “fast lanes.” According to the ISPs, this would allow them to fund better internet infrastructure.

Proponents of net neutrality, including President Obama, would like the internet to be classified as a public utility, making internet providers subject to the same FCC regulations as telephone companies. Torres explains that the majority of the public, as well as companies with websites, favor net neutrality. Proponents of net neutrality worry that removing net neutrality rules would give ISPs total control over internet speeds and would inhibit smaller websites, especially for startups and small businesses.

To learn more about how to build a Bigger Law Firm, visit https://www.biggerlawfirm.com

Twitter

Facebook

Google+

• Google Limits Search Results Per Domain for More Diversity – How Does This Affect Law Firms?
• Big Results for Big Law Firms
• The Role of Cybersecurity in the Legal Field
• SEO Hierarchy of Needs: A Guide for Beginner Law Firms
• Should Law Firms Use Chatbots Rather Than Mobile Forms?
• Outside the Box: Non-Standard Lawyer Website Inspiration
• Does Your Firm Need a Legal Credit Card Processor?
• How Facebook’s New Political Ad Guidelines Are Affecting Lawyer Advertising
• Why Law Firms Need to Use VPNs
• Why Newsletters Fail and How Your Law Firm’s Newsletter Can Succeed

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) January 15, 2015 - In the newest issue of Bigger Law Firm magazine, writer Cara Tucker explains Google TV Rank and how it impacts search rankings in her article, “The Future of Search.”

As Tucker reports, Google TV Rank is emblematic of the new, post-keyword era of search. The technology is one example of how Google is using the offline behavior of individuals to inform the search results that it returns.

“Lawyers need to understand that search has changed, radically,” comments Jason Bland, Bigger Law Firm founder. “Google is pushing far beyond keywords and text-only searches, and that has a significant impact on the way law firms should approach their websites and online campaigns.”

Google TV Rank works in a fairly straightforward way. Google users can allow their Android mobile devices to listen to and identify what is playing on the television. Google then uses that information to inform future search results. In the article, Tucker gives the example of a user who might be watching a program featuring a specific model of Porsche. The next time that user searches for the word Porsche, Google might be more likely to return at least one result about the model featured on the television program.

Tucker points out that Google TV Rank is similar to other technologies Google already uses to sync offline experiences with the online world. For example, Google takes a user’s geographic location into account when returning results, and already delivers relevant weather notifications and sports scores to users it has determined might be interested.

In the article, Tucker examines these and other technologies that paint a picture of where Google is headed with search.

“I see so many law firms who hope that they can get online exposure by loading their websites with keywords and phrases,” says Bland. “The truth is that with these new technologies, it is already much easier for intelligent and creative law firms to come out on top. I am excited about that.”

Download the latest issue of Bigger Law Firm magazine FREE!

To learn more about how to build a Bigger Law Firm, visit https://www.biggerlawfirm.com

Twitter

Facebook

Google+

• Google Limits Search Results Per Domain for More Diversity – How Does This Affect Law Firms?
• Big Results for Big Law Firms
• The Role of Cybersecurity in the Legal Field
• SEO Hierarchy of Needs: A Guide for Beginner Law Firms
• Should Law Firms Use Chatbots Rather Than Mobile Forms?
• Outside the Box: Non-Standard Lawyer Website Inspiration
• Does Your Firm Need a Legal Credit Card Processor?
• How Facebook’s New Political Ad Guidelines Are Affecting Lawyer Advertising
• Why Law Firms Need to Use VPNs
• Why Newsletters Fail and How Your Law Firm’s Newsletter Can Succeed

San Francisco, CA (Law Firm Newswire) January 12, 2015 - The latest issue of Bigger Law Firm magazine explores technological trends and tools that law firms can use to market to their clients online. BLF enables attorneys to keep their online marketing strategy in line with the latest developments in the industry.

In this issue, Alisha Corbitt explains how law firms can use Mailchimp’s new automation tools to enhance their marketing strategies. Mailchimp recently expanded its repertoire of marketing tools, allowing businesses to automate their email marketing to a greater degree than in the past.

Corbitt begins by exploring how law firms can benefit from the use of automated email marketing. Because email marketing allows firms to actively reach out to specific subscribers, it can be an excellent resource for nurturing leads. However, in order to successfully use this tool, it is important that clients receive content that is tailored to their interests. Automation can help with that task.

Mailchimp previously only offered autoresponders, but now, new automation workflows and other automation tools allow businesses to reach clients and leads with content at specific times. Automation workflows allow businesses to designate, in advance, how a series of emails is released over time. Law firms can send welcome emails or a recurring sequence of emails. 

Automation triggers are also among the new tools lawyers can use, Corbitt writes. Automation triggers send out certain emails based on data -- such as what the user has clicked on or what he or she has engaged with in past campaigns. As a result, subscribers can receive content that they have already expressed interest in and are more likely to respond to.

Corbitt further discusses the improved reporting features Mailchimp has released in recent months. Examining the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign is essential, and Mailchimp’s new reporting tools allow users to receive daily automation reports. Additionally, reports can be viewed for whole automation workflows or for individual emails, allowing users to hone in on the details or focus on the bigger picture as needed.

Corbitt’s article is among several pieces that will help attorneys and law firms use technology to reach out to clients as effectively as possible.

To learn more about how to build a Bigger Law Firm, visit https://www.biggerlawfirm.com

Twitter

Facebook

Google+

• Google Limits Search Results Per Domain for More Diversity – How Does This Affect Law Firms?
• Big Results for Big Law Firms
• The Role of Cybersecurity in the Legal Field
• SEO Hierarchy of Needs: A Guide for Beginner Law Firms
• Should Law Firms Use Chatbots Rather Than Mobile Forms?
• Outside the Box: Non-Standard Lawyer Website Inspiration
• Does Your Firm Need a Legal Credit Card Processor?
• How Facebook’s New Political Ad Guidelines Are Affecting Lawyer Advertising
• Why Law Firms Need to Use VPNs
• Why Newsletters Fail and How Your Law Firm’s Newsletter Can Succeed