Business Development

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Your professional biography is your opportunity to showcase your work, capabilities and areas of expertise, and what makes you stand out from your competitors.

Many in-house counsel cite lawyer bios as one of THE most important sources of information regarding researching outside lawyers (yes, everyone is Googling you whether you like it or not and your web bio is usually the number one search result of your name). In addition, lawyer bios are among the most visited pages on law firm web sites, further underscoring their importance.

Your bio can serve as an important business development and branding tool if it is well-crafted. Yet within the legal industry, so many bios are still lackluster, outdated, not client-focused or just poorly written.

Given the power of bios, it has always baffled me that many lawyers do not update theirs at least several times a year or write them with a client focus. The new year is a great reason to take a fresh look at your bio and make enhancements to it.

I recently wrote a much longer version of an article on creating a strong, engaging bio for JD Supra, which you can read here. This is an excerpt of that article, which concentrates on the show vs. tell concept, an essential component that many law firm bios are missing. The article also focuses on the idea that all bios should be client-focused and that you should always write for your audience, not your peers. Remember that often, your clients aren’t actually practicing lawyers, and even if they are, the world today isn’t as formal as it used to be (especially as clients are getting younger), so drop the legalese from your vernacular and speak in a more casual tone to your audience. Now let’s get to work!

Back to Work

I’ve been working with several of my clients to craft communications to send to their clients now that some states have allowed law firms to reopen their offices.

Businesses of all types have a responsibility to explain new health and safety protocols that are in place to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

Getting client communications right is critical to the success of your business in a post-pandemic world, as clients and potential clients are looking for businesses that make them feel safe and secure.

Effective, consistent communications during a crisis will help you maintain client trust, restore employee morale and confidence, and retain market stability. For both B2B and B2C businesses, consistent messaging across all channels is key. All messages should be timely, relevant, empathetic and considerate of your clients’ current needs and concerns.

Each state has different policies on what is allowed in their jurisdiction, so be sure to check  your state’s guidelines (here’s information on NYC’s guidelines) and work with your office administrator and firm leadership to be sure that you are operating within what is permissible and of course, always put the health and safety of your employees first.

The below communication may be a helpful framework for you as you are thinking about how to communicate your reopening to your clients. Please adapt it for your audience.

Remember that it is still not business as usual by any stretch of the imagination – and no client expects you to be reopening. COVID-19 is still very much a threat to all of us. You may want to rethink how you’ve been conducting business in the first place – perhaps you can conduct more business remotely and only require employees to go into the office for essential functions. This is a great time for law firms to be innovators – your clients will certainly appreciate that.

Stay safe.

20 ways Twitter Post

I know many of you feel out of sorts right now (that includes me). Our daily routines have been thrown a huge curveball and staying home is our job right now to keep ourselves and others safe against the spread of COVID-19

Remember this too shall pass and things will return to “normal”; your job now is to lay the foundation for when that does happen and also to be ready, willing and able to assist your clients during this time of great change, confusion and stress. Empathy is the single most important characteristic you can have right now to build stronger relationships.

In case you are looking for some “homework” in the marketing and business development area, here are a few ideas to keep you busy during this period.

Your professional biography is one of the most important pieces of copy you’ll ever write about yourself. It’s your opportunity to showcase your work, capabilities, and areas of expertise, and what makes you stand out from your competitors.

Many in-house counsel cite lawyer bios as one of the most important sources of information regarding researching outside lawyers (yes, everyone is Googling you and your bio is usually the number one search result of your name). In addition, lawyer bios are among the most trafficked pages on law firm web sites.

Your bio can serve as an important business development tool if it is well-crafted. Yet within the legal industry, so many bios are still lackluster, outdated, not client-focused or just poorly written.  

Given the power of bios, it has always baffled me that many lawyers do not update theirs at least several times a year or write them with a client focus. The new year is a great reason to take a fresh look at your bio and make enhancements to it. Now let’s get to work!