Designed National Survey Connecting Am Law Firm with Fortune 500 Connections

Working with a large national professional services firm, we created a national joint survey between this AmLaw 100 law firm and American Lawyer Media. This produced an in-depth survey of the needs of Fortune 500 companies in insurance recovery and cyber security. This business development opportunity created numerous opportunities for the attorneys to work closely with the high-level in-house counsels the firm was targeting.

High-Level Professional Secured 22 Article Publications in Kiplinger’s Wealth Creation Column

This professional service provider wanted to increase his visibility and business development success by showcasing his fresh well-branded content creation in the area of wealth management and asset protection. Thru our firm’s outreach and connections, this ongoing effort produced increasing numbers of potential clients and revenue for the firm.

Getting Other Professional Service Providers to Help Get the Message Across

After branding this company, creating their new highly-branded website, and significantly boosting their engagement on social media, we formed a series of ongoing Focus Groups inviting professionals to share their input on our messaging. This allowed the participants to fully grasp the unique services this company offered. The goal, which was met, was to increase other professionals’ referrals for the company’s services.

A Boutique, High Stakes Litigation Firm

A boutique high stakes litigation firm began to significantly grow shortly after its founding partners formed the firm, each having left an Am Law 100 firm. Their strong culture of excellence and caring went hand-in-hand with their codified amazing successes in bet the company trials for Fortune 500 companies. In their efforts to grow more nationally we developed a product for the firm – a national annual survey with Fortune 500 legal departments which examined governmental regulations and other factors directly impacting high stakes trials.

A Firm Commitment to Franchise Law

As a law firm focusing exclusively on franchise law and vertical distribution law this firm had a business development goal of expanding its market share of the Fortune 500.

We organized a roundtable in a major U.S. city with many corporate headquarters. We organized a roundtable with 17 general counsels that revolved a recent Supreme Court about franchise and vertical distribution law. Two general counsels spoke on the panel, along with the firm’s managing partner.

The discussion was turned into an article which was published in a corporate counsel magazine. We made inroads with 17 new Fortune 500 companies, with plans to go back to meet with some of those companies about their legal needs. Within two weeks of the roundtable, the firm received its first case from one of the attendees.

AmLaw 200 Firm Claims its Territory

A well-known real estate firm had attained a prominent position as one of the top go-to real estate law firms in California. It was time to plant this real estate flag even deeper. Working with a major Los Angeles university known for its outstanding business school and economic forecasts, we created a joint survey, which has been repeated bi-annually in markets throughout California. Now in its eighth year, this survey has become the go-to forecaster of commercial real estate development where commercial developers all turn to find the latest trends in development.

Mobile App Attorney Grabs a Powerful Position

An attorney with a small firm had a strong practice in data security and privacy law. He became intently interested in expanding his practice with a focus on mobile app law. Working closely with this partner, we created specific goals and objectives that successfully connected him to organizations and leaders in this burgeoning field. Within 14 months, he was invited to speak at two national conferences in the field and became the legal editor of a major online mobile app magazine. New clients quickly followed.

Social Media Catapults a New Practice Group into Success

Working with this AmLaw 100 firm we helped them carve out a strong niche in the robotics field. Handling all aspects of strategy and social media for this new niche practice, we developed and continue to execute an ongoing and comprehensive social media program. From Tweeting, to Facebook, to LinkedIn, and beyond, the firm developed a prominence which has grown to position them as a top go-to firm in this burgeoning area of law.

Stratus Financial Partners

Frank Campbell, the founder of Stratus Financial Partners, sought to develop a more apparent brand and to create a successful implementation of its marketing strategies. In addition to growing his company, Frank had an underlying motivation to help more people. That is Frank to a tee – helping others.
During the brand development process, I was stunned to learn 88% of all life insurance policies don’t pay what is expected. There are numerous reasons why this happens and finding the right person to conduct a policy analysis to discover potential problems can be challenging. It is best to select a professional who is part of a rarified group of only one percent of all licensed insurance brokers: These are the experts who put in the work to become California Licensed Policy Analysts. Frank is one of them and is making a difference to policyholders and their families.

On the company website, www.stratusfp.com, one can read about the Stratus brand, Ensuring families and businesses are protected, and learn about the real reasons policies can fail. The site shares stories of how Frank and his team successfully fixed broken policies for a modest fee. There is a small percentage of policies that cannot be righted. When this occurs, Frank’s team explores new policy options for those clients, comparing offerings and rates with over 50 insurance companies to get the perfect policy for each client.

The new website and the personal and company LinkedIn pages are frequently updated with the information clients, potential clients, and referral sources need and want. With this depth of information and deeper brand clarity, Stratus Financial Partners is positioned for success.

Sumrow Business Law Group

It has become standard practice to replace old websites every three years. We know that the requirements for search engine success are constantly morphing. And after three years, well, those website technologies are simply out of date. The reality is search engines do not favor older sites, especially those which do not offer frequent content updates or have up-to-date technology. The internet and search engines are fickle. They tend to promote sites that are thoroughly optimized and sport the latest Google trends for better analytics. These days, keywords, messaging, and search engine optimization are only a part of the ticket for improving a site’s standing in search results.

Matt Sumrow, the founding partner of Sumrow Business Law Group, knew it was time for a clearer brand and a new website. With Big Law experience and now a solo entrepreneur, Matt’s clients are primarily mid-sized companies that need a corporate attorney to assist with deals, M & As, contracts, and outside general counsel services. Matt prides himself on his new and aligning brand line built from years of experience: Real Insights. Real solutions.

With a bustling practice and no outside marketing support, Matt knew that realistically, he would not be blogging on an ongoing basis nor making frequent website updates. He also knew he needed a new site that offered the latest technology. This new website, www.sumrowlaw.com, was created paying mind to his constraints and goals. Building the site with substantive representative matters, client testimonials, ever-green blogs, and a page of client logos and stories, it was developed it to reflect his expertise and successes. We built-in keywords and organic SEO so the site could stand independently. Matt is a realist. He is not looking to be on the first page of results when potential clients search for a “corporate attorney in Orange County, California.” But he certainly wanted potential clients and referral sources to understand his talents and areas of expertise instantly.

The feedback on his new site produced the results he wanted and needed.

AGA Legal Staffing

For many years, Amy Goldware was a partner with a Los Angeles agency that provided legal staffing solutions. The two partners of this entity split in Q4 of 2021. With a keen focus on client needs and service, Amy needed clear branding and messaging to launch her new company, AGA Legal Staffing.

www.agastaffing.com

We collected the most important aspects of what the new company would stand for through the brand development process, incorporating Amy’s tremendous success and skills honed over the years.

The Brand Essence Statement we developed from the branding session stated, “At AGA Legal Staffing, we pride ourselves on delivering lasting solutions. With over 25-years of experience in the trenches, both inside law firms and as recruiters, we believe that good enough isn’t good enough. Integrity touches everything we do. And clients tell us our straightforward approach delivered with honesty, and the ability to pivot on a dime, are the reasons they come back, time and again.”
The website was developed with a client focus, which provides frequent updates on the new website as well as on LinkedIn personal and business pages. The site was highly optimized and filled with the keywords her clients use most often. The transition to the new company became seamless and successfully integrated into the marketplace in short order.

Amy and her staff are committed and focused on their clients’ needs and wants. Through the brand development process, we created the tagline, “More than you expect. Everything you want.” This perfectly represents what Amy and her team had in mind.

AmLaw 100 Insurance Recovery Practice Group Re-Brand

During the spring of 2022, Merry facilitated a brand refresh retreat for the Insurance Recovery Practice Group of this AmLaw 100 law firm. The group wanted to more clearly define its unique selling points and spotlight its capabilities and distinctions.

In addition to better positioning the group regionally and nationally, the firm wanted to use this clarified brand development as a jumping-off point to more broadly focus marketing on the increasing insurance recovery problems of Fortune 500 companies.

The group also wanted to increase its interactions with both the internal marketing and communications departments at the firm as well as increase visibility raising efforts with the firm’s outside public relations firm. We developed the strategy and tactics to accomplish both.

We strongly incorporated the existing firmwide positioning or tag line to best coordinate and extend it in a more meaningful way to this practice group. The retreat was interactive and the partners worked together to develop fresh branded copy and new tag lines to use going forward.

The deliverable included clearly branded fresh copy for the website and a new social media strategy to target large corporations more effectively. Through existing connections that Merry had, we successfully joined with a national legal publication to create a national survey focused on the needs of Fortune 500 companies with regard to insurance recovery problems. This gave the firm many new contacts and leads with their coveted marketplace.

A Large Professional Services Firm

Going through the Brand Development process with this very large professional services firm unearthed business development strategies getting them face-to-face with their targeted market – the Fortune 500 – multiple times. The brand was internalized within the firm and then externalized to their specific vertical markets. The partners were trained in refined business development conversations allowing them to share the firm’s unique brand distinctions with clients and potential clients in more meaningful discussions. The new brand was reinforced with a strong positioning line and brand essence which was used in all content marketing, the new website, visibility efforts, PR, sponsorships, presentations and articles.

Regional Law Firm

While going through the Brand Development process with this regional law firm, we learned they truly are the firm “Where leaders look for solutions.” The website pays off the brand with stories of each of the firm’s attorneys sharing their leadership stories with community, business, personal, boards and governmental organizations. We built an ongoing business development strategy into the web site. Partners take turns interviewing clients and prospective clients about their leadership successes adding photos, bio and website links for each leader written about on their ever-growing Leadership page.

Using Social Media to Drive Revenue

UCLA Bruins Professional Group
Various ProVisors Groups

Analyzing Website for Brand Clarity
HighRise Networks
Various Provisors Groups

Using LinkedIn to Enhance Visibility and Increase Business
Murtaugh Traglia
HighRise Networks
Various ProVisors Groups
Klein & Wilson

PODCASTS

Exit Coach Radio: Constructing a Successful Social Media Strategy

Jim Better’s Podcast: Driving Revenue

We have assisted numerous Am Law firms providing advanced Presentation Skills Training. Attorneys leave the training with the knowledge of how to make every presentation more engaging and memorable.

At a recent Legal Marketing Association Conference we presented a session on how to effectively use storytelling in the talk about, “A TED Talk on How to Give a TED Talk.”

EM Consulting regularly provides presentation skills training to law firms, associations and corporations.