| Lawyer Meltdown Newsletter |
October was a busy month! I had the opportunity to attend both the ABA Law Practice Division's Fall Meeting in Portland, Oregon and the College of Law Practice Management Futures Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. I also had the privilege of presenting at the NYSBA Solo Practitioner's Conference about LinkedIn. Speaking of LinkedIn, we're getting much closer to the release of my new book on LinkedIn with co-author Dennis Kennedy: Make LinkedIn Work for You. I've also done some more videos in my LinkedIn series of videos - you can see the newest ones below. My ABA TECHREPORT on Websites and Legal Marketing, based on data from the ABA Law Practice Division's Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC) was also released this month - check out the latest stats and my analysis in the second featured article below. As a member of the Board of the LTRC, I am really excited to talk about two major initiatives we are working on: - The Women of Legal Technology Summit, held each year on the day before the ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago (this year it will be on February 26, 2020), at which time we will announce the additions to our Women of Legal Tech list. If you know any great women in legal technology who aren't already on the list, please nominate them here. Nominations are open until December 15, 2019.
- Absent from ABA TECHSHOW the past few years has been the James I. Keane Memorial Award for Excellence in E-lawyering, but the award is coming back this year, and nominations are now open until December 13, 2019. The purpose of this award is to give recognition to law offices that have developed legal service innovations that are delivered over the internet. The focus of the award is on the innovative delivery of personal legal services, with special attention given to firms and entities that serve both moderate-income individuals and the broad middle class. If you know of someone who deserves this honor, or if you want to find out more about the award, you can learn more here.
This month's feature articles include yet another thing that happened this month - Google updated their search algorithm again - an update that Google claims will affect 1 out of every 10 searches. Will you be affected? Check out my take on this change in our first feature article below. As always, I'm looking for your feedback. I'd love to get your comments on the videos, my columns, or ideas you have for future articles or newsletters. Let me know what you're thinking! Email me at Allison@LegalEaseConsulting.com. |
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| | How Will Google's BERT Algorithm Affect Your Law Firm's Website? | | As you may have heard, Google released a new algorithm, known as BERT, that will affect the results when you perform a search using Google. Is it time to panic? Pay a lot of money to an SEO "expert" to make big changes to your website? The answer is...it depends. (Sorry, I couldn't resist). If your law firm website was built to provide useful information to potential clients and others searching for information about your firm and the law in the areas of practice, this new update is likely to have little to no effect on your website and how it appears in search. Read More |
ABA TechReport 2019: Websites and Marketing | | The Legal Technology Resource Center of the American Bar Association conducted its annual Legal Technology Survey Report on the use of technology in the legal profession. The âMarketing & Communicationâ volume of the survey was sent to over 10,700 U.S. lawyers in firms of varying sizes. This article will focus on marketing and website trends mainly among firms with fewer than 50 lawyers. The 2019 Survey results this year suggest that the lawyers in solo and small firm practice are not taking an intentional approach to marketing, especially online marketing, and may instead be engaging in ârandom acts of marketing.â In many cases, it is unclear whoâs minding the store and how and why marketing decisions are being made. Read More |
| | In the previous issue of the magazine, my column, Combating Scope Creep with Alternative Fee Arrangements discussed the often-encountered issues with defining scope when using alternative fee arrangements. It is also the basis of an upcoming CLE presentation I'll be doing for the ABA Law Practice Division. |
| | Here are my latest videos: |
| | Lots of new and exciting events coming up in the next several months! Suffolk County Womenâs Bar Association: LinkedIn November 13 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, Iâll be joining the Suffolk County Womenâs Bar Association for their monthly meeting at the Irish Coffee Pub in East Islip to discuss how women lawyers can use LinkedIn more effectively. Get Active and Get Real Results from LinkedIn November 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm On November 19, 2019, at 2 p.m. Eastern, Iâll be doing a webinar with Zola Suites/Zola Media, Get Active and Get Real Results from LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a rapidly-growing professional network, and one in which most lawyers have a presence. But although many lawyers have established a LinkedIn Profile, few use the platform actively or see results from their participation. This webinar will show you how lawyers can get active on LinkedIn and get results from their efforts. Weâll cover the different ways you can participate on LinkedIn from what to post and how, to connection strategies for increased engagement with your network, to identifying and joining Groups, publishing articles on LinkedIn, and more. To join me and register for this complimentary webinar, visit the registration page here. Business Planning and Setting Goals Nassau County Bar Association, General, Solo and Small Law Practice Management Committee December 4 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm I'll be leading an informal discussion all about business planning and setting goals at the December meeting of the NCBA General, Solo, and Small Law Practice Management Committee, held at the Nassau County Bar Association in Mineola. All NCBA members are welcome to attend. Come with any questions or challenges you have around setting goals and making plans! Combating Scope Creep with Alternative Fee Arrangements December 17 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm On December 17, 2019, Iâll be presenting a webinar based on my recent article in the ABA Law Practice Divisionâs Law Practice magazine, entitled, Combating Scope Creep with Alternative Fee Arrangements. More details and registration information coming soon. See all events |
Coming Soon: Make LinkedIn Work for You | | My friend and colleague, Dennis Kennedy and I are proud to announce the forthcoming book, Make LinkedIn Work for You, A Practical Handbook for Lawyers and Other Legal Professionals. The book is an adaptation of all of our previous work on LinkedIn, from webinars and presentations to articles and books. This book is different from what we've done before in that we're publishing direct to Kindle first, and the book contains no screenshots. We plan to follow the book with an online course to help lawyers and other legal professionals really dig into LinkedIn and maximize their use of the platform. |
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