ALMResearchBlog

Data Content 09

I've just returned from a conference called Data Content 09 run by Infocommerce Group.  To oversimplify, the gist of the two day conference is how companies can use data to create new products, improve current products, collect additional data or license existing data for others to use.

Being in the research and marketing business - content is king.  I know you've heard that before, so have I.  What made me actually pay attention this time is the new ways companies are using different forms of data to enhance their businesses.  User generated content, was a big topic.  Customer reviews and self-submitted profiles continue to grow - and as one participant pointed out - as they grow, the volume of information that gets collected makes them more valuable, and actually drives more user generated content.  Mobile was another big topic.  It's amazing how many iphone apps exist, and even more amazing how many people pay for them and use them.  The question of the day was not "should we develop an iphone app?  it was "what iphone app should we develop?"

How does content relate to your law firm competitive intelligence and business development? 

Well think about your CRM system;  Are you using it to it's fullest?  Capturing as much information as possible on each contact and centralizing that data so that others in the firm with the same contact can append their info? Making them all search-able by practice area, geography, company, industry etc?

How about billing and collections?  Do you know what your realization rates are?  By practice?  Or office?  That information is available in the market to benchmark and compare.  (Full disclosure:  yes, that is a survey that we sell.)

Compensation is another area. And as the market continues to be difficult, many firms are looking at aggressive compensation plans based on performance metrics other than just hours billed. 

Bottom line is that there are plenty of places to look within a law firm, or company, to find information that will either help you run more efficiently, or will create new opportunities for business.

2008 AALL/Thomson West Excellence in Marketing Awards

Submissions are now being taken for the 2008 AALL/Thomson West excellence in Marketing Awards and thanks for the Law Librarian Blog for their announcement. The contest is open to any individual, group, library, Consortium, SIS, Caucus, Chapter, or any other group affiliated with AALL.  Award categories include: Best Brochure, Best Newsletter, Best Campaign, Best PR Tool Kit, Best Use of Technology. The deadline for entries is February 1, 2008.

2007 WebAwards for Excellence in Web Marketing

According to this report from Larry Bodine, the Web Marketing Association recently announced the winners in the 2007 WebAwards for excellence in the use of the Web for Marketing. Most notable, of course, are the law firm winners.

Womble Carlyle won the top award for Best Legal Website. And Bodine’s Law Marketing Blog has a list of all the winners in the Legal Category awards.

Webinar on Law Firm Rankings

Law Journal Newsletter’s Web Audio Division is hosting a webinar called Law Firm Rankings: Nominations That Get Noticed and Have Impact. It's scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 2007 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST. Panelists include Liz Lindley, Director of Jaffe Associates' RankingsForLawyers service; Kristen Chatterton, Marketing Services Manager, Hunton & Williams; Stephen Nelson, Managing Principal, Law & Government Affairs, The McCormick Group; and Katrina Dewey, Publisher, Lawdragon. To register and save 25% by registering online, click here.

Law Library of Congress Web Site Re-Design

The Law Library of Congress (“the world’s largest collection of law books and legal resources”) is celebrating its 175th anniversary by launching its newly re-designed web site. On the home page, a link is provided for offering feedback about the new site.

ALM Research E-Newsletter: Tech Focus

The October/November issue of the ALM Research e-newsletter, NewsLine, went out today. The focus of this issue is Technology. Technology surveys, technology studies, technology reports. Ratings of products, rankings of law firms, products law firms and legal departments are using, trends in budgets and salaries, trends in purchasing.

If you're not already a subscriber to the newsletter, you can access the current NewsLine by clicking here and you can subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here.

Revamped Web Sites Getting Attention

Gibson Dunn’s revamped web site  has been getting a lot of attention. In fact, you would think that with all the attention, it must be a very flashy, ultra-modern-looking web site. But no. As described by the Cal Law blog, Legal Pad , the firm’s new web site looks “more like a literary journal or an intellectual magazine than a law firm site.” Very retro. The main page is all black type on white. No images. Legal Pad quotes one of the partners who were on the re-design team, Ted Boutrous: “We wanted to be timeless, elegant, and clear — almost a journalistic approach. You want information? Here it is, and it’s interesting." The site also features videos designed to convey the firm’s message about diversity, which they have been making an effort to promote.

Meanwhile, Saul Ewing’s revamping of its web site  was described in a story in The Legal Intelligencer (“From Flop to Hit’). According to the writer, Frances Sheldon, the Web technology administrator at the firm, “even the best Web sites begin to fade as soon as they blossom.” In 2003, Saul Ewing's Web site was so far from great that it received the scorn of Micah Buchdahl in his review of Am Law 200 law firm Web sites, she writes. And one of the goals became building a site that would grow with the firm and still be relevant two years after launch, especially in terms of the technology used. Sheldon’s “how we did it” story is interesting and useful.

Three Recent Legal Technology Surveys

Editor in chief of Law Technology News Monica Bay has given our recently-published Legal Technology Market Assessment Study a great review on her blog, The Common Scold, though she chastised us for using a passé euphemism for legal technology (“solutions”). We promise not to do that again.

The “LTMAS” Survey was joint project of ALM Research and Cogent Research. Editor Bay terms the results showing that many lawyers are still without the technologies they need “breathtaking.” As the survey found, only 52% of responding attorneys have access to case management software; even fewer - 32% - have access to document management tools, a mere 12% have access to EDD products, and very few - 9% - have access to CRM software. She exhorts vendors to “wake up” and "do a better job of reaching and educating your potential customers.” For a look at the table of contents and information about how to purchase a copy of the “LTMAS” Survey, click here. For information about two more recent surveys about legal technology solutions tools, continue reading below the fold.

Just released: The 2007 Legal Technology Market Assessment Study

ALM Research has just released the 2007 Legal Technology Market Assessment Study (LTMAS). This landmark study, conducted by Cogent Research and ALM Research, is based on the survey responses of nearly 1,400 attorneys, and measures user satisfaction, market penetration and brand loyalty. Specific products are rated and reviewed in five key areas: Case Management; Document Management; Client Development; Electronic Discovery; Online Research.  See which brands earned the highest marks from their customers. Find out what is driving technology purchases and preferences, and defining trends in law firm technology budgets. Order your copy of the 2007 LTMAS Report from the ALM Research Store.

Best Law Firm Recruiting Sites

Bob Ambrogi’s “Web Watch” column, in the current issue of Law Technology News, he reviews the recruiting sites of Am Law 100 firms and concludes, “ while a handful of firms use the medium to full advantage, most take a remarkably humdrum approach, and some make surprisingly clumsy missteps.” In this month’s issue (August) Ambrogi looks at some of the more innovative recruiting pages.

Most impressive, he says, is Howrey’s “Bootcamp” site. Others that received positive reviews included White & Case, Ropes & Gray, Cadwalader, Kramer Levin, Akin Gump, Morrison & Foerster, Pillsbury Winthrop, McDermott Will,  Ballard Spahr and more. Read the review here to find out what makes these firms’ recruiting sites work. Next month's column Ambrogi says he’ll cover some of the flubs, dubs and missteps found in the recruiting pages of AmLaw 100 firms.