Florida law firm marketers typically focus on marketing the firm to the general public—to its clients, potential clients and related industries. One of the most overlooked aspects of law firm marketing is internal marketing—creating effective policies and plans so that each individual lawyer can sell the entire firm’s services, not just their own.

Internal marketing, however, is not limited to the marketing department. It is an integrated effort including the marketing team, HR department and managing partners/management team. Each component must work together to drive the firm’s brand message amongst attorneys, paralegals and other support staff.  When firm members see a united, consistent messaging amongst leadership, they are more apt to follow messaging points and sell the firm in a cohesive manner.

Not only does internal marketing include brand messaging, it also encompasses training not just the biggest rainmakers, but those that need the guidance to build books of business through professional and client development training. Many times, some of the younger associates want to cross-sell the firm, but just don’t know how. Creating customized programming designed to incentivize and educate on promoting additional firm services is a great way to increase business without having to generate new clients.

When the individual attorneys work together to build the firm’s profile and stimulate business in practice areas outside of their of expertise, a positive image of the firm is created. This ultimately impacts the firm through increased revenue and a positive brand image in the community—a win-win for the firm and attorney.

During a recent meeting of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach law firm marketers, one marketing director said it best, “ This is a law firm consisting of many attorneys with varying expertise – all working together for the common good, not a group of sole practitioners sharing office space.”

As reported in the latest Florida Bar News and by the Legal Marketing Association, the Supreme Court of Florida granted the Florida Bar’s emergency motion to stay the effective date of what has become one of the most confusing times for Florida’s attorneys and law firms. Florida, always one of the strictest states in regulating what attorneys can and cannot do with their advertising, direct mail and other forms of promotion, has now extended many of the same restrictions to law firm websites, blogs and eNewsletters. In speaking to our attorney clients, most feel that the new interpretation by the Supreme Court is archaic and fails to understand the way the Internet works. Stay tuned. It will certainly be interesting.

FLORIDA SUPREME COURT GRANTS EMERGENCY MOTION TO STAY BAR RULES AMENDMENTS DEADLINE
On Thursday, June 10, 2010, the Supreme Court of Florida granted the Florida Bar’s emergency motion to stay the effective date of the amendments to the Web site rules (Case No. SC08-1181). According to the order, the effective date of the amendments to the rule regulating The Florida Bar 4-7.6 will be 90 days after the Court’s ruling. The motion was filed June 1, 2010, and the Court has not yet ruled. The comment period is still open and copies of the motions and the Court’s order to stay can be found on the Florida Bar website in the Advertising Rules section. A notice that the Court stayed the effective date appears on the bar’s homepage.

The Learning Channel has a show called “What Not To Wear.”  Simple enough – avoid a fashion faux pas.

Maybe someone should launch a show called “When Not To Speak.”  All the people in the military, in government, close to government, and in politics in general, could watch it.

If we’ve learned anything from the McChrystal debacle, it’s that speaking – on the record or off the cuff – can have tremendous repercussions.  McChrystal and his aides said too many things in the presence of Michael Hastings, Rolling Stone reporter.  Their words came back to bite them – and to create a situation that could have been avoided by a little silence.

The media has a way of getting people to talk.  That’s their job.  But for the rest of the world, it’s smart to know when to stay silent, when to keep the answers short, when not to use clever quips at the expense of your boss and your job.

Too many people have done what General Stanley McChrystal and his group did – they vented about things that bother them.   Word to the wise – don’t do it with media in earshot.  Nothing good can come of it.

It makes for bad relations. As Florida crisis management consultants, we know that there’s virtually no public relations spin to be put on it.

Julie Talenfeld

Boardroom Communications

A Fort Lauderdale plastic surgeon is featured in Glamour magazine.  A South Florida trial lawyer’s case is profiled on CNN, Good Morning America and Prime Time live.  A Boca Raton retailer is feature in a story read by thousands of area residents – and on NBC-6’s Today in South Florida and WSVN’s Deco Drive.

How did each of these people become high-profile experts in their respective fields? How did they get in the news?

It’s called public relations, and it’s a critical component of any marketing campaign.  Most practitioners believe the value of the perceived objectivity of being quoted or profiled in a news article can be worth more than three times the cost of a similarly sized paid advertisement. 

But while good PR can work wonders for a business’s bottom line, it requires strategic planning, hard work and time-tested principles . . .

Click here to read the entire article on Boardroom’s Web site. 

We at Boardroom Communications are pleased to announce that our own Lauren Simo has joined the American Diabetes Association South Florida Communications Committee. In her role, she will assist in the organization’s South Florida public relations and media coverage.

The ADA’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.  In her role on the committee, Lauren will aid in promoting the organization’s upcoming events, including the Step Out Walk to Fight Diabetes on October 23^rd and November 6^th and the Tour de Cure next year.

At Boardroom, Lauren works on a wide array of clients including non-profit, retail, legal, healthcare, special events and consumer products clients. She has experience in handling print and broadcast media on a local, regional and national level as well as social media and blogs for her diverse clientele.

South Florida public relations experts were quoted on their advice to BP in June 8, 2010 Business Section of the Miami Herald.

Julie Silver Talenfeld, President and Founder of Boardroom Communications, a full service South Florida public relations firm, commented on the oil spill.

“When a crisis hits, we tell our clients that sticking to the message will help them weather the storm,” Talenfeld said. “They may be in the wrong. But they have to be honest and proactive in their response.”

Read the entire article on the Boardroom Web site