Attorney Journals, Orange County, Volume 174

ORANGE COUNTY

Volume 174, 2020 $6.95

7 Tips for Navigating the Return to Offices

Thames Schoenvogel 25 Ways to Boost Your Business and Brand During Summer Downtime

Stefanie Marrone 21 Law Firm Business Development Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make During a Pandemic

Craig Brown

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE OF THE MONTH

Jan M. Eckermann, MD, FAANS

Law Firm Mergers: A Primer Based on 30 Recent Merger Discussions

Michael Short

The Importance of Nonverbal Communication in Virtual Meetings

Jeff Wolf

7 Must-Haves for Law Firm Websites in 2021

Robert Algeri

The Cutting Edge of Law and Medicine

Law Firm of the Month

The Law Offices of William D. Shapiro It’s All in the Family, but It’s Not Just About Family

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801 SOUTH 4TH STREET | LAS VEGAS, NV 89101

2020 EDITION—NO.174

TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Twenty-Five Ways to Boost Your Business and Brand During Summer Downtime

by Stefanie Marrone PROFESSIONAL PROFILE OF THE MONTH

10 Jan M. Eckermann, MD, FAANS The Cutting Edge of Law and Medicine

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by Dan Baldwin

12 Twenty-One Law Firm Business Development Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make During a Pandemic

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor EDITOR Wendy Price

by Craig Brown

CREATIVE SERVICES Penn Creative

LAW FIRM OF THE MONTH

16 The Law Offices of William D. Shapiro It’s All in the Family, but It’s Not Just About Family

CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths STAFF WRITERS Dan Baldwin Jennifer Hadley CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Robert Algeri Craig Brown Stefanie Marrone Thames Schoenvogel Michael Short Jeff Wolf WEBMASTER Mariusz Opalka ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Info@AttorneyJournals.com SUBMIT AN ARTICLE Editorial@AttorneyJournals.com OFFICE 30211 Avenida De Las Banderas Suite 200 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 www.AttorneyJournals.com ADDRESS CHANGES Address corrections can be made via fax, email or postal mail.

by Dan Baldwin

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22 The Importance of Nonverbal Communication in Virtual Meetings

by Jeff Wolf

24 Seven Must-Haves for Law Firm Websites in 2021

by Robert Algeri

26 Law Firm Mergers: A Primer Based on 30 Recent Merger Discussions

by Michael Short

30 Seven Tips for Navigating the Return to Offices

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by Thames Schoenvogel Editorial material appears in Attorney Journals as an informational service for readers. Article contents are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Attorney Journals.

Attorney Journals makes every effort to publish credible, responsible advertisements. Inclusion of product advertisements or announcements does not imply endorsement.

Attorney Journals is a trademark of Sticky Media, LLC. Not affiliated with any other trade publication or association. Copyright 2020 by Sticky Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from Sticky Media, LLC. Printed in the USA

25 Ways to Boost Your Business and Brand During Summer Downtime

by Stefanie Marrone

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his is not the year to take a break from social media during the summer. Even under the best circumstances, it’s incredibly important to ensure your current clients are happy and that you are consistently generating new sources of leads and referrals. This is the time to focus on your ongoing business development and branding efforts.

Here are 25 ideas on how to do that, which now involves shifting your strategy from in-person networking and client entertaining to having a strong online presence and thought leadership platform.

Create a personal business development and marketing plan. There are many templates for this, but it should essentially be a one-page document that includes your goals, specific action steps to achieve your goals, support needed from your firm to achieve them and ways to raise your profile internally and externally (speaking engagements, engagement with contacts, article and blog writing, volunteer work, etc.). It’s one thing to create a plan—it’s another to actually follow through on it—so make it short and achievable.

her must-read book, Daunting to DOable, and try doing at least one BD/marketing activity within one of these groups per day: • Individuals inside your firm • Past and present clients • Alumni (from former firms and educational institutions) • Personal connections • Industry contacts

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Make it a weekly practice to connect with VIP contacts—mentors, former professors, former colleagues—anyone who could be a valuable connection or a referral source. Remember that everyone you know could be a potential source of business or a new position someday.

Continue to invest in and cultivate relationships.

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The cornerstone of your business development efforts should center on building strong relationships because it is human nature to want to do business with people we like and trust. Create a target list in Excel by using the buckets that Karen Kahn talks about in

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• Mentors/aspirational connections Reevaluate your business’ goals for the year.

Reflect on what went well over the past year and what did not (um, the pandemic, for starters). This year has been unprecedented, so reflect back over 2019 and 2020 when you do this and work with your marketing team to make a plan to find ways to pivot your efforts to end the year on a positive note. (Note, if you don’t have a marketing team, there are ways to outsource this.)

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Get to know your top clients better. Make a list of 5-10 top clients/new clients. Conduct due diligence and learn everything you can about them. Then, armed with this information, ask them questions about their business so you can become a better advisor to them. Outside counsel want lawyers who anticipate issues, truly understand their business and care about them.

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Reconnect with former clients. If you haven’t worked with a client in the past six months or a year, this is a great opportunity to touch base with them. Reach out to ask how they are doing in light of current conditions

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or send them an article you think they might find of value.

Staying top of mind with light touches is key.

your network each month. Use LinkedIn’s “People You May Know” tool to easily find connections.

Develop a smart and inexpensive visual content strategy. Social media posts with images gain far more views and engagement. Reuse and repurpose images that you already have such as headshots, past event photos and practice and industry group images. In addition, there are many photo and online design tools that enable you to create images for free or at a low cost, such as my favorite tool, canva.com.

Develop a social media strategy aligned to your business development goals. The individuals with the strongest personal brands are those who share content that is helpful and value added. They are purposeful about everything they share and control the narrative. In addition, they post content on social media at the right time of day (between 8am and 10am, lunchtime and 5pm to 8pm in your local time zone).

Provide personalized, value-added content. Your clients want to receive client alerts from the law firms they use—they trust you as a content source. So regularly follow up with important contacts by sending them value-added content with a note on what it means to them. An important trend that I am seeing over the past year is personalized content pushes like this leading to the opening of new matters—don’t underestimate the value of taking the time to do this. Good content is a great lead generation source.

Never eat alone. This is the title of one of my favorite business books—the networking bible by Keith Ferrazzi. Essentially the book is about how to maximize your relationships and make each meal more productive— even in the time of social distancing—you just have to get a little creative about how you do it.

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Enhance and update your bio. One of the first things that someone does when they want to find out more information about a lawyer is to Google them.

And their web site bio is usually the first search result that appears, followed by their LinkedIn profile. Make sure your bio accurately reflects what you do and for whom— use buzzwords throughout the body copy to help you with your search engine results. For more on how to do this, read my JD Supra articles, “How to Write an Engaging, ClientFocused Professional Bio” and “Show vs. Tell – How to Create A Strong Lawyer Bio”

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Update your LinkedIn profile—create a strong 10 headline and about section, fill in all past work experiences, ensure your publications and accomplishments are updated. Join groups to connect with other professionals in your industry. Here are two articles to help you become a LinkedIn master: Build a Stronger Professional Network Today with These LinkedIn To-Do’s and LinkedIn 101: How to Master Profile Basics & Build Your Professional Brand.

Since LinkedIn is the most important social media 11 channel for business development, maintain a visible and consistent presence on the platform. Each day, like and/or share others’ posts in your industry and at your firm. Strategically congratulate successes of others using information from the notifications section (job anniversaries and job moves) and your newsfeed (someone writing an article, winning an award, etc.). Also, make a connections plan for LinkedIn and strategically increase

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Ensure that all client-generated news (press mentions, blog posts, articles, events, sponsorships, etc.) is leveraged on your web site and social media (your company page and the corresponding professional’s social networks). Then take it a step further to make sure your employees share the news to their own professional networks—this is important because while there might be some overlap with the contacts following your company page, it is very likely they have valuable connections who do not, and that will help you cast a wider net.

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Learn everything you can about how to use hashtags. This will help your content get noticed and amplified on all of the social networks. Then build a hashtag strategy for the social platforms you’re using.

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Brainstorm ideas for future content and establish a process for generating regular content on timely topics affecting the firm’s target audience, such as articles and blog posts.

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Volunteer on a bar association committee, for a social cause or a pro bono project—this is a great way to meet others, even if it’s virtually for the time being.

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Incorporate evergreen content into your social media strategy: It’s not always easy to generate a steady stream of strong content to fill your editorial calendar throughout the year, and it’s important to regularly post content to stay top of mind with your clients and prospects.

This is where evergreen content can help. Evergreen content is high-quality, helpful content that provides value whether it is read today, next week or a year from now. In my JD Supra article, What to Do When You Run Out of Things to Say - Your How-To Guide to Creating an Evergreen

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Content Strategy, I provide tips for firms of all sizes on how to incorporate it into their social media strategy.

Become involved with your alumni associations— join the online alumni groups of your former educational institutions and employers—they often have robust online presences. Use these groups to reconnect with former classmates and colleagues. It’s totally acceptable to reconnect with individuals with whom you haven’t been in touch in many years in today’s environment. I find people are more receptive to cultivating relationships in this time of social distancing.

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Find ways to help your contacts. Always give without expecting anything in return. This is key for building strong relationships.

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Ensure the contact information in your address book is updated so that the great content you are creating is actually reaching your intended audience.

Make sure to reconcile your LinkedIn address book with your email address book. You can export your LinkedIn Contacts into Excel, but depending on the user’s privacy settings, their email address may or may not make its way into the spreadsheet and you still need to abide by CANSPAM and GDPR rules.

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Write a client alert, a blog post, an article or all of these. If you don’t like writing, buddy up with a colleague and co-author a piece together. Remember, content no longer needs to be long to be good. Most individuals skim articles. Sharing this content on social media will help you build your personal brand and stay top of mind with your network.

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Regularly Google yourself. I am a true believer in the positive power of social media, but as the lines between our personal and professional lives become blurrier by the day in the digital world in which we live, take the appropriate steps to protect your brand after all the work you’re putting into strengthening it. For more on this topic, see my article, “Why You Must Google Yourself Regularly and Protect Your Online Personal Brand.”

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Ensure that all practice area and industry descriptions reflect current market conditions and what you can do for clients. This will enhance your SEO as well as let clients know that you can help them in a rapidly changing time. If you don’t say you do it, they may not think you do it.

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Go back and look at the analytics of last year’s blog posts and client alerts to see the types of content that did well (and not so well). Look for trends and use this information to enhance your future content strategy. Smart content marketers will take this research and put it in action by writing a part two or updating a top performing piece.

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Remember, when done right, marketing and business development is never about selling yourself or creating an elevator pitch—it’s about being helpful and client-focused and providing value (while showcasing your expertise).

The business development and marketing/social media tips in this article are for professionals at all levels—it’s never too late or early to start incorporating them into your every day. A word to the wise for young professionals—you should build your network before you think you’ll ever need it. Your peers will be tomorrow’s business leaders.

And a word to the wise for seasoned lawyers who don’t think they need to spend the time on business development—today it’s not enough to just be a great lawyer. If the pandemic has taught us anything—it’s that nothing is certain in life. Many lawyers’ steady stream of legal work has slowed down or their practice has shifted— this is where marketing and business development can really help you.

You never know who can turn out to be a client, referral or future employer. Never underestimate the importance of every connection. You need to market yourself as well as churn out exceptional legal work. Now is not the time to pull back on marketing—in fact, now is the time to focus on marketing to help you retain and attract clients and referral sources, and build your brand. n Stefanie Marrone advises law firms of all sizes, professional service firms, B2C and B2B companies, professional associations and individuals on the full range of marketing and business development consulting services designed to enhance revenue, retain current clients and achieve greater brand recognition. She also serves as outsourced chief marketing officer/marketing department for smaller firms. Over her nearly 20-year legal marketing career, she has worked at and with a broad range of big law, midsize and small firms, which has given her a valuable perspective of the legal industry. At each of these firms, she has developed and executed revenue generating, business development, internal and external communications strategies, and social media and content marketing campaigns for practices, industries and individual lawyers. She is very passionate about using social media for lead generation and brand building. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her latest writing on JD Supra as well as her blog The Social Media Butterfly.

JOURNALS

FEATURED PROFESTSHIOENMAOLNPTROFILE OF

2020

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THE CUTTING EDGE OF LAW AND MEDICINE

Attorneys Find “Cutting-Edge” No Longer Means Fusion Surgery for Victims of Spinal Injuries

by Dan Baldwin

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ttorneys are discovering the relatively new techniques of spinal cord stimulation offer multiple benefits for the patient and the patient’s legal representation. Among the procedure’s many benefits are: it’s minimally invasive and unlike other procedures such as spinal fusion, it is reversable and patients can try it out before making a commitment.

“The attorneys who take the time to meet with me, and have a chance to look at the research and the data, end up being big supporters of this technology. It’s a great, minimally invasive method to eliminate refractory pain. I like to give attorneys my cell phone number and tell them to call or text me directly. I build relationships. Once an attorney’s client experiences the procedure, we get a lot of return business from those attorneys,” says Jan M. Eckermann, MD. Eckermann is a brain and spine surgeon board certified in Neurosurgery and a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He began his private practice in 2013 and now has offices in Newport Beach and Bakersfield.

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After graduating from high school he had the opportunity to work in a hospital. He especially liked what the doctors did in the Surgery Department on a day-to-day basis and was inspired to go into the medical field and become a surgeon.

He chose to become a neurosurgeon in medical school because he became fascinated by the brain and spine. He also recognized and was inspired by the fact that there were a lot of areas within the field requiring a lot of research to answer vital medical questions—unexplored medical territory. “My plan was to apply my knowledge, skill, and passion to help, maybe on a very small scale, to assist in answering some of those questions. I have always wanted to be in a position to help people and to end their suffering.”

He launched his private practice because he felt a strong desire to tailor his services to the needs of his patients, and later, to the needs of attorneys representing those patients. He says his goal has always been to see that his patients are treated the way he wants his family to be treated at the doctor’s office.

“Sometimes in bigger academic institutions patients feel rushed or see some other provider they did not expect.

Unfortunately, often insurance companies and HMOs really limits the amount of time a doctor can spend with a patient or what you can do for the patients. I did not want to practice medicine in that kind of environment and therefore I launched my own private practice,” he says.

Attorneys appreciate that he has a long track record and considerable experience in treating patients with significant pain. Many of those patients have extensively tried other nonsurgical measures first without success. “We may prescribe some traditional approaches in a different form in some cases, but ultimately the focus of my practice is surgical management of patients with chronic pain. I define chronic pain as pain in the spinal area or in the upper or lower extremities present for greater than six months,” Eckerman says.

He uses a different approach to treating the injured patient with a more conservative procedure substituting invasive traditional surgery with a more high-tech, less invasive option. The attorney (and his client) are assured of thoroughly professional care with an expert in cutting edge procedures and technology. The result is better pain relief, faster relief, options unavailable through older techniques, and also a lower threshold for the patient to move forward.

“The procedure takes a bit of education because the traditional approach has been around a long time. Spinal cord stimulation has been around since the sixties, but it’s improved radically in the last 15 years. Spinal cord stimulation is just the all-around better alternative in most cases. The attorneys really like it,” Eckermann says.

Eckermann says, “Lower back surgery is still an inexact science in many ways. I see many patients who don’t want that type of invasive surgery or who have had that surgery and are still in pain. It’s a very frustrating experience at this point. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

In addition to multiple patents in the neurosurgical space for spinal cord stimulation, he has designed surgical tools for spine surgery that are in use today across the United States. He has also invented other technology for brain and spine surgeries to provide a safer environment for patients postoperative after a brain surgery.

Eckermann’s approach is similar in many ways to the better known heart pacemaker. “We can place units in the lumbar and/or cervical area. It cancels pain signals like a noise cancelling headphone. They cancel out the pain signals using opposing wave lengths. I like to use this option for the injured patient because they sometimes don’t have something structurally wrong showing up on the MRI, but some pain fibers are firing signals,” Eckermann says.

We have numerous cases where the patient refused fusion surgery and in some cases had fusion surgery and wasn’t much better or even worse. We were able to remedy that situation.

Today those patients are back to work and doing well.

One of the benefits, and one of the most popular, is the ability to “test drive” the procedure before committing to it, an

option impossible with many procedures such as spinal fusion.

In a 60-minute procedure, Eckermann places a miniature version of the actual device on top of the spinal cord. After seven days of wearing it, he examines and evaluates how well the procedure works for the individual patient. Then the patient decides the direction to follow.

A unique factor of Eckermann’s practice is that he and his staff schedule time slots in a different manner than any of the medical offices that he has ever been a part of. They allow significant time for a doctor-patient interaction.

Another unique factor is that Eckermann is one of the very few neurosurgeons in The United States who have a practice dedicated to spinal cord stimulation. This puts him on the forefront of treating chronic and post-traumatic pain and treating patients in pain even after traditional type of surgery.

Today, spinal cord stimulation is the interphase between technology and the central nervous system, which is a frontier area with a lot of promising research for even greater advances in the near future.

Attorneys realize this and find in Eckermann not only an experienced and dedicated professional, but also someone who is comfortable and who enjoys interaction with members of the legal profession.

“Maybe I’m biased because both my mom and my dad are attorneys, but I love working with attorneys.” n Contact Jan M. Eckermann, MD, FAANS 1617 Westcliff Drive, Ste. 203 Newport Beach, CA 92660 949-514-7456 Ja@kernneuro.org Janeckermannmd.com

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21 Law Firm Business Development Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make During a Pandemic

by Craig Brown

D

uring the battle of Bunker Hill in the Revolutionary War, General George Washington launched three failed attempts to take control of the high ground on the Boston peninsula. His failure gave the British army full control of Boston Harbor. The loss was devastating to General Washington and his ragtag army, but the battle turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory for the British. Washington’s army left the battlefield with far fewer casualties than the British who, amazed at the strength of the colonist’s resolve, adopted a more cautious approach to the war. Their caution allowed the Americans to regroup, build more political support for independence, renew their resources, and recruit a larger force. Some might even say that first major battle set the destiny of the war.

As law firms try to navigate building new business in a postpandemic existence, we will do well to remember the British experience at Bunker Hill. Getting this far won’t guarantee our future success. A continuous focus on new ways to best engage with clients and prospects will be paramount. Stumbles and pitfalls are inevitable but need not breed complete failure.

A watchful eye for potential missed opportunities and best practices will go a long way to achieving business development success. Below is a list of traps to avoid as you consider how you will execute on your business development efforts over the next few months.

1. SQUANDERING GOOD CONTENT Firms have produced more thought leadership content in the last two months than they have in the previous two years.

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking all that genius will turn into business without one-on-one conversations about how it applies to the specific needs of clients and contacts.

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2. MISSING UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS When the whole world goes home for a few months, we all have a shared experience. Going through similar challenges creates common ground. If ever you could get personal, show some empathy, and build authentic relationships, this is the time.

Get closer to your contacts by reaching out and offering help.

3. F OCUSING ONLY ON EXISTING CLIENTS There is no question you need to stay close to clients right now.

They need your help. But your prospects are experiencing new thorny, complex issues that they may have never experienced in the past. You may be the answer. Stay close to people seeking solutions—clients or non-clients.

4. FAILING TO USE FIRM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES Your marketing team is in high action mode right now. They are engaged and focused. In a world of budget cuts, they are also highly motivated to stay relevant. Ask for help, and you may be surprised at how much attention you get and amazed at why you never asked before.

5. NOT ASKING FOR HELP Change and movement bring risk and danger, but they also carry substantial new opportunities. A professional business development coach can help you tap into these new opportunities. Using a coach will also help you develop steady habits that will lead to more work long term. I know an excellent business development coach that can help you get kick-started.

Reach out today. He is perhaps my favorite person.

6. NOT USING FUNDAMENTAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TOOLS To help you stay focused, intentional, and systematic, you need to use basic tools to keep you on track. You will need: a concise, bulleted, focused business plan, a good list of prospects, and a sustained habit of referring to them no less than every week. Work the list, make money—that simple.

7. FAILING TO HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE Look at your tools (see number 6 above) regularly, and you will begin to hold yourself accountable for your business development efforts. If you need to involve another person (a spouse, partner, colleague, assistant, professional coach, marketing department staff) to help keep you on track. Then do it.

8. ASSUMING YOU ARE TOO BUSY TO DO BD Chances are, you actually are too busy for business development right now. But, if you don’t keep filling your pipeline, you will be doomed to a career of business peaks and valleys. So, find ways to uncover new work while you are working with current relationships. Easy tip: every time you talk to a client, have at the ready one or two questions you can slip into the conversation that will help you connect with that client better. Some examples: “How do you get goods to market?” “Are you having trouble getting new workers from abroad in the current environment?” “What are your return to work plans?” “Have you had to have a reduction in force recently?” “Did your daughter get into Penn?” Don’t wait until the deal is signed, or the litigation is settled to get more information and build a closer relationship. Your prospect is on the phone now. Do not squander that opportunity.

9. FAILING TO BUILD INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS We are in a cross-selling world. Clients and prospects are calling with unique, never before encountered problems. It is doubtful that these new thorny issues will be solved by merely one practice area. Know your partners and their skill sets so you know who you can trust when you need to reach out for additional expertise to serve your clients.

10. ASSUMING YOU CAN’T CLOSE BUSINESS UNLESS YOU ARE FACE-TO-FACE You should assume for the time being that face-to-face meetings are a thing of the past and won’t ever happen again. If you don’t have that mindset, you may just sit in your home office and avoid reaching out, hoping for the good old days of lunch and golf to return. Meanwhile, your competitors are setting up zoom meetings and having virtual cocktail parties with your contacts. There is no question that networking is different now than it was before, but it can actually be easier to build trust as

we all struggle through this crisis together. It is possible, in the current environment, to build relationships at an even deeper level than news, sports, and kids over soup and salad.

11. LETTING CURRENT WORK DISTRACT YOU FROM YOUR TARGET MARKET You may be getting lots of work in a new area. As you do, ask yourself if it is sustainable. Eventually, we will end up with some version of a new normal. When that happens, make sure you have kept in touch with those in your target market—the kind of work you want to do in the future.

12. M ISSING AN OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO FOCUSED ON YOUR TARGET MARKET On the other hand, be aware of new trends that could turn into a long-term practice giving you new and exciting work you might enjoy.

13. NOT LEVERAGING A MISSED CONFERENCE If your industry conference was canceled and you simply crossed it off your calendar and went back to work, you are losing significant networking opportunities. The main reason you wanted to attend probably had more to do with finding new business than learning something new. Reach out to the people you had planned to meet; connect with the people who were going to be on your panel. See my post on missed conferences for more ideas.

14. F AILING TO FIGURE OUT GOOD VALUE PROPOSITIONS A value proposition is nothing more than something you offer a prospect that causes him or her to say something like, “That is interesting, let’s talk more about that.” It permits you to have a more in-depth, broader conversation that may lead to a stronger relationship and identify a prospect’s unique challenge. Compelling value propositions can be hard to create, but when you hit on the right one, it can be like gold for getting an audience. The new world has created all kinds of new potential value propositions. Examples include: changes in the way people do business, superior knowledge you may have about a COVID-related legal issue, benchmarking what other clients may be doing in a certain industry, and offering to help a short-staffed GC.

15. THINKING YOU CAN’T ASK FOR BUSINESS

BY PHONE OR VIDEO CONFERENCE We have become an overly pitch-oriented business. Being one of three firms that shows up with a slide deck, pitches the firm, and then returns to the office to pray for a phone call, shouldn’t be necessary. People have asked for business over

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the phone almost since we have had phones. Don’t get caught thinking you need a formal in-person meeting to make a deal.

Pick up the phone and start a conversation.

16. ASSUMING THAT NO ONE IS DOING DEALS Deal flow has slowed. No question. But there are a lot of potential clients and referral sources out there who don’t make money unless they do a deal. They are hustling like everyone else. Find them before your competitors do.

17. ASSUMING THE CURRENT RUSH WILL CONTINUE

important, which prospects offer the best chance of success with the biggest payout, and then be brutally disciplined about where you spend your time.

20. C OMPLAINING, WHINING, AND MAKING EXCUSES ‘nuf said.

21. W ORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT c’mon! n

It won’t.

18. A SSUMING THE CURRENT LOW WILL CONTINUE It won’t.

19. NOT PRIORITIZING YOUR BEST CLIENTS Business development takes time, and right now, you may not have a lot of time, so be efficient. Ask yourself who is most

Craig Brown uses his experience as a lawyer, business developer and seminar leader to train and coach lawyers to build relationships that lead to strong books of business and satisfying careers.Widely recognized as an authority on building law firm clientele, Craig has worked with law firms for over twenty-five years in the areas of business development, training, coaching, strategy, knowledge management, research and as a practicing attorney. Prior to affiliating with LawVision, he formed and operated The Motivera Group, an independent business development consultancy for law firms and Modena Seminars, a seminar-based training company focused on law firm seminar development and training. Learn more at www.lawvision.com.

California Offices: Irvine, Los Angeles and San Francisco 949.660.8200 | ankura.com

Solving challenges with the right combination of expertise.

Ankura Consulting Group (Ankura) is a specialized independent consulting firm that provides litigation, financial, restructuring, strategic and operational consulting services. Our clients are corporations, legal counsel and government agencies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change. We focus on industries undergoing substantial regulatory or structural change and on the issues driving these transformations.

Ankura is comprised of more than 1,500 professionals, including highly experienced eDiscovery experts; financial analysts; economists; certified public accountants; certified business appraisers; merger and acquisition specialists; professional engineers; and information management analysts. We have offices in over 38 cities worldwide.

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JOURNALS

LAW FIRM

OF THE MONTH

2020

IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY,

BUT IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT FAMILY At The Law Offices of William D. Shapiro

by Dan Baldwin

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hey say “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and that’s no more evident than at the Law Offices of William D. Shapiro. While many law firms include children following their parent’s footsteps, this firm is a standout from the philosophies they follow and the results they achieve.

Led by William Shapiro, sons Brian and Matthew Shapiro are committed to continue the quality representation of victims of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death their father started decades ago. “We grew up realizing success and results are all about hard work,” Brian Shapiro says. Matt Shapiro says, “The expectation in our family was always to compare yourself with the best and go that extra mile.”

Bill Shapiro says, “Our firm is all about passion and commitment, no excuses, doing and reaching for the best; I say all the time, clients don’t care we’re related, they expect us to handle their case as if it was your own.”

That’s their model and the foundation of the firm.

The firm story is interesting from its beginning. With his eyes on coaching, 45 years ago as a Physical Education major with a Teaching Credential graduating from Cal State University Fullerton, Shapiro shifted gears and enrolled in law school. “It was the challenge of my life at that point, little did I realize then how much sports and law had so much in common.” Achieving his J.D. from Western State University, College of Law in 1978 and passing the bar that year, his infatuation with the law was seeded. For the years following, Shapiro partnered at the personal injury law firm where he’d clerked and discovered the great satisfaction of helping others through litigation. He branched out in 1983 forming the Law Offices of William D. Shapiro.

Limiting his practice to serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, decade after decade Shapiro sharpened his trial skills, never wavering in his dedication to represent clients with passion, creativity and the utmost of quality. His hard work, dedication and commitment paved the way to what has been strings of million and multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and settlements.

In 2010, Shapiro’s firm partnered with Mark P. Robinson’s, forming Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis where for about six years, Shapiro worked out of offices in three southern California counties handling cases throughout the country. In 2016, he decided to return to his smaller model remaining “Of Counsel” at Robinson Calcagnie, where he still handles cases. He remains great friends with Robinson and all at that firm. Reignited back in his firm, Shapiro’s results continue to this day with seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements.

A FAMILY ACCOMPLISHMENT; AN ACCOMPLISHED FAMILY Shapiro maintains his three greatest accomplishments are named Matt, Brian and Kevin. Neither Brian nor Matt Shapiro were interested in careers in law while growing up. Shapiro says they commented on the hard work, long hours and total commitment they saw in him. “I never pushed them to go to law school or be a lawyer. I tried to make it clear, just do what you are passionate about, love what you do no matter what it is.” All three ultimately learned, it’s not work when you love what you do. Matt and Brian Shapiro obtained their Bachelor’s from Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach, respectively, thereafter graduating with J.D.’s from Western State College of Law. While Brian Shapiro was in college, he surprised his family taking the LSAT. Excelling in law school, clerking for Orange County Judge James DiCesare and RCRSD, he developed his father’s addiction to law. With his wife Lauren, he continues to enjoy his passion for hiking, snowboarding, the mountains, beach and his two dogs.

Matt Shapiro says, “My entire life, my father has always been a role model, he never pushed us to be attorneys, only to do what made us happy, and to work hard at it.” His primary motivation was seeing his brother go to law school and he followed those footsteps, excelling in school, Law Review and Moot Court. He continues debate education through media projects as well as playing music.

Kevin Shapiro’s passion for the arts took him to Portland State for his Bachelor’s then to U.S.C. obtaining his Masters in Architecture. With projects internationally and locally, he and his brothers are as close as they’ve always been. Bill Shapiro stays busy in what “off hours” there are spending time with his wife Sue, playing music and with classic cars.

When asked what it’s like working with his sons, Shapiro says, “it’s probably better for me than it is for them.”

Brian Shapiro says, “My dad’s famous quote on the topic is: “I don’t need a son in the office, I need a great lawyer.”

They are mindful clients don’t really care about family ties in business. “It’s not about being related, our lawyers must give their all and be top notch or it’s not going to work. Of course, I’m as proud as a father could be, but they know what is expected of them every day, every hour.”

All agree it’s amazing to work with family, but they’re unanimous, at work it’s not about family, it’s about being great lawyers. Each member of the firm, staff included, respects every other member. Often, one member of a firm says it’s my way or the highway. “Not so in our office, while I am a leader, everyone has a voice and all listen. Disagreements are good. They create discussion

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© Christopher TOOD Studios

Matthew Shapiro

and hearing different points of view is good. We look at issues like an MRI, not a two-dimensional X-ray, we want discussion,” Shapiro says. They’re all quick to point out, they have respect for one another, not because they’re related, but because of their confidence in one another, legal abilities and common sense. This level of respect means the firm is cohesive, everyone is a contributor.

EXCEPTIONAL LEGAL TALENT; EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS Brian Shapiro says, “We enjoy our clients and clients enjoy coming to the office. With every client being the star witness in their trial, we are mindful of the type of person a jury will help. We explain to clients, if a juror doesn’t enjoy you, they will not go with you. We work with them to be a team.” His brother says, “It’s our collective passion, our team spirit and global effort 18

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It’s our collective passion, our team spirit and global effort that I’m so proud to be a part of.

that I’m so proud to be a part of.” All are fast to admit their legal talent goes beyond the lawyers, with the firm having exceptional paralegals Debbie Trujillo and Donna Kent and investigator Craig Morff. Everyone shares the firm’s philosophy and this collaboration tackles the toughest of cases.

A brief look at three important cases makes this point.

A young adult lady with dark hair and clothing was walking in the travel lane of a totally dark, unlit two-lane curvy roadway when struck by a city bus suffering catastrophic brain injuries.

Predictably, the city emphatically denied any responsibility, citing her many violations as well as the bus driver’s reasonable inability to see due to the darkness. The firm persisted going through years of discovery, subpoenaing the commercial bus driver’s semiannual DMV medical reports as well as his medical records, ultimately discovering the driver reported no problems with his eyes yet within months of the crash he had been to an eye doctor complaining of difficult vision, which was confirmed in depositions of medical providers. Countless probing depositions of city employees gave rise to facts some at the city were aware of his complaints. Armed with visibility, accident reconstruction and human factors experts as well as a litany of medical, vocational and other damage experts, the case concluded just before trial for a confidential settlement well in the eight figures.

Another case involved medical malpractice. A husband and father of three in his 50s, went to a hospital ER complaining of pain on his side. The radiology staff performed a CT scan finding not only kidney stones, but also a mass on his adrenal gland. The radiologist stated on his report to the treater to follow up on that mass. Discharged from the hospital without anyone saying a thing, the kidney stone passed, and all was uneventful. Two years later he again experienced pain in his side. He returned to the same hospital. Further CT scans showed that the mass had grown exponentially. He was immediately sent to a major medical center where he and his family were advised it was cancerous and had spread through his glands. The case

against the hospital and health providers was concluded for a confidential amount well in seven figures.

Another case stemmed from a traffic accident where a 19-year-old girl driving a Suburban ran a red light in a city intersection and broadsided the vehicle driven by the firm’s client, a 20-year-old man who suffered catastrophic brain damage as a result, leaving him completely disabled. While the girl in the Suburban produced insurance information, that insurance company completely denied coverage.

A claim was made against the city who maintained the intersection, claiming it was maintained in a dangerous condition. After completely denying the claim, years of litigation began against the city. The firm began to focus on the timing of the traffic signal which was taken as well as the maintenance and other records regarding the signal and timing subpoenaed. Records disclosed the yellow and “all red” phases had been set for a 50-mph roadway. The intersection being in an area with no posted speed limit,

when the firm did a study, they found the intersection was in an area that did not meet either a residential or business district and as such under the California Vehicle Code, legally the subject roadway of the intersection was in a 65mph roadway. The firm retained civil and traffic engineers who calculated the speeds of vehicles as compared to the timing of the traffic signal phases. Through accident reconstruction with the assistance of traffic engineers, an animation was created to demonstrate their opinions that had the timing of the traffic signal been properly set for a 65-mph roadway, the client would have a red light for a longer time and the accident would never have occurred.

In what appeared to be a case with nowhere to go, with the years of litigation and countless resources expended, the city settled the case for eight figures. After the settlement, the city posted a 50-mph speed limit sign.

“In each of these cases, like all our cases, we did what it took to succeed on behalf of our clients and to meet the expectations we all have at the firm. We expend whatever resources are needed; simply put, Brian Shapiro we do what needs to be done and take pride in doing it to make a difference in our clients’ lives.” Shapiro says.

© Christopher TOOD Studios

... we do what needs to be done and take pride in doing it to make a difference in our clients’ lives.

Generations of legal talent, expending the resources needed, and going the extra mile has earned the firm an exceptional reputation. Most of the firm’s cases are referrals from attorneys who’ve not only noted the results and practice style, but who’ve commented on the efficiency and organization of the office. Many note their attention to detail as well as how they embrace not only the good facts but those not so good, what Shapiro labels the “bad stuff.” Each file has a “bad stuff” file and whenever something unfavorable is discovered (which happens in every case) it’s noted so as investigation and discovery continues, efforts can be made to cure or to position them to best handle it at trial.

“Too many lawyers ignore the bad stuff, we look in the real mirror and calculate how to reverse it or try to figure the best way to present it.”

“We are in constant contact with our clients, keeping them involved on a personal level. We are hands-on at every step of the case from the opening interview to the closure of the case,” Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 174, 2020

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Shapiro says. Their commitment to quality is evident the moment you walk into the office. Professional in look and attitude, clean and organized, their building includes a mock courtroom for client preparation and focus groups, as well as a full pub where office meetings are held in a calming environment. “Our offices and files are a representation of ourselves. We welcome lawyers to our office not only to see our systems and how we practice law, but the environment in which we practice law,” Shapiro says. “We welcome this so they can see how cases they refer or partner with us on, will be handled.”

Shapiro puts a premium on civility, not only in the office and courtroom, but in the way he and the firm members treat everyone. “Firm policy is to always be civil, cooperative and cordial. Don’t get civility confused with weakness because they’re far from the same. Law really is a noble profession and while lawyers are expected to champion for their clients, we are to be civil at all times.

Unfortunately, many are not civil, let alone ethical. My sons are good to the core, courteous and hard workers.

They put in the time; they know that is what it takes and equally telling, they have a strong work and moral ethic.

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I’m proud of Brian and Matt for being great lawyers and joining the office, and Kevin for following his passion and for being a great architect and each son being the best they can be. That was always the goal, for me, for all parents.

But what’s it like working with my sons? It’s awesome, but only half that is because they’re my sons,” Shapiro says. n Contact William D. Shapiro Law Offices of William D. Shapiro Inland Empire: 893 East Brier Drive San Bernardino, CA 92408 Toll Free: (877) 611-1529 (909) 890-1000 / Fax (909) 890-1001 www.wshapiro.com Orange County: “Of Counsel” Robinson Calcagnie Inc. 19 Corporate Plaza Newport Beach, CA 92660 (949) 922-8690

At Employees First Labor Law, we provide exceptional legal representation to those who were wrongfully terminated, discriminated against, harassed, or injured at work.

Our typical client has been fired for an illegal reason, has been discriminated against because of their race or gender or religion or sexual orientation, has been sexually harassed or retaliated against, hasn’t been paid overtime or their fair wage, or is facing a workplace injury. We’re labor law experts. We’re here to help you through this difficult time.

RECENT WINS: Traumatic Brain Injury $5,150,000 Settlement Wage & Hour Class Action $1,950,000 Settlement Sexual Harassment & Wrongful Termination $1,800,000 Settlement Disability Discrimination & Wrongful Termination $920,000 Settlement Workers Compensation $750,000 Settlement Jonathan LaCour, Managing Attorney

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The Importance of Nonverbal Communication in Virtual Meetings

by Jeff Wolf

F

or the past several months, the country has been working from home and attending an endless string of virtual meetings on Zoom, Skype, or WebEx. During this time, I’ve been sharing with my clients the importance of nonverbal communication.

When participating in any virtual meeting, the way you present is important. While we often think it is what we say that carries the most weight in our meetings, it’s more often what we don’t say.

Thinking that the majority of your communication is verbal can cause a severe disconnect with the people who are in your meeting.

Relaying information in real-time is not limited to verbal interchanges or the use of language. Nonverbal communication is extraordinarily powerful and has been the subject of study for many social scientists, philosophers, and psychologists. Nonverbal communication is defined as all wordless interactions, including hand gestures, posture, facial expressions, and eye contact. In addition to this, vocal intonation, speaking style, speed, and tone all affect how you converse with others.

Nonverbal communication is much more subconscious than verbal communication. While you have to think about language before using words, a smile, laugh, facial expression or hand movement can go largely unplanned.

While vocabularies and languages are considerably different across cultures, nonverbal communication remains universal and understood globally. People from Massachusetts to Morocco understand a smile or a frown.

In both your personal and professional life, your posture is evaluated by how relaxed you seem as well as your body’s orientation, leaning, and the position of your arms. Gestures are defined as any movements and signals you use, such as waving, winking, rolling the eyes, nodding, and pointing. As a lawyer, it’s vital to understand not just the meaning of the words you speak, but the overall presentation. Exploring the many functions of nonverbal communication will make your meetings more collaborative and more productive.

Functions of Nonverbal Communication Repetition. Gestures, such as nodding, serve to reinforce what’s being said. A nod of the head is, in fact, one of the most universal gestures, understood across many cultures. It is widely accepted as an agreement or understanding between people.

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Substitution. Substitution involves replacing a spoken word with a nonverbal cue. You can nod your head without saying a word or wave your hand instead of saying goodbye. You haven’t uttered a word, yet you have communicated effectively.

Complement. A smile can complement words of enthusiasm or praise.

Accenting. You may accent a particular word in a sentence, such as, “I am very disappointed in you!” A strong tone of voice dramatizes the message.

Misleading or deceiving. Can you tell when an employee is lying? Detecting deception is usually based on nonverbal cues.

In criminal investigations, for instance, facial expressions, body movement, and tone of voice can expose the truth versus a lie.

Improving Nonverbal Communication Communication, whether verbal or nonverbal, drives all activity between you and others. So, how do you improve yours as you listen to and speak with others in virtual meetings?

STEP 1: WATCH YOURSELF …

AND OTHERS. When communicating, focus on what your body is doing. The goal is to increase the expressive nature of your body, when appropriate, without coming across as overdramatic. Be aware that gestures are often very useful in a group setting, such as in meetings and presentations. If a person’s words fail to match their nonverbal cues, it’s best to trust the nonverbal messages. Listen with your eyes. In most cases, the nonverbal message is much more accurate.

STEP 2: MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT. Eye contact is crucial when speaking with anyone, as it promotes trust and understanding. Try to increase eye contact when speaking with others and see if they’re making and maintaining eye contact with you. If someone avoids eye contact, you’ll likely sense the person’s discomfort or dishonesty. You can ease another’s discomfort by asking questions that enhance communication.

STEP 3: WORK ON YOUR POSTURE. It’s likely that your mother emphasized the need to stand up straight and avoid slouching in your chair. As it turns out, Mom had given you your first lesson in nonverbal communication. Posture is a nonverbal indicator of confidence.

A gesture conveys a message by using one part of the body, whereas a postural shift involves the movement of the body as a whole. A closed posture (folded arms and crossed legs) indicates a closed personality and a lack of confidence. Open posture (arms spread in a relaxed manner) is a much more confident pose. Your posture should also be in sync with your message, so you avoid sending mixed messages. When you’re sitting, sit up straight. Slumping conveys disinterest and inattention. Leaning back, or rocking back and forth in your chair, tells others you’re bored. In contrast, leaning forward in your chair when listening to someone speak, demonstrates an active interest in both the person and conversation.

We Know Marketing Like You Know The Law

STEP 4: SET THE STAGE. A sloppy environment sends the message that you’re disorganized and careless. Messy areas may be a symptom of a larger problem, such as inefficiency, which stems from an inability to find files or other important papers. Disorganization creates stress and limits productivity. Instead of creating vertical piles on your desk, rely on to-do files that can be stored inside a drawer.

STEP 5: READ YOUR AUDIENCE. If you’re making a presentation, be aware of your audience’s nonverbal communication. As your presentation progresses, watch for signs of slouching, yawning, or dozing off; this means you’ve lost their attention.

If, on the other hand, the group is energized and interested, participants’ body language may convey that they want you to ask for their thoughts and input. Learning to read a group’s mood enhances your abilities as both a speaker and a manager.

STEP 6: LISTEN TO YOUR VOICE. Paralanguage, or paralinguistics, involves various fluctuations in one’s voice, such as tone, pitch, rhythm, inflections, and volume. These cues can have a powerful effect on communication. A loud or forceful tone, for example, may convey a more serious message compared to softer tones. Sarcasm can also cause problems—a person’s sarcastic tone creates stress because their tone (joking) is meant to contradict their words (hurtful or biting).

STEP 7: QUESTION YOURSELF. Throughout the day, monitor your progress. Ask yourself the following questions about your performance: How was I perceived at the meeting?

Could I have done something differently? Were people really interested and paying attention to what I was saying? Did I listen well to others?

As you answer these questions, your self-awareness will increase. n Jeff Wolf is one of the most highly sought-after legal coaches and consultants in the country. He is an international bestselling author and was named one of America’s Top 100 thought leaders. He has been featured on NBC, CBS, CNBC, and FOX TV and is a commentator for the Legal Broadcasting Network.

As founder and president of Wolf Management Consultants, LLC, he has built a valued practice that addresses the critical problems confronting lawyers and law firms today. He may be reached at jeff@wolfmotivation.com or in his San Diego office (858) 638-8260.

Let us “do the time” to get your project right!

• Writing for the layperson • Putting together a presentation • Developing a marketing strategy • Sprucing up your website • Designing an ad, booklet, flyer or brochure • Establishing a better logo, mission statement or tagline

215-550-1435 • penn-creative.com Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 174, 2020

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7 Must-Haves for Law Firm Websites in 2021

by Robert Algeri

C

onsidering a new website in 2021? If so, compiling a wish list of features and functionality is a good place to start.

Most people sensibly begin by identifying the deficiencies of their existing website, so that they aren’t propagated to the new site. However, to ensure that your website passes the test of time, you also need to embrace fresh ideas and new technologies.

Below are some “must-have” law firm website features to consider.

1. BEYOND-THE-HOMEPAGE STRATEGY Typically, less than 40% (20% for larger firms) of the traffic to a law firm website enters through the homepage. Instead, visitors are clicking links found in Google, emails, and social media that send them directly to content deep within your site.

When planning your next website, consider the user-experience of a visitor who lands on an article or alert in the middle of your site. Ask yourself these questions: • Are all pages well-branded?

• Are content pages dead-ends?

• What calls-to-action should we include?

• How can we encourage visitors to consume related content?

• If the user’s journey ends without having visited the homepage, what kind of impression have we made?

2. “RECOMMENDED CONTENT” TEASING The most advanced law firm websites are designed with no dead ends. Just like NYTimes.com, cutting-edge marketing websites automatically promote “related articles” as well as related events, related case studies, and related blog posts (among other content).

The goal is to keep visitors on your website, consuming your content for as long as possible.

Websites with advanced content-teasing tools provide benefits that will please website visitors and your marketing team alike.

Here are just a few: • A Fresher Site—Today’s advanced content-teasing tools automatically promote the site’s newest, most relevant content. This keeps your website feeling fresh and relevant.

• Cross-Selling—Your website can cross-promote content from related services such as real estate and environmental law. This can enable cross-selling by letting people know about your broad expertise.

• More Page Views—Visitors are prompted to read more of your newest and best content. This allows visitors to better understand how you can help them achieve their goals.

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3. INTEGRATED BLOGS Blogs often contain some of a law firm’s most powerful content.

However, the value of that content is diminished when it resides in an ecosystem that doesn’t include the firm’s website. To ensure that an attorney’s blog posts receive the attention they deserve, progressive law firms are now building blogs into their websites.

The numerous benefits to having a firm’s blogs share the name database and navigational scheme of the firm website include: • Better site-search • Better user-tracking • Easier maintenance • Improved user-experience • More effective content-teasing. This is the biggest benefit.

Your website’s content-teasing system can automatically promote your blog posts on relevant sections of your website.

4. NEXT-GENERATION SITE-SEARCH On average, law firm websites triple in size every few years. This happens because firms are creating more and more reputationenhancing content, which is great. But more content can also make it harder for users to find what they’re looking for.

The remedy: better site-search.

The best websites now include next-generation site-search technology that includes new features such as • Predictive Search—As the user types, results appear.

• Tools to Manipulate Results—Your top patent litigator can be set to appear first when “patent litigation” is searched.

• Intelligent Matches—“Fuzzy logic” produces accurate search results even when there isn’t a direct match. For example, ‑ Misspellings: “Emploment” will return results for “Employment.” ‑ Partial words: “Auto” will return results for “Automobile.” ‑ Plurals: “Books” will return results for “Book.” ‑ Suffixes and prefixes: “Work” will return results for “Working. ” ‑ Accents: “Zoe” will return results for “Zoë.” ‑ Punctuation: “Oreilly” will return results for “O’Reilly.”

• Invisible Keywords—A particular page can appear in sitesearch results for a keyword that doesn’t actually appear on the page.

• Nickname Search—“Henry” might also be known by “Hank.” Or “Occupational Safety and Health Administration” might be commonly referred to as “OSHA.” Nickname search makes each fully searchable.

5. BETTER ATTORNEY BIO USER-EXPERIENCE The majority of website traffic goes to attorney bios. But most attorney bio pages are designed to push visitors to other sections of the website. For example, if you click a News item on an attorney’s bio, most law firm sites send you to the News section of the website, and thus away from the bio.

We call this the “Ping-pong Effect,” and it makes for a sub-par user-experience.

The most advanced law firm websites are now designed to avoid the ping-pong effect, by allowing visitors to read an attorney’s articles, news items, blog posts, and events, without having to leave the bio.

The elimination of the Ping-pong Effect is an absolute must-have because it encourages visitors to further explore an attorney’s offerings.

6. CUSTOM TABS This feature allows you to add free-form tabs to an attorney’s bio (or a practice area section). These custom tabs can be deployed as needed, to highlight notable aspects of an attorney’s life or practice.

Custom tabs can be used for any topic, including: • A profile of an attorney’s community-service work • In-depth information about specialized expertise • Information about a book authored by an attorney • Information and photos about the attorney’s life “Beyond the Office” • Video of an attorney’s television appearance

Events like the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the value of custom tabs. Firms whose websites have this functionality were able to quickly customize bios and practices with information that made clear how an attorney or practice would help clients respond to the crisis.

7. REACT.JS Every few years, a new website technology emerges that is so transformative that it makes earlier websites—those built without the benefit of that technology—look old and clunky. React.js is such a technology.

React.js is a front-end website technology that allows for the creation of websites that load instantaneously and feel remarkably fluid to the user. When React.js is implemented properly, advantages of the technology include: • More flexible designs • Nearly absolute security • The potential for no downtime, ever • Fluid page transitions and animations • Remarkable page load speed The technology, originally developed by Facebook to increase engagement on its websites, has become the number-one frontend framework worldwide. Its widespread adoption has made the technology a must-have. n Robert Algeri is a co-founder of Great Jakes and responsible for ensuring that Great Jakes consistently exceeds the expectations of its clients. Great Jakes builds the world’s most advanced (and effective) websites for law firms. Learn more at www.greatjakes.com.

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Law Firm Mergers: A Primer Based on 30 Recent Merger Discussions

by Michael Short

I

n our recent analysis on The Legal Marketplace in a Post-COVID World, we predicted a significant uptick in law firm merger activity once the immediate medical crisis was brought under control. For larger firms, this will be driven by a “significant new focus on talent, scale, depth and redundancy… particularly among firms focused on multinational/jurisdictional client bases.” For smaller firms, we are hearing increasing interest due to pressures such as significant concerns with talent/generational gaps in key practices or around key clients, the lack of future leaders, insufficient capitalization (for when the next major unexpected event hits), and general poaching pressures from larger, more profitable competitors.

We are already seeing this expected uptick in inquiries to our law firm merger practice (aka LawVision MergerCounsel) from law firm leaders who see opportunity on the horizon and we want to help manage the expectations of those who may be experiencing some combination of the factors listed above. To that end, we offer a data-focused primer based on our law firm merger practice. In this piece, we are not going to provide broad generalizations about how all law firm mergers work because, in our experiences across three decades, we have found that each proposed combination is a unique event that features some new twist or turn. Therefore, we are going to share some of the high-level details from our most recent 30 law firm merger engagements—projects that we have been involved with over the past 2 years—and summarize our experiences. Based on real examples, we hope to (re)set or manage your expectations if you are relying on a merger or acquisition to implement a strategy or solve a problem.

We are not going to use any law firm names, nor are we going to describe in detail any proposed law firm merger that involved a unique and identifiable trait, characteristic, or outcome. Confidentiality is vitally important in all aspects of merger counseling.

Before proceeding into our summary, it is important to understand the underlying data set. The 30 potential combinations we are reviewing are those potential transactions that were deemed worthy (by both parties) of the investment of time and money to seriously explore a formal combination.

Based on our preliminary assessment work, each of these proposed transactions had a strategic foundation, support from both leadership teams, reasonably close economics, and was free of deal-killing conflicts before it reached this stage. From a pure 26

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numbers perspective, it is important to note that for every one of these truly viable potential mergers there are, by our rough estimates, 9 other concepts/discussions/ideas that go nowhere. In other words, to get into one substantive conversation, you may need up to 10 preliminary conversations. (We’ll talk about the 9 out of 10 that go nowhere in a future article.)

Now, let’s look at these 30 law firm merger projects as a group to see what happened.

To prepare this analysis, we summarized key data points that we track for each proposed combination that align with questions that we are routinely asked regarding our M&A practice. As such, the following observations summarize the results of the one-inten conversations that became a serious attempt to structure a merger or acquisition between two interested parties:

What was the goal/primary reason for trying to merge the two firms?

To calculate this, we used two data fields in our records—the primary goal and the secondary goal for the transaction. A primary goal was assigned two points and a secondary goal was assigned one to create a weighted scoring approach. For each category, we summed the points from both categories to produce our top three categories, in descending order: • Implement a strategic objective (35 points) This is not “growth for growth sake.” This is usually to create longer-term breadth or depth where needed and not readily available within the current organizations or to extend geography in ways consistent with clear strategic goals.

• Prepare for generational shifts (24) This is where firm leadership looks five years into the future and sees developing talent gaps that, over time and due to retirements, will put key practices and/or client relationships at risk.

• Add needed depth to important practices (18) This is where firm leadership looks at the current situation and sees existing talent gaps and/or the immediate need for additional resources to meet existing demand.

Below these top three, there are several “one-off” categories that paled in scoring comparison to these top three.

What was the source of the initial conversation?

Was this a merger or an acquisition?

10% 10% 40% 17% 23%

n Formal Search n Leaders n LawVision Intro n Common Client n Other Referral

• Formal targeted search by either party— 12 of the 30 firms This is where one or both parties were developing specific “target lists” of candidate firms that met their goals (above).

LawVision was involved in developing seven of these target lists.

• LawVision introduction—7 Through our MergerCounsel service, we are regularly on the lookout for deals that may make sense for our clients who take a more opportunistic approach rather than conduct a formal search. From our regular MergerCounsel database reviews and brainstorming meetings we sometimes connect the dots between two firms that make great sense.

• Common client—5 Exposure to other lawyers, either in support of the same client or on opposite sides of the same client, regularly leads to inquiries once a sufficient level of mutual respect and trust is established. Sometimes the common client will even make a recommendation that two lawyers or law firms combine their practices. (This was not the case with any of these five proposed mergers, but we include it as supplemental information because we see it from time to time.)

• Conversation between two law firm leaders—3 Managing Partners regularly interact with their peers (and those who don’t should find a peer group). We can think of several exceptionally large mergers that started with two law firm leaders sitting next to each other at a public conference or in one of our Managing Partner Roundtables, developing a personal relationship, and then exploring the broader possibilities.

• Referral from another consultant or a headhunter—3 Law firm merger negotiations is not a place to dabble or learn on the fly. Between my Partner (Joe Altonji) and me, we have 60+ years of experience in this field and we regularly receive referrals from others who make the introduction but cannot or should not try to create the deal. Some of these are sufficiently founded and developed to move forward in this stage.

27%

73%

n Merger n Acquisition

If you look at the publicly available data on law firm mergers, you will see that the vast majority of announced deals are acquisitions of a small entity by a much larger entity. In some data sets, the average size of the smaller firms is in the single digits so the categorization of “merger” is a true misnomer. Our data set reflects a similar result.

• 8 mergers—proposed transactions where both parties are larger than 50 lawyers and within a reasonable variance of each other on total size.

• 22 acquisitions.

What is the “success” rate (v1)?

There are two ways to look at “success” with respect to potential law firm combinations. Our preferred way is to look at the outcome in relation to what should have happened because, within the law firm merger world, NOT combining is sometimes (or often) the ideal outcome. If we look at outcomes against what (in our opinion) should have happened, the success rate from this sample is 89%.

• Three proposed transactions are still in progress and are not counted.

• Of the remaining 27, three solid, sound strategic deals that we favored and endorsed did not end up as a combination due to the inability of both firms to agree on “fine print” issues (e.g., the balance of seats in governance, performance expectations for Partners, firm name, etc.).

• All others ended up where they should have—13 mergers and 11 amicable terminations to the discussions.

• Of the 11 terminated discussions, we stopped six of the deals at a time when either or both parties remained interested, but it was clear to us that a successful combination was not going to happen. The others ended via all parties reaching the same conclusion at roughly the same time based on the developing terms.

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What is the “success” rate (v2)?

52%

48%

n Go n No Go

• Counselor to the deal (30% of the transactions)—where we are acting for “NewFirm” and are working in the middle of the proposed combination, and for both parties, to see if we can create a term sheet that is good for all parties.

• Counselor to the acquiring party (33%)—where we are acting only for the larger firm of the two participants in the conversation.

• Counselor to the acquired party (37%)—where we are acting only for the smaller firm of the two participants in the conversation.

The second way to look at “success” is simply how many deals ended with a merger between two law firms (or the acquisition of one firm by another). Using this means for evaluation, the success rate from this sample is 48%.

• Three proposed transactions are still in progress.

• Of the remaining 27, 13 proposed transactions resulted in a formal combination.

Important note—this percentage may be overstated in relation to the general population of deals because any potential combination that becomes a negotiation project with us has a strong foundation and higher odds of success at the onset.

Also, our decades of experience with mergers mean we’ve seen a LOT and can navigate the particularly tricky issues relatively well. Based on what we hear in the marketplace, a 1 in 3 success rate at this point in the process is typical. Still, there are many situations where the initial threshold tests for a potential deal were met, but where detailed discussions revealed more subtle reasons why a deal should not proceed, leading us to recommend the parties break off discussions, or for the parties themselves to reach the same conclusion independently. This accounts for the gap between the two ways of calculating “success.”

Who did LawVision represent?

30%

37%

n Both n Acquiror n Acquired

33%

When we are working on a law firm merger, we serve in one of the following three capacities:

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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 174, 2020

Statistically, based on our sample, 1 in 10 working concepts make it to a viable transaction and then one in two of our serious conversations (roughly) end up in a deal. In other words, a successful merger or acquisition requires an initial target list of 20+ viable candidates. Of course, this is an “average” outcome and each deal is different. A connection between two Managing Partners may be all that is needed for one firm while another may need 30 initial targets to find its “needle in the haystack.”

Mergers are used to accelerate the implementation of any law firm’s strategy or quickly address a critical need. In theory, a merger is much better and quicker than hiring a series of onesand-twos. The reality is that there is a lot of frog-kissing in the process and merging two firms is extremely complicated. (We will explore why deals fail in an upcoming article.) Furthermore, with the ongoing consolidation in the industry, the number of viable deals/candidates for any interested party shrinks with every completed deal.

The purpose of this piece is not to discourage. Rather, it is to manage expectations carefully. While law firm merger negotiations are basically on hold right now (and rightly so), these activities will return and accelerate once an appropriate level of certainty is established and we shift to level 3 of our Recovery Playbook.

While we need to wait on the formal negotiations, some of the deals that will be negotiated then are being explored right now.

The business of law and the evaluation of strategic opportunities never stop.

Now that you understand “the game” a bit more, good luck with your mergers and acquisitions! n Michael Short is a founding Principal of LawVision. He counsels law firms around the world on strategic, management, compensation, and financial issues. Over the course of his over three-decade-long career as a consultant to the legal industry, Michael has worked with well over 700 law firms. His client base ranges from small, “local” firms in many countries to large, multi-national operations. Learn more at www.lawvision.com.

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7 Tips for Navigating the Return to Offices

by Thames Schoenvogel

A

s the U.S. begins to cautiously reopen, we are hearing from many of our law firm clients about how they are approaching the return to offices.

Some have already started to bring in a limited number of lawyers and staff to offices, while others don’t foresee any return in the coming months.

The circumstances of each firm will vary greatly depending on physical location, local regulations, number of staff, types of needed work and much more. But many firms are utilizing similar best practices, and these tips can guide your firm’s successful return to a new normal:

1. SOLICIT INTERNAL FEEDBACK AND GUIDANCE Firms are rightly asking attorneys and staff for their feedback on the best return-to-work strategies. The opportunities for soliciting feedback may include internal surveys, virtual meetings, internal task forces or some combination.

2. CREATE PHASED RETURNS Firms are working in phases to proceed with caution and learn what works well. The first phase usually involves bringing in those attorneys who have a demonstrated need to be in the office and want to be there.

3. UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF YOUR PEOPLE As with so much in this COVID-19 reality, firms recognize that they must be aware of the changing needs of their attorneys and staff. What works for some attorneys won’t work for others, and people are navigating new terrain with their health, childcare and other personal needs.

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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 174, 2020

4. WORK WITH EXPERTS In addition to getting internal feedback, utilize knowledge from local hospital executives or medical experts to inform plans.

5. BE FLEXIBLE All plans are subject to change with so much still unknown, and what is working well one week might need to change the next. The key is for firms to emphasize that need for flexibility to attorneys and staff.

6. KEEP IN TOUCH WITH CLIENTS While some attorneys will be in the office and some won’t, all should be focused on staying connected with clients.

Your clients’ needs are changing daily, and your attorneys won’t know how to help unless they are reaching out. Don’t let physical separation or changes to work arrangements distract from that.

7. EMBRACE THE GOOD This crisis has also brought with it some unexpected positives—from people who have discovered the ease of working remotely at least part of the time to attorneys who have successfully stepped into new leadership roles. Look for those firm wins and embrace them. n Thames Schoenvogel is a Senior Writer and Editor for Wicker Park Group. Learn more at www.wickerparkgroup.com.

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