Category: Marketing

Business Development Strategies for Law Firms

Maintaining a well-structured business development plan is critical for law firms to remain competitive, and to build a strong client base.

Hiring a law firm can be a long and tedious process, and it can take years to win a new client. However, when the stakes of winning a new client are so high, it is worth the wait, and the efforts into developing and nurturing all avenues that can lead to the generation of new business.

Traditionally law firms relied most heavily on in person networking to bring in new business, however times have changed and even before the pandemic, top law firms have been quick to embrace modern marketing, lead generation, and data collection tools to gain an advantage in this increasingly competitive market.

Below are five steps that law firms must consider when formulating their business development strategies:

1. Strengthen the value and recognition of your firm’s brand

Promote and grow your firm’s and reputation and brand by showcasing your specialties and professionals. What sets your firm apart from the competition, and how can you relay that information to the market?

The production of content and resources to educate current and potential clients on the capabilities and efforts of your firm is more important than ever. It no longer is enough just to operate as a firm, but you must implement a robust marketing strategy into place to remain relevant in this very competitive market.

2. Analyze your client base

Understand the characteristics of the types of clients who contract your services (ie. size, operating sectors, location, type and value of services contracted)

3. Follow the markets

It is important not only to stay up to date on the legal sector, but the unique markets of your clients must also be on your radar. Competition is increasingly fierce, since we have already passed the mark of over 1.3 million lawyers in the USA (Statista) and 1.2 million lawyers in Brazil, according to OAB data. Understanding these movements and crossing them with your client base can help the offices to prepare for trends, as there was in the offering of services related to Compliance and data privacy legislations, and to understand the size of the market to be occupied.

4. Establish a Relationship Management Processes

Maintain frequent contact with your customers to build customer loyalty, to generate trust and appreciation, and to keep them informed of all the ways your firm can service them. It is important to keep a database of the origins of these relationships as well, so that you have better data on what was successful in the past, and what you can continue to do in the future.

It is also advisable to send out recurring satisfaction surveys to your clients check on areas of improvement, and thereby improve service delivery. Clients will appreciate your openness to feedback, and it will allow for your firm to better service them.

5. Participate in Legal Rankings and Awards

It is important to appear in the same places as your competition. If your main competition is appearing in legal rankings and awards, and your firm is not yet actively engaging in those same channels, then it is time to get involved as well. Having a third-party research team endorsement for your firm often holds more weight and credibility in the market than endorsing one’s own firm. Being able to leverage an endorsement from a well-respected media outlet (ie. Chambers and Partners, Legal500, Leaders League) will go a long way.

6. Launch the Business Development Plan into action

Each of the steps described above is important individually, but must be executed in unison to become a strategy. The better that a firm is able to present itself to the wider audience, and to gain the trust and respect of that audience, the better the likelihood that the firm will win new clients. Knowing who your potential customers are is a critical step to begin opening new doors and targeting new leads. Through better understanding the market, we induce the growth formula and see your potential. By establishing relationships, operational and financial stability, along with a more sustainable method of doing business can be maintained.

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Content Writing for Tax Professionals: Best Practices

On January 14th, LETS Americas sat down with tax reporter Mattias Cruz to discuss best practices on how to write better and more effective content on tax.

The full conversation can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RhtCidvMBY&feature=youtu.be

We have also summarized a few main questions from the conversation below.

LETS Americas: What would be your one main piece of advice to someone who is looking to produce better content?

Mattias Cruz: It’s going to sound almost unbelievably simple but it is know your audience and what you want to say. Everything else stems from that. You need to figure out exactly who you’re writing for and what you’re trying to tell them.

Writing is a skill, that gets better with experience and exposure. The more you read and write, the better the writing will become. I would recommend looking for other people writing similar things? What are things you like? What could improve?

Alongside is practice and putting your ego aside. You may think what you wrote is brilliant, but at the end of the day the writing is not for you- it is. for your target audience.

 

LETS: Do you suggest writing on more niche or more broad topics?

MC: Balance depending on your aim. Striking that balance is part of the challenge and it very much goes back to who you are writing for

Particularly for legal and tax content, there are trade offs of doing broad concept pieces vs technical pieces, but you can always mix and match a bit of both.

Generally however, for tax content you would want to focus on one tax problem or jurisdiction.

 

LETS: What is the best way to self-promote one’s content? Is publishing personal articles on linkedin/ website effective enough of a platform? 

 MC: The more platforms you are on, the better. Different people use different audiences, but in my experience LinkedIn has become a hub for sharing tax content. It carries well because it is often presented well within the LinkedIn format.

With having your own website, you have to pay more attention to the visual as well as the content. You could have the best content in the world but if its hard to find and hard to read, it’s rubbish. So the choice really depends on what works best for you.

Basic Journalism/Marketing techniques – Clear angle – what does your article say, consistency – publishing around the same time in whatever time period, immediacy – some content has to be published while a topic is hot.

Other simple things, like when is the best time to publish in your timezone?

Use all social medias if you can/different styles of content. In the modern world, professionals simply don’t have time to read thousands of words, so maybe try podcasts, videos, webinars.

 

LETS: Are there any apps or software platforms that people should be aware of, to help them produce better content?

MC: Well I am have been a write so im a bit biased, so I think nothing can replace or supplement a good writer. However, I understand that for many, they may be writing in second languages so something like a grammar checker would help, such as Grammarly or Hemingway. Microsoft word can do its best too, but at the end of the day you need a good editor.

LETS: How do you write in a way that promotes your practice, but also that comes across as technical versus purely for marketing?

MC: Your firm/ yourself cannot be the focus of the piece, the information comes first. Weaving in your expertise or comments from high profile individuals will be what motivates people to come to you, but at the same time avoid writing puff pieces about how great you are!

For firms in particular, bringing a fresh perspective is more valuable. Has anyone written about what you are writing? Are you saying the same thing? Can you frame it in a way that is more interesting or relevant to your audience?

LETS: What are best practices for busy tax professionals to find more time in their day to write? How does one best motivate themselves to write content?

MC: Setting aside that time is hugely important. You have to see content as an opportunity for you to show off your expertise in a certain subject or provide an opinion on a topic.

But for firms, content is a great way to show they are connected to the market. What are the clients facing as obstacles and how are you helping them overcome those issues.

One example is looking at interesting judgments, can you simplify the information while still maintaining the technical strength of the piece.

 

LETS: What is the ideal length of an article? How should one best structure an article to ensure it is read in entirety?

MC: In this day and age the shorter the better. Make sure each word counts but I understand some technical concepts have to be elaborated on. I would say generally a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 1,500 words. It really depends on your subject matter.

One thing I do want to emphasize is that context is not valuable. Most times you can shorten the context to one paragraph, and ideally including a link to whatever it is referring to. Just get straight to the point

Structure is a journalistic endeavor, but essentially what is the most important information, and any supplementary information comes after. So that means: What is the angle? Who does it affect? And why is it important?

There are different styles of writing and I would encourage people to be creative with how they approach tax content.

 

LETS: What are best practices to create a catchy title/ caption for an article?

MC: Keywords – if people are searching for this, how would they find it? What search terms would they use?

Title: 7-9 words, keep it in the active form, let people know your angle.

Caption: You should be able to read this and know exactly what the article will tell you! about 30 words.

 

LETS: How important are images to go alongside written content?

MC: Depends on audience but generally its good practice! if you can include graphs and charts that supports your points, that’s great for breaking up text. bBt often that may not be available for the legal profession.

I wouldn’t add an image unless it added something. So really, I think a graphic would be best for tax content.

 

LETS: Tax professionals are usually quite technical when they write, how does one adapt their writing style to appeal to a more general audience?

MC: Striking a balance between technical details and general readability. get in the habit of asking yourself what are the key points? Does it need this technical detail right now? Will a non-tax person understand this? That is a big part of the job of a tax reporter!

I would recommend working alongside people who know how to write!

 

LETS: Are there any tips you can share on how to format your writing to reach an international audience?

MC: If you include an acronym, be sure to reference what it stands for. For example IRS could refer to Internal Revenue Service (in the US) or the Indian Revenue Service.

 

LETS: Should firms adopt their own firm wide style guides for writing content?

 MC: Yes, its good to gave the same style, because you’re representing the firm not just you. Also it just looks tidier.

 

LETS: Any tips for how to be a better editor of ones own work?

Take a good break away from it.

And this one trick will save you, READ IT OUT LOUD

 

LETS: Is there a particular non-tax publication whose writing style you most admire?

MC: The Economist

 

LETS: What do you personally find most interesting about tax? What topics have you most enjoyed reporting on this year?

 MC: The taxation of space and environmental taxation to tax risk insurance and cannabis taxation.

 

LETS: Ways to get your name into articles/ publications without paying? What opportunities are there for expanding/ exposure in tax writing without cost?

MC: Work alongside tax journalists, reach out, create that connection

 

LETS: To wrap it up, what are the top tips/ takeaways do you have for anyone looking to best improve their tax content writing?

MC: Know your audience. Work with strong writers. Be Creative – don’t be afraid to do something different

 

The full conversation can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RhtCidvMBY&feature=youtu.be

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Legal marketing trends and rankings best practices for 2021: An interview with Arjun Sajip of Leaders League

LETS Americas speaks with Arjun Sajip, Managing Editor for the USA & Canada at Leaders League, to discuss key legal marketing trends, what makes Leaders League different, and how you can get your firm ranked in 2021.

LETS: As Leaders League is based in France and was designed to cover the European market, how do you adapt your approach and solutions for the Americas market?

AS: Leaders League is headquartered in France but “based” all over the Western hemisphere. In addition to our head office in Paris, we have senior staff in London, Lisbon, Madrid, Lima, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Those last three offices are key to our Americas strategy.

For one thing, we adapt our rankings to each country, which explains why we don’t have the same ranking titles across all countries. Our US coverage, for example, includes rankings of proxy solicitation firms and activist investor funds; we are the only legal directory to do this, because we focus on accurately mapping law-adjacent markets as well as legal ones. Our Latin American team was the first of any directory to cover areas such as plant breeders’ rights, wealth management and fintech. We pride ourselves on being more dynamic and responsive to market trends on a country-by-country basis than our competitors are. We even have a Brazil-specific publication, Brazil’s Best Counsel, that we publish annually.

On-the-ground presence is also key to our Americas approach. In Brazil, our editorial and research team consists of five professionals native in Portuguese and fluent in English. Unlike other international directories, we welcome research documents in either language. The fact that we have two offices in the country, plus the fact that our entire research team is composed of Brazilian nationals, means we conduct 100% of our Brazil research in Portuguese.

In Peru, our office head, Jandira Salgado, is a former lawyer who knows and understands the local and legal context. She worked at Leaders League’s Paris HQ for seven years before opening the Lima office.

Ultimately, our ranking methodology in the Americas is the same as that in Europe. We believe research should be done by people familiar with the culture and the subtleties of each market; they conduct interviews in the language of the relevant market. When there aren’t deadly viruses floating around, our teams undertake research trips all year round, visiting the different countries we cover – including the US – and meeting with key partners and firms. This continual contact with market players allows our respective teams to know exactly who is who and conduct in-depth research, ranking not only the full-service law firms in each country but also key boutiques.

LETS: How long have you been working with Leaders League, and what are your specific goals for better coverage of the North American market?

AS: I’ve been with Leaders League for over two years; previously I was an editor at The Legal 500, a widely recognized legal directory where I learned a lot about legal markets, the nature of legal work in various contexts, and what clients want from lawyers. Thanks to my time there, I am well versed in analyzing reams of editorial submissions from law firms and grilling senior lawyers on their work.

As for covering the North American market, our research ethos is the same as our company ethos: to be a true bridge between clients, law firms, service providers to law firms, and the finance sector. We rank not just law firms but private equity firms, venture capital firms, investment banks, litigation funders and consulting firms, across a range of practice areas. All of these rankings are based on months of in-depth research.

This breadth, which is reflected in our intelligence reports, comes alive at Leaders League events, where we strategically invite professionals from different kinds of institution – law firms, investment firms, corporates, banks – to foster client relationships and partnerships. Our bespoke event websites have repeatedly proved popular among those seeking clients, business partners and experts.

LETS: What are the main legal marketing trends you are anticipating for 2021? Do you think the pandemic has brought new trends to the legal marketing area?

AS: Over the last decade, legal marketing agencies have proliferated, creating a competitive market. This development has meant that law firms have increasingly been handing marketing duties – including but not exclusively directories and awards – to consultancies, while firms’ in-house marketing teams focus more on internal marketing and targeted business development. Consultancies are both agile and dedicated, with strong links to directories and legal media, so they are an increasingly popular option.

As for trends brought by the pandemic, well, it’s been a tough time for legal marketing internally and externally – which is why it’s so impressive that LETS Americas has actually grown since the pandemic began! Marketing does not cease to become important in times of crisis; if anything, times of crisis can yield new opportunities and long-term strategies. Consultancies can play an active role in this by bringing their own expertise and perspectives.

One key trend affecting legal marketing is ESG (environmental, social, governance): firms are increasingly keen to present themselves as hot on those topics to both internal and external stakeholders. Consumers demand it, so companies want it, so they expect their advisors to be au fait with it. This applies to all kinds of firms, from proxy solicitation firms to law firms to investment banks.

LETS: Which countries and practice areas will you be watching more carefully in 2021?

AS: In terms of countries, I can honestly speak only for the US and Canada. But as for practice areas, well, we launched several new rankings last year, including best activist investor funds, best litigation funders and best arbitration funders. This year, for the US, I oversaw two entirely new rankings in line with post-COVID legal market developments: best consulting firms for restructuring and best investment banks for restructuring. We’ll be keeping an eye on these areas, as well as labour and employment law, in 2021 as corona-chaos hopefully subsides and begins to translate into legal work.

Litigation/arbitration funding is another area of coverage we’re proud of: we were early to the game, and the third-party disputes funding market has responded positively to our rankings. It’s a sector that is only getting larger and more targeted; our coverage will reflect this.

LETS: What makes Leaders League stand out in comparison to other legal directories?

AS: To avoid repeating myself at length, I’ll briefly recap some of the key differences made so far.

We map entire business ecosystems in our rankings, from law to consulting to finance, acting as a bridge between professions and professionals through our intelligence reports and our flagship international events.

We proudly emphasize on-the-ground reporting, be it through permanent offices in the countries we cover or via regular research trips to those countries. Our rankings are published in five different languages, to make them more searchable by five different demographics: anglophone, francophone, germanophone, hispanophone and lusophone.

We field experienced staff, often former lawyers or former editors at other major legal directories and other trade publications. We also keep a beady eye on the legal media, so we’re always able to apply our critical eye to new market developments.

Each of our rankings is researched annually, but we don’t necessarily wait a whole year to update them: we react swiftly to major market developments, even if those developments occur soon after a ranking is launched. (We do the necessary due diligence first, of course.)

LETS: What golden tips could you give to law firms that want to be ranked? Could you give us some do’s and don’ts?

AS: Absolutely! We have plenty of advice for firms who’d like to get ranked by sending us submissions.

Do:

  • Participate fully in our research process – send us submissions, set up interviews with practice heads, ask us any questions you have.
  • Feel free to trust us with sensitive information. We are a team of experienced editors and researchers who take confidentiality very seriously; everything you send us is stored securely and does not go beyond our research team. That said, always mark confidential information in red.
  • Emphasize, in 150 words or less, how each matter you include best showcases your firm’s expertise, skill and reliability for matters crucial to your client. We place a premium on matters of strategic importance, rather than ongoing advisory work.
  • Include work handled for your most impressive clients, but only when the work you’ve done for them is actually impressive.
  • Emphasize in precise terms what makes you different. Avoid clichés like “partner-led”, “service-driven”, “multi-jurisdictional” or “expertise” – all firms claim these attributes. Instead focus on market niches and genuine differentiators – the kind of facets you could lord over your best competitors.
  • Select referees that are actually likely to engage with us. These are worth more than impressive names that don’t respond to our requests for feedback.

Don’t:

  • Assume that referees are the single most important part of the process. Editorial submissions are just as important; interviews with practice heads are also crucial in giving us a fuller sense of a practice’s capabilities.
  • Try to mislead us by including out-of-date matters (i.e. matters that closed over a year ago) or ambiguously phrased matter values. If you handled a corporate acquisition worth $13bn to create a combined company worth $40 billion, put the $13bn value in the “Matter value” box, not the $40bn. We’re more eagle-eyed than you might think, and use sources other than submissions!
  • Be too long-winded or caught up in legal jargon when discussing your matters in submissions.
  • Waste time on marketing-speak or generic puffery. We look at the matter highlights and the best work you do for your best clients, and expect the work to speak for itself (though interviews with practice heads are very helpful in clarifying points about the practice and its work).
  • Be afraid to approach us for any clarification on our research process, ranking criteria or ranking decisions.

 

Arjun can be reached at asajip@leadersleague.com

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10 tips law firms must consider when planning their 2021 marketing strategies

With 2020 quickly coming to a close, and 2021 on the horizon, now is the time to take a look over all of your firm’s marketing objectives from the past year, and to start planning for the upcoming year.

Below are our top tips on how to best prepare your marketing and business development strategies for the upcoming year:

  1. Sort through your contact list
    • Clear out old contacts that are no longer up to date, or whom you are no longer in communication with, and ensure that all of your current contacts are properly stored and recorded in your database/ CRM
    • Take this time to go through contacts you haven’t been in touch with for a while, and reach out and try to find a way to reconnect. The holidays are always a good excuse to contact someone. However, rather than just send out a generic holiday, try to customize your messages and use this outreach method to suggest reconnecting by phone/ videocall/ or even in person if appropriate.
  1. Review your current firm’s website and social media accounts
    • Check to see that all attorney bios and pictures up to date, and that all of the firm’s recent rankings and awards recognitions listed?
    • Consider your firm’s engagement on social media, especially LinkedIn– are the current accounts active and up to date, or have the accounts been inactive for some time?
  1. Reach out to your network and gather insights on what marketing strategies worked for your colleagues this year, and what they plan to do differently/ better in the upcoming year
    • Contact attorneys or firms that have launched marketing strategies that you admire and ask what they have found to have worked / didn’t work for them this year
    • Regarding events, try to also find out what your colleagues and network are feeling about returning to in person meetings, and the type of digital meetings they have most enjoyed, so that you can best strategize where to invest your time and budget related to client visits and events for 2021, and how to best continue to network during these uncertain times.
  1. Do an audit of your tech set up
    • While the future seems unclear, it is certain that virtual events, networking, and conferences are going to remain commonplace even once people begin traveling and attending in person events again. Therefore its vital to make sure that you are content with your current virtual meeting / communication platforms. It is also a good time to research what new products have come to market since the beginning of the pandemic which may make communication and project management much easier in this new virtual world.
    • This is also the time to ensure that you are in compliance with all privacy legislations (ie. GDPR, LGPD) with the marketing and communication platforms that you are using
  1. Research the competition and upcoming trends in the legal sector
    • Perform research to find out what topics and practice areas are set to be hot in 2021, and strategize the ways to associate your firm to these trends
    • Look into new marketing tools and platforms entering the market, and investigate whether they will be right for your firm
    • Find out which events (virtual included) that are planned for 2021, and begin thinking about which ones you and your firm are most interested in attending/ participating in/ sponsoring
  1.  Set up meetings with relevant marketing/ media contacts before the year-end, and prepare calendar for all upcoming legal directory submissions dates and announcements
    • Now is the time to focus on getting organized and prepared. Most legal rankings/ awards should already have their research calendars publicized so now is the time to consider which ones you want to become active in, and prepare a plan to better connect with the research teams to best perform in the next rankings.
    • Use this time to also organize all of the rankings in which your firm and lawyers are already appearing, and decide which rankings your firm wants to get most involved with
  1. Start planning the 2021 marketing plan and budget
    • When creating the 2021 marketing plan and budget, be sure to keep in mind events, social media, PR, business development needs, directory profiles, as well as website design and maintenance, content creation, and any other areas in which your firm is currently engaged and/or is interested in participating in
    • While events were put on hold for most of 2020, and will most likely not start up again until mid-2021, we are optimistic that the world will slowly begin to recover and people will begin to be able to attend smaller events in person in the next few months, and larger conferences by the end of next year
    • Rather than just copy the marketing budget and plan from 2020, really take this time to research new outlets for promotion, networking, learning and marketing
  1. Review branding and logos and corporate statement
    • Does your current branding and logo accurately promote the vision of your firm, or does it need to be updated?
    • This is also a good time to review your firm’s corporate statement, to ensure that it most reflects the mission and value of the firms
  1. Establish strategic partnerships with other offices, suppliers, marketing, financial, human resources, etc.
    • The end of the year is a good time to think about your current partnerships and vendors, and consider which contracts you are looking to resign/upgrade/downgrade, and which new vendors you want to start considering
  1. Consider everything the pandemic has taught us
    • The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we see international business and has shaped the way business is done in just about every way. We will definitely see that digital marketing is the way of the future, and that webinars and virtual events will continue to hold a prominent role in the way we network, and that working from home will remain a trend. It has also blurred the lines of geography in some senses, and has made it much easier to connect with people all over the world, which is a positive trend we also expect to continue.
    • This has been a time of adaptation and resilience, with many new technologies and business strategies emerging from it. Reflect on the ways your business has changed during these few months, and think about the ways you best adapted to this new world and allow that to give you confidence about all the possibilities to come in 2021.
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7 Common Questions on the Brazilian Legal Market

Doing Business in Brazil

With a population of over 204 million people, and a nominal GDP of $1.9 trillion, Brazil is the most populous country in Latin America. It also has the largest consumer market and economy in the region.

Therefore, Brazil is an attractive market for foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and multinationals, and companies who are looking for international expansion.

However, the Brazilian market is complex. To enter, one must have a strong knowledge of the country, its laws, customs, and its tough regulation of the national bar for legal marketing. To plan effective marketing and business development strategies to target new Brazilian clients, it is important to work with a legal marketing team that is already well positioned in the country.

Below you will find the answers to some common questions law firms have about marketing to  clients in Brazil, and the ways in which LETS Americas can best help these law firms achieve their marketing goals in Brazil.

 1. Brazil has somewhat restrictive legislations regarding how law firms can advertise their services. How can LETS Americas help international firms looking to advertise to Brazilian Clients?

As LETS Marketing has been operating in Brazil since 2018, the firm has a strong understanding of what international firms can and cannot do to attract business in Brazil. The firm’s professionals have worked the main and most respected Brazilian law firms as marketing, business development and corporate communications specialists.

There are many legislations regarding the ways in which law firms are able to advertise, which are strictly governed by the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB, using the official Portuguese acronym) and so it is necessary to work with a team that is familiar with these legislations.

2. Is it necessary for international firms to produce content in Portuguese when targeting the Brazilian market?

For international firms looking to begin working within Brazil, it is very important to be able to produce communications in Portuguese, to be able to engage in the local media of the country and so firms should look to work with marketing teams that can assist with creating and promoting content in Portuguese.

According to a research published by British Council in 2019, only 5 % of Brazilians speak English. While the top law firms in Brazil are all fully bilingual, creating content in Portuguese allows for firms to better connect with the local market, shows respect for the local language, and reaffirms the firm’s dedication to working with Brazilian clients. Additionally, it is important to consider that there are many key decision makers who will be involved in the contracting of your services, and many clients may feel more comfortable navigating important business decisions in their native language.

3. Where in Brazil should my firm work?

 Despite its large territory, economy and population, Brazil’s businesses hubs are concentrated across a few main cities. São Paulo is the financial center of the country and has the largest consumer market, where just about all of the most important companies in the country keep an office. Investment fund or banks in Brazil and the Brazilian stock market most often keep their headquarters in São Paulo . The city is near key-industrial poles (such as Campinas and ABC Paulista) and the largest port in the South hemisphere, which is called Santos.

It’s also common for litigation, tax and public law firms to have offices in Brasília, the national capital which is the seat of the Supreme Court, regulatory and enforcement authorities, and the main politicians.

The country is divided into 5 different regions with distinctive features and 26 federal states. The agribusiness is the main economic activity in the country, specially in the South and Midwest Regions.

The Southeast Region is very important as it where both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are located. It has the largest economic development through a plural economy in the productive industry, services and financial market.

The North and Northeast regions are key markets for international businesses and investors to watch due to their abundance of natural resources and growth potential.

 4. How will the new Personal Data Protection legislation impact marketing capabilities for foreign entities doing business in Brazil?

The new Personal Data Legislation (LGPD) is already in force in Brazil. The law was inspired by the GDPR law of the EU, and was designed in order to protect people’s data and to fine companies which share or use personal information through a non-consensual way.

Email marketing campaigns, and the ways in which clients can do outbound lead generation campaigns were highly impacted by these new laws. While still a very useful content tool for law firms, it is now recommendable to the firm to establish a partnership with a local marketing specialist and compliance specialists to avoid sanctions.

5. What are the main aspects of the Brazilian legal regime that international clients must know?

Under regulations in Provimento 91/2000, foreign lawyers or law firms can only practice international or their country’s law as ‘foreign legal consultants’, and can only advise Brazilian clients on international legal matters. Foreign firms are not allowed to enter into partnership with or employ Brazilian lawyers. If a lawyer enters into partnership with a foreign lawyer, they will not be able to advise on Brazilian law and will be treated as a foreign legal consultant.

The sharing fees or equity between a foreign firm and a local Brazilian law firms is also banned, as is any joint marketing with local firms. What UK and other international law firms can do is work with Brazilian firms by referring business to each other and seeking each other’s advice on their respective countries’ laws

Paid advertising is also completely forbidden for law firms in Brazil. That’s why inbound marketing, content marketing and public relations are so important to the Brazilian firms’ strategies. Owned media and paid media are really relevant for them.

6. How does LETS Americas and LETS Marketing cover the whole of the Americas from only having two offices, in NYC and Sao Paulo?

By focusing on taking on clients engaged with global business, LETS has been focused on establishing strong relationships with international media and outlets, especially within the sectors of rankings, conferences and events. As the LETS team has worked within the legal marketing and legal media world for a number of years, giving us strong connections and relationships with key players across all of the Americas.

LETS also has a strong internal team of business development consultants who are well equipped and eager to take on any new challenges that our clients may ask of them.

7. What main areas of legal marketing does LETS Americas focus on?

LETS Americas is a completely full-service legal marketing consulting firm. The main areas in which we operate are:

  • Branding
  • Communications
  • Business Development
  • Events and Sponsorships
  • Digital and Inbound Marketing
  • Strategic Marketing Planning
    Research
  • Legal Rankings and Publications
  • Public Relations
  • International Consulting

7. Which are the main Brazilian law firms to work with me as a lawyer or firm in association?

Brazil has a wide range of firms’ profile’s, considering full service and boutique players. An efficient tool to gather information and make a good decision regarding which Brazilian firm should you reach is to access the main Latin American legal rankings. Leaders League, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and The Who’s Who Legal are examples of institutions researching and publishing information regarding several practice areas, attorneys, and law firms. They publish every year a new ranking in English with the best rated lawyers and firms. Check it out and consult your marketing specialist regarding methodology and specificity on each institution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10 Tips for Networking within the Legal Industry

Networking is essential within the legal industry.

The majority of people who succeed in business, do so because they are accomplished networkers. This is no exception for lawyers/ people in the legal industry. Expanding one’s circle, building trusted relationships with other people, finding new clients, and embracing conversation as an opportunity to learn more about the world, are all key takeaways from networking. Even the shortest conversation with the right person can become the smartest business development strategy for your law practice. Attorneys are often tasked with being their own marketers, and so being able to develop strategic relationships is of utmost importance. While it takes practice to become a strong networker, it is a skill set that anyone can master.

In this day in age, legal networking may look a bit different than it did in the past, with the majority of events and even one on one coffee meet ups being held virtually. However the keys to succeed in both in person and virtual network environments are quite similar, and you can find them here:

1. Have confidence in yourself

  • Even the most seasoned and seemingly outgoing networkers still get nervous in new situations. It it no easy task to put oneself out when networking, and while you can practice your elevator pitch for hours, the most important attribute a networker can have is confidence. Everyone has someone valuable to offer. Being well prepared for the event, and wearing an outfit that makes you feel like the best version of yourself, will also help you gain confidence.

2. Set your purpose

  • Networking with a purpose is much more effective than showing up to an event, or meeting without at least one item you plan to accomplish. Your purpose can be to speak with one particular person, or to engage in a conversation about a specific topic, or it can just be as simple as speaking to one new person you have never met before.

3. Own your story

  • Everyone has an interesting story to tell. Practice your elevator pitch before speaking with a new person so that you can showcase it with enthusiasm and confidence. People are genuinely interested in learning about other people’s work and interests, the more passion you can put into your story, the more engaged your audience will be.

4. Practice your elevator pitch

  • Similar to tip number 3, practice, practice, practice your elevator pitch. Find a friend, mentor, coworker- anyone you trust, to listen to your pitch, and to help you perfect it. The target pitch is between 30 and 60 seconds, which can either sound like a lifetime, or way too short for chatty people, but is the perfect amount of time to introduce yourself and your story to a new person. From there, questions and comments should arise, and normal dialogue should be able to flow.

5. Pre-plan ice breakers

  • Introducing yourself to a stranger opening with your name and firm, and asking the same is repetitive and not memorable, and does not open the door to a strong conversation. Before arriving at the event, try to come up with a list of hot topics in the news/ industry/ general points of interest that a person attending this sort of event might be interested in speaking about. However, it is important to keep the topics light, and to avoid controversial topics.

6. Do research in advanced on the people who will be attending the event

  • When networking at an event, if the attendee list is open, try to do a quick search of the people who will be attending so that you can make a list of the people you are most looking to connect with. It is also helpful to study their picture in advance to more easily pick them out. If there is anyone you very much want to meet, consider sending them an email or LinkedIn message in advance letting them know you will be attending the same event and want to connect. This will allow for the other person to make sure to find the chance to speak with you then, or to suggest a one on one conversation at another point in time

7. Bring more people into the conversations

  • If while attending an event you find yourself engaged in a conversation and see someone who is on the sidelines not speaking with anyone, reach out and try to bring them into the conversation. They might end up being the exact person you needed to speak with, and also in the future you might be thankful when someone does the same for you

8. Be an active listener

  • Keep your phone out of sight, and make eye contact. Try to keep the dialogue equal – if you feel yourself taking over the conversation and speaking more than the other people, take a step back. If there is a lull in the conversation, use this opportunity to ask a question for other people to answer.

9. Take notes

  • Taking notes during/ directly after the conversations is an important way to ensure you can follow up properly with new connections. The next day or so after meeting, send an email or LinkedIn message to the new people you have met including memorable information from the conversation to make yourself more memorable, and to better your chance of continuing the conversation with that person.

10. Create your own opportunities

  • Many formal events are held which allow for networking to take place, but the best networking opportunities are the ones that you create for yourself. Go above formal events and ask someone you met at an event to meet for coffee (in real life or virtually), ak people you know to introduce you to people within their network, or find someone on LinkedIn who is in a relevant industry and ask for a phone call.
  • Attend industry events that are not tailored to attract lawyers, but are within an industry in which you do business, which may allow for you to stand out more among the crowd.
  • Any conversation can be a networking opportunity. Take a moment to strike up a conversation with someone you may not have normally spoken with. You never know where your next business referral might come from.
  • Host your own event. Create a group of people with similar interests and get them together for breakfast, or a zoom call (depending on the state of the world). Any way in which you can foster connections with new people will allow for you to stand out, become memorable, and become a more confident and competent networker.
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LinkedIn for Business

About LinkedIn

Never before have people been more connected to social networks. The exponential increase in internet access and Google searches reveals the great demand for information that helps people and organizations to make decisions.

Previously recognized as a platform for career development, LinkedIn has become the main business hub on the internet, with more than 600 million corporate users worldwide. Most interestingly, through artificial intelligence, the social network seeks to bring together people with common interests, facilitating the formation of new businesses.

Firms can establish ‘Company Pages’ on this network with the intention of speaking directly to their clients and the interested public. The engagement of the audience/ followers, and mainly the interaction with firm’s posts, are of extreme importance to efficiently market the Company Page and expand connections.

Below we have listed some steps to help professionals position themselves as references in their areas of expertise/ interests, maintain relationships with customers, and develop new business opportunities.

HAVE AN ‘ALL-STAR PROFILE’

The biggest asset of social networks is the database, and it is the interest of the networks to enhance this feature every day.

To encourage users to provide data, LinkedIn awards the ‘ALL-STAR Profile’ badge to those who respond to all data fields on their own personal profile. The advantage of obtaining this badge is that the user can be more easily found by people looking for a particular specialty when using the LinkedIn Search Feature.

Example: A civil litigation lawyer who has the ‘ALL-STAR Profile’ seal can be more easily found by a legal director who searches for the term ‘litigation lawyer’.

It is quite easy to achieve ‘ALL-STAR Profile’ status. Just click on ‘View profile’ to arrive at your personal profile, fill in the missing fields, and follow the recommendations that LinkedIn itself will indicate.

In the top bar, click on “Me” (where your current photo appears)> View profile> and edit the information by clicking on the icons represented by a pencil.

TIPS TO UPDATE YOUR PROFILE

  • Use more formal profile pictures
  • Link your personal profile with your company page (in the experience field)
  • Describe your position correctly
  • Summarize your resume and tell your story in the ‘About’ section
  • Fill in your academic information
  • Describe your main skills and achievements
  • Request recommendations and endorsements from colleagues

FEATURE WORDS YOUR CUSTOMER WOULD LOOK FOR ON GOOGLE

When filling out your profile or writing posts and articles online, think about what terms your customer will search for in the search engines. A tip is to reflect on all the solutions that you can offer to the client and write them, with subject lines and in first person, in the ‘About’ section.

Another tip is to use as many synonyms as possible. A profile that displays the words ‘litigation’ and ‘dispute resolution’ will not necessarily be found by those looking for a ‘mediation’ specialist, or even more specifically, ‘public sector arbitration’. When making the profile, it is important to feature all of the relevant words you wish to be attributed to.

A practical exercise for you to consider the effectiveness of this technique is to write a term on Google that interests you, and observe which firms, organizations and people are listed on the first page of results. This ‘ranking’ of searches can be changed daily through new online publications, using text optimization techniques, called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

ABOUT THE LANGUAGE OF THE PROFILE

Which language is most often spoken by your clients? A common mistake when creating one’s profile is to write it only in English and expect it to be found by all international users. For example, if you are based in Brazil it is essential that the text be in Portuguese, and if possible, to also publish an English version that will be automatically accessed by native speakers of the English language, through the geolocation or main language selection resources. This example can be used for whichever language you are looking to reach new clients in.

To change or add new languages, access your profile and select languages ​​in the upper right corner of the screen.

FOLLOW YOUR CUSTOMERS, COLLEAGUES AND STRATEGIC PARTNERS

The moment you connect to your client’s LinkedIn profile, they will have access to articles you publish on the platform. It is essential, then, even before planning an agenda of content to be published, to ensure that you follow your clients (individuals and institutional page), partner lawyers in other countries, business entities, companies and well-ranked offices in the main legal rankings (ie. Chambers and Partners Guides) from other jurisdictions, within your area of ​​expertise.

It is also very important to positively engage with the publications of your customers and business partners, through comments and likes of their posts. In addition, the social network can help you to better understand your client’s wishes and desires, or even provide information for you to prepare for a meeting with a prospect with whom you have not yet had contact.

GROW YOUR PERSONAL AND FIRM NETWORKS

  • Like, share and comment on the office publications
  • Interact with publications from friends, colleagues and, those who produce content relevant to the work of your firm
  • Follow your client firms’ company page, as well as their staff
  • In the top bar, use the search field to find a company or person page. Then, click on the “Connect” button to proceed to the next page and view their publications

CUSTOMIZE YOUR URL

When you create your profile, LinkedIn establishes a URL with random characters. You can turn this address into a customized name in order to transmit a more professional image to your contacts.

To change your URL, just click on ‘View Profile’ and then on the pencil closest to your initial information, as shown in the image to the side, to open the ‘Edit Introduction’ box. The last item on the list refers to the URL change.

Attention: be careful not to change the URL of your profile without updating materials or channels that contain the link (website, folders, business cards, etc.).

POST REGULARLY

It is very important to establish a weekly publication routine. They can occur two, three or five times a week. The important thing is to maintain regularity and share relevant content.

One can publish ‘short posts, such as the brief sharing of one’s professional experience or a brief comment on a news article of interest to themselves and their network. One can also share ‘long posts which are articles published using the ‘Write Article’ tool, which can be easily accessed for longer periods of time as articles written through this tool become featured on one’s profile page.

The more you post, the more LinkedIn will understand you as a relevant influencer and, eventually, may elect some of your publications as ‘Editor’s choice’, expanding your reach to a prominent position.

EXAMPLES OF CONTENT THAT MAY BE SHARED

Events|  Events in which members of the office participated | Live streams, webinars, internal events, sponsored events, events with speakers or participants, etc.

Articles / ‘long post’ | Texts authored by a professional published on the office website, in information vehicles or on the LinkedIn | Technical articles about our areas or sectors.

Opinions / ‘short posts’| Quotes or texts expressing the office’s opinion on some other relevant content or fact | Comments on third party articles, opinions on market news, inspiring phrases with technical content.

Awards |  Acknowledgments won by professionals or by the office | Awards given by publications that evaluate the legal sector such as Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Analysis 500, etc.

News from the office:  Relevant movements within the office | Creation of new areas, new members in society, institutional support, etc.

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BE OPEN TO NEW CONNECTIONS

Be open to accepting invitations to connect from professionals in your field who you are unfamiliar with, even if they do not hold leadership positions. In the future, they may be people who join your team, suppliers or even customers.

Interact with publications that interest you, but be careful, however, not to generate perception of relationships with companies that have conflicts of interest with customers.

GENERATE LEADS

LinkedIn easily helps you find contacts who can become business prospects. Your publications can attract professional contacts you don’t know yet. Observe who are the people who interact with your publications and check your LinkedIn mailbox regularly. Send In-Mails to people of interest who engage with your posts and articles, and request to connect with them. From these practices it is possible to create connections with new companies, people and opportunities.

CREATE YOUR THOUGHT LEADER IDENTITY

Although more than 600 million users are on LinkedIn, the vast majority of them only read and watch the content that a small portion of professionals intends to produce.

A common argument for not publishing content onto the platform is the high complexity of subjects that experts deal with. However, this should not prevent lawyers from producing content on LinkedIn. A tax lawyer, for example, does not need to publish only posts on Tax Law and tax issues. It is essential that each lawyer creates a digital identity about the topics on which they can share their knowledge with contacts.

There are people recognized for their skills in people management, leadership, entrepreneurship, social responsibility actions, innovation, ethics in law, creativity, among other relevant issues in corporate life that transcend the execution of technical work. These people are called ‘thought leaders’ because they are remembered for specific issues, not necessarily technical specialties, and respond to the great desire of users of the corporate social network: inspiration.

Finding a thought leader identity is an important way to be remembered by your contacts, and to establish new points of connection with your customers.

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LETS Americas, International Expansion of LETS Marketing, opens in the United States

NEW YORK,  September 10, 2020 – LETS Marketing, a leading legal marketing and consulting firm based out of São Paulo, Brazil, has announced the expansion of its international offerings through the establishment of LETS Americas, its US based operations. This expansion has come from a demand among LETS Marketing’s clients to better expand their reach and presence on a global level, and to give the LETS brand a competitive advantage over more standard/regional marketing firms.

“Expansion into the United States is a key moment in the growth of LETS Marketing as we become a ‘world class’ legal marketing consulting firm. Having operations in the United States will allow for our current clients to better access all major business points within the Americas, and will also allow for us to provide the same top quality service our clients in Brazil are already experiencing to law firms around the world” said LETS Americas Founding Partner Alexandra Strick “We will add a new international consulting offering to our portfolio, with the aim to help firms best leverage their status and reputation in the global market. 

“We welcome the opportunity to grow our relationships with law firms, legal media outlets, and legal associations internationally as we have done with exceptional success in Brazil.”

About LETS Americas

Specialized in legal marketing, LETS Marketing is composed of professionals with experience and focus on transforming law firms: delivering results aimed at effective communication with the market, understanding the profile of clients and the sectors where they operate, process optimization, directing efforts prospecting and recognition.

LETS Americas is the international arm of the prominent LETS Marketing in Brazil. In addition to our in-house team of specialists, we also have strategic partnerships with a established network of professionals, dealing with several fronts related to marketing and communication. This structure allows for LETS Marketing to become a complete and multidisciplinary partner for your business.

LETS Americas Contact Information

alexandra@letsamericas.com | +1 914 400 7746

www.letsamericas.com

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The LETS Americas brand and the promise to clients

LETS, a name derived from Legal Marketing, trends and strategies, summarizes everything we propose to deliver to our clients: A complete Legal Marketing consultancy in line with market trends and guided by a solid strategy. Our logo represents one of our main characteristics, which is adaptability: highly personalized services, which conform to the culture and objectives of each client. We are, and we deliver, what offices need within the countless possibilities in the marketing universe.

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