IPR Newsroom

November 2009
Every Law Firm Should Be a Media Company
By Nicholas Gaffney

Your firm has paid top dollar to create an impressive Web site, arranged for a pro to snap grinning portraits to complement attorneys' bios, posted a slew of interesting articles by your attorneys online, and dipped into the world of online advertising.

Perhaps you've even encouraged all employees to join LinkedIn and network like banshees to bring in business. You're all set, right? Think again, because these days, a whole new mode of thinking is called for. It's time to take a leap and leave behind your firm's entrenched identity as a legal services provider: to succeed, you must start thinking of your firm as a media company.

'Every Company Is a Media Company'

The notion that "every company is a media company," credited to journalist Tom Foremski of the blog Silicon Valley Watcher, may at first blush sound absurd. Stick with us for a moment. Upon closer exploration, it makes perfect sense. (And, ultimately, more cents for your firm.) Every organization, no matter the industry, is in the business of gathering and distributing information both internally and externally - to employees and prospective employees, clients and prospective clients.

Engaging in meaningful conversation with stakeholders small and large is essential to sustaining and growing a business, whether you're hawking televisions or tax advice. Because technology is not the barrier it was just a decade ago, when the cost of hosting a Web site could rival a partner's salary; we can now cut out the middleman - or at least not rely solely on him anymore - and communicate directly with customers. What's not to love?

Why Law Firms?
Clients pay law firms for guidance on all sorts of important matters that require attorneys to stay on top of myriad laws, regulations and rules. Law firms are tireless content creators, but the problem is that the content is often relayed to a tiny audience. In effect, they're just reporting on the law. And you know what? No one who doesn't absolutely have to read these reports does, because they're dry, uninspiring and don't tell a story. Reams of memos and alerts are not compelling. That's why some of the largest firms in the world host tens of thousands of pages of content on their Web sites, with little, if any, impact. Unless you communicate your expertise in a useful way, you are still simply a law firm, and in today's world that's not good enough.

Foremski tells of a 2005 meeting with a major business's head of mergers and acquisitions - a man in one of the most powerful positions in Silicon Valley because of the enormous number of acquisitions his company makes. The executive remarked that he was particularly proud of the company's media arm, of which he was also in charge. Imagine the head of M&A at a major law firm also directing communications at the firm? Pretty implausible!
This company's team, staffed by former mainstream reporters and editors, creates multimedia content focused on keeping the company and its customers in the loop. Far from the typical communications department that pumps out press releases and white papers, this group produces work of the highest journalistic caliber. The results are clear: The company's Web site has reportedly attracted levels of traffic that rival top IT publications. This would be like a law firm getting more traffic than The Wall Street Journal.

Foremski concluded that the above-mentioned business is a large media company - and he's right.

Law Firm Marketers
So what's the takeaway for law firm marketers? With pertinent, niche quality content - and law firms naturally have fodder to generate an amazing amount of this - firms can position themselves as both publisher and publication, and usher in new audiences and new business opportunities. A scattershot approach won't do the trick; it's not simply about posting content, but about implementing a cohesive plan for becoming a media company.

Now the multi-million dollar question: How?
First, create a media plan. Whether you hit the blog bandwagon, create a YouTube profile and add videos to the more than 7,000 law firm clips already there, upload weekly topical podcasts by attorneys, Webcast firm-sponsored events on your site, tweet daily and/or continue to produce more traditional forms of marketing such as e-mail newsletters (to name just a few of the many outlets out there), keep a few rules in mind.

Commitment cannot be overemphasized. Just as yesterday's newspaper is only good for wrapping fish today, if the news you produce isn't fresh, it's not worth much. Which isn't to say that the items you publish online won't be accessed in the future - part of what's so amazing about Web publishing is that key words in your stories will continually bring in new readers, not just today or tomorrow but potentially months and even years from now as issues gain relevance.

The more content (compelling and easy to digest) you have, the more likely you are to attract a wide audience and to have interested viewers link to your content, which will boost your Google rankings. And rather than paying for short-term ads that vanish along with your target audience once you snap your wallet shut, becoming a media company means creating long-term exposure.

Still, currency is vital to instilling an image of your firm as a forward-thinking leader in your field. If potential clients hone in on your blog only to realize it hasn't been updated in months, they may well assume the firm itself is outdated.

Top-flight content geared toward a specific audience is nearly as important as staying up to date. You must disseminate information that people not only need, but want. For instance, you can use a timely article as a springboard for a blog posting, but add your own insight to the conversation. Don't simply reproduce and churn out what is already out there. Promote your knowledge, not your services. (In other words, turn off that advertising-oriented switch!)

Conclusion
Increasingly, consumers are soaking up good information and passing it on wherever they can get it, whether the source is the New York Times or the leading litigator at your firm. So if you produce topical material that people can't find anywhere else, they will seek you out and naturally spread awareness of your firm the same way they do Walt Mossberg's Wall Street Journal columns. This doesn't mean you will be competing with the Times and the like - instead, think of your company as supplementing what the mainstream has to offer. (Akin Gump's Scotus blog reports on cases before the Supreme Court does - now that's behaving like a media company!)

Like the company mentioned above, turning yourself into a media company may mean partnering with an outside consultant or hiring some of the many talented out-of-work journalists. Or it may simply mean drawing out talents you didn't realize were lying fallow within your own marketing team. It doesn't have to be expensive, but you certainly must be creative.

Still not convinced? Even so, chances are you'll agree that digital media plays a significant role in how your firm is perceived in the marketplace. And if you want to boost the probability of that role being positive, it's time to take the reins. If stepping into the new media world causes heart palpitations, we have four words for you: "Is there an alternative?"