WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR SPEAKING TIME HAS BEEN REDUCED

One time a partner at a BigLaw firm where I was in charge of the marketing department said it would be fine for me to talk to the corporate associates about marketing over lunch.  However, he said my talk was to be no longer than 30 minutes.  I’m sure he was concerned about lost billable hours.  Panic?  Yeah!  Normally, my “gee-you-need-to-get-excited-about-and-start-thinking-in-terms-of-
marketing-for-the-benefit-of-your-long-term-survival-etc.” speech takes 1.5 to 2 hours. (Gosh, why do these nightmare memories keep coming back to me when I am no longer in-house?  But I digress.)

So, what did I do?  I cut my speech to 30 minutes. Duh!  Was it as effective?  Heck no, but at least I got to plant the legal marketing seed…..I think.  Tom Antion on his Great Public Speaking  blog has a post about saying it in fewer works.  I wish I had the benefit of Tom’s advice back then.  He suggests the following to compress your talk without losing impact:

• Don’t apologize for having less time (apologetic beginnings are always a loser),
• Begin with an attention getter,
• Tell them that in the next X minutes, what you will accomplish (and how it will benefit them),
• Give visual examples of your points, and
• Divide your speech into three parts – “present a problem, a payoff, and your point of view” (including the No. 1 thing they should take away from your speech).

If you get into the situation where your scheduled speech has been shortened (for whatever reason), have a back up plan that cover the points above.  Your talk may just be more memorable for your saying it in fewer words.

 

A TAXONOMY OF LEGAL BLOGS

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Note: Readers may leave comments, criticisms and suggestions about this taxonomy at the reader feedback page.

    

Update: A Spanish translation of this page is also available.

 

LAWYER ADVERTISING OPINION #A-0l01

ELECTRONIC MEDIA ADVERTISING: Actor Portraying Attorney

Disciplinary Rule 2-l0l(A) permits a lawyer to use or participate in the use of public communication, i.e., advertising, provided that such communication does not contain a false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement or claim. The Rule articulates several examples of communications which would be violative of the prohibition, including an advertisement which contains a portrayal of a client by a non-client without a disclosure that the depiction is a dramatization. DR 2-l0l(A)(5)

The Standing Committee on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation [Committee] has considered the issue of whether or not a television advertisement is misleading when a lawyer or law firm uses an actor to portray an attorney associated with the law firm without disclosing that fact in the advertisement.

The Committee has viewed numerous advertisements in which, either by direct statement or by implication, it appears that a person is an attorney associated with the advertised law firm, even though that person is not, in fact, an employee or member of the law firm. In particular, the Committee has noted that, when speaking, actors frequently include first person references to themselves as lawyers or as members of the law firm being advertised. The Committee is of the opinion that failing to disclose that the actor is not truly an employee or member of the law firm, when the language used implies otherwise, is misleading or deceptive.

For this reason, the Committee concludes that, in order to avoid being deceptive and violative of DR 2-l0l(A), such an advertisement either must clearly indicate that the person depicted as an attorney associated with the advertised firm is not, or must avoid giving the impression, either directly or indirectly, that the portrayed person is, in fact, an attorney at the firm.

This opinion is advisory only and not binding on any court or tribunal.

Opinion of VSB Standing Committee on

Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation

April 28, l993

 

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	Colorado holds that Consumer Protection Act applies to lawyer advertising
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	Disciplinary lawyers discuss common concerns at mid-year meetings in Chicago
	"...Last week the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) and the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC) held their respective mid-year meetings in Chicago, along with other affiliate organizations of the ABA. I attended the APRL meeting, which (as usual)......"

 

	A few comments concerning case citations, competence and computers
	"...Recently I received a service copy of a brief from an attorney who was representing a member of the Bar in a show-cause hearing. I turned my attention to it immediately because I was working on a similar brief for......"

 

	How to find (and how not to find) Kentucky disciplinary decisions on-line
	"...Yesterday I was surprised to discover that the Kentucky Bar Association has not been keeping its on-line database of Kentucky disciplinary decisions current and up-to-date. In fact, it appears that the KBA has not added any disciplinary decisions to the......"

 

YOU MAY BE GOOD, BUT YOU CAN'T BE AN EXPERT

Posted By William Hornsby

Ohio Opinion 2005-6 advises lawyers that they cannot particiapte in a program entitles "Ask the Expert." The online program, which is advertised on television, enables people to email questions to lawyers. The opinion indicates that DR 5-102(A)(6) prohibits lawyers from claiming special competence or experience and states, "There is no leeway for lawyers to use the term 'expert' in advertising."

 

A LAWYER'S GOOD NAME -- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Posted By William Hornsby

The Connecticut Law Tribune reports on a lawyer suing his former firm because the firm didn’t remove his bio from the firm’s web site. Robert P. Murphy filed against Del Sole and Del Sole after opening a new practice and registering with various search engines. He learned that he was “widely listed as still being associated with the firm” and claims the firm misrepresented his status by not promptly removing his name. Murphy claims his information was not removed form the firm’s site for more than a year. It’s hard to tell how much time is reasonable to avoid creating a misrepresentation, but appears obvious that firms need to pay attention to their stale cyberspace information.

 

A LAWYER'S GOOD NAME -- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Posted By William Hornsby

The Connecticut Law Tribune reports on a lawyer suing his former firm because the firm didn’t remove his bio from the firm’s web site. Robert P. Murphy filed against Del Sole and Del Sole after opening a new practice and registering with various search engines. He learned that he was “widely listed as still being associated with the firm” and claims the firm misrepresented his status by not promptly removing his name. Murphy claims his information was not removed form the firm’s site for more than a year. It’s hard to tell how much time is reasonable to avoid creating a misrepresentation, but appears obvious that firms need to pay attention to their stale cyberspace information.

 

MARKETING IS ALWAYS AHEAD OF REGULATION – ALWAYS

Posted By William Hornsby

According to an article in the Guardian, a UK group called Nationwide Accident Services, which specializes in personal injury actions, has developed a word-search puzzle for children. The game involves circling words in a box of jumbled letters. The puzzles have been placed in hospitals and doctors’ offices so that kids have something to do while waiting for their appointments. Here’s the good part – The words include phrases such as “claim today,” “compensation” and “no win, no fee.” What’s next? Maybe fortune cookie messages.

Best regards, Rodrigo González Fernandez, consultajuridica.blogspot.com, lawyerschile.blogspot.com