Welcome to my new blog where I plan to make posts about case studies, general insights, tips and best practices about marketing and public relations, particularly those related to the legal industry.

My name is Lisa Whitley Coleman and I have been in the legal marketing industry for the last eight years. Prior to that I was a journalist who reported on the legal industry. I am crazy about the industry in which I work.  The best part is that my job is never the same; I always get to do new things and the deadlines are even crazier than when I was a reporter. For those of us who are deadline junkies and are familiar with the unextendable deadlines faced by reporters, this is a strong statement. There’s nothing that makes my writing better and cleaner than to know I only have an hour to put something together.

Let’s start out with a historical case study. When business development teams were in their infancy in the legal arena, I suggested to a group of attorneys that we should do a client survey to gather some insight into what our clients thought about our services.  The group was shocked and one senior attorney said that this was a very bad idea because we would probably have to make changes if clients suggested dissatisfaction in some areas. The response shocked me but it was quite telling and, although it’s not typically openly admitted, many lawyers still subscribe to this belief. The legal industry is the only one I know of where many firms don’t regularly solicit feedback from its clients. ACC members are demanding change. Successful and growing firms are listening. Don’t let your firm be left behind.

Until next time …