Today I chuckled when I received a package from “Pink, Inc.”
I met (virtually) Dan Pink after he launched his New York Times bestseller A Whole New Mind. Now, he’s turned out a new–albeit very different–book titled The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. Gen Y is bound to love the Japanese manga-style cartoons, sprinkled with very sensible career advice. (And, for parent-eschewing youths, what better way to get career advice?)
For those of you who read A Whole New Mind, this book is a surprise. And then again… it’s not. The new book’s format and verbiage show that it’s geared for a much younger audience, and in this way, it’s totally different than its predecessor. Yet, it epitomizes what A Whole New Mind talks about: the need to comprehend and creatively respond to new trends. Dan Pink noticed a hole in the market (for a Gen Y-friendly career guide)–and filled it creatively.
And so, what can we international lawyers learn from Dan Pink’s example? Research and understand market trends; anticipate your clients’ needs; and then adapt your products (and marketing) appropriately. Just so, Dan developed A Whole New Mind for the NY Times bestseller set, and his recent release for the Millennials. Experienced international lawyers do the same thing when they customize client communication to Saudi male oil execs on the one hand, and Chinese female high tech entrepreneurs on the other. International lawyers who fail to customize, limit their own success.
One final lesson from Pink, Inc.: if you happen to have a catchy surname, capture it for your business. Now that’s a lesson that lawyers really understand.
Want to weather the US economic downturn? Then, expand abroad…or so say the mega firms quoted in Wise in the Ways of the World, an article in the June issue of the ABA Journal. Business is booming abroad–and getting paid in foreign currency (rather than weak US dollars) sure helps.
Whenever I’ve spoken about the global expansion of law firms, including last year at New York’s Harvard Club, the audience is amazed by the vastness of the subject. In other words, deciding whether, when and how to go global raises a myriad of complex issues.
Above all, there’s the multi-million dollar cost of opening, staffing and maintaining offices abroad. For this reason, only US mega-firms like White & Case, DLA Piper and Baker & McKenzie–three of the firms mentioned in the ABA article–can afford numerous foreign offices. As the article discusses, firms with multiple offices across the globe redeploy attorneys to other international markets when the need arises.
Some mid-sized firms also opt to open select offices abroad–like Gardere which maintains a Mexico City presence. And, regardless of their size, many US firms bolster their international presence by joining an international law firm network (as discussed in last October 19th’s post).
If your firm is considering expanding abroad, advance research is key. Managing the Modern Law Firm, ed. Laura Empson (Oxford Press 2007) is a good starting place. It explains why some US firms have gone global successfully–while others have failed.
Why bother to write an article if no one reads it?
Too many lawyers think that merely writing and publishing an article somewhere–anywhere–helps their rainmaking. These lawyers delight in checking off “write/publish article” from their Rainmaking To Do List.
Yes, publishing articles can boost client development–but only if the articles attract the attention of potential clients. Just getting published is not enough. By analogy, if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it…does it really make a sound?
Earlier this month I listened to a panel of journalists talk about how law firms can interact well with the media and attract coverage. The panel shared lots of good suggestions: customizing story pitches to each publication; contacting, but not pestering, journalists; and making sure that a story idea is truly newsworthy, up to date, and timed right for the particular media outlet (e.g. whether daily, weekly or monthly).
Panel member Mary Flood, a lawyer turned journalist, shared some witty insights with the audience. According to Mary, lawyers, law firm marketers and PR firms too often pitch stories devoid of interest. Instead, lawyers and their staff should try to pitch (or, during an interview, let the journalist uncover) story ideas that are really novel, interesting, unusual and off-beat. Those are the stories that will capture a journalist’s (and a reader’s) imagination.
You can use that same principle when writing your own articles for publication. Don’t just dryly report facts. Try to take a new and interesting approach to your subject, even if you are writing on an esoteric topic for fellow lawyers. Interject stories, quotes and anecdotes to add interest. Try to find an unusual twist to your topic.
Perhaps most important, engross your reader from the get go. Make your title so intriguing, unusual or shocking that you grab each reader’s attention by the throat, so to speak. Mary Flood, who used to write for the Wall Street Journal and now writes for The Houston Chronicle (including in her Legal Trade blog), chatted with me about this after the panel discussion. I was flattered to know that Mary had read my blog several times–when a blog headline had caught her eye.
Headlines are the critical point of entry for any reader; if titles are too boring–or too offensive–readers may bypass your article. For lawyers working across cultures, make sure that your titles and content are culturally appropriate for your readership. What’s considered clever, engaging and engrossing in the States may be confusing, misunderstood or wholly inappropriate abroad.
Any writer has but a few seconds to ensnare a reader. So, crown your articles with enticing titles; grab your reader’s attention by the throat; and then don’t let go.
The following article just appeared in The Complete Lawyer.
So You Want to Work Abroad?
There are many opportunities to work overseas;
the more you plan, the more success you’ll meet
By Janet H. Moore
As international lawyer coach, I get many email inquiries from lawyers who are interested in working abroad. Some want to gain a particular legal expertise by practicing abroad. Other lawyers are being—or want to be—transferred abroad by their employers. Still others simply seek the thrill and adventure of practicing law in a foreign country. Whatever the reason, lawyers face many challenges as well as exciting possibilities when contemplating an international move.
Plan Well
Attorneys wishing to relocate abroad should examine their real motivation and formulate clear strategies for doing so. According to Nicholas Rumin, founder and principal of New York-based Rumin Search Consulting, “An integral part of this process is being clear about why you are moving, what exactly you want to achieve, and whether your plans are realistic.” He notes that lawyers with a clear vision of their goals “move forward more quickly.”
Rumin, who practiced law internationally for many years before becoming a legal recruiter, recommends significant market research to understand the opportunities, trends and challenges in a given market. After analyzing the foreign market, lawyers need to strategize carefully before taking the plunge. Those who are well positioned (such as those with stellar international credentials, or those poised to move with an existing employer) need to weigh the professional and personal realities of starting over in a new land.
Lawyers who are not well positioned for such a move, such as those without top-notch credentials or “in demand” expertise, face an additional hurdle: how to make themselves marketable to foreign employers. These lawyers must figure out which talents or expertise they currently have—or can obtain—to make them employable abroad.
Rumin also suggests that lawyers honestly assess their strengths and weaknesses, and how those will impact their success abroad. The analysis could be straightforward, such as whether a lawyer has the requisite language skills to build a strong network of local business relationships. Or, he says, the analysis might be complex, such as: “How can I market my technical expertise and existing business relationships in structured finance so that I can be immediately relevant to the current practice needs of a law firm in Beijing, and also be perceived as a practice leader in my area of expertise within the capital markets bar?”
Michael Ellenhorn, who heads the international division of London-based Longbridge Search & Selection, helps many law firms launch offices abroad or expand existing foreign offices by acquiring practice groups. In this capacity, he works with many lawyers who want to work abroad. He recommends that such a lawyer start by talking to prospective employers close to home “about their ability and willingness to post you overseas.” Moreover, lawyers must make sure that they communicate their desire to work abroad to “the right decision-makers.” Ellenhorn, a dual-qualified US lawyer/English solicitor living and working in Europe as a search consultant, also suggests that…
A few days after posting Plum Lucky Lawyers Probably Advertise in Color, I noticed that Akin Gump’s newest home page incorporates this very berry hue. Maybe Madison Avenue proposed the color–or perhaps a trend-savvy AG lawyer. Regardless, kudos to the firm on its plum choice.
