Say what you will, but when it comes to effective marketing and business development, how you act matters more than the words you choose. If you spend any time reading lawyer bios (as I do), you will run across characteristics lawyers emphasize to differentiate themselves. Qualities like responsiveness, creativity, writing skills, thoroughness and pragmatism are regularly inserted in LinkedIn profiles and website bios. I’m all for identifying and promoting the things that set you apart from others. However, it’s important to remember that people’s impressions are based on their experiences with you more than on your words. Creating Impressions Through Your Marketing Activities Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of clients and representatives of the community complain about board members who consistently miss meetings, speakers who don’t submit their materials before the meeting or authors who miss due dates. Your marketing and business development activities have the potential to either demonstrate or damage your professional brand. Here are some examples. Proposals or pitches When you have opportunities to get new business, do you: Make an effort to research the entity, individuals and opportunity?Ask the prospect informed questions so you can tailor your response?Answer all the questions that have been asked?Find out the preferred form or format of the pitch or proposal?Meet the deadline? Presentations If you have a speaking opportunity, do you: Pay attention to the organization’s desired topics and formats?Tailor your program to the audience?Respond in a timely way to requests for bios, session descriptions and session titles?Submit your paper or slide deck on time? Board or committee memberships As a leader of a group or association, do you: Show up — and show up on time?Come prepared to the meetings (e.g., read the agenda and prepare materials/information in advance)?Follow through on your assignments? rticles When you are

Recently, a marketing company asked me to take over writing the blog posts for one of its clients, a law firm that specializes in construction law. According to my contact, while their marketers are “quick to learn, they are not legal experts, and our client has made the comment they need to spend more time than they would like to with revisions.” What I thought was, “Duh. You’ve hired a group of non-lawyers to write posts that sound like they were written by an expert in construction law.” What I said was, “It sounds like you have an issue with this client’s expectations.” Outsourcing Your Legal Blog is Not a ‘Set-it-and-Forget-it’ Endeavor It’s impractical to expect third-party marketers to write as if they are lawyers. Just like clients hire lawyers because we can effectively help them with their legal problems, we hire marketers because they have expertise in marketing. They probably didn’t go to law school, and definitely haven’t spent years focusing on any area of law for 40-plus hours a week. Additionally, each legal specialty has its own jargon and rules that are unfamiliar to outsiders. It will take time for even the brightest marketers and copywriters to build up their knowledge base so they can write more efficiently. What to Expect When Outsourcing Your Legal Blog If you want to outsource any aspect of your content marketing — blog posts, social media posts, videos — expect to have an ongoing dialogue with your marketing team. At the beginning of your relationship, your marketing team will need a crash course in your area of law. Here’s my recommendation: As part of the onboarding process, schedule three two-hour meetings with your marketing team. The first meeting will be more of an academic lecture where you will teach your marketing team

bout RMLNLU Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University is an institute for law in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Dr. RMLNLU was established in the year 2005, and since then, has been providing undergraduate and post-graduate legal education. bout the Journal Committee The Committee was constituted with the objective of promoting legal research and writing. Apart from conducting the RMLNLU International Legal Essay Writing Competition every year, the Committee annually publishes two peer reviewed journals – the RMLNLU Law Review and the RMLNLU Journal on CMET (Communication, Media, Entertainment and Technology) Law. Both these journals publish articles, essays, case notes/comments and book reviews from contributors all over the world. The RMLNLU Law Review also runs a blog which provides a platform for people in the field to express their opinions on contemporary legal issues. bout the Journal The RMLNLU Journal on Communication, Media, Entertainment & Technology Law (hereinafter ‘the Journal’) is an annual, student-edited, peer-reviewed law journal published by the Journal Committee of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow. Through this Journal, the Committee aims to foster the spirit of writing and set in motion a discourse among knowledgeable intellectuals from various fields of law. The Journal Committee is pleased to announce the call for papers for The RMLNLU Journal on Communication, Media, Entertainment & Technology Law, Volume IX. This is a theme-based journal and only accepts submissions pertaining to the same. Call for Papers The Journal accepts submissions from law students, academicians and legal professionals all over the country and abroad in the form of: Articles: 5000-7000 words. (These are evaluations of specific contemporary issues and aim at conceptualizing the issues in a unique and unconventional manner. The assessment of contemporary issues shall be appreciated, though not mandatory). Case notes/comments: 2000-3000 words. (These are assessments of the