"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
Arthur Schopenhauer
In today's Law Firm Marketing: "You may not believe this, but…" 9 general rules for marketing lawyers.
Pakistani lawyers seek to reinstate fired judges
Chief Judge Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is one of dozens of independent-minded Pakistani judges sacked late last year by President Pervez Musharraf. On Thursday, several hundred lawyers showed up at his house in Islamabad, demanding that the new government immediately reinstate him and the other judges.
A method for critical data theft
The technique, which could undermine security software protecting critical data on computers, is as easy as chilling a computer memory chip with a blast of frigid air from a can of dust remover. Encryption software is widely used by companies and government agencies, notably in portable computers that are especially susceptible to theft. A group led by a Princeton University computer security researcher has developed a simple method to steal encrypted information stored on computer hard disks. The researchers used special pattern-recognition software of their own to identify security keys among the millions or even billions of pieces of data on the memory chip. This is pretty serious to the extent people are relying on file protection. A federal magistrate ruled recently that forcing the suspect to disclose the password would be unconstitutional.
Brazil became net creditor for first time in January
Brazil, the world's largest emerging-market debtor for decades, became a net foreign creditor for the first time in January. International reserves, swelled by investment inflows and record exports of agricultural commodities and oil, probably exceeded gross foreign liabilities last month by about $4 billion, Banco Central do Brasil said. Brazil's shift to net creditor status may bolster investor confidence in Latin America's biggest economy and help the country win an investment-grade rating.
U.S. Supreme Court makes it harder to sue makers of medical devices
Justices said makers of devices like defibrillators and breast implants are immune from liability for personal injuries as long as the FDA approved the device before it was marketed and it met the FDA's specifications. "Premarket approval" of a new medical device by the FDA would knock out most claims for damages under state law. (Read more)
Auction-rate turmoil
US Regulators and lawyers are closely watching the collapsing auction-rate-securities market to assess damage and consider actions on behalf of investors or issuers who claim they didn't understand what could go wrong. Auctions reset the interest payments on bonds every seven to 35 days, but they're failing to draw investor interest.
Brillant lawyers wanted
At Migalhas, we are preparing a new series on career for law students. If you want to share your experience, your views and perspectives on opportunities and challenges, firms, courts, government agencies and non-profit organizations or simply give them the "inside" day-in-the-life of various jobs, we would like to hear from you. We want to illustrate the multiple career paths, the connections between the legal and business communities, the available resources in international education (LL.M),. with real life examples drawn from the community of our readers. If you want to become a "career coach", helping law students to make a well-informed choices leading to a long-term career satisfaction, we will feature your story in our special edition of our Connexão magazine, to be published soon. Please contact the editor Michael Ghilissen at [email protected]. We look forward to the contributions of our finest lawyers.
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China defends Sudan arms sales
China defends its sale of weapons to Sudan, amid growing criticism of Beijing's support for Khartoum.
US to take own food to Olympics
China has expressed regret that the US has decided not to trust its food during this summer's Olympic Games. The US delegation has said it is planning to bring its own food for American athletes.
China Protests after U.S. Shoots Down Satellite
With the successful shootdown Wednesday night of a failing spy satellite that was headed for landfall, Pentagon officials say they believe they destroyed the potentially hazardous fuel tank. China is protesting the move, fearing a space-based arms race and debris.
Chinese Lawyer Promotes Rule of Law as Public Interest Lawsuit Pioneer
The government of China has publicly committed itself to the goal of applying the rule of law. This has helped a 35-year-old lawyer in Beijing achieve a significant degree of success, as more aggressive human rights activists have butted heads with the country's leaders, by pursuing unusual consumer-oriented lawsuits that seek to apply the rule of law in day-to-day life.
"You may not believe this, but…" 9 general rules for marketing lawyers
by Trey Ryder
General Rule #1: If you'd like to get a feature article in a newspaper or magazine, you might approach a national publication. Every day, lawyers and business owners compete for space in local publications, but most never think about countrywide publications. Yet, in some cases, it’s easier to get into national publications than local ones. Plus, a nationwide article can do a tremendous amount to enhance your image as an authority.
General Rule #2: Trade publications allow you to reach a large number of specific types of businesses. Many industries and professions have publications and newsletters, even in local areas. So rather than getting articles in broad-based media, read by many people who are not in your target audience, consider specific publications that reach highly focused groups. Most editors respect lawyers and like to receive their articles, providing they’re written in plain English, not legalese.
General Rule #3: Display ads in large newspapers usually do not pull as great a response as ads in suburban and small-town papers. This is because people who buy large papers usually scan them, rather than carefully looking at every page. People who buy small-town and suburban papers read them more closely, so they’re more likely to see and respond to your ad.
General Rule #4: Radio commercials work well for lawyers. To make radio work, you need to prepare information you can send to listeners who respond, or have a web site to which you can direct them. Either way, radio can reach target prospects quite well and often at a fraction of the cost of TV.
General Rule #5: Your newsletter becomes less trouble and more productive when you shorten it and send it more often. Frequency and brevity are more important than quarterly newsletters a half inch thick. So if your current newsletter requires too much effort, make it shorter. Your readers will enjoy it more and read it sooner. Plus, you'll get a better response.
General Rule #6: Fancy web sites that take forever to download do more harm than good. Every week, I hear lawyers and clients complain about slow-to-load web sites. In most cases, the person tells me he chose not to wait and moved on. The problem arises not because they didn’t wait for your site to load, but because they later complain about your site to their friends and colleagues. So rather than creating no impression, the impression you create is negative.
General Rule #7: A serious photograph that you may think is dignified can easily scare off prospects. If you want to see bad photos of lawyers, look through the yellow pages. In many cases, the lawyers look worse than the criminals they defend. Hire a professional photographer to take a really good publicity shot, with direct eye contact and a warm engaging smile. Because before you make a stern impression on your adversary, you need to make a good impression on your prospect.
General Rule #8: Long marketing messages work better than short messages. Long messages work, not because they’re long, but because they’re complete. Short messages have a place, especially when prospects want a quick overview and don’t have time to digest your entire message. (Then a summary sheet of bullet points works best.) But when your prospect finds time -- and wants to read what you have to say -- you’re in a much stronger position when you have (1) answered all his questions, (2) discussed your competitive advantages, and (3) explained the many benefits of hiring you.
General Rule #9: High fees attract better clients than low fees. When creating a marketing argument, it’s much easier to justify high fees based on the depth of your knowledge and experience -- than to explain why you charge so little. As consumers, we all use price as a quick way of determining quality. While price is not always reliable, still, we form impressions about the other person based on what he charges. Most often, people who want low prices get what they pay for and are not the most desirable clients. On the other hand, clients who want to benefit from your knowledge, skill, judgment and experience know that those qualities don’t come cheap.
© Trey Ryder
FREE LAWYER MARKETING ALERT: If you'd like to receive Trey Ryder's weekly Lawyer Marketing Alert, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Write "Subscribe LMA" in the subject line and write your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.
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Reformas – México
La consejera del Congreso de la Unión mexicana para la reforma del Estado, María Amparo Casar, advirtió que la consolidación de cambios jurídicos del país, tienen un éxito parcial por la falta de acuerdos políticos, pero advirtió que queda impulsar cambios legislativos importantes en materia judicial y de seguridad.
Nestlé x Venezuela
Nestlése anticipó y advirtió al gobierno del presidente Hugo Chávez a preparar una indemnización "justa" en caso que la nacionalización afecte sus actividades productivas.
Construcción
Colombia informó que 15 empresas de construcción de Italia están interesadas en la construcción del túnel de la Línea, una obra de gran embergadura que demandará una inversión sobre los US$ 40 mlls. La licitación internacional concluirá en abril.
Storm over Serbia embassy attacks
Attacks by Serbian protesters against the US and other embassies in Belgrade draw international condemnation. The rioters were part of larger protests among Serbian nationalists opposed to the independence of Kosovo.
Pakistan parties agree coalition
Pakistan's two main opposition parties have agreed to form a coalition government after they won the most seats in Monday's general election. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he had agreed "a common agenda" with the party of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. He had been in talks with Bhutto's widower, Asif Zardari, the new leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Northern Rock bill gets approval
The bill to allow Northern Rock bank to be nationalized has become law after peers backed down in their demands for extra safeguards. The Banking (Special Provisions) Bill, which cleared the Commons on Tuesday, ran into opposition in the Lords. But MPs rejected peers' demands for an independent audit, and for the bank to come under Freedom of Information laws. The Conservatives said it was a matter of "deep regret" that ministers had rejected the amendments "out of hand".
Clinton and Obama spar in Texas
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton accuses Barack Obama of political plagiarizing during a live TV debate in Texas.
EU meets to stem illegal migrants
An international program is being launched to try to stop the illegal flow of African migrants to Europe. One plan is to publicize in Africa the stories of hazardous journeys to Europe, in the hope of persuading would-be migrants to emigrate legally.
Microsoft set to open up software
Microsoft has announced that it will open up the technology of some of its leading software to make it easier to operate with rivals' products. The company is to publish key software blueprints on its website. It also promised not to sue open source developers for making that software available for non-commercial use. Microsoft is being investigated by the European Commission on the grounds that limiting access to its technology could be stopping competition. (Read more)
Venezuela settles with oil firms
The Venezuelan government has paid $1.8bn in compensation to French, Norwegian and Italian oil firms after it nationalized key oil fields. The move isolates US oil firm Exxon Mobil in its dispute with the country. Exxon is seeking $12bn in compensation from Venezuela's state energy group, PDVSA. Venezuela has accused the US oil giant of exaggerating the value of the firm's former investments in the country. It said that Exxon's former interests were worth just $1.2bn. (Read more)
MEP fraud claims to face scrutiny
The EU's anti-fraud office is to look at an internal report amid claims that it has uncovered embezzlement by MEPs. The confidential audit is reported to have found that MEPs had not accounted properly for the $200m a year allocated to staff costs.
Italy follows trail of secret South American abductions
In an unusually sweeping investigation, Italian authorities are seeking to prosecute former top officials in seven South American countries for their roles in a secret operation in the 1970s and 1980s by the region's security forces to crush leftist political dissent. The extraordinary breadth of the seven-year Italian investigation, into what is known as Operation Condor, has drawn in countries formerly not thought to have been deeply involved in the shadowy program, particularly Peru. It has also agitated political establishments up and down the continent. The investigation and recently declassified documents, which were reviewed by The New York Times, suggest a complicit role of the United States in Condor's often-deadly operations, some of which American officials knew about before but did little to stop.
Ruling allows workers to sue on 401(k) losses
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the right of workers to sue over losses in their 401(k) retirement-savings accounts in some circumstances, but pension-law experts said a minority opinion in the case could also bolster some defenses used by employers. The ruling could affect dozens of retirement-plan lawsuits brought by workers against their employers. Employers -- or whoever they appoint in their stead -- have an established obligation to run retirement plans as "prudent experts" on behalf of participants. Failure to do so can invite litigation. Recent cases have included allegations that employers offered participants unwise investment choices, or allowed investment managers to charge participants unreasonably high fees.
Europe lawmakers call for EU terror list reforms to protect rights
Members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee have criticized the European Union's terrorism watch list as unfair and opaque, saying that the process for adding names to the list should be changed, according to Wednesday media reports. The comments came during a debate on a November 2007 report by Rapporteur Dick Marty that found that the list violates basic human rights by not informing individuals or groups when they've been added to the blacklist or giving them an opportunity to respond to allegations against them.
Luxembourg parliament passes euthanasia bill
The Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday narrowly passed a bill legalizing euthanasia, in a move that could make Luxembourg the third European Union country to allow the controversial practice. Before it can take effect, the bill still has to be approved in a second reading. Provisions in the bill require that euthanasia be strictly regulated but allow that it can be requested in a living will. Doctors must also determine that a person is suffering from a "grave and incurable" condition before it can be considered as an option. The Netherlands legalized euthanasia in 2001 and Belgium followed suit in 2002. In February 2007, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ruled that people with serious mental illnesses may be permitted to commit physician-assisted suicide under certain conditions. A proposed bill that would legalize assisted suicide in the United Kingdom was set aside by the House of Lords in May 2007 following opposition by physician groups . Euthanasia remains illegal in Italy, France and Spain.
Castro resignation could prompt suits over rights abuses
The resignation of Cuban President Fidel Castro could prompt lawsuits against him in Spanish courts for crimes against humanity, Spanish human rights lawyers indicated on Tuesday. In December, the Spanish Audiencia Nacional dismissed a claim against Castro and Cuban Minister of Tourism Osmani Cienfuegos for genocide, crimes against humanity, torture and terrorism. It was the third time that the court rejected such a suit against Castro, citing his sovereign immunity as head of state. Despite the fact that Castro had turned his office to his brother, Raul Castro, the court found that he continued to enjoy sovereign immunity. Lawyers from the Spanish Asosiacion Pro Derechos Humanos have indicated that they may take advantage of Castro's resignation to push forward with their claims against him.
Snag hits key day in Kenya talks
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Concerns over acquittal of war crimes convict
CongoPlanet.com, Independent online news aggregator
Daytime dozing 'stroke warning'
GhanaWeb, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Uganda: New Accord Provides for War Crimes Trials
Human Rights Watch (Africa), International news press releases
Mugabe calls Makoni a 'prostitute'
iafrica, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
And this time around...
Independent Online, News portal, Cape Town, South Africa
Govt to start Assmang inquiry on Monday
Mail & Guardian Online, Liberal, Johannesburg, South Africa
Man scares off hijackers
News24.com, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
Airliner with 46 on board crashes in Venezuela
Brazil Sun, Independent online news aggregator
APEC and EU-LAC Peru 2008 Summits - Daily Update
Living in Peru, News portal, Lima, Peru
Gates touts industry, Microsoft during campus talk in Waterloo
The Globe and Mail, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada
Rescue plan for ailing Toronto
Toronto Star, Liberal daily, Toronto, Canada
TNI prepares three Cassa planes for Simeulue quake victims
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
Record Number of Patents Filed in 2007
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea
Jennifer Lopez delivers twins
India Express, News portal, Mumbai, India
Bangalore techie held for terror links
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India
Beware Kosovo's offspring
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan
Bodies of five missing boys found
Malaysian Star, Online news portal, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
McCain - lobbyist story untrue
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand
Three wounded by bomb at university in Thai South
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China
So, are they the greatest players ever?
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia
Zardari, Sharif join hands
The Hindu, Left-leaning daily, Chennai, India
Serbia embassy attacks condemned
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Protesters in Belgrade attack U.S. embassy
International Herald Tribune, Independent daily, Paris, France
Send fewer to jail, justice secretary urges courts
The Guardian, Liberal daily, London, England
'NatWest Three' face sentencing
The Irish Times, Centrist daily, Dublin, Ireland
Steve Wright suspected of more murders
The Telegraph, Conservative daily, London, England
John McCain rejects allegations of an affair with lobbyist in first run for President
Times Online, Conservative daily, London, England
Hundreds of Jews Pray at Joseph's Tomb
Arutz Sheva, Online, right-wing, Tel Aviv, Israel
Belgrade protesters break into U.S. embassy
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England
Clinton accuses Obama of plagiarism during campaign debate
Gulf News, Independent daily, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Jordan denies arming anti-Syrian faction in Lebanon
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel
Politics-US: Snake Oil Sellers of the Christian Right?
IPS Middle East, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
Strong sales at Vision-X Dubai
Middle East North African Network, Online financial portal, Amman, Jordan
Serb Mobs Set Fire to U.S. Embassy in Belgrade
Nahamet, Online news portal, Beirut, Lebanon
UK 'suppressed' mention of Israeli nuclear arsenal in Iraq arms dossier
The Daily Star, Independent daily, Beirut, Lebanon
Human situation in Sa'ada worsens amid indicators of relative quiet
Yemen Times, Independent weekly, Sana'a, Yemen
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