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• MiMIC Journal

China baby-formula maker buying arsenic debt shows trust risks

A Chinese baby-formula maker selling imported Australian milk to safety-conscious parents invested in the risky debt of lead, arsenic and cadmium refiners, seeking higher returns for its cash. The uncollateralized investment, sold by a middleman known as a trust, promises to pay Ausnutria Dairy Corp. about double China's benchmark savings rate. Chinese trusts, investment vehicles once championed by Deng Xiaoping, are part of a shadow-banking system. Lending by non-bank institutions such as trusts, leasing companies and pawnshops, which accounted for 4% of loans in China in 2002 could rise to 55% of the total next year,

200 Chinese subsidies violate rules, U.S. says

The Obama administration gave the World Trade Organization a list of 200 programs, some in solar and wind power, that it said may unfairly benefit Beijing.

• Law Firm Marketing

6 smart ways to save time and increase your marketing's efficiency

by Trey Ryder

You won't enjoy or pursue a marketing program that's inefficient or wastes a lot of your time.

Still, if you hope your practice will succeed, you must maintain an assertive marketing effort.

Over the years, you have learned what you need to say to prospects that will result in their hiring your services. In fact, you probably use nearly the same explanation with each of your prospective clients.

Likewise, you have learned the questions prospects are most likely to ask. Truth be told, you've probably heard those questions hundreds of times.

So: How do we make your marketing more efficient?

Simple. We put your marketing message in a form that you can easily duplicate and distribute to prospective clients.

This makes your program more efficient and saves you a great deal of time. Plus, it is more convenient for your prospect than scheduling an appointment and coming into your office. In most cases, your message doesn't take the place of coming into your office. But it does explain to your prospect everything you would have said during the first hour of your first visit.

Right now, if you meet with 20 prospects each month -- at one hour each -- you invest 20 hours repeating pretty much the same information. Why not duplicate your information and provide it to your prospects before they come in for your first meeting. Immediately, you save 20 hours every month. What are 20 hours of your time worth? Plenty, I bet.

Here are smart ways to deliver your marketing message that save time and increase your marketing's efficiency.

Smart way #1: Fact kit.

Prepare the documents that make up a compelling marketing presentation and argument. They include

(1) Educational materials that explain your prospect's problem and the solutions you can provide;

(2) Biographical material that outlines your background and experience, along with your photo;

(3) Articles you've written or in which you've been quoted, reinforcing the fact that you are an authority in your field;

(4) Articles that support the depth of your prospect's problem, proof that your recommended solution works, or both, even if you did not write or are not quoted in the articles.

(5) Letters of recommendation from clients and colleagues attesting to your honesty, integrity, knowledge, skill, judgment and experience. (Testimonials are not allowed in some jurisdictions, so be sure to check your rules of professional conduct.)

(6) A detailed letter that explains the services you offer, answers frequently asked questions, and provides information about fees.

(7) A handout that explains the many benefits clients receive from hiring you.

(8) A handout that explains how you differ from other lawyers (your competitive advantages), listing reasons prospects hire you.

(9) A single sheet form that lists objectives most prospects want to achieve. Involve your prospect by asking him to fill out the form, check the objectives that are important to him, and then fax the form to you or bring it to your initial meeting.

(10) Information and advice about how to hire a lawyer in your field of law.

Then, rather than inviting prospects to call you at the office, you offer your fact kit. Prospects will request your fact kit and you simply drop it into the mail -- or send it by e-mail. (When I have done this with my prospects, I've found that I can often save one to two hours that I would have spent on the phone explaining what I have already explained in my packet.)

Smart way #2: Web site.

Once you have all your marketing documents prepared, you can easily post them on your web site. Prospects can read your entire marketing message on your web site, saving you a tremendous amount of time. (If prospects call you before visiting your web site, you simply give them the domain address and explain where they can find answers to their questions.) Then, when they call to speak with you, you're not dealing with a cold prospect. You're speaking with someone who has already read your materials and is now inquiring to find out specifically if and how you can help him.

Smart way #3: Brochure.

You can reduce your packet of information into a practice or firm brochure. Then, in this one brochure, you can provide the essential parts of your marketing message. It won't be your entire message, but your scaled-down message can provide enough information to take your prospect to the next level of interest. By itself, your brochure might cause prospects to call you. Or, it might offer your larger packet, which prospects receive by mail or e-mail after calling your office. Or, your brochure could also refer them to your web site for more details.

The point is to take them from your smaller marketing message (your brochure) to your larger, more in-depth marketing message, in your packet or on your Web site.

Smart way #4: Newsletter.

Your newsletter should repeat key, motivating parts of your marketing message every month. It won't contain your entire message at any one time, but it will deliver your message, restate its most important points and offer sound reasons for your prospects to act sooner rather than later.

Smart way #5: Seminars.

You address many prospects at once when you present a seminar. This is why so many lawyers like this educational and marketing forum. After all, why sit in your office talking with one prospect after another, when you could present your program to 10, 20 or 50 at once. (In recent years, many lawyers have found that the people attending their seminars are not good prospects -- or that not enough people show up. Both of these problems are classic marketing problems that can be corrected.)

Case history: Several months ago, I helped a lawyer fine-tune his seminar promotion materials. Here's what he wrote as a testimonial:

"I increased my seminar attendance by 100% by making Trey Ryder's suggested changes to my seminar flyers. At one recent seminar, we had to close the doors after 130 people showed up. Trey's suggestions have been invaluable in making my seminars so successful."

Summary: If you have given up on seminars, please reconsider.

Smart way #6: Recorded message.

Many prospects like to receive recorded information on CDs, DVDs and MP3 files. You could record one of your live seminars. Or you could take key parts of your written materials and put them onto a CD.

Our society loves recorded information. Every week, Americans buy thousands of CDs and DVDs -- and download scads of MP3 files. When your prospect is sitting in his car -- stalled in traffic on the way to work -- you have a captive audience who has the time and opportunity to listen to your marketing message.

During the 1980s, I used a single audio cassette tape to deliver my marketing message. It was 70 minutes long, roughly 35 minutes per side. When someone called and asked how my marketing program worked, I offered to send them a free tape, which every single person accepted. I immediately saved two hours that I could use for other purposes. And if they wanted to ask specific questions about how I could help them, I invited them to call on my toll-free line.

(Today I rely on my web site and documents I send by e-mail to deliver my marketing message.)

WHAT ELSE? You can probably think of other ways your prospects would like to receive information from you. Test each way. Once you find out how convenient marketing can be for both you and your prospects, your renewed effort will bring you many new clients.

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© 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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Tell your friends and colleagues you've read it in Migalhas International

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France acts against net pirates

Sixty French net users could have their connection turned off for a month after ignoring letters telling them to stop infringing copyright. They are the first to reach the end of the controversial process France operates as a way of tackling pirates. About 650,000 people have received one warning and a further 44,000 are on their second warning. The three-strikes law gives people several chances to mend their ways; a government advisor is set to visit the 60 people who have ignored warnings to find out more about their circumstances.

EU prosecutor to investigate alleged organ trafficking in Albania

Head of the EULEX - European Union Rule of Law Mission to Kosovo, Xavier de Marnhac, announced on Wednesday that an EU prosecutor will visit Albania to investigate allegations of an organ trafficking scheme that took place in the country during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. The allegations stem from a report authored by COE - Council of Europe member Dick Marty that implicates Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci as the "boss" of an illegal criminal enterprise that trafficked human organs and drugs during the war.

"US and Nato 'far from goals' in Afghanistan"

After 10 years in Afghanistan, the US still lacks the knowledge to bring the conflict to a successful end, retired Army Gen Stanley McChrystal has said. We didn't know enough and we still don't know enough," he said. "Most of us - me included - had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history, the last 50 years," he said. The conflict has already surpassed Vietnam to become the longest war in US history.

EU airline emissions cap 'legal'

Plans to include any airline landing or taking off on EU territory in an emissions trading scheme are legal, an adviser to Europe's top court has said. The new emissions scheme is due to be begin in January. It is estimated that aviation accounts for 3% of total carbon dioxide emissions while airlines pay no tax on fuel.

Euro crisis

Having a ringside seat at the eurozone crisis is to witness a torrent of daily comment about Europe and its troubled currency. Europe can't stop talking. But no European leader has yet explained how Greece, with no growth, can escape a debt burden that is approaching 370bn euros. Even 60% of Greeks believe a default is coming. Some officials and former officials are taking the view that a large fund of financial support for troubled euro-zone nations could be decisive in stabilizing the situation. The headline numbers discussed are 2trn to 4trn euros — a large amount of money, given that the gross domestic product of Germany is 2.5trn euros and that of the entire euro zone around 9trn euros. Europe's leaders have so far failed to come to grips with the depths of their economic problems

US Senate delays vote on currency bill

The US senate has postponed its vote on the much-debated currency bill until next week amid differences between the Republicans and Democrats. The bill would make it easier to impose penalties on goods from countries seen as keeping their currencies artificially low. The debate on China's currency policy has become the center of attention amid a slowdown in the US economy. Politicians and policy makers have said that undervalued yuan has not only given an unfair advantage to Chinese exporters, it has also contributed to the unemployment situation in the US.

Chilean court backs dam project

A Chilean appeals court has ruled in favor of a multi-billion-dollar dam project in Patagonia, in Chile's south. The court lifted a suspension order on the HidroAysen project that had been issued following objections by environmentalists, who fear it will damage Patagonia's fragile ecosystem.

Holder takes heat over guns scandal

A scandal over 'Fast and Furious,' a botched operation that tracked guns from the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels, intensified on Capitol Hill this week. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has called for an independent investigation into whether Attorney General Eric Holder misled Congress. Another Republican has called on Holder to resign.

Pakistan top judge orders political parties to cut ties with criminal gangs

Pakistani Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Thursday issued a judgment urging political parties to stop financing criminal groups responsible for increased violence in the city of Karachi. In the judicial decision, Chaudhry announced that militant groups have gained strength because of support from local political groups and ordered the Pakistani government to help address the corruption.

Federal judge again refuses to enjoin most of Alabama immigration law

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on Wednesday denied an emergency motion to issue a temporary injunction on those portions of Alabama's recently passed immigration law that the same judge last week ruled did not meet the requirements for a preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs in the case this week sought to temporarily enjoin the immigration law while they appeal last week's memorandum opinion, which refused to enjoin a majority of the law's provisions during the trial in which the plaintiffs will ultimately seek to overturn the law entirely by challenging its constitutionality.

Big patent firm sues Motorola Mobility

Intellectual Ventures, a large patent holding firm, sued Motorola Mobility for patent infringement, a move that comes as Google proceeds with an acquisition of the cellphone maker.

Court hears arguments on foreign copyrights

The Supreme Court heard arguments to determine the copyright status of foreign works that used to be in the public domain. Specifically, the issue for the court to consider is whether section 514 of the URAA - Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994, which restored copyright protection to thousands of foreign works previously in the public domain, violates the Progress Clause and First Amendment of the US Constitution. The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that section 514 did not violate the constitutional principles. Counsel for the government argued that the URAA was necessary in order to align the country with international intellectual property rules, stating that the Act was "of vital importance to protecting one of our most valuable economic exports, intellectual property." Counsel for the petitioners, which included orchestra conductors, educators, performers, film archivists and motion picture distributors, argued that the URAA imposed a "remarkable" burden on speech.

Del Monte and Barclays settle investor lawsuit for $89.4m

The settlement, one of the biggest recorded in Delaware's Court of Chancery, resolves one of the most publicly visible disputes over the financing that accompanies private equity deals.

Soros loses challenge to insider trading conviction

A European court rules that France's insider trading laws were sufficiently clear to hold George Soros criminally responsible for buying and selling shares of Société Générale in 1988 with the knowledge the bank might be a takeover target.

Attorney who charged excessive fees wins back law license

An attorney whose license was suspended for routinely charging excessive fees in surrogate cases has won the right to practice law again. In 2008, the Appellate Division slapped Louis Rosenthal with a two-year suspension after investigators found he had billed more than $2m in excessive fees over a five-year period. State law caps attorneys' fees in surrogate cases at 6 percent, but Rosenthal regularly charged 8 percent. In addition to billing for excessive fees, Rosenthal admitted to failing to file mandatory affidavits that outlined the work he had done. Instead, he wrote fee requests on Post-It notes and affixed them to court documents.

Guns in church? The 11th Circuit will decide

Guns in public places has been a perennial topic and discussions emerged over the right of people to carry guns in Starbucks and Fuddruckers franchises, for example, and on college campuses.But what about church? The 11th Circuit today will hear a case that challenges the constitutionality of Georgia's prohibition on firearms in places of worship.