"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."
Abraham Maslow
In today's Law Firm Marketing, Turn negatives into positives using the contrast principle
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Brazil’s poor love Lula. And they may be his and Rousseff’s salvation
These poorest Brazilians gave Rousseff her narrow reelection in 2014. Today, along with unionized workers and civil servants, they are a largely loyal force that Lula and Rousseff hope will help them block efforts to oust her and keep him from running for president in 2018. The makeup of the demonstrators shows the impeachment battle is being fought along class and racial lines. Rousseff may have the poor on her side, but there are signs she’s losing support within the 114 million-strong emerging middle class. Forty-four percent of them are upset that she has scaled back some of the social programs Lula started that got them to where they are. “No president has helped the poor in Brazil like Lula. Those who want to impeach the president just want to take it all away. We can’t allow that to happen.”
Brazilian officials resign in latest blow to government
Two more senior Brazilian officials have resigned in the latest blow to the government of Dilma Rousseff. They are Sports Minister George Hilton and Col Adilson Moreira, who was organizing security at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next August. Moreira reportedly wrote that he was ashamed the country was being led by "an unscrupulous group". Brazilian officials said the planning for the Olympic Games would not be affected by Moreira's and Hilton's resignations. Supporters of the president marched on Thursday evening in a number of Brazilian cities to show their opposition to the impeachment proceedings. On Monday, Tourism Minister Henrique Eduardo Alves handed in his letter of resignation, pre-empting his PMDB party's split from the governing coalition. The PMDB was the largest partner in the governing coalition and its exit could deprive Rousseff of crucial votes she needs to block impeachment proceedings against her. She is expected to announce sweeping changes to her cabinet on Friday to replace up to seven ministers from the PMDB party. Her critics say she is trying to buy the votes of smaller parties by offering them posts in the cabinet.
Lula boosted
Lula continues to be investigated as part of a corruption case involving the state-run oil company Petrobras. But on Thursday, he was handed a boost as Brazil's Supreme Court ruled it would take over the case. It had previously been led by a lower court magistrate, Sergio Moro, whom Lula had accused of unfairly targeting him.
Migration to Europe
The lawyer Rita Lopes, from Carvalho Lopes Advogados, comments the "Migration to Europe and the Public International Law". According to her, part of the law "offers protection and assistance to people who across international borders, in order to maintain their dignity". (Click here)
1 - Race to discover how FBI cracked San Bernardino killer’s iPhone - click here.
2 - Jean Charles de Menezes family loses European court fight - click here.
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US and China agree to sign climate treaty
The US and China have issued a joint statement confirming that both countries will sign the Paris Climate Agreement next month. Both say they will take all the "domestic steps" necessary to join the agreement as soon as possible. They are encouraging other countries to sign the document at UN headquarters in April. At least 55 countries representing 55% of emissions have to sign to bring it into force. This is the third joint statement in the past two years from the world's two biggest emitters on the question of climate change.
Anbang unexpectedly scraps $14bn bid for Starwood Hotels
Chinese insurance firm Anbang has unexpectedly abandoned its takeover offer for Starwood Hotels, ending a three-week bidding war with Marriott. Anbang had raised its all-cash offer for Starwood to $14bn (£9.75bn) it sought to challenge the merger between the hotel groups. However, the bid is being scrapped because of "market considerations." Marriott shares lost 5%, showing some investors may be concerned the firm now has to pay an additional $1bn to purchase Starwood because of the bidding war.
Turn negatives into positives using the contrast principle
By Trey Ryder
No lawyer has all positive qualities. When prospects think about hiring your services, they see both strengths and weaknesses.
Positive qualities that distinguish you from other lawyers are your competitive advantages. Negative qualities are your competitive disadvantages.
Naturally, you hope prospects conclude that your positives outweigh your negatives. And to help make your case, you try to neutralize negatives so prospects think they are not important. Still, you can't be sure what impact those negatives will have on your overall presentation.
Here is your marketing challenge: How do you take negative aspects of your services and change them into positives so the negatives don't cause your prospect to hire another lawyer?
In his book, INFLUENCE (Morrow, 1984), psychology professor Robert Cialdini discusses principles that persuade people at the subconscious level. One of these, the contrast principle, allows you to change how prospects perceive facts.
The contrast principle says: You can change how a person perceives something by changing the event that precedes it.
Since prospects' perceptions are their reality, when you change their perception, you change what they believe is true.
Here is how the contrast principle works. (Yes, you can try this at home): Prepare three buckets of water. One with cold water. One with hot water. And one with water at room temperature. Place one hand in the cold water and your other hand in the hot water. Then at the same time, place both hands into the room temperature water.
Your surprise illustrates the contrast principle. The hand that was first in cold water now feels like it is in hot water. And the hand that was in hot water now feels like it is in cold water. Yet, you can plainly see both hands are in the same water.
How each hand perceives the room-temperature water depends on the event that preceded it, namely whether your hand was first placed into water that was cold or hot.
Another example: A man goes into a fashionable clothing store and tells the clerk he wants to buy a three-piece suit and a sweater. If you were the clerk, which would you show him first?
The contrast principle says always sell the more costly item first. Because after the man buys the suit, the cost of a sweater -- even an expensive sweater -- will seem small by comparison.
If the clerk first showed the man a $500 sweater, the man might hesitate because that sounds expensive for a sweater. But if the man had just purchased a $2000 custom-tailored suit, $500 for a sweater does not seem out of line.
How the man perceives the price of the sweater changes depending on whether it is the first item he considers, or whether he first buys the expensive suit.
Now, to your law practice: Identify something you believe prospects perceive negatively about you or your services. To make it easy, let's use your fee. If you want your prospect to perceive your fee as fair and reasonable, before you state your fee, quote something much higher. Then when your prospect hears your fee, he will perceive it as lower than he would have had you not quoted the higher number.
EXAMPLE #1:
Wrong: "Mr. Jones, I can prepare your estate plan for $12,000." Mr. Jones, in shock, thinks, "$12,000! That's more than I paid for my first house!"
Right: "Mr. Jones, this estate plan will save your family over $200,000 in federal estate taxes. I can prepare this estate plan for you and your family for just $12,000." Now Mr. Jones thinks, "Not much at all compared with the amount of taxes my family will save. What a bargain!"
EXAMPLE #2:
Wrong: "Ms. Smith, I can represent you in your injury claim and my fee will be one third of the recovery." Ms. Smith thinks, "This lawyer gets one third of my money!"
Right: "Ms. Smith, to handle an injury claim like yours, some lawyers charge as much as 40 percent of the recovery, and even 50 percent if the case goes to trial. But, Ms. Smith, I'll be pleased to represent you -- and aggressively protect your interests -- for just one third of the amount we collect." Ms. Smith thinks, "This lawyer is much more generous than those other greedy lawyers."
The contrast principle holds true for any information you need to disclose, whether it is your fee, turnaround time for projects, even the number of years your client might spend in prison.
"Mr. Criminal, most people who commit armed robbery get 10 to 15 years in state prison. The district attorney has offered us a plea bargain that will make you eligible for parole in just five years. I recommend that you accept this plea bargain."
Five years sounds short after you quote 10 to 15 years. But five years would have sounded like a long time if you had not quoted the other numbers first.
"Ms. Client, under normal circumstances I would need three to four weeks to complete this project. But I understand this matter is a priority for you, so I promise to complete it and have it on your desk within ten days" By itself, ten days might seem like a long time, but not when first compared with three to four weeks.
Summary: When you reach the point in your discussion where you must disclose a fact that might be perceived as negative, describe something more extreme in the preceding sentence. Then your prospect will perceive the information you disclose as more reasonable. In fact, you might turn a competitive disadvantage into an advantage based simply on how you present it.
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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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Acusaciones
Fiscales de Brasil acusaron a Joseph Safra, el banquero más rico, por supuesto pago de sobornos a funcionarios del Gobierno como recompensa por condonarle US$ 500 mlls. en deudas impositivas. (Presione aquí)
Banco
La unidad de negocios del Banco Mundial llegó a un acuerdo con el grupo chileno Consorcio Financiero para adquirir 8.3% de la chilena en una operación que valorada en US$ 140 mlls. En informe a la Superintendencia de Valores y Seguros de Chile, Consorcio detalló que ambas entidades suscribirán un pacto que permitirá a IFC elegir a un director de la compañía chilena.
Ventas
La suiza Glencore retrasa venta de la mina Lomas Bayas ubicada en la región de Antofagasta de Chile, tras recibir bajas ofertas. Se conoce que los interesados ofrecieron hasta US$ 650 mlls, lo que habría sido rechazado por la multinacional minera.
Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra charged with corruption
Brazilian prosecutors have filed corruption charges against billionaire Joseph Safra, said by Fortune magazine to be the world’s richest banker, and five others for involvement in an alleged scheme to pay off government tax auditors. The financier, who owns London’s Norman Foster-designed “Gherkin” skyscraper, is alleged to have known of a plan by executives at his banking group in Brazil to pay R$15.3m ($4.3m) in bribes to help reduce tax debts today amounting to R$1.8bn ($500m). “The criminal intentions of the group is made clear by the various conversations and exchanges of messages cited in the indictment,” the prosecutors said in a statement signed in Brasília. The Safra Group said in a statement that the allegations “were unfounded”. “There have not been any improprieties by any of the businesses of The Safra Group,” the company said. “No representative of the group offered any inducement to any public official and the group did not receive any benefit in the judgment of the tribunal.”
Hollande abandons plan to strip convicted terrorists of French citizenship
The measure has sharply divided France since it was proposed three days after the November attacks in Paris.
Immigrants must sign contract to say that they will respect law
A new law will make it compulsory for immigrants to sign a commitment to respect the rights, duties and freedoms in Belgian society, it emerged today. The Belgian federal Government has approved this proposal by migration minister, Theo Francken. This law will be for non-EU foreigners who wish to stay in Belgium for more than three months. The politician's law comes following the Brussels attacks earlier this month. The immigrants will receive a statement in their own language and they will have 30 days to sign it. The law will try and ensure that immigrants want to integrate into Belgian society, learn the language and find work. Francken said: "I always wanted a link between the right to stay and an obligation to integrate. I think that it is vital in developing an efficient system of immigration.”
McDonalds to open 1,250 new China outlets
McDonald's is to open 1,250 new restaurants in China over the next five years as it focuses on high-growth markets to boost sales. This would make China the fast food chain's second-largest market after the US. McDonald's also wants to open 250 outlets in Hong Kong and South Korea in the same period. High-growth markets including Russia accounted for nearly a quarter of McDonald's total sales in 2015. The firm already has more than 2,200 outlets in China. It's looking for franchisees in all three Asian locations, and plans to franchise 95% of its outlets worldwide in the long-term.
Paris attacks suspect Abdeslam cleared for France extradition
A court in Brussels has approved the extradition to France of Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in November's Paris attacks. Abdeslam, who was arrested earlier this month in central Brussels, had agreed to be transferred. However, the transfer may take several weeks as Abdeslam - a French national, born in Belgium - is also wanted for questioning in connection with the Brussels bombings. The 26-year-old was detained after apparently hiding in the Belgian capital for more than four months. His arrest, in a dramatic police operation, came four days before bomb attacks in Brussels killed 32 people. Belgian and French authorities will now consider how to go ahead with the extradition.
Argentina lawmakers reach $4.65 billion deal with US creditors
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri has won approval for a repayment deal which should put an end to the country's 15-year battle with holdout creditors. The years-long debt crisis has restricted Argentina's access to international credit markets and made doing business in the country difficult. Argentina defaulted on a $100bn loan in 2001. The deal is with creditors in New York. The repayment package was finally approved by the Senate after a 12-hour debate on Wednesday. Macri had warned lawmakers that a "no" vote would condemn Argentina to remain a "financial pariah" shunned by global credit markets. Argentina now only has until 14 April to pay the holdouts.
Supreme Court: Feds can't seize untainted assets needed for legal fees
The US Supreme Court said Wednesday that the federal government cannot, before trial, seize the assets of the accused if those assets are unrelated to the crime and are needed to pay a defense attorney. The court's ruling came in the case of a Miami woman named Sila Luis, who was accused of Medicare and banking fraud. Prosecutors charged that she used kickbacks and other schemes to fraudulently obtain $45 million. She had $2 million left when prosecutors, believing they would eventually need the money for restitution, got a court order seizing all of her assets — those related to the crime and those unrelated. Luis challenged the asset-seizure order on grounds that she needed the untainted assets — those assets the government conceded were unrelated to the crime — to hire a lawyer for her trial. A Supreme Court majority agreed that allowing the government to take her untainted assets would violate her Sixth Amendment right to counsel of her choice.
Family law reforms: Change adultery law, fix marriage age
A panel, in India, has asked for a standalone law to deal with the issue, make police and legal protection mandatory for such couples and ensure punishment for those involved in khap decision. Amending the outdated adultery law “based on the presumption of wife being the property of the husband”, introducing a separate legislation for dealing with “honor killings” and removing the gender discrimination inherent in laws that stipulate a lower legal age of marriage for a girl — these are some of the family law reforms suggested by the government-appointed high-level panel. The report of the committee, which has also asked for a ban on triple talaq and polygamy, will be placed before the Supreme Court which is hearing a petition filed by an Uttarakhand-based Muslim woman appealing against her triple talaq. The year-old report reviewing the status of women in India, which was never made public, also suggests a slew of other reforms.
Mass French protest against labor reform
Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for nationwide protests in France against labor reforms. More than 100 people were arrested after clashes with police, the interior ministry said. Organizers said 1.2 million people took to the streets but official figures put it at about 400,000. The government says the reforms making it easier to lay off workers will boost the economy by encouraging firms to hire more staff. But the proposals, which also include changes to France's 35-hour working week, have been bitterly opposed by students and unions as stripping away vital protections. It is the fourth such protest in the space of a month and the largest yet.
Judge denies motion to toss Uber price-fixing suit
A federal judge on Thursday refused to throw out a purported class-action lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc.’s chief executive alleging he conspired with drivers to fix prices for the ride-hailing service.
Environmental groups sue FDA over GMOs
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The lawsuit challenged the FDA's authority to approve genetically modified animals for use as food. In November the FDA approved the production and commercial sale of genetically modified salmon. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks to overturn this decision and block the use of a range of new biotech animals under development that have been modified to grow faster. The groups filing the suit are led by the Food & Water Watch, Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity. The groups are concerned that the salmon could threaten wild salmon populations if they were to escape as well as potential health risks in their consumption. The FDA has jurisdiction over animals genetically engineered for other purposes than consumption.
Europe rights court rules UK officers should not be prosecuted for shooting suspected bomber
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Wednesday that the officers responsible for the killing of Charles de Menezes should not be prosecuted. De Menezes was mistakenly thought to be connected to the 7/7 London bombings in 2005. The judges, through a vote of 13-4, held that the UK did not violate Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which protects "[e]veryone's right to life ... when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary." The court held that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was correct in its determination that the officers should not be prosecuted because, "following a thorough investigation, a prosecutor considered all the facts of the case and concluded that there was insufficient evidence against any individual officer to meet the threshold evidential test in respect of any criminal offense."
Obama commutes sentences of 61 drug offenders
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday commuted the sentences of 61 federal drug offenders in an effort to reform the sentencing of non-violent criminals. Obama believes the large number of low-level drug offenders facing longer sentences than would be granted under today's laws are clogging up jails and burning through tax dollars. More than one-third of these individuals were facing life sentence. Altogether Obama has granted clemency to nearly 250 prisoners.
Venezuela's National Assembly passes amnesty bill
The Venezuelan National Assembly has passed an amnesty bill which could free dozens of jailed opposition leaders. The opposition-controlled assembly passed the bill after a heated discussion late on Tuesday. President Nicolas Maduro said he would block the bill, which he argued would benefit "criminals and terrorists". The opposition won the parliamentary elections in December on a promise to work towards the release of dozens of what it considers political prisoners. Among the more than 70 detainees who could be freed if the bill becomes law is Leopoldo Lopez, a prominent opposition leader who was sentenced to 13 years and nine months in prison last year for inciting violence during mass protests.
US government official announces Guantanamo detainee transfers
A US government official on Wednesday announced that the Department of Defense has told Congress that it plans to transfer as many as 12 prisoners from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The plan would help the US move towards closing the military prison, a goal that US President Barack Obama has held since the start of his first presidential campaign. The disclosure to Congress was made due to a requirement that the Pentagon report that their security standards are sufficient for the release of prisoners 30 days before a transfer may take place.
Despite Wall St. wavering, merger market is largely intact
The first quarter of 2016 was a fairly weak time for deal making, yet somehow the numbers came out all right.
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