Sharp thinking for


legal marketers

Most idea lists are unordered, so firms start with the interesting ones. These are ranked by return against effort — free first, expensive last, and four to skip.

Competing with a big firm on a big firm's terms is a losing trade. The four advantages a small practice actually holds, and how to position around them.

Lawyers negotiate agreements for a living and sign marketing contracts unread. The clauses that decide what you actually get, and what you keep when it ends.

The hard part is not strategy, it is having something to post on Tuesday. Seven formats, sourced from work you already do, in an hour a fortnight.

Hiring help for your own practice inside a firm raises questions the firm's own agency never has to answer — who pays, who owns it, and what happens if you move.

No budget, no sign-off, no waiting for the firm. Fifteen actions an individual attorney can take alone, ordered by what actually produces work.

Your firm's plan covers the firm. This is the one for your own book — one page, four decisions, and an hour a fortnight you have to defend.

Nine services, listed identically by every agency, described in language that reveals nothing. What each is for, and the problem it is the answer to.

The difference between asking for a review and getting one is usually four words and the moment you asked. Small craft, applied to things you already do.

The firm account announces; yours is read by people deciding whether to refer to you. Different job, different content, and a permission question to settle first.