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Bar Associations: How can we open them up to society and further the prestige of the profession?

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Carlos Carnicer, Chairman of the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española [General Council for the Spanish Legal Profession] and of Unión Profesional

We trust the people we know best. Perception is the door to business and opportunities. If the capacity of a professional group is recognised by society, this group gains opportunities.

Bar Associations should not just know and communicate strategic significance to society, what their basic benefit is, but also the profession’s. In my case, for example, it is “competitiveness for professional service firms�?; Competitiveness based on a humanistic marketing, focusing on values of respect for people.

Bar associations should build their social positioning strategies on the basis of this strategic significance. The lack of knowledge and dissemination of this essential benefit or brand promise is equivalent to a diffuse positioning of the profession, or, what amounts to the same thing, lost opportunities as a group in the short term and loss of prestige in the long term. It is also equivalent to facilitating a gateway to certain professions, competitors, with a more market-oriented approach and sometimes a more aggressive one.

Perception is “what makes or breaks us�? on the market. Thus, it must be managed with rigour. Marketing is often confused with advertising, press or public relations actions. These are very visible marketing actions, but are still only actions. Action without strategic reflection is of little use.

Strategy is prior to action. In the society or economy of meaning, each profession should find its meaning in society, how it wants to be and can honestly be perceived, what its values are and what is understood by them, what its basic brand promise is for society and for clients in particular. There is no positioning without meaning, and no positioning means lost opportunities.

The brand should not just be managed externally, but also, and fundamentally, it should be managed internally for the actual professional group. Conveying a culture of communication to bar members is a way of publicising the benefits of the professional brand to society. The actual professionals are ultimately responsible for promoting their group. To achieve a culture of communication, we must seek support among young people or veterans with a young spirit, who are still enthusiastic and passionate about the group.

Perception of the practice of law

Many lawyers often say that “the lawyer is the most qualified legal advisor or assessor”. Nevertheless, the question is: Does society perceive the lawyer as the most qualified assessor, as their first option? Is the value for quality/service/price offered by lawyers the most highly rated? Is the social utility of the law profession clearly known?

If lawyers are the best qualified professionals as legal advisors, why do potential clients sometimes choose the services of other professionals? Because there is a social perception or belief that other professional groups can solve certain affairs better and for less than the fees charged by lawyers. Regardless of whether or not this is true, the belief exists. And there is still the classic association of the lawyer with legal activities (legal actions), although not so much as in the past, largely reinforced by the image industry (television and cinema).

Maintaining the prestige, the social consideration, of a profession, is crucial in ensuring that the social demand for it does not wane. Reality and social perception are often at odds. When the identity (reality) and image (social) of a professional group do not match, the group in question has a problem of image, of positioning in society.

The profession’s identity

In my opinion, the law profession should be perceived as a close profession, albeit without “close�? meaning a loss of respect by society or by the groups that collaborate with lawyers, for example judges. The identity of a profession, its personality and values, cannot be left to the ebb and flow of the market. If, out of idleness or lack of communicative capacity, the essential values of a profession become hazy, the latter will gradually lose its personality, essence, that which defines and makes it different.

Failure to manage the professional brand leaves the future of the brand in the hands of the market, relentless, or of some professional service companies with great communicative capacity driven exclusively by business profit, mercantilist criteria. These companies, competing on the basis of low prices, contribute to the proletarisation of certain professions, such as law, and to its loss of prestige. In this regard, the communication campaigns of bar associations could offset these purely business-driven strategies by communicating that quality has its price, or the recognition of the work of professionals, which also means time.

The identity (personality and values) of a profession such as law should be explicitly known and persuasively communicated, as we hire or recruit professionals according to their perception and that of the group to which they belong. We make our hiring decisions on the basis of perception. This communicative effort is not only a duty of associations, but mainly of law practices: when (potential) clients realise the service capacity of law firms, new business possibilities open up for the latter.

Associations: commitment and determination of the deans

It is surprising that in the economy of meanings there are bar associations that either do not manage perception or confuse it with media management, the publication of ads or the organisation of PR events. In other cases they manage it in a rather unprofessional fashion, outsourcing it to voluntary professionals, mostly non-professionals of marketing and communication. If associations professionalise their management, they will contribute to ensuring that the legal profession is perceived as more modern, adapted to the times.

Language creates perception, and should therefore be managed with rigour, at the highest possible level in bar associations. The proper management of the perception of a group is the responsibility of the dean and the governing board. Thus, experts in communication strategy should report directly to the dean or the board.

The different bar associations tend to associate social communication with the availability of a press office or a news insert in the press. It is obvious that achieving presence in the press brings short-term results, and if implemented continuously it contributes to forming and/or creating public opinion. Nevertheless, this activity should be part of a strategic global communication plan with a long-term orientation. Perceptions are changed with long-term orientation by means of the “service experience�? of the clients with the professionals and with communication in the framework of a global marketing strategy.

Improve perception

If a professional group seeks to improve its social perception, its “reality” should improve. If the law profession wishes to improve its image and project the profession to society, it should communicate how society, which makes its very existence possible, benefits from it. There are some basic factors:

1. The law practice needs to know its real image in society. Professional associations must draw up studies geared towards knowing the evolution of the social perception of the profession. The General Council for the Spanish Legal Profession falls into this line, periodically drawing up a study on the image of the profession.

2. The law profession must define and disseminate, within a new legal framework, what its core mission or raison d’ être, its values, are. The law profession should know what its identity is: what is the law profession? what benefits does it offer society? how does it wish to be perceived (expected image)?

3. The General Council for the Spanish Legal Profession, as it has been doing, and bar associations and lawyers, should embrace communication with society as one of its values if it wishes to make a solid contribution to explaining the work and the utility of the law profession to the citizens. The figure and the functions of the lawyers should be brought closer to society. The law profession should recover its social influence. Associations must “become integrated�? in their geographical setting, become a social reference. It must communicate, and do it well.

In a few words, to get the “lawyer�? brand to be better appreciated, a constant communication effort needs to be made within the framework of a strategic marketing plan. Isolated local activities, like those of some dynamic bar associations, are positive but insufficient. There must be a global strategy, implemented with rigor and method at local level by the associations and also, why not, by law practices, since the latter must be involved in the process of publicising the social function of the law profession.
The main competitor of the law profession is the profession itself.

© 2007, Francesc Domínguez, marketing consultant. www.francescdominguez.com. Note by the author: advice page published in the Economist & Jurist review (October, 2007). A part of this text is based on my opinion article “Imagen social de la abogacía�? (the economic daily Expansión, 2002).

Young Lawyers: How can we be positively differentiate on the legal market?

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Jennifer Losada, Chairwoman of the Group of Young Lawyers of the Bar Association of Barcelona

Experience
Talent does not distinguish between ages. Youth can be a fountain of opportunities. The main opportunity for young lawyers is that they do not usually have as many prejudices as some older ones. Preconceived opinions are a limitation in the business world.

What is experience? It is the ability to learn from life, from each client case. This capacity depends on the actual person rather than on their age. Thinking that a veteran lawyer is an expert just because he is older is absurd, and mentally self-limits young lawyers.

Forget your fear, your other possible mental barrier. The ability to think big costs nothing and only those who think big find opportunities. Think big, calculating how to invest your time and money well. If you have good values, do not let anybody “steal�? your dreams.

The first steps
Imagine a young graduate that has been trained in the practice of law and decides to join the profession. Normally, the first thing they think about is to try to join a practice or else associate with other colleagues and open an office. It is not the most essential thing. Having your own market strategy is crucial; a strategy defined in writing, and then choose one of the preceding options.

Update your knowledge permanently and think, nevertheless, about the following. Knowledge, while essential, will not take you very far without a market strategy. As George Bernard Shaw once said: “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach�?.

The attitude
Attitude is the cornerstone. To get new results you need to do different things. If you don’t, you are your own professional ceiling. Do not lay the blame on others.

Attitude is the cornerstone. To get new results you need to do different things. If you don’t, you are your own professional ceiling. Do not lay the blame on others. Learning to be mentally stronger and gaining self-esteem is essential in making a name for yourself in the profession. Improving your self-esteem, accepting yourself is basic to selling legal services better.

Admire
Admire, do not envy. For example, if you aspire to having a large legal service company, the best thing you can do is to admire the great law firms. And you will learn from them. If you envy them, you will waste energy uselessly.

Values
What makes the difference? Values and your style. You should know your values explicitly, define and communicate them.

The vision
What is your future vision? Do you want to be an alternative to law practices that support the internationalisation of the companies of your country? An example: for years I have created a broad international network of contacts, influential law practices based in the main international markets. These offices are ready to support European businesses associations and my clients in their international expansion. If I have done this, then so can you.

Having a path (vision) is transcendental. Your dreams (vision) will start to come true as soon as you get them in writing, define objectives, strategies, actions, responsible for their accomplishment and a timeframe.

Your market study
The world is full of conquerors that seek to change the rest, when the first thing we should do is change or improve ourselves. If you improve, you will begin to get new results. To this end, the epicentre of your market study is you and your practice. It is basic for you to know your strengths and the things that need to be improved. Ask your collaborators how they perceive you. Promote your personal brand on the basis of your virtues or strong points.

The professional profile
In a hypercompetitive world, The most highly valued profile is that of the lawyer-consultant, i.e., a lawyer geared towards helping the client and able to detect their client’s needs and even pre-empt them. A lawyer with a commercial profile, a professional that gives the client value.

Image
We are an image. Until people know us, we are but an image to them: pleasant, reliable, skilled, clever, unpleasant, etc. That is why first impressions are so important, as it is when perceptions are formed. Take care of your verbal and body language and the small details. Language creates perception, the gateway to business.

Fees
Anybody can compete by applying low fees. You should be able to provide a service that justifies fees in tune with professional skill. To do this, make sure you fully understand the needs of the client, increase your value, build up your brand and give clients a personalised service.

Partners
Choose your partners with professional criteria, not on the basis of friendship or interpersonal feeling. Associate with professionals that not only complement you in terms of skills (specialities) but also, and more particularly, in attitudes.

Advisors or suppliers
Select them according to their quality, not using price as the basic criterion. Treat them with respect, just as well as your best clients. A quality supplier will save you time, problems and will give your brand added value.

Projects
From the outset of your professional career, apart from doing tasks (case impulse) focus on projects, i.e. on being a reference point in some market. Concentrating on projects means choosing our clients and working to achieve them, fighting to live the professional life that we want to live.

Business Plan
Make sure you know who your potential customers are and draw up a plan to attract them (Marketing and business plan).

How to facilitate the commissioning of new services? Increase your list of contacts. Monitor the economic press, know what companies’ needs are, personalise your offer of services to them and visit them, but never pressurise them. When he sees a personalised offer, our client will understand our message clearly: “this practice has made an effort to know and understand my needs�?.

Participate actively at Trade Fairs and Congresses that enable you to meet more potential customers. Share out the work among your partners. Also participate actively in an association. This participation should be consistent with your personal strategy and that of your firm. Think. If for example you belong to an association of young lawyers, make the most of it: besides dedicating your time to your professional advancement, devote some time as well, for example, to creating an international network of contacts among practices of young lawyers.

Contacts
Contacts are essential in the business world. However, one word of warning: they must help you to transmit the image that you wish to transmit.

For example, one of my clients is lawyer to a newspaper. When she participated at business meetings with the medium and other entrepreneurs, she was presented by the medium as “the newspaper’s lawyer�?. What was the problem? My client was failing to leverage possible business opportunities since the entrepreneurs could even think that she was actually an employee, i.e. on the newspaper’s payroll. I told my client to have them introduce her as follows: “partner of X, a law practice with the capacity to help companies to go global. Moreover, she is our legal advisor.�?

The message is very different and opens the door to new clients.

The clients
Don’t forget your clients. There are professional firms that only remember their clients when are they paid their fee or retainer. That is the best way to lost them. Monitor them: have at least one contact with clients every fortnight. Send them articles of interest, ask them if they are satisfied, send them birthday cards, invite them to events you know they will be interested in, hold exclusive seminars for clients and acquaintances, etc. Recruit a “customer manager�?. The objective should not be so much to sell legal services but rather to consolidate the relationship of trust with clients.

Your offer should be different to your competitors, but remember, by offer we do not mean the service offer (which can always be copied), but rather the concept and the image of the firm, the technical and relational quality of the lawyers and the services rendered to the clients, personalised.

Communicate low expectations to clients: if you give them more than they expected you will win their confidence.

Manage your time well
Be brave: avoid focusing on rather unprofitable topics from the outset of your professional career. If you take all kinds of commissions you will end up over-committed: you will work long hours for low profitability. Learn to say “no�?. Focus on more profitable clients and cases. Fewer hours of work + more fees = quality of life.

Manage your time well: focus on the 20% of your clients who account for 80% of your sales. Give other clients a professional service as well, but spend less time on them.

Final tip
Sometimes opportunities are to be found where others think they do not exist. A few weeks ago a young European lawyer sent me the following query. “I am going to live in China. I have contacted some large law practices with branches in CHINA to offer my services. Nevertheless, it has not worked. I don’t know what to do.�?

Sometimes opportunities are to be found where others think they do not exist. A few weeks ago a young European lawyer sent me the following query. “I am going to live in China. I have contacted some large law practices with branches in CHINA to offer my services. Nevertheless, it has not worked. I don’t know what to do.�?

Answer: “You contacted some major practices without solid bargaining arguments. If you had said you were thinking about setting up in China, the negotiation would have been different. Modify the approach: You will be in a city of more than 7 million inhabitants, where there will be no practice from your country. Your opportunity lies in maintaining minimum services in your offices in Europe or else entering into an alliance with a practice from your country. Invest (low investment): Open up a micro-office in China. Publicise your availability to expatriates from your country in China, the mass media of your country and by extension the companies. Set up, with the utmost patience and respect, trust-based relationships with the Chinese business community in China and the resident community in your country. Position yourself as an alternative to other law firms.�?

Talent does not distinguish between ages. Only those who think big find opportunities.

Advertising (ads): What benefits does advertising provide to the brand of a law practice?

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Juan Gónzalez-Blázquez, lawyer, partner of González-Blázquez & Barrenechea (Mexico City, Federal District)

The main benefit of advertising in the short term is brand awareness, which does not necessarily mean recall.

If your practice decides to invest in advertising (ads) it should do so with professional rigour, defining first of all the concept of what the practice is, framing the advertising campaign within a marketing and communication plan. I say this because the common practice among some firms is that the actual partners design an ad about their legal services, but it is not part of a global marketing and communication strategy. Doing this is tantamount to throwing money out of the window.

Several lawyers have told me that if a practice is investing in advertising it is “because business is bad�?. That is absurd. The potential customers of a law practice view investment in advertising by a services company as normal. Sometimes the only people with this prejudice are the lawyers themselves. When all is said and done, it is you who decides how to invest your money. Money should be invested in activities that get the market to recognise the firm’s expertise and see it as a point of reference. Sometimes these activities are free, although they logically require an investment in time. Ads “assert�? or “claim”, they do not “prove�?. That is why they are secondary in legal marketing.

Nevertheless, if your law practice is the market leader, in its speciality or sector, it may periodically advertise to remind people of this mental edge or leadership over its competitors.

If above all you target specific clients, you have a law practice concept that makes you different, and investors that back your project and, by extension, your advertising campaigns, so you will also have reasons to think about investing in ads. Unfortunately, this is not so for many practices. The solution for most practices is to be imaginative, and invest in marketing activities that entail a smaller investment.

Perhaps you have sometimes wondered why, in a country such as the United States of America, law practices do so much advertising? (Advertising which other countries sometimes see as being ridiculous or aggressive, for example.) To my mind, the legal sector in the United States invests so heavily in ads because of:

— the values of the practice of law in the United States and overcrowding in its legal market,

— in some cases, firms’ ignorance in legal marketing,

— the human tendency to do what the majority supposedly does,

— the self-interest of communication consultants, often Agencies that are more concerned about collecting their by no means low fees in the short term than about explaining the role of advertising in legal marketing to their client, and achieving a return on investment.

Be imaginative. Invest in actions that help potential customers to acknowledge your professional competence and expertise. In my opinion, investing in advertising is a resource for the few, and one of the last resorts for the majority.

Printed press: How to develop your brand by appearing in the press

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Gunter Zimmer, lawyer, executive partner of ZIMMERs (London, United Kingdom; and Cologne, Germany)

A brand should have visibility. The printed press, and in general the mass media, are a platform for gaining awareness, brand prestige and attracting the type of clients and cases that a law practice wants to have.

Any law practice — from the one-man outfit to the large practice — should communicate their identity and skills to society: who they are and what they offer. They should back up their claims with information, data and proven arguments. The aim is to inform, not to “advertise the company�?. If you want to advertise, use ads.

Criteria for a good relationship with the press

1. Work professionally and rigorously: draw up a marketing plan and include a media plan in it.

2. Ascertain the content needs of the media you are collaborating with and the readers’. Get a high-profile contact in the medium and win them over.

3. Be selective: go for media with prestige. Thus, your brand will gain prestige. Give priority to collaboration in prestigious media that afford your company visibility. If you appear in a publication sharing space with several firms, the brand will lose projection, and will be perceived as just another company.

4. Spokesperson and messages: the spokesperson, normally the president or managing partner, should be trained: have positive attitudes to the media, have training in communication skills and convey an image of credibility. On the other hand, the person that writes or checks the messages (press notes, articles, etc.) must be able to translate the company’s communicative needs into attractive headings, with a hook, and persuasive messages. And contents with personality, different to the competition’s, will be achieved.

5. Credibility: keep your promises. For example, making a commitment to writing a legal column in the press is easier said than done. Telling a journalist “we didn’t send the column on the day we arranged because we are snowed under with work�? may be interpreted by the journalist as somewhat unprofessional, and even as a lack of respect, leading the media to lose confidence in you.

6. Idiosyncrasy: Journalists are a very idiosyncratic group. Avoid, for example, giving the impression of wishing to “buy off�? a journalist by inviting them to a meal or by sending certain gifts. Also avoid reproaching them for publishing a piece of news or interview which, in your opinion, was not “properly-published�?. You can only make demands if you are paying for advertising space. Moreover, what might seem as important news to you may not seem so to the press. Be positive: instead of reproaching or criticising, focus on thanking the journalist for the publication of a news item and on learning how to improve.

7. Meetings and interviews: if you arrange a brief interview with a journalist (say 10 minutes), do not go over this time or do so only at the request of the journalist. If you are being interviewed, remember the photographer. Treat him like the journalist: your image in the media depends to a great extent on him.

8. Diversification: collaborate with different media to reach more potential customers. Give certain media exclusive contents from time to time.

9. Dissemination: distribute your appearances (in print) among your collaborators and clients. They will associate your appearance in the media with a dynamic and modern image of the company. Include your collaborations on the firm’s website as well.

10. Proximity press: your brand’s positioning begins from its local market. The local, county and regional press may help your brand to be perceived as a local firm, deeply rooted in its territory. This is particularly suitable for practices that focus on a local or regional market.

Be imaginative and generate quality contents for (printed) publications without paying, and without sharing space with other signatures. Avoid publications that seem more like professional directories. If you pay, make it look as though you are not paying. This will give you greater credibility.

Mass media: How can we use the media ethically to develop a professional image?

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Rubén Castillo, lawyer, founding partner of Mendoza, Arias, Valle & Castillo (Panama City, Panama)

Publish if you wish to be an expert. Publishing in prestigious media (local, national or international) affords prestige and visibility. Publish if you wish to be perceived, as the case may be, as a lawyer and assessor of reference investments.

Naturally, I am talking about publishing quality contents, targeting specific clients, communicated with efficacy. The mass media want quality contents. Such contents increase circulation, dissemination and gain advertisers, their main source of funding.

The mistake that some law practices make is approaching firms of lawyers with prejudices or with fear. They think, for example, that in certain dailies or sections in them, you only appear if you pay. The media need the forms as much as the firms need the media.

The Head of the Economy Section of one of the main European dailies told me, a few days ago: “We are going for proximity contents increasingly more, those that small and medium-sized companies give us�? [We are referring to small- and medium-sized law practices] What do you think about this? It is an opportunity which small- and medium-sized practices do not seem to have realised.

What do the mass media seek? They want “stories�? to tell: practical, understandable and pleasant tips to prevent or solve problems, open offices abroad, bring in new partners, create an international alliance of firms, foreign investment opportunities, etc. Law practices should take into account that the “stories to be told�?, the contents, must be consistent with the practice’s market strategy, and should be carefully drawn up and persuasively communicated. This is all compatible with professional codes of conduct. It helps bring the profession closer to society. Fortunately for the future of the profession, the legal profession has evolved in most countries. Professional boards and bar associations no longer “ban advertising (or rather communication), barring exceptions�?; and now permit it, barring exceptions.

Advertising (“ads�?) is a secondary professional Service marketing technique. The most important thing is not to pay to appear in the media, but rather use your imagination to gain space in them. By paying (for ads) you are stating that your company is the best; by gaining space, your company demonstrates its capacity to assess the potential client.

By gaining space in the press and communicating your identity, values and style, not just services, potential customers will be more likely to hire you.

Clients: What characteristics of a law practice do clients appreciate?

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Petri Nevalainen, a Lawyer from Prudentum (Finland)

The client values the “what part�? of the service (i.e. the legal service), and “how�? it is provided. Often, the service experience is just as important as the actual legal service. The way we deal with clients can make or break our relationship with them.

Characteristics appreciated by clients:

1. Reassurance. Reassurance is the main characteristic that clients value in a company that provides professional services. If the company gives them reassurance, the client will continue to rely on it. This is why some law firms base their business strategy on the cornerstone of “client reassurance�?.

Think about things that reassure the client: the perception that he can trust the professionals employed by the practice, the lawyers’ ability to pre-empt eventualities and provide creative solutions (with integrity, and legally), prudence (realistic expectations), reliability of performance (results), experience in similar cases and a well-known brand renowned for its quality. Honesty, modesty and discretion (professional secret) are other highly-valued characteristics.

2. Optimal and preferential treatment. To secure the client’s loyalty, build an individualised, personalised relationship with him. Treat each client the way they wish to be treated, ensuring that they is aware of and observe the firm’s policy of customer service (business hours, visits, etc.). In a few words, build a relationship on mutual respect.

Manage the client’s perception well: listen to him, get to know him, understand his needs, remember them. Treat him with interest and cordially. Get your client to feel comfortable dealing with your firm. Be accessible. Keep your promises. For example, call the client when you said you would; answer his e-mails as promptly as possible; if you are travelling, give the client service alternatives.

3. Quick service. Remember that it is not the director or the chairman of your firm who pays our wages. It is the client. Without clients there is no practice. Advise the client with interest and enthusiasm and give him a fast, albeit unhurried service, as quality takes time.

4. Communication. Report and communicate to create a trust-based relationship. Communicate clearly. Surprise the client with details.

5. International operating capacity. The capacity to create an international network of contacts or bilateral alliances does not depend on a firm’s size. It depends on the will and the skill to have them. You might assume that your clients do not need this operating capacity. Secure it and tell your clients that you have it. You will be surprised at the results.

Clients attach increasingly greater value to the role of the lawyer not just as a legal expert but also as an investment advisor, a professional proposes and creates opportunities for them. The ability to provide assessment in investments attracts potential clients, both private parties and companies, if the company makes this ability known. For example, I advise American and Asian firms that attract European investments to their countries or from their countries to Europe. First of all they prepare a certain strategy. Subsequently, with or without the aid of European practices, they publicise themselves in employers’ organisations or professional associations to which they have access through the relationship of confidence I maintain with them.

And the cost? The cost is also valued, naturally. It must be seen to be fair. Nevertheless, if you or your company have a brand (are the or one of the references on the market), you will avoid price wars, as this discourages and wears down any professional.

All the aforementioned characteristics have a direct impact on the human resources policy of law practices. We must recruit professionals with capacity to create excellent relationships with clients and then train them to improve their knowledge and skills. In other words, do precisely the opposite of what most law firms do. The quality of the lawyer as a person is just as important as his professional quality.

Alliances: How can we compete better internationally?

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Bert Kerkman, lawyer, managing director of KerkmanLaw (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

A poor international presence may lead us to lose clients. If one of your clients knows, or supposes, that you cannot help him abroad, he may contact another firm and you may end up losing the client. You should avoid the “advisor test�?.

It is surprising how some small and medium-sized practices that are a reference at local, regional and even national level have few, or no, international connections in the world we live in. A world in which clients are expecting their legal advisors to operate at international level increasingly more. The reason I hear most is that “Our clients don’t need it�?. On the other hand, when the clients that “do not need it�? know that their lawyers can help them in their investments or business in other continents, opportunities begin to blossom. This is a recurring phenomenon: the mistake of assuming that we know what clients need.

Traditional agents or innovative alliances may be of use to you depending on what you want. For example, I know a lawyer who works in a chamber of commerce. This professional’s practice provides support to companies from its country abroad by means of a network of agents. From the standpoint of potential clients, agents have at least one problem: they may be “invisible�? to the potential client. Thus, for example, in a recent legal publication, a law practice stated that it had an alliance in Turin. But the advertiser’s web site made no reference to the Italian city or to the name of the practice. Invisibility hardly helps a potential client to decide to hire a firm.

Unlike agencies, alliances or networks tend to be visible. They are brands: in some cases only a registered name (and not always); in others, a registered name with an investment in marketing.

The loss of independence tends to be a frequent criterion which leads certain law practices to decide not to become part of an alliance. This is absurd. It is absurd to assume that a practice loses part of its independence if it joins an alliance. Everything depends on the concept of alliance. There are alliances formed by independent practices. There are even alliances whose clients are not clients of the alliance, but rather of the member practices, who present estimates and fees directly to clients. There are also alliances in which if one member of the alliance does not trust another member enough, it is not obliged to refer cases to it, and may choose, for example, a non-alliance practice it trusts more.

Criteria for selecting lawyers-agents or an international alliance of practices

1. Define your business vision and objectives. Know what you need from your agent or from the alliance.

2. Know your agent or the alliance: Are the management teams in tune with each other, and is there mutual trust?

3. Compatibility with the objectives and with the way you work.

4. Similarity of practices: size, organisational structure, resources, skills, countries covered by the potential partner and passion for the common project.

5. Preparation of a collaboration protocol and common operating standards to guarantee the quality of service rendered by each one of the practices.

6. Flexible and creative values to leverage differences.

If you think you have an original alliance concept, take the initiative, create it. If you choose to join an existing alliance, evaluate the practice you are going to be associated with.

Personal brand: How to be the reference lawyer

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by David Schwaninger, lawyer of BLUM Attorneys at Law (Zurich, Switzerland)

What distinguishes an excellent lawyer from the rest? His image in the marketplace. Talent alone is not enough. Perception decides. It attracts new clients to you or drives them away. You probably know cases of qualified lawyers who do not have access to specific business, even their own clients’… Seek the motive in the client’s perception of you.

If you want to leverage opportunities, manage your personal brand, your image in the marketplace, with care.

Keys to successful personal brand

1. Be specialized. Increasingly more clients are seeking specialists. Specialisation will be a way for you to be more efficient, gain calm and be likelier to be the reference in your target market. Focus on knowing what clients consider is valuable. Make sure they realize that you understand and worry about their problem. It is the best way to gain their confidence. Choose your clients and find out how to attract them. If you wait for them to come to your office, you will let your clients define your professional life. You will lose opportunities.

2. Know yourself. Be honest: define your identity on the basis of what you are, not on what you believe clients expect of you. Know and take advantage of your virtues. Identify your main values. They will carry you to success if they are compatible with those of your clients and office partners. Be flexible and creative with them. Brands communicate and sell values, personalities that clients can relate to. Harmonize your brand with your values. Do not be afraid to find out what image your partners have of you. Ask them for feedback on your work (virtues and aspects to improve). Ask them to describe you in two words. Define yourself in two words also. You will know the best selling points of your brand. Then work on them and they will make you stand out in the crowd.

3. Improve. Gain self-esteem. Be aware that you are the best option for your clients. Give and you will eventually receive. Make promises that you can keep. Ask the key question: “What do I want?�? This question will guide you to obtain results. Find answers to other questions as well, such as: “What do I do better than other lawyers? “How do I stand out?�?, “Do clients value it?�?, “Why should clients hire me rather than other lawyers?�? Take care of details with clients. They are essential. In my case, for example, I see or call each client at least once a week.

4. Strategy. Plan an easy, but systematic and consistent, personal brand strategy. Know what direction you want for your professional life and define positive objectives to reach it.

5. Projects. Get focussed on projects. Delegate or outsource tasks as much as you can. Make the most of your time: concentrate on two or three exciting projects per year. You will gain knowledge and market value. A project could be a legal practice from a small city that also specialises and stands out from all the other practices that do not specialise. Another project could be the opening of a permanent office in a foreign country.

6. Visibility. Carry out very selective activities in order to promote your credibility and prestige. It is a type of activity you can do regardless of the geographical location or the size of your law firm. For example:

— Publish a brief book with a prestigious publisher for potential clients. For example, I got a book published for a client who had the smallest office, a solo lawyer who knows how to work with alliances. It is an innovative book, published with one of the most prestigious publishing houses in his country, targeting potential clients of the lawyer. At first, the client doubted that a prestigious publishing house could publish a book by him, an individual office. This is why he had never published books or articles with a major publishing house.

— Chat on prestigious forums, if possible without sharing space (competence) with other professionals.

— Take an important position with communication potential in an organization where you can further develop your communication skills.

— Establish effective alliances with other professionals or law offices.

— Take advantage of contacts. There is an evident difference between client cards that merely occupy space in a card case and client cards that actually create business opportunities.

7. Communicate well. When communicating, try to concentrate on a single idea. Explain yourself concisely: five seconds will suffice to tell the client the benefits he can receive from you. My brand promise, for example, is “competitiveness for professional services”. Support your brand promise with different arguments.

8. Coherence. Make sure that your objectives, strategy, actions and conduct are consistent with each other and with your own values.

9. Persistence. To obtain a powerful personal brand you will need to have clear ideas, determination and perseverance.

10. Act. Move from thought to action.

© 2006, Francesc Dominguez, Marketing Consultant, co-Author of the book El marketing jurídico [Law Marketing}. www.francescdominguez.com. Advice page published in Economist & Jurist (December 2006-January 2007).

Selling: How to sell legal services without putting pressure on the client

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Mr. Suman J. Khaitan, lawyer, managing partner of Suman Khaitan & Partners (New Delhi, India)

If you understand how your potential client thinks and makes decisions, you will be on the way to obtaining his preference. I am not speaking about what he thinks, but rather about how he thinks.

Let us talk about how to sell better, and with integrity. Effective selling means creating and continuing a relationship with clients. Selling means influencing and allowing yourself to be influenced. In order to sell, we should know ourselves and overcome our common fears and limitations instead of trying to change others.

The client is in charge. No matter how good your services are. Selling should be centred on the client’s needs. Clients buy profits, not services. Discover what your client or prospect values, how he wants to be treated.

Establish a friendly relationship with the client. Friendliness is the first step in gaining his confidence. Look at the client without prejudices. Do not label him for his appearance. Your prospect will realise this and you could lose an opportunity to advise him. If you can, choose a suitable time and place to meet or talk to your potential client. The right moment is when you are in a positive state of mind.

Be careful with your language. Sometimes we speak ambiguously, in a roundabout way or using technical terms that make it difficult for others to understand what we are trying to convey. The fact that we understand ourselves does not mean that other people will understand us. Be aware of the differences between male and female verbal and body language. If a man, for example, says “yes…right�?, it means that he is merely following your conversation. If a woman says that, it means that she actually agrees with you!

People want to do business or be advised by professionals who understand them and treat them with respect. For this reason we should respect the client’s values, even when we do not necessarily share them. Professional relationships based on mutual respect really work. A lawyer should make an effort to make the relationship work. He should establish a friendly relationship. If there is friendliness between you and your prospect, there will be mutual trust, which is the first step towards cooperation. Smile. As someone said, a smile is the shortest distance between people. It lays the foundations for a good relationship. Only those who can smile naturally and show a sincere interest in people can sell well.

In order to create a friendly relationship with your speaker, adjust your behaviour to his. Imitate the tone and the rhythm of his voice, position and movements slightly. This will create a more propitious situation for a harmonious relationship. If, for example, your prospect speaks in short, sharp bursts, adapt to his way of speaking. If he gesticulates with his hands, imitate him discreetly. We feel better with people who are like us. It is unconscious.

When you speak to someone for the first time, let him set the interpersonal distance. Observe if during the interaction he approaches you or moves away. This will help you to understand his communication channel.

Regarding communicative channels, people can be visual, auditory or kinesthetic. Each person has a dominant channel. Around 50% of the business population is visual, 25% auditory and the other 25% kinesthetic. Discover your dominant channel. If, for example, you are visual and speak with an auditory person, you will probably not speak the same language. An auditory person will listen to what you say, but possibly he might not understand what you mean. Learn to adapt to your speaker’s channel.

Visual people remember and think through images. For them, seeing is essential. They keep a prudent distance from the speaker and usually speak rapidly and in a high tone. When they imagine, they look up and to their right; when they recall, they look up and toward their left. As they think in images, they can blink “more than normal”. They show impatience if interrupted. When speaking, they use words and expressions referring to vision, such as “observe”, “look at”, “see”, “show me”, “let’s have a look”.

I was intrigued by a client. He looked up very frequently when he was thinking during conversations and blinked more than normal. I advised him to look more into the speaker’s eyes in order to show confidence and interest. However, I thought that there was some reason that would explain my client’s conduct. Now we both know that he is a very visual person.

Auditory people perceive reality through sounds. At times they think aloud. They are good conversationalists. They will thank people for asking them questions. They speak more slowly than visual people and are usually sensitive to intonation. They appreciate speakers who share the pace of their speech and who speak tersely. When they imagine, they look horizontally and towards their right; when they recall they look left. When they think about what they are going to communicate, they look down and to their left. They use monitoring expressions (”ah”, “umm”, “yes, yes”) and words referring to speech and sounds: “Do I explain myself?”, “listen”, “hear”, “it sounds to me”, “I understand”, etc.

For kinesthetic people, sensations and emotions are very important. They often ask “How are you?�? They communicate by means of sensations. Very slow speakers, they tend to accompany their speech with movements. They need proximity with the speaker. They are used to taking people’s hands, patting their shoulder or even caressing the other’s face, which comes as a surprise to someone who uses another channel. It is important to avoid hurting their feelings. They use expressions such as “I feel good”, “it seems OK to me”, “This smells funny “, “I like this”.

Knowing ourselves better, and showing interest in understanding others, with tact and respect, will allow us to influence more and be influenced. In short, we will sell better.

© 2006, Francesc Dominguez, marketing consultant, co-author of the book El marketing jurídico [Law Marketing]. www.francescdominguez.com. Advice page published in Economist & Jurist (November 2006).

Training: How to invest your time

by Francesc Dominguez

Question by Mr. Miguel Montoro, lawyer, managing director of Samon (Yokohama, Japan)

We are what we study. Because of this, it is fundamental that you clearly know what to invest your time in and how to feed your mind.

Know a little about multiple topics and above all have your own opinion. Being too specialised can be a limitation in the long term.

Apart from continuing to learn Law, in my opinion knowing about finances and marketing (communication and sales) is essential. Talent in Law is not enough. The aforementioned paralegal skills and each one’s character make the difference.

Finances: The key is to know how to manage money, how money works. Therefore “working a lot to earn money” is wrong. The appropriate thing is “to have ideas to make money work for you”. Study financial planning and think. Those who think find opportunities.

Marketing (communication and sales): A lawyer should improve his skills in order to understand the marketplace and detect business opportunities. Communicate efficiently to get your clients and prospects to perceive your capacity and to regard your firm as being able to give them efficient solutions. Besides, understanding human behaviour will lead people to hire your services. Learn how to sell better, without putting pressure on your potential client.

Wrong beliefs and prejudices make us lose opportunities. Open your mind. Avoid fear, prejudices and mental laziness. Ask the right questions and get answers.

Incorporate new ideas on a base of good values. Refresh your intelligence. Enjoy yourself by working and training.

Think big and question things. Have your own opinion. Make firm decisions and act.

© 2006, Francesc Dominguez, marketing consultant, co-author of the book El marketing jurídico [Law Marketing]. www.francescdominguez.com. Advice page published in Economist & Jurist (October 2006).

The positioning of law practices

by Francesc Dominguez

You may have sometimes wondered why, while an extremely prestigious client hires yours firm’s services, he only does so for minor cases, and commissions other more profitable cases to other legal practices. Your law firm may very probably be prepared to render the services that clients commission to other firms, but the clients do not consider your firm for these cases.

This is a problem of positioning, which is significant for potential clients. Clients do not recruit your services for these cases because they perceive that there are other more suitable firms to commission them to.

As someone once said, in life, and this also goes for professional activity, “the most essential thing is that which is intangible�?. Friendship, prestige, reputation, credibility, confidence, etc. are all intangibles. This essential thing cannot be bought with money. You must know how to manage it throughout your professional life.

Good management of perception leads legal practices to have the type of clients and cases they want to have, the most profitable ones, avoiding price competition, or in other words the lack of appreciation of professional services. By the way, do you manage your firm’s perception? If so, congratulations. However, are you sure that you are managing it properly? Have you created a concept of a unique firm and are you transmitting this concept to (potential) clients with the right messages, consistently and coherently, and at the right time?

From the marketing, i.e. client, point of view, legal markets in the world are undifferentiated. There is a great deal of competition in every speciality (for example in advice to small and medium-sized companies, urban development and real estate law, in penal and civil law derived from traffic and occupational accidents), although no firm, or practically no firm, is a reference, or even the reference company, in its category, be it at regional and national level, and in many cases even at local level.

Although they do not normally know this, most firms, including networks of law firms, have a problem of positioning, perception, meaning in the market. Thus, for example, there are lawyers who say that their firms belong to prestigious networks, groups or alliances. In most cases, potential clients (companies, basically) have never even heard of networks of lawyers, to say nothing of specific names. With these foreseeable precedents, what meaning can the network in question have to potential clients? Will the network be in a position to compete for client preferences?

There is a need to create concepts of networks that allow their members to compete at national or international level with a chance of being successful. As the potential clients do not perceive significant differences, in perceived value, among the legal practices or their networks, they use price to apply pressure. This behaviour is only to be expected.

As a result of the general lack of dedication and imagination to create distinctive and recognised concepts of firms or networks, imitating the large ones is common practice. By doing so we are doing a huge favour to the big legal advice concerns, and they logically take advantage of this. As we have commented before, the main competitive edge of large firms is the lack of branded strategy of the small- and medium-sized ones. If there is something that small and medium-sized law firms should leverage, it is precisely promoting their brands, their main assets, together with their professionals. Paradoxically, the brand is an intangible thing, a perception.

The point of departure to create a recognised brand are the legal quality of the firm’s professionals. A brand cannot be consolidated without legal quality. Having a brand does not depend on the size of the firm or its geographical location. And a brand is “simply�? a name with a meaning, a meaning which clients attach value to in their mind, which is where the hiring of lawyers is decided.

Small- or medium-sized firms, when they grow, tend to launch a whole ensemble of multidisciplinary services, imitating the large firm models and gradually losing what could make them a point of reference in their market category. By imitating the medium-sized offices they will always be behind the large ones, those that set the rules of the game. It is not necessary to master strategic art to understand it, but we must reflect upon the consequences of our acts.

Most offices “sell�? services; very few are positioned, recognized, as (the) reference point in one or some specialties. By way of example: many offices accept a case of compensation for traffic accidents if it comes up due to the substantial fees which they may expect to charge. However, from the client’s point of view, which offices are the reference point in this discipline? If the potential clients or those who may impact their decisions do not know this then they are hardly likely to choose you.

In a market flooded by supply, one of the keys consists of winning the battle through client preferences. This can be obtained by means of specialisation, quality in law, the creation of a brand, the partners’ ability to secure the commitment of associates and collaborators, the capacity to create brand loyalty in clients and via the messages the brand transmits, which should translate into associations to which potential clients attach great value.

Have no fear: being successful in markets requires selection. Your firm can continue to render services in multiple specialities. However, the client must perceive what your firm’s speciality or specialities are. Choose the most profitable ones, those which have a potentially good future, and above choose the specialities your firm is best prepared to address. The fewer specialities the better. The client needs references to decide who to hire. Help him.

Until your firm really knows what the client’s thought process is when deciding to hire a legal practice, your brand will be underperforming. On one occasion, a lawyer whose office is small and is located in a provincial capital of 160,000 inhabitants, told us: “in our city law practices are generally speaking unspecialised. We take all cases�?. The lawyer wondered what he would have to do to begin to be a cut above his competitors.

We want you to be very clear about what you should do in similar and very frequent cases. Knowing how to do it is a different matter altogether.

The strategic planning of legal practices

by Francesc Dominguez

Strategic planning is a process through which a legal practice, regardless of its size, thinks about: a) where do we come from? b) where are we? c) where do we want to go? d) how can we achieve this? and e) when?

By way of comparison, and just as a building must be built on solid foundations, even before a law practice is created its managers should lead the process of explicitly defining the following aspects:

1. The firm’s mission or reason why.
2. The vision of law practice.
3. The firm’s values and philosophy or culture.
4. Information systems.
5. The strategy of its competitors.
6. Strategies of segmentation and positioning.
7. Corporate objectives.

There are law practices that do not really know what their mission or reason why is. Try this: ask the rest of your partners/collaborators to think individually about what the basic purpose of the law practice is (the “mission�?, in terms of management). The answers will be very different, and in some cases even dissenting. If this is the case you have an issue.

The mission entails thinking deeply about law practice, why we are in the legal market. The office should define its specialities, its business, or in other words its target market, and the benefits for clients, its own human resources and the company. In turn, the law practice should also define corporate objectives in the short, medium and long term, as steps to achieve its goals. All major objectives can be accomplished by splitting them into small objectives over time.

Vision means knowing clearly what the firm is and what it wants to be. Where it wants to go and where it does not. This vision must be shared by all the members of the legal practice.

Managers should instil values to differentiate the firm and facilitate strategy. Values should drive behaviour, action. A strong consensus-based system of values, compatible with the personal values of the members of the firm, is indispensable. The firm management must spearhead a permanent policy of promotion of values via a consistent discourse and action. Closely related to values, the success of a law firm is based on the existence of a culture (“how we do things here�?) focused on quality of service to clients, creativity and participation.

Every legal practice should manage its information resources through a practical information system that makes it possible to pick up on opportunities and act. Contrary to popular belief, information is not power. Power lies in the use that is made of information.

The legal practice should choose what type of clients and cases it wants. In other words, it should opt for a specific segmentation strategy. Segmenting means selecting, on the basis of specific variables, which segments or parts of the market the practice will target. These segments must be identifiable, measurable and above all accessible. We must choose segments in which the firm has a competitive edge.

A law practice must have answers to the really important questions, critical in securing a good positioning, or in other words, the right perception of the firm, its professionals and specialities among current and potential clients: what is the firm, or does it mean? How is the firm perceived (its image in the market)? How do we want to be perceived (strategic positioning)? What are the priorities required to obtain the desired positioning? What is the most effective way of obtaining the clients we want? Which specialities will we develop? What can we do better than our competitors? Positioning, which should be supported by the firm’s strong points, drives the marketing plan and determines the communication strategy of a legal practice.

You need to know who your competitors are, their strong points, and above all their weak points, what are they doing and how. There are law practices that fall into the temptation of imitating, benchmarking. In the best of cases such practice means adapting to the way competitors, normally leaders or winners, do things. If your law firm bases its strategic performance on such an approach, then you are not doing marketing. Those who imitate competitors are not doing marketing. You should promote the things that distinguish you, and innovate.

Finally, it is of paramount importance that you have a good answer to the following question, or in other words, an answer from the client’s standpoint: Why should potential clients choose us and not our competitors? Answers such as “because we are the best�? do not work. The important thing is what you and your law firm mean to the client.

The strategy of legal practices

by Francesc Dominguez

There is a key question in strategy, in marketing: “Why should potential clients hire the services of our law practice instead of our competitors’? If you have a good answer to this question — in other words, a “client logic�?-based answer— then congratulations. Otherwise your strategy needs to be redefined.

It is not a case of what you think makes your firm different, but rather of what your clients think and value as being specific to you and your firm. However, you can rest assured that if your law practice continues to do what it has been doing until now, in terms of management, then it will continue to get the same results. The legal world, and our clients’ reality, has changed. Something that worked in the past is no longer a guarantee of success in the present, and even less so in the future.

My purpose as a consultant is to help law practices, particularly the medium and small-sized ones, to be more competitive. “Helping them to be more competitive�? means helping them, to quote one lawyer, “to reflect on questions that we have kept to ourselves for years, latent, unvoiced�?.

What do I mean by “more competitive�?. Since competitiveness is a broad-ranging concept, and, to a lesser extent, subjective, when I set up a marketing consultancy in a law practice we ask our clients what they expect of me.

Law firms ask their marketing consultant the following things: “We want (in the words of two associates) you to help us to know ourselves, to define our identity, to know what distinguishes us in the market, what elements of our identity the market could be more sensitive to. Finally, we want you to help us to select the best media to convey these elements or messages. We believe that our potential is being underutilised.�?

“We need (this comment comes from a partner, a CEO) to establish a system of internal communication to help us to improve our client service; to analyze the techniques we should use to knit our team together; to define our short-, medium- and long-term objectives in order to achieve our target positioning and secure a very professional and stable corporate structure.�?

The application of marketing as I understand it entails several phases: analyses and diagnosis strategic of the brand and marketing plans in the short-, medium and medium-long term.

Analyses and strategic diagnoses are basic, and their quality is directly related to the type of questions that a consultant can ask his client in areas such as strategic planning, corporate objectives in the short-, medium- and long-term; strategy of marketing and communication, human resource policies, etc. Some examples of questions, to name but some, are: what distinguishes my law practice, what makes it unique?; do clients value these differential aspects?, what perception of my law practice do collaborators and clients have?, what type of firm do I want (vision)?, what makes me special in the market?, etc.

From me experience in consultancy, I confirm that many firms do not really know what differentiates them from the rest.

Marketing is a continuous process, a process to attract, to win over, to satisfy and create loyalty in the type of clients (and cases) the law practice aspires to. Marketing does not end with the implementation of a marketing plan, but rather begins there. For this reason, when I set up a consultancy, I tell the client that it is a good idea to continue with the service relationship for a certain time, in order to integrate the marketing into the firm’s work dynamics.

Any law firm that is not managed with business criteria will find it difficult to survive in the future, and this is even more true of medium- and small-sized concerns. Managing with business criteria is perfectly compatible with doing so within an ethical framework and with the code of conduct of the legal profession, and with the dignity of the legal profession.

© 2003-2005, Francesc Domínguez, marketing consultant. This article was first published in the monographic “La imagen de la Justicia�? [”The image of Justice”] (Diario de Noticias, La Ley Publishing House).

The concept of law marketing

by Francesc Dominguez

The practice of law has changed. The profession is overcrowded. The legal profession is in the throes of internationalization. New competitors from other professions have emerged. New technologies have accelerated processes of management in legal practices. There is also an increasing number of mergers and alliances between law firms, etc.

In a highly competitive legal market, with new challenges, the lawyer needs to have a better knowledge and make use of management techniques, including the key discipline, marketing, as in any business of professional services. And there can be no doubt that for clients –whose perception is what really counts– a legal practice is a services firm, albeit with certain specific characteristics where the relationship of confidence between lawyer and client is basic.

Naturally, a lawyer can make use of marketing techniques which are respectful of professional ethics and code of conduct, with the dignity of the profession of the lawyer.

In general, the lack of marketing techniques used by the legal profession is due to the fact that they have tended to confuse marketing with advertising or sales, and the output of the legal service with its marketing. The confusion among these concepts is such that many lawyers believe that if a lawyer is a good lawyer he does not need marketing.

The basic purpose of marketing is to create and offer value. Law marketing, specifically, is the link between the lawyer and the market. It helps a law firm to orient its resources and efforts better, and makes it possible for its differential qualities to be recognized. Marketing is a process of setting up markets and positions, not just promotion or advertisement. It enables a lawyer to make himself known, be positively differentiated from competitors and to strengthen his image. The application of marketing should have always be based on the lawyer’s technical excellence in law. Unlike other sectors of the professional world, advertising, as a promotional activity, does not play a main role in law marketing.

In short, the basic purpose of legal marketing is to win clients and create loyalty in the current client portfolio, to differentiate the firm from its competitors and to build brands, of both lawyer and the legal practice. A law firm with personality and character, with a brand, is, to the majority of potential clients, a guarantee of quality and a reduction in the time taken to choose a lawyer or legal practice. Having a powerful brand avoids price-based competition and the erosion of margins. It ensures that the client’s main decision criterion in hiring legal services will not be, apart from the recommendation, logically, price. All this is what is globally understood by the concept of law marketing.

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Personal brand: How to be the reference lawyer

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Selling: How to sell legal services without putting pressure on the client

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Training: How to invest your time

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The positioning of law practices

by Francesc Dominguez

The strategic planning of legal practices

by Francesc Dominguez

The strategy of legal practices

by Francesc Dominguez

The concept of law marketing

by Francesc Dominguez