Bylined Pieces

Report by Deborah Farone, Executive Committee Member of the International Bar Association’s Law Firm Management Committee, and a Member of the Women Lawyers Committee. On Wednesday 16 May 2023, more than 415 registrants representing 81 countries participated in the webinar ‘How women can be rainmakers and control their destiny’. The amazing panel included Shawn Atkinson from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe…

As appeared on LinkedIn on June 13, 2023.    Be prepared. I was fully prepared for today. It was the first time I used doggy daycare for my puppy Lucy. With advanced planning, I packed Mrs. Lucy Doberman’s food, shiny new bowl and her favorite toy. Yet I recall there were plenty of times when I forgot an important occasion-based…

As appeared on LinkedIn on May 9, 2023.   Leading a marketing function requires more than talent. It demands training. I recently went to the opera for the first time in 3 years and began thinking about opera singers. I am intrigued by how they consistently train in order to keep their vocal cords in top condition.  Even between performances, they…

As appeared on LinkedIn on May 2, 2023.  In December, Southwest Airlines canceled 60% of its flights in two days, leading to one of the most costly episodes in airline history. Southwest had one particular vulnerability that other businesses, like law firms, face every day. They had outdated internal systems. In Southwest's case, they needed updated software to help schedule…

As appeared on LinkedIn on April 11, 2023.  In professional services, it’s the people who create the business. In marketing an organization, the macro decisions matter: What is your organization’s brand aspiration? How do you recruit new lawyers? What is the culture and compensation system, and how do those impact developing clients? While all of those elements affect the success…

As appeared on LinkedIn on April 4, 2023.   “I am not sure if I have the right people doing the right things in my marketing department,” the chairman remarked. A marketing department can get stuck in a searing hot spotlight. A merger, a new chair or an economic event causes renewed interest in business development. Legal marketers are an…

As appeared during Paris Arbitration Week in the Daily Jus, a publication of Jus Mundi, on March 24, 2023.   Much of the work received by litigators, arbitrators and expert witnesses relies on receiving referrals from other lawyers and professionals. Studies show that often referred customers are more loyal than clients that come in without a reference, and studies a decade ago,…

As published on LinkedIn on March 21, 2023.   With banking upheavals and a new pending wave of recession concerns, I've heard from several professionals in the past week who want to jump-start or launch a new practice. What I tell my clients and want to share with others is that if you are trying to grow a practice, there…

As appeared on LinkedIn on March 15, 2023.   The author Seth Godin said, "Every interaction, in any form, is branding." I agree. What is a personal brand, and what is a corporate brand? Brand lies somewhere in the asphalt intersection of those messages we disseminate to the world, what we want our customers, clients and friends to believe, and,…

As appeared on LinkedIn on March 13, 2023.  What I wish I could tell each brand-new professional is this. Your future is next to you...right now. Each year I meet with newly-minted law firm partners with whom I find myself thinking, I wish I had met you ten years earlier. I would have loved to be able to share these…