anybody know this person?

Stephanie Tavares covers small business and law for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4059 or at tavares@lasvegassun.com.

Law firms forced to shed marketing aversion

By Stephanie Tavares / Staff Writer

Fifteen years ago, only personal injury lawyers ran advertisements.


The state's largest firms, especially the business law firms, shied away from publicity and marketing. That is no longer the case.

As more regional, national and international law firms enter the Las Vegas market, they are bringing a higher level of marketing sophistication. Many have whole teams of marketing experts able to zero in on the target clients of practice areas in each office. With competition among law firms in Las Vegas rising to a heated pitch, many local firms have been forced to change the way they think about marketing.

"Law firms in the past have said, 'We've been here 50 years, everyone knows who we are' and that's not true anymore," said Vanguard Media Partner Shannon Hiller, who does PR work for Hale Lane. "Names have changed and there are so many new people in the market and they don't necessarily know. You can't rely on just your distinguished past, you really have to market yourself."

Not all lawyers understand what marketing is. Many immediately think of high-profile and often silly television, radio and billboard ads that are still a staple of personal injury and traffic ticket attorneys. Local marketing specialists have had an uphill battle teaching lawyers that marketing does not have to mean embarrassment.

"I think it's unfamiliar territory for some larger law firms. They have mostly relied on word of mouth for new business and are not used to stepping out of their comfort zones to try something new," said Impress Communications President Holly Lobelson Silvestri, whose firm does PR work for Jolley, Urga, Wirth, Woodbury & Standish. "They also may not completely understand the benefits of branding and name recognition that can take place if they sought out additional PR, marketing and advertising endeavors."

There are only about a dozen marketing specialists in Las Vegas who work with law firms, and there is no local branch of the Legal Marketing Association, a national group focusing on the market. The group's lone Las Vegas member, Consultants in Marketing President Darcy Neighbors , belongs to the regional branch based in Phoenix, Ariz. and hopes to build enough interest to start a branch here in the next few years.

"When you look at the amount of dollars spent on marketing and PR in this marketplace, the money spent by law firms is on the low side, but it's been growing rapidly in the last three to five years," Neighbors said. "There are challenges and it's a very specialized area. And if you don't work in it regularly and you don't understand how to work with attorneys it can be very complex. So I don't think a lot of PR firms have made it a goal of theirs to work with attorneys."

What those who do work in the field know is that many things attorneys already do should be integrated into the firm's marketing strategies. While a few prominent law firms run advertisements in legal and business magazines and journals, most capitalize on networking events, charity sponsorships and client referrals to get their name out.

Niche marketing is an up-and- coming trend in Las Vegas. Through speaking engagements, writing for law magazines and blogs and giving press interviews on timely topics, lawyers are able to showcase their expertise, without resorting to unseemly bragging.

"Advertising for a law firms isn't just throwing up billboards and TV ads," Neighbors said. "If you work strategically with a marketer there's a greater reach you can have by using diversified tactics. Not every law firm is cut out to do mass advertising like a Glen Lerner or these other guys, but there are tremendous opportunities for these other attorneys in very niche markets."

Relationship marketing is one of the few tactics embraced by the state's largest firm, Lionel, Sawyer & Collins. The firm resolutely refuses to jump on the advertising band wagon and on the few occasions it produces press releases, the firm relies on associates and partners whose previous careers were in journalism or public relations. Lionel, Sawyer & Collins does, however, require each associate to write and implement a marketing plan that is assessed quarterly. The firm relies on annual publications, its size and a reputation for excellence built over 40 years to drive client growth.

"Law firms advertise to become known and to attract clients. Our marketing does not equate to publicity or advertising," said firm Partner and former journalist Bob Faiss. "The key to our marketing is to maintain the highest service to our clients. That's because our No. 1 source of new clients is referrals from existing clients. Our clients don't choose a law firm based on advertisements, so doing advertising or marketing would have no effect."

When all is said and done, their approach is decidedly old school. And while it may work for the state's largest firm, marketing experts say Lionel Sawyer & Collins is the exception. As the market continues to grow, most law firms will have to start marketing themselves or lose out.

"Looking back it's amazing," Neighbors said. "All I can do is tell the attorneys I work with you have to get on board now because I guarantee there's a law firm down the street that is going to be on marketing in a big way and you'll lose ground very quickly if you do not begin to shift your mind-set from looking at it as an expense to looking at it as an investment. It's time to have fun with it. Look at the competition coming and embrace it."

Stephanie Tavares covers small business and law for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4059 or at tavares@lasvegassun.com.

[annjd]

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