TechnoLawyer: Law Office Management

Coming today to Fat Friday: William Shilling responds to a recent SmallLaw column about going solo, Larry Sullivan discusses music subscription services, Andrew Weltchek reviews syncing his BlackBerry with Clio, Bobby Abrams reviews his experience using Timeslips 2008 and Windows 7 64-bit, and Ronald Cappuccio discusses the lawyer's role in the public health care debate. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 67 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Legal Thought Leaders Spotlight: Jim Calloway

ABA's Smart Phone Buying Guide

Law Firms Now Outsourcers?

The Three Es of Cold Emails

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Coming today to Answers to Questions: Jim Perrier compares Interwoven Worksite (now Autonomy) and eDOCS, Blair Clark discusses the costs of switching from WordPerfect to Word, William Lloyd explains why he uses three monitors, James Degnan reviews Pensoft Payroll, and Mazyar Hedayat reviews ProLaw for small firms. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 71 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Trial and PowerPoint: Show and Say It

BarMax iPhone App Scares BarBri

Elie Mystal Analyzes Law Firm Profits on Fox News (Video)

Addressing the Martindale-Hubbell Question

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Coming today to Answers to Questions: Carol Bratt discusses why law firms don't need document management systems (and discusses the role of legal assistants), Dorraine Stanley shares several tips for creating audio clips for trial, and Andrew Weltchek reviews WinSplit for large monitors. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Answers to Questions
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In Answers to Questions, TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers. This newsletter's popularity stems from the relevance of the questions and answers to virtually everyone in the legal profession. The Answers to Questions newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on February 8, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

Like so many other things in life, it's not the size of your public relations department that matters — it's how you use it. In the past two years, the PR departments of many law firms have been on overdrive, performing layoff damage control, spinning reduced compensation, and attempting to generate some good press in this era of bad news. The way a firm responds to press inquiries is often just as important (and telling) as the response itself. Let's explore three popular law firm approaches to dealing with the media. As you'll see, one is more successful than the other two.

The Ostrich

If a firm takes the Ostrich approach, it sticks its head in the sand, ignores the request for comment, and hopes the story blows over. Unfortunately, by the time media outlets request firm comment, they've typically verified the story and will publish it regardless.

Last February, Latham & Watkins pulled an Ostrich when Above the Law, a legal gossip site, contacted the firm for comment on rumored layoffs of 440 employees. Latham ignored the request. In its coverage, Above the Law discussed how Latham partners openly acknowledged the impending layoffs and blocked off conference rooms under the managing partner's name several days in advance of the cut.

Latham conducted the layoffs two days later, by which time firm personnel had already spent 48 hours terrorized and confused. By staying silent, Latham lost an opportunity to explain the cuts the moment the information leaked and to correct factual inaccuracies in the Above the Law article. Latham's Ostrich was so notorious that getting "Lathamed" became an Internet meme.

The Doublespeak

If a firm responds to a media request with the Doublespeak approach, it may deny accurate information, couch its public statements in cagey language, or deliberately convey different messages to firm personnel and the media.

When Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft laid off associates last year, a firm spokesperson called them "unrestricted sabbaticals."

While "sabbatical" conjures pleasant images of academic sojourns to Oxford in springtime, its use as a euphemism insulted and angered the sabbatical recipients who had to choose between leaving with three months' severance or leaving and taking a reduced salary with the possibility of rejoining the firm in a year. Generally, employees appreciate jargon-free statements that convey the facts, not dress them up to "hide the ball."

In another Doublespeak maneuver, WilmerHale told Above the Law last June that it had not conducted layoffs, and had no layoffs planned ... but had implemented a "career advancement program" that resulted in associate "departures."

One month later, the firm laid off associates and later poisoned morale by distributing an internal memo threatening to fire anyone who tipped off Above the Law about its activities. When Above the Law posted about the allegedly inflammatory memo, the WilmerHale spokesperson called it "a general reminder" and did not address the layoff back-story. Now, "WilmerHale layoffs" autopopulates the Google search field when users search the phrase "WilmerHale."

The Straight ShooteR

Straight Shooter law firms respond to press inquiries promptly and provide clear, detailed information. They recognize that firm personnel obtain information from both the firm and the blawgosphere, and deliver consistent internal and external communications soon after stories leak. The Straight Shooter approach best serves all concerned, especially the firm.

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe switched from lockstep to merit-based compensation last July with a pitch-perfect press release. It explained the firm's rationale, gave pay calculation specifics, and set a timeframe for the switch. Orrick's informative approach empowered employees and ultimately made the lukewarm news more palatable.

Thankfully, more and more firms are embracing the Straight Shooter approach, realizing (if a little late) that good PR will set them free.

[Disclosure: Marin writes a weekly column for Above the Law.]

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Coming today to Fat Friday: Ed Zohn shares the details of his mobile setup, Joseph Travaglini adds one more step to Mazyar Hedayat's small firm success strategy, Donald Jemela compares hosted Microsoft Exchange from GoDaddy and Rackspace, Ruth Curcuru explains how she prints TimeMap timelines, and Michael Jones reviews Acrobat Pro for lawyers. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to TechnoFeature: Apple's iPhone is cool, but could it compete with the BlackBerry as a business tool at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, one of the world's largest law firms? In this TechnoFeature article, Sonnenschein's Manager of Software Services Christopher Lewis explains why Sonnenschein decided to deploy the iPhone to its lawyers, how it handled the deployment, the functions it supports and doesn't support, and the results thus far. If the lawyers at your firm are clamoring for iPhone support, look no further than Christopher's invaluable advice.

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Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 82 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Review: Thunderbird 3.0: Good Email Solution for Law Firms?

A Bankruptcy Lawyer's Move From Palm to Droid

Checklists in Law Practice

What is All the Hoopla Over Avvo Reviews?

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Coming today to Fat Friday: Paul Mansfield reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap with Rack2-Filer software, Roy Greenberg offers a fix for BitDefender when it stops working after a Windows restore, Tim Dix clarifies a point about SaaS storage in a recent TechnoFeature, Lane Trippe shares some further thoughts on the health care debate, and Harold Burstyn explains why he won't shop at Amazon ever again. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. You'll no doubt enjoy it because of its mix of interesting topics and genuinely useful knowledge, including brutally honest product reviews and informative how-tos. The Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.