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Copyright (c) 2011 Benjamin Glass
Hiring a personal injury attorney should be considered just as serious of a decision as buying a new car or choosing an apartment to live in. These are decisions that are going to impact your life for a considerable amount of time. Unlike a car or an apartment, your choice of personal injury attorney can make the difference between a fairly settled personal injury claim and an insufficient settlement.
What Your Personal Injury Attorney Can Do for You
When...
•Don't Make this $900,000 Mistake With Your Car Insurance Policy
Don't Make this $900,000 Mistake With Your Car Insurance Policy Copyright (c) 2011 Benjamin Glass
The start of the year is a great time to do a check up on your car insurance policy.
Do you understand what your policy does and does not cover? Do you have enough coverage? Do you have enough of the "unobvious" coverage?
Most people understand the concept of buying car insurance to protect their own assets if they carelessly hurt someone else or to get their own car repaired if it is...
•Personal Injury Claim Myths
Copyright (c) 2011 Benjamin Glass
One of the best ways to help your personal injury claim resolve successfully after a serious injury is to avoid listening to many of the personal injury myths you may hear from others. Well-meaning friends and family, misinformed doctors, inexperienced personal injury attorneys, and even the insurance companies themselves may all contribute to the rumor mills surrounding how and when to file a personal injury claim.
What Not to Do Before Filing a Personal...
•How Insurance Companies Can Harm Your Claim
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Remember that the insurance company, whether your own or the party responsible for your accident, is first and foremost a business that's looking out for its own interests first. No matter how sympathetic and concerned they may seem to your injuries and financial burdens, they are still going to try to settle your personal injury claim for the least amount of money they can get away with.
You and the Insurance Company Claims Adjusters
The insurance company...
•Simplifying Your Legal Business | Marketing Tips for Lawyers
| Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
When most people hear the word "outsourcing" they immediately conjure up images of overseas call centers, badly disguised accents and customer service headaches. While it's true that there have been many outsourcing disasters, you shouldn't let the bad conduct of other companies ruin your opportunity to take some of the chores of running your legal business off your plate.
What Can Be Outsourced
You're probably already outsourcing on a personal level...
•Raising the Right Office Staff
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
It's a common site in the business world to see a successful CEO surrounded by a team of smart, hard-working assistants. It's extremely difficult to run a successful law firm alone, and many lawyers depend on the efforts of their office to keep things running smoothly. Your legal marketing systems can be made easier and more fun to establish and manage when you have the properly trained staff to help you.
Legal Marketing and Your Office Staff
When you're...
•Negligence in Premises Liability
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Most people believe that premises liability only involves when you slip and fall on someone else's property. That's how this sort of personal injury claim became known as a "slip and fall" claim. In reality, a premises liability claim can involve any sort of accident and injury that takes place on another party's property.
Common Types of Premises Liability Resulting in a Personal Injury Claim
While the most common type of premises liability accident is a...
•Contributory Negligence Laws in Personal Injury Claims
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
In the world of negligence laws there are two main types: comparative negligence and contributory negligence. While the majority of the U.S. states follow some form of comparative negligence law, 4 states and the District of Columbia still follow the antiquated contributory negligence law.
What is negligence in a personal injury claim?
Negligence is the action or inaction that causes harm to another party. When a person fails to act in a reasonable manner,...
•Common Types of Personal Injury Claims
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
A personal injury claim is filed when you are the victim of injury because of the negligence of another party. In most cases, a personal injury claim is first filed with an insurance company that carries auto, homeowners, business, malpractice or Workers' Compensation insurance, depending on the nature of your accident.
Once you file a personal injury claim, you will need to follow through with evidence of your accident, injuries and financial damages. An...
•How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help Your Claim
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
You have nothing to lose and much to gain when you contact a personal injury attorney to help you in filing and settling your claim. Depending on the state where you live, negligence laws may make it extremely difficult to settle a personal injury claim, especially if you live in one of the 5 states that follow contributory negligence laws.
An experienced personal injury attorney will have past case history with which they can draw upon to help structure...
•What to Expect in a Personal Injury Trial
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
The personal injury trial process is not too different from the dramatizations we see on TV and in the movies. Minus the shouting and desk-pounding antics that make that kind of media "entertainment" for some, the actual proceedings are pretty close to what the typical American has become familiar with in the world of court procedure.
Stage 1 of Your Personal Injury Trial - Jury Selection
The first stage of a personal injury trial is the jury selection...
•Personal Injury Claim Basics
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
A valid personal injury claim involves 3 main points: an accident, negligence of another party that caused that accident, and damages that resulted from the accident. Without these basic elements, you generally do not have the basis for a personal injury claim.
When you believe you have a valid claim to file, you should first consult with a personal injury attorney to discuss your case. In some cut-and-dry cases you can file a claim with the insurance...
•Beneficiaries in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
It's a difficult time when you've lost a loved one unexpectedly because of the negligence of another person. In cases such as these, the surviving family members may seek to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the parties responsible for their loss.
Determining a beneficiary can vary from state to state, so it's best to consult with an attorney in your area to determine the proper circumstances for your family. Generally, the beneficiaries are determined...
•Developing Your Unique Selling Proposition
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Back in grade school you were taught that everyone is special and has something that sets them apart from everyone else. This is true about you as a person and you as a lawyer. When you're developing new lawyer advertising methods and campaigns, you need to consider developing a unique selling proposition as well.
What is a unique selling proposition?
No matter where you go in this country you'll find dozens, even hundreds of lawyers in the general practice...
•Recharge Your Legal Marketing Batteries
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Let's face it; we all get burned out after a while. Even the most successful lawyers eventually have a point where they need to step aside for a moment and take a breather from their daily work. There comes a time in all our practices when we've been working at our legal marketing so much that we seem to have run out of steam. When you notice this happening, it's time to recharge your legal marketing batteries!
Knowing When it's Time to Recharge
When your...
•Tracking Your Legal Marketing Success
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
When you begin to develop your legal marketing strategy you need to consider the importance of tracking marketing response. Why waste time and money on a system that doesn't work? Legal marketing can be time consuming as it is, and with time being your most valuable asset, you need to make sure all your legal marketing efforts are worth their operating costs.
Achieving Efficiency
One of the main goals of an effective legal marketing system is to stop...
•Using Legal Marketing Methods to Draw Attention
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Standing out among the crowd is easy when you're the one up on a box waving your arms around. That is, unless that's what the rest of the lawyers around you are doing. One of the biggest issues in legal marketing is the group mentality of lawyers. They see their peers all jumping on the latest media bandwagon and think they should too.
The problem is, when everyone uses the same legal marketing methods and put out the same types of lawyer advertising, the...
•The Importance of Community Presence
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Because most of us rely on local clients to increase our law firm's success and prosperity, there's no reason you shouldn't be getting out in the community's eye. The more recognized you are at local events and in local publications, the more your local clients will identify with your name.
Creating a Positive Community Presence
Participation in local events such as parades and festivals is not only a great way to establish a good community presence but it...
•Marketing Ethics and How to Legally Ignore the Rules
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
In your years of practice as an attorney I'm sure you've come across several laws that are vaguely written and left largely up to interpretation. As a lawyer, it's your job to argue your interpretation to best serve your client's case. As state bar laws for lawyer advertising continue to change, I'm finding these skills come in handy for legal marketing as well.
How Your State Bar May Hinder Your Legal Marketing
Every state bar has the right to regulate how...
•The Principles of Great Lawyer Marketing
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Take a look at what you're doing right now to promote your law firm. You probably have a website, some personalized items for giveaways, and perhaps a print ad in some publication somewhere. These are all well and good, but they're lacking in both uniqueness and in cohesion.
Great lawyer marketing begins with developing a solid legal marketing plan and using that to create all your lawyer advertising materials. You need to develop your lawyer persona and...
•We Need Medical Malpractice Reform Now, Stupid
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
I had a very interesting conversation with an emergency department (ER) physician recently at a social event. He was clearly frustrated with his current working situation and what he saw the future to be with the impending government takeover of medicine. He was employed by his local community hospital and had been practicing for about 16 years.
In the approximate order of his rant, here's what bothered him:
1. The hospital administrators where he now...
•The Power of Free Giveaways
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
The next time you're at a local community festival during the summer, imagine how great it would be to see hundreds of residents walking around cooling themselves with a fan with YOUR law firm's logo on it. You'd only have to pay a small amount to get hundreds of personalized logo fans ready to distribute. Hand them out to festival goers and you've got instant advertising!
That's the power of the free giveaway. Nearly any promotional item you can think of...
•Time: Your Most Valuable Asset
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Effective time management is a skill that all successful lawyers must master if they want to increase their free time to enjoy life outside the office. Many analysts try to place a dollar value on what an hour of your work time is worth, but in reality, all you need to realize is where you spend your time and whether or not those tasks are important to your law practice.
Review How You Spend Your Day
Take a day in the life of you and really look at what you...
•Effective Legal Marketing Through Monthly Newsletters
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
One of the most important aspects of your legal marketing strategies is that once you establish a connection to a client, you need to continue to follow up with them. Even after their case is resolved and they move on with their lives (thanks, in part, to your services), you need to remain in their peripheral vision if they're to be a source of future business.
Keep In Touch With a Monthly Newsletter
With more and more companies ditching snail mail for...
•Effective Internet Marketing Strategies for Lawyers
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
It seems every day there's a new Internet trend in advertising that every business tries to harness. In the earlier days it was email lists and websites, and now it has grown to social networking, online video, and all sorts of gimmicks using the latest media trends. It may seem difficult to follow all of these new fads, but you can make your Internet marketing easy and effective if you take the right steps.
Your Website is Your Internet Marketing Hub
Any...
•The Best Professional Marketing Coaches for Lawyers
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Most of these so-called "professional marketing coaches" are of the mindset that all businesses are the same and they have the one-size-fits-all answer to your legal marketing woes. Actually, strike the word "legal" from that, they don't care that you're a lawyer. They won't tailor their seminars or materials to legal marketing, they'll just tell you that you're a business and their system will work for anyone, including you.
Is every case you handle the...
•Attorneys: Leave that Jealous Mistress!
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
When we're in law school our lives are devoted to studying, graduating, passing the bar and getting that first job in a real law firm. This leaves little time for anything else, like starting a family or enjoying life. But this is only true for lawyers who don't understand that you can be a successful lawyer AND a successful human being at the same time.
Decide What's Important To You
Is your life your job? Do you love spending 13-hour days at your desk? Do...
•How to Use Your Law Practice as a Tool to Serve Your Lifestyle
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
I hear a lot of lawyers boasting about how they're answering some higher calling by practicing law. They want to serve the public, help right wrongs and uphold justice. I can respect that. I love a good dose of justice as much as the next lawyer. The difference is I know that the legal profession is above all a business, and we need to run a successful law firm if we want to actually help our clients.
It's a Law Firm, Not a Charity
You're not going to be a...
•Response to Your Legal Marketing
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
The goal of your legal marketing campaign is to draw attention to your law firm and legal practice to gain new clients through your lawyer advertising. Legal marketing is a two-way street: just as your clients need to respond to your various legal marketing strategies, you must acknowledge that you are just as interested in them.
That being said, one of the biggest reasons inexperienced lawyers fail at their lawyer advertising is that they don't pay enough...
•Marketing Yourself as a Niche Lawyer
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
When developing your legal marketing plan you should be considering creating a legal niche to help narrow your focus on your lawyer advertising. Your firm may handle several areas of practice, but by specializing your legal marketing messages to a targeted area, you can increase your chances of success.
Creating a Niche in Your Practice Area
You can define your profession on several levels. You're a lawyer, then you're a personal injury lawyer, then you're...
•Is Thinking Like a Lawyer the Most Important Thing You Can Do?
? Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
There's a time and a place for everything and thinking like a lawyer should be reserved for case work or trial matters. When you're dealing with legal marketing, it's time to put away the lawyer hat and put on your businessman hat, because your legal marketing is what drives your business.
Think like a Businessman Instead
As lawyers we're taught to analyze and research and nitpick every little detail to get the results we want. Lawyer advertising is a much...
•How to Optimize Your Law Firm's Website
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Many of today's legal marketing strategies revolve around technologyprimarily the Internetto grow their client base. Traditional lawyer advertising involved print ads, TV spots, and billboards; now it's focused on banner ads, YouTube videos, and websites.
The Importance of Your Lawyer Website in Your Legal Marketing
Your lawyer website is a critical piece in your legal marketing machine. When used properly, it serves as a central hub for all your Internet...
•Whose LIFE Is It Anyway?
? Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
LIFE was once a popular national weekly magazine. Its "brand" was immediately recognizable - the cover always had a red rectangle in the upper left corner with "LIFE" written in white. Every inch of the rest of the cover was always one photograph. They were good photographs, but just one per issue. It was a big deal to get on the cover of LIFE (similar to the more recent notoriety of being on the cover of TIME or PEOPLE). LIFE put politicians and actors...
•Taking Back a Lawyer's Position of Authority and Trust in the Community
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
The reputation of lawyers in the public eye has been damaged over the years from poor media representation and an increase in unethical practice. Just like doctors with medical malpractice claims, a few bad apples can spoil the bushel, and it only takes one big media story to sully the reputation of a profession.
Your local area is probably full of lawyers who have horrible legal marketing and lawyer advertising that's clamoring for any and all clients to...
•What Successful Business Owners Have in Common
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Anyone who says they've "developed a program for success" has been through an extensive process of trial and error. This is one method of achieving success in your business: try something new, analyze the results, fix problems, repeat as necessary. While it's a good method, it's also very time consuming and frustrating.
Why not learn from someone who's been there, done that, and now practices their own findings?
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery...
•How to Make Your Law Firm Stand Out On the Web
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Consider your law firm’s website as your digital face; an extension of your law office on the Internet. Your potential clients are turning to the Internet and search engines more and more when looking for information on legal services they may need. Your legal expertise is a service that your next client is seeking, and your website needs to communicate this.
The First Step is Being Found
You can have the best designed website with the most comprehensive...
•How to Get More Names in Your Client Database
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
When you are building a client database, you can't just pull a bunch of names from the White Pages, and you can't grab any Email address you see off the Web. Your client database should be made up of interested, relevant contacts who are seeking advice and information relevant to what you offer.
Your client database is essentially the center of many other marketing efforts. Your newsletter draws its mailing list from this source, without the list of...
•Successful Lawyers Grow and Cultivate a "Herd" of Raving Fans
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Think about branding in consumer goods. No matter what the product is, most people will have a fondness for one company over the others for that particular product or service. This brand loyalty is especially strong in electronics. Ask one of your tech-savvy friends what their favorite brand of Smartphone is and they will immediately fire off a company name. Better yet, ask them to explain WHY and you may be in for an earful.
As your friend rambles on about...
•Yellow Pages Ads Can Still Be Effective If You Do It Right
Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass
Back when getting a Yellow Pages ad was THE way to market yourself as a lawyer, most marketing strategies revolved around who could yell the loudest. The boldness of your text, the size of your ad, how many ways you could find to duplicate your listing...the tricks go on and on.
Unfortunately for all those lawyers, all those generic Yellow Pages ads look exactly the same and say exactly the same thing: I'm a lawyer, hire me!
What you aren't doing is...
•Administration on Course to Stifle Innovation and Creativity through Antitrust Laws
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
What happens in America if you become wildly successful? What happens if a product or service of yours becomes so good that so many people want it that becomes the dominant player in the market place?
In some cases the government comes after you to get you to "share the wealth."
This is going on with the Monsanto corporation now. Monsanto is an agricultural company. It helps farmers become successful. When farmers are successful food is delivered to your...
•Help Me Rescind My Car Accident Settlement
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
"I want to rescind my settlement..."
We recently spoke to a gentleman who had settled his personal injury case six months ago. He had been injured in an accident where the other party was clearly at fault. He was contacted early on by the other person's insurance company.
This man had incurred about $20,000 in medical bills, most all of which have been paid by his health insurance plan from his employer. The man told me that he did not want to pay an...
•Effective Time Management -- Separating Entrepreneurs from All the Rest
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
The end of the year is a great time for personal assessment. Many great entrepreneurs use this time of year to not only plan next year's journey but to make an honest appraisal of the last 12 months of our lives. As I look forward to 2010 I see a calendar that is almost overflowing as it is. I'll be putting on a major marketing conference for lawyers in the middle of January and likely leaving the next week for 2 1/2 weeks in China as Sandi and I travel on...
•"Free Consultation" is NOT an Irresistible Offer
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
If you are among the countless attorneys who use "free consultation" or "free case evaluation" as an irresistible offer, you are missing out on a great marketing opportunity. With all of the hundreds of ads saying the same thing, how will your firm standout?
One of the most successful ways to get someone to stop and contact your company is to have an irresistible offer in your advertisement or on your website that is different than your competition. A...
•Trying to Say Too Much in Your Ad & Other Common Marketing Mistakes
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
If you have ever advertised in the Yellow Pages or even opened up the book, you will see pages and pages of lawyer advertising. Many of these lawyers make a big mistake when it comes to their ad and perhaps you are guilty of this too 'trying to say too much. When a business tries to make the complete sale in just one ad, it is similar to meeting someone for the first time and saying, "you don't know me, but let's get married." You might get some takers,...
•Thinking about advertising in a new or different media?
? Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
A business owner has a ton of choices when it comes to which media to run their next ad in. Often, simply because of the number of choices available, they think about going into a new media. For example, they may try coupon advertising, Google Adwords, a billboard or a local specialty magazine.
They all want to know: "will this media work for my business?"
Here's my answer: there is no good or bad media. Most all media can be made to work. The real...
•It's All in the Headline
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
When you are reading the newspaper or looking on news websites, how do you decide which article to read? Most likely you read articles that have headlines that caught your attention. The headline had something in it that made you stop and think that this story is worth reading or covers a subject that you would like to learn more about. You then move on to the first couple of paragraphs to see if the article deserves your time.
A headline for an...
•The High cost of Defensive Medicine
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
As the debate continues about health care reform one of the topics that is discussed is "tort reform." Republicans argue for it and even the President, in a recent address, suggested that aspects of tort reform were "one the table" in order to fight the "high cost of medicine." Proponents of tort reform argue for a limited right to sue a wrongdoer, either by imposing additional procedural roadblocks (expert certification before suit, for example) or by...
•You Had Better Be Practicing Discrimination in Your Law Practice
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
I am a runner.
I'm a 51 year old marathoner. I can run a 4 ½ hour marathon that puts me right in the middle of the pack for my age group. I run half marathons and 10k's as well. I run for fun.
I'm willing to pay list price for good running shoes and I do like all that "high tech" running gear, including "super dry" shirts, expensive rain gear and yes, one of those lights that ties to you head to you don't trip over something on those 5 a.m runs in the dead...
•Court Clears Way for Suit in Sleepover Death
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled that a supervising parent who makes a clear promise to another parent to follow that parents' rules about driving while caring for their child has a duty to follow through to provide reasonable care and supervision. This case is fair warning to parents who host sleepovers, agree to rules and then allow the violation of rules.
Michael Kellerman of North Carolina agreed to let his 14-year-old daughter Jaimee visit her...
•Simple Steps Towards Your Goals
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
Goals. Everyone has them in almost every aspect of their lives. People might not think they have goals in everything, but often it's subconcious, such as a rewarding family life, or to be "happy" however you might define it. Goals are great to have and they come in a variety of forms but they have one weakness, they get forgotten ALL the time. Goals seem far off and when people think about them they say "eventually" or "not right now." They allow things that...
•Clauses You Don't Want to See in Your Long-Term Disability Policy
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
Long-term disability policies are unlike any other type of insurance. As an employee, you often don't have the choice between several companies offering different types of coverage. Employees typically must accept the policy their Human Resources Department has chosen for the company. And while many companies select comprehensive, well-written policies, there are just as many irresponsible businesses that choose the cheapest policy they can find.
Also,...
•Business Owners Can Make Themselves the Obvious Choice
Copyright (c) 2009 Benjamin Glass
Many entrepreneurs struggle with how to market their goods and services, especially in a weakened economy. The result is a follow-the-pack mentality. The simply copy what others in their industry do, inserting their name for their competitors. Stop reading this article right now and go and pick up the Yellow Page directory for your area. Look at the ads of companies who do what you do. What do you see?
Most businesses do random chance marketing. There is...
•Six Essentials Lawyers Must Demand From Their Website Developer
Lawyer marketing on the Internet has exploded and there are no signs of a slowdown.All of your money is wasted however if you cannot combine great positioning on Google with an interesting website that makes an irresistible offer to the potential client. Most lawyer websites either do not position well on Google or are so boring that they do not give potential clients any reason to become excited about you.
Internet marketing is complex and the competition is fierce for a high ranking on...
•What Personal Injury Lawyers Can Learn from Bottled Water About Marketing
Taking marketing lessons from bottled water.
Have you seen that show on TV where there are hidden cameras inside a fancy restaurant hotel? Then they create a "water steward" to offer very fancy bottles of water to the patrons. They all have labels from different mountains and springs; and they're selling these 8, 9, $10 bottles of water and they are selling the story and getting feedback from the patrons. And of course the camera goes to the back of the room and there's a guy with a water...
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