Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. Our firm is a 6 attorney firm in downtown Chicago. Our practice is a litigation boutique focused on representing individuals in personal injury and divorce matters. We do a fair amount of advertising and have had mixed results. We tried radio and limited TV ads, have an innovative website, have done some pay per click ads on the web and are now considering a lead referral service. Do you have any suggestions concerning what we should be investing in marketing and what we should be doing to maximize our results?

A. Studies that have been conducted indicate that law firms that provide services to business firms (B2B) spend approximately 2.4% of fee revenue on marketing. However, law firms that focus on individual consumers (retail law if you will) spend much more - 10%+ of fee revenues on marketing - especially if strong referral networks are not in place. I have several PI, SSDI, Elder Law and Estate Planning firm clients that are spending 10%+ of their fee revenue or greater on marketing. I have some extremely successful PI firm clients spending 20% of their revenue on marketing.

The amount of appropriate investment can depend upon referral networks in place. I have successful PI and Estate Planning firms that are getting all of their business from their referral networks and spending next to nothing on marketing and advertising. (By referrals I am speaking about professional referrals not involving a referral fee and client referrals. If referral fees are involved they should be considered a marketing cost) So it depends upon your situation, the type of cases you are going after, etc.

"The Business Buying Process" and "How to Find a Business to Buy" aired on Illinois Law in July and August, 2012. These programs were moderated by John Theis and featured panelists William Price, Marcus May, Jeff Gonyo and Todd Cushing. "How to Find a Business to Buy" begins at 27:19 in the video.

The Illinois State Bar Association's 8th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference returns to Chicagoland Sept. 13-15 at the Westin Northwest Chicago in Itasca. Register by Aug. 20 for the Early Bird discount -- a savings of $75. Earn up to 15 hours of MCLE credit, including all 6 hours of PMCLE credit.

Top 10 Reasons To Attend This Year’s Conference

1. Networking with like-minded peers from across the state!
2. Crowd favorite program Gizmos & Gadgets returns
3. Basic and advanced Fastcase legal research training
4. New location in Itasca, just northwest of Chicago
5. Individual counseling on how to market your firm
6. Mobile Device App to put Conference info you need at your fingertips
7. Comedians-at-Law at Friday night social event
8. Plenary speaker Todd Winegar's Trials of the Century Overview program
9. New 4th track of programming – Practice Fundamentals
10. 15 HRS MCLE/ 6 HRS PMCLE credit available

Learn more and register today at www.isba.org/soloconference

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinion in the Criminal case People v. Hackett.

People v. Hackett

By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Melinda Bentley, ISBA's First Assistant Counsel and Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs, has accepted a position as Legal Ethics Counsel with the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Bentley joined ISBA out of law school in 2001. She graduated from the Valparaiso University School of Law and is a native of Alton.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the ISBA for almost 11 years," Bentley said. "It is a wonderful organization committed to serving the lawyers of Illinois and I will miss my many friends within the ISBA."

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Mandated reporter of child abuse, Judicial Privacy Act, Juror’s fees, Trust modernization I and Trust modernization II. More information on each bill is available below the video.

These numbers do not include additional referrals made through the online Lawyer Finder service.

Want to be part of the ISBA Lawyer Finder Service?  Call (800) 252-8908 and ask for the Legal Department, or visit www.illinoislawyerfinder.com

Clients should call (800) 922-8757.

Illinois State Bar Association President John E. Thies (front row, center) gave a speech to representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Justice, including Zhao Jianji (front row, second from left), the Director of the Ministry's Department of Legislative Affairs. The delages were on a two week trip to the U.S., coordinated by the University of Illinois. President Thies discussed the various bar associations in the United States (including their respective activities, and how such associations benefit various members of the legal profession and public); lawyer regulation; legal ethics; legal education; and legal aid (among other topics).

Chief Judge John T. Elsner has announced that the Court is accepting applications to fill a vacancy for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit of Illinois, DuPage County. This vacancy is a result of the retirement of Associate Judge Cary B. Pierce.

Judge Elsner added that applications to fill this vacancy will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2012. Applicants must be a United States citizen, licensed to practice law in this state and a resident of DuPage County. Two original applications, submitted on the prescribed application form, must be filed with:

• Michael J. Tardy, Director
• Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
• 3101 Old Jacksonville Road
• Springfield, IL 52704-6488

Applications can be obtainted from the Chief Judge's Office, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts or from the Supreme Court's website: www.state.il.us/court.

Applications may not be submitted electronically or via facsimile.