Survey of general counsel signals opportunity for law firm blogs

The 18th Annual Survey of General Counsel conducted by InsideCounsel magazine found inside counsel are not too trusting of their law firms. Not good when as David Maister says qualification and trust are the keys to getting retained.

Tom Kane, my source on this post, highlighted key findings from the survey on lack of trust.

• 33% of legal departments plan to fire ‘one of their firms’ in 2007 (34% last year).
• Law firm service improved over the last 5 years? – 35% say no, 29% yes.
• 70% believe law firms are not ‘seeking ways to reduce costs.’
• Over one-third (38%) think law firms make too much money (down from 43% last year).
• 39% believe most law firms pad their bills agree (a decrease from 42% last year); 10% of law firms agree (increase from 6% last year 6%)

Establishing trust is perhaps the number one reason driving corporate and law firm blogs.

• Blog establishes lawyer as an intelligence agent on niche area; being in-house counsel’s trusted authority for information on a niche is only a step away from being considered when a corporation is selecting counsel.
• Talking about your practice and the legal profession as it pertains to your niche breeds trust. 1,500 plus blogs later and Microsoft is no longer viewed by so many as the ‘evil empire.’
• Using a human voice, something not typical for corporate lawyers and PR professionals, establishes trust. Law firm newsletters and alerts are a far cry from a human voice.
• “People trust stories that have quotes from many sources. They don’t trust press releases.” (Robert Scoble) Reporters and other bloggers are cruising blogs looking for stories and people to quote.

I’ve gotten to know and networked with numerous general counsel because of my blog – and I don’t practice law. LexBlog lawyer clients regularly tell me of their successes. The majority of that success when you filter it right down comes from establishing trust with you target audience.