Law and Justice

Posts Tagged ‘Advises’

The Bailout bill is now law.  Attention now shifts to the bankers who were at the helm of the sinking ships.

Federal investigators and Congress are busy looking for people to blame.  There is much pent up anger that will be poured out onto anyone who is perceived to be at fault for any aspect of the current financial crisis.

But who is advising the targets of these investigations?  Unless and until these people have legal counsel, they will only be able to depend on their own judgment. 

The first instinct of someone who may be the target of a federal investigation is self-preservation.  However, the things that one does in response may lead to more trouble later. 

Many people who come under scrutiny are never charged with crimes for which they are investigated but rather with failing to tell the truth and obstructing justice.  The most famous example of this is Martha Stewart, who was convicted of lying to investigators, rather than securities fraud, in a case about a well-timed stock sale.

So, before you destroy documents, erase computer records, burn receipts, or arrange for an alibi, consider that investigators may ultimately want a bigger prize than you.  If you are truthful, if you are perceived as cooperative, you may only be used as a source of information in the quest for a defendant with a higher profile.

Given the size of the financial crisis, given the number of players involved, federal investigatory resources are going to be stretched thin.  If you act impulsively, if you act according to your self-preservation instinct, you may end up buying time in prison for something other than your role as a banker. 

You may end up, as Martha did, allowing them to make an easy case against you for obstruction or perjury.

With the uncertainty of the economy, legal marketing agency Beyond All Reasonable Doubt Marketing is advising law firms to take a serious look at their budgets. While marketing, advertising and public relations dollars frequently are cut to reduce expenses, marketing experts agree that a down economy is actually the time when marketing efforts should remain in place, and if anything, be enhanced.

“When other law firms reduce their spending and cut their marketing, they have less presence in the marketplace,” explains BARD Marketing founder and president, John Sailer. “This means the time is ripe for a savvy law firm to grab market share – to reach the audience that is still there but who is hearing from fewer of your competitors.”

When planning your law firm’s budget, you should start by identifying how much you want to spend. While there are no hard and fast rules across the different types and sizes of law firms, it makes sense to budget your marketing as a percentage of expected revenue. Several studies have pegged overall law firm marketing budgets to be between 2 percent and 3 percent, with leading firms spending 5 percent or more.

Second, prioritize your initiatives by looking at both costs and expected benefits. This is easy if you tracked your efforts in past years. Remember that some of the lower cost initiatives may bring strong value while some of the higher cost initiatives may bring very little value. With this said, it is imperative to track outcome of every initiative.

BARD Marketing is experienced in budgeting and planning for short- and long-term marketing and advertising plans, and enables law firms to achieve and track ROI for their marketing activities. For more information or to request a report on Yellow Page Advertising Costs and Effectiveness, please visit www.bardmarketing.