Podcast Ep. 6: Law Firm Awards Submission With David Brown

Law firm awards submission insights and tips! 

 

 

 

Our esteemed guest on episode 6 of the Legal Marketing 2.0 podcast, David L. Brown, is an award-winning editor, content strategist and writer with nearly 20 years of experience in the legal affairs arena. He works with clients to improve the quality of their content, and counsels them on their content strategies. David led ALM Media’s entire editorial team as the company’s editor in chief, and before that, was editor in chief of the prestigious The National Law Journal. Twitter: @DavidLBrownJr Website: The Legal Writers Bureau.

Podcast shownotes 

The recognition awards provide is meaningful to lawyers and firms who don’t get a lot of accolades for their work. In fact, they get a lot of heat. So when a publication says “good job!” or recognize them as part of an elite group of people, that can be a source of inspiration.

Additional benefits:

• Awards highlight something positive about the firm. There’s a morale benefit for people at the firm that shouldn’t be discounted.
• Awards provide opportunities for networking and career building.
• Awards serve as a recruiting tool for new lawyers and lateral partners.
• Awards provide a benchmark. Something for others to aspire to.

But as deadlines approach, law firms marketing and communication professionals are scrambling. You should know that it’s OK to ask for an extension. But don’t call and try to litigate the rules. Yes, that happens. It will not engender a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Awards are not created equal.

Awards all have commercial aspects, for sure, but you can determine the quality of the award by their vetting process. Marketing teams should be selective of where to invest their resources based on the criteria that is being sought by the publication or group that’s putting together the award.

David offers a few tips for submitting an award:

• This may sound basic, but follow the rules. If they require a Word doc. Submit a Word doc. They prefer a spreadsheet? Submit a spreadsheet.
• Talk about your big wins, of course. But also share your losses and how you handled them.
• Presentation really does matter. Make sure your writing is compelling and clear. It should adhere to the questions that are being asked and shine a light on the reasons you should win.

Finally, check out The Legal Writers Bureau which was created to help lawyers better tell their story with people who have a lot of experience working in legal media who have been been involved with a number of the awards programs.