Many strange and interesting offers come across the Simple Justice mail desk. Some, like the ubiquitous link exchange offers from other websites, are so commonplace as to require no more than a click to forget. But every once in a while, an offer comes along that is so odd that it captures my attention. Once such email came yesterday.
John Reed
Media Relations
Stoy Idea Summary: Grace Suarez is a appellate lawyer working from home using her iPhone and a simple database, Bento, from FileMaker to make her busy law practice as paperless as possible.
INTERVIEW; an interview is available with Grace Suarez.
PHOTOS: High-resolution photos of Grace Suarez and her usage of this technology can be emailed to you.
How does your schedule look to talk with Grace about her usage of an iPhone and the Bento database for that phone?
Thank you.
John Reed
I’ve heard stories about how letters were lost behind counters, or through cracks in the wall, and weren’t heard from for decades, maybe even generations. Could this happen to an email? Could John Reed have sent this to me a decade (or more) ago, when the paperless office concept was a little closer to a new idea? With high-resolution photos, no less.
But then, there were no iPhones then. No, this was new. Some flack actually sent out an email about an idea that had been around, and practiced, for more than a decade, as if it was novel and interesting. So I let Reed know (because I’m a helpful sort of guy) that he was shooting blanks, to which he responded:
Hmmm, other media love it.Hmmm indeed. I wonder if someone is considering a feature length movie? In black and white. But still a talkie. Given the extent of discussion around the blawgosphere lately (like here, here, here, here, here, here, here and of course, here) about the state of marketing for lawyers, though I would guess Reed is really promoting Bento and not Grace Suarez, high-resolution photos and interview opportunities about her usage of an iPhone notwithstanding, this strikes me as yet another critical point to be made.
We’ll opt you out
I bet Grace Suarez is a fine lawyer, who is making a sincere effort to pursue the paperless office, though I recall Andrew Bluestone winning an award from the ABA for doing so about than a decade ago. But by allowing someone who apparently hasn’t got a clue what he’s talking about to use her in his lame promotion, and offering high-resolution photos and an opportunity to interview about iPhone usage (OMG, does she really have an iPhone! Wowwy-kazowwy!), she’s placed in the middle of some unwanted attention.
If you’re a lawyer, is this really the attention you want? Don’t be seduced by the lure of high profile, especially when the effort is as pathologically pathetic as Reed’s. Next week, Grace Suarez will travel to court in a motorized vehicle! High-resolution photos available. This is not the way you want your name spread around the digital universe.
Also yesterday, the ABA Journal put out a story entitled How a Solo Gained More than 600 Facebook Fans for His Fledgling Firm. You can’t make this stuff up. Not a word about whether he’s gained a single case, no less created a successful, or even sustainable, law practice. Just that he’s got 600 Facebook fans. That’s almost as important as @Rex7 having 70,000 twitter followers, but no job. Perhaps the lawyer involved is a great lawyer, competent and hard working, but this article makes him appear to be a loser whose only claim to fame is the collection of names on Facebook. Why would he want to promote himself in the ABA Journal as a loser? Why would the ABA Journal post such a vapid story?
Promotion is certainly on the mind of many, as it’s being pounded into the heads of lawyers across the spectrum as the fastest, easiest way to get your name out there and become a great success. But perhaps you ought to consider, in light of what’s happening to lawyers who forget that they’re professionals and instead allow themselves to be sold like laundry detergent by their hired gun experts, to not take John Reed’s call.
And now forsomething completely different.
Yet another brainstorm offering the lure of giving free advice, because the other 50 that do so aren’t sufficient.
Our website, www.Newlawyer.com, is a great resource for the public. The whole idea behind the website is a professional network of attorneys located across the United States who offer free advice to those seeking it via free consultations. More times than not, attorneys will charge a client before they speak to them for the first time. However, in this day and age, many people cannot afford to speak to an attorney even the first time. Therefore, we offer a great resource in that 90% of our attorneys are available to speak to the client at no cost.I’m holding out for a website that will let me try cases for free on the internet. Wake me up when you’ve go that nailed down. And it wouldn’t hurt if you could also provide a listing of supermarkets, clothing stores and restaurants that feed and dress lawyers for free. For those of you who believe that your future is in giving free advice to people on the internet, I have but one question: Do you have an iPhone and some high-resolution photos like Grace Suarez?
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Does John Reed have pre-written press releases about Grace Suarez and her iPhone and Bento? ‘Cause if he does, there are a whole bunch of blawging-as-marketing folks out there who’d love to paste it into their blawg.
For every publicist with a fake story, there’s probably some fake media outlet that’s looking for content they don’t have to write.
Lucky you. Caught in the middle.
Although…there’s probably a business model for hooking these people up with each other…
What a great idea! Lawyers connecting flacks connecting lawyer. Finally, a way to retrieve those ill-gotten gains.
If I enjoy how butthurt the scummy harebrained marketeers get when you rebuke them, does that make me a bad person?
One of the happiest days of my career was the one when I sent the persistent Martindale salesman an email saying that I was boxing up all his free crap and sending it back to him, that I never wanted him to email or call or show up again, and that if I ever saw him on our floor again I’d have security frog-march him out and muss his awful toupee.
Your guy had a toupee? He must have been a successful one. Mine could only afford hair in a can.
I saw that press release on the lawyer with 600 followers and wondered what was the point. It reminded me of this story about the lawyer who issued a PR release on his high search engine ranking. As for the New Lawyer site, they have now contacted me about a dozen times for a “link exchange” which would purportedly “increase my SEO.” I told them I charge $5000 for links (my “special” PITA rate) on my page and have not heard from them since.
The crap is so pervasive that I rarely open most of the emails, but on the rare occasion that I do, I remain amazed that people are still doing the same failed link exchange crap. If you ever get your PITA price, lemme know. I might be interested too.
This is one of your funnier posts.
I’ve gotten email from the same “NewLawyer” site. I just can’t figure out how people are thinking that a bunch of websites offering free lawyering is going to actually attract anyone. First, what’s in it for the lawyer giving away his time and work for free? Second, what’s in it for his or her malpractice carrier? But, third, however are they even going to make something like that WORK?
Just as irksome to me lately is the number of websites (like Findlaw and Lawyers.com) offering to put me in their database for a gazillion dollars a month. I did let myself get roped into a Findlaw contract before I wised up. I don’t see a return on it.
And a gazillion dollars a month for a link to my website is just too high.
Next time I want to do that, I’m contacting you or Carolyn for the special $5,000 deal.
Thank goodness, I was beginning to feel like such a dud.
“This is one of your funnier posts.”
That sounds like when I say “No, dear, your brother is one of my favorite in-laws.”
Yeah, Rick definitely took the bloom off my rose.
I promise to be more careful about giving out compliments in the future. 😉
I only recently put up contact information for me. I had taken it for due to getting several e-mails a day. No one in any e-mail offered me money (though once in a while I’ll get a review copy of a book). Likely going to remove e-mail address again.
It’s rumored That Arnold Schwarzenegger used to his fan mail up to a light. He would only opened up the envelopes that contained a check or cash.
If only there was a method of applying that to e-mail…