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The Marketing Dashboard

02/15/2012

Check out my latest article titled The Marketing Dashboard: Real Time Cataloging of Business Development Statistics, that appeared in February issue of the ABA's Law Practice Management Today Webzine.

Also, check out Deborah McMurray's excellent article in the same edition titled Experience Management: It's Been Elevated to Mission Critical.

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Selecting a Proposal Generation System

10/20/2011

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In the wake of the economic downturn and sluggish growth, law firm marketing departments are having to do more with less. This means fewer proposal writers, researchers, and business developers. Can proposal generation software help marketing departments do more with less? The answer is yes. More importantly, the time marketing professionals spend hunting for relevant text and then inadvertently re-drafting text that already exists because they can't find it, can be saved and shifted to customizing the response to the needs of the client. This will certainly increase the probability of a successful outcome. Here are some system attributes to think about when looking for proposal generation and management software.

Provides quality information output with minimal input. (This is the tricky part. In a large law firm, data flows from many sources, this will require the tacitly acquired information coupled with processes that direct drafting by marketers. In the article "Choosing Your Proposal Automation Software," by Gideon Klaassen, it suggests that for every one piece of information provided, the proposal automation software should at least produce three useful pieces of information for a 3:1 value ratio.)
Generates content in your regular word processing and presentation software. (I haven't seen a system yet that is compatible with PowerPoint. If you are utilizing PPT to produce pitch books that are not projected, consider using Word in landscape instead. If it needs to be projected and can be done so without animation, a PDF will do.)
Reduces typos and content errors.
Attracts users to contribute to the system through a well-designed interface and value delivery.
Scales appropriately to match your firm's growth.
Links up all existing business development, web, contact management, and other relevant applications to the software.
Produces proposals in multiple languages and flexible formats.
Tracks, alone or in collaboration with content management systems metrics about each opportunity.
Offers a team of support consultants who are consistent and have the availability to assist you through the duration of your deployment.

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US Law Firms in Brazil

10/18/2011

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The following chart contains a listing of the 16 US law firms that have offices in Brazil, in alphabetical order by date opened. Four firms are affiliated wtih local Brazilian law firms and do not have lawyers on the ground.

Baker & McKenzie (Affiliated with Trench, Rossi e Watanabe Brasilia); Brazil Offices: Brasília, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo; Opened: 1959; Lawyers: 0; Practice: Regulatory issues, antitrust and competition, and high-level litigation
Baker Hostetler (Affiliated with França Ribeiro Advocacia); Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: n/a; Lawyers: 0; Practice: Corporate, commercial, foreign direct investment, real estate, tax, litigation, labor, IP, environmental
Chadbourne & Parke; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2010; Lawyers: 3; Practice: Corporate, mergers and acquisitions, finance, capital markets, project finance
Cleary Gottlieb; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2011; Lawyers: 2; Practice: International financing (capital markets, project finance and restructuring), cross-border mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and tax issues, corporate governance and litigation and arbitration.
Davis Polk; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 3/2011; Lawyers: 2; Practice: Securities offerings, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments and project financings involving Brazilian companies.
DLA Piper (associated with Campos Mello Advogados); Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 3/2010; Lawyers: 0; Practice: Corporate, finance, real estate, tax and litigation.
Gibson, Dunn; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2010; Lawyers: 5; Practice: Capital markets transactions, corporate finance assignments, and merger and acquisition matters, with a particular focus on energy and infrastructure project finance. Private equity, fund formation, real estate and international arbitration including capital market transactions (including ADRs and bonds in U.S. public and Rule 144A transactions); mergers and acquisitions; project finance and infrastructure; multilateral and syndicated loans; debt reorganizations, including consent solicitations and tender and exchange offers; tax matters; litigation and international arbitrations; fund formation; venture capital and other private equity transactions.
Jones Day; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 10/2010; Lawyers: 6; Practice: Cross-border M&A, private equity, infrastructure, construction and transportation, mining and energy transactions, pharmaceutical, technology outsourcing and other strategic alliances, as well as banking and finance and capital markets transactions.
Mayer Brown (associated with Tauil & Chequer Advogados); Brazil Offices: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; Opened: 12/2007; Lawyers: 0; Practice: Full service firm offering legal advice to national and international clients, financial institutions and government entities.
Milbank; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2010; Lawyers: 6; Practice: Corporate, capital markets, securities, infrastructure, oil and gas, power and energy, project finance, securities, M&A, and telecommunications
Proskauer; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2008; Lawyers: 5; Practice: Corporate: banking and finance, capital markets, M&A: Infrastructure/project finance securities offerings: bond offerings, equity offerings and securitizations. Finance transactions: syndicated loans, trade finance loans and other structured finance transactions. Development and financing of infrastructure projects: ports, airports, drillships and oil platforms.
Shearman & Sterling; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2004; Lawyers: 6; Practice: Transactions—from debt and equity financings to mergers and acquisitions and fund formation.
Simpson Thatcher; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 2009; Lawyers: 7; Practice: Corporate: equity and debt offerings, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, private equity investments and fund formation, syndicated loans, and project and other structured financings. Major disputes and arbitrations involving corporate and sovereign clients in the region.
Skadden; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 9/2008; Lawyers: 4; Practice: M&A, corporate finance, private equity, banking, project finance, restructuring and arbitration
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey; Brazil Office: Rio de Janeiro; Opened: 2008; Lawyers: 1; Practice: Mergers and acquisitions, tax, corporate, securities, competition law, financing, dispute resolution, privatization, environmental and intellectual property law.
White & Case; Brazil Office: São Paulo; Opened: 1997; Lawyers: 10; Practice: Corporate, project financing, long-term investment, M&A, IPO, arbitration