Burnett, John and Carroll, Becky. How Marketing Can Help Lawyers Make More Money: Targeted at Solo and Mid-sized Practices. (Book Review)

Outskirts Press, Inc.. 2010. c.235p. illus. ISBN 978-1-4327-4579-0. $35.95. ISBN 1432745794 (e-Book). $5.00.

Strategic marketing may not be highly regarded by many law firms. Yet, in today’s brutally competitive marketplace, strategic marketing may be crucial to survival and prosperity. This reality may be particularly true for solo and mid- sized law firms that neither have the resources nor the motivation to learn and implement strategic marketing. In this noteworthy publication, Burnett (President, John Burnett Marketing; Professor Emeritus, Marketing, University of Denver; author of twenty books on marketing- related topics and sixty- five journal articles; Doctor of Business Administration, Marketing, University of Kentucky, 1976), a consultant specializing in strategic marketing for small to medium- sized, businesses, non- profit organizations, and law firms, and Carroll (Community Manager, Verizon, San Diego, California; Founder and President, Petra Consulting Group/Customers Rock!; author of the business blog Customers Rock!; Instructor, “Marketing via New Media,” University of California, San Diego; M.B.A., California State University), a long- time customer advocate, consultant, speaker, and more, provide a comprehensive examination of strategic marketing for solo and mid- sized law practices. In twelve chapters, they cover all topics relating to strategic marketing, including but not limited to, marketing planning and research, situational analysis, S.W.O.T., target market(s), clients and their decision- making processes, legal products, pricing in the legal sector, distribution channels, integrated marketing communications, personal selling for lawyers, social media marketing, budgeting for legal marketing, and evaluation of strategic marketing and marketing initiatives. Written by experts, this book is authoritative, intelligently- conceived, and reasonably well- presented, even though it lacks a selected bibliography, footnotes or endnotes, a back-of-the book index, and a glossary, all of which should have been included as necessary aids for readers. It features many diagrams that help to illustrate and augment the text. Of interest to mostly lawyers, legal marketers, and some business professionals, this informative, go- to resource belongs in some public and special library book collections serving the needs of the aforementioned groups. Highly recommended. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Outskirts Press (eBook)

Jobe, Marjorie. Business Law Battle Plan for Entrepreneurs: Protect Your Company from Lawyers, Lawsuits and Legal Disasters.

Jobe Publishing Company. 2009. c320p. index. ISBN 978-0-615-23364-2. $39.95. ISBN 978-0-615-26398-4. $29.95. paper.

In this guide which is intended to serve as a basic introduction or refreshing review for entrepreneurs and their managerial staffs, business attorney Marjorie Jobe (University of Houston, J.D., University of Missouri, B.A.; Admitted 1987) makes her case that following the rules and “doing the right thing,” even though they may be legally and ethically mandated, may not be enough to protect business owners and their businesses from lawsuits, claims, and investigations by individuals, other businesses, and the government. Jobe argues that in this litigious age in order to minimize the risks of lawsuits and stay out of state and federal courts, business owners and their businesses also must secure the services of competent legal counsels as well as adopt continuously reviewed and revised “legal battle plans” that determine certain strategies, policies, and practices for running businesses. Comprehensive in scope but not depth, each chapter of this publication introduces a new topic pertaining to establishing and maintaining “business law battle plans” and is concluded by Points to Remember, Legal Cases, and Questions for Your Lawyer sections as well as a List of Resources available in print or online. Chapters cover diverse subjects, not limited to business entity formation, government investigations, marital property agreements, asset protection, business insurances, contracts, taxes, intellectual property, employment laws, human resource management, cyberspace liability, hiring and firing practices and procedures, what to do when you are being sued, and how to proceed if you decide to sue. Concisely, articulately, engagingly, and expertly presented by a legal insider who writes for new and seasoned entrepreneurs who may not have experienced the legal system and its many injustices, this informative, useful, and essential resource belongs on the desks of most, if not all, entrepreneurs and their managerial staffs as well as in most public library collections. Strongly recommended—C. A. Lajos Availability: Amazon.com,Barnes & Noble.com