A Legal High with Graham Seldon

Welcome back to A Legal High. In this episode host, Graham Seldon, is joined by George Beaton and Jon Huxley, who give their insights on CX for legal firms including: The four phases of CX How clients are happy to pay more for a great client experience The top 3 drivers of client satisfaction The role BD & M play in bringing the client voice back to the firm Most importantly, how to make good CX simple  

As a marketing discipline, communications is often the poor cousin in law firms, relegated to the back corner while the favourites, BD and client relationship management take centre stage. But this view of communications is outdated. Used strategically, communications is a critical element of any marketing, BD or client campaign. Our guest in this episode is Sharon de Bomford, Principal at Write Results, and an expert in communications for professional services firms. Graham and Sharon discuss: Why comms teams need to be diverse Why ignoring internal communications is at your peril The ethical dilemma of some LinkedIn strategies Why every communication strategy should be a BD strategy How being authentic doesn't help differentiate What external clients think of law firm comms How to turn staff into brand ambassadors Where law firms needs to invest their communications efforts How to demonstrate ROI Why a career in law firm communications is becoming more valued

Does your firm want to implement a sector strategy? Or are you a generalist BD looking to move into a sector specialist role? Our guest on this episode of A Legal High is Darren Milo. Darren worked for over 20 years in strategic business development with global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, both in Australia and the UK. He now runs a consulting practice working with law and other professional services firms to develop sector led strategies that bring clarity and collaboration to winning work. In this episode, Darren shares his experience on: How a sector-led strategy brings clarity and collaboration to winning work Why firms that encourage their BDMs to go out and build their 'little black book' win more business Why partners must act as the 'guiding coalition' for a sector strategy to be successful How to transition from a BD generalist to sector specialist

In episode 4, Graham Seldon interviews leading sales coach, Keith Dugdale. Through is work as a consultant to firms globally Keith has noticed: Firms getting squeezed on price Clients being less loyal to one firm Services being commoditised through AI (particularly in the USA) Firms tendering for business when there is no existing relationship To help firms and BD teams address these challenges, Keith and Graham discuss: Why it is absolutely critical that law firms invest in trained business development experts to coach fee earners How to add more value to justify the price How BD and marketing professionals can use basic account management processes on lawyers, not just clients This is quite a long discussion (40 mins) but Keith has a wealth of experience for you to tap into. We hope you enjoy listening.

Move beyond providing transactional technical legal advice to really thinking deeply about meeting the long term needs of clients is the advice from NAB's Customer Executive for Professional Services, Brett Moore. Earlier this year, NAB published the Legal Services Industry report, which had some findings many legal firms will find surprising. So host, Graham Seldon, invited Brett to be a guest on A Legal High to discuss the report with our audience.

Build your leadership and influencing skills is the advice to BD&M professionals from our guest, Joel Barolsky, Managing Director of Barolsky Advisors. In this podcast, Graham and Joel discuss a broad range of strategic issues affecting law firms including: Why differentiation is a meaningless brand strategy for national and global full service firms The Bermuda Triangle of law firm management Why changes in the legal supply chain affect how and what type of new business firms win in the future Why BD&Ms need to bolster their leadership and influencing skills

In this podcast Graham interviews Baker McKenzie's Pitch and Pursuits Excellence, Senior Manager – Asia Pacific Leader, Sara Miller. Sara shares her insights on: The difference between business development, proposals, bids, tenders and pursuits How to learn best practice in pitches and pursuits The nuances of working on pitches and proposals in different cultures How legal firms will win work in the future

In this podcast, Graham Seldon talks to CEO of Performance Leader, Ray D'Cruz about what drives a high performance law firm. Performance Leader works with professional services firms by providing technology and consulting to help them build vibrant feedback cultures. In this podcast you will learn: What defines a high performance law firm What metrics law firms use to measure partner and firm performance How continuous feedback affects the marketing and business development agenda Why BD and marketing professionals could earn the equivalent (or more) of partners in the law firm of the future

In this episode, Graham Seldon interviews Michael Bidwell, who at the age of 26 years old has achieved so much as a lawyer, Pride in Law activist and Editor of The Legal Forecast. 

In episode 5, Graham Seldon talks to CEO of the O10 Group and host of the ABC's radio program, This Working Life, Lisa Leong. According to Lisa, lawyers and BD professionals are wasting their time having random acts of coffee. To be effective, business development professionals must get in front of clients and ask insightful questions so they truly understand their client's business strategy. But they must also understand the personality and strengths of lawyers so they can make smart connections. In this podcast Graham and Lisa discuss: How clients and firms will win by making BD professionals client-facing. Why the empathy revolution will help lawyers, BD, marketing and communications professionals stay employable and relevant in the age of artificial intelligence. How business development professionals can help lawyers have deeper and more strategic conversations with clients. How to convert cold case clients into strategic growth clients for the firm. About our guest, Lisa Leong Lisa started her career as an intellectual property and technology lawyer in Australia and London, before she completely changed direction and became an ABC radio presenter for eight years. Following her stint as a DJ, Lisa returned to the law as Head of BD for Herbert Smith Freehills in Asia, then later returned to Australia to come their BD Disruptor. Lisa is the co-founder of the O10 Group, and is their CEO for the APAC region. The 010 Group works with professional services firms to drive growth in their strategic accounts. She is also host of the ABC's weekly radio program, This Working Life.

In episode 4, Graham Seldon has a lively discussion with co-author of The Marketer's Guide to Law Firms (How to Build Bridges Between Fee Earners and Fee Burners in Your Firm), Genevieve Burnett. Genevieve gives her perspective on how the traditional structure of law firms resembled feudal systems, making partners aristocrats, lawyers tradespeople and marketing, business development and communications teams the peasants! But Genevieve firmly believes the revolution for BD & M in law firms is coming! Tune into this podcast to hear Graham and Genevieve discuss: The tenuous position of the Managing Partner and the power struggles that exist within a partnership The different types of lawyers and why it's important for business development & marketing professionals to understand how to work with each category How progressive firms are abandoning the traditional feudal hierarchy and harnessing the skills and knowledge of business development & marketing professionals

In this episode, Graham Seldon interviews legal pricing expert, Colin Jasper.  Colin advises law firms globally on their pricing strategy, particularly how to turn legal advice into an investment to be optimised, rather than a cost to be minimised. Colin gives his views on pricing strategy the important role business development and marketing professionals play.

In Episode 2 host, Graham Seldon, is joined by Eric Chin, Principal at consulting firm, Alpha Creates. Eric, who coined the phrase New Law, gives his views on the changing landscape in the legal industry and tells why law firms need to adapt to survive. Specifically, Eric covers: What is new law and legal tech​ The importance of data analytics in driving law firm strategies How to translate data into market intelligence The opportunities for marketing & business development professionals What the legal industry will look like in 2025 About guest, Eric Chin Eric is a principal at Alpha Creates, an innovative consulting firm that helps leaders build better businesses in the legal industry through innovation gigs, strategy engagements and technology projects. Industry-leading legal innovators, strategists and technologists now available on-demand to help businesses in the legal industry accelerate innovation. Eric is a regular contributor for publications like Australasian Law Management Journal, The Lawyer, Asia Law Portal, Australian Financial Review and is a highly sought-after speaker at legal tech and law firm management conferences.

In this episode, Graham Seldon interviews guest, Michael Chambers, who is the Executive Manager Commercial Services for National Australia Bank. Before Michael moved into financial services he spent 10 years working in business development for two of the world's premier global law firms, Norton Rose Fulbright and King & Wood Mallesons. Michael has worked in Singapore, London, the Middle East and Australia. In his current role, Michael is responsible for managing the relationship with law firms on NAB's panel. Graham asks Michael to share his insights from the other (client) side.