Steve Blundell

So nice to see old friends getting together in a shiny new business venture. Redstone Consultants launched just two months ago in February, but I've known quite a few of its consultants separately, and thought very highly of them, for a very long time. 

Managing Director Steve Blundell is one of the most famous names in law firm business strategy, familiar to me since my earliest days as a junior marketing assistant back in the (ahem) 1980s, when professional services marketing first began.  He was then marketing manager at Touche Ross (I remember Kim Tasso introducing him to my then boss) and one of the first members of the profession's "Informal (ie meetings down the pub) Marketing Forum" the pre-cursor to today's PSMG, its then half-dozen members being the only marketeers in the entire world focussed on the professions. Oh what a Brave New World it was. Since then Steve has had a blazing career, with roles in-house in both accounting and legal firms (Baker Tilly, PWC, Denton Wilde Sapte) before co-founding his own consultancies, first Gracechurch (10 years ago) and now Redstone. Few have such an impeccable personal brand so like most people I'm always interested in What Steve Does Next. So when Redstone invited me to a "Strategy Room" breakfast discussion, I took the opportunity to ask him what his new consultancy is all about and how it differs - not only from its closest competitors, but what Steve himself has done before. 

"I'm a strong believer that creating and implementing competitive strategy is as much about leadership, organisational design and tackling internal cultural issues as it is about analysing and responding to external market factors – though these are critical too. Successful strategy is about bringing to bear the full suite of functional skills you find around a boardroom table, but the professions often struggle with the softer skills side and with the part that's focussed internally. But HR, IT, Marketing and Finance functions are all equally key to the piece; it's the COMBINATION that makes for success in the most competitive and challenging of markets" (domestically with ABSs and globally with the rise of the far East). "You can see this in the complementary skill-sets of our founding directors. Clients tell us our most vital contributions are in the areas of strategy, organisation design, culture, positioning, business development and relationship management. Clare, you and I both agree that Jo Larbie is second to none when it comes to HR, professional development & learning. Your interview at the time of her book launch (How To Make Partner and Still Have a Life) highlights exactly the skill-set and wisdom that our clients say adds the value; then we have Keith Wells, a genius when it comes to brand strategy; Katie Dignan" [another good friend of Kysen] "is one of the profession's very best sales developers, with in-house sales and BD roles under her belt at top firms Herbert Smith, and Pinsents" [where, incidentally, she coincided in-house with Kysen's own Clare Turnbull] "; Marco Smith worked as BD director for DTZ before becoming head of European BD at Baker McKenzie; Moray McLaren, has a most unusual reputation as both academic and practical marketing specialist, beginning with a stint as Head of BD at the IBA, then at SNR Denton, then Associate Professorships at the Catolica Global School of Law and IE Business School's MBA programme - and now a continuing role at the groundbreaking internet-enabled global classroom Law Without Walls; and Peter Cornell, Chairman of our Advisory Board.  Peter was Global Managing Partner of Clifford Chance, went on to work with Guy Hands at Private Equity firm Terra Firma and now is a partner with Metric Capital; that’s just some of the leading lights in our team. But before any of these individuals engage with a client, it is of course diagnostic skills that are the most crucial; being able to pinpoint where a law firm's critical challenge is (it's not always where it's senior management think it is) and identifying what type of intervention, and in which parts of the business, is going to help the firm most in moving forward ahead of competitors.  Is the real issue for the business about staff engagement and incentivisation? Is it about the need to migrate lawyers' skills to capture opportunities in a very changed market? Is it about improving profitability and helping the senior team understand the levers behind the figures?"

Clearly Redstone is no one-size-fits-all consultancy. They are all about getting under the skin of what clients' issues really are and delivering bespoke solutions. Their big advantage is their strength in depth, and the sheer range of management skills they offer across such different disciplines, and from which they can draw teams in Europe, North America and Asia to deliver just the right kind of mix to meet clients' very particular needs. Now that's what I call value-add. 

There's no doubt Redstone will do well, given both the pedigree of its advisors and law firm leaders' need for support as the legal profession faces an unprecedented level of change. But what excites me more is the thought of all the firms that will fare so much better, now this particular brand of management consultancy support is here.

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Prize for Story of the Week has to go to "human cannonball" and former lawyer Gary Stocker, the "high-flyer" who gave up a six figure salary to "launch" himself on a new career path. Gary gave up a lucrative job as law/writer and legal recruiter, and switched his £1million home for a caravan, to develop his circus act. Yes, the press had fun with this story; you can count the puns here. He says his new job is much harder and pays a good deal less, but gives him much more freedom and variety.

Someone should put him in touch with Lawyers On Demand. Doesn't he know theses days you can have it all? A fun circus job AND a continuing career in law? But then that's quite a juggling act to pull off.... 

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Guest post by Honey de Gracia.

The Kysen team walked with the Lord Chief Justice and over 8,000 people at this year's London Legal Walk. The event was aimed at raising money for the London LegalSupport Trust, which funds Law Centres and pro bono agencies in and around London. We know these agencies do a fantastic job; helping London's most vulnerable citizens receive the legal advice they need makes a huge difference to these peoples' lives, reducing debt, poverty and homelessness, and combating discrimination and injustice. And we also know how short these agencies are of funds to be able to continue their work. 

It was a pleasant day to walk for the cause, as the sun graced us with rare pro bono stints. Just like last year, our colleagues in the legal industry exchanged their usual suits and wigs for athletic gear... and then some. We bumped into clients from Fladgate, Serle Court and Squire Sanders to name a few; some journo friends from Legal Cheek; and we walked alongside inspirational academics, also civilians who strongly support the Trust. 

The route went on for over 10k and by the time we got to the finish line at The LawSociety our legs, feet, and bodies were sore. The Trust had rewarded finishers with a small street party which involved food, drinks and entertainment - even massage beds! The biggest reward, however, was knowing there's so many people prepared to go the extra mile to support the cause for legal aid. Literally.

Ed Tillotson

The legal profession could learn some business development tips from The Lawyer's Ed Tillotson. I spoke to Ed this week about a new service line offered by The Lawyer. No, it's not just the opportunity to buy more advertising space; not about firms/sets being able to publish their Client Guides to a wider audience using a Lawyer platform (although this is increasingly popular amongst their advertorial packages). So what is it? This might surprise you but The Lawyer team is now offering "article writing training" for would-be contributing authors of Lawyer content. 

"But The Lawyer magazine and its parent Centaur are in the business of publishing aren't they?" I hear you ask. "Not education and training..." I'm baffled by this new direction, so I took the opportunity to quiz Ed this week. 

"Receiving so much content from lawyers as we do at The Lawyer, it's been clear for a long time that there is a need for article writing support. Not least because the rise in social media usage and the proliferation of blogs has brought a new informality to professional and business writing and it's not easy for people to grasp where the line now is between being too stuffy on the one hand and too casual on the other, also how this applies across the blogosphere and in traditional print. Also, some of the most brilliant legal experts out there have real difficulty in putting their expertise across, or explaining complex legal points to less specialist/sophisticated audiences. And the in-house marketing people who act as go-betweens don't feel able to step in and improve the writing, for fear of misunderstanding the law and garbling important legal points. So we saw an opportunity to develop a new thread to our tapestry of business lines for law firms."

This is a subject close to Kysen team members' hearts: we spend hours each week finnessing material our clients give us so it is in perfect shape (on a good day) by the time it reaches our press contacts. Being legal PR specialists, and trading in legal topics on a daily basis, we have the confidence to tamper with technical text, change it where necessary to ensure it is specifically tailored to a given readership; that it is perfectly judged in terms of the level of knowledge and sophistication it assumes of the audience; and is written to engage, inform and sometimes entertain. In contrast, most in-house business development managers will simply not have the time, nor the right skill-set to do this, because their job descriptions are much much wider than just PR so they are not as immersed in legal topics as we are.  

"We deliver training through Econsultancy and it's proved extremely popular so far. I have to admit we have an ulterior motive too; the more confident a firm is that its lawyers can prepare strong content, the more they'll be tempted to take advantage of the new array of options to promote their content on our various platforms." 

Smart thinking: helping lawyers learn how to package their expertise in a form easily digested by target audiences is an essential part of them learning to market their expertise. But did you see what Ed did there? In selling this idea to the profession, he's demonstrating that his own business development skills are of the highest order. What he's doing here is repackaging The Lawyer's intellectual capital. Clearly not content to be restricted by such trifles as the fact Centaur is a news and publishing business, why not just dream up completely different ways to make money from all that wisdom and knowledge at the magazine.

That's what I call thinking outside the (text) box.
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I've said in this blog before that Evening Standard court reporter Paul Cheston is one of journalism’s best story-tellers. Anyone keen to learn how to write to engage readers better would do well to study Paul's opening lines. I always say, Paul illustrates "text-book story-telling" at its very best, getting right to the heart of the most tantalising aspects of a story right away.  And this week we were treated to what might be his career best. Honestly. Writing up an interview we had arranged for him with Middle East "fixer" Daad Sharab, reflecting on her court win last summer when her opponent Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal became the first member of the Saudi royal family to be held to account and cross-examined in a British court, he crafted the most impactful opening line to a news story I have ever read, anywhere, ever. I'm not exaggerating: just count how many punches he packs in this one single sentence:

"The woman who  humiliated one of the richest men in the world has told for the first time how she delayed a brain operation to make legal history."

Masterful Paul.  Honoured to know you.

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Guest blog by Adele Baxby

Being so used to following Supreme Court’s cases and judgments for our clients, it was great to step past the security and see the court itself this week, brought to life at night at a superb event: Court adjourned! Twilight hours at the Supreme Court. 

First up for the Kysen team was a talk in the white expanse of Court Two from the architect Hugh Feilden from Feilden + Mawson. Explaining the challenges his team faced when renovating the building, Hugh’s talk was a real eye-opener. As were his explanations of the significance and symbolism behind everything from the words used as art throughout the building, to the jazzy carpet designed by Sir Peter Blake (which certainly has echoes of his Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover).

Next we heard from court blogger and artist Isobel Williams. She told stories about moving from sketching Occupy protesters outside Saint Paul’s to judges and barristers in the Supreme Court. It is impressive that with just ink and an A4-ish sized piece of paper she manages to capture so much of the tension and emotion that often runs high in these court rooms, all while sat at the back of the room (occasionally perched precariously on a bench at busy trials).

Our visit ended in Court Room Three - an impressive room which is used to hear appeals from all over the world. Sitting in one of the green leather chairs it really brought home the importance of the decisions made in these rooms – especially in Court Three where, at times, lives can be on the line. 

Alex Aldridge

When Legal Cheek founder Alex Aldridge spoke about monetising online content at an event this week, I was all ears. How the media industry is adapting its business models in the digital age, and how the maverick world of blogging is becoming more business-like, are two subjects very close to my heart.

Alex was a guest of a "Pivotal Tribes" Question-Time-style panel discussion, which attracted 140 or so bloggers and would-be-entrepreneurs. Fellow panelists included Guido Fawkes alter ego Paul Staines, Student Beans founder James Eder and fashion & lifestyle blogger A Lady in London, Julie Falconer.  The audience hungrily gobbled up their tips for monetising content and turning blogs into successful digital businesses.

Alex was representing the legal community, billed as found and editor-in-chief of "the UK's most widely read legal blog", and I was keen to know how he feels about being part of the establishment. "I think for anyone this transition from internet hobbyist to professional media outlet is always an interesting one. Looking back now at the start of the legal twittersphere and the explosion of legal blogging in 2010, it's interesting to see how many names have disappeared from the scene. Not necessarily because they weren't so good, but sometimes people just lacked the time or ran out of steam. There's definitely been a slowing of growth, with just a handful of legal bloggers remaining now, a much smaller core. We've definitely seen the end of an era in legal blogging, but the rise of the "superblogger" is just the beginning: legal blogs that continue to go strong include Richard Moorhead's Lawyer Watch, David Allen Green's Jack of Kent, Carl Gardner's Head of Legal, Lucy Reed on family topics, plus now there's Colm Nugent's emerging Wigapedia alter-ego and, of course, The Conversation."

Alex has been named the "Guido Fawkes" of the legal world which he finds very flattering, he tells me, although he is keen to underline Legal Cheek's liberal credentials in contrast to Guido's famously right wing stance. "What is interesting about the parallel though", he says, "is that political blogging being a few years in front of its legal equivalent, you can see what lies ahead. Paul [Staines, Guido Fawkes founder] began as a hobbyist in a sea of other political bogging enthusiasts. Where others have dropped off, he has kept going and today is a full blown professional media operation." [Since 2006 Staines also owns a digital advertising agency advising on social media campaigns, most notably the successful Boris Johnson London Mayoral Campaign in 2012.]

Legal Cheek now employs its first full time member of staff, reporter Tom Connelly who joined six months ago. "It certainly feels to me much more a serious business now I have someone else's salary to think about! But the profile of our advertisers has changed hugely since our early days. Now we list Hogan Lovells, Mayer Brown, Hardwicke, The University of Law, Norton Rose Fulbright, amongst other advertisers and are able these days to pick and choose to keep the quality of the names.' 

And has Legal Cheek's audience changed too?  "We aim to be the social media website for the legal profession and the BuzzFeed for law students and lawyers. So yes, as social media usage permeates through more layers of the profession, our audience does change. As you'd imagine we've always had a huge following from the student community and barristers have been quick to latch on to the profile-raising opportunity provided by Twitter. We have a big following amongst associates too. Law firm partners have been amongst the most reluctant to engage with social media, particularly at the senior end, although there are notable exceptions. Mayer Brown's Head of Finance Dom Griffiths springs to mind, for one... and engagement from this group is growing all the time. We now have 90,000 unique visitors to the site (equates to 250,000 page views) every month now, 83% from the UK."

Most definitely a serious business with serious advertising partners to match. But don't get too "establishment" Alex, we like you as the maverick you are! "Don't worry," he says, "I'll always remain the outsider... and the thorn in the establishment's side!"
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Serle Court's Annual Party is always an event to look forward to in the legal calendar and this year's bash at the Barbican was no exception.  It's always staged somewhere exciting: this year the Barbican's Conservatory and Garden Room (you'll see from the photo this space is like a mini urban Eden Project); in previous years the The Museum of London, The London Transport Museum and the very beautiful St. Luke's. The food is always first class also but more than anything it's the wonderful company we all enjoy. We always bump into the other clients and friends. 

As ever, I had great fun catching up with Russell-Cooke's Francesca Kaye (although far too briefly) and Edwin Coe's David Greene, both known to us as past presidents of the LSLA. Also got to know some of the peeps I hadn't met before from client firms: Russell-Cooke litigator Mary Hodgson, Head of Fladgate's regulatory, governance and investigations team, Sophia Purkis; also had an illuminating conversation with a high profile judge that I can't say anything about for fear it might suggest he courts publicity.  Clearly he doesn't. 

Thanks for the invite Nicola! A really special do! :)
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Speaking of David Greene, over canapes at the Serle Court party he regaled us all with a fabulous story.  When "leaning in" at a lunch with Lord Justice Jackson to clear the air over the LSLA Litigation Trends survey that criticised his reforms, David suddenly realised to his horror that his tie had found its way into his Lordship's soup.  The phrases "Jackson reforms" and "in the soup" will forever be linked in his mind no doubt!

Katie Tibbitts

I'm enjoying getting to know Katie Tibbitts, the new PR executive who's just joined the Mayer Brown comms
team. With four years experience under her belt working with law firms, she knows her way around the "idiosyncracies of a parntership decision-making structure" and has been able to hit the ground running, which is good news as she's now working with one of the busiest, most ambitious comms teams in town.

Over drinks at The Hospital Club we talk about how lucky she is working under the leadership of Helen Obi. As regular readers of the blog will know, I've known Helen for some 10 years and rate her as one of the 
very best in her field, famous for setting creative and challenging targets for herself, her team and the wider firm, so being a brilliant person to learn from. To give just one example, she talked in The Conversation last  year about videoing interviews with clients to impress upon lawyers the importance of knowing what really matters to customers).

Katie joins from South East regional firm Thomas Eggar so is finding life at City giant Mayer Brown interesting to compare. We talk in some depth about how experience in the different corners of the legal marketplace can enrich the PR advice you are able to give any law firm [or barrister] client.

"It's fascinating for me to learn about the global piece, how changing markets around the world shift the emphasis of work and marketing activity inside a big international law firm. At Thomas Eggar we had to be just as close to our chosen markets of course, attuned to what clients needed and sensitive to how that changed as markets change. It's just that those markets are different. And the culture of each marketplace is quite distinct also. In the regions there's a greater crossover between people's commercial, social and personal lives. Obviously with global business this doesn't play out in quite the same way. As I'm learning the new market dynamics of Mayer Brown's business, I'm fascinated to spot the differences and see the similarities compared to a much smaller law firm covering Sussex and Surrey."

I've often said if you asked me to swap Kysen's client portfolio for one generating twice the income but from only eg four Magic Circle firms, I wouldn't blink before turning the opportunity down. What I love most about our portfolio at Kysen is the sheer variety of work, giving us insights and opportunities to learn across the entire breadth of the profession, from global firms such as Mayer Brown, international commerce giant Holman Fenwick Willan, Italian firm Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, to niche players like Brecher, regional firms such as SA Law; opportunities to understand how solicitors work differently from barristers representing Serle Court, 7 Bedford Row, Hardwicke, etc, also working for legal associations FOIL, ELA & LSLA; business associations supplying to the legal profession such as IP valuation specialists Intangible Business, and so forth.

Katie has made some smart choices in her career to become a specialist, with deep knowledge of the sector she's chosen to work in. I like her approach and the way she is thinking about her new opportunity. She's a smart operator. It's clear she'll go far. 
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I was in heaven this week at the St Albans Film Festival, courtesy of our good friends SA Law who are headline sponsors. The widow of great man of cinema Stanley Kubrick, Christiane, is a local and she launched the Festival one year ago. Bizarrely, St Albans has no cinema! But the organisers turned this to advantage, making a virtue out of the need to find alternative venues. So for the inaugural event this year we were treated to a screening of Hitchcock's The Birds in the city's cathedral. How atmospheric! We were also treated to a special celebrity guest appearance from the Harry Potter cast: Hedwig. I heard that over the bank holiday weekend Jaws will be shown in... yes you've guessed it... the local swimming pool, viewers invited to swim during the film... if they dare!

Thanks SA Law for a fabulous fun-filled filmic evening! Spectacular hospitality. You're definitely keeping your reputation for doing things differently!
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Hats off to Honey de Gracia for taking up the Live Below The Line challenge this week. This Global Poverty Project is designed to raise funds for charity (Honey chose Child Hope UK) at the same time raising awareness of the word's poor. Did you know there are over 1.2 billion people worldwide living in extreme poverty, which equates to 20 times the population of the UK. That's not a typo: I did say 20 times. Shocking. Honey's food and drink budget has been limited to £1 a day (defines the poverty line) for five days. Those of you who know her will be well aware she's "barely there" already, she's so diminutive. Her feet have been known to leave the ground when out with an umbrella on a windy day in Covent Garden. Thankfully, she's remained healthy and not lost any weight (she couldn't afford to!) We've been keeping a close eye.

Well done Honey! If you'd like to support her, you can make a donation here.

Glyn Maddocks

Legal Aid Gap - Glyn Maddocks is coming to get you! The withdrawal of legal aid has indeed been like a
cancer, undetected at first other than a general feeling of malaise, then some unusual symptoms popping up in different places - first some strange mutations in litigation funding appearing on the scene, deregulation paving the way for conditional fee arrangements and a whole new array of insurance-backed litigation products; then some odd metamorphoses in the rules as to who is licensed to conduct litigation and run cases and how their businesses are allowed to be structured.  No longer a requirement for "expensive" solicitors working in tag-teams with "pricey" barristers, supposedly offering cheaper options to the public, but in reality creating huge risks they won't be properly represented. Finally, a diagnosis: a worrying justice gap created by the withdrawal of Legal Aid and anyone unable to afford legal advice will just have to do without. The surgeon is told to cut a further £220 million of fat from the already slimmed down body on the operating table, slicing away layers of "duplication" and taking the scalpel to "unnecessary expense". He doesn't realize he's in fact cutting into muscle. The body lies inert and butchered now, in front of him, and certainly no nearer a cure. Surely a clinical negligence action waiting to happen.... If only anyone could afford to sue!

Against this backdrop, campaigning lawyer Glyn Maddocks has launched a charity to help plug part of the gaping hole in our British justice system left by the withdrawal of Legal Aid. The Centre for Criminal Appeals (CCA) will provide a not-for-profit solution to the shortage of both legal representation and effective investigation for criminal appeals and miscarriage of justice cases and will attempt to make viable otherwise non-remunerative cases that currently only financially reckless lawyers are prepared to take on. The CCA will cover the overheads of its lawyers and will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team involving investigators and other appropriate experts.

Glyn is a highly experienced criminal solicitor at Gabb & Co in Wales and aside from his campaigning is perhaps most famous for his role in the Paul Blackburn case, a man imprisoned for attempted murder at the age of 15 for 25 years, for a crime he did not commit. Criminal convictions are notoriously difficult to get overturned and Glyn worked tirelessly for 13 years before the Court of Appeal agreed on fresh evidence that Blackburn's confession had been forged by the police. He was released from court a free man. 

"It's this terrible concept of years, even whole lives, wasted in prison that has inspired much of my work over the last 20 years." Glyn has devoted a good portion of his career to miscarriage of justice cases. "I have a real worry that without a proper Legal Aid system, most lawyers qualified for the job just won't be able to afford to take on these time-consuming and expensive cases. And innocent people languishing in prison for crimes they didn't commit will simply fall through this justice gap. The CCA hoped that UK firms and barristers chambers may like to consider doing what their US counterparts have done for many years and provide financial support for initiatives such as the CCA. A few hundred pounds each year from the top 100 firms plus a similar amount from the top chambers would provide long term financial viability and would mean that the cca could concentrate on doing its job of acting for those who have allegedly suffered a wrongful conviction."

So, surely it's good news for British justice that the CCA is here with at least a partial cure? 

"We certainly have an important role to play but I wish I could be more upbeat. Should UK victims of miscarriages of justice really have to rely on the efforts of a charity? Is it not sad and embarrassing that this country, where the rule of law has long held sway, cannot itself guarantee access to justice for its citizens?"

Anyone interested in pledging financial or other support for the Centre, either as a one-off donation or as part of an ongoing CSR programme, should make contact
-      with Glyn Maddocks by email: glyn.maddocks@gabb.co.uk
-      via the website: http://www.criminalappeals.org.uk/
-      or via webdonate: https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/centreforcriminalappeals

And anyone wishing to donate to Cancer Research's Race for Life can do do here: Cancer - we're coming to get you!

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Cure for exam stress: those of you who know Kysen well will be familiar with our daily routines spotting legal newshooks. One in particular struck home more than usual this week. My colleague Adele was working on an education law topic about a Scottish university offering pet therapy for stressed out students, paving the way for lots of legal thought leadership about the duty of education establishments to ease the stress of their pupils. With 16-year-old twins at home, any ideas for combating GCSE-induced stress is gratefully received! The idea of pet therapy received enthusiastic attention at home... but not in fact as much as another choice story from the National Union of Teachers proposing special help in schools for the ranks of "menopausal" middle-aged women who make up such a large proportion of the teaching community. I kid you not: there are formal proposals for more water fountains to help with hot flushes and grouchiness that come with this "special age". I won't tell you how the conversations ran at home, but the phrase "no wonder" was overheard. 
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One of the most talked about stories in legal circles this week was the 15-million pound wine fraud over "fake" rare vintages. The case, brought by a US property magnate claiming he was duped into buying a rare vintage wine by a Mayfair-based merchant, is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. Sold on the basis that its grapes were picked before George Washington was elected first US president and costing £10,000 per glass, no wonder the buyer is taking it all the way to court. You couldn't make it up!

Jacqui Rook

Doing business with Brecher's new CEO Jacqui Rook is most definitely fun. Our conversation took place over Blue eggs and toasted soldiers at Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly (her recommendation) and she made me laugh so much, tears were dripping into my egg yolk. The stories that woman can tell!

Jacqui believes people don't just buy technical expertise and know-how, but want to invest in a business relationship with a real person as well. In her mind it's all about the experience of doing business with someone, not just the outputs. And this refreshing approach is one she's keen to instil in everyone at her firm.

"No one wants to sit down and listen to negativity. A business relationship should make people feel positive and it should be enjoyed. A good exercise is to reflect on how your clients and other business associates experience you. Are you an energetic presence? Does the room light up around you? Or do you tend to have the opposite effect, sapping the energy of those you're with and having an unenviable ability to empty a room? Do people see you as the person who's always coming up with solutions? Or are you the one who only points out the defects, the pitfalls?

"What do your clients think when they look in their diary in the morning and see a meeting listed with you? Do they smile, looking forward to it as one of the highlights of their day? Or do they groan, knowing it's just something they have to get through?"

Of course Jacqui's firm Brecher is famous for its close relationships with some of the property industry's most famous players, sometimes going back decades, even generations. "We are lucky: our senior partners are complete naturals when it comes to client relationships and they are known for putting their personalities into their work too, as well as all that top-of-the-market highly-attuned technical expertise. Many of our associates too. This is what we want to see across all areas and levels of the firm".

So given her belief that "relationship" is key, what role does she think social media can play? Or does she think it's irrelevant and that only face-to-face counts?

"I think LinkedIn can work really well to set up a good face-to-face opportunity, if used skillfully. Maybe start with a message asking to Link In "because we could do some interesting business together". Then kick off a conversation with a series of skilful open and closed questions to show an interest in your target (always welcomed by people) and find out more about them. Then by the time you meet them for the first time face-to-face, you already have a conversation underway.

"For shyer lawyers who hold back in face-to-face networking situations, who are uncomfortable speaking to people they don't know, this can actually be a better place to start. It's like the first part of the conversation takes place behind a screen, and once they come out from behind the screen, a connection has already been established.

"I'm a great believer in finding what type of business development activity works for different individuals. There's no point in trying to force everyone into the same mould. It makes life unpleasant and it just won't work anyway. So if someone has a problem with conventional networking because of religious or other dietary restrictions I'll encourage them to try breakfast meetings, or cocktails 5-7pm. If some people are particularly averse to social media, rather than fighting them on the point I'd rather focus them on other business development activity such as lunching or seminars. There's always something that a person can do".

Of course another aspect of this is that Jacqui won't let her lawyers hide behind excuses! She's going to get everyone involved in the firm's business development. There's no escape. But on the plus side, you can bet she'll make it fun!

***

The old adage that today's news is just tomorrow's fish-and-chip paper looks like it's fast going out of date.  The Times reported this week that as a preventative measure to reduce littering, Liverpool City Council are requiring local chippies to provide plates and cutlery, instead of meals wrapped in paper to be eaten with fingers, if they want a pavement cafe licence.  So the much-loved chip paper proverb, used to explain the ephemeral nature of news and how soon headlines are forgotten, is becoming obsolete.  

But in our internet age, the very idea that today's news is ever consigned to mere chip paper is already well out of date: individuals caught in the midst of an ugly media storm can't any longer console themselves that awful headlines today will be no more than the wraparound for someone's takeaway dinner tomorrow.  Googleability now means stories have a horrible habit of hanging around. More reason than ever to guard reputation.

(And of course my legal friends are reminding me that it's actually been years since it was lawful to use old newspaper to serve food. Something about the potential of lead poisoning from the ink. Health & safety laws.... don't get me started!)

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If ever there were a lesson in the use of celebrity hooks to make news stories fly, this is it:  our extremely techie legal comment about the operation of US sanctions against Russia, which we had been working on for weeks with the FT, was suddenly hi-jacked by the news that these politically-motivated trade restrictions might jeopardise the world concert tours of Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus.  Helskini Arena is apparently owned by three Russians who move in close circles with Vladimir Putin, having been friends with the Russian president since childhood.   The Finnish leg of their tours may have to be cancelled.  And so, not only was our legal commentary catapulted to the FT's front page alongside photos of the two mega-stars, but was picked up by several other national broadsheets as well ... and our client, HFW's competition and international trade law expert Anthony Woolich, invited on to the BBC's World Business Report and CNBC to explain the issues in law.  

Just goes to prove that a bit of showbiz glamour gets everyone's attention, even readers of the most serious stories in the most highbrow parts of the media.

Catherine Pepinster

Tablet editor Catherine Pepinster must have one of the most interesting jobs in journalism. As an individual she is by turns thoughtful, though provoking and thought-leading so who better to be at the helm of the leading Catholic newspaper in such fast-changing and challenging times for faith organisations.  As she pointed out to me, whilst her predecessor at The Tablet covered the tenure of only one Pope (John Paul II) in 22 years, she is on her third pope in only 10!

But the change she is responsible for covering in her editorial role reaches far beyond the internal concerns of the Catholic Church.

I first met Catherine in the "green room" at Sky studios, preparing for a live TV debate on the subject of prenups becoming enshrined in UK law. I was rehearsing a lawyer on one side of the argument (the very impressive Mei-Ling McNab from Brachers); Catherine was presenting an opposing view as a "seasoned spiritual pundit"; she is regularly invited on TV and radio on programmes such as Radio 4's Thought for the Day and so forth. 

What's particularly impressive for someone working in a specialist title within the already narrow field of religious affairs reporting, is that she has such a broad world view. Not surprising perhaps given her role prior to joining The Tablet as executive editor of the Independent on Sunday. This outward-looking perspective is apparent as she tells me how her editing role at The Tablet has changed over her 10 years at the helm:

"A significant coincidence for me, making my job far more interesting, has been how religious affairs has shot up the mainstream news agenda compared to being the (dwindling) specialist interest subject it was just 15-20 years ago. There are a number of factors behind this:

• First, since the impact of 9/11 in 2001, people feel a greater need to understand religion, particularly fundamentalism and particularly Islam. Religious fundamentalism was seen as the new threat and suddenly everyone wanted to know more about what drives these people.
• Second, the immigrant population in the UK has grown exponentially, and many of these immigrant groups bring a faith from overseas whether Catholic (e.g. from the explosion in Eastern Europe immigrants) or Islamic, or other.
• Third, we have seen an increase in clashes between the Church and politicians in recent years over a number of high-profile public interest topics such as faith schools, same sex marriage, etc.
• And lastly the lid has been blown off the Church's cover-up of sex abuse by its priests, which is of widespread public interest.

All these developments have had a big impact on the content we need to provide for our own readers, as well as how the magazine relates to and engages with the outside world."

And of course Catherine is facing the same challenges as all other senior editors of the media, guiding their titles and their businesses through the digital revolution. As soon as we met, Catherine and I connected on Twitter. The magazine has its own Twitter identity too, sharing a certain amount of free content to 'entice' people in, more available with a subscription.

"I love the interactivity you can have with readers in the digital environment" (for example, when she invited readers to say what they thought of new Pope Francis a year on from his election she had no less than 1600 replies almost immediately),"and the richness of the content you can provide for them", for example including hyperlinks to reports and documents referenced in their news reports.

The Tablet today is published in print, online and app formats and includes blogs and a Twitter stream as well as conventional editorial, i.e. news and features. The online archive now includes every single edition dating back to its very first issue in 1840. This magazine has a long history and is celebrating its 175^th anniversary next year. Right now it is doing very well, turning a modest profit each year at a time when most national broadsheets are operating at a huge loss. And given Catherine's sense for moving with the times and embracing all things new, its future looks bright too.

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Was this shoe app made just for me?? Loved this story about ASAP54 which uses similar recognition technology to Shazam, enabling you to take photos of desired items of clothing, whether your own favourite pair of shoes that's about to die or your best friend's dress you want to copy, then search the internet for where to buy the closest match. This app has my name on it! (At least I'm so convinced of it I'm even thinking of changing my name to ASAP54 by deed poll!)

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Prize for selfie of the week (but not in a good way) goes to a Mr Daniel Thomas who posted a photo of himself on Facebook taken inside Mold Crown Court ... with the judge and the court crest in the background. He said he didn't realise it was a criminal offence but was still fined £400. Ouch.