CLIENT CONNECT (2 min video)
A better, faster and more affordable way to support all of your clients during their lifetime.

 

A good idea is timeless and often the product of common sense.

ZolaSuite now provides for their standard reports to be scheduled and delivered to responsible staff automatically. Think about this for a moment, it is simple, brilliant and long overdue. Not all firms are blessed with management that does what is should when it should.  Scheduled reports are a great way to enable coherent structure to the way you manage your firm.

Over the years off-site service bureau billing, on-site Mini Computer, PC, Network, and now Online Service legal systems have all benefited from implementation of the same good idea.  I know this well because over a 40 year period I have witnessed software development on different platforms. Starting fresh out of college, I worked at a company that provided 100’s of east coasts largest law firms with their  ‘Monthly’ Reports.  The law firms lived and died on getting the right set of billing and management reports to the right people and Only One Chance to Get It Right Every 30 Days.  The good aspect of this is the forced discipline it provided.

So add this to your required features and if you use ZolaSuite be sure to implement scheduled reports ...now!

Right now there is a flood of private equity flowing into ‘cloud’ providers, especially law practice management clouds. As a result there is an overabundance of online advertisements.

Whether you are a pilot, sailor or business owner it is important to know how to read your clouds, because not all clouds are the same.

In the photo one of the two cloud types is telling you that there is an approaching weather front, 300 miles away and in which direction.  I know that because my Navy pilot brother shared that knowledge years ago. Some simple rules of the road can be very beneficial.

When I see the word ‘cloud’ used in legal tech promotions it drives me little crazy.  My point is, decision makers need to understand the differences of varying types of cloud options.

The category of Online Forms is one good example.  Online forms are not ‘exclusive’ legal technology. In fact the most capable online forms are not made available from legal tech vendors.

Of course, most any online forms options from a law tech vendor can capture the contact information of a new lead. The fact they integrate to their exclusive, made for purpose legal billing is an advantage..

However, If you need best in category form features for a comprehensive intake, then one cloud option choice will work and another may well not. 

Case in Point
Our estate planning law firm clients want a better soluttion for client intake. Better for their law firm and their clients.  Furthermore, a firm with a vision of offering a yearly client care program will certainly need the best in class features found only in dedicated online forms systems.

In fact we have found more options such asintegration with both Zapier and MS Power Automate which opens a whloe new ‘dataverse’ of options for automated workflow.      

The surprise is the dedicated online vendor has greater scale and their pricing is lower for the more advanced online forms.  

Just as the utility company says ‘call before you dig’, I say ‘know before you go’ to the cloud.  

To learn more start here

 

Client Data Integration for your Adobe PDF, WORD, HotDocs

A few new features to an established WORD add-in can now read pdf form client data into Word, and further send it to HotDocs answer files.

Your existing PDF forms may be easily modifed to send form data to WORD and HotDocs (Wealthdocx/Elderdocx). It is fast, flexible and easy to use. No monthly subscription is required.

Tom Caffrey of Premier Software has been recently working closely with attorney Roy Lasris the owner developer of Pathagoras on simple yet powerful features that can streamline and how law firm process client data. Say good bye to initial and redundant data entry and those annoying typos.

Rather than talking about it we have created a couple very short videos to show you.

  1. Watch how we can read client data from a PDF intake into WORD.
  2. Watch as we assemble a 26 page document set in WORD assisted by the simple yet powerful Pathagoras add-in.
  3. Watch as we read, modify and write HotDocs answer files in WORD again as assisted by Pathagoras.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW or Call for a demo or send us an email and we will send you the link to the videos. Send us your pdf based client intake form and we will use it in our demo.

Call 856.429.3010 or email (support at premiersoftware com)

https://me.touchcast.com/s/ntm8qjj0r5

More Detailed Surf Conditions & Webcams for Ocean City – 8th Street at surf-forecast.com.

It’s summer and you may be headed to the beach. Here’s a wave widget for your favorite beach
http://www.surf-forecast.com/pages/configure_widget

Click Here –> Reputation Management Explained Using Six words and an Eye Test

What’s More Clear, Left or Right?

Click Here to Learn How to Assess and Understand Your Reputation Management 

The experts know about the power of on-line reviews. In Forbes July 18, 2018 article Sharma Hyder explains the power of online reviews on protecting your reputation and growing your brand 

Many five star reviews are good, right? Yes good, but great only if the the five stars are accompanied with a glowing client narrative.  A review without a client story is a missed opportunity. Tap Into the Power of Story:  Entertain, Don’t Interrupt The Future of Law Firm Marketing is Emotion, Not Promotion

Your takeaway is to get your clients to tell their stories. What was their MDQ, major dramatic question, and how did you and your staff help save the day, as best possible? Potential clients who read your online reviews describing how you helped to solve problems for people ‘like me’ is the key to effective online marketing. It’s the motivation they need to move forward.

What can the authority on writing stories tell you?
What elements of a story should inform how you blog, and what your clients say about you? STORYNOMICS author Robert McKee, the go-to story writing expert for Hollywood’s best screenwriters, states people want to be entertained not interrupted. Online reviews market with ‘less promotion and more emotion’ and work wonders on your online ranking, reputation and results.   Interruption-based advertising is promotion that people are conditioned to ignore. People are tired of bragging and promotion. The future of marketing lies in story-based emotion, not interruption-based advertising.

McKee says story is not a narrative, chronology, hierarchy, or process.  Story, McKee says, is :
“A dynamic escalation of conflict-driven events that cause meaningful change in a character’s life”

The best  elder lawyer online reviews are ‘stories’ that are as entertaining as a well executed commercial.  Using Mckee’s (terminology), a review will start with a stable client situation (‘life in balance’);  and relate a life changing event that creates an imbalance (the ‘inciting incident’) which  creates an a need, (‘object of desire’), such as financial security or the peace of mind that a family member has the best care , describe activity (action and reaction), that results in opening of a gap between their expectation and reality, their search for help (‘crisis choice’), insights gained and resulting best possible outcome (the story ‘climax’ ), all facilitated by the knowledge and support of lawyer and staff.  A great review almost always ends with the thanks and gratitude stated in the unique and authentic voice of a highly satisfied client.

McKee says a MDQ (major dramatic question) combined with empathy (like me) results in a multiplier effect that supercharges the effectiveness of your marketing. Reviews can contain a major dramatic question, ‘what would happen if’ you had some type of medical or financial emergency, and combine that with real life situations that are similar to your online reader.  To have people searching for help online, identify with how you have solved problems for people ‘like me’, and to create greater emotion and motivation to move forward, it just doesn’t get any better than having them read a great online ‘review-story’.

We would like to share recommended best practice strategies and file closing process learned from working with leading estate and elder care law firms that generate, manage and market  online ‘review-stories’.  New technology makes it easy to gerenate, monitor, respond and display online review in all the right places online. Less promotion and more emotion can work wonders on your online ranking, reputation and results.

Please schedule an online appointment or register for our July 23 ‘Review-Story webinar’.
http://www.calendly.com\premiersoftware

In Storynomics, brilliantly introduced in a 100 second video https://storynomics.com/ , McKee sets forth elements of story and how it applies to marketing.  A great story typically starts with a life in balance and that suddenly gets thrown out of balance. What would you want if ‘X’ happened to you, where X is any life changing event.   This jump off the cliff moment is the major dramatic question, MDQ, which McKee says if combined with empathy (like me) will increase the impact of your marketing many times over.

We are all wired to remember stories.  I have been instinctively attracted to and can easily recall reviews of my elder law attorney clients when I read what I refer to as ‘review-stories’.  These review-stories often start off with the client, whose life was in balance, suddenly having to deal with the disruption.

Here are some selected examples of major dramatic questions in elder law that can be:
> ‘My husband was diagnosed with Lewy body Dementia’
> ‘…very sudden and difficult situation after my brother passed away suddenly’
> ‘When my In Laws passed away we were so stressed n confused about what we needed to do’
> ‘My very intelligent, opinionated, and “with it” 87 YO father typically finds something negative to say about everybody he meets, and even more so for attorneys and about the “justice” system in general. So setting up the appointment for him to sign estate documents made me very nervous when I realized I would not be able to make it to the appointment myself.’
> ‘We were in need of quick advice as our mother unexpectedly became ill.’
>‘…resolving some very difficult legal issues involving medicaid and living trusts…’
> ‘As regular folks, we have NO idea the complexity of senior estate planning, benefits or assistance.’
> ‘We hired [law firm name] less than three months ago and now my 84-year-old mother, who has dementia,… is living somewhere safe and beautiful with wonderful staff and round-the-clock care!

 

and here is an example of a ‘review-story’

 Originally Posted on Google as a Five sStar Review ★ 

After exhibiting minor symptoms of dementia for some time, my 82 year old father fell and broke his hip. After the hip surgery my father’s dementia increased significantly. My 80 year old mother and my sister and I were quickly overwhelmed and we needed help. My parents had a small but significant “nest egg” of life savings.
When we first visited Elder Law of East Tennessee, Amelia and her staff made us feel most welcome. Amelia had already analyzed our situation and she was fully prepared. We sat in a private conference room where Amelia made diagrams on a white board and used layman’s terms to explain all of our options and her recommendations. These methods were exactly what we needed to easily understand what our choices were and exactly how Elder Law of East Tennessee would be able to help us. This was just a preview of the excellence and professionalism that she and her staff have consistently demonstrated from day 1. Incidentally, we have just signed up for our third year with Elder Law of East Tennessee. We could not do all of the things they are doing, nor would we have time, nor would we even know how.
Besides their outstanding estate and benefits planning, Amelia and her staff provide outstanding customer support. They promptly return emails and phone calls and they are proactive about the changing needs and conditions of the dementia patient and the patient’s immediate family. They even make visits to my parents’ home to help with benefits forms and agency questions by telephone and in-person visits. This is a huge help for my parents as they are easily confused and have great difficulty with complicated subjects. Amelia and her staff have earned our trust and our gratitude. They genuinely care about their clients and we have experienced this first hand time and time again.
I have nothing but the highest praise for Amelia and her staff. Elder Law of East Tennessee has been a blessing to us during these challenging times for my parents and my family and we would be so much worse off without their help. A heartfelt “Thank you” to Amelia, Julia, Jill, and Kyra. « less

Business response on Google Jun 21, 2017 05:00 PM (PST)
We appreciate you sharing your story about your experience! Our team has enjoyed every minute of our time with you and your parents. We can’t imagine a more kind and thoughtful family. It has been our pleasure to have helped you through the challenges you faced when you came to us, and it is our honor to continue the journey with you for a third year!

 

Contact Premier to get the most benefit from your on-line reviews.

Internet Marketing and a Message from David Bowie

‘Turn and Face the Strange, Ch-ch-ch changes’

Digital Presence changes constantly and silently. Here are three areas to work on in 2018. Reviews, Citations and GMB. These three factors, 45% of all ranking factors, are ignored by most of your peers.

 

Think of these three factors as the small hinges that open a large door to your practice. A little due diligence will go a long way to help you gain your online advantage. Note, ‘working on your website’ is not what we are talking about.

Learn More: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-law-firm-digital-presence-what-you-should-working-tom-caffrey/

On days where we remember or celebrate our veterans, I feel compelled to cite this story to recognize all who served especially those whose story was never told.  In WWII the most U.S military lives lost while at  sea was on ship I am confident you never heard of.

The Sinking of the HMT Rohna:  The Greatest Loss of U.S. Troops at Sea During World War II
Few people have ever heard about the sinking of the HMT Rohna, in high seas, off the coast of North Africa the night of November 26th , 1943.  Ed (now deceased) was a survivor of the Greatest Generation’s, greatest loss of US troops at sea during WWII – 1,015 soldiers killed, plus 120 crew, 3 Red Cross and 11 gunners.  During the war, news of the disaster was deliberately suppressed.

Ed was part of the Army Air Corps and headed to India then Burma on the out-dated British transport, HMT Rohna, with close to 2,000 on board.  Ed recounted how hours before the attack, a soldier was reading tea leaves and saw an image of a plane above a ship.  As darkness fell, the Rohna was attacked and sent to the bottom by a remote radio controlled glide bomb.  Whether the incident’s secrecy was the need to be quiet about the new type of weapon, or maybe the great loss of life was an embarrassment, we’ll never know, but it has taken many decades for us to learn what we now know of this fateful day.  

The glide bomb made a 10-15 foot hole at the waterline.  As the Rohna started to roll, each wave rose higher up the side.   Ed and fellow officer, Harry Sosnofsky, timed their escape into the cold November Mediterranean, into the waves and darkness.  Ed left on a wave right after Harry’s.  Ed survived yet Harry did not.  Harry’s body was found in the sea the next day.  

That evening Ed spent six long hours in the blackened sea.  He found a crowded raft and floated near it thru the night. The raft’s hemp rope handles crumbled in his grasp.   The mine sweeper USS Pioneer had already departed with 606 survivors, many badly burned.   Fortunately, one soldier had a single cell light and the group was found by the British freighter, the Clan Campbell. 

Military command instructed survivors not to speak of the disaster.  From North Africa they made their way to their destination to India and on to Burma to work on army airways communications systems at new airfields for potential use by B-29’s.  Decades later, Ed discovered he and soldier friend Winton Smith were both Rohna survivors, but neither had mentioned the disaster as they served together for a year in Burma.  Many family members never did learn how their son, spouse, father had died.  It took the 1967 Freedom of Information Act to begin to learn more details of the Rohna disaster.  

Ed Caffrey is my father and I am proud to tell his story and acknowledge his service.  He is typical of so many unnamed veterans.   Vets know what it means to serve; the rest of us can only imagine.  To those who served , let me say ‘Thank You’ .

Ed Caffrey, a retired major in the Army Air Corps and a veteran of World War II.

for more see www. rohna.org

Here is another survivor story:

http://rohnasurvivors.org/welcome-welcome-back/

Symposium 2017 – Learn What You Need to Know and Do With Your Google My Business Listing

Start with the Essentials because they are so often overlooked and so easy to fix.
– Add Your Business Hours, Add Photos because Google loves images.
– Most of all get ‘great’ reviews and respond to reviews,  because Google and your future clients place great value on this.