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IIBM ongoing exam answer sheets provided whatsapp 91 9924764558

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IIBM ONGOING EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVIDED WHATSAPP 91 9924764558

CONTACT:

DR. PRASANTH MBA PH.D. DME MOBILE / WHATSAPP: +91 9924764558 OR +91 9447965521 EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.casestudyandprojectreports.com

Attempt Any Four Case Study Case Study 1 : Structuring global companies

As the chapter illustrates, to carry out their activities in pursuit of their objectives, virtually all organisations adopt some form of organisational structure. One traditional method of organisation is to group individuals by function or purpose, using a departmental structure to allocate individuals to their specialist areas (e.g. Marketing, HRM and so on ). Another is to group activities by product or service, with each product group normally responsible for providing its own functional requirements. A third is to combine the two in the form of a matrix structure with its vertical and horizontal flows of responsibility and authority, a method of organisation much favoured in university Business Schools. What of companies with a global reach: how do they usually organise them- selves? Writing in the Financial Times in November 2000 Julian Birkinshaw, Associate Professor of Strategic and International Management at London Business School, identifies four basic models of global company structure: ● The International Division - an arrangement in which the company establishes a separate division to deal with business outside its own country. The International Division would typically be concerned with tariff and trade issues, foreign agents/partners and other aspects involved in selling overseas. Normally the division does not make anything itself, it is simply responsible for interna- tional sales. This arrangement tends to be found in medium-sized companies with limited international sales. The Global Product Division - a product-based structure with managers responsible for their product line globally. The company is split into a number of global busi- nesses arranged by product (or service) and usually overseen by their own president. It has been a favoured structure among large global companies such as BP, Siemens and 3M. ● The Area Division - a geographically based structure in which the major line of authority lies with the country (e.g. Germany) or regional (e.g. Europe) manager who is responsible for the different product offerings within her/his geographical area. ● The Global Matrix - as the name suggests a hybrid of the two previous structural types. In the global matrix each business manager reports to two bosses, one responsible for the global product and one for the country/region. As we indi- cated in the previous edition of this book, this type of structure tends to come into and go out of fashion. Ford, for example, adopted a matrix structure in the later 1990s, while a number of other global companies were either streamlining or dismantling theirs (e.g. Shell, BP, IBM). As Professor Birkinshaw indicates, ultimately there is no perfect structure and organisations tend to change their approach over time according to changing circumstances, fads, the perceived needs of the senior executives or the predispositions of powerful individuals. This observation is no less true of universities than it is of traditional businesses. Case study questions 1. Professor Birkinshaw’s article identifies the advantages and disadvantages of being a global business. What are his major arguments?

2. In your opinion what are likely to be the key factors determining how a global company will organise itself?

Attempt Any Four Case Studies Case I PROVIDE ADVICE TO AN ENTREPRENEUR ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION

Locked doors and a security system protect your equipment, inventory and payroll. But what protects your business’s most valuable possessions? IP laws can protect your trade secrets, trademarks and product design, provided you take the proper steps. Chicago attorney Kara E.F. Cenar of Welsh and Katz, an IP firm, contends that businesses should start thinking about these issues earlier than most do. “Small businesses tend to delay securing IP protection because of the expense,” Cenar says. “They tend not to see the value of IP until a competitor infringes.” But a business that hasn’t applied for copyrights or patents and actively defended tem will likely have trouble making its case in court.

One reason many business owners don’t protect their intellectual property is that they don’t recognize the value of the intangibles they own. Cenar advises business owners to take their business plans to an experienced IP attorney and discuss how to deal with these issues. Spending money upfront for legal help can save a great deal later by giving you strong copyright or trademark rights, which can deter competitors from infringing and avoid litigation later.

Once you’ve figured out what’s worth protecting, you have to decide how to protect it. That isn’t always obvious. Traditionally, patents prohibit others from copying new devices and processes, while copyrights do the same for creative endeavors such as books, music and software. In many cases, though, the categories overlap. Likewise, trademark law now extends to such distinctive elements as a product’s color and shape. Trade dress laws concerns how the product is packaged and advertised. You might be able to choose what kind of protection to seek. For instance, one of Welsh & Katz’s clients is Ty Inc., maker of plush toys. Before launching the Beanie Baby line, Cenar explains, the owners brought in business and marketing plans to discuss IP issues. The plan was for a limited number of toys in a variety of styles, and no advertising except word-of-mouth. Getting a patent on a plush toy might have been impossible and would have taken several years, too long for easily copied toys. Trademark and trade dress protection wouldn’t help much, because the company planned a variety of styles. But copyrights are available for sculptural art, and they’re inexpensive and easy to obtain. The company chose to register copyrights and defend them vigorously. Cenar’s firm has fended off numerous knockoffs.

That’s the next step: monitoring the market-place for knockoffs and trademark infringement, and taking increasingly firm steps to enforce your rights. Efforts typically begin with a letter of warning and could end with a court-ordered cease-and-desist order or even an award of damages. “If you don’t take the time to enforce [your trademark], it becomes a very weak mark,” Cenar says. But a strong mark deters infringement, wins lawsuits and gets people to settle early.” Sleep on your rights, and you’’’ lose them. Be proactive, and you’ll protect them – and save money in the long run. An inventor with a newly invented technology comes to you for advice on the following matters:

Questions:

1. In running this new venture, I need to invest al available resources in producing the products and attracting customers. How important is it for me to divert money from those efforts to protect my intellectual property?

2. I have sufficient resources to obtain intellectual property protection, but how effective is that protection without a large stock of resources to invest in going after those that infringe on my rights? If I do not have the resources to defend a patent, is it worth obtaining one in the first place?

3. Are there circumstances when it is better for me not to be an innovator but rather produce “knock-offs” of other innovations?

Attempt Any Four Case Study

Case 1: Zip Zap Zoom Car Company Zip Zap Zoom Company Ltd is into manufacturing cars in the small car (800 cc) segment. It was set up 15 years back and since its establishment it has seen a phenomenal growth in both its market and profitability. Its financial statements are shown in Exhibits 1 and 2 respectively. The company enjoys the confidence of its shareholders who have been rewarded with growing dividends year after year. Last year, the company had announced 20 per cent dividend, which was the highest in the automobile sector. The company has never defaulted on its loan payments and enjoys a favorable face with its lenders, which include financial institutions, commercial banks and debenture holders. The competition in the car industry has increased in the past few years and the company foresees further intensification of competition with the entry of several foreign car manufactures many of them being market leaders in their respective countries. The small car segment especially, will witness entry of foreign majors in the near future, with latest technology being offered to the Indian customer. The Zip Zap Zoom’s senior management realizes the need for large scale investment in up gradation of technology and improvement of manufacturing facilities to pre-empt competition. Whereas on the one hand, the competition in the car industry has been intensifying, on the other hand, there has been a slowdown in the Indian economy, which has not only reduced the demand for cars, but has also led to adoption of price cutting strategies by various car manufactures. The industry indicators predict that the economy is gradually slipping into recession.

Exhibit 1 Balance sheet as at March 31,200 x (Amount in Rs. Crore)

Source of Funds Share capital 350 Reserves and surplus 250 600 Loans : Debentures (@ 14%) 50 Institutional borrowing (@ 10%) 100 Commercial loans (@ 12%) 250 Total debt 400 Current liabilities 200 1,200

Application of Funds Fixed Assets Gross block 1,000 Less : Depreciation 250 Net block 750 Capital WIP 190 Total Fixed Assets 940 Current assets : Inventory 200 Sundry debtors 40 Cash and bank balance 10 Other current assets 10 Total current assets 260 -1200

Exhibit 2 Profit and Loss Account for the year ended March 31, 200x (Amount in Rs. Crore) Sales revenue (80,000 units x Rs. 2,50,000) 2,000.0 Operating expenditure : Variable cost : Raw material and manufacturing expenses 1,300.0 Variable overheads 100.0 Total 1,400.0 Fixed cost : R & D 20.0 Marketing and advertising 25.0 Depreciation 250.0 Personnel 70.0 Total 365.0 Total operating expenditure 1,765.0 Operating profits (EBIT) 235.0 Financial expense : Interest on debentures 7.7 Interest on institutional borrowings 11.0 Interest on commercial loan 33.0 51.7 Earnings before tax (EBT) 183.3 Tax (@ 35%) 64.2 Earnings after tax (EAT) 119.1 Dividends 70.0 Debt redemption (sinking fund obligation)** 40.0 Contribution to reserves and surplus 9.1 * Includes the cost of inventory and work in process (W.P) which is dependent on demand (sales). ** The loans have to be retired in the next ten years and the firm redeems Rs. 40 crore every year. The company is faced with the problem of deciding how much to invest in up gradation of its plans and technology. Capital investment up to a maximum of Rs. 100 crore is required. The problem areas are three-fold. • The company cannot forgo the capital investment as that could lead to reduction in its market share as technological competence in this industry is a must and customers would shift to manufactures providing latest in car technology. • The company does not want to issue new equity shares and its retained earning are not enough for such a large investment. Thus, the only option is raising debt. • The company wants to limit its additional debt to a level that it can service without taking undue risks. With the looming recession and uncertain market conditions, the company perceives that additional fixed obligations could become a cause of financial distress, and thus, wants to determine its additional debt capacity to meet the investment requirements. Mr. Shortsighted, the company’s Finance Manager, is given the task of determining the additional debt that the firm can raise. He thinks that the firm can raise Rs. 100 crore worth debt and service it even in years of recession. The company can raise debt at 15 per cent from a financial institution. While working out the debt capacity. Mr. Shortsighted takes the following assumptions for the recession years. a) A maximum of 10 percent reduction in sales volume will take place. b) A maximum of 6 percent reduction in sales price of cars will take place. Mr. Shorsighted prepares a projected income statement which is representative of the recession years. While doing so, he determines what he thinks are the “irreducible minimum” expenditures under

recessionary conditions. For him, risk of insolvency is the main concern while designing the capital structure. To support his view, he presents the income statement as shown in Exhibit 3.

Exhibit 3 projected Profit and Loss account (Amount in Rs. Crore) Sales revenue (72,000 units x Rs. 2,35,000) 1,692.0 Operating expenditure Variable cost : Raw material and manufacturing expenses 1,170.0 Variable overheads 90.0 Total 1,260.0 Fixed cost : R & D --- Marketing and advertising 15.0 Depreciation 187.5 Personnel 70.0 Total 272.5 Total operating expenditure 1,532.5 EBIT 159.5 Financial expenses : Interest on existing Debentures 7.0 Interest on existing institutional borrowings 10.0 Interest on commercial loan 30.0 Interest on additional debt 15.0 62.0 EBT 97.5 Tax (@ 35%) 34.1 EAT 63.4 Dividends -- Debt redemption (sinking fund obligation) 50.0* Contribution to reserves and surplus 13.4

* Rs. 40 crore (existing debt) + Rs. 10 crore (additional debt) Assumptions of Mr. Shorsighted • R & D expenditure can be done away with till the economy picks up. • Marketing and advertising expenditure can be reduced by 40 per cent. • Keeping in mind the investor confidence that the company enjoys, he feels that the company can forgo paying dividends in the recession period.

He goes with his worked out statement to the Director Finance, Mr. Arthashatra, and advocates raising Rs. 100 crore of debt to finance the intended capital investment. Mr. Arthashatra does not feel comfortable with the statements and calls for the company’s financial analyst, Mr. Longsighted. Mr. Longsighted carefully analyses Mr. Shortsighted’s assumptions and points out that insolvency should not be the sole criterion while determining the debt capacity of the firm. He points out the following : • Apart from debt servicing, there are certain expenditures like those on R & D and marketing that need to be continued to ensure the long-term health of the firm. • Certain management policies like those relating to dividend payout, send out important signals to the investors. The Zip Zap Zoom’s management has been paying regular dividends and discontinuing this practice (even though just for the recession phase) could raise serious doubts in the investor’s mind about the health of the firm. The firm should pay at least 10 per cent dividend in the recession years. • Mr. Shortsighted has used the accounting profits to determine the amount available each year for servicing the debt obligations. This does not give the true picture. Net cash inflows should be used to determine the amount available for servicing the debt. • Net Cash inflows are determined by an interplay of many variables and such a simplistic view should not be taken while determining the cash flows in recession. It is not possible to accurately predict the fall in any of the factors such as sales volume, sales price, marketing expenditure and so on. Probability distribution of variation of each of the factors that affect net cash inflow should be analyzed. From this analysis, the probability distribution of variation in net cash inflow should be analysed (the net cash inflows follow a normal probability distribution). This will give a true picture of how the company’s cash flows will behave in recession conditions.

The management recognizes that the alternative suggested by Mr. Longsighted rests on data, which are complex and require expenditure of time and effort to obtain and interpret. Considering the importance of capital structure design, the Finance Director asks Mr. Longsighted to carry out his analysis. Information on the behaviour of cash flows during the recession periods is taken into account. The methodology undertaken is as follows : (a) Important factors that affect cash flows (especially contraction of cash flows), like sales volume, sales price, raw materials expenditure, and so on, are identified and the analysis is carried out in terms of cash receipts and cash expenditures.

(b) Each factor’s behaviour (variation behaviour) in adverse conditions in the past is studied and future expectations are combined with past data, to describe limits (maximum favourable), most probable and maximum adverse) for all the factors. (c) Once this information is generated for all the factors affecting the cash flows, Mr. Longsighted comes up with a range of estimates of the cash flow in future recession periods based on all possible combinations of the several factors. He also estimates the probability of occurrence of each estimate of cash flow.

Assuming a normal distribution of the expected behaviour, the mean expected value of net cash inflow in adverse conditions came out to be Rs. 220.27 crore with standard deviation of Rs. 110 crore. Keeping in mind the looming recession and the uncertainty of the recession behaviour, Mr. Arthashastra feels that the firm should factor a risk of cash inadequacy of around 5 per cent even in the most adverse industry conditions. Thus, the firm should take up only that amount of additional debt that it can service 95 per cent of the times, while maintaining cash adequacy. To maintain an annual dividend of 10 per cent, an additional Rs. 35 crore has to be kept aside. Hence, the expected available net cash inflow is Rs. 185.27 crore (i.e. Rs. 220.27 – Rs. 35 crore) Question: Analyse the debt capacity of the company.

Attempt Any Four Case Study

CASE – 1 Your Job and Your Passion—You Can Pursue Both!

The 21st century offers many challenges to every one of us. As more firms go global, as more economies interconnect, and as the Web blasts away boundaries to communication, we become more informed citizens. This interconnectedness means that the organizations you work for will require you to develop both general and specialized knowledge—such as speaking multiple languages, using various software applications, or understanding details of financial transactions. You will have to develop general management skills to foster your ability to be self-reliant and thrive in a changing market-place. And here’s the exciting part: As you build both types of knowledge, you may be able to integrate your growing expertise with the causes or activities you care most about. Or, your career adventure may lead you to a new passion. Former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton are well known for combining their management skills—running a country—with their passion for helping people around the world. Together they have raised funds to assist disaster victims, those with HIV/AIDS, and others in need. Jake Burton turned his love of snow sports into an entire industry when he founded Burton Snowboards. Annie Withey poured her business and marketing knowledge into her two famous business ventures: Smartfood and Annie’s Homegrown. Both products were the result of her passion for healthful foods made from organic ingredients. As you enter the workforce, you may have no idea where your career path will lead. You may be asking yourself, “How will I fit in?” “Where will I live?” “How much will I earn?” “Where will my business and personal careers evolve as the world continuous to change at such a fast pace?” If you are feeling nervous because you don’t know the answers to these questions yet, relax. A career is a journey, not a single destination. You may have one type of career or several. It is likely you will work for several organisations, or you may run one or more businesses of your own. As you ask yourself what you want to do and where you want to be, take a few minutes to review the chapter and its main topics. Think about your personality, what you like and dislike, what you know and what you want to learn, what you fear and what you dream. Then try the following exercise.

Questions

1. Create a three-column chart in which the first column lists nonmanagement skills you have. Are you good at travel? Do you know how to build furniture? Are you a whiz at sports statistics? Are you an innovative cook? Do you play video games for hours? In the second column, list the causes or activities about which you are passionate. These may dovetail with the first list, but they might not.

2. Once you have you two columns complete, draw lines between entries that seem compatible. If you are good at building furniture, you might have also listed a concern about families who are homeless. Remember that not all entries will find a match—the idea is to begin finding some connections.

3. In the third column, generate a list of firms or organizations you know about that reflect your interests. If you are good at building furniture, you might be interested working for the Habitat for Humanity organization, or you might find yourself gravitating towards a furniture retailer like Ikea or Ethan Allen. You can do further research on organizations via Internet or business publications.

Note: Solve any 4 Cases Study’s

CASE: I Enterprise Builds On People

When most people think of car-rental firms, the names of Hertz and Avis usually come to mind. But in the last few years, Enterprise Rent-A-Car has overtaken both of these industry giants, and today it stands as both the largest and the most profitable business in the car-rental industry. In 2001, for instance, the firm had sales in excess of $6.3 billion and employed over 50,000 people. Jack Taylor started Enterprise in St. Louis in 1957. Taylor had a unique strategy in mind for Enterprise, and that strategy played a key role in the firm’s initial success. Most car-rental firms like Hertz and Avis base most of their locations in or near airports, train stations, and other transportation hubs. These firms see their customers as business travellers and people who fly for vacation and then need transportation at the end of their flight. But Enterprise went after a different customer. It sought to rent cars to individuals whose own cars are being repaired or who are taking a driving vacation. The firm got its start by working with insurance companies. A standard feature in many automobile insurance policies is the provision of a rental car when one’s personal car has been in an accident or has been stolen. Firms like Hertz and Avis charge relatively high daily rates because their customers need the convenience of being near an airport and/or they are having their expenses paid by their employer. These rates are often higher than insurance companies are willing to pay, so customers who these firms end up paying part of the rental bills themselves. In addition, their locations are also often inconvenient for people seeking a replacement car while theirs is in the shop. But Enterprise located stores in downtown and suburban areas, where local residents actually live. The firm also provides local pickup and delivery service in most areas. It also negotiates exclusive contract arrangements with local insurance agents. They get the agent’s referral business while guaranteeing lower rates that are more in line with what insurance covers. In recent years, Enterprise has started to expand its market base by pursuing a two-pronged growth strategy. First, the firm has started opening airport locations to compete with Hertz and Avis more directly. But their target is still the occasional renter than the frequent business traveller. Second, the firm also began to expand into international markets and today has rental offices in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany. Another key to Enterprise’s success has been its human resource strategy. The firm targets a certain kind of individual to hire; its preferred new employee is a college graduate from bottom half of graduating class, and preferably one who was an athlete or who was otherwise actively involved in campus social activities. The rationale for this unusual academic standard is actually quite simple. Enterprise managers do not believe that especially high levels of achievements are necessary to perform well in the car-rental industry, but having a college degree nevertheless demonstrates intelligence and motivation. In addition, since interpersonal relations are important to its business, Enterprise wants people who were social directors or high-ranking officers of social organisations such as fraternities or sororities. Athletes are also desirable because of their competitiveness. Once hired, new employees at Enterprise are often shocked at the performance expectations placed on them by the firm. They generally work long, grueling hours for relatively low pay.

And all Enterprise managers are expected to jump in and help wash or vacuum cars when a rental agency gets backed up. All Enterprise managers must wear coordinated dress shirts and ties and can have facial hair only when “medically necessary”. And women must wear skirts no shorter than two inches above their knees or creased pants.

So what are the incentives for working at Enterprise? For one thing, it’s an unfortunate fact of life that college graduates with low grades often struggle to find work. Thus, a job at Enterprise is still better than no job at all. The firm does not hire outsiders—every position is filled by promoting someone already inside the company. Thus, Enterprise employees know that if they work hard and do their best, they may very well succeed in moving higher up the corporate ladder at a growing and successful firm.

Question:

1. Would Enterprise’s approach human resource management work in other industries?

2. Does Enterprise face any risks from its human resource strategy?

3. Would you want to work for Enterprise? Why or why not?

Attempt All Case Study

Case 1 - HOW GENERAL MOTORS IS COLLABORATING ONLINE

The Problem Designing a car is a complex and lengthy task. Take, for example, General Motors (GM). Each model created needs to go through a frontal crash test. So the company builds prototypes that cost about one million dollars for each car and tests how they react to frontal crash. GM crashes these cars, makes improvements, then makes new prototypes and crashes them again. There are other tests and more crashes. Even as late as the 1990s, GM crashed as many as 70 cars for each new model.

The information regarding a new design and its various tests, collected in these crashes and other tests, has to be shared among close to 20,000 designers and engineers in hundreds of divisions and departments at 14 GM design labs, some of which are located in different countries. In addition, communication and collaboration is needed with design engineers of the more than 1,000 key suppliers. All of these necessary communications slowed the design process and increased its cost. It took over four years to get a new model to the market.

The Solution GM, like its competitors, has been transforming itself into an e-business. This gradual transformation has been going on since the mid-1990s, when Internet band width increased sufficiently to allow Web collaboration. The first task was to examine over 7,000 existing legacy IT systems, reducing them to about 3,000, and making them Web-enabled. The EC system is centered on a computer-aided design (CAD) program from EDS (a large IT company, subsidiary of GM). This system, known as Unigraphics, allows 3-D design documents to be shared online by both the internal and external designers and engineers, all of whom are hooked up with the EDS software. In addition. Collaborative and Web-conferencing software tools, including Microsoft’s NetMeeting and EDS’s eVis, were added to enhance teamwork. These tools have radically changed the vehicle-review process. To see how GM now collaborates with a supplier, take as an example a needed cost reduction of a new seat frame made by Johnson Control GM electronically sends its specifications for the seat to the vendor’s product data system. Johnson Control’s collaboration systems (eMatrix) is integrated with EDS’s In graphics. This integration allows joint searching, designing. Tooling, and testing of the seat frame in real time, expediting the process and cutting costs by more than 10 percent. Another area of collaboration is that of crashing cars. Here designers need close collaboration with the test engineers. Using simulation, mathematical modeling, and a Web-based review process. GM is able now to electronically “Crash” cars rather than to do it physically.

The Results Now it takes less than 18 months to bring a new car to market, compared to 4 or more years before, and at a much lower design cost. For example, 60 cars are now “Crashed” electronically, and only 10 are crashed physically. The shorter cycle time enables more new car models, providing GM with a competitive edge. All this has translated into profit. Despite the economic show down. GM’s revenues increased more than 6 percent in 2002. while its earnings in the second quarter of 2002 doubled that of 2001.

Questions:

1. Why did it take GM over four years to design a new car? 2. Who collaborated with whom to reduce the time-to-market? 3. How has IT helped to cut the time-to-market?

Attempt Any Four Case Study

CASE – 1 Dabur India Limited: Growing Big and Global

Dabur is among the top five FMCG companies in India and is positioned successfully on the specialist herbal platform. Dabur has proven its expertise in the fields of health care, personal care, homecare and foods. The company was founded by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884 as small pharmacy in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. And is now led by his great grandson Vivek C. Burman, who is the Chairman of Dabur India Limited and the senior most representative of the Burman family in the company. The company headquarters are in Ghaziabad, India, near the Indian capital New Delhi, where it is registered. The company has over 12 manufacturing units in India and abroad. The international facilities are located in Nepal, Dubai, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. S.K. Burman, the founder of Dabur, was trained as a physician. His mission was to provide effective and affordable cure for ordinary people in far-flung villages. Soon, he started preparing natural remedies based on Ayurved for diseases such as Cholera, Plague and Malaria. Due to his cheap and effective remedies, he became to be known as ‘Daktar’ (Indianised version of ‘doctor’). And that is how his venture Dabur got its name—derived from Daktar Burman. The company faces stiff competition from many multi national and domestic companies. In the Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages segment major companies that are active include Hindustan Lever, Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur. In case of Ayurvedic medicines and products, the major competitors are Baidyanath, Vicco, Jhandu, Himani and other pharmaceutical companies.

Vision, Mission and Objectives

Vision statement of Dabur says that the company is “dedicated to the health and well being of every household”. The objective is to “significantly accelerate profitable growth by providing comfort to others”. For achieving this objective Dabur aims to: • Focus on growing core brands across categories, reaching out to new geographies, within and outside India, and improve operational efficiencies by leveraging technology. • Be the preferred company to meet the health and personal grooming needs of target consumers with safe, efficacious, natural solutions by synthesising deep knowledge of ayurveda and herbs with modern science. • Be a professionally managed employer of choice, attracting, developing and retaining quality personnel. • Be responsible citizens with a commitment to environmental protection. • Provide superior returns, relative to our peer group, to our shareholders.

Chairman of the company

Vivek C. Burman joined Dabur in 1954 after completing his graduation in Business Administration from the USA. In 1986 he was appointed Managing Director of Dabur and in 1998 he took over as Chairman of the Company. Under Vivek Burman’s leadership, Dabur has grown and evolved as a multi-crore business house with a diverse product portfolio and a marketing network that traverses the whole of India and more than 50 countries across the world. As a strong and positive leader, Vivek C. Burman has motivated employees of Dabur to “do better than their best”—a credo that gives Dabur its status as India’s most trusted nature-based products company.

Leading brands

More than 300 diverse products in the FMCG, Healthcare and Ayurveda segments are in the product line of Dabur. List of products of the company include very successful brands like Vatika, Anmol, Hajmola, Dabur Amla Chyawanprash, Dabur Honey and Lal Dant Manjan with turnover of Rs.100 crores each. Strategic positioning of Dabur Honey as food product, lead to market leadership with over 40% market share in branded honey market; Dabur Chyawanprash is the largest selling Ayurvedic medicine with over 65% market share. Dabur is a leader in herbal digestives with 90% market share. Hajmola tablets are in command with 75% market share of digestive tablets category. Dabur Lal Tail tops baby massage oil market with 35% of total share. CHD (Consumer Health Division), dealing with classical Ayurvedic medicines has more than 250 products sold through prescription as well as over the counter. Proprietary Ayurvedic medicines developed by Dabur include Nature Care Isabgol, Madhuvaani and Trifgol. However, some of the subsidiary units of Dabur have proved to be low margin business; like Dabur Finance Limited. The international units are also operating on low profit margin. The company also produces several “me – too” products. At the same time the company is very popular in the rural segment.

Questions

1. What is the objective of Dabur? Is it profit maximisation or growth maximisation? Discuss. 2. Do you think the growth of Dabur from a small pharmacy to a large multinational company is an indicator of the advantages of joint stock company against proprietorship form? Elaborate.

Note: Solve any 4 Cases Study’s

CASE: I Managing the Guinness brand in the face of consumers’ changing tastes

1997 saw the US$19 billion merger of Guinness and GrandMet to form Diageo, the world’s largest drinks company. Guinness was the group’s top-selling beverage after Smirnoff vodka, and the group’s third most profitable brand, with an estimated global value of US$1.2 billion. More than 10 million glasses of the popular stout were sold every day, predominantly in Guinness’s top markets: respectively, the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, the USA and Cameroon.

However, the famous dark stout with the white, creamy head was causing some strategic concerns for Diageo. In 1999, for the first time in the 241-year of Guinness, sales fell. In early 2002 Diageo CEO Paul Walsh announced to the group’s concerned shareholders that global volume growth of Guinness was down 4 per cent in the last six months of 2001 and, more alarmingly, sales were also down 4 per cent in its home market, Ireland. How should Diageo address falling sales in the centuries-old brand shrouded in Irish mystique and tradition?

The changing face of the Irish beer market

The Irish were very fond of beer and even fonder of Guinness. With close to 200 litres per capita drunk each year—the equivalent of one pint per person per day—Ireland ranked top in worldwide per capita beer consumption, ahead of the Czech Republic and Germany.

Beer accounted for two-thirds of all alcohol bought in Ireland in 2001. Stout led the way in volume sales and accounted for 40 per cent of all beer value sales. Guinness, first brewed in 1759 in Dublin by Arthur Guinness, enjoyed legendary status in Ireland, a national symbol as respected as the green, white and gold flag. It was by far the most popular alcoholic drink in Ireland, accounting for nearly one of every two pints of beer sold. Its nearest competitors were Budweiser and Heineken, which held 13 per cent and 12 per cent of the market respectively.

However, the spectacular economic growth of the Irish economy since the mid-1990s had opened up the traditional drinking market to new cultures and influences, and encouraged the travel-friendly Irish to try other drinks. Beer and in particular stout were losing popularity compared with wine or the recently launched RTDs (ready-to-drinks) or FABs (flavoured alcoholic beverages), which the younger generation of drinkers considered trendier and ‘healthier’. As a Euromonitor report explained: Younger consumers consider dark beers and stout to be old fashioned drinks, with the perceived stout or ale drinker being an old, slightly overweight man and thus not in tune with image conscious youth culture.

Beer sales, which once accounted for 75 per cent of all alcohol bought in Ireland, were expected to drop to close to 50 per cent by 2006, while stout sales were forecast to decrease by 12 per cent between 2002 and 2006.

Giving Guinness a boost in its home market

With Guinness alone accounting for 37 per cent of Diageo’s volume in the market, Guinness/UDV Ireland was one of the first to feel the pain caused by the declining popularity of beer and in particular stout. A Euromonitor report in February 2002 explained how the profile of the Guinness drinker, typically men aged 21-plus, was affected: The average age of Guinness drinkers is rising and this is bringing about the worrying fact that the size of the Guinness target audience is falling. The rate of decline is likely to quicken as the number of less brand loyal, non-stout drinking younger consumers increases. The report continued: In Ireland, in particular, the consumer base for Guinness is shrinking as the majority of 18 to 24 year olds consistently reject stout as a product relevant to their generation, opting instead to consume lager or spirits. Effectively, one-third of young Irish men and half of young Irish women had reportedly never tried Guinness. A Guinness employee provided another explanation. Guinness is similar to coffee in that when you’re young you drink it [coffee] with sugar, but when you’re older you drink it without. It’s got a similar acquired taste and once you’re over the initial hurdle, you’ll fall in love with it. In an attempt to lure young drinkers to the somewhat ‘acquired’ Guinness taste (40 per cent of the Irish population was under the age of 24) Diageo had invested millions in developing product innovations and brand building in Ireland’s 10,000 pubs, clubs and supermarkets.

Product innovation

Until the mid-1990s most Guinness in Ireland was drunk in a pint glass in the local pub. The launch of product innovations in the form of a new cooling mechanism for draft Guinness and the ‘widget’ technology applied to cans and bottles attempted to modernize the brand’s image and respond to increasing competition from other local and imported stouts and lagers.

‘A perfect head’ for canned Guinness In 1989, and at a cost of more than £10 million, Guinness developed an ingenious ‘widget’ device for its canned draft stout sold in ‘off-trade’ outlets such as supermarkets and off-licences. The widget, placed in the bottom of the can, released a gas that replicated the draft effect. Although over 90 per cent of beer in Ireland was sold in ‘on-trade’ pubs and bars, sale of beer in the cheaper ‘off-trade’ channel were slowly gaining in importance. The Guinness brand manager at the time, John O’Keeffe, explained how home drinkers could now enjoy a smoother, creamier head similar to the one obtained in a pub thanks to the new widget technology: When the can is opened, the pressure causes the nitrogen to be released as the widget moves through the beer, creating the classic draft Guinness surge.

Nearly 10 years later, in 1997, the ‘floating widget’ was introduced, which improved the effectiveness of the device.

A colder pint In 1997 Guinness Draft Extra Cold was launched in Ireland. An additional chilled tap system could be added to the standard barrel in pubs, allowing the Guinness to be served at 4ºC rather than the normal 6ºC. By serving Guinness at a cooler temperature, Guinness/UDV hoped to mute the bitter taste of the stout and make it more palatable for younger adults, who were increasingly accustomed to drinking chilled lager, particularly in the summer

A cooler image for Guinness In October 1999 the widget technology was applied to long-stemmed bottles of Guinness. The launch was supported by a US$2 million TV and outdoor board campaign. The packaging—with a clear, shiny plastic wrap, designed to look like a pint complete with creamy head—was quite a departure from the traditional Guinness look.

The objective was to reposition Guinness alongside certain similarly packaged lagers and RTDs and offer younger adults a more fashionable way to drink Guinness: straight from the bottle. It also gave Guinness easier access to the growing number of clubs and bars that were less likely to serve traditional draft Guinness easier access to the growing number of clubs and bars that were less likely to serve traditional draft Guinness, which could be kept for only six to eight weeks and took two minutes to pour. The RTDs, by contrast, had a shelf-life of more than a year and were drunk straight from the bottle.

However, financial analyst remained sceptical about the Guinness product innovations, which had no significant positive impact on sales or profitability:

The last news about the success of the recently introduced innovations suggests that they have not had a notably material impact on Guinness brand performance.

Brand building

Euromonitor estimates that, in 2000, Diageo invested between US$230 and US$250 million worldwide in Guinness advertising and promotions. However, with a cost-cutting objective, the company reduced marketing expenses in both Ireland and the UK up to 10 per cent in 2001 and the number of global Guinness agencies from six to two.

Nevertheless, Guinness remained one of the most advertised brands in Ireland. It was the leading cinema advertiser and, in terms of advertising, was second only to the national telecoms provider, Eircom. Guinness was also heavily promoted at leading sporting and music events, in particular those that were popular with the younger age groups.

The ultimate tribute to the brand was the opening of the new Guinness Storehouse in Dublin in late 2000, a sort of Mecca for all Guinness fans. The Storehouse was also a fashionable visitor centre with an art gallery and restaurants, and regularly hosted evening events. The company’s design brief highlighted another key objective: To use an ultramodern facility to breathe life into an ageing brand, to reconnect an old company with young (sceptical) customers. As the Storehouse’s design firm’s director, Ralph Ardill, explained:

Guinness Storehouse had become the top tourist destination in Ireland, attracting more than half a million people and hosting 45,000 people for special events and training. The Storehouse also had training facilities for Guinness’s bartenders and 3000 Irish employees. The quality of the Guinness pint remained a high priority for the company, which not only developed pub-like classrooms at the Storehouse but also employed teams of draft technicians to teach barmen how to pour a proper pint. The process involved two steps—the pour and the top-up—and took a total of 119.5 seconds. Barmen also needed to learn how to check that the pressure gauges were properly set and that the proportion of nitrogen to carbon dioxide in the gas was correct.

The uncertain future of the Guinness brand in Ireland

Despite Guinness/DUV’s attempt to appeal to the younger generation of drinkers and boost its fading image, rumours persisted in Ireland about the brand future. The country’s leading and respected newspaper, the Irish times, reported in an article in July 2001: The uncertainty over its future all adds to the air of crisis that is building around Guinness Ireland Group four months ago…The review is not complete and the assumption is that there is more bad news to come. In the pubs across Ireland, the traditional Guinness drinkers looked on anxiously as the younger generation drank Bacardi Breezers, Smirnoff Ices or Californian wines. Could the goliath Guinness survive another two centuries? Was the preference for these new drinks just a fad or fashion, or did Diageo need to seriously reconsider how it marketed Guinness?

A quick solution?

In late February 2002, Diageo CEO Paul Walsh revealed that the company was testing technology to cut the waiting time for a pint of Guinness from 1 minute 59 seconds to 15-25 seconds. Ultrasound could release bubbles in the stout and form the head instantly, making a pint of Guinness that would be indistinguishable from one produced by the slower, traditional method. ‘A two-minute pour is not relevant to our customers today,’ Walsh said. A Guinness spokeswoman continued, ‘We have got to move with the times and the brand must evolve. We must take all the opportunities that we can. In outlets where it is really busy, if you walk in after nine o’clock in the evening there will be a cloth over the Guinness pump because it takes longer to pour than other drinks. Aware that some consumers might not be attracted by the innovation, she added ‘It wouldn’t be put everywhere—only where people want a quick pint with no effect on the quality.’

Although still being tested, the ‘quick-pour pint’ was a popular topic of conversation in Dublin pubs, among barmen and customers alike. There were rumours that it would be introduced in Britain only; others thought it would be released worldwide.

Some market commentators viewed the quick-pour pint as an innovative way to appeal to the younger, less patient segment in which Guinness had under-performed. Others feared that the young would be unconvinced by the introduction, and loyal customers would be turned off by what they characterized as a ‘marketing u-turn’.

Question:

1. From a marketing perspective, what has Guinness done to ensure its longevity?

2. How would you characterize the Guinness brand?

3. What could Guinness do to attract younger drinkers? And to retain its older loyal customer base? Can both be done at the same time?

Attempt All Case Study CASE – 1 The Indian Railways' ambitious Kashmir Railway Project. This was one of its most important and difficult projects as it aimed to build a railroad connection through the Himalayan foothills linking Kashmir with the rest of India. The main objective of this project was to provide an alternative and more reliable mode of transportation system to the people of Kashmir than the existing mode of travel by road. Officially, this track was named as the Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla link (JUSBRL). The unique features of this line, according to observers, were the presence of a major earthquake zone, extreme environmental conditions in terms of temperature, and the most extreme geological profile throughout the entire terrain.

Some experts lauded the Indian Railway's initiatives and how it had overcome some of the challenges associated with the project and said that once accomplished it would be an engineering miracle. However, it was also criticized on many fronts and some experts believed that the project had been bungled at the planning stage itself. Question: » Understand issues and challenges in executing a large infrastructure project by studying the ambitious Kashmir Railway Project which once accomplished would be an engineering miracle. » Appreciate the difficulties before the project managers due to the fragile geology and steep topography - presence of a major earthquake zone, extreme environmental conditions in terms of temperature, etc. » Appreciate the difficulties involved in the execution of large infrastructure projects in developing countries, and how these can be overcome. CASE – 2 Spain-based Mango MNG Holding SL (Mango), the flagship of a group of companies involved in design, manufacture, and distribution of garments and fashion accessories, sold garments for men and women and accessories through exclusive stores. The company was started in 1984 in Spain, and expanded rapidly to more than 107 countries across the world by 2012. Mango went on to become the second largest textile exporter in Spain. Mango was one of the pioneers of fast fashion. The company was able to design the garments and send them to the stores within a span of three months. It could also bring designs with slight modifications within just two weeks. The case discusses Mango’s business model under which it retained some of the core activities of its value chain in-house while outsourcing the rest of the activities. Important activities like design and distribution were managed completely by the company, while manufacturing, which was a labor-intensive task, was outsourced. The company retailed through its own outlets as well as through franchisees. This business model helped the company expand rapidly and also minimize the risks.

Question: » Analyze Mango's business model. » Study the design, production, distribution, and store management processes at Mango. » Evaluate Mango's core and non-core activities. » Understand which processes can be managed in-house and which ones can be outsourced..

CASE – 1 MANAGING HINDUSTAN UNILEVER STRATEGICALLY

Unilever is one of the world’s oldest multinational companies. Its origin goes back to the 19th century when a group of companies operating independently, produced soaps and margarine. In 1930, the companies merged to form Unilever that diversified into food products in 1940s. Through the next five decades, it emerged as a major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) multinational operating in several businesses. In 2004, the Unilever 2010 strategic plan was put into action with the mission to ‘bring vitality to life’ and ‘to meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life’. The corporate strategy is of focusing on bore businesses of food, home care and personal care. Unilever operates in more than 100 countries, has a turnover of € 39.6 billion and net profit of € 3.685 billion in 2006 and derives 41 per cent of its income from the developing and emerging economies around the world. It has 179,000 employees and is a culturally-diverse organisation with its top management coming from 24 nations. Internationalisation is based on the principle of local roots with global scale aimed at becoming a ‘multi-local multinational’. The genesis of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in India, goes back to 1888 when Unilever exported Sunlight soap to India. Three Indian, subsidiaries came into existence in the period 1931-1935 that merged to form Hindustan Lever in 1956. Mergers and acquisitions of Lipton (1972), Brooke Bond (1984), Ponds (1986), TOMCO (1993), Lakme (1998) and Modern Foods (2002) have resulted in an organisation that is a conglomerate of several businesses that have been continually restructured over the years. HUL is one of the largest FMCG company in India with total sales of Rs. 12,295 crore and net profit of 1855crore in 2006. There are over 15000 employees, including more than 1300 managers. The present corporate strategy of HUL is to focus on core businesses. These core businesses are in home and personal care and food. There are 20 different consumer categories in these two businesses. For instance, home and personal care is made up of personal wash, laundry, skin care, hair care, oral care, deodorants, colour cosmetics and ayurvedic personal and health care, while food businesses have tea, coffee, ice creams and processed food brands. Apart from the two product divisions, there are separate departments for specialty exports and new ventures. Strategic management at HUL is the responsibility of the board of directors headed by a chairman. There are five independent and five whole-time directors. The operational management is looked after by a management committee comprising of Vice Chairman, CEO and managing director and executive directors of the two business divisions and functional areas. The divisions have a lot of autonomy with dedicated assets and resources. A divisional committee having the executive director and heads of functions of sales, commercial and manufacturing looks after the business level decision-making. The functional-level management is the responsibility of the functional head. For instance, a marketing manager has a team of brand managers looking after the individual brands. Besides the decentralised divisional structure, HUL has centralised some functions such as finance, human resource management, research, technology, information technology and corporate and legal affairs. Unilever globally and HUL nationally, operate in the highly competitive FMCG markets. The consumer markets for FMCG products are finicky: it’s difficult to create customers and much more difficult to retain them. Price is often the central concern in a consumer purchase decision requiring producers to be on continual guard against cost increases. Sales and distribution are critical functions organisationally. HUL operates in such a milieu. It has strong competitors such as the multinationals Procter & Gamble, Nivea or L’Oreal and formidable local companies such as, Amul, Nirma or the Tata

FMCG companies to contend with. Rivals have copied HUL’s strategies and tactics, especially in the area of marketing and distribution. Its innovations such as new style packaging or distribution through women entrepreneurs are much valued but also copied relentlessly, hurting its competitive advantage. HUL is identified closely with India. There is a ring of truth to its vision statement: ‘to earn the love and respect of India by making a real difference to every Indian’. It has an impeccable record in corporate social responsibility. There is an element of nostalgia associated with brands like Lifebuoy (introduced in 1895) and Dalda (1937) for senior citizens in India. Consequently Indians have always perceived HUL as an Indian company rather than a multinational. HUL has attempted to align its strategies in the past to the special needs of Indian business environment. Be it marketing or human resource management, HUL has experimented with new ideas suited to the local context. For instance, HUL is known for its capabilities in rural marketing, effective distribution systems and human resource development. But this focus on India seems to be changing. This might indicate a change in the strategic posture as well as recognition that Indian markets have matured to the extent that they can be dealt with by the global strategies of Unilever. At the corporate level, it could also be an attempt to leverage global scale while retaining local responsiveness to some extent. In line with the shift in corporate strategy, the focus of strategic decision-making seems to have moved from the subsidiary to the headquarters. Unilever has formulated a new global realignment under which it will develop brands and streamline product offerings across the world and the subsidiaries will sell the products. Other subtle indications of the shift of decision-making authority could be the appointment of a British CEO after nearly forty years during which there were Indian CEOs, the changed focus on a limited number of international brands rather than a large range of local brands developed over the years and the name-change from Hindustan Lever to Hindustan Unilever. The shift in the strategic decision-making power from the subsidiary to headquarters could however, prove to be double-edged sword. An example could be of HUL adopting Unilever’s global strategy of focussing on a limited number of products, called the 30 power brands in 2002. That seemed a perfectly sensible strategic decision aimed at focusing managerial attention to a limited set of high-potential products. But one consequence of that was the HUL’s strong position in the niche soap and detergent markets suffering owing to neglect and the competitors were quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Then there are the statistics to deal with: HUL has nearly 80 per cent of sales and 85 per cent of net profits from the home and personal care businesses. Globally, Unilever derives half its revenues from food business. HUL does not have a strong position in the food business in India though the food processing industry remains quite attractive both in terms of local consumption as well as export markets. HUL’s own strategy of offering low-price, competitive products may also suffer at the cost of Unilever’s emphasis on premium priced, high end products sold through modern outlets. There are some dark clouds on the horizon. HUL’s latest financials are not satisfactory. Net profit is down, sales are sluggish, input costs have been rising and new food products introduced in the market have yet to pick up. All this while, in one market segment after another, a competitor pushes ahead. In a company of such a big size and over-powering presence, these might still be minor events developments in a long history that needs to be taken in stride. But, pessimistically, they could also be pointers to what may come.

Questions:

1. State the strategy of Hindustan Unilever in your own words. 2. At what different levels is strategy formulated in HUL? 3. Comment on the strategic decision-making at HUL. 4. Give your opinion on whether the shift in strategic decision-making from India to Unilever’s headquarters could prove to be advantageous to HUL or not.

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thegloober · 6 years

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Real Lawyers

Real LawyersReal LawyersClio Cloud Conference always better than the lastBridge the Legal Services Gap Campaign Announced by LexBlogLexBlog’s Legal Tech Founders Series hits the road : Clio Cloud Conference in New OrleansCan content alone create the intimate relationship of trust that blogs do?The ABA, social media and Kavanaugh hearingEvolution of law students, law blogs and social mediaLaw firm blog publishing practices hurting lawyers and the lawWake up law firms, RSS is important for publishingLexBlog launches global legal news and commentary platformLegal bloggers are part of the press – for conferences too

https://kevin.lexblog.com Blogs, Media and Technology Tue, 09 Oct 2018 23:08:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8 https://rlhb.lexblogplatformthree.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2018/06/cropped-l-icon-circle-32×32.png https://kevin.lexblog.com 32 32 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/09/clio-cloud-conference-always-better-than-the-last/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/09/clio-cloud-conference-always-better-than-the-last/#respond Tue, 09 Oct 2018 23:08:23 +0000

Clio Cloud Conference always better than the last

I came home from Clio’s annual Cloud Conference (Clio Con) in New Orleans on Saturday a little tired and a little hoarse. Little question that Clio Con is solidifying its place as one of the best, if not the best, legal conference. A big thanks to Jack Newton and the entire Clio team. 100 Clio team members…]]>

I came home from Clio’s annual Cloud Conference (Clio Con) in New Orleans on Saturday a little tired and a little hoarse.

Little question that Clio Con is solidifying its place as one of the best, if not the best, legal conference. A big thanks to Jack Newton and the entire Clio team. 100 Clio team members traveled from Vancouver to work the conference so the commitment to over the top customer service was evident everywhere.

Four big takeaways for me. One, the impact of Clio’s integration program; two, the relevance of Clio Con for all lawyers and legal professionals, young and old; three, Clio’s recognizing the good work of lawyers; and four, the growing group of good friends I have in the legal tech community.

Clio has talked integration with third party solutions for a couple years, but boy has integration arrived.

Over 150 apps, solutions and products now integrate with the Clio platform. People are quitting their jobs to work on new companies they have founded for the sole purpose of integrating with Clio.

When I asked one legal tech founder how he was getting to market, he just pointed to the Clio exhibit floor. I thought he meant those lawyers walking the exhibit floor, but he meant the 150,000 Clio users – that was his company’s market.

Imagine building your company to have an ecosystem like this. Clio has done it. Over a hundred companies and hundreds of people (not employed by your company) building solutions that make Clio stickier and stickier and getting Clio closer to being a must have for lawyers and law firms.

Clio continues to double done in integration applications. Last year Clio announced it would start making investments in third party integrations. This year, Tali, a voice activated time tracking assistant, was awarded $100,000 for winning Clio’s first Launch Code contest.

Clio Con’s not just for geeks and the futurist in your office. Clio Con is for all lawyers and legal professionals – no matter their age or experience with tech.

A friend of mine from Seattle doing plaintiff’s IP litigation has been practicing for over 35 years. I remarked to him that a lot of the attendees were as young as our kids.

He responded that he really liked the conference – enjoyed the sessions, picked up info from companies he may use and being a solo, he enjoyed the interaction and camaraderie with other lawyers.

Legal tech conferences often miss the essence of the law. Real lawyers representing real people – consumers and small business people. Not Clio Con. Clio is moving from practice management to the delivery of legal services itself and the experience delivered to the consumer of legal services.

In its Riesman awards, individual law firms were recognized for innovation, growth, community service and being the best new law firm in front of over a thousand people watching some pretty moving videos of these firms and their teams.

One of the best things about Clio Con is spending time, be it brief and a bit frantic while all of us are working there, is spending a few days with friends – who just happen to be some of the leading legal tech people in the country – lawyers, law professors, company founders, reporters and more.

They’ve become good friends and we only see each other a couple or three times a year. Clio Con has probably become our largest gathering place.

If you haven’t attended Clio Con, consider doing so. Ideas, inspiration, camaraderie and finding yourself square in the middle of the future and a company bringing you that future are good reasons to come to San Diego next October.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/09/clio-cloud-conference-always-better-than-the-last/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/03/bridge-legal-services-gap-campaign-announced-lexblog/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/03/bridge-legal-services-gap-campaign-announced-lexblog/#respond Wed, 03 Oct 2018 20:53:58 +0000

Bridge the Legal Services Gap Campaign Announced by LexBlog

LexBlog is announcing today a national campaign to help bridge the legal services gap in this country. The legal profession and the people we serve in this country face a two-sided legal crisis. Consumers and small businesses, most of whom can afford a lawyer, are less likely than ever to seek help from a lawyer…]]>

LexBlog is announcing today a national campaign to help bridge the legal services gap in this country.

The legal profession and the people we serve in this country face a two-sided legal crisis.

Consumers and small businesses, most of whom can afford a lawyer, are less likely than ever to seek help from a lawyer and more likely than ever to handle legal problems themselves, or to take no action at all.

Caring and experienced lawyers who would welcome helping these people as clients do not have enough work. A 2017 Clio study found that small firm lawyers perform only 2.3 hours of legal work a day — and bill only 82 percent of that. Lawyers have become irrelevant to the majority of Americans.

The reasons for this legal services gap are varied and complex, but two prevail over all others. People do not understand what lawyers do and they distrust that lawyers will represent them well and at a reasonable cost. It is a crisis of communication and of trust.

Building trust and real communication are the keys to bridging this gap between consumers and lawyers. At LexBlog, we believe there is no more effective way to do both than through lawyers blogging in a real and authentic way.

Trust is built through listening, empathy and conversation. Blogging has proven to be an effective way for lawyers and legal professionals, through their own voices, to build trust, connections and relationships with people in their communities.

We want to facilitate the opportunities for lawyers to connect with people – potential clients – and bridge the legal-services gap by highlighting and helping lawyers who already blog and making it easy for those who do not blog to get started.

For that reason, LexBlog is launching a national campaign to promote and build legal blogs. We are going to shine a light on the legal blogs and lawyers in cities and practice areas across the United States that serve consumers and small businesses.

We’ll both highlight the blogs and lawyers that already do this and make it easy and inexpensive to launch new blogs.

For legal professionals who already have blogs, LexBlog invites them to add their blogs to this campaign at no cost. For legal professionals who do not have blogs — and even for those who do not have websites at all — LexBlog is offering to create and host a blog for them at a low, fixed monthly rate of $49 that includes everything needed in a basic website or blog.

LexBlog’s “$49 Bridge the Gap Package” gives a legal professional everything needed to establish an Internet presence and begin blogging – and more.

Professional, mobile-friendly blog design

Free domain name

Hosting.

SEO and Google local search

Live customer support

Clio integration for client intake

Publication of your posts and profile on the LexBlog network. Publication to the Fastcase research database

Social media promotion

Ongoing platform and feature upgrades

The lawyers who care enough to take the time to blog about the bread-and-butter legal problems consumers and small business people face — family issues, benefits issues, domestic abuse, bankruptcy, estate planning, workplace issues, small-business issues, housing, and the like — are connecting with people in a real way and helping to educate them about how a knowledgeable and compassionate lawyer like them can help.

Think of the impact we can make together with 20 to 25 practice areas covered in 70 to 100 cities in this country – and in all 50 states.

Our profession has tried online marketing, directories and access to legal services programs. These solutions have benefited some, yet the legal-services gap only widens.

A blog, by definition, does not help to narrow the gap. It’s the willingness of caring lawyers to go out where people are and to engage people in a real way that establishes trust – so that more people see lawyers as relevant again.

By making it simple and affordable for lawyers to blog and highlighting their contributions through the LexBlog network, we believe we can bring more lawyers and people together to address their legal needs.

For more information on joining this campaign, whether with your existing blog, or by getting started with LexBlog’s “Bridge the Gap Package,” just go here.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/03/bridge-legal-services-gap-campaign-announced-lexblog/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/01/lexblogs-legal-tech-founders-series-hits-road-clio-cloud-conference-new-orleans/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/01/lexblogs-legal-tech-founders-series-hits-road-clio-cloud-conference-new-orleans/#respond Tue, 02 Oct 2018 00:25:56 +0000

LexBlog’s Legal Tech Founders Series hits the road : Clio Cloud Conference in New Orleans

We’ll take LexBlog’s Legal Tech Founders series on the road this week to New Orleans for the annual Clio Cloud Conference. For this series, I get behind press releases, funding announcements and new products to capture the story of a legal tech founder – so you can see what it’s all about, and maybe join them…]]>

We’ll take LexBlog’s Legal Tech Founders series on the road this week to New Orleans for the annual Clio Cloud Conference.

For this series, I get behind press releases, funding announcements and new products to capture the story of a legal tech founder – so you can see what it’s all about, and maybe join them as a founder.

Why start a company?

What was the problem you saw that needed solving?

What gave you the courage to quit a day job and give up a regular paycheck?

How did you get by without a paycheck?

Bootstrap or funding?

When did you think you could pull it off?

What was the absolute low point?

What would you tell some crazy enough to think they want to be a legal tech entrepreneur?

A couple months ago, I hosted about a dozen legal tech founders for video interviews at ILTACon in D.C. The stories – outstanding. The people – outstanding. Totally enjoyed it – and so did they. Check out the Legal Tech Founders site to catch the interviews, along with a transcript of our conversation.

What better place to take the Legal tech Founders series than to Clio Cloud 2018.

Clio is the epitome of a legal tech startup. Clio has also has done more as a platform for legal tech startups than any company.

Clio has built a huge ecosystem around its platform by integrating with over 100 legal technology solutions, the vast vast majority built by companies led by legal tech entrepreneurs and founders. From Clio’s standpoint, it’s about working with companies that are pushing the boundaries of innovation in legal technology.

Legal tech founder? Willing to share your story? Look for LexBlog’s media booth in New Orleans.

I already have ten legal tech founders scheduled to talk with. If you want to get scheduled ahead of time, email Caroline Hess, LexBlog’s marketing and communications lead.

See you there.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/10/01/lexblogs-legal-tech-founders-series-hits-road-clio-cloud-conference-new-orleans/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/30/can-content-alone-create-intimate-relationship-trust-blogs/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/30/can-content-alone-create-intimate-relationship-trust-blogs/#comments Mon, 01 Oct 2018 04:13:07 +0000

Can content alone create the intimate relationship of trust that blogs do?

I’m on record that blogging for lawyers is more than creating content. I’ve wondered more than once if I may be creating a straw man argument on which to make a stand. But I always come back to blogging being a conversation, a way to engage one’s audience in a real and authentic way. After…]]>

I’m on record that blogging for lawyers is more than creating content.

I’ve wondered more than once if I may be creating a straw man argument on which to make a stand. But I always come back to blogging being a conversation, a way to engage one’s audience in a real and authentic way.

After all, the seminal book on corporate blogging from the early days of blogging, written in 2006, was entitled, Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers.

The authors, Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, talked about how blogs, bloggers and the blogosphere were changing how businesses communicate with their consumers and other stakeholders. Robert and Shel presented more than 50 case studies of companies and business leaders as leaders interacting with their audience. (emphasis added)

Effective legal bloggers tell me that when a new client comes in the client feels like they know the lawyer. They’ve heard the lawyer ‘talk’ to them via their blog. They thought the lawyer understood them and their problem. They liked the way the lawyer “talked.”

Often the client came from other than the blog itself. It was because of the lawyer’s word of mouth reputaton or a referral. The lawyer’s blog, when found on a Google search, LinkedIn, the lawyer’s website or the referral, put them over the top. The blog created an intimate relationship of trust.

When I first started blogging, I imagined I was talking to an audience of one – me. After a few posts I envisioned talking as a late night radio talk show host who must be reaching a few listeners in town.

I always envisioned people asking questions or wanting to know something. I talked to them on my blog the way I would over coffee at the local coffee shop or over a beer at the local pub.

Everything came from me, personally. Whether information or a perspective I picked up from a personal experience or something I read with a word as to why I shared the piece, it was always personal.

The first lawyer who called me about blogging, back in 2003, a Harvard and Northwestern grad, asked me how he could use blogging to develop work. He wondered if he should do what he saw a lawyer or two doing on their blogs – talking about movies, food etc.

I explained, no. Listen to your clients and prospective clients and respond to their inquires. What are the questions they ask? Take out a legal pad and write “Blog” at the top. Write down all the questions clients and prospective clients ask and answer them on your blog,

He responded, “that’s exactly what I do and how I get work.” Not on a blog, but in emails and on phone calls.

The lawyer blogged in a conversational and personal way based on the law he knew and his experiences as a lawyer. He increased his asset protection business expoetentinally as a national audience picked up on his “call in radio talk show.” A show with a national reach.

Sure, content in the form of legal information can be valuable. Done well, it’ll attract attention via Google and people to one’s blog or website.

But a lawyer still needs to close the deal – to establish trust as both a trusted and reliable authority and someone a prospective client, maybe one who has never contacted a lawyer before, feels comfortable contacting.

An intimate relationship of trust just seems more likely to come from blogging to engage, versus content alone.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/30/can-content-alone-create-intimate-relationship-trust-blogs/feed/ 1 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/28/aba-social-media-kavanaugh-hearings/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/28/aba-social-media-kavanaugh-hearings/#respond Fri, 28 Sep 2018 18:26:00 +0000

The ABA, social media and Kavanaugh hearing

On Thursday evening, news broke on mainstream media (news television and news sites) that the American Bar Association was calling for a FBI investigation of the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. Wanting to following the legal community’s, the public’s and the media’s commentary on the ABA’s position I went to Twitter looking for the ABA’s tweet…]]>

On Thursday evening, news broke on mainstream media (news television and news sites) that the American Bar Association was calling for a FBI investigation of the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.

Wanting to following the legal community’s, the public’s and the media’s commentary on the ABA’s position I went to Twitter looking for the ABA’s tweet on its position and the tweets that followed thereon.

It would be in tweets that followed the ABA tweet that open public commentary would ensue. This discussion would drive commentary across the net — last evening and into this morning. The commentary could also bubble up to influence the mainstream media’s discussion of the ABA’s position. And who knows, maybe even commentary on the senate committee floor.

But I could find nothing on the ABA’s position, from either the ABA itself or its president, Bob Carlson.

I shared on Twitter that I found it odd that the ABA chose not to post its position on social media.

Interesting that @ABAesq has not posted to social media the ABA’s position that the Kavanaugh vote be delayed until after a FBI investigation.

— Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) September 28, 2018

.@ABAPresident sent a letter to leaders of @senjudiciary on Thursday, urging them to conduct a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh only after the FBI completes a background check into the allegations by Professor Christine Blasey Ford and others.

— American Bar Association (@ABAesq) September 28, 2018

Shortly afterwards this morning, the ABA tweeted for its president, Bob Carlson, the ABA position and a link to yesterday’s letter.

We urge that a confirmation vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination be considered only after an appropriate FBI background check into recent allegations. Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee here: https://t.co/EhEQvOrkM9 @BarPresidents @NABE_News @ABAJD

— Bob Carlson (@ABAPresident) September 28, 2018

Later on Friday morning the ABA shared its position on Facebook.

My first thought was that the ABA wanted to limit the news on its position and limit discussion on its position among its members, the legal community in general, the public and the media. After all, almost two thirds of Americans get news from social media, with Twitter dominating as the source of news on social media.

On breaking news, such as with the Kavanaugh hearing, Twitter is at the center of news and commentary. Mainstream turn to Twitter for news and commentary, then share, air and ‘print’ tweets. Twitter is where news is discussed by the public, especially those who influence further discussion on the subject.

So if you wanted to take a position, limit who would hear of it and curtail commentary on the position, you’d send a letter, post a press release, and delay sharing word of it to social media.

That’s what the ABA did. It issued a press release on Thursday announcing that that the “ABA president calls for FBI investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh.”

But rather than wanting to limit word of the ABA’s position and limit discussion on its position, my gut tells me the ABA just doesn’t use social media very well. And that’s a little sad for an organization that wants to play a role in driving legal commentary and the advancement of the law in this country.

The ABA and others will think a day’s delay in posting to social media, or even half of day’s delay is nothing. A mere formality. A task handled when someone gets to work the next day.

But the world today dictates otherwise. The use of social media is a reality, and probably more important than press releases and letters.

The ABA has acknowledged that it’s revenues are on the steep decline and that membership is dropping. To remain relevant to the public, its membership and the legal community in general, the ABA needs to learn how to engage its audience in a modern world.

The ABA’s communications on Kavanaugh make clear the ABA has not not yet learned how to engage the public.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/28/aba-social-media-kavanaugh-hearings/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/25/evolution-law-students-law-blogs-social-media/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/25/evolution-law-students-law-blogs-social-media/#respond Wed, 26 Sep 2018 02:23:34 +0000

Evolution of law students, law blogs and social media

I was in Chicago this week, speaking at a couple of law schools. The topic? How law students can use blogging and social media for learning, building relationships and building a name. The more I speak at law schools, the more I realize law students and law schools are much like lawyers and law firms…]]>

I was in Chicago this week, speaking at a couple of law schools.

The topic? How law students can use blogging and social media for learning, building relationships and building a name.

The more I speak at law schools, the more I realize law students and law schools are much like lawyers and law firms when it comes to blogging and other social media.

There is the understandable fear of doing something that will leave an indelible mark, the fear of not knowing perfectly what you are doing (learning by trial and error is not usually done in the law nor promoted in law school), and the difficulty of being openly real and authentic.

It’s hit and miss from law school to law school as to whether students are receptive to the message of networking through the Internet via social media and blogging.

Those schools with law professors, deans and career development professionals acting as role models on social media and blogging and with educational programs in this regard are way ahead of the game. The students at their schools are receptive, want to learn and want to get started.

And unfortunately, just like lawyers, most law students are not willing to put in the time to distinguish themselves. That’s real disappointing as the need to develop a personal brand and be seen as willing to assert oneself is ever increasing.

My visiting school to school, repetitively, doesn’t really scale. It’s going to take boots on the ground in the form of knowledgeable and experienced law students at the law schools with the support from the mothership in Seattle – LexBlog.

Westlaw has had student reps, and so has LexNexis. We’re seeing newer legal tech companies such as casetext with student reps.

LexBlog student reps could be at a law school to help a fellow student spin up for a free professional blog in minutes through the expedited LexBlog system. They could show fellow students the social media to use from Twitter, Facebook, to LinkedIn and how to use these networking tools effectively.

I raised the idea of a LexBlog representative at one of the schools yesterday. The idea was very well received by a law professor. In fact, seen as possibly more valuable to students than services from other organizations with student representatives.

It will be very special to see the progression of law students building a name and relationships while in law school by networking through the net.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll teach lawyers and law schools a thing or two.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/25/evolution-law-students-law-blogs-social-media/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/20/law-firm-blog-publishing-practices-hurting-lawyers-law/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/20/law-firm-blog-publishing-practices-hurting-lawyers-law/#respond Fri, 21 Sep 2018 02:11:39 +0000

Law firm blog publishing practices hurting lawyers and the law

As a result of poor publishing practices, law firms are inadvertently hurting lawyers and the law. The influence of their lawyers is at risk, if not severely diminished, and the advancement of the law is curtailed. How so? Through a combination of sloppy digital publishing practices and not recognizing the role law blogs and their…]]>

As a result of poor publishing practices, law firms are inadvertently hurting lawyers and the law.

The influence of their lawyers is at risk, if not severely diminished, and the advancement of the law is curtailed.

How so? Through a combination of sloppy digital publishing practices and not recognizing the role law blogs and their blogging lawyers play in both the advancement of the law and the administration of justice itself.

Law blogs have achieved the status of secondary law, sitting equal to or even ahead of law reviews and law journals.

Blogs have democratized legal publishing. Practicing lawyers, usually with niche expertise, who never published in law reviews and journals are regularly sharing their insight in blogs. Areas of law never covered before are being covered by lawyers with deep expertise obtained by practicing law.

Blogs are routinely being cited — by blogs, in social media, in law review and law journal articles, in briefs and memorandums and by courts at the trial and appellate level. In just fifteen years, blogs have become part of legal dialogue and the administration of justice.

Each time a blog is cited, the relevant post is linked to. The blogging lawyer is routinely cited and linked to as well.

With each citation, the blog’s influence and the influence of the blogging lawyer is increased. Geometrically over time.

Influence not measured subjectively, but objectively by machines and algorithms. Think search engines, legal research solutions and artificial intelligence applications.

Sounds promising until you get to the publishing practices of many law firms.

Blogging lawyer leaves a firm and the lawyer’s name is removed from all blogs, and often replaced with the firm’s name. The parties who have cited the post and the lawyer are embarrassed when people go the citation through the link and the authority (the lawyer) is absent. Citations will dry up up as people are not going to cite a post without the authority. The lawyer’s influence takes a big hit with citations going away and search tools and social media no longer seeing the lawyer as an authority via their posts at the firm.

Blog posts are removed when a lawyer leaves a firm. Immediate dead link from all citations and again the lawyer’s influence takes a big hit.

Blogs are taken down altogether when a lawyer leaves. All citations gone, the lawyer’s body of work is destroyed and the lawyer’s influence takes a huge hit.

Law firms move their blogs from one website solution to another, often software solutions not designed for legal blogging and run by web development companies not proficient in blog publishing. Url’s are destroyed, thus destroying all the citations and measures of influence for the lawyers.

I say inadvertent as I don’t believe law firms are trying to damage the influence of their lawyers and their careers nor impede the advancement of the law or the administration of justice. But it’s happening and law firm publishing practices are the reason.

Time, an open discussion about law firm publishing practices and uniform linking and citations, likely through WordPress, will correct things – or at least reduce the problem.

Law firms will not want to be know for being a firm that does not enable lawyers to grow their influence and career while publishing at the firm while other firms do. They won’t to be known for impeding the advancement of the law or the administration of justice. They’ll also not want to be known as not being tech savvy enough to run or select a proper publishing solution.

This issue is a serious one. I spoke this week with one of the authorities at the Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School working on Perma.cc. Recognizing the gravity of broken links in the law and the sheer number of them, Perma.cc has developed a service that helps scholars, courts and others create web citation links that will never break. We talked about systems and solutions to reduce and prevent link rot (broken citations) in more legal blogs.

Fifteen years ago, most could not have foreseen the need for uniform practices for legal blog publishing. But the day has come to begin work on it.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/20/law-firm-blog-publishing-practices-hurting-lawyers-law/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/14/wake-law-firms-rss/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/14/wake-law-firms-rss/#respond Sat, 15 Sep 2018 00:36:12 +0000

Wake up law firms, RSS is important for publishing

RSS is the standard for the syndication of published content across the open web. For law firms, RSS is how their content reaches many readers, especially their blog content. But of late, I am finding many law firms not using RSS in publishing, even in their blogs. Other firms have their RSS feeds set up…]]>

RSS is the standard for the syndication of published content across the open web. For law firms, RSS is how their content reaches many readers, especially their blog content.

But of late, I am finding many law firms not using RSS in publishing, even in their blogs.

Other firms have their RSS feeds set up incorrectly. All of their blogs in one RSS feed so users receive content they don’t want. RSS feeds kicking out some content, but missing other content – almost like a magazine with blank packages here and there. RSS feeds that don’t work at all so nothing shows in a news aggregator or on publications based on RSS such as LexBlog.

The sad thing is that RSS is simple. Its non-abbreviated name says as much – Real Simple Syndication.

RSS is not something that needs to be set up. RSS comes included in all blog publishing software. RSS is included in the largest content management solution (CMS), WordPress, which is used on 70% of all websites running a CMS, whether it be a blog or other content site.

Even though RSS is a standard include, I had one large firm tell me recently that they needed to pay their website development company to go back and turn on RSS. Another large firm said they needed to pay to get their RSS fixed on their just launched website. It’s sad, sounded like they were saying they bought a car without a standard include – like a functioning steering wheel.

Hey, I’ll confess when I started this blog in 2003, I had no idea what RSS was. In fact, when I hit the RSS button on my site, a page of what seemed like gibberish showed up. Turned out this was the “raw RSS code,” displaying as it should.

I soon found out that what one of things that made blogs special – and in factor superior to static content on websites, was RSS. RSS was akin to a radio single sending out content from your blog to an audience who wanted to hear from you.

The standard symbol and website button for RSS is, in fact, a radio signal.

Without RSS, your website was like broadcasting from a radio station without an antenna. Everyone in the radio studio could hear you, but beyond that, forget it. Especially those folks with radios who turned into to your station wanting to hear what you had to say, they got nothing.

Imagine a lawyer unknowingly publishing blog posts on a law firm platform that did not have RSS working. Imagine telling the lawyer later that we were making it impossible for many users to read the lawyer’s posts – or that we were letting the world know that we, as a law firm, didn’t know what we’re doing when it came to a widely used and a simply deployed technology.

When I went out and met with law firms about blogs almost fifteen years ago, I explained that one of the great advantages was the RSS feed. I used RSS, one of the key elements of a standard blog, to sell blogs.

I explained that RSS created a web feed (RSS feed) which allowed users (clients, media, prospective clients, other bloggers etc) to access updates to the law firm’s blog at other than the blog itself. Pretty powerful compared to expecting users to come to a law firm’s website or blog to read updates.

Powerful also for automatically displaying blog posts in entirety or by excerpt back at the law firm’s website.

RSS feeds allowed a user to keep track of updates from many different publications or blogs in a user’s single news aggrator, the most popular of which was Google Reader, until Google shut it dowm. Today the most popular is Feedly.

The news aggregator automatically checks the RSS feed for new content, allowing the content to be automatically passed from website to website or from website to user. This passing of content is called web syndication.

Beyond news aggregators, RSS is how many large news service aggregators and syndication sources gets feeds. LexisNexis, is just one of many that has syndicated blog posts that LexisNexis received by RSS. Other aggregators and syndicators deliver news and commentary to corporations, worldwide.

LexBlog receives all the blogs not published on our platform via RSS. Via that RSS, LexBlog displays and categorizes posts, creates an author/contributor page and a law firm page displaying posts and contributors. We syndicate those posts to third parties such as Fastcase and bar associations.

RSS is the syndication tool of record across the open web. Beyond blogs, publishers and media producers usually use RSS to publish frequently updated information, such news headlines, audio and video.

Don’t get geeked out by RSS, it’ doesn’t have to be any more complicated than email, another content delivery tool. We look at email as pretty simple and don’t get wigged out about the software and web architecture that enables it to work.

Look at RSS just the same as email. You need it. You don’t need to know what it’s all about and how it works.

And don’t let anyone sell you RSS, anymore than you’d let someone sell you a steering wheel as an extra for your car. Or charge to fix your steering wheel that never worked and made it tough to drive.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/14/wake-law-firms-rss/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/11/lexblog-launches-global-legal-news-commentary-platform/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/11/lexblog-launches-global-legal-news-commentary-platform/#respond Tue, 11 Sep 2018 19:15:13 +0000

LexBlog launches global legal news and commentary platform

Last week we shared the word with our clients and yesterday with bloggers, and other members of the press, that LexBlog has launched a global legal news and commentary network. Today, it’s time to share the word with you. Especially with those of you blogging, without whom this news would not be possible. The network,…]]>

Last week we shared the word with our clients and yesterday with bloggers, and other members of the press, that LexBlog has launched a global legal news and commentary network.

Today, it’s time to share the word with you. Especially with those of you blogging, without whom this news would not be possible.

The network, running on the LexBlog.com site, is a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive, global news and commentary network, delivering timely and targeted articles from legal bloggers throughout the world. Any legal blogger, worldwide, is invited to add a feed to the network, and any reader is free to access the network, with no subscription or payment required.

You need not be a user/customer of LexBlog’s publishing platform to have you and your blog included for free. LexBlog customers will automatically be included. “Non-customers” just need to go to the “Join” page on LexBlog.

Some 19,000 legal bloggers already participate in the network, which features both curated and real-time posts from lawyers, law professors, law librarians, law students, legal-industry executives, legal marketers, legal consultants, legal technologists and others, providing news, insights and analysis on virtually every legal and practice topic.

Powering the network is LexBlog’s custom-built aggregation and syndication engine that allows the platform to aggregate blog content from any source, regardless of whether the blog is hosted by LexBlog on its own blogging platform or externally on any other blogging platform — as well as syndicate the content, as relevant, to syndication partners.

Big kudos to Jared, Scott, Angelo, Brian and Josh for doing the heavy lifting on the design, development and tech side for something we’ve envisioned for a long time.

As my colleague and LexBlog’s publisher and editor-in-chief, Bob Ambrogi says:

The wealth of original writing and reporting from legal blogs is staggering. For legal professionals, there is immeasurable value in having unlimited access to timely articles targeted to their practices and interests.

Ambrogi’s right. We’re also seeing legal news sites reducing coverage because of reduced revenues and erecting paywalls in an attempt to get subscription money for copy that is less valuable than that coming from legal blogs.

Legal bloggers are the citizen journalists of law and our network is bringing their work to the readers who will most benefit from it – legal professionals, entrepreneurs, executives, small business people and consumers.

The network includes:

Featured articles curated by LexBlog editors throughout the day.

Real-time feeds of all articles from member blogs across the world.

Real-time feeds of targeted articles arranged by legal channels.

RSS and email subscriptions to channel and blog updates.

Profiles of each blogger, including the blogs to which they contribute and their recent posts.

Profiles of the law firms and institutions that publish blogs, including all the blogs they support, all their blog authors, and the recent posts from across all their blogs.

Content published through the platform receives additional exposure through publication to the Fastcase legal research service and through upcoming bar association publishing portals.

As Ambrogi says, this is just the first phase of the new LexBlog.com. Future plans include greater curation of channel pages, expanded original content and coverage, and special-focus publications. In addition, LexBlog will license and deploy its syndication and aggregation platform to law firms, bar associations, law schools and other organizations to power their own custom publishing.

What started out of a garage with one blogger – me – LexBlog is now the hub that brings together many of the best legal minds on the web. Humbling, to put it mildly.

Want to join our cause or know someone who would want to, I am looking for one ambitious and passionate associate editor, to have the time of their life in helping build this one of kind network. Journalism isn’t struggling at LexBlog, the intersection of blogging, technology and the law is going to make for something special – to serve lawyers and the people we serve.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/11/lexblog-launches-global-legal-news-commentary-platform/feed/ 0 https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/05/legal-bloggers-part-press-conferences/ https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/05/legal-bloggers-part-press-conferences/#respond Thu, 06 Sep 2018 05:06:16 +0000

Legal bloggers are part of the press – for conferences too

The question of whether bloggers are included in the definitions of “press” arose at this year’s International Legal Technology (ILTA) Conference. Historically, ILTA invited bloggers as part of the press, but this year put limits, seemingly arbitrary, on which bloggers received press passes. Many bloggers (LexBlog had previously received press credentials) received a response akin…]]>

The question of whether bloggers are included in the definitions of “press” arose at this year’s International Legal Technology (ILTA) Conference.

Historically, ILTA invited bloggers as part of the press, but this year put limits, seemingly arbitrary, on which bloggers received press passes.

Many bloggers (LexBlog had previously received press credentials) received a response akin to:

Bloggers seeking press credentials must be working journalists or be affiliated in an editorial capacity with a qualified news outlet as described above..

which read:

…credentialed journalists (i.e., professional reporters, editors, writers, news photographers, producers and online editors) who work for a publication, news service, broadcast outlet or news site that is regularly issued and published primarily for the dissemination of news, and operates independently from any commercial, political, government or special interest. Only media whose primary responsibility is the coverage of the legal, legal technology, technology industry, workforce tech issues, and related news will be considered for credentials.

Tom O’Connor rightfully called out ILTA for its denial of press passes to many bloggers, quite a few of whom had been long time supporters of the association.

During the conference, ILTA reached out to bloggers and other members of the press to formulate a more progressive policy when it came to bloggers.

My understanding is that ILTA attempted to work with bloggers who attended so they were included as press and is now looking to bloggers to help formulate a new policy going forward.

As part of those discussions and from what I have found out with regard to other association conferences, it turns out that legal conferences, in general. have a problem giving press passes to people who are members of the organization holding the conference or that are employed by a company.

Apparently the goal in declining press passes to the organization’s members is to force those members who blog to pay registration fees and to blog favorably of the conference and the association.

Declining press passes to those employed by companies (who isn’t?) apparently prevents an employee of a legal services company from reporting only things favorable to their company and motivates the company to buy exhibition space to hawk their services.

Nice to see that people in the legal profession think so little of the press, bloggers included, to think you may define the press to your favor.

How to define the press and who gets press passes for legal conferences? Easy, per veteran legal journalist, Bob Ambrogi.

Media registration shall be afforded to any individual who regularly gathers, prepares, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports or publishes news or information about matters of public interest for dissemination to the public in any medium, whether print or electronic.

The press is the press. The fact that the Internet democratized the press and put a pen in the hands of more people, many with niche knowledge of an industry and its goings on, didn’t change anything.

Conferences and associations should welcome bloggers with open arms. The number of trade publications and reporters working for them is a fraction of what it was 10 or 15 years ago.

Ask any public relations person trying to get client coverage at conferences how hard it is today. The press list at many conferences is a joke. No one is there to report.

Get bloggers there covering your exhibitors and speakers and you’re gold as a conference coordinator.

Many exhibitors have told me they have received more valuable business from LexBlog’s coverage of them at a conference than through their exhibit space.

Most speakers are not reimbursed travel expenses, let alone paid for their time. The benefit from speaking comes in building a name. Getting interviewed at or before a conference or your having talk covered is more valuable than talking itself.

Without bloggers, coverage of exhibitors and speakers will be scarce at best. There are not enough of what conferences may call “reporters” and the “reporters” there don’t have enough of an interest in niches to want to cover sessions.

Want to get more people coming to your conference and joining your association, create excitement. Coverage via blogging and other social media does this.

Blogs have a free and open RSS feed and email subscribers. Put 15 or 20 bloggers in your confernce and you’ll have their feeds displayed on LexBlog with more niche coverage on the confernce than you’ll ever get from “Traditonal” legal media. You’ll also reach the bloggers’ email and RSS subscribers.

Limiting coverage of your conference to those people you call a “reporter” is putting your naivety on display.

Look around, media has changed. People get their news and information from people they trust, often via blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. “Traditional” legal media is wholefully behind on that front.

You benefit from bloggers. Be smart and show some leadership.

Recognize that you are part of the legal profession. A profession that stands for freedom of the press — a press that includes bloggers.

]]> https://kevin.lexblog.com/2018/09/05/legal-bloggers-part-press-conferences/feed/ 0

Source: https://bloghyped.com/real-lawyers/

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