from all of us here at Beacon Network Investigations. Inc.
From sole practitioner to a large, multi-city law firm, just about every lawyer is always looking for ways to bring in new business or continue with good clients.
First, a primer from those legal marketing gurus at The Rainmaker Institute:
Now. let’s identify and resolve several common challenges to achieving your firm’s elevated financial objectives:
Challenge 1: Legal advertising rules are so onerous (especially in NYS) as to make almost all legal marketing ads appear the same.
Resolution: Study your competitors’ advertising and do something different.
DON’T use tired phrases such as “25 years of combined experience”, “our competitive team of attorneys” and “we’re here to help you”.
DO use unique phrasing, e.g., “Injured? Before you talk to an insurance adjuster or hire a lawyer, email or call us for our free pamphlet/book/DVD on what to do if you are injured. An informed client does better for himself.”
CHALLENGE 2 : Differentiating yourself from the rest of the legal crowd.
Resolution: Write a book (even one of 10 pages).
DON’T make it full of terms that laypeople don’t really understand, such as “former prosecutor” or “I’m a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association”.
DO initially use self-publishing companies. (LuLu and Cafepress come to mind.) They will accommodate you with everything from POD (print on demand), PQN (print quantity needed) to issuing copyright-protecting ISBNs ( International Standard Book Number). Include your contact info on the inside back cover. (Don’t presume people will Google you.)
CHALLENGE 3: Taking on C and D quality clients to pay the rent.
Resolution: Curb the number of these cases you take on. It’ll expend time better spent on bigger cases.
DON’T take on more than you can handle. There is a marketing ROI standard that has withstood the test of time: 80% of your business will come from 20% of your clients. (This includes repeats, referrals, networking… ) Also, don’t immediately offer a free consultation in these cases. Do you really have the time?
DO make potential C and D clients work for your representation. If they are serious enough, they’ll take the time to educate themselves by going through your materials (have a packet handy) and make it absolutely clear that you are a legal advocate, not the Library of Congress or the help desk to be called 10 times a week.
CHALLENGE 4: Making yourself appear to be King/Queen of the Hill in your niche field.
Resolution: Let the words speak for you.
DON’T declare yourself an expert. (Let your writing, appearances, bragging rights… do it for you.)
DO publish a monthly newsletter. List your highest award settlements (obviously observing the client privacy regs). Keep yourself in the public eye. Create mini videos (about 3 mins. is the average online attention span) addressing your area of law without appearing as an “As Sold On TV” commercial. Put several vids up on your site. Offer to speak, gratis, as an expert (don’t use the word) on radio, tv, online shows.
With the long holiday weekend coming up, there’ll be plenty fo time to review this marketing advice. It works. I published this post, I’m prepared to back it up. Just email editor@beaconbulletin.com and we’ll send you a free marketing checklist.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.
Have a safe, healthy and relaxing Fourth!
We’re taking a moment to mourn the victims of the horrrific Metro train crash this week. Unnervingly prescient, in last week’s Bulletin, I outlined the safest seats on trains, planes and cruise ships as our vacation season takes off. Please re-read that issue before you and your family travel.
Every year, at the end of June/beginning of July we post the pool safety rules and regs. It takes a split second for a child to be serious injured or worse in a pool. Pools are supposed to be fun, let’s keep them safe.
According to data (compiled from various federal agencies and industry monitoring organizations), in a given year, there is one drowning of a child for every 11,000 residential pools in the United States. (In a country with 6 million pools, this means that roughly 550 children under the age of ten drown each year.)
Below please find the full NYDOS amended text (12/14/2006) version of NYCRR Title 19 re: pool alarms. Feel welcome to contact BNI for our post pool/water-event checklist. There are often many variables involved in pool-related incidents. Our checklist has been developed over more than a decade of conducting these types of investigations.
TITLE 19 (NYCRR)
CHAPTER XXXIII – STATE FIRE PREVENTION & BUILDING CODE COUNCIL
SUBCHAPTER A – UNIFORM FIRE PREVENTION & BUILDING CODE
1221.3. Swimming pool alarms. [amended text 12/14/2006]
(a) Purpose. Paragraph (b) of subdivision (14) of section 378 of the Executive Law, as added by Chapter 450 of the Laws of 2006, requires that the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code) provide that any “residential or commercial swimming pool constructed or substantially modified after the effective date of this paragraph (December 14, 2006) shall be equipped with an acceptable pool alarm capable of detecting a child entering the water and of giving an audible alarm.” The Introducer’s Memorandum in Support of Chapter 450 states, in pertinent part, that “drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in children between the ages of one and fourteen nation wide, and the third leading cause of injury-related deaths of children in New York. . . . Technological advances have produced several different types of pool alarms designed to sound a warning if a child falls into the water. When used in conjunction with access barriers, these alarms provide greater protection against accidental pool drownings.” This section and section 1220.5 of Part 1220 of this Title are intended to implement the provisions of Executive Law section 378(14)(b).
(b) Definitions. The following terms shall, for the purposes of this section and for the purposes of section 1220.5 in Part 1220 of this Title, have the following meanings:
(1) Approved. Approved by the code enforcement official responsible for enforcement and administration of the Uniform Code as complying with and satisfying the purposes of this section and section 1220.5 in Part 1220 of this Title.
(2) Commercial swimming pool. Any swimming pool (as defined in paragraph (4) of this subdivision) that is not a residential swimming pool (as defined in paragraph (3) of this subdivision).
(3) Residential swimming pool. A swimming pool (as defined in paragraph (4) of this subdivision) which is situated on the premises of a detached one- or two-family dwelling; a multiple single-family dwelling (townhouse) not more than three stories in height; a one-family dwelling converted to a bed and breakfast; a community residence for 14 or fewer mentally disabled persons, operated by or subject to licensure by the Office of Mental Health or the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; a one-or two-family dwelling operated for the purpose of providing care to more than two but not more than eight hospice patients, created pursuant to Article 40 of the Public Health Law, and defined as a hospice residence in §4002 of said Law; a manufactured home; a mobile home; or a factory manufactured dwelling unit.
(4) Swimming pool. Any structure intended for swimming, recreational bathing or wading which contains or which is designed to contain water over 24 inches (610 mm) deep. This includes in-ground, above-ground and on-ground pools; indoor pools; hot tubs; spas; and fixed-in-place wading pools.
(5) Substantial damage. Damage of any origin sustained by a swimming pool whereby the cost of restoring the swimming pool to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the swimming pool before the damage occurred.
(6) Substantial modification. Any repair reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or improvement of a swimming pool, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the swimming pool before the repair, rehabilitation, addition, or improvement is started. If a swimming pool has sustained substantial damage, any repairs are considered to be a substantial modification regardless of the actual repair work performed.
(c) Pool alarms. Each residential swimming pool installed, constructed or substantially modified after December 14, 2006 and each commercial swimming pool installed, constructed or substantially modified after December 14, 2006 shall be equipped with an approved pool alarm which:
(1) is capable of detecting a child entering the water and giving an audible alarm when it detects a child entering the water;
(2) is audible poolside and at another location on the premises where the swimming pool is located;
(3) is installed, used and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;
(4) is classified by Underwriter’s Laboratory, Inc. (or other approved independent testing laboratory) to reference standard ASTM F2208, entitled “Standard Specification for Pool Alarms,” as adopted in 2002 and editorially corrected in June 2005, published by ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428; and
(5) is not an alarm device which is located on person(s) or which is dependent on device(s) located on person(s) for its proper operation.
(d) Multiple pool alarms. A pool alarm installed pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section must be capable of detecting entry into the water at any point on the surface of the swimming pool. If necessary to provide detection capability at every point on the surface of the swimming pool, more than one pool alarm shall be installed.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web Savvy.
As always, be safe.
In sticking with the vacation theme of the past several posts, we’ve rounded up statistics regarding travel safety.
The safest seat on a:
Railroad Passenger Train: Is any one outside of the train. Seriously, a car or two ahead of the rear car. According to the U.S. government’s transportation accident review authority, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a majority of passenger rail mishaps damage the front cars; secondly, the middle in derailment situations; with the least damage occurring to the near to end cars. Of course, in the case of a front to rear collision between two trains, the first train will suffer rear car damage, obviously, the first car(s) of the second train will suffer the most damage but these are the rarest collision types. Final tip: choose a rear facing seat (in the direction of travel). In a crash, you won’t be thrown forward.
Airplane: A recently published Popular Mechanics study concludes that, in an airplane crash, 69% of rear cabin passengers are more likely to survive than those in the front rows (generally the first and business classes or in all-coach flights, the first 15 rows). In the same situation, over the wing seat passengers experience a 59% survival rate, which then drops dramatically to 49% for those in the aforementioned front rows.
The safest cabin on a:
Cruise Ship: From the Cruise Critic, mid to upper cabin, facing outward, in the ship’s aft (rear) section. Cruise line accidents, while extremely rare, tend to damage the hull (usually in the front part) first, thereby exposing the lower and inner cabins to immediate flooding as well as by positioning alone, these cabins have more restricted avenues of escape. Overall, we recommend staying away from any cruises along the Somalian coast, regardless of cabin choice.
Enjoy your vacation. According to Rebirth of Reason, staying at home is not an option.
The most recent statistics from the National Safety Council show that death by falling from a bed, chair or other furniture is almost as likely as death by air transport. As of 2006, your odds of dying from an in-home fall are about 1 in 379,000 while your risk in an airliner is about 1 in 484,000. If you ever stand on a chair, you are somewhat safer in an airliner than you are in your own home.
BNI Operatives: Street (air & sea) Smart: Web Savvy.
As always, and especially when traveling, stay safe.
Tip of the Week for Registered Readers: Especially for PI attorneys, run your client’s/opponent’s plate on this site.
As many of you already know, starting this week, by popular demand, the Beacon Bulletin will now be published each Wednesday!
We take our readers requests seriously, and the majority asked for a day in the week when they can better focus and appreciate the information we dispense.
Your wish is our command – Wednesday it is. See you in two days with another well researched, informative and topical Bulletin article.
As always, stay safe.
With the rise in the prices of airline travel, hotel stay rates and means of local travel (cars, mini bus…), many Americans have decided to remain in-country and enjoy “stay-cations”; touring the wonderful sites across the United States instead.
As we travel around our great country, we are going to meet people of varied backgrounds, mannerisms and in some cases, physical differences. Our focus today is on communicating with deaf people. According to the NCHS (National Center of Health Statisitics), approximately 9 to 22 people out of every 1,000 suffer from severe partial to complete hearing loss. So the odds of meeting someone with a hearing loss condition are sufficiently in favor of us all becoming knowledgeable of at least the basics, that of signing in basic letters.
Hopefully, the below American Sign Language letter chart may prove to be helpful if you are in a situation that requires communication with a person suffering from hearing loss.
BNI Operatives; Street smart; Web Savvy: People aware.
As always, Stay safe.
Many of us lead incredibly complex lives, with full, active schedules. While our priorities shift, often hourly; our children remain our first concern. That parental concern is often in competition with rapid technological advances in combination with constantly evolving “netspeak”. Every generation (and every 1/4 generation now) has developed and communicated in a secret tongue (necessary to better navigate among peers) of its own. Today’s netspeak has advanced to what is now known as “sexting”: nude/semi nude photos + text acronyms via mobile.
We can’t do much about the inappropriate photos once they are out there (actually, we can; separate article), but we can help parents decode sexting.
From Fox Atlanta News: The Top 50 Text Acronyms That Parents Need to Know and
from our favorite security shop, Brickhouse Security, please take a moment to watch the below video on sexting:
Tip of the Week for Registered Bulletin Viewers: 5 Free Password Recovery Applications.
BNI Operatives: Street Smart: Web Savvy.
As always, stay safe.
REMINDER: NEW BORDER CROSSING DOCUMENT COMPLIANCE REGS GO INTO EFFECT TODAY, JUNE 1, 2009.
Thank you to all who have served and those that do.
From our friend, Stu:
“50% of all marriages in America end in divorce.”
That oft-repeated statement hides the factors involved in divorce: age, first marriage v. third marriage, having children v. being childless… Below are the real stats, delivered by divorce.org, behind that quote:
Age at marriage for those who divorce in America
| Age | Women | Men |
| Under 20 years old | 27.6% | 11.7% |
| 20 to 24 years old | 36.6% | 38.8% |
| 25 to 29 years old | 16.4% | 22.3% |
| 30 to 34 years old | 8.5% | 11.6% |
| 35 to 39 years old | 5.1% | 6.5% |
The divorce rate in America for first marriage, vs second or third marriage
50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri.”
The divorce rate in America for childless couples and couples with children
According to the Discovery Channel, couples with children have only a negligibly lower rate of divorce than childless couples.
In the latest edition of Time (May 25, 2009), 40% of babies born in 2007 had umarried parents (trendily called CUs, committed unmarrieds), up from 25% in 2002.
The above stat appears only to be continuing upwards, calling into legal question many issues generally presumed in married or divorced familes, (e.g., health care, child custody and property division).
Today’s CUs though, seem to have their legal homes in order, including DNA-testing as part of their family planning.
Overall, our experience has become that we are increasingly requested to conduct background checks on couples planning on cohabiting, sans the governmental rubber stamp, and recommendations for DNA testing centers.
Swab/Buccal (cheek), hair, blood and forensic sample DNA testing are explained in detail on DNA Plus.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.
If you can’t stay together, at least stay safe.
For our subscribers: your personal email Bulletin version contains this tip of the week: how to obtain a disposable, temporary email address.
Representing Manhattan:
Manhattan Traffic Cameras
| Streaming Video Camera Locations | ||
<!–
–>
| Still Image Camera Locations | ||
All five borough redlight camera location maps are availalble at: http://nyctmc.org/
Tip: Use Firefox to view (it also tell you which are inactive, streaming video…)
BNI Operatives: Street smart; Web savvy.
As always, stay safe.
