Nominations Sought for Peretta, Perry Awards

The Young Lawyers Division is now accepting nominations for the F. Sean Peretta Service Award and the Craig M. Perry Service Award, both presented at the upcoming YLD Annual Meeting in early 2013. If you know of anyone that you would like to nominate, the deadline is Thursday, Dec. 27.

The F. Sean Peretta Service Award is presented annually to an individual who has devoted substantial time to an innovative or non-traditional program that serves the community. Peretta was a private practitioner who died suddenly at age 31who was a very involved community activist and a mentor to kids in his home neighborhood. He was viewed as a role model for African-American Youth.

The Craig M. Perry Service Award is presented annually to a young lawyer - 37 years old or younger or within the first three years of practice - who has devoted substantial time and energy to community-oriented activities, including, but not limited to, pro bono and charity work. Perry was a member of the YLD Executive Committee who suffered an untimely death. He was very involved in community service and active in student-related and other YLD programs.

Nominations should include the individual's name, address and a brief statement describing his or her qualifications. The deadline for nominations is Thursday, Dec. 27. All nominations should be submitted to Dawn Petit at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market St., 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107 or email to dpetit@philabar.org.

Marketing Corner - The Fourth-Quarter Push: End 2012 With An Uptick

By Kimberly Alford Rice
Here we are in the last quarter of 2012 with the holidays right around the corner. What you do in the next several weeks could very well determine how successful your practice will be in 2013, and beyond.

Follow the tips below that top rainmakers have shared on how they leverage the end of the year to grow their practice.

Maximize Opportunities to Connect
The fourth quarter is filled with holiday gatherings that create inherent reasons to reach out and connect with your clients, referral sources and highly valued prospects.

• Call your key influencers and wish them a happy holiday season ahead.
• Invite referral sources to holiday events.
• Send out holiday greetings and/or holiday e-blasts. Reaffirm your appreciation for the opportunity to work with them in 2012.

Ask for Referrals
• Remind clients and contacts that you gladly accept referrals and appreciate the opportunity to lend your help. Most people are willing to help, if we make it simple for them.

Double Down on Your Marketing Efforts
There's no better time than the fourth quarter to automate the processes for your marketing initiatives as you head into 2013. We all experience how life gets in the way sometimes, and, without fail, we get really busy, over-scheduled and over-committed, especially as we head into the fall and winter holidays. That is when it is too easy to overlook or allow high-impact marketing initiatives to fall between the cracks. Don't let it happen again this year.

• Put a plan in place to ensure that you have all systems "go" for your practice to remain visible and stay top of mind.

• Look ahead now at the targeted networking opportunities (those that put you in front of qualified prospects and high-impact referral sources) coming up in the next few months and pencil the dates on your calendar.

Take the Road Less Traveled
Author M. Scott Peck did not promise us that the road would be easy, but rather worth the effort if we dare to stand out and have a deeper journey. Applied professionally, it is not always easy to be memorable and develop top-of-mind awareness among your targeted audiences - clients, referral sources and highly valued prospects. Not easy, but possible.

The truth is that 80 percent of most lawyers do not take the extra steps to build a successful practice. Many will focus on looking backward and lament all the things they have not done in 2012 and how far behind they feel, or how defeated they are. Many lawyers will simply do just enough to get by - no more, no less - and move forward with their practices stuck in status quo mode, indefinitely. They wonder why their client lists do not grow, why they are not earning more year after year, and how they feel burned out in the practice of law.

Then, there are the other 20 percent of lawyers who will step up, stand out and stay laser-focused. They will end this year on top, crushing their goals and kick-starting 2013 with vigor and renewed sense of purpose.

To which group will you belong? The top 20 or the bottom 80? What you do in these next few weeks may make all the difference.

Kimberly Alford Rice (kimberly@klamarketing.net) is principal of KLA Marketing Associates a business development advisory firm focusing on legal services.