Shhh!! Keep your voice down. You’ll need to stay very quiet as we zoom-in on a
watering hole for close-ups of the struggle for survival. This month, we hope to spy big game,
deep in the steaming jungle of streaming media in the legal community. Thanks for tuning in
again as we explore law-related “webcasts” — audio/video over the World
Wide Web. If we’re patient — and stand very still — we may catch sight of a
behemoth taking the plunge. But first ...
THIS JUST IN
Most video made available on the Internet in the early days of streaming was, shall we say, not
pretty. Cameras in the hands of techies and the ubiquity of talking heads, combined with the
need to encode for slow dial-up modems (reducing the screen to small and grainy), was a formula
that reliably yielded webcasts that were not just ugly, but dreary, too.
Two such examples were recently retired from the website of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
The two videos, complete with blue screen and fuzzy talking heads, consisted of un-edited
podium footage on “Venture Capital Investing In The Post Boom Market” and the
“Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).”
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe also cleaned house recently, removing a one-minute downloadable
welcome message from Chairman Ralph Baxter.
Out with the old, in with the new?
WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?
Returning to our live coverage in the heart of the jungle, impressive recent improvements draw
our attention once again to Morrison & Foerster, whose streaming audio interview series we
visited several months back (Mofo Talk Radio, 6-03 Bridge). The firm has recently unveiled a
robust new offering of a dozen webcasts, including two short attorney recruitment videos and a
collection of audio+slides seminars.
“Chairman Interview”
![[play
button]](aw_images/playbttn.gif)
http://www.mofo.com/career/overview.cfm
(Click the photo at upper right.)
In a 6-minute RealPlayer close-up, Chair Keith Wetmore discusses the firm’s culture and
future, stressing: A+ aspirations, collaborative structure, openness and civility within the firm,
level communication and unified billing.
“Minority Recruiting”
http://www.mofo.com/career/diversity.cfm
(Click the photo at upper right.)
Partner Arturo Gonzalez, delivers a short, sincere interview about diversity and his experience of
the firm. (RealPlayer, 3:47)
These two recruitment videos are both nicely filmed, and offer genuine insights into the culture
of the firm. The use of video (versus audio + slides) helps create a connection with the speaker
and maximizes the emotional content.
“MoFo Seminars”
http://www.mofo.com
(Click ‘Webinars’ at the bottom right of any page.)
This timely and informative archive includes a dozen audio webcasts (recorded live) that range in
length from one to five hours. No video here; these are audio + slides webcasts using the
Veracast webcasting service. Veracast offers some good features: very legible, graphically
appealing slides; an index which allows jumping between subtopics; and the ability to skip at
will forward or backward between slides. A media player is required; each webcast may be
played with Realplayer or Windows Media Player.
Three webcasts offer MCLE Workshops for 1-hour credit each:
- Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of Substance Abuse
- Legal Ethics for In-House Counsel
- Elimination of Bias
The other webcasts in the MoFo Seminars archive include:
- 2004 Recent Developments in California Labor & Employment Law
- Internal Investigations: What Every In-House Lawyer Needs to Know
- CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 - Congress Puts State Anti-Spam Laws Back in the Can
- MoFo Annual Securities Enforcement Seminar
- Sarbanes Oxley Seminar
- Protecting Directors: Responding to the Upheaval in D&O Insurance
- Restricted Stock Plans: The Changing World of Equity Compensation
- Doing Business in China-Structuring Investments and Protecting Your Intellectual Property
- Doing Business With Japan
I was impressed to note that, besides English, the website (but not the webcast series) is available
in Chinese, Hebrew, and Japanese.
BENEFITS
Amanda Duckworth, Chief Marketing Officer, just 8 months on the job, has spear-headed a
dramatic boost in the firm’s use of webcasting. “I bring some of this from my
previous position, head of marketing at an investment bank. We found [webcasts] to be
enormously useful. The application of the technology may be somewhat new, but let’s not
overstate the case. In many ways, they are an extension of the old conference call which people
have been using for decades as a way of gathering people to deliver information. The benefit, of
course, is that they add a new dimension over the conference call, which is the ability to
simultaneously present slides ... and also [in video webcasts] the talking head — you can
actually see the presenter. You get the visual, with the audio, and the real benefit being the slide
material, the actual content, which may be presented graphically. And we can archive them, so
that if people can’t attend an event of ours because it conflicts with their schedule, they
can work it into their very own schedule.”
“We are doing [seminar webcasts] first and foremost to get greater leverage out of the
events that we sponsor.” Asked if the new effort was her brainchild , she replies modesty
“Yes, but I don’t think I should get too much credit for it. I think it’s really a
pretty standard operating procedure these days for most professional service firms.... I had
utilized the technology for years over at my former employer (and, frankly, at my employer
before that) and so it was an obvious thing that we needed to be doing here.”
REACHING OUT TO EXTEND CONVENIENCE
When asked about goals, Ms. Duckworth talks about webcasts as an outreach mechanism.
“It’s really to extend the reach of events that we’re doing. There’s an
enormous amount of time and money put into each of our events. And if you consider that, on
average, you can get anywhere between 75 and 150 people to show up at these events, if you can
double or triple it because you give people the opportunity to participate at their convenience as
opposed to yours, then you’re getting much greater leverage of your marketing dollars.... It
is often easier for people to participate from the convenience of their desk than actually having to
leave the office and go somewhere.”
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Ms. Duckworth explains that “One of the key planks of our marketing effort here, is
‘thought leadership’. The firm needs to be seen by key decision-makers as expert
in the various practice groups this firm has strength in. And one way of achieving that is to speak
out early on emerging legislation, trends, case matters, etc. And so, seminars, speaking
engagements, and direct mail pieces all execute against this over-arching strategy — and
webcasting simply provides a new distribution channel.”
QUICK RESPONSE
The firm’s ability to webcast puts them in a posture to respond quickly to breaking news.
“We did a webcast very early in January around the new CAN-SPAM law. There was a
huge need to know among our clients, and frankly probably even some prospects, and we were
able to do this very contemporaneously around the passage of the law. It would probably have
been impossible to stage a seminar with that kind of turnaround time. And we were able to get
over 400 people to participate in the live webcast. Again, I think it speaks volumes about the
convenience issue and, in this particular instance, the sheer impracticality of being able to
schedule a physical event. Now, could we have done it by conference call — yes, but you
wouldn’t have had the added benefit of the slides. And, in fact, it becomes interesting
because at a certain size the cost basis of doing a conference call becomes more expensive than
doing a webcast.”
FEEDBACK
The numbers tell the tale: The convenience of webcasting can double or triple the audience. Ms.
Duckworth adds, “On the CAN-SPAM law webcast, the partners got some pretty amazing
emails saying this was terrific, thumbs up ... the event was incredibly informative and
timely.”
How is MoFo measuring success? The webcast service provides details on who participates and
how long they listen. “And we get anecdotal feedback from clients. At some point if we
felt a need, we might go out and actually do some direct response surveys.... But for the time
being, I think, the feedback is sufficient to know that there is a market for it.”
IN-HOUSE TRAINING
Does MoFo use webcasts in-house? “They can be of enormous use for ongoing education
purposes and sharing of practice group information, but there is another less expensive
alternative for big law firms: Video conferencing is probably more economical, simply because
we already have that equipment.”
LIVE VS. CANNED WEBCASTS
The MoFo offerings demonstrate both types of webcast — live and
“on-demand” (pre-recorded). Audio for the seminar coverage is recorded live
(unedited with occasional flubs, as you might expect) and then made available from their
website. The two recruiting video webcasts, on the other hand, are short polished pieces edited
to concentrate the information and emotional content.
Ms. Duckworth says “Both seek to communicate messages about the firm, but obviously
different types of messages. In the case of Keith’s [Chairman Interview] and
Arturo’s [Minority Recruiting interview], it’s a very direct message about diversity
and culture at MoFo. It’s a little more indirect with the seminar type of webcast, because
really we’re presenting information about a wholly unrelated subject to Morrison &
Foerster, but indirectly trying to showcase the firm’s smarts and intelligence and insights
on emerging issues. Both have a role.”
ADVICE TO OTHER LAW FIRMS
“We need to learn better how to merchandise. Making [a webcast] available in and of
itself is not enough. You’ve got to tell people it’s available. And maybe tell them
more than once.”
THE FUTURE
“We anticipate doing webcasting as a standard feature of our seminars on a go-forward
basis. And capitalizing on very timely news ... webcasting gives you the ability to capsulize and
communicate timely information. We’ll be looking for more opportunities like
that.”
Too many webcasts, not enough time.
If you see streaming audio or video you
think would be of interest to our readers, please
URL and description.
Has your firm produced a webcast? We want the details!
If you'd like a clickable list of the web addresses from this and past columns,
![[American Webcast logo]](aw_images/banner.gif)