Law Firms Must Adjust To Meet Client Demands

From the boardroom to the bedroom, government affects everything we do. So its time to embrace it and learn how we make government work for us. And perhaps more important, in addition to providing our clients with a legal remedy, we must also provide them the opportunity to seek legislative remedies or use the court of public opinion to reach their business objectives.

Many clients are turning to law firms to assist in the public policy process, yet many firms are ill equipped to handle government relations and are not well versed in public relations as a legal tactic. Yet it is the lawyer who knows the law and knows what laws would best benefit their clients as well as how to best position their clients in either a court of law or court of public opinion. It is the lobbyist that knows how to effect legislative change and to assist in drafting the right laws. And it is the brand manager, who knows how to position the issue and the client so that everyone emerges a winner.

In addition, with government getting bigger and more complex, and government funding becoming sparse, regional mid-sized law firms are well equipped to create a practice that blends law, media and public relations with the legal expertise many mid-sized firms have.

Also, with budgets getting tighter, the government is seeking greater partnerships with the private sector. With a solid client base, law firms are well-positioned to assist clients in finding creative opportunities within the government and sound private sector solutions for public problems.

More and more issues in Congress and the state legislatures are having a direct impact on business. Businesses are learning that they can no longer sit on the sidelines when government decisions directly impact their future. Likewise, with tough economic times, businesses are looking for new areas to expand. And despite tough economic times, securing a government contract remains one of the most sought after business development opportunities.

Businesses today cannot afford to ignore the legislative process and adjust to new laws once they are passed. To be successful, business must stay current on legislative issues that could have repercussions on their business or industry. They must also seek to effectuate change where appropriate making lobbying, government relations and public affairs a natural extension of the legal services law firms are already providing.

By integrating strategic communications and public affairs into the practice, combining law, policy, politics and strategic communications, attorneys will provide new and existing clients and integrated approach to their legal problems. This practice group will provide firms with new channels to cross-sell firm services and maintain core clients by expanding into new areas to complement your firm’s legal practice. A successful public affairs and strategic communications group will not only help stand out from other law firms, but it will enhance their core practice groups, advance client relations and increase firm profits, while developing new business.

Congress poised to reauthorize transportation bill despite calls to wait

With a number of items on their plate, such as:

• Climate Change;
• Health Care;
• Financial Market Reform; and
• Immigration Reform

Congress also is debating how much to spend fixing the nation's transportation system. According to Roll Call, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), has been pushing a six-year, $500 billion bill (highway bill) to repair highways, bridges, airports and mass transit systems, among other things. But President Barack Obama and some Members of Congress instead support a smaller, $20 billion extension of current spending that would delay an overhaul for at least another 18 months.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee wants to move the transportation authorization bill forward and pass a bill the President will sign before it expires on September 30, 2009. As a result, the T&I Committee is working hard this week to approve a $3 billion infusion for the Highway Trust Fund. Passing a bill out of committee this week, would set the stage to avoid an extension and continue to keep various projects funded. They argue the reauthorization will create jobs, and allow for the construction of badly needed bridges and roads. Any extension, committee members argue, will leave states unsure as to how to move forward on any project.

The Senate also is poised to pass a bill before their August recess. But the Senate could spoil Oberstar’s plans by passing a bill that provides a short-term fix until they could pass a more comprehensive bill sometime next year.

The President supports waiting. He has a number of priorities that his Administration is working on and want resolved before tackling this important piece of legislation.

Regardless of the outcome, America’s transportation policy is set on a path that favors sustainability and “intermodal” transport. Nonetheless, creative financing must be found to ensure state's like Michigan get their fair share and that funding is secured for projects such:

• The M1 Rail project;
• Bus improvements in Saginaw;
• New buses for the Branch Area Transit Authority; or,
• New buses for the Muskegon Area Transit System;

According to Roll Call:

• The National Highway System carries 40 percent of all U.S. traffic and 75 percent of truck traffic.
• America relies on trucks to deliver nearly 100 percent of our consumer goods and 70 percent of our nation’s freight tonnage.
• Over the past 25 years, the number of registered vehicles has increased more than 50 percent, yet new road miles have grown by less than 5 percent and lane capacity has increased by just 6 percent.

According to the Texas Transportation Institute:

• Congestion annually costs the U.S. economy $87.2 billion in the form of 4.2 billion lost hours and 2.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel.
• If key congestion bottlenecks were eliminated, the trucking industry alone could save 4.1 billion gallons of fuel over 10 years and 45.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The federal government, in consultation with state and local government and private-sector stakeholders, should tie federal funding to the fulfillment of broad national goals in order to ensure that federal investments are consistent with national priorities. While organizations have been consulting and lobbying Congress for more than a year, it is not to late to join the discussion and offer suggestions as to what the nation's transportation policies should be for the next six years, and how it should be funded. Those affected by transportation policies should work through their trade association and/or individual lobbyists to represent their interests.

Emerging Market for the Great Lakes - Fresh Water Technologies

A new report by Global Water Intelligence (GWI) magazine recently issued (July 24) a report highlighting the top ten new water technologies. These technologies address some of the greatest challenges facing the water sector today. These include:

• Water scarcity: The world's freshwater resources are fixed, but both population and per capita consumption of water is growing. By 2025 one in three people around the world will experience either water scarcity or water stress;
• Energy consumption: In some parts of the world the process of treating and moving water represents 20% of total energy consumption;
• Salt intrusion: Over-exploitation of our natural water resources has resulted in a build up of salt in our water systems; and,
• Materials recycling: Wastewater contains materials that may be valuable if recycled, but are damaging to the environment if they are not.

GWI's report has reviewed 50 existing and emerging technologies, of which the top ten are:

1. Aquaporins: These are membranes that replicate the way nature removes salt from water, for example in the kidneys or in mangroves. Companies developing this technology include Aquaporin, and Danfoss AquaZ.
2. Bio-polymers from wastewater: Bio-polymers are a great natural alternative to petro-chemical-based plastics; what is more they can be made during the biological digestion of sewage sludge. AnoxKaldnes is the leading commercial developer of this technology.
3. Nano-engineered membranes: Despite improvements, reverse osmosis membranes still offer disappointingly low flux rates. New developments such as nano-composite membranes and carbon nano-tubes will significantly reduce the energy required in desalination. Two firms from the University of California, NanoH2O and Porifera, are at the cutting edge of this technology.
4. Biogas recovery: The collection of methane from anaerobic wastewater treatment has been a reality for industrial effluents with a high biological load for some years. The challenge is to make it viable for less concentrated municipal wastewater. Leaders in this market are Paques and Biothane.
5. Microbial fuel cells: The next step in energy recovery from wastewater is direct electrical power generation through microbial fuel cells. Emefcy of Israel is at the forefront of commercializing this technology.
6. Vapour transfer irrigation: This involves low cost plastic tubes that allow water vapour through, but not water or solutes. These make it possible to grow trees and food crops using salt-water. DTi of the UK has been developing this technology.
7. Phosphorus recovery: Phosphorus is essential to the healthy growth of plants and animals, but it is a dwindling resource. The world's supply of phosphorus rock will be exhausted within the next 100 years, unless more is recycled from sewage. A number of companies including Unitika of Japan, DHV of the Netherlands and Ostara of Canada have been working on this technology.
8. Ultrasonic sludge pre-treatment: If you can break down cellular matter in sewage sludge it is easier to reclaim biogas, water and other materials. Ultrasound is a low-energy means of doing this. Hamburg Harburg University of Technology is leading research in this area.
9. Forward osmosis: The action of water moving through a semi-permeable membrane from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution has two interesting applications. One gives a low-energy desalination process. The other is the generation of osmotic power. Oasys, a company that has grown out of Yale University is at the forefront of using forward osmosis in desalination.
10. Decentralized wastewater treatment: Centralized wastewater systems are expensive to build and use a lot of water. Decentralized systems might remove the need for sewers, and make it easier to recycle the water and energy in the waste. The Lettinga Associates Foundation is one of the leading organisations promoting the practical application of decentralized wastewater.

Water is quickly becoming a scarce commodity. New technologies are being developed throughout the world to find ways to improve fresh water delivery fit for consumption. States, like Michigan, which is surrounded by the world's largest supply of fresh water could stand to benefit from this emerging market. Michigan should aggressively work to contact the above-referenced companies and encourage them to re-locate their research, labs and offices, to the Great Lakes State. (Source: PRWeb).

Raising cash through social media

In 2008, The Columbus Foundation pioneered a new online giving resource, called PowerPhilanthropy, connecting central Ohio nonprofit organizations with potential donors. Nonprofits interested in being included provide information on their organization and activities through the online Nonprofit Toolkit located on the Foundation’s website. Potential donors search the PowerPhilanthropy database and read profiles of nonprofits in their community, which include information on their programs, finances, management, and services. Access to this information improves donors' understanding of the organization and helps them decide where to give. Soon, there will be a similar effort underway among Detroit nonprofits. It comes at a time when fundraising is down and the need for additional resources is up.

To improve the efforts of various nonprofits to profit from social media fundraising, NonProfit 2.0 (Change.org) offers the following tips (which I am posting verbatim here):

Newsweek said it best: "Suddenly, all the world is a-Twitter." Simple and powerful, Twitter is a must for nonprofit organizations. I created and manage a portal to nonprofits on Twitter @nonprofitorgs and based on my experience using site, I have crafted ten of my favorite Twitter Tips for beginners:

1. Authenticity before marketing. Have personality. Build community. -- Those nonprofits who are most successful at utilizing social networking Web sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace know from trial, error, and experience that a “marketing and development approach” on social networking sites does not work. Simply put, it comes across as lame. Traditional marketing and development content is perfectly fine for your Web site and e-mail newsletters, but Web 2.0 is much more about having personality, inspiring conversation, and building online community. Nowhere is this more true than on Twitter. Relax, experiment, let go a bit… find your voice. Be authentic.
2. Be nice. Be thankful. Reply and Retweet! -- Twitter functions much like Karma. The nicer you are to people in the Twitterverse, they nicer they are to you in return. The more you ReTweet (RT) others, the more they will RT your Tweets in return. And whether it’s Twitter, MySpace, Facebook or YouTube, if someone does something nice for you in the public commons of Web 2.0, it is always a good practice to send them a message of “Thanks… much appreciated!”. Kindness and appreciation will make you stand out from the others and makes an excellent impression.
3. Follow everyone who follows you. -- This is a hard one for a lot of nonprofits. They want to keep their “Home” view clutter free and controlled and only follow a select few. Honestly, they only want to follow those whose Tweets that they are really interested in reading. But I say this often… “This time it is not about you, it is about them.” Web 1.0 communications is all about us and our messaging i.e, your Web site and e-mail newsletter. Web 2.0 is all about your supporters and their messaging. It’s better to create a personal Twitter profile in order to only follow those select few you are interested in reading, but if you are going out on Twitter behind your organization’s logo a.k.a. avatar, it is a mistake to not follow all your followers in return. Why?
4. Twitter is about conversation -- You can’t have a conversation on Twitter if you are not following your followers. It is a one-sided relationship. They can’t message you on Twitter if you are not following them. It’s a snub. Let’s face it… people on Twitter want to be followed. That’s what the site is about! How can you build community on Twitter if you won’t even participate with your followers? Have a look around Twitter… you will see the most successful, ReTweeted nonprofits follow everyone who follows them.
5. Use “Favorites” to organize the chaos and feature your most important Tweets! -- So, if you are going to follow everyone who follows your organization (which is hopefully thousands of people) then “favorite” Tweets by those who you are most interested in reading and favorite your most important Tweets. The favorites option on Twitter is a simple, excellent tool to help you organize the chaos.
6. Don’t tweet about your coffee (unless it is fair trade), the weather, or how tired you are. Provide value to your followers, not chit-chat! -- It’s one thing to chit-chat about the weather, your headache, or how you need coffee to wake up in the morning on your personal profile on Twitter, but it’s quite another if you are active on the Twitterverse via your organizational profile. The messages you send reflect upon your organization. Example of what not to Tweet: “Such-and-such Nonprofit got stuck in traffic this morning. Ugh! I need coffee and a vacation… and I think I am getting a headache!” No one likes a whiner and this just makes it sound like Such-and-Such Nonprofit is not a fun place to work. People follow you because they want good content from your organization on subjects relevant to your mission. Make sure your Tweets provide value and are Re-Tweetable.
7. Don’t only Tweet your own content -- Twitter is a news source. Participate in news. Tweet articles or blog posts by your favorite newspapers, bloggers, or other nonprofits (yes... other nonprofits! Find allies, build relationships). If it is a good read or a good resource, it reflects well upon your organization that you Tweeted it. There is also a good chance you might get ReTweeted if the article is deemed timely and worthy by the Twitterverse.
8. Send messages, but not via auto-responders --There are tools out there that will automatically message your new followers. Don’t use them. It’s Spam. It’s not authentic. It’s not human. It's lazy marketing. I think this cartoon sums up auto-responders perfectly.
9. Don’t worry about those that “unfollow” you -- It’s easy to feel slighted when someone stops following you. What did I say? Did I do something wrong? Let it go. Who knows why they followed you in the first place. Give it no more than 3 seconds thought and then move on.
10. Limit your Tweets to 5 per day, and no more than 6! -- I have been polling on Twitter and the Twitterverse has revealed that less is more when it comes to Tweeting.

Twitter is what you make of it. You get out of Twitter what you put into it. This is the same of all Web 2.0 social networking sites. Twitter is a fun, valuable tool that can drive significant traffic to your Web site (start watching your Web site referral logs!) and help build and strengthen your brand in the online world of Web 2.0, but just like Facebook and MySpace, Twitter requires time and energy to produce results. You get out of it what you put into it. If you do one Tweet a week, you will get the results of one Tweet. But if you Tweet 4 times daily Monday through Friday… you will get the results of 20 Tweets weekly.

Again, it’s about community building around your mission and programs. Just having profile on Twitter (or MySpace, or Facebook) does not magically produce any results. You have to work these profiles. Find the person on your staff who loves Web 2.0 and enjoys working the sites and/or find a marketing/pr intern from your local university that needs to do a senior project! If they are getting college credit, then you know they have to stay around for at least a semester.

The advice outlined below is general advice applied to for profits as it is not-for-profits. To all of us, now is the time to experiment and become comfortable with social media. In fact, it is time we embrace it. We should learn to say what we need to say, not just in 30 second or 90 second elevator pitches, but in 140 characters or less. We need to refine our key messaging into the screen of our cell phone, we need to learn to verbalize what we can tweet. And we need to become familiar with how messages are conveyed now and well into the future. Just as my 6 year old can pick up my iPhone to use one of the apps I downloaded for her, soon she will be sending tweets to her friends.

Stewards of the largest supply of fresh water in the world

Yesterday, US House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman along with Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey, introduced the Drinking Water System Security Act of 2009 with the support of drinking water utilities and environmental and labor groups. This bill would require EPA to establish risk-based performance standards for community water systems serving more than 3,300 people and certain other public water systems with security risks.

In 2006, as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security to issue chemical facility security regulations that exempted drinking water and wastewater facilities. The Drinking Water System Security Act authorizes EPA to strengthen security at drinking water systems in the United States under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The legislation would:

• Require EPA to assign covered water systems to one of four risk-based tiers, ranging from tier 1, the highest-risk systems, to tier 4, the lowest-risk of the covered water systems.

• Require covered water systems to identify vulnerabilities and develop site security plans to addresses those vulnerabilities and meet risk-based security standards, which vary by tier.

• Require all covered water systems with dangerous chemicals in amounts higher than federal thresholds to assess whether they can switch to safer chemicals or processes to reduce the consequences of an act of terrorism. Since the states implement the Safe Drinking Water Act everywhere but Wyoming and Washington, D.C., states have authority to require facilities in the two highest-risk tiers to switch to safer chemicals or processes if technologically and economically feasible, and if doing so will not result in unsafe drinking water.

• Require that covered water systems include employees in the development of security vulnerability assessments and site security plans and that they receive the training necessary to perform their duties under the plans.

• Require EPA to develop standards to protect security-related information while encouraging the proper sharing of this information among those with an official need to know. The bill would set criminal penalties for purposeful, unlawful disclosure of this protected information.

The legislation has key support from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and numerous environmental and labor groups also have endorsed the bill, including Clean Water Action, Earthjustice, The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, MI, Environment America, Environmental Health Fund, Environmental Health Strategy Center of Maine, Greenpeace, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), New Jersey Work Environment Council, OMB Watch, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club, United Steelworkers, and U.S. PIRG.

Although this bill is not directly related to the Great Lakes, there are opportunities for Michigan based universities and community colleges to monitor this bill as it provides grant opportunities to conduct research, workforce training or technical assistance to "covered water systems." As Michigan continues to identify industries to help diversify our economy, we should look to our role as stewards to the largest fresh water source in the world to potentially benefit from this legislation.

A Second Stimulus

President Barack Obama is moving forward and pushing an aggressive agenda that includes climate change, immigration reform, financial reform and health care reform among others. This week, the President continues to push his health care agenda and Republicans continue to push back, saying, "Now is not the time."

There are some in Congress that are also saying, "Now is not the time to talk about a second stimulus bill." However, there is some discussion about introducing a second stimulus bill to help bolster the economy. Such a bill would not come to pass until after Labor Day, however, if the economy does not improve, some further help will be needed and something even more significant than the first one.

Michigan...It is time to seize the opportunity

Although it is officially summer, there is a big chill across Michigan. With the auto industry firmly in control by the federal government, Congress continues to focus on the economy, the environment and on everyone’s health. Just before the July 4th recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act (HR 2454), a major piece of legislation affecting climate change, energy and the environment.

While Detroit and the entire state of Michigan continue to struggle, we must find opportunity amidst crisis and take advantage of every and any opportunity to restore stability to Michigan’s economy. There is no doubt that our struggling automakers and suppliers will receive additional help once ACES passes Congress. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) also will provide much needed assistance for Detroit and for Michigan.

Restoring stability and setting a path to economic diversity requires leadership to make a bad situation good. The climate change legislation contains a number of provisions that can bolster our state’s position, bring our auto industry into the next generation and help diversify our state’s economy so we are no longer a one-industry town. This includes:

• Retooling existing and recently abandoned plants to meet new fuel and energy standards.
• Retrofit plants to accommodate electronic vehicle production.
• Securing funding for Detroit’s efforts to create light rail and mass transit in the region and become a model for other communities by adapting the latest and cleanest transportation technology.
• Direct engineers leaving the auto industry to create new companies to support the development and commercialization of clean energy technology.
• Lobby the federal government to have Detroit house one of eight regional Clean Energy Innovation Centers.
• Celebrate our collaborative efforts to incubate new companies in partnership with our universities through the University Research Corridor and Next Energy and identify federal resources to expand Next Energy and Tech Town.

This bill also contains a number of provisions vital to the growth of green vehicles and a number of opportunities to keep the engineers, designers and line workers recently laid off, from the auto industry, employed in Michigan. By no means is this a perfect piece of legislation, and it does not necessarily favor Detroit over other regions. However, it is a blueprint by which Detroit and this state must change if we are to weather this storm and restore stability to our economy and to our people. We as a state must work together to leverage our assets and seize the opportunities provided to us in this legislation. By taking advantage of the tools given to us, we can take advantage of the incentives and financial opportunities to retool our economy and emerge much stronger than we have ever been.