Use Technology to Invigorate Your Inn
The Bencher—July/August 2024
By Judge Jeffrey S. Galvin and Uduak Oduok, Esquire
The U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to legal marketing when it decided Bates v. Arizona in 1978. Television commercials, billboards, and yellow page ads, to the chagrin of some, became commonplace. With the advent of the internet in the 1990s, followed rapidly by social media and smartphones, legal marketing entered fertile new terrain.
Law firms, bar associations, and courts have developed online presences, mainly through ever-expanding websites, but they have not been in the vanguard. Notably, while surveys indicate that 80% to 90% of businesses now use video to drive their marketing campaigns, only about 30% of law firm respondents reported using video. Deployment of video on federal and state court websites lags further behind.
Leaders of Inns can build and invigorate their memberships by embracing online marketing technologies. The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court began such an effort in 2023, its 35th year of operation in Sacramento, California. Despite the challenges of operating during the COVID-19 epidemic, the Kennedy Inn is fortunate to have a thriving multi-generational membership.
A key part of the Kennedy Inn’s success has been its close ties with McGeorge School of Law, where Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (a Sacramento native) was a professor. McGeorge faculty members actively participate in the Inn’s leadership. Each pupillage team includes two McGeorge students, and the school hosts the Inn’s eight annual dinner programs.
The programs have a skit/discussion format. Team members write, produce, rehearse, and perform skits that raise issues of civility, ethics, and professionalism, and often address challenges raised by evolving technology. Members then step to the microphone to moderate an Inn-wide discussion. The performances—with humor, costumes, and the occasional song—set the stage for a broad exchange of views. As a testament to their efforts, Kennedy Inn teams have won many national program awards over the years.
The Kennedy Inn, however, was in need of a communications refresh. The Inn had a website that was two decades old. It lacked video content, was text heavy, and featured black-and-white photos of its Executive Committee members. It also lacked functionality, as it was incapable of handling payments for annual dues and special events.
Conversations with prospective members indicated that the Inn’s website did not clearly describe the member experience (skits, what skits?!) or the benefits of participation.
Against this backdrop, the Kennedy Inn took several steps to modernize communications. An electronic payment portal was added to the Inn’s existing website, greatly reducing the administrative time spent on collecting dues and payments. The Inn also launched an electronic newsletter, using an email automation platform, to update members about upcoming community events and display photos of Inn members in recent programs.
The Kennedy Inn also began two longer-term projects: video creation and a new website. McGeorge offered its communication staff and on-campus recording studio to help the Inn develop two recruitment videos, each about three minutes long. High-quality visuals and sound, plus skillful editing, enhance the impact of the videos.
One video aims to recruit new and experienced lawyers and judges, employing a testimonial format. Two judicial officers and two attorney members describe their Inn experiences with warmth and enthusiasm. The goal is to demystify the Inn experience, convey the fun of Inn meetings, and show the great value of membership. This video, hosted on YouTube, was designed to be featured on the homepage of the new website and to be readily shareable with prospective members via email and social media channels such as LinkedIn.
The second video focuses on student recruitment. Law students have many extracurricular activities from which to choose, and the prospect of mingling with judges and experienced attorneys can be daunting. Two recent graduates and two current law students talk about the fun and transformative nature of the year they spent on Kennedy Inn teams. This video was created to be featured on McGeorge website and to be useful in annual student recruitment.
Meanwhile, the Kennedy Inn hired a website development company to assist with the design of a new site that would also help with new member recruitment and enhance the member experience.
The website has a public side and a member-only side. On the public side, the homepage displays photos of the Sacramento Capitol Rotunda, a skit performance, and a group discussion. The homepage succinctly describes “our mission,” “who we are,” and “what we do” and prominently features the new welcome video for lawyers and judges. The site includes photos (yes, in color!) of the Executive Committee members, explains the team experience, describes the application process, and provides a link for guests interested in attending a program.
The member-only side of the website is also a major upgrade. It includes an online directory featuring a profile page on each member, which consists of a photograph, contact information, and biographical text written by the member. Members may search for other members by category (judicial master, attorney master, barrister, associate, and student) and by team member. The online directory facilitates informal connection and mentoring within the Inn.
Members also may use the site to pay annual dues and for event tickets, view descriptions of past programs, and obtain continuing legal education materials from those programs. An Inn history page includes video reflections from two of its leading members: Consuelo M. Callahan, a Ninth Circuit judge, and Arthur G. Scotland, a retired presiding justice of the California Court of Appeal. (Coincidentally, Judge Callahan is the president of the national American Inns of Court, and Justice Scotland is a member of its board of trustees.)
The new Kennedy Inn site uses the approved blue and white color scheme and style of the American Inns of Court and is optimized for viewing on mobile platforms such as smartphones.
Just as lawyers look to communications technology to serve their clients and locate prospects, Inn leaders can use video and updated websites to strengthen and grow their Inns.
Indeed, upgrading our Inn’s communications has offered a key benefit: insights into member engagement and connections via our platforms. For instance, analyzing newsletter data revealed our members’ preference for accessing the newsletter through their mobile devices, leading us to optimize it accordingly.
For our website, we look forward to discovering the impact it will have on enhancing interactions among our members. We expect that our directory will make it easier for students and newer lawyers to identify and connect with mentors, and we believe our video campaigns will help attract new members by supplementing word-of-mouth recruitment.
These insights will guide us to create interactions and engagements that are tailored to serve our members and improve their overall experience with our Inn.
Jeffrey S. Galvin, a judge in the Sacramento Superior Court, and Uduak Oduok, Esquire, are Executive Committee members of the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court.