Case Studies

Thrusting a Powerhouse, Regional Law Practice Into the National Spotlight

How Nicolazzo & Associates Worked with a Major Boston Law Firm
to Dramatically Expand and Grow the Firm's Healthcare Law Practice

Background and Situation Analysis

Our client, one of Boston's oldest and most prestigious law firms, was recognized as a pioneer and regional powerhouse in healthcare law. With more than 35 lawyers dedicated to the field, no other full service law firm in the nation had the depth and talent to help clients navigate the treacherous waters of the health care environment. The practice had evolved in a region known as one of the country's leading centers for health care advancement and reform.

As the 1990s dawned, rapid and dramatic change began to take shape in health care. Reform in health care was one of the top three major issues in the new Clinton administration. HMOs began to consolidate and merge. Law firms began to experience pressure on fee structure and profitability, and competition for clients intensified. Recognizing that it needed to grow nationally to remain competitive and leverage its expertise, the law firm turned to Nicolazzo & Associates to develop and implement a strategic communications program that would support those business objectives.

The Plan

When N&A was engaged, the challenge was threefold: build major positive awareness for the law firm in the region and beyond; thrust the firm into the national spotlight as the pre-eminent law practice for the healthcare industry (hospitals, HMOs, healthcare providers, etc.); and help the firm in attracting new clients by showcasing its expertise.

Working with a group of partners, N&A developed a comprehensive strategic communications plan that encompassed objectives, positioning strategies, key messages, target audiences, target media, implementation tactics, evaluation guidelines, and operating guidelines. In short, N&A presented the law firm with a detailed roadmap to achieve the results it expected.

Specific activities orchestrated on the client's behalf included development of an information portfolio, white papers, organization of a national healthcare symposium, aggressive media relations, media training, strategic communications planning, executive breakfast briefing forums, op-ed development and placement, and leveraging speaking opportunities.

Results

Shortly after the program's positioning strategies and key messages were established, N&A began arranging a series of editorial background briefing sessions for law practice partners with high-level local and national media such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald. In the weeks and months that followed, subsequent meetings were held with The Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, Time and Modern Healthcare magazine. We also arranged additional background interviews with key regional publications such as The Boston Business

Journal and the Providence Business Journal and regional dailies including The Hartford Courant, the New Haven Register, the Bangor Daily News, and the Nashua Telegraph and Gazette.

Additionally, N&A organized a major healthcare symposium, which was held on the campus of the University of Massachusetts/Boston. The goal of the symposium was to position our client as a leader in healthcare and a major player in the formation of healthcare policy. The symposium was held for national thought leaders to attend and participate, and to showcase the law firm's talent. The event attracted major news media attention and generated local, regional and national news coverage.

As the program ensued, reporters and editors at some of the nation's most highly respected media outlets began to rely on the firm's partners for expert commentary that aided them in sorting out rhetoric from reality. Within a short period of time, executives at healthcare organizations outside the region realized that the law firm had the knowledge, perspective and intellectual capital to help them develop legal and business strategies designed to deal with the vagaries of a rapidly changing healthcare marketplace.

Strategic communications became a catalyst in securing more business. In one particular case, a key lawyer at a major university who had attended the symposium retained our client for a major long-term assignment. We believe this is a highly measurable result of our strategic communications efforts.