Case Study: Building Practice Area Prominence
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
Corporate Governance Guide

Situation

After the adoption of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in mid-2002, the corporate lawyers at McKenna Long & Aldridge (MLA) organized themselves into the Sarbanes Group. Their task was to master the changes brought about by the act, and educate MLA’s corporate attorneys and their clients. Although MLA initially created this resource for internal use, the Corporate Governance Quick Reference Guide was edited for broader circulation following a number of clients’ requests.

Objectives

• Establish the ‘look and feel’ for reference guides that MLA will use going forward
• Distribute the easy-to-use guide to current and prospective clients as a marketing tool
• Position MLA’s attorneys as the experts in the field of corporate law

Strategy

McKenna Long & Aldridge quickly realized the benefits of marketing the ready reference guide. The Corporate Governance Quick Reference Guide would serve as a great resource to clients and as a constant advertisement for MLA’s expertise in corporate law issues.

As the firm’s agency of record, Max2o had the task of organizing the complex and overwhelming amount of information in the guide into an easy-to-use and understand reference tool. To ensure the guide was user-friendly, the information was organized in a contextual manner. Topics were cross-referenced within the text to address overlapping information. Due to the constant changes of the new act, a three-ring binder was the decided format, so that information and sections of the guide could be updated easily.

Results

MLA determined success by answering the following four questions: Were additional copies of the guide requested by recipients or by others who saw the guide? Did MLA receive requests to send the guide to the board of directors? Did non-corporate attorneys send the guide to their clients and prospect? Did MLA sell a governance or compliance project based on the guide?

Now in it’s second edition, the guide has been distributed to some 5,000 clients and prospects, catapulting MLA to a recognized Sarbanes-Oxley expert. And, just as importantly, the guide served as inspiration to other MLA practice areas, which have created their own versions of ready reference guides.