July 15, 2016 nº 1,766 - Vol. 13

"We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality."

Iris Murdoch

In today's Law Firm Marketing, Why trying to beat your competition is risky?

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  • Top News

Major win for Microsoft in 'free for all' data case

The US government cannot force Microsoft to give authorities access to the firm's servers located in other countries, a court has ruled. The decision is being seen as a precedent for protecting the privacy of cloud computing services. The US Department of Justice had wanted to access a server in Ireland, as part of an investigation into a drugs case. The ruling, made by an appeals court, overturns an order granted by a court in Manhattan in 2014. The DoJ said it was disappointed by the decision and was considering what it would do next. If it appeals, the case could then move to the US Supreme Court. Microsoft said it welcomed the ruling.

International law isn't quite law, but it's no joke

An international court rules that China broke the law by building islands in the South China Sea. China doesn’t care. Does that make international law a joke? The answer is yes and no. International law isn’t the command of a sovereign backed by the threat of force. It usually can't force countries to obey its dictates and decisions. That makes it different from domestic law. But international law still matters. The decision against China by a Hague tribunal for violating a treaty, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, functions as a kind of early warning sign for how other countries in the world think about China’s militaristic expansion. The decision is beneficial not only to the Philippines, which brought the case, but to all the countries who have overlapping maritime interests with China in the Pacific -- including the United States, which provides security to most of them. Paradoxically, the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration also helps China, even though it lost. The judgment helps the Chinese understand that its efforts to create legal arguments for regional expansion have failed. That probably won’t convince China to stop expanding. But it will give Chinese leaders a clearer sense of the resistance they’re going to face if they do so – and more information about the costs that resistance will impose on them.

  • Crumbs

1 - Appeals Court Deals Blow to GM on Ignition-Switch Suits - click here.

2 - City judge deemed incompetent in ‘unheard of’ move - click here.

3 - Top Republicans criticize Ruth Bader Ginsburg but don't back Trump's call for her to resign - click here.

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  • MiMIC Journal

Yum Brands raises profits outlook ahead of China spin-off

Yum Brands, parent company of fast-food chains KFC and Pizza Hut has reported sales of $3bn for the second quarter of 2016. The firm raised its outlook for the full year, expecting a 14% increase in core operating profit. Yum also said it was on track to spin off its China unit, aiming at October for the start of Yum China. China is a key market for Yum and the company's shares jumped 4.6% in New York in after hours trading.

US sentences Chinese hacker for stealing military information

A Chinese businessman who pleaded guilty to hacking sensitive military information has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison in the US. Su Bin admitted collaborating with hackers in the Chinese military to steal data from US defense companies between 2008 and 2014. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied any involvement in hacking foreign companies or governments.

  • Law Firm Marketing

Why trying to beat your competition is risky
By Tom Trush

What if working like crazy to beat the competition did exactly the opposite -- made you mediocre and more like the competition?

Harvard Business School professor Youngme Moon poses this thought on the back cover of her book, Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd.

The question is worthy of attention, especially in today's business world where "we're different" claims are as common as coffee at Starbucks. After all, difference isn't a characteristic you can just talk about ... you must prove it.

But how can you? How do you get prospects to differentiate your offerings from your competitors'?

Well, if you're in an industry where your service (or product) isn't part of a regular shopping experience and prospects have many options, you have a tough task.

Here's a quick example that explains why ...

Until about age 13, I collected baseball cards. My dad lived behind a shopping mall. So my twin brother and I would spend our allowances on Topps wax packs at the nearby drug store.

Every year we created checklists so we could match our new cards with what we needed to create a complete set. The cards were then organized in albums and boxes.

We would also read Beckett Baseball Card Monthly like a minister studies the Bible. That way we always knew what our cards were worth (which was helpful when trading with friends).

In many cases, we could rattle off a card's value by just giving it a quick glance.

But while we understood what differences made baseball cards valuable, our parents had no clue and wondered why we kept wasting our money. They saw each card as the same -- a rectangular piece of stiff paper with a picture on the front and statistics on the back.

Prospects have similar reactions when shopping for a new service or product As Moon describes in her book, "Where a connoisseur sees the differences, a novice sees the similarities."

When you're familiar with an industry, you can deconstruct your decisions. You make choices based on factors that you know are important.

But when you're unfamiliar with an industry, you don't have this luxury. You don't know the differentiating factors. And, as a result, most offerings look the same.

This is one reason why creating educational content for your prospects is so critical to an effective marketing strategy. Remember, most prospects prefer information -- not instant sales pitches.

When you only push services and showcase your company, you become just another fish in a sea of sameness.

Tom Trush is available at https://www.writewaysolutions.com.

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© Trey Ryder
FREE LAWYER MARKETING ALERT: If you'd like to receive Trey Ryder's weekly Lawyer Marketing Alert, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Write "Subscribe LMA" in the subject line and write your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.

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  • Historia Verdadera

Chevron

La justicia de Argentina ordenó a la petrolera YPF que entregue en el plazo de cinco días toda la documentación vinculada a un acuerdo multimillonario firmado en 2013 con la estadounidense Chevron para la explotación de la extensa formación de hidrocarburos no convencionales Vaca Muerta.

(Presione aquí)

Negocios

El grupo de moda y perfumería español Puig SA está en negociaciones avanzadas para comprar una participación minoritaria en Grupo Granado, un fabricante y minorista brasileño de productos de belleza. Puig, que tiene su sede en Barcelona y es propietario de marcas como Carolina Herrera y Jean Paul Gaultier, podría pagar hasta US$ 306 mlls. por una participación de hasta el 30% en Granado.

Reciclaje

La ampliación del Canal de Panamá llegó con nuevas reglas. El país interoceánico suscribe convenio con la Organización Internacional Marítima para cumplir con el reciclaje de buques en concordancia con cánones de medio ambiente.

(Presione aquí)

  • Brief News

Google hit by fresh European Union anti-trust charges

The European Commission has stepped up pressure on Google, alleging that it abused its dominance in internet shopping and restricted competition. It also accused Google of stopping websites from showing adverts from the search engine's competitors. And it strengthened an existing charge that Google favors its own comparison-shopping services in search results. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Google had no right to limit its rivals. Google is already facing formal anti-trust charges over claims that it abused the dominant position of its Android operating system. The European Commission’s newest charges add more time to the clock, a disadvantage in the ever-shifting tech market. The US company is accused of placing onerous requirements on firms using Android and stifling competition.

Privacy row over FBI iris scan 'trial'

The FBI has collected nearly 430,000 iris scans over the past three years, an investigation has revealed. What started as a pilot in 2013 has grown into a database "without any public debate or oversight", said the American Civil Liberties Union. It amounted to "runaway surveillance", director of technology Nicole Ozer tweeted. The FBI said it was developing "best practices" for iris image capture. The iris data, taken from people who have been arrested, can be scanned in a fraction of a second. It is deeply concerning that hundreds of thousands of people's iris scans are being added to a biometric database without public debate, proper safeguards, or even awareness that such data has been taken and is being stored. If our biometric data is to be collected at all, such systems should not be introduced or continued before a public debate, strong legal frameworks, and strict safeguards are in place.

How a 'nightmare' law could make sharing passwords illegal

People share passwords all the time. A husband might give his wife his bank account login so she can pay a bill. A professor might ask a secretary to check emails. But a recent federal court ruling has advocates, researchers and the dissenting judge worried that sharing passwords, even in seemingly innocuous circumstances, could be considered illegal. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 on July 5 against David Nosal, who left a company with others to start a new one. He asked a current employee to give him her password to access client data, which she did, and the majority ruled Nosal acted "without authorization" under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The problem is: The employee gave Nosal her password, so whose authorization matters — hers, or the company's? The majority judges wrote that "authorization" is a clear term, citing various dictionaries. Judge Stephen Reinhardt dissented, saying the majority didn't draw a clear line between the kind of password sharing that is a crime under the CFAA and the consensual kind where we give our loved one a Facebook password, even though that might violate Facebook's terms of service. Reinhardt writes: "If we interpret 'without authorization' in a way that includes common practices like password sharing, millions of our citizens would become potential federal criminals overnight."

Obama urges unity amid racial tension

Obama has urged police and black communities to come together, saying it should not be "us versus them", in a town hall meeting on race and policing. "I don't want a generation of young people to grow up thinking either that they have to mistrust the police or alternatively, that the police who are doing a good job and out there... that they're constantly at risk not just from criminals but also because the community mistrusts them," Obama said.

BP says total Gulf spill bill $61.6bn

BP said the final bill for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be $61.6bn. The company believes that any further claims related to the spill will "not have a material impact". Last year, chief executive Bob Dudley described the fire on the Deepwater Horizon and its aftermath as "a near death experience" for the firm. He said it had shaken the company "to its core" and led to a complete change in its organizational structure.

Hedge fund that bet on terror lawsuit is accused of fraud by SEC

A hedge fund that made a controversial bet on the outcome of terrorism litigation was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly defrauding investors.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg sorry for calling Donald Trump 'faker'

US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has apologized for her recent criticism of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Justice Ginsburg said she regretted her remarks and they were "ill-advised". "Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect," she said. On Wednesday, Trump called on the top judge to retire after making "very dumb political statements" about him.

Court throws out El Salvador civil war amnesty law

Rights groups have welcomed a ruling by El Salvador's Supreme Court which struck down an amnesty law approved in 1993. Wednesday's decision means human rights violations by the military and rebels during the civil war which ended in 1992 could now be prosecuted. The court declared the law unconstitutional. It said it denied Salvadorans the right to justice and compensation for war crimes.

Russia's FSB punishes graduates for flashy celebration

Russia's FSB security service says it will punish a group of new agents who allowed themselves to be photographed lavishly celebrating their graduation. The graduates were seen driving a convoy of black Mercedes jeeps noisily through Moscow last month, blocking traffic and hanging out of the windows. Some veteran Russian spies have said such behaviour amounted to treason. The FSB says those involved will have the conditions of their service changed, without elaborating further.

Dutchman jailed for 30 days for 'insulting' the king

A court in the Netherlands has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail for insulting the king on Facebook. The 44-year-old Dutchman "intentionally insulted" King Willem-Alexander, accusing him of being a murderer, thief and rapist. He was convicted of breaking seldom-used royal defamation laws. A Dutch political party has proposed scrapping the laws and the king has pledged to accept the outcome of any debate on the issue.

EU court backs French woman dismissed for wearing head scarf

The European Union's highest court released an advisory opinion Wednesday stating that Asma Bougnaoui, a French Muslim woman who lost her job in 2009 for wearing a head scarf, was unlawfully discriminated against. The opinion found that Bougnaoui's release was not related to her ability to perform at work, rather it was directly related to her religious belief. However, the opinion noted, had Bougnaoui been wearing something that covered her face completely, the opinion may have been different. The court is expected to issue a formal judgment in the coming months. While the advisory opinion is not binding on the court, it is likely to be adopted.

Firms offer cash to help new lawyers pay student debt

They join a wave of other workplaces that are providing student loan repayment programs to attract and retain millennial employees.

The first woman to lead Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Faiza J. Saeed, one of the biggest deal makers at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, will become the 16th presiding partner in the law firm’s two-century history. Saeed’s 25 years at the firm have been punctuated by some of the most prominent corporate deals in recent history. Only three of the 200 largest law firms in the United States had women as managing partners in 2015.

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