Creating marketing monsters and a trip to the King's Coronation

The vague mention of me writing a work blog regularly perked up the ladies in our marketing department no end. These professionals are lovely, calm, creative women who I recruited as Managing Partner to boost our marketing especially our website and social media. They do a grand job but what a monster we’ve created!

These ladies are basically content insatiable. All lawyers are expected to produce articles for their Firm’s website. The more articles published, so the marketing theory goes, the more content, views and clicks for our website. Clio and Ilaria our marketing team live for clicks and views. As Managing Partner I cajole and plead other lawyers to write relevant, snappy content for the website but then forget to do it myself. The “Marketing Police” send polite emails to our lawyers requesting articles but, fed up with the lack of response, it’s not long before these insatiable monsters are in your office thumping their fists on your desks with demonic red eyes in your face shouting “give me that content by Friday!!”. Ilaria is Italian and smiles very sweetly but you wouldn’t want to cross her. Out of fear I’ve produced a paltry 4 articles this year. Now I’m going to have to produce something once a week. It’s like being back at school with a homework deadline. If I fail I’m sure it will be detention time. 

I went to the Coronation last month and it was a joy to behold with everyone dressed in their finery. Sadly neither Meghan or President Biden could make it. Not the one for King Charlie but the deserved crowning of King Simon of Kent. Our senior partner Simon Franklin picked up the Outstanding Achievement award at the annual Kent Law Society awards and boy oh boy was it thoroughly deserved. People like Simon are the backbone of provincial law firms. He’s worked here at MT for over 40 years. Every day Simon ensures problems are dispensed with common sense solutions, clients needs are all satisfied with a call here or reassuring email there, and trainees are given time and valuable snippets of career enhancing information. To me he’s been a mentor and sounding board and I know couldn’t have done my job without him. Everyone needs a Simon in their professional life. In the room at the awards were a number of our staff and many others, now at other Kent firms, who have passed through our Firm and benefited from Simon’s guidance and advice. No-one had a bad word and he picked up his award and dutifully smiled in the presentation photos. Long live King Simon!

Simon is not a saint however- he has caught me out with many a prank over the years. His best one is usually a fake phone call impersonating a news reporter or a challenging client that you only guess is Simon about 5 minutes in and after your blood pressure has hit the roof given the unreasonable request the “caller” makes. Additionally many an unsuspecting female colleague has gone home from an awards dinner with a complete set of cutlery hidden by Simon in their handbag. We have more of the Maidstone Hilton’s cutlery than they do. 

Simon's ability to mix his metaphors is also a joy. Partners meetings have always been broken up with smirking and wry smiles over the years as Simon implores us to pull “the hare out of the hat”, explore our options by “ putting our dice on the table” or, my personal favourite, to confront a really tricky situation, is “a bag of worms”. We’re really going to miss him when retires. 

Next week...

 "Taking an axe to the head" and "Why I dread Charity auctions?"