Burns & Levinson LLP

Burns & Levinson LLP, a vibrant Boston business law firm, has enjoyed more than four decades of experience serving individuals and businesses regionally, nationally, and internationally. Long viewed as a stable and successful firm, Burns & Levinson bolstered its standing in early 2006 through a merger with Perkins, Smith & Cohen, largely due to that firm’s strong science and technology practice acumen.

The Challenge

Despite the merger and subsequent new practice area offerings ranging from an international practice to a sports practice, Burns & Levinson is one of countless midsize law firms in Boston and has the potential to be cast as simply another law firm. To make Burns & Levinson stand out from the crowded legal pack, PAN Communications set out to highlight Managing Partner David Rosenblatt’s exceptional leadership skills and personality in driving Burns & Levinson. To that end, the firm aimed to secure an executive profile in the Boston Business Journal that could be used to market the firm to business prospects.

The Approach

The agency recommended positioning Rosenblatt as a legal industry expert who could provide overall perspective on the regional and national legal landscape. With that in mind, PAN initiated a thought leadership campaign to heighten Rosenblatt and specifically targeted the Boston Business Journal, which has a standing weekly “Executive Profile” feature that gives wide visibility to area executives.

In October 2007, PAN held a conference call with Rosenblatt to gain enough legal insights to compel the Boston Business Journal to write an executive profile. During the conversation, PAN and Rosenblatt discussed a number of topical and timely issues that ultimately led to four main themes— the role of today’s managing partner amid an uneven business climate, quality of life for today’s attorneys, the cost of replacing attorneys, and a global legal perspective.

PAN expanded these stories into four sweeping themes that begged attention. The team then contacted Boston Business Journal legal reporter Lisa van der Pool, seeking to position Rosenblatt and other attorneys as future news sources. She was intrigued with the story themes and expressed interest in interviewing Rosenblatt at Burns & Levinson’s Boston headquarters. To prepare Rosenblatt for the interview, PAN developed a briefing sheet that keyed on the major themes, and provided sample stories van der Pool had written as background. During the day of the interview, PAN appeared on-site to provide further guidance to Rosenblatt and to establish a deeper rapport with van der Pool.

The Results

PAN’s efforts paid off with a glowing executive profile of David Rosenblatt in the Boston Business Journal in January 2008. Titled “Trial by Fire,” the lengthy story described how Rosenblatt unified Burns & Levinson through some challenging times and how he has made the firm an undisputed leader in the midsize law firm arena. The story was also very effective at putting a human face on both Rosenblatt and the firm, showing how Rosenblatt has been influenced by his family, namely his grandfather. The supporting quotes were excellent and further validated Rosenblatt as a law firm leader.

Following the coverage, Burns & Levinson received many calls from business leaders commending them on the story. Additionally, Burns & Levinson’s marketing team intends to use the story as a collateral piece that will be sent to business prospects and others.

Further showing the power of the interview, Boston Business Journal reporters have since contacted PAN on three separate occasions for separate legal stories. This reinforces PAN’s original objective that Burns & Levinson be seen as steady legal sources.