Bay Street law firm podcasting

It can't get any better than this. Torys, one of the biggest law firms in one of the most conservative industries is now podcasting.

As of the date of writing this post, Torys has 3 video podcasts available for view. So, I took a look through each of them.

What did I like?

1. Simple intro. First, the Torys' logo popped up. Then, it transitioned to a black screen with white text on it. No flashy music, no snazzy fonts. Just really simple.
   
   
2. I like the fact that they offer the audio portion of the video as a podcast. That means that if I want to multi-task, like write a blog post, I can do that while I'm listening to the podcast.
   
   
3. I really liked the length. All the podcasts were no longer than 5-minutes. Getting a lawyer to speak less than 5-minutes must have been a challenge, however, Torys has been advised well in this area.
   
   
4. Sharon Geraghty looked relaxed. Eyebrows moved, she didn't stare, and often, she smiled while explaining the M&A process.
   
   
5. Out of the 3 lawyers, Phil Brown was the only one who "dumbed down" the M&A process, meaning I was able to not only understand him, but also stay focused on what he was saying. He appears in the podcast called Hostile Income Trust Bids.
   
   
6. The backdrop against the bookshelf filled with books is perfect for this podcast. What better way for lawyers to brag about their expertise than to have a litany of books surrounding them?
   

What could be improved?

1. The text in the intro. While it was simple, the text was hard to read. If someone's watching this on their iPod, they'd have to squint just to read the words.
   
   
2. James Tory and Phil Brown could relax a bit more in front of the camera. I know the feeling. Put me in front of a group of 500 people and I shine. Put me in front of a TV camera and I freeze. Over time, James and Phil will become as relaxed as Sharon looked.
   
   
3. Listening to the podcasts called Recent Trends in Break Fees and Litigation Strategies was enough to become a cure for insomnia. I consider myself to be an intelligent person, but most of the things they spoke about in those 2 podcasts went way over my head. I'm probably not their target audience, but if the goal is to educate businesses on what to look for before entering a M&A process, I would suggest eliminating phrases such as "defeat a regulatory proceeding," "termination provisions," "fiduciary outrunning," among other phrases that I just couldn't process.
   
   
4. No call to action. The podcast ended with the Torys logo, but there wasn't a website, email or phone number shown. This is important because if Torys is using their podcast to prompt prospects to contact them for M&A advice, ending the podcast with contact details is a must.
   

You can subscribe to Torys' podcast by downloading iTunes on your computer, then go to Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast, enter this URL http://feeds.feedburner.com/torys_ma_series_rss, then click OK. Or, just go to their website and view the podcast there.

Overall, well done. I give the Torys podcast 4 out of 5 pods. What did you think?

Technorati Tags: torys, law firm, m&a, podcasting