Most lawyers like to talk, especially about themselves, and Steve Murphy has found a way to make money on them.
He’s launched “Insider Exclusive,” a TV hybrid blending elements of talk shows and infomercials.
The talk show part is the guest list. Since bowing in January, some of the top names in L.A.’s legal community including class action heavyweight Tom Girardi and top criminal attorney Thomas Mesereau have made appearances. The infomercial part is that the guests pay to be interviewed on the air. Neither host Murphy nor his guests are shy about firm services, Web sites and phone numbers during the half-hour show.
“Traditional advertising doesn’t allow you to convey everything you want to,” said John Manly of Manly McGuire & Stewart LLP, who plans to appear on the TV show every quarter. “I have a Marine and a former priest and a young woman who just graduated law school at my firm. I think TV is the best medium to convey just who your people are.”
Manly is also a frequent guest on Murphy’s radio show, the “Law Business Insider”. He said he first heard the show a few years ago and thought to himself, “I’d better get on there or my clients may decide they want to hire the guys who are.”
Paying-to-play is unheard of in standard TV journalism but common practice on infomercials that typically feature softball interviews designed to put their subjects in the best possible light.
Murphy sees his show as an extension of branded entertainment, which has slipped into mainstream entertainment, particularly on the Web. He pointed to a new series of MSN “Webisodes” that stars TV actress Leah Rimini feature prominent product placements for Suave shampoo and Sprint cell phones.
“I’m a real observer of the Internet,” Murphy said. “I’ve been watching how a lot of Fortune 500 companies are producing their own content, putting it on sites like You Tube, Brightcove and Yahoo TV. The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post are putting shows on these sites, to divert people to their Web sites.”
Murphy does not let his guests see questions in advance or dictate the subject matter, although he admits he’s not out to do a hatchet job on his paying guests.
“I’m not going to be like Katie Couric, like when she asked Elizabeth Edwards about why she didn’t seem to be putting her family first,” he said.
Murphy asks the guests about their practices, and brings up current news topics. He also asks them to give their office number and Web address, often more than once.
While the audience may view the show as a talk show or new media blend, most of his guests see it as advertising.
“People hire people,” said Irina Drill of Lindborg & Drill LLP, who had never done any kind of advertising before appearing on Murphy’s show. “You have a great creative opportunity for people to get to know you as a lawyer.”
Drill is a construction lawyer at a small firm. She appeared on a show titled “L.A.’s Most Powerful Women.” Another selling point for her was the show’s accessibility on Murphy’s Web site and her ability to post a link to the show on her firm’s Web site. Prospective clients can simply view the content when deciding whether or not to hire her.
Most of the attorneys who appear on “Insider Exclusive” draw the funds from their advertising budgets. They say that appearing on the show allows them to display their personalities, or talk about areas of their practice that potential clients might not be aware of. Manly, for instance, is well known for prosecuting sex abuse cases against various Catholic dioceses, but his firm’s bread and butter has long been institutional real estate work.
Occasionally, Murphy invites public figures like L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo onto the show, or representatives of charitable organizations. Those guests don’t pay.
Murphy’s “Insider Exclusive” can be seen on the Time Warner cable system here in Los Angeles. It’s also syndicated in Orange County, New York, Chicago, St. Louis and Houston.
