It's no longer enough to hang a shingle on your door that says, Internet Law, or Information Technology. You have to have something to sell.

Michael Overly is a partner based in the Los Angeles office of Foley & Lardner, and a member of that global giant's E-Business and Information Technology Group. In 2002, he spearheaded the creation of the Cyber Incident Team, a joint venture with M2000/ IS, an information security consultancy. Midway through our interview with Michael Overly, we were interrupted by an emergency client call. Appropriately enough, the interruption confirmed everything that Mike had been saying about his practice--that it is, in effect, a cyberspatial 9-1-1 requiring immediate response and immediate expertise.

The race is indeed to the swift. By being the first in, the Foley team has outdistanced latecomers to this game. Competitors remain few in number and, for the most part, barely conspicuous on client radar screens, especially in key industries like financial services and health care. Our conversation with Mike Overly--when it wasn't being interrupted by real-time threats to the global infrastructure--offers lessons in kind for all professional services organizations in search of that holiest of marketing grails called differentiation.

To read the full interview with Michael Overly, download the pdf file whose link appears at the bottom of this page.

Download How to Market a Strategic Legal Service Monopoly in [pdf].