Many myths surround successful rainmaking in the legal profession. Perhaps the biggest myth is that only attorneys with an outgoing and gregarious personality stand a chance of attracting clients. Continue reading this post at www.lawyernomics.avvo.com Read More

Referral sources are the lifeblood of many successful attorneys. Old standby places to meet new people and establish relationships with referral sources include bar and trade associations, as well as business community organizations (such as Chamber of Commerce or Rotary). Although the missions of these groups vary significantly, referrals are the inevitable reward for active participation. Continuing reading this post at www.lawyernomics.avvo.com Read More

I’m frequently asked how much time and money should attorneys spend on marketing. Like a true lawyer, I reply that “it depends.” There is no magic percentage of revenue or billable hours to be allocated to business development activities. The answer to this question will vary by practice area, geographic location and budget. But when asked about the two most important marketing tools for attorneys, my answer is rarely “it depends.” The answer is your networking efforts and your website. No matter how much time and money a lawyer decides to spend, spend it in these two areas. Networking Works Like it or not, law is a relationship-based profession/business. Always has been and always will be. People hire lawyers whom they like and trust. Although liking and trusting can sometimes be achieved without face-to-face contact, an attorney’s best relationships are usually made in person and enhanced by networking. The type of networking I recommend, stresses one-on-one coffees or lunches, and perhaps the occasional client-entertainment-type activity. Social Media What about it? It is most effective when used as a marketing tool to expand your network by laying the groundwork for personal meetings. Websites Make Your First Impression With marketing legal services, you have only one opportunity to make a strong first impression. Prior to the advent of the Internet, this first impression was usually made at an in-person meeting. Today, the first impression is typically your website. Make it count. The circumstances that caused a potential client to check out your website are irrelevant. The visit could be the result of a Google search or a referral. No matter the circumstance, you want to leave the best possible impression. The lawyer with the best website will get the first call. And there may be no second call. Plenty of posts on the web provide excellent suggestions about the look and feel of a good law firm website, as well as the content. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many lawyer websites don’t follow even the basics. These include the following: Make your website easy to read and navigate. If it takes more than two seconds for a visitor to look up an attorney’s bio, your site needs work. Make sure your website contains: This is who I am, this is what I do, this is who I do it for, and this is how you can reach me. Tell stories that demonstrate how you can help clients solve their legal problems. This matters so much more than where you attended law school, all of the deals you have worked on or a list of your representative cases. Double Down on Networking and Websites Use networking to develop relationships. Use your website to inform and impress. Spend your time and money in these two areas and, trust me, your phone will ring. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

The most important ABA Model Rule governing professional conduct in the area of legal marketing is Rule 7.1, which covers communications concerning a lawyer’s services. All states have adopted this rule, worded exactly the same or very close to it. The rule provides: Continue reading this post on www.attorneyatwork.com Read More

It is the rare lawyer who is familiar with all the intricacies of legal marketing ethics rules. Most of them, however, seem to know that they must take care when using the word “specialize.” At the same time, most of these attorneys have no idea why. Continue reading this post to discover the answer. Continue reading this post at www.lawyerist.com Read More

I enjoy the holiday season for many reasons. One is because Hollywood usually releases a few decent and entertaining movies. One movie that earned a respectable amount of praise this season is Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. If you read the reviews, or talked to friends and colleagues who have seen the movie, you’ve probably heard a common refrain: “I didn’t know that Abraham Lincoln did that.” Lincoln the Trial Lawyer Most of you should remember from your history classes that Lincoln (like many presidents) was a lawyer. You may even recall that he was a famed Illinois trial lawyer. But you probably don’t know that Lincoln the lawyer was just as skilled at marketing his own services as he was in the courtroom. By today’s standards, in fact, he might be accused of being an ambulance chaser. As a lawyer in private practice, one of Lincoln’s most important cases was Illinois Central Railroad v. County of McLean. He represented the railroad and convinced the state’s high court that the county could not tax the property of railroads that had been chartered by the state. Without getting into the details about the facts and holding of the decision, I’d like to share with you my fascination with how Lincoln got the nod to represent the railroad in the first place. Lincoln the Marketer Lincoln initially solicited McLean County officials orally during some meetings. He wrote a letter to an official in neighboring Champaign County, seeking to represent it, too. After getting no response from either county, Lincoln then wrote to the railroad’s chief lawyer to indicate that he was available to represent the railroad. “And if you think fit,” he said, “you may ‘count me in.’” Four days later, Lincoln was retained. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. At the time, of course, Lincoln’s conduct violated no ethics rule. It wasn’t until 1908, when the ABA issued its Canons of Professional Responsibility, that individual states began to prohibit most forms of solicitation and advertising by lawyers. Under today’s rules, Lincoln’s solicitation and direct mail campaign would probably raise more than a few eyebrows. It should come as no surprise that Lincoln was effective at marketing his talent as a lawyer, After all, getting elected twice as the nation’s president could be considered the quintessential American marketing endeavor. He was obviously no amateur. Even the Best Market The next time you catch yourself grumbling over having to market so much, stop and think. Just remember, even an icon like Lincoln needed to do his fair share of marketing in order to be successful. Originally published on Lawyerist.com Read More

I graduated from law school 30 years ago. When speaking to law students about how to find a job today, I mostly cover the basics. But I draw on my own experiences, too, and offer one bit of advice rarely provided by most career counselors. I arrived at this advice when, to prepare my presentation, I asked myself: “Knowing what I now know about legal careers after all these years, would I have done anything differently when I attended law school?” Continue reading post on attorneyatwork.com Read More

Recently, New York became the first state to require that law students perform 50 hours of pro bono work before they can be admitted to the bar. Plenty of bloggers have already chimed in on whether this is a good or bad idea. There’s little that I can add to that debate. But I like to remind lawyers that the benefits of performing pro bono work go well beyond feeling good about “doing the right thing.” Too few of us recognize that it can also yield substantial, practical economic benefits for ourselves, our organizations and our profession as a whole. When it comes to pro bono service, “it pays to be good.” Continue reading this post on www.attorneyatwork.com Read More