The theme of this post is a mailbag. Don't know if any of you are into sports, but if you are, then I'd hope you'd know about Bill Simmons. He's one of the best sports columnists I've ever read. He incorporates politics, pop culture, and even his own family when he writes. I'm not nearly as talented so I probably won't do any of that, but I will treat this post as a mailbag of sorts - reader questions and comments. So, here we go.
How to Start a Law Firm in a Different City
Ah, a question true to my own heart. This is what I did. Moved about 1,800 miles or so to open my own firm. And though I knew a couple people (literally) I didn't have any ties to the city through school or youth or anything. I was starting with a clean slate.Here's what I did. First, I decided what I wanted to do - settled on eminent domain and criminal defense. Second, I thought about how I'd get clients in those two practice areas (turns out eminent domain is something you can get a lot of referrals to - not many people do it; and criminal defense is consumer driven). Third, I started putting together my systems for getting clients according to how I'd determined to get clients (eminent domain - meet attorneys in the biz and let them know I was around; criminal defense - internet marketing).
That's what you should do. It's just that easy!
Update on the Book
I've people ask me about this, so I'll just tell you. Yes, I'm going to write it. Yes, it's going to be good. But to be good takes a little bit of planning. If you want to tell me what you'd like to see in the book let me know.What I'm thinking about right now is a starting a law firm with a slant for the twenty-first century. I've got Foonberg's book, How to Start and Grow a Law Practice (or something like that) and no offense to Foonberg, but three-quarters of it is crap. Not crap like bad writing crap - it's just outdated. And who publishes a book anymore anyway? This is going to be an ebook. From the top of my head, this is what it would look like:
1. Should I Start a Law Firm? Common Hurdles.I literally just made those up, so don't ask me any questions about what's going to be in them - I don't yet. Except that I'd imagine it will be a lot of the information that's already here. Stay tuned. I plan on getting to work on this in the next couple of weeks (so maybe a summer release?).
2. The Business Plan - Essentials to Starting Off on the Right Foot.
3. The Groundwork - Your Marketing Plan.
4. The Foundation - Executing Your Marketing Plan (or SEO 101).
5. The Nuts and Bolts - Phones, Office, Paperless.
6. Opening Day - 5 Things You Must Have.
7. Oh My God the Phone is Ringing, What do I do?
8. First Year Expectations.
9. Second Year Goal Setting.
10. Hiring Employees - When's the Right Time?
And then a couple of bonus chapters.
11. So You Want to Play Golf Every Day? Making Your Law Firm Work for You.
12. 10 Things You can do to Make Your Law Firm Attractive to a Buyer.
Adsense and Me
When I noticed that people were actually reading this, the internet marketer in me couldn't resist, and I put some adsense ads up here. Every time I actually look at the site the ads I see are pretty ridiculous. I can only imagine what you see. Law firms with bad marketing companies, random stuff, and occasionally a product about starting a law firm.I've finally come to realize you are much more important than that. I don't really know many of you, but I know where you are and I hope you join me in the future. Because of that, I'm only going to put products up here that I'd actually recommend you use (and that will be happening shortly, because I've got some stuff I recommend.
Now, some of the stuff I'll get paid for if you buy it. That's just the way the world works. But I promise I'll always let you know if there's an agreement with me and the person on the other end of the link. And I'll let you know exactly why I endorse the product and whether or not I've actually used it. If you want to know more about something just comment - I'll respond and that way everyone can know exactly what's going on. Fair?
Update on My Plan for Multiple Sites
I got an email (or a comment, I can't remember) about the status of my plan to roll out websites for all of the cities surrounding my major metropolitan area. So, here's the update.I should have done this sooner since I made a radical change here. I actually scrapped that plan. It was going to be way too much work for way too little a return. And, I was overlooking a major asset that I'd created that could do the work of all of those little sites by itself - my DUI website.
I don't know if I've told any of you this, but my website ranks nationally for DUI searches. Yep, if you are in Boston right now, or Minnesota, or Iowa, and you search DUI attorney, there's a pretty good chance my site's going to pop up on the first page (and I'll guarantee you it's on the first two pages). Yep, I know, you can find out who I am if you want (I guess the like button on the sidebar isn't enough - I'm an idiot!!). I'll give you a hint. Mine is the only site that isn't anywhere near any of those locations.
Because this site is so strong, all I have to do is have the other cities listed on the site, throw some links to my site with those keywords, and I'll immediately start getting picked up in those cities. Pretty crazy, right? So that's the new plan. I'm tackling one city at a time (the links will continue to grow and gain more power over time, so when I get to spot one for a city it should stick for a while).
I just realized it's probably important to update stuff from time to time. Why don't we do a quarterly review of my goals and where I'm at? Book it.
The Job Market and New Attorneys
This is a bit of a sticky situation. I don't really want to tell you what I think about this because anything I say will be completely anecdotal and based on what I think the future of law practice is. But I think it goes without saying the market is tight (and that might be the understatement of the night).There are really two things I guess I want to say to new attorneys out there that are thinking about opening a law firm right out of law school (three - the third being it can be done and you can be extremely successful). But they each deserve their own paragraph.
First, if you're going to do it you've got to commit. What I mean by that is I know there are people out there that don't really want to do this. They can't find a job, they are freaking out, bills are piling up, and opening a law firm starts to look like a pretty good option. And maybe it is a good option for you. But you decide you are going to open your own shop you've got to commit to yourself that you are going to whatever it takes to be successful.
Thing is, I know that some of you don't have it in you. Yeah, I know, that hurts. But it's true. We weren't all born to be bosses, to be self-starters. Some of us enjoy the security that comes with working for someone else. If you're that someone, just keep looking for a job. You'll find something (the first one is always the hardest to get). Just hide the desperation when you interview - they can smell it (that's a joke, sort of, they know you're all desperate!).
Second, now that you've committed you've got to come to grips with something - you are going to be freaked out for at least a couple of years. You are going to be afraid of several things. First, you're going to be afraid that you are going to mess someone's case up beyond all recognition and you're going to go down in flames. And, I don't mean to make you more afraid, but that's a legitimate fear.
You're also going to be afraid that you are going to go broke, fail as an attorney and a business attorney, and wind up flipping burgers at McDonald's (and there's nothing wrong with this, it's just going to feel like a step down). And again, that's a legitimate fear. I can promise you there are a lot of attorneys out there that opened their own shop years ago and they are just getting by. And that could be you.
Fired up yet to hang your own shingle?! :)
But here's the great thing about fear. Channeled the right way, it can pay huge dividends. Let's take the fear of messing up someone's case. The easiest way to mess up is to try to do something you don't know how to do. So, let that fear push you into learning the areas you want to practice in (that's also why it's important to pick one or two and go with them). Since the day I've opened I've done two kinds of cases - criminal and eminent domain. If anyone ever calls me about something else, I send them to someone that knows that area of law.
To learn the ropes, there are several things you can do. First, if you are still in law school, go volunteer at someone's firm. Yep, I said volunteer. It's got to be volunteer work for one specific reason - you are there less to do work and more to learn. While you will be doing the legal research and stuff that's required, you'll also negotiate an hour a week to just talk about the practice - learn the ins and outs that aren't in the statutes and cases. And, whenever there's something going on (client meeting, strategy session, court) you get to be there. You don't get to talk, but you get to be there.
And, I think it goes without saying, pick up all the practice guides you can get.
Second, and finally on this topic, the fear of the business failing. First, you're going to be less afraid of this (at least at times) because you are going to have a plan and you are going to execute it. You are going to acknowledge early that free work is not the kind of work you want to do and instead of caving to that person that "can't afford" your fee, you are going to market the shit out of your practice. You are going to do things you think might work but are cheap and get your name out there (see my old posts about the flea market and fraternity presentations). Bottom line, you're going to hustle and get some work.
When you start to think about the money you are going to make in the first six months, just automatically cut it in half. It's going to be slow at the beginning. Accept that. Don't let that fear make you act irrationally. Allow it to push you to work harder.
Okay, the Last Thing for All New Graduates Out There
Law school is good for a couple of things. It's great for keeping old law professors feeling great about themselves, and it's great for creating some of the most pessimistic people out there. From day one we are taught to do pretty much one thing - fix problems or foresee potential problems. Over three years of law school you see a lot of big problems and diagnose a lot of potential problems.That's what lawyers do, so it's an important part of your education. But it's not always great for the business side of owning a law firm.
By the way, here comes the motivational portion of this post, so prepare yourself for it.
If you want to be successful at this, you're going to have to stop worst case scenarioing everything. Yes, I said scenarioing - it's a word I just made up. Do you know what I mean by that?
For example, it's easy to think about the phone not ringing, you going bankrupt, and living in a van down by the river for the rest of your life. That certainly wouldn't be a fun experience. It's easy to think about messing up someone's case. It's easy to think about all of the reasons your marketing plan won't work. It's easy to think about all of the ways that this thing could fail. But at some point you're going to have to take the leap and dive in head first.
This can be done. It isn't easy. There are a million reasons and ways you could fail. But if you're successful you'll likely have made the best decision of your life. And if it doesn't work out, you'll be a better person and a better lawyer for it.
You can control your own future. You can practice the kind of law that you want to practice. You can practice law the way you want to. And, at the end of the day you get to put all the money you make from your hard work in your pocket.
If you've made it here, congratulations. Let me know what you think about what I've said. Comments are always welcome.
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