Starting a Law Firm | Marketing

I read a lot of other blogs (among other things) and on a couple of blogs I read there was a lot of discussion about marketing and how that reflects on you as a lawyer. What happened was, some guy right out of law school got onto SoloSez, the American Bar Association's website, and asked a question about marketing his practice. (Now remember, I am paraphrasing greatly here - if you know what I'm talking about and it didn't go down like this I don't care - there's a lesson here either way).

He started his law firm to be a civil lawyer but is taking criminal defense cases for courtroom experience (another topic all together) and was concerned because he thought a public defender program might take away his opportunity for criminal appointment work.

He came up with three ideas to help him with his practice:

1. Bite the bullet and pay for traffic ticket lists. Do mailings.

2. Pay for SEO to increase my website's search engine effectiveness.

3. Continue networking as much as possible

Since I try to write about marketing on Wednesdays, I thought I'd discuss his problem and show you how I'd work through it.

And before I get too far, if anyone stumbles on this post and wants to write about the idea of working in criminal defense for the sole reason of getting experience for a civil practice, take it somewhere else. There are a ton of other places that would love to talk about that. I don't think it's a great idea, necessarily, but that's not the focus of this post.

Step 1 - The Real Problems

Two things immediately jump out at me when reading this guy's plea for help. First, he seems to be really concerned about his criminal defense practice and not too concerned about his civil practice. Maybe that's just because he's worried about losing his criminal clients and didn't waste time on how busy he was on the civil side, but if it were me, and I was doing it just for the experience, I wouldn't worry about it going away. I'd focus more on what I wanted to do. He should know civil lawyers never go to trial anyway!

Second, he's come up with some suggested marketing ideas to get new criminal clients (I am presuming) but he doesn't have any ideas for growing his civil law practice. His concern seems to be entirely on saving his criminal work (maybe that's because he doesn't have any civil work? I don't know).

I see these are problems because by his own admission these aren't cases he wants to take. If you are a civil litigator why would you be worried about marketing to divorce clients? You wouldn't. Why is this guy so worried about marketing his practice to potential criminal clients? Again, I don't know.

2. How I Would Approach the Problem

If you want to be a civil lawyer, you've got to do civil law, period. Knowing how to beat a speeding ticket isn't going to help you one bit when you've got someone who is trying to collect on a car accident or wants to sue a supplier on a breach of contract theory. Knowing how to defend a DUI isn't going to help either. If you want to be a civil lawyer, go be one!

I'm not here to say whether or not doing criminal defense to pay the bills is right or wrong (actually I am, but, like I said, that's a conversation for a different day), but if that is your motivation, then make sure you remember that when it comes time to make business decisions.

For example, buying traffic ticket lists? Why would you do that? How does that benefit your civil litigation practice? It doesn't. There is no reason to chase criminal clients just because that work is going away for you. Why not invest your time and money into marketing toward civil clients?

3. Some Marketing Suggestions

If you are interested in marketing a civil practice you need to think about where the civil clients are and how to get in front of them to show what you are talking about. Here are a couple of things I've come up with in the past when brainstorming with people:

1. Hold a free seminar on why it's important to incorporate your business when starting out. (By the way I could come up with a million seminar ideas - you are only limited by your imagination. This is a great way to demonstrate your expertise and build relationships).

2. Offer a free "business review" to identify any potential problems and practices one might have with their business (contract review process, document retention, etc.).

3. Start a blog talking about things that are relevant to business (or your potential clients). Make a list of the most common questions your perfect client might have and then answer them in blog posts).

4. Find out who your ideal client is, think about where they go and what they do, and then think of some creative way to get in front of them.

Those are just a couple of ideas. And while they aren't magical, I can guarantee you they are going to be more productive than paying for traffic lists and paying for SEO (which you shouldn't pay for until you know what works and what doesn't - otherwise you might as well just send me your check, you'll get the same results). Throwing money at the problem isn't going to solve it. You are going to have to get out of your comfort zone and throw yourself out there.

Getting clients is not easy. Whether you are a grizzled veteran or a newly licensed rookie, you've got to work at it. Don't be discouraged - just work harder.

Do you have any ideas for marketing a civil law firm (by the way, it needs to be WAY more specific than this - I have no idea what you do and I'm a lawyer)? If so, let's hear about it!