Law firms spend huge amounts of time and money in trying to bring in new clients. While a fresh client base is always useful, lawyers often ignore their best source of building their practice: their current clients.

A client who has already selected a lawyer she is satisfied with is much more likely to come back to that lawyer when she needs additional legal services, rather than start the search process again. A satisfied customer is also much more likely to tell their friends about their experiences – and a personal referral can be much more effective in bringing in new business than an untargeted and expensive advertisement.

Follow these tips to make sure that your current clients stay clients, and bring new business to your firm:

Tell clients about new laws and regulations that affect them

Keep your clients informed about changes to things that you help them with – for example, if you do estate planning, a great opportunity exists whenever the tax laws around inheritance change.
However, when you inform your clients of pertinent information, do it in a personalized way. Every business and organization out there has a newsletter or mailing or email blast – most of us just ignore these messages, so make sure your message gets noticed. Only target the specific clients who need a certain piece of information, and make your communication to them personalized – a letter or phone call will go a lot further than an email sent to a list.

Know your clients

Get to know your clients. If they run a business, go visit it and ask questions. If their business is something you don’t know about, find out. Be informed about the industry. The more you know about what your clients are involved in, the better services you will be able to provide.

Notice your clients

Don’t just know WHAT your clients do…notice WHEN they do it. You don’t need to track their every move, but keep in touch enough to know when your client’s business gets a write-up in the paper, or when someone’s kid wins the state track championship. Send a congratulations card or message – your clients will value that you are invested in their successes.

Patronize your clients’ businesses

If you have a client who runs a business, you should make every effort to patronize that business. Your client is supporting your company, it’s only fair that you support theirs. This won’t just help you appear friendly to your clients, it can help you have a better understanding of the issues facing their business if you are actually familiar with what they do.

Introduce your clients to everyone at your firm

Different lawyers have different specialties, even if you practice in the same field. Make sure your clients know everyone you work with – it’s possible that someday they may have a need (or a friend in need) that can be better fulfilled by your colleague, but their business will still stay with your firm if they know you can provide that service.

Take good care of your clients

It’s the little things that can make the biggest difference. Always respond to your clients promptly when they contact you. Keep them up to date on their case without needing prompting. Make sure there are no hidden surprises about their case. If something falls behind or a mistake is made, own up to it and sincerely apologize. No one is perfect, but honesty goes a long way.

Make sure your current clients know you value them, and that you are grateful when they continue to give you their business or refer someone new to you. Creating strong relationships is the best way to keep your practice busy and strong.

Working for big firms can be frustrating, and the temptation to just say, “That’s it! I’m starting my own firm!” may be huge. But starting your own law practice – or any business – is a big step, and one that should not be entered into lightly. You need to spend a significant amount of time evaluating WHY you want to have your own practice, what your plans and goals are, and how you will accomplish them. Running a business is hard, so you need to make sure that the disadvantages of the big firm you are leaving are outweighed by the advantages of running your own practice. Below are some common factors that drive the decision to strike out independently:

Different Client Relationships

It is possible that the way you relate to – or want to relate to – your clients is not possible within the structure of your current firm. Going solo can give you the freedom to structure your client relationships the way YOU want to.

Compensation

It can be hard to get the compensation you feel you deserve within a traditional big firm. Often the time it takes to work up the ladder takes longer than you feel it should. Of course, while you get to pay yourself whatever you want if you are your own boss, keep in mind all the costs you will have to bear on your own with a solo firm – things you might not even realize your big firm is providing until they’re gone.

Technology

The field of law is notorious for being behind the curve with technology and innovation, and big firms are the hardest ships to steer. The modern lawyer is flexible, mobile, and knows that up-to-date technology can help win clients and create a more flexible and personable law practice.

Reinvention

So much about practicing law is different today – more lawyers are going solo, services are getting unbundled, there are alternative fee structures and Alternative Dispute Resolution. The way clients view their legal representation has changed, and going solo can give you the opportunity to become the lawyer YOU most want to be.

These are just a few of the reasons a person may decide to go solo. Make sure you identify the exact reasons you want to take the plunge. Make a list – in fact, make these things the mission statement of your new practice. Keeping yourself grounded in why you started this whole journey in the first place can help you keep focus and remember why you are where you are.

Good luck!

Managing Perception of Value

Value is measured by the benefit gained as compared to the price paid. However, it can be difficult for clients to judge the value of your services because they don’t fully understand all the work that goes into any legal process. Managing this perception of value can help you keep happy clients who will become repeat customers or refer their friends to you.

Don’t be too cheap

The “free consultation” is a staple of many law practices – it’s how you reel in prospective clients – but consider how it may be harming you. Things that are free aren’t always good – think about furniture left on the curb for anyone to take. You don’t want clients to think that your services aren’t high quality because they are free. Consider charging a nominal fee for your initial consultation. Then explain why to your potential client. Don’t just call it a “free consultation” – call it a “Debt Relief Strategy Conference” and make sure that they walk away with something tangible. Prove that you can provide value above and beyond what the other lawyers out there are doing – and that makes you worth your client’s time and money.

Show your client what you are doing for them

Make sure that your client fully understands the amount of work you are doing on their case. Most people don’t fully understand the legal system, and they shouldn’t. That’s why they hire lawyers. But you need to make sure that your client understands WHY they are paying you as much as they are, and for what. Put your billing details in plain English, not legal shorthand. Make sure you tell your client about all the extra work you do for them – when you go above and beyond, don’t lord it over them, but make sure they understand what you have done.

Have an exit interview

You should always ask your clients how you did when you are done representing them. You can only learn from your mistakes if you know about them. Ask both what was the best part of working with you (or your firm) and what you could do to make the client’s experience even better. By showing you are interested in your client’s opinion, you increase your value in their mind.

Ultimately, you are in charge of the experience your clients have with you. If you clearly demonstrate your quality and value to them, they will notice.

Building a Niche Practice – the Upsides and Downsides

In today’s legal landscape, it can be hard to get noticed through all the noise, especially for small-firms or solo-practice lawyers. Having a niche practice is one way to focus your business strategy and grow your firm.

A niche practice is one that is simply focused – one that sticks to a particular area of law, instead of general practice. There are advantages and disadvantages to this type of practice…

Pro: Focusing on the work you find enjoyable

If you build a niche practice, it means you can limit your clients to those who need your particular kind of law. It also means that you are better able to ensure that the work you are doing is enjoyable. There is no pressure to take all paying clients who walk through the door, because your practice only provides certain kind of services.

Pro: Being a subject-matter expert can get you clients

If you specialize in a certain area of law, you can hone your practice by understanding more of the intricacies of your niche. This makes you a more desirable lawyer, because your clients will know you are an expert in the kind of representation they need. Many clients are willing to pay a premium for a specialized skill set. If you are recognized as an expert, it will help you land more high-paying clients

Pro: Niche practices are easier to market

Marketing is most effective when it knows its audience and targets it well. Having a niche practice means you can advertise directly to those who may need your particular services, instead of trying to reach the general population with your general services.

Con: Niche practices can be more subject to ebb and flow

General practices can be more insulated from the changing needs of the legal market. In a general practice, when bankruptcies fall off, the firm can fall back on other areas of practice. If you only offer one kind of service, it can be hard to ride out the times when clients don’t need that particular service.

Con: Niche practices can get monotonous

While it can be good to become a subject matter expert, it also can get repetitive to only handle the same kind of cases day after day. An upside of general practice is diversity – every day brings a different set of cases and challenges. Niche practices don’t have to become boring, but you must work hard to make sure you don’t get single-issue fatigue.

Con: Not every niche works in every market

You may have a passion for patent law, but if you live in a small town, there may not be enough potential clients to sustain a practice. Make sure your business fits not just your desires but that it has the market to support it.

If you have identified an area of law that you would like to specialize in, and you know this area plays to your professional strengths, and you feel confident that your market can support your business, a niche practice can be a great way to get noticed and get more clients. Good luck!

As you are getting ready to file your taxes for the year, you’ll be tallying your total donations to charity – either for yourself or for your firm. There are many things law firms can do to maximize the marketing impact of charitable giving, so we thought we’d give you some tips.

Some people feel icky trying to capitalize on marketing opportunities from charitable endeavors. But there is nothing wrong with expecting a charity to give you some benefit for your gift, or for letting other people know about your activities. Charities benefit from your marketing efforts, too, so it’s a win-win for everyone. Be aware of the benefits that come with giving to charity, and make sure you take full advantage of them.

Media Acknowledgement Opportunities

Many charities thank donors through billboards, other advertising, radio or television spots – think of Minnesota Public Radio and it’s “underwriters” – all those people who get those 30-second spots are just folks who made a large enough donation. It’s basically advertising under a charitable name. If a charity offers such opportunities, make sure you send the appropriate department your current logo, or slogan, or marketing copy. Make it as easy as possible for them to advertise for you.

Band Together for Greater Impact

Say there’s a charity that several people in your firm want to make donations to. Instead of each sending in your checks individually (which also costs the charity more in processing time) consider combining your donations into one large amount that comes from your firm. Then your business can be listed in a larger giving category, which comes with its own set of benefits. Seeing your firm’s name listed alongside other major corporate donors gives people a very favorable impression of your business.

Do, however, be careful about exerting pressure on your employees and partners on who they donate to. When combining donations, make sure it isn’t to an overly political or contentious organization. Consider the American Cancer Society or Habitat for Humanity instead of Planned Parenthood or the National Rifle Association.

Make Events Useful Events

There’s nothing worse at a charity event than an empty table with your firm’s name on it. If you bother sponsoring a table, booth, or suite at an event, be sure your firm has the people behind it to make a good showing. Don’t buy the table first and assume you’ll be able to fill it. Give your employees incentives to want to attend the event – don’t make it an assignment, or require huge networking goals. Allow your people to have a casual fun time. The results may be intangible, but they will be there.

Time is Money

Understand that charities often need services in addition to money, and legal services are often very helpful to donate. There can be a great advantage to serving on a Board of Directors, or simply offering to donate some of your time. Charities can always use help with legal advice, accounting, fundraising, and countless other projects.

Make it Fun, Keep it Local

Think outside the box when it comes to charitable giving – don’t just go for the big national charities. Find groups that make a direct impact in your neighborhood. Often your dollar will go a lot further when given to a local organization with a small budget. Contact the local neighborhood association and get a group of people from your firm to spend an afternoon weeding the community garden. Call a small theater company and offer to bring a big group to a show for discounted tickets. Go read to kids at the local library. There are many small ways to make a big impact.

Ultimately, you should give to charity because you want to, not because anyone pressures you to do it to make your firm look good. But if you are giving anyway, make sure you reap the benefits so that everyone gains from the experience.

Our previous blog post raised some of the questions you should ask when considering new office space. This article will cover some of the more specific things you should find out before signing a lease.

Your Office Space

If you are considering renting your own space in a larger building, consider these questions:

Is there a price break for a longer term lease?

Who bears the costs of building out the space to make it suitable for your use?

Are utilities included? Are the building's utilities pro-rated based on square footage? When are those charges assessed? What is the average utility cost for this square footage?

Is office cleaning and maintenance included?

Are there monthly/yearly fees for security or other building services?

Is subletting the space allowed?

Can you make alterations to the space? (Painting the walls, hanging pictures, etc.) What alterations become permanent fixtures that you must leave behind?

If you are considering sharing office space with an established firm, add these questions to your list:

What do I get to use from the facilities? Copiers/printers/fax machines, library and other resources, receptionist or other staff, conference rooms? Are these services charged individually or included in your rent?

How will your clients know that you are not part of the firm?

Will you have access to the office after regular business hours?

Will you be able to expand, if needed?

What will happen if the law firm needs your space back?

If you are considering an executive suite service, also add these questions:

What is and is not included in the monthly charge – per page cost for making copies, per page cost for sending/receiving faxes, per day or per hour charge for using conference rooms?

Do you have to sign a service contract or can you leave/change/end service at any time?

Will you have access to the office after regular business hours?

Can you customize my services to meet my needs?

In the Building

Is there an option for you to have storage in the building but outside your office – such as a basement or storage locker?

Are there any considerations of after-hours or weekend access to the building?

Other Amenities

Is there parking available in the building? Consider both your daily use (if you drive to work) and short-term parking for your clients. Ask what kind of long-term parking contracts are available and what the cost is (Are contracts monthly, weekly, or daily? Do you have to sign a lease or is it open-ended?) For your clients, find out what options they have (ramp, street, meters, lot) and what the cost is.

If you don’t drive, find out what public transportation is available in the vicinity. If you bike, remember to ask about bike security – will you have to lock your bike outside on the street every day, or is there a rack or some other sort of indoor storage space?

Also remember, the way you get to work isn’t always how your clients will get to you. Make sure you know information about all modes of transport to your new office, because someone will need to know.

What other things are in or nearby your office – restaurants, post office, convenience store, copy store, gym, etc?

These lists are by no means comprehensive, but we hope they give you a good starting point for your office space search. Good luck and happy hunting!

We are so sad that our friend and colleague Bill Joanis has passed away. He was always a great source for interesting conversation and much needed levity. Our office and our community will not be the same without him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Nancy and the family, and to Bill's wonderful staff. 

There are a lot of things you must consider when looking into office space. Lawyers have different needs than some other office users, such as need for space for document storage and proximity to courts or other legal services. This post will go over the questions you need to consider when looking at space. The next post will highlight the specific things you should find out before signing a lease.

Budget

Make sure you have figured out your budget before you start looking. There’s no sense in finding the perfect space only to discover it is 3 more than you can afford to pay each month. Also consider your expenses beyond rent – are utilities included in your lease? Will you need to pay for internet, phone, storage, shredding, etc? Consider all the costs of running your business each month, not just rent for square footage.

Type of Practice

Consider how your office space can best suit the particular needs of your practice. Do you go to court a lot or do you spend a lot of time in client meetings? How many people generally sit in your client meetings – how large does your conference room need to be?

Type of Office

Think about your personal preferences of what sort of space you work best in. Do you need a calm, quiet space, or do you thrive in the hustle and bustle of a busy office? What kind of location works best for you – downtown, suburban, somewhere in between? What kind of décor do you like? This may seem minor, but you will spend a lot of time in your office and you should find your surroundings pleasant. Your décor also says something to your clients – if you are a young, hip, solo-practice lawyer who does most of your work virtually, you probably don’t want a traditional wood-paneling and leather couch office.

Convenience for you and your clients

Location is especially important, for you and your clients. How easy is it for you to get to your office? Are you expecting to drive, use public transit, walk, or bike? How long of a commute will you have every day? How much will it cost you for parking at your location?

Also think about your clients – if a lot of your clients live in the suburbs, and you don’t spend a lot of time in court, it may be an inconvenience for them to come downtown. Also think about parking and access for your clients – is your building easy to get to, is there affordable parking nearby, is it easy to give directions to first-time visitors? Conversely, if you spend a lot of time at court, you may want to find an office close by.

Service Options

Think about what other services you will need, and if your office can provide them. Are you just renting a space and providing all the office support yourself? Do you need a receptionist, mail service, internet access, use of printers, scanners, or other office equipment, conference rooms, etc? All of these things add to the cost of your office space. Also think about the various options for sharing space – do you partner with other solo-practice lawyers to share costs? Do you sublease from an existing practice? Do you rent with an executive suite that provides virtual office services?

We hope these tips are useful in helping you search for an office. Part 2 will discuss specific questions you should keep in mind when touring a potential space.

Choosing a partner for your law practice is one of the most important decisions you can make. Choosing wisely can mean the difference between success or failure, between satisfaction or misery, and between an ethical or shady reputation.

Hi, I’m Kimberly Hanlon, co-owner of MoreLaw Minneapolis, the executive suites for attorneys that looks and feels like a law office.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that law firms form and dissolve every day. Not long ago I was visiting with a lawyer friend of mine who was thinking about starting a firm with another attorney, but she wasn’t really sure if it was a good idea or not.

Here’s the advice I gave her:

Going into business with someone is like a marriage. You wouldn’t enter into a marriage without thoughtfully selecting your spouse – at least I hope you wouldn’t. It’s just as important to make a thoughtful selection when choosing who you will go into business with – after all, you are going to be spending a lot of time with that person and making decisions that will affect your future and your monetary interest. It’s not enough to just pick someone you liked from law school, or someone you know from your previous firm. You have to be compatible on so many levels for you to build a successful practice together. I’m not saying that it is insurmountable to have a successful law partnership – it just takes thoughtful selection after some frank discussions.

For instance, you need to be like minded in…

How you spend money. Nothing brings discord in a business partnership like having a spender be partnered with a saver. You need to be in sync when it comes to the budget, what you are going to do with profit, how much you expect to retain in the firm as equity, and when you are going to have growth expenditures. Just like in a marriage, money troubles bring relationship troubles, and money troubles often spring forth from differences of opinion, even when there’s enough money to go around.

You also need to be like minded in how you conduct your cases. It doesn’t matter whether you and your partner are going to be practicing in the same or different areas of law – you need to be on the same page philosophically as to how to service your clients, whether you are more litigation or ADR oriented, whether you take high-risk or more conservative cases, and how you handle high-conflict cases, or even media coverage. Even if you are both taking different types of cases, eventually you will end up covering for the other, or even taking over a case here or there, or working together on a case. It will not work well if you are at odds in your basic philosophy about how cases should proceed or how clients should be handled.

Lastly, you need to be like minded in your sense of ethics and professionalism. Once you hitch your wagon to your law partner, you are liable for their unethical and shady shenanigans. Fortunately, most people do not actually practice in an absolutely unethical manner, but there are plenty of shades of grey in which reasonable minds may differ. You don’t want to be the significantly more conservative lawyer – or else you will be losing sleep wondering what your partner is up to that you might find highly concerning. An erosion of trust does nothing but build resentment – on both sides.

So, let’s say you’ve found the perfect, or near perfect, partner. You have the same sensibilities when it comes to money, cases, client management, and ethics. The best thing you can do is put agreements in place, and in writing, detailing how the firm and your business relationship is going to work. Partnership agreements and buy-sell agreements aren’t just for other businesses – they are for law firms, too. Having them in place avoids messiness, and even conflict, in the future.

Remember, a law firm is first and foremost a business, and you need to have a business mindset when starting one.

I hope these tips will be useful in your practice – thanks for watching! 

Hiring a Contract Attorney

Attorneys, especially those in small or solo practice, are used to the idea of alternative fee arrangements, or non-traditional pricing for their legal services. But the idea of hiring an attorney on contract still isn’t commonly accepted. However, using this kind of arrangement can be a huge benefit to those who need some extra help from time to time, but don’t quite have the resources to hire another full-time attorney in their practice.

Do you really need another attorney? The first question to ask yourself is why you think you need the help of another attorney in your practice. Is it because your practice is growing and you have more good clients than hours in the day? Or is it because you feel unorganized and unable to handle your workload? Make sure that you don’t mask other practice management issues by hiring someone new – it’s possible you just need to restructure how you run your practice or what new clients you take in.

Define the role – Once you have determined for sure that your practice really could benefit from an extra pair of hands, make sure you clearly define for yourself what you need and want the new attorney to accomplish. Get everything down on paper BEFORE you start looking for candidates, so you are able to properly narrow your search and offer a clear picture to anyone you interview.

Think about everything you would define if you were hiring a full-time employee, and how the position would work with a contract structure. Is the new attorney only working when you call them in, or on a case-by-case basis? Or do you want them to put in a certain set number of hours every week? How will you handle things like billable hours, income tax, benefits, health coverage, etc? Have a good sense of the type of lawyer you would like to hire – someone fresh out of law school? Someone with trial experience? Someone who has knowledge of your area of practice – or someone who brings a new perspective to your clients?

Finding Candidates – When you have a solid job description written, it’s time to start interviewing candidates. State all the details of the position and your expectations in the job posting. While there are a lot of attorneys looking for work these days, interviewing is still a two-way process. Make sure you are clear about your expectations so there aren’t any surprises after you’ve hired someone.

Be specific about what you want people to submit to you – a cover letter is a good way to get a brief writing sample from potential candidates. Set forth in your posting how people should contact you, and how they should not (submit by email, in person, no phone calls please, etc.) Give a deadline for submissions – you don’t want to be interviewing people for months.

Interviewing – Once you have narrowed down your possible interviewees, try to schedule meetings in a block over a day or two, instead of scattered throughout your schedule. This will get the task done efficiently for you, and will keep candidates fresh in your mind as you are considering your decision. Prepare for each interview and make sure you are prepared with relevant questions for each individual. Take notes so you remember what people say.

Hiring – Ultimately, you should rely on your intuition when making the decision of whom to invite to join your practice, even if it’s on a part-time or contract basis. The person with a perfect resume is no good if their personality doesn’t mesh with your practice. When in doubt, follow your gut.