You've just graduated from law school, left your corporate position or you and your former partners have decided to part company. The first thing you do is organize your new practice for client development. The concepts and techniques are the same whether you are going solo or starting a new firm with one or more colleagues. Let’s start with some easy and concrete tips and action items you can start using today to market to prospects and clients after you have found yourself “suddenly solo.”

A Personal Marketing Plan Is a Must

The marketing plan for the individual lawyer or law firm includes the same basic components of any marketing plan -- a position or aspirational statement, goals, objectives, policies, strategies and a tactical plan to achieve those goals and objectives. While larger firms may have hundred page marketing plans, a smaller firm or individual lawyer can have a plan that fits on a few pages. Whether in a large firm or practicing as a solo, the marketing plan is a useful tool to focus and organize the individual's practice to permit marketing. Spend a few hours putting together your personal marketing plan.

The plan should be referred to regularly, should be strategic in scope and tactical in practice with specific projects, deadlines and measurable objectives. A marketing plan should be reviewed every 6 months or so and revised at least annually. Such a plan helps the lawyer focus on what he or she intends to do over the next year or two. This plan can be expanded to include goals and objectives in terms of billings, collections, etc.

Make your marketing plan goals realistic. If the plan and goals are too complicated or unattainable, you are less likely to even try reaching them. It is better to over achieve than fail to achieve anything.

For the solo and small sized law firms, the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association has several publications that are helpful in preparing a strategic or marketing plan.

Docket Your Marketing Plan

All lawyers are ruled by the calendars, dockets and “to-do” lists. The heart of every lawyer’s organization of his or her practice is the calendar/docket system. Lawyers would not only be lost without their calendar or docket, they would probably be disciplined or disbarred sooner or later for missing a deadline, court appearance or statute of limitations.

For any marketing plan to succeed, it must be integrated with the lawyer's calendar, docket and “to do” lists. All other administrative systems, aids and marketing tools will be of little value if the lawyer does not include his marketing plan on his docket. The plan must have specific tasks with deadlines which need to be docketed with appropriate priorities – otherwise they will never get done. A client calling program or entertainment schedule must be docketed and time budgeted for it to work. Even longer term objectives such as “write an article on legal marketing in 2009 for publication and reprint” must be docketed with adequate time set aside and deadlines established for the project to be accomplished.

Look at your “to do” list and start adding your marketing and client development items to it.

Your Business Card is Important

For many years, business cards and professional announcements were the only forms of advertising to the public permitted by our code of ethics. With the advent of lawyer advertising on television and permitted direct solicitation, we often forget about the basic business card as a marketing tool. As a suddenly solo lawyer, you need a business card - and not one that you printed on your computer – it needs to be professionally printed (even if you decide not to have it engraved) Carry your business cards at all times, you will never know when someone asks for it or you have an opportunity to give one to someone you just met. You can also add your business cards to any mailings you might be sending out to announce your new office.

Announcements

When you have selected an office location and have your phone, fax and e-mail nailed down, you need to send out an announcement letting everyone in your rolodex (if you still have one) or in your electronic directory or contact list to let them know where you are and what you are doing (and asking them for business). Write a personal note on the announcement.

Contact Lists and Directories

Let’s hope you have your contact lists, directories and rolodex from your last firm. Most smart phones synchronize with Outlook and Client Management Systems so make certain you have as much information concerning your clients, friends, contacts and prospects as possible and transfer it to whatever new case management system you have purchased. This data is the heart of any client or prospect contact program you have included in your personal marketing plan.

Organizations and Memberships

Clients generally hire lawyers they know, have met or whose name they recall. If a lawyer belongs to community groups, social clubs, trade or industry groups and lets members know he or she is a lawyer, they are likely to get calls -- particularly if the lawyer's demeanor and skills exhibited in the organization elicits trust and respect. Professional groups can be a source of referrals. Political activities can also be a source of work depending on the type of law practiced and the winds of political fortune.

Networking with Other Professionals

Now that you are on your own, one of the best referral sources is not other lawyers but other professionals – accountants, bankers, insurance agents, brokers and planners. One great marketing tool is to network with other professionals through cross-referrals, joint seminars, meetings and publications. While solo practitioners and small firms seldom put on their own “in house” programs for clients, they can team up with accountants, insurance agents and bankers in doing seminars on a number of topics that may generate additional work -- estate planning, small business planning, current legal issues of concern to business, etc. Referral by a prospect’s trusted advisor is a great source of business as well as demonstrating your expertise in a given area while speaking at a seminar with a prospect’s trusted advisor being on the same panel.

Go through your contact lists today and identify professionals that you have worked with over the last year and build a list of those that referred work to you and those to whom you have referred work. Ask yourself if people you have sent work to have reciprocated. Have you done the same with those that have sent you work? Make another list of those that you would like to do business with and establish a plan to contact them and get more business.

Should I Have a Brochure and Other Written Material?

Brochures, newsletters and special written materials sent to clients are tools which are useful to keep the lawyer or law firm's name in front of the client or prospective client, but for someone that is suddenly solo, this may not be the best expenditure of your scarce resources. In my experience, these materials do not immediately or directly increase billings or the number of clients. These tools should be used with the other components of the marketing plan for it to be successful, and only when you have the resources to develop and continue using them.

Create a Marketing Budget

Try and remember what you have spent over the last several years on marketing and then start listing out a budget for marketing your practice – all marketing, including business cards, announcements (including postage), legal directories, yellow pages, lunches, golf sponsorships, etc. A good general rule is 2-5% of your planned revenues over the next 12 months.

Budget Time to Market

Budgeting time is just as important as budgeting money to market. A good rule of thumb is to plan on spending 15-20% of your time in the marketing activities you have selected. Put it on your calendar and docket. Set aside some time each day to do some marketing. Your weekly “to do” list should have some marketing activity on it that either fits your personal marketing plan or the firm's plan. To be successful at marketing we must make room for it on our calendar.

Advertising and Public Relations

Advertising may or may not be appropriate depending on the type of law in your practice. A personal injury lawyer may have great success with advertising on television -- a securities practitioner probably would not. Should a suddenly solo attorney be spending this kind of money when he or she is first starting out? I wouldn’t, but if you think you need to, in both advertising and public relations, it is helpful and wise to use an experienced professional to guide you in your efforts.

Let’s Do Lunch

Make an effort to set up at least one lunch or breakfast meeting each per week for purely marketing reasons. You cannot network with a sandwich at your desk!

Stay in Touch

Carry a list of clients, prospects and referral sources to call during a break, between meetings or planes, just to keep in contact and to set up lunch or a tour of their plant or office.

Six Contact Rule

The general rule is that it takes 6 contacts to make a sale! Use the different tools we have discussed (newsletters, seminars, lunches, etc) to make continuous contacts with prospective clients. Put these on your to do list and diary as well.

Introductions Are Important

Practice a script for introducing yourself when meeting people. It should be no longer than 2 sentences, concrete and tell the other person what you do in terms of meeting the other’s needs. “I help injured people receive fair compensation” is much better than “I’m a personal injury lawyer!”

Do You Have a “Work the Room” Routine?

Parties and other functions can be intimidating for everyone - yet we all know lawyers that can walk into a room and walk out with 2 or 3 new clients. It’s not magic or some genetic trait - it is simply knowing how to work a room and anyone can do it. Have some “canned” or practiced talking points and introductions you can use in any setting. Carry business cards at all times and hand them out when appropriate. Collect other’s cards and follow-up with a call or a note (remember the 6 contact rule!). There are several good books on this subject – look them up on Amazon and buy one. The one I like is How to Work a Room by Susan Roane.

Network the Web

Subscribing to listservs allows you to communicate with lawyers in other parts of the country (possible referrals) as well as industry specific groups. Join one in your practice area and contribute your expertise. This includes social or business networks. Social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook have become important marketing tools for Lawyers. LinkedIn not only allows you to contact your connections easily, it allows you to demonstrate your expertise through answering questions, being recommended by clients as a service provider and a myriad of other great marketing tools - 40,000,000 members worldwide and growing rapidly.

Make House Calls

We remember (some of us) when doctors would make house calls and how special it made everyone feel that they cared so much for their patients. This applies to lawyers as well, particularly if you are trying to establish yourself as a suddenly solo lawyer. It works particularly well if you are officing out of your home!

Office Appearance

When you set up your office, do so with the type of clients you have in mind. Walk into your office and look at it as though you were a client or prospective client seeing it for the first time? Is this the image you want to create? Is the office neat, clean and uncluttered? Do you have old magazines for clients’ to read like the dentist’s office or are the magazines current and on topics your clients will enjoy – a CEO may or may not enjoy reading Ladies Home Journal or People.

First impressions are lasting impressions. How a lawyer wants to be perceived may be greatly influenced by office location, decor and neatness (or clutter) of visible work areas. A lawyer having a high volume worker’s compensation practice may have a different reception area and conference room or elect a different location than a securities practitioner.

No matter what your location or practice area all lawyers should be concerned with clean and attractive work areas which are visible to clients, current magazines in the waiting area (suited to the particular clientele) and a neat and orderly lawyer's desk and conference room – all creating the impression that their matter is in attentive hands. Clients will measure a lawyer by the tangible things he or she sees as well as the efforts the lawyer puts into their case.

Answering the Phone - Who Are You?

How will your office answer the telephone? Businesses spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing brand recognition - getting their name in front of their customers and clients as often as possible. Too many lawyers answer the telephone “law office.” What does that say to the client or prospective client? You have a name - use it, tell people who you are and what you do. Just because you are a solo, you don’t have to act like one. Do you think large law firms answer the telephone with something other than their name?

Team Approach

Even if it is just you and an assistant or secretary, use a team approach in the delivery of legal services. Each client should have a team consisting of at least you the lawyer, your legal assistant or secretary who are all familiar enough with the file or files to respond to normal client inquiries. Introduce your team to the client at the beginning of the representation and encourage him or her to call any team member with questions or information. This reduces "telephone tag", keeps the client happier and can improve productivity in the office with proper delegation of work and responsibility.

Bills Are a Part of Marketing

What is the most important piece of paper you give your client? That’s right – your bill! Fees, pricing and billing are important not only from an operational standpoint to a lawyer, but they are also important tools in marketing legal services. A client's receipt of your bill is often as welcome as a trip to the dentist -- even if it is within or under budget. The following are some helpful tips to consider:

• Remember that your fee agreement is an important marketing tool in addition to an important legal document setting forth your and the client's responsibilities in the representation. Fees should be discussed at the beginning of the relationship and preferably at the beginning of each new matter.
• The charges to the client (whether based upon an hourly rate or a fixed fee) must project value to the client. Bills must project value to the client.
• Don't let hourly time and rates alone be the determinant of your services. Many clients are looking for alternatives to hourly rates and prefer a fixed or measurable fee structure that can be budgeted and controlled.
• Consider absorbing client disbursements into the fee (whether fixed or hourly rate based) when they are small or less than 1% of the total bill.
• Bill frequently. Large bills months or years after a matter has begun or at the conclusion of the engagement or matters are more difficult to pay and are often a client relations mess.
• Consider preparing the bills individually in your word processing system instead of sending your client what looks like a computer print out. Hand write a personal note on the bill.
• Your bill should be on the nicest bond paper. It is probably the most important piece of paper you give to the client from your standpoint! Many firms hand deliver bills to their local clients. This also imparts the importance (and urgency) of the bill.

The benefits of alternative billing and pricing methods are many. They often result in closer relationships with the client, rewarding attorneys for expertise, efficiency and good results and fewer fee disputes with clients. In examining alternative billing methods, lawyers must remember that value does not always relate to cost. Keeping time was originally a measure of cost – it only later became a means to bill fees (and so a "value" measure). We must remember what the client's objectives are when billing for our services.

Referrals Can Go in Every Direction

As a suddenly solo lawyer, refer clients and prospective clients to lawyers who practice in areas you do not. Keep a list of who you have made referrals to and who has reciprocated. But don’t just do this with lawyers - refer clients to one another as well as to other professionals you have worked with - bankers, accountants, insurance professionals. When conducting a referral, call the person you are recommending and let them know that you have sent Mary Smith to her for a real estate closing or Jim Jones to him since Jim needs to establish a banking relationship. Everyone appreciates this and you will generate more business as a result.

All of these things take time. But once you have established your marketing plan, and acted on it faithfully, you will begin to see results and feel more deliberately solo than suddenly solo.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]