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On Becoming A Bankruptcy Lawyer – Paul Slough

June 10, 2010 By

Paul SloughOn Becoming A Bankruptcy Lawyer is a continuing series of conversations with new consumer bankruptcy attorneys.  We’ll chat about the learning curve, client generation tactics, and getting over the initial pains of learning a new field.

This session is with Paul Slough, a Northern Micigan bankruptcy lawyer.  Paul is an awesome guy who I’ve come to know through his participation in my group coaching program, but we’ve never had the chance to chat in such detail.

[wpaudio url="http://www.legalpracticepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/paulslough.mp3" text="Click To Listen To The Conversation"]

Are you a new bankruptcy lawyer?  If so, I’d love to interview you for On Becoming A Bankruptcy Lawyer.  Just drop me a comment or get in touch by email at jay [at] legalpracticepro.com!

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Pioneers Get The Arrows

June 8, 2010 By

In the practice of law, it’s unwise – and unnecessary – to be a pioneer.  Getting the right guidance from a seasoned lawyer can save you headaches as well as malpractice claims.

When I was just starting out as a new bankruptcy lawyer, I remember sitting in my office one evening with a client who had hired me to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition for him.  Single, living in a shelter and nearly unemployed, Bob (yes, that was what he went by) was a pretty good guy.

Still, I couldn’t get his petition done correctly to save my life.  We went through revision after revision for hours on end, and Bob finally had had enough of me.  ”If you can’t handle the case, don’t worry about it,” he said.  ”Just give me back my money and I’ll find someone else.”

Had I not needed his $325 in legal fees to pay my rent that month (this was 1996 and I was trying the “charge less than anyone else” method – which we all know is a bad idea) I would have given the money back.  As my finance would have it, I couldn’t do that.

So I soldiered on.  We finally got his case finished late at night, and I went home to wonder if this whole practice of law thing had been a terrible idea.

Over time, I got better at bankruptcy.  I got active in NACBA, started spending time on the listserv.  I went to every convention I could find, and spent my time learning.  I tore through the Code, Rules and every other law that touched bankruptcy.  I met smart people.

One of the very smartest people I met was Cathy Moran.  She’s awesome.  We’re both involved in the Bankruptcy Law Network.  I’ve had dinner at her home (she’s a terrific cook).  She’s one of the sweetest, warmest, most giving people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing – period.

And once again, she’s really smart.  Knows her stuff cold.

Now Cathy has just started a member’s-only training system called Bankruptcy Mastery.  It’s really good (I’ve seen it) and absurdly inexpensive for the amount of stuff you learn.

If you’ve been a bankruptcy lawyer for less than 3 years – or you know someone else in that boat – you (or that other person) needs to sign up for this course.

No kidding.  Once you do, tell your judges and the more seasoned bankruptcy lawyers in your area.  They’ll thank you, because when you know what you’re doing it makes things easier for the people who are waiting behind you on the calendar call.

Go.  Now.  Buy it.

I’ve never steered you wrong, and this is no exception.

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Online Legal Marketing Demands A Reason, Not Just A Plan

June 1, 2010 By

It drives me crazy to listen to all of these legal marketing folks talking about getting together a plan.  Not because they’re wrong – in fact, I think they are all very right – but because the notion of an online legal marketing plan conjures up visions of this step-by-step routine that you’ve got to follow in order to make it all happen.  My experience is that it just doesn’t work that way for the solo and small firm lawyer.

I call this technique the “marketing diet.”  You’ve got to start blogging, engage on social networks, get into video marketing (which means you need to understand how to use that video camera), podcast, on and on and on down the line.  Exposure!  Fame!  Fortune!

Of course, it all comes with price tags attached.  You get a kick-ass blog designed, a killer email marketing campaign, and even a customized Twitter background.  Why?  Because you’ve got to be there.  If you’re not, you’re falling behind.

So you cut those big checks and go your merry way.  The blog goes live, you submit to the “training session” (which goes by so fast you can’t pay attention), hook up Tweetdeck or some other Twitter client du jour, and are sent to meet your success.

You chug along dutifully for a few weeks, bouncing around in the dark with that blog and that stream of tweets.  But when your coffers don’t fill up in that time period you get seriously bummed out and burned out.  ”Why avoid that cheesecake if I’m not going to drop 20 pounds in time for my brother’s wedding next month?” seems to be the same thinking that creeps into your life right around that time.

Online legal marketing is clearly a fraud.  You’re not hitting the top of the search engines.  Twittering masses aren’t hanging on your every word.  That blog isn’t getting any traffic.

You fail slowly at first, then really quickly because you never ask for a reason.

At first it’s a missed blog post. Maybe a day away from Twitter or Facebook.  A Craigslist post doesn’t get put up because you’re too busy.  But whatever it is, there’s a small hiccup in your online legal marketing plan.  Sort of like an extra piece of cake after dinner.  It feels bad, like you’ve done something wrong.  Down deep you’re guilty.  But there’s another voice in your head telling you it’s OK because this stuff doesn’t work that well in the first place.

If you’re like me, you just stop doing anything at all.  When I first got online I was podcasting, blogging and (trying to be) active in a variety of places.  At first it was fun.  But it wasn’t feeding my business in a way that made it compelling, so when I stopped there wasn’t a reason to go back to “the grind.”

Until I took a look at my goals, and how my online legal marketing plans fit into them.  Remember, I was doing this to feed my practice and my family – not as a cool experiment in futility.

I’d been sold on the bright shiny object of the platform rather than on the ways in which a particular one fit into how I wanted to market my law firm.

Sound familiar at all?

When you turn the notion of an online legal marketing plan on its head and focus instead on your business goals, your strategy becomes clearer.

You need to ask yourself, “Why should I engage in this legal marketing medium?  Why should I spend my time here on this platform?”

Look at your goals and objectives.  Then do your homework to learn how you’re going to get found on a particular platform by the people most likely to have need of your services.  Doing so will lead you to the platforms that will work best for your online legal marketing efforts rather than the other way around.

Best of all, it will help you understand the importance of engaging on a particular platform and save you money and time on wasted efforts in the wrong places.

Save money, use your time wisely, get the results you’re looking for.

So here are my questions:  why do you use a specific tool for your online legal marketing efforts?  What is the defined goal for that particular tool?  And how exactly is it working in your favor?

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Stay Around Awhile, Won’t You?

May 28, 2010 By


You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here. You may have found this blog through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or an online community. No matter how you got here, thanks for visiting.

And if you’ve been subscribed to the blog for awhile, thanks for your encouragement and thought-provoking ideas. Every week I get tons of email from lawyers from around the country, and it’s what has kept this blog alive for all this time.

Even the silent ones help a ton.  The more people who visit, the more I know that I’m somehow resonating with you in a small way.

If you’ve not yet subscribed for free, please consider signing up to get updates sent directly to your email box by using this form:


Enter Your Email Address Below

There are some changes coming to the site in the next few weeks, including a redesign and some added functionality. I’ve also got some excellent content for you, filled with information you can use immediately to make a positive change in your practice.

I’m looking forward to having you along for the ride.

Again, thanks for being here.

By the way, my good friend Karen Oakes took this picture of me while we were in San Francisco for the NACBA convention this year.

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4 Tips For Marketing Your Bankruptcy Practice With Craigslist

March 30, 2010 By

Marketing your bankruptcy practice is never easy, online or offline.  No matter what the world thinks, our margins are small when it comes to operating our law firms.  Every dollar out must have a positive impact on the bottom line or it’s wasted.

In the past I’ve talked about using Craigslist for legal marketing purposes, and it seems as if it’s a hot topic.  Given the fact that there’s so much competition in the field right now, this is a good time to revisit the zero-cost marketing game that is Craigslist.

Here, then are my 4 Tips For Marketing Your Bankruptcy Practice With Craigslist:

1.  Choose Your Headlines Wisely. In reviewing the ads showing up at the top of the section today, you can easily see that none of the headlines really grab you by the throat and force you to take notice:

Craigslist Headlines

In fact … well, there are no headlines.  Huge mistake.

Remember, people who read ads scan them for what looks the most interesting.  You need to ask a provocative question, tantalize the reader, or make a bold promise that will encourage them to click on the ad.  If they don’t click, they don’t call.  Period.

2.  Format Your Ads For Greater Effect. Sure, you can use Craigslist as a purely text-based medium.  In fact, it’s just like the old classified ads that lawyers used to buy in the newspapers and Pennysaver papers.  But did you know you can easily use a graphic ad for your Craigslist posting?  Check this one out:

Marketing A Bankruptcy Law Office With Craigslist

The ad could be improved but the fact remains that this one is a heck of a lot more effective than a straight text ad, seen here:

Boston Bankruptcy Lawyer On Craigslist

Does this ad work?  I’m not sure (I don’t know the lawyer who posted it) but I’m going to guess that it’s not nearly as effective as what the first firm did.  Just think – for a few hundred dollars you could get yourself not one, but a number of professionally-designed graphic ads to really make your firm stand out.

3.  Remember that it’s not about you. As with any type of legal marketing, the focus should always be on the prospective client.  Most lawyers suffer from an overabundance of “I” and “we” – and that fails to answer the key question of, “What’s in it for me?”  Phrase your ad in a way that answers this critical question for greater effectiveness.

4.  Make A Non-Threatening Call To Action. Your prospective clients want nothing less than to come to your office to talk about bankruptcy.  Going to a lawyer is scary, and making a bankruptcy consultation appointment isn’t going to happen until they actually make a decision to file.  Craigslist visitors tend to be more in the information-gathering phase, so a call to action that involves a lead generation piece is going to be most effective.

Have you advertised on Craigslist for your bankruptcy practice?  What’s worked for you?  Sound off in the comments below!

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Guest Posting – The Dark Side

March 19, 2010 By

Legal Marketing And Guest Blogging

Guest posting is important for blogging, search engine optimization, and legal marketing in general.  When you guest post you have the ability to reach a new audience, expand your reach, and spread your message.  You also get the chance to add a quality backlink to your arsenal, which is a major SEO boost.

That having been said, not all guest posts are created equal from a legal marketing standpoint.

Two weeks ago I undertook a familiar legal marketing tactic by doing a guest post on the subject of estate planning as it relates to bankruptcy.  Rather than ask, I did the guest post and sent it off to the firm for which I wanted to see it appear.  This particular firm has a nice blog and I assume it does well for their legal marketing efforts if for no other reason than the fact that it ranks well for a particular search term.

My post was about 450 words of solid content, and well written.  Within 12 hours I got a response from the lawyer that he thought it was very good post and he’d get it up immediately.

About 10 minutes later I got the following email, sent to me by a “Legal Communications” person who apparently didn’t understand the concept of “reply all.”  The email said:

This is how it works. Nice tie in. Now, we can identify some bloggers for <name of lawyer’s paralegal> to write the same kind of email to.

I’m not worried at this point.  It’s good that someone who gets paid for this sort of thing has been taught the “hidden secret” of guest blogging as legal marketing vehicle.

The following day I get an email from the lawyer saying:

It looks like it needs a partial rewrite now that I have reviewed it (since there are some other alternatives) so I will simply borrow most of it, give you attribution and link to your site.

A partial rewrite?  OK, no problem.  A little editorial control in the interests of clarity is a good thing.  After all, I’m not an estate planning lawyer.

Now remember why we guest blog, people – to increase our reach and audience, to provide value, and to get noticed in a field in which that may not otherwise be the case.  Legal marketing in the online world, this is.  Tried and true content marketing.

In hindsight my mistake was clear.

Fast forward to the other day.  I get an email from the “Communications Director” of this law firm (my oh my, they do have a lot of people working in the field of communications) telling me as follows:

Sending you a link to the blog with <lawyer> did based on your recent email.  Please note that you are quoted in the blog and we have provided a link to your website.  Thank you for the suggestion.

The content is noted as having been written by the attorney, and encompasses the content I provided.  Of course, it’s wrapped in pure promotion for this attorney’s firm and not offered as a substantive piece of content written to inform and educate.

I am quoted with a link to one of my sites, but it is not my post.  I did not give this attorney an interview, and I did not agree to ghostwrite a post for him.  I did not offer to feed him ideas, and I certainly did not knowingly give him a “suggestion.”

What this proves, however, is that this attorney does not necessarily control his own content.  His “communications” people are handling that, thank you very much.  And rather than either accept or reject a guest blog post they chose to co-opt the content for their own purposes.

No, I’m not telling you the name of the other lawyer.  It’s not relevant.

What is relevant is this – guest posting is a valid form of legal marketing.  I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again.  But before you submit a proposed guest post you need to remember that it is your intellectual property.  You need to retain full editorial control or, at the very least, final say on the content being published.

Photo courtesy of chick pea pie.
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Legal Marketing At The End Of The Honeymoon

March 12, 2010 By

Legal Marketing After The Honeymoon
Your online legal marketing plans have taken shape, and you’re serious about generating new business for your law firm. You haven’t abandoned your offline marketing but you’re looking at those media like distasteful relatives you are required to invite to your home for holidays.

Your law firm blog is all shiny and new, the pictures beautiful and the designer paid. You’ve got your Facebook fan page, Twitter account, whatever you’ve decided to work with. Your legal marketing efforts are all ready to go.

Welcome the the online legal marketing honeymoon, when it’s all wine and roses, romantic sunset walks along the beach and passion.

You start off easy, with a blog post about the basics. You get so excited it takes you 900 words to describe the most mundane subject, but that’s OK – you want to be thorough, right?

Of course, it’s dry and boring to the outsider. But it really showcases your knowledge of the field, sets you apart from the rest of the competition. That’s what legal marketing is all about, right? Full steam ahead!

The next day you go onto Twitter and follow everyone and their mother, all in a mad rush to beat Ashton Kutcher and Oprah in numbers of followers. The more people you follow, the more will follow you back!

You have no idea who these people are, or why they would want to follow you. But they sure to use Twitter a lot! Your Twitter stream gets clogged up within seconds, but you send out a link to your brand new blog post and know – just KNOW – it will send your traffic skyrocketing.

Of course, next up is Facebook. Two bazillion users, and they are all pining for your wisdom. You set up your fan page, so you send out a suggestion to all of your Facebook friends that they become fans. You send out your blog posts there, too.

You are a legal marketing Goliath. Market domination is within reach. You can sense your competition trembling in their offices, fearful of your wrath and legal marketing prowess.

Now, check your website analytics. Re-check them. Keep checking. Where’s that rush of traffic?

The online legal marketing honeymoon is over. And as with all long-term relationships, the hard work begins.

Your spouse doesn’t bring you flowers anymore (cue the song, please). No more all-nighters filled with insights into one another. It’s time to start figuring out who’s going to load the dishwasher at night.

So, too, with your online legal marketing efforts. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you aren’t going to be an overnight success. Nobody is. It takes hard work, nose to the grindstone, day in and day out.

And even worse is the fact that it never ends.

You have a blog but need to feed the machine. Forever.

You are on Twitter, but if you don’t interact and reach out to new people then it’s nothing more than another broadcast mechanism.

Facebook is bigger than ever, but if you’re there and don’t work on your presence then you might as well go home.

Because the competition is waking up, and doing it faster than you realize. Lawyers are hitting Avvo hard, learning the Facebook ropes, and embracing blogging like never before.

Maybe you’ve never heard of them, maybe their legal marketing efforts aren’t on your radar yet because you’ve got your nose buried.

It doesn’t matter. They’re out there. And your competition isn’t just spending money on some company that claims they’ll get you on the first page of Google (not that it matters even if they could – if you’ve not nothing to add to the conversation then nobody’s going to stick around your site for long).

So stop asking how long you’ve got to keep at this marketing and content creation thing. Forget about when you can start going to sleep early and sleeping late again. It isn’t going to happen – not now, not ever.

You signed up for this, after all. You decided that you wanted to run your own law firm, to be the master (or mistress) of your own domain, to eat what you kill.

But ask anyone who’s been married for 50 years if the hard work has been worth it. Most will say it was some of the most rewarding work they’ve ever done.

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Bankruptcy Lawyers – Who Do You Support?

February 25, 2010 By

Being a bankruptcy lawyer can be lonely at times, no matter how big your firm is. We toil in relative anonymity, fighting for consumers rather than for big corporations. Our clients get kicked around all the time, and we’re the only ones who actually try to help them.

It’s a thankless job, isn’t it?

That’s why being a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys is so important for those of us in the trenches of consumer debtor work. When new bankruptcy lawyers ask me what they need to do in order to be the best lawyer they can be, I tell them to join NACBA before the sun goes down.

But there’s a difference between being a member and being a supporter.

You can be a member of NACBA (there are over 4,000 of us right now), go to the convention, get active on the listservs and generally soak up all the information there is to be had. You could profit from that knowledge, grow a huge law firm, and be satisfied with your good fortune.

It’s quite another thing to give back. To level the playing field between taking and receiving, to contribute in some way.

Maybe you contribute by adding your knowledge to the listservs, to helping newbies and acting as a sherpa. Maybe you give back by meeting other bankruptcy lawyers in your area and having them join NACBA.

There’s one thing I’d like you to do right now. Personal favor to me, if you will.

Go over to the NACBA website and log into the Member’s Only area. Find the place to contribute to the Amicus Fund. Take the time to give back in a financial way.

Why? Because every year NACBA files amicus briefs in a number of cases that involve big questions of law. Questions that, when answered the right way, make our clients lives – and our practices – easier. These amicus briefs lend the consumer’s voice in a way not otherwise possible.

And without a strong amicus program, the consumer gets drowned out by the lobbyists and big money interests. When that happens, we all lose. Our cause suffers, and so does our client’s life.

No, I’m not getting paid to ask you to give a few dollars. No, the powers-that-be didn’t ask me to get on the soapbox to do this. There’s nothing in it for me except the knowledge that the next time I or any of my colleagues needs help, NACBA will be there.

Go. Now. Give. Thanks.

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