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3 Compelling Reasons Why Marketing Your Law Firm Should Begin With Lead Generation

August 31, 2010 By



lead generation - marketing your law firmYou’re sitting in your office and the phone rings, or that annoying little ping signals you’ve got an email.  It’s a new potential client!  Stop the presses!  All work halts!  Why?  Because when a new client contacts you, it means you’re on the precipice of making money.  This is what marketing your law firm is all about.  But is that the right way to do business?

Lawyers, especially those in historically direct response fields such as bankruptcy, personal injury and criminal defense, typically get the client when there’s an immediate need.  I get rear-ended and wind up in the emergency room, so I start looking for an attorney to represent me.  But as I’ve said in the past, it would be so much better if I, the client, met my lawyer before I needed any help.  In that way I wouldn’t have to scramble at the last minute – my choice would already be made in my head.

For the lawyer, it makes sense as well.  When you’re marketing your law firm, your goal is to be the first attorney someone thinks about when they think about a lawyer.  There’s always a steady stream of people who are interested in learning a bit about the attorney’s services.  It’s called lead generation, and it’s what makes the business world go around.

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Being A Virtual Lawyer Is All Mindset, Not Technology

July 20, 2010 By

Being A Virtual Lawyer Is All Mindset, Not TechnologyWhat did it take for me to become a virtual lawyer?  I was sitting on the terrace, looking out over the beach in Acapulco.  It was 85 degrees and sunny, yet the breeze coming off the water kept me cool.

My vacation was hard-fought, and well-deserved after the sprint leading up to the change in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in October 2005.  I took a sip of my morning coffee and pondered whether I’d have lunch in the hotel or at a little taco place my wife and I had discovered the day before.

My laptop chirped at me, and I snapped on my headset.  It was time for a consultation appointment.  Virtual bankruptcy lawyer springs to action, leaving the coffee behind!

There was a time when the notion of a virtual law office was unheard of. A law firm operating without books, without desks, and without a physical location was unprofessional and extremely unorthodox.

No longer is that the case. Companies such as VLOTech and DirectLaw will help you get your virtual on. Free and low-cost applications help shuttle you to the cloud, where a world of wonder awaits you. Work from the beach, across the world, or just from your home with the dog by your side.

Lovely, no?

But here’s the problem – and it’s a real one.  The VLO model is largely an online document and communication repository for lawyers.  But a VLO does not help you become a profitable virtual lawyer, or to transform your law office into a virtual one.

My firm has a physical location, but I’m not enamored of going there.  I’ve got a totally different mindset.  The mindset of a virtual lawyer, not one of a land-based attorney.

Take, for example, the story I told you at the beginning of this piece.  You may be amazed, entranced or just shocked that I could work from the beach in Acapulco.  But when you break it down, it’s not amazing whatsoever.

The Virtual Lawyer’s Tools Are Not Amazing

I don’t use any of the VLO platforms mentioned above; they’re excellent, but not what’s in my bag.  I relied, and continue to rely, upon a few basic sets of tools:

Phone:  Skype, a computer-based application, allows me to make and receive phone calls to a regular U.S.-based telephone number using only a computer with Internet access.  Costs me under $100 per year for a local number.  But if I didn’t want to go that route, I could simply use my cell phone with global roaming on it.

Internet-Based Faxing:  People use faxes, much to my chagrin.  I use MaxEMail, but there are a number of excellent providers out there.  Here’s how it works: someone puts a piece of paper into their fax machine, dials a local (or toll-free) number, and faxes it to you.  Instead of the page coming through a fax machine, it shows up in your email box as a PDF.  Once again, it costs me under $100 per year to keep this going.

Case Management:  I currently use RocketMatter, but have used Basecamp in the past.  It gives me the freedom to access client information on the go, and it’s reliable so long as I’ve got an Internet connection.  Basecamp allows me to give clients access to their documents, RocketMatter does not.  But there’s a solution.

Client File Access:  I use Dropbox, which allows me to synchronize files among computers and backs up to the cloud.  Using Dropbox you can share a specific folder with any other Dropbox user; all they need is an account, which they can get for no cost.  Tell your client to get a free Dropbox account, and then share their file with them.  When the matter is closed, revoke the sharing privileges.

My File Access:  Once again, I use Dropbox.  There are other solutions out there, but I like Dropbox because it’s got tons of features and is accessible from my Android device (they’ve got an iPhone and iPad app as well).  To get files from paper into my computer I either scan them using my ScanSnap scanner or, ideally, have clients fax them to me (remember, those faxes come through as email attachments in PDF format).

Staff Communications:  We use Google Talk to communicate.  Nuff said.

Calendaring and Appointment Setting:  We use Google Calendar for our calendars in the office, and a web application called AppointmentQuest to allow people to set up appointments to speak with us.  Appointment Quest is not the only system out there, but it does allow us to block off times when we’re not available and move stuff around.

Email:  Google Apps.  Free, web-based, accessible using our phones, and lots of storage.

The Virtual Lawyer’s Mindset Makes the Difference

Nothing outlined above is earth-shattering, nor is it custom-made.  It does, however, reflect the reality that we can work anywhere, any time.  Our clients need not be technologically advanced, either; the only thing they need is a telephone – everything else is on our side.  So it makes no sense to me when a lawyer tells me that they don’t go virtual because their clients aren’t tech-savvy.  That’s an excuse, not a real reason.

If you want to be a virtual lawyer, all you need to do is take a step outside.  Then another.  And then another.  Repeat until you’re in a comfortable location, and then open your laptop.  Keep the cell phone charged, maintain connectivity to the Internet, and get down to business.  That’s pretty much all there is to it.

The chains aren’t real.  All you have to fight against are your own preconceived notions about where you work.

To be sure, there are things you’ll need to do in order to prepare for that walk outside.  But once you have the mindset, the solutions to the other minor problems will soon come into sharper focus.

Photo credit:  Giorgio Montersino (via Flickr).

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Bankruptcy Lawyers And Intake Forms

April 28, 2010 By

Bankruptcy Intake Forms Create A Messy DeskBankruptcy lawyers seem to live and die by their intake forms.  This is when we meet the client the first time, assess the situation, and decide whether it makes sense to work together.  Lawyer asks questions, client answers and asks others.  A game of volleyball that can last between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the lawyer.

New bankruptcy lawyers often hop on a listserv and ask for everyone to send them copies of their intake forms.  Others buy a set from an online company, and still others use the built-in forms from their software provider.

The result is a set of bankruptcy intake forms ranging from 20-40 pages, thick with legalese and minutiae.  In an effort to avoid problems later, we force our client to do every bit of heavy lifting.  No stone unturned means a stack of intake forms that would make an environmentalist cry.

Our clients, in return, provide us with half-completed intake forms, inaccurate responses, and downright useless disclosures.  We are forced to go through every line and verify the information, or our paralegals do so for us.  We end up wasting our time, our client’s time, and our productivity.

So let’s take stock of the end result.  We spend too much time and are convinced that our clients can’t follow simple directions.  Our clients are bent out of shape because they feel like they’re doing all the work, are confused because of all the jargon in the intake process, and frustrated with a process that was supposed to make their lives easier.

All in all, it’s a gigantic customer service failure.  And the lawyers are to blame.

When you look at your bankruptcy intake forms from the client’s side, you need to focus on collection of information in a way that is as simple as possible for the client.  Anything less leads to bottlenecks and frustration.

You know what you need in order to assess whether you can help someone.  You look at their income, their assets, general debt scenario and their expenses.  Simple.  Beyond that, the documents tell the story better than the client can ever tell it.  Credit card bills, mortgage statements, utility bills – clients can’t fudge the numbers because they’ve got the bills to give you.  Those documents often don’t need to be reviewed during an initial consultation, which should focus on the nitty-gritty of the situation.  We’re talking big picture here, folks.

Get the basics, ask the key questions about preferential transfers and other deal-breakers, then move along.

Out of frustration, I stopped using formal bankruptcy intake sheets about 20 minutes after I started practicing.  Instead, I opt for a simple 6-page questionnaire that is comprised largely of yes/no questions.  The questionnaire itself is fairly useless to most lawyers unless they understand my entire bankruptcy intake process.  It’s a fact-finding tour that includes an opportunity to learn about my prospective client, nothing more.  I don’t need to dig through the credit card bills and every pay stub to make an educated decision on whether I can help.

Having your client’s handwriting on the intakes forms does not “cover you” in case of error.

You’re probably thinking that the intake forms give you some sort of malpractice coverage.  The reality is that isn’t the case.  The intake forms are wrong, they’re garbage.  If you’re concerned about accuracy and a little bit of CYA then I suggest having your client review each page of the completed petition, schedules and related documents; get initials on each page once reviewed.  In case of trouble, there’s your CYA right there.  And it’s as accurate as you can possibly make it, as opposed to the intake forms.

What’s the end result?  A simple, clean process that makes it easier for a consumer to do business with my firm.  By removing the barriers to entry I am faced with a more relaxed and forthcoming client, someone who is happy to work with me.  The work involved in sorting through the documents provided is no greater than the arduous task of deconstructing an improperly completed bankruptcy intake package.

Think about your client, balance it against the information you need to make an assessment of the situation, and go from there.  Concentrate on the relationship and make it easier to work with you.

Photo courtesy of yatoobin.
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5 Tips To Maximize Your NACBA Convention Experience

April 27, 2010 By

Susanne Robicsek and Jay FleischmanWhy go to a NACBA convention?  You can get the sessions on tape, pick up the materials and generally get the meat of all of the sessions.  But is that the real reason you go to these things?

This coming weeked in San Francisco the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys will be holding their annual convention in San Francisco.  There’s a good chance that you’ll be there if you’re a consumer bankruptcy attorney.

I’m excited to go to the convention this year, as I am each year.  Not only because I’m going to be speaking and moderating a panel on violations of the automatic stay and discharge injunction with Chuck Newton and Pete Barry (though that’s going to be very cool and informative), and not because of the infamous listserv party I am organizing with the folks at Hummingbird Credit Counseling (once again tons of fun).

The real reason I go to the NACBA convention is what goes on outside of the sessions.

Recently I listened to an episode of Media Hacks where this was called (by CC Chapman, I think), “Hallway Magic.”

Think about it for a minute.  You travel across the country to go to a high-priced location, leaving your business and your family for a beautiful springtime weekend.  You spend a ton of money on the convention, airfare, food, hotel and what-not.

The hallways are where the action is.  It’s where we bump into one another, catch up, shake hands, and connect in real life.  We trade war stories, share tips for handling difficult situations, and gain guidance on a bunch of different levels.  You realize you’re not alone in what you do.

You can’t get that out of a book, and you can’t even get it online.  You need that real-time interaction, that connection with your colleagues.  So here are my 5 tips on making the most of the NACBA convention.

  1. Dress For Comfort. Little known fact for NACBA newbies is that we don’t dress to impress – we dress for comfort.  Some of us wear loud Hawaiian shirts (a certain Detroit bankruptcy lawyer) or shorts.  As for me, I’ve been forced to retire my faded Napster t-shirt.  If you put on a suit for any part of the weekend we will think you’re from the federal government and are looking for people to randomly audit.
  2. State Breakfast. Saturday morning will be a breakfast held to bring the members in each state together.  Tables are set up with placards showing your state name, and your colleagues will be there to chat.  Be there.  Introduce yourself.  Sit down and make some local friends – you never know when you’re going to need coverage in court, or be in a position to help a colleague with a last-minute problem.
  3. Pick A Good Table. Every year it’s the same thing.  People show up, dump their stuff at a chair, and then disappear.  Don’t do that.  Pick a table and introduce yourself to the rest of the people there.  Ask them where they practice, what kind of bankruptcy work they do, and learn about them.  We all do the same thing, so why not take the time to learn about how others get their work done?
  4. Stop And Say Hello. If you see someone you recognize, stop them and say hi.  Bankruptcy lawyers are some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, and none of them has such a big ego as to require you to bow and kiss their ring.  We all want to help one another, and there’s no better way to form a connection than to show your face.
  5. Hit the Hotel Bar At Night. Even if you don’t drink, there are always groups of us hanging out in the hotel bar during the evenings after dinner.  Find an empty seat, introduce yourself and join the fun.

The bottom line is this – the real reason to be at the NACBA convention is what you learn from people in the trenches just like you.  We all face the same problems, but operate largely in our own little worlds.  Getting together and making a connection are the best ways to ensure your continued success as a consumer bankruptcy lawyer.

By the way, remember to enter the contest to win a copy of The Whuffie Factor by clicking here!

The picture of me and Charlotte bankruptcy lawyer Susanne Robicsek was taken by Sara Harrington.

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Why I Want More Good Bankruptcy Lawyers In New York

April 22, 2010 By

Why I Want More Good Bankruptcy Lawyers In New YorkDo you want more competition in your marketplace?  Do you really think you could handle all the business if you were the only one?  Even if you could, wouldn’t it be lonely?

A recent article caught my eye not because of the content itself, but because of the title (which is, of course, the mark of a good blog title).  The question posed is whether more competition is good for you as a business owner.

Lots of lawyers I know would love nothing more than to be the only game in town, to have their pick of every potential client.  Not me.  I want more good bankruptcy lawyers, right here in New York where I practice.

I’m not saying there aren’t some very good lawyers in this city – there are.  But I’d love nothing more than to have double or even triple that number.  Not casual filers, but high-level folks who do terrific work.

Lest you think I’ve gone off the deep end, let me explain.  The more competition there is in the market, the better it is for you.  Period.

More smart lawyers means more informed judges. If I’m the only one bringing a complex issue to a judge, it isn’t going to make a huge impact.  But if every lawyer in town is highlighting the same issues to the bench then my court is going to stand up and take notice.  It goes from one lawyer being a thorn in the side to an epidemic.  Can’t avoid it, can’t ignore it.

Better lawyers = better information. People need solid, reliable information when they’re making a decision on whether to hire a lawyer.  Better lawyers are those who convey more timely and useful information in a way people understand without getting out the dictionary.  More information gives prospective clients a better idea about what they need and want, and how a lawyer can help them.

Greater sense of community. Shoddy lawyers hold their cards close to the vest and are less likely to help one another out.  They have so little knowledge and expertise that they’re afraid of letting others in on what little they know.  On the flip side, those who know a lot about a field of law are less afraid of sharing knowledge with others – even the competition.  They know there’s more to getting and keeping clients than a motion form, and they act accordingly.

In recognition of the common enemy. Every field of law has a common enemy.  For bankruptcy lawyers, it’s the debt settlement folks and the self-help outfits that make promises and deliver little, if any, value to most consumers.  When there are enough intelligent, well-reasoned lawyers in the field it’s easier to combat misinformation and disinformation spread by the people who harm our clients day in and day out.

Next time a new lawyer starts practicing in your courthouse, don’t look at it as a setback.  Realize that one lawyer can’t serve the entire population, can’t educate the entire community, and can’t bring every issue before the court.  Take the time to reach out, make the connection, and learn from one another.

The results will be outstanding.

Photo courtesy of Fabbio.
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4 Steps To Training Your Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant

March 29, 2010 By

Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants - The Missing Puzzle Piece

A virtual bankruptcy assistant can be the most helpful resource in your office, or the worst. And it all depends on how you approach it.

Every week I get at least 4-5 emails from bankruptcy lawyers telling me that they admire my use of virtual assistants in my office.  They lavish praise and then immediately tell me that it would never work for them.

They’ve tried going that route already, but none of the virtual bankruptcy assistants they hire are worth their weight in salt.  Plus, they charge a ton of money.

It’s tough to justify bringing on a virtual bankruptcy assistant when you’ve got that sour taste in your mouth, right?

Wrong.  You’ve got to get over it and realize it’s totally worth it.

Let me be clear – I do not know the formal training process undergone by those who are certified as virtual bankruptcy assistants.  Nor do I care.  My concern is solely with the quality of the work product as it compares with the standards and practices established by the individual law firm.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can worry about getting the right virtual bankruptcy assistant for your office.  Here are my top 4 steps to training a VBA:

Establish clear lines of communication. By speaking regularly, you and the outside professional can keep things clear.

Create A Detailed Guide.  Your trustees prefer that you not break out every single type of household good?  Your courts look at Schedule J more closely, disallowing any food expense above $200 per adult in the household?  You like credit reporting agencies listed on Schedule F?  How will your VBA know unless you tell him or her?

Consider Video. I’m not talking about a movie.  Rather, consider using a screen recording program such as Camtastia (I use Screenflow for my Mac, and it’s awesome) to walk a VBA through the actual buttons you press for each part of petition preparation.  I’ve used this method to train countless people to handle petition preparation for my office, which allows me to educate from the ground up rather than looking for the most experienced person.

Manage Your Own Expectations. Your virtual bankruptcy assistant isn’t going to be able to read your mind.  Mistakes will be made from time to time, and that’s OK.  After all, no in-house legal assistant gets it right 100% of the time either, do they?  Though there are differences between a virtual bankruptcy assistant and a staff member, here’s one place where there is very little differentiation between the two.

Have you hired a virtual bankruptcy assistant in your office?  How did you train him or her?  Add your comments below!

Photo courtesy of fdecomite.

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5 Reasons Why I Educate My “Competition”

March 16, 2010 By

One of my readers sent me a question a few weeks ago, asking me if I wasn’t worried that I was educating my competition on the ways of online legal marketing and the use of social media in the legal profession.

The simple answer is that I’m not concerned in the least bit.  But real life is seldom simple, so here are my 5 reasons why I want my competition to know all about online legal marketing:

  1. The Prospective Client is More Important Than The Lawyer: I want my prospective clients to walk in the door filled with the right information about bankruptcy, not some mumbo-jumbo they’ve picked up from a talking head on TV.  If they’re properly educated then I don’t need to spend hours swimming upstream.  In fact, a local bankruptcy lawyer on Long Island writes an excellent blog to which I refer clients all the time.
  2. My Clients Are Different Than Yours: You read that last sentence right – I send my clients to another local lawyer for his insights when I don’t have a piece of content at the ready.  Doing this isn’t a big deal to me because I know my clients, and everything I do is specifically targeted towards a single client persona.  My client can read another local lawyer’s blog and think, “That’s interesting,” but it won’t connect with them to the extent that mine will.  So, too, my blog won’t connect with a client who doesn’t fit my target client persona.  My legal marketing efforts target my clients only, and not the people who may not fit my client profile.
  3. There’s Enough Work To Go Around: Let’s face it – my law firm couldn’t handle every single bankruptcy case in New York if we wanted to.  Impossible.  I could use every legal marketing tool in my arsenal (and I often do), but I’m not so interested in filing 25,000 bankruptcy cases per quarter in New York City.
  4. Collaboration Instead Of Competition: I’m not giving up any trade secrets on this blog or on any other for which I write.  I’m discussing my thoughts on where we’re going in online legal marketing and sharing tips I’ve picked up over the years and tested for my benefit.  If someone local wants to take the time to read and implement it, so much the better.
  5. A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: If what I do here can lift the access to quality information to consumers in New York (where I practice) and teach lawyers how to connect with people on a human level then we’ll all be able to do better – better work for our clients, a better job at being lawyers, a better outcome for the process.

Maybe it sounds hokey, maybe it’s a little too kumbaya (to borrow a term used by Sonia Simone) and perhaps it doesn’t resonate with you.  If that’s the case, no problem – keep on doing what works for you.

But I urge you to take a step back and consider what I’ve said here, and whether the way the legal profession has evolved (or failed to evolve) in terms of customer service, creating real connections with the public and delivering outstanding service hasn’t been a bit … shall we say, stilted up to now.  Don’t we deserve a new model, a new way to reach potential clients and delivery remarkable results?

This is exactly why I speak at conference all around the country each year, delivering value not only on the topic of legal marketing but also substantive law.  It’s why I sat in a room two years ago and taught 15 of my local colleagues how to handle discharge violations in bankruptcy – a field in which I practice heavily.

If this blog is the model, then so be it.  But I think you’ve all got something within you, some spark that makes you want to educate your local colleagues so that the bar is raised.

Photo of Boalt Hall lecture hall by umjanedoan.

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Online Legal Marketing 101 – Be Original

March 1, 2010 By

Online Legal Marketing - Be Original

When marketing your law firm online it’s important to remember that originality is key. And I’m not just talking about the design of your law firm’s website or your point of view – it should be obvious that you need to be different so as not to blend in.

What I’m talking about is the originality of your online content. The words you use, the way you put your thoughts together, and the way it all reads. It’s all got to be original or your online legal marketing efforts will fail. And not because they won’t resonate, but because they won’t be seen.

Case in point, with names changed to protect the innocent. A colleague of mine is a bankruptcy lawyer who relies almost solely on his online legal marketing efforts to keep his doors open. He’s a good lawyer, a good guy, and smart. But he got a little careless when he built his current website.

His law firm’s website is gorgeous, filled with video and lots of pages of content. He’s got his picture up on the site, his contact information, and all the bells and whistles that we want to have in place when marketing online. Reads well, designed well … but all was not well.

His site was placed at the top of every single relevant search term for quite some time. Until one day he noticed it wasn’t there anymore. Like, at all. Gone from Local Search, gone from the index … poof. Even his Google Profile was deactivated and blocked.

So he did what I would have done. He freaked out. Sent emails, called his web host, tried in vain to contact Google’s search team. He got back cryptic emails, all essentially telling him that his law firm’s website was somehow a bad apple.

Finally, his SEO people started digging around and were told of the problem. His website was filled with content found elsewhere online, on sites for his law firm as well as on sites for other lawyers.

In other words, his site was unoriginal. And that was a problem for two reasons:

First, Google has been clear that duplicate content isn’t the best way to go.  Duplicate content is defined as:

substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content or are appreciably similar.

In fact, the Google Webmaster Blog says:

Duplicate content on a site is not grounds for action on that site unless it appears that the intent of the duplicate content is to be deceptive and manipulate search engine results. If your site suffers from duplicate content issues, and you don’t follow the advice listed above, we do a good job of choosing a version of the content to show in our search results.

What does it mean to be deceptive and manipulative?  Well, that’s tough to say.  But if your site is so clearly filled with content that’s found elsewhere, the chances are good that Google’s going to find that your intentions are less than honorable.

Why does Google hate duplicate content?  Because Google’s primary business is to delivery the best possible search results; in doing so, it ensures that people will come back to Google again and again when they want to find something.  If the search engine lists a ton of different sites with the exact same information, where’s the value add for the searcher?  It isn’t there at all, which is why the search engine will cull out the duplicates and show only a single instance of the content – and that single instance will be on the domain that has the highest PageRank, relevance and trust scores overall.

Second, duplicate content isn’t worth your reader’s efforts and time.  Let’s say I can pick up the exact same book in a bunch of different libraries.  Why would I look to one as a better library than the others?  I wouldn’t – unless one particular library has a bunch of different books on the same subject.  In that case, one is better than the others.

So, too, with your web content.  Your law firm website needs to have something relevant and unique to say, something that sets it apart in the eyes of the visitor in order to spur that person to take action.

How do you avoid the duplicate content problem in your online legal marketing efforts?  Speak in your own words, as if you were talking with a client or prospect.  Be genuine, be honest, and be yourself.  If you’ve got any passion for what you do, this will come through easily.  That’s it.  No magic potion.

And if you’ve hired someone to develop your website copy, take the time and a few bucks to run it through Copyscape.  That’s a service that will go through a web page’s content and ensure that it’s not a duplicate of another site.  Well worth the money.

Photo courtesy of SpiritMama.
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