Reboot Your Law Practice

Join Oscar and Scott this week as they discuss the process Scott went through to add the niche practice area of College Disciplinary Law to his legal practice.Listen to find out how Scott determined if this was a viable practice area. Here are some of the considerations you must evaluate when looking to add a practice area to your law practice;- Is there a need/market for the niche?- Is this practice area an authentic extension of my practice and of myself?- Can I provide value for clients?- How will you get clients in this area?- Do you have the time you have to put in?- Do you have a passion for this area?- Do you have the skills or is there a steep learning curve?- Can you distinguish yourself in this new area?We will check in with Scott from time to time to see how the practice is progressing and discuss the challenges he faces.

This week Sam Glover from Lawyerist.com joins us. Sam is the founder of Lawyerist.com which provides daily online content about the practice of law, touching upon subjects such as practice management, tech and marketing.Sam is a strong advocate of attorneys being technologically competent. He joins Oscar and Scott and they discuss the necessity of attorneys having an understanding of such varied topics as; - How to communicate securely with clients - How to safely use public wifi - An attorneys obligation to advise clients as to the security of their communications - how lay a foundation to admit social media into evidence - the duty to google - how to use Word and Dropbox - how files are encryptedThey also discuss how you can add value to the attorney client relationship by advising clients how to keep their data and communications safe.Please visit Sam at Lawyerist.comDownload Sam’s checklist of the knowledge and skills that make up the basic technological competence for lawyers at https://lawyerist.com/dow

It’s painfully obvious to state that the modern lawyer trying to grow his practice needs a great website. So why do we devote a whole podcast to the subject? Because it’s no longer enough to get a domain name and throw up a basic template law firm website. You have to tailor your site to the demographic and client base you are trying to get as clients. Oscar & Scott talk about the thought process and planning you need to get into before you even start talking about the actual design of the site. The hosts discuss Search Engine Optimization and how SEO has changed over the past few years. The podcast provides specific advice and ideas on how to make your website appealing to your potential client base. Essential website areas discussed during the show are:- What should be on the home page- Photos- A Thought-Out Tag Line- Blog- Contact Information

Episode 26 - Mentoring and Coaching What does it mean to have a mentor? Most people think of an elderly person who provides sage advice and guidance to a young protégé. And while that certainly is one aspect of mentoring, in this podcast the hosts discuss that he benefits that all lawyers – young or old; experienced or fresh out of law school – can obtain from a mentor. Scott and Oscar talk about their own personal experiences mentoring lawyers and also discuss how they found the people they rely on to bounce ideas off of or to simply help vent their frustration. The hosts discuss how to find a mentor and approach them about filling that role. For lawyers trying to reboot their practice having a person they trust and can count on to help them through the process is an invaluable tool. Best places to find a mentor/coach: (A) Your social circle of lawyers or business people you know, admire and trust;(B) Bar association;(C) Law school;(D) Family           

Leaving a firm to start your own practice is a scary proposition. In this episode Oscar and Scott give vital steps you should take that will lead to a successful practice. 1. You must start planning far in advance by thinking about the makeup of your practice (type of practice, type of clients, type of law) and looking at the viability of each possibility.2. Will you be able to bring in enough business to support your practice? 3. Start setting up your support system of mentors and get a feel for what solo and small practice life is like. They also talk about how right now might actually be the best time to start a new practice. 

In this episode, Scott & Oscar discuss how to distinguish yourself and your practice. They discuss the similarities between marketing and selling salsa and marketing and selling your self and your legal services. Suggestions include; evaluating what you like about the services and professionals you use, understanding the goals and expectations of the individual clients, and truly listening and understanding what the clients need from their perspective.      While clients ultimately want results, they also want service. You need to listen to clients, understand their issues and treat them as you would want to be treated. You must communicate with your clients, educate them and always keep them informed. 

In this episode, Oscar and Scott welcome writer Cathy Reisenwitz. Cathy who writes on a number of law-related topics for Capterra Legal Software Blog, Above the Law and other sites recently wrote an article for Lawyerist entitled “The Legal industry is About to Get Ubered Hard.” The hosts discuss Cathy’s article with her and what it means for lawyers unwilling to adapt to technological changes in the practice. Cathy explains that, like cab drivers, lawyers have been protected by legislation and regulation limiting who can practice law. This lack of competitive pressure has kept law nearly unchanged over the last hundred years. However, technological innovation makes it cost effective to offer new ways to serve the market, motivating entrepreneurs to go around protectionist legislation. Lawyers who fail to recognize this major change in how lawyers and consumers interact – or even how consumers are interacting with business in general- are doomed to having their practices fail on the vine. Scott and Oscar di

The hosts discuss how small and solo firms need to focus on being organized in order to be successful. As lawyers, we all take deadlines very seriously – appearance dates, statutes of limitation, etc. So we should treat the business goals and “to do “ list” items we set for ourselves as importantly as we treat important dates in our legal matters. Scott and Oscar talk about what works for them and which strategies they employed that helped them get organized and stay focused on business development. It can be hard for those of us who are not keen on technology to learn new methods of law firm management, but the podcast discusses why it’s essential and offers tips on getting itdone. 

Prior podcasts have discussed the importance of your online presence. Well, your website is the axis around which all of your online presence revolves. Finding the right web site developer is critical to the success of your website. Join us as we discusses what to look for in a website developer, what pitfalls to avoid and what should the contract between you and the developer involve. We discuss why you may not want to choose a company that “specializes” in law firm website development. You must look to find the right fit, as you will need to have a website person who is responsive and willing to let you manage the content and look of the site. We also touch on topics such as SEO, Google analytics, and other areas that you will need to familiarize yourself with as you enter the digital marketplace

The hosts discuss developing good client relationships with Matthew Chan. Matt is a client of Oscar’s and he has had the opportunity to see litigation and lawyering from a variety of positions – as a pro se plaintiff and defendant, to a business owner who has had to hire lawyers for litigation and even from the perspective of a litigant before the Georgia Supreme Court, the State’s highest court. Seeing law at all these levels has provided Matt with insight into what clients and litigants like and don’t like about lawyers and lawyering. Matt describes that ultimately what clients want is someone who is a real problem solver and that can explain the issues and the possibilities. The vast majority of clients want something done sooner rather than later and want to feel that their lawyer is on the same page and not looking to just pad the bill. Some Don’ts for Lawyers from Matt’s perspective as a client: • Don’t bill lots of hours for research – clients hired you because you know the law, billing for research

The hosts discuss a recent Above The Law article about getting clients. The author of the article discusses how she thought about the steps she took when she selected a professional to hire. She applied what she did in those situations and what was important to her in developing her practice. The first step most folks do in selecting a professional is seek suggestions from their referral network. They then will check the person’s credentials, give them a call and examine their responsiveness. These are steps that your clients will be taking when selecting a lawyer so you need to examine how you would be judge by this criteria. The authors also discuss keeping your name and services on top of your client’s mind by using newsletters, blogs, and emails. It’s not easy - it takes planning, patience, attention to detail and consistency but keeping contact with your clients and keeping a strong online presence is a necessary step in rebooting your law practice.   

This week we welcome Stephen Furnari of lawfirmsuites.com. Stephen Furnari is a self-employed corporate attorney and the founder of Law Firm Suites. Law Firm Suites is a professionally managed shared law office space for solo attorneys and small law firms based in New York City. Through Law Firm Suites, Stephen has helped dozens of attorneys launch and grow successful law practices. He is the author of several eBooks, including “7 Deadly Mistakes that Prevent Law Practice Success” and “An Insider’s Guide to Renting the Perfect Law Office”. Stephen has been featured in the ABA Journal,Entrepreneur, New York Daily News and Crain’s New York. He can be connected with on Twitter (@stephenfurnari) or Google+. Stephen explained that his business model is not merely the rental of or sub-rental of office space to lawyers. Plenty of lawyers rent out part of their suites to other lawyers. His business requires tenants to agree to a collegiate atmosphere that encourages cross-referrals. The model is to form a cooperative

Episode 17 Developing a Niche Practice – Part 2 The hosts continue their discussion of how to add a niche practice of law to your business. They remind listeners that it may take time to grow, it will not happen overnight. Scott and Oscar give some specific details of how to start such a practice. It starts with setting goals and creating a business plan. Selecting the right area is key and it may take more than one attempt to find the right niche. It’s best to look at areas that you already have a potential to get business in that area. Some pointers:• Start by deciding the large practice group – Family Law, Criminal Defense• Look for narrow topics within those larger areas –private adoption for example in Family Law or Forfeiture Proceedings in Criminal Law • Research the field and see what it is that clients will be looking for; analyze the market place to see if that niche is already glutted with lawyers. Are their associations you can join that will expose you to businesses and entities that may need the

Scott and Oscar talk about legal bogs and how to develop one for your practice. In today’s marketplace, a legal blog provides content to your website and also allows clients to see how you write and take positions on areas of law. The hosts provide talking points for you blog and give advice on how to create a worthwhile legal blog that will be looked at favorably by clients, prospective clients and other lawyers. Quick tips include: (1) Make sure the articles express your voice and viewpoint. Bland generic, boilerplate articles will not generate the interest or attention you will want.(2) Set time aside to blog at least once a week. Old stale articles will make you look like the blog is an afterthought. (3) Keep SEO in mind. Have a web designer and SEO specialist give you pointers on how to make your blog more searchable and drive it to the top of search engine requests for the key words that focus on your practice.

One thing lawyers in small or solo practices can do to help revitalize their current practices is look to developing a practice in a niche area of law. Scott and Oscar discuss specific lawyers who have developed such practices in a variety of legal fields – steroid law; bicycle accidents and representing pet owners. They also discuss how adding niche areas to their own practices helped increase their cash flow and provide a steadier revenue stream. The hosts provide pointers on how to develop such a practice and how adding a niche area of law cannot only enrich your business but also provide an area of law that interest you and keeps you focused on practice development.

Keith Lee is a practicing lawyer and columnist for Above The Law who started his own legal blog Associate’s Mind when he was still in law school. Keith graduated law school in 2010 right when the legal industry imploded. He knew that he needed to find a way to differentiate himself from the pack. When he had interned for a law firm during school. He had helped that firm set up and launch their own blog. He saw that it helped generate business and interest in the firm. But what could he blog about having just graduated law school? Keith knew he would lack the authenticity needed to be successful if he started to blog about a specific area of law but he also knew that a successful blog had to have a viewpoint. So he started blogging about what it meant to be a young associate in the current legal marketplace: · How would he generate business?· How would he form a relationship with a valuable mentor?· How would he learn the ins and outs of actually practicing law Because of the unique voice and viewpoint in Ass

Scott and Oscar talk about the current state of the legal market and various solutions offered by websites and pundits. But all the solutions reflect that this is not the same legal system and marketplace from 10 years ago. Many young lawyers are finding that they are being offered very low salaries and question whether they should take the job – is it the right thing to do? The hosts recommend biting the bullet and taking the job but also discuss that finding a way to generate your own business is still the best safeguard against a volatile marketplace. While the current law school glut is diminishing due to lower law school attendance, the hosts discuss that the effects of less lawyers entering in the marketplace is still years away. Therefore, it is incumbent on folks to do what they have to do to generate business. Even if young lawyers have to take an associate salary that is very low, the hosts recommend taking that position and using it as a springboard to developing your own book of business. Taking t

This episode talks about steps solo or small firm practitioners can take to help build a steady stream of referrals. The hosts discuss the benefits of a referral-based practice which provides a base of clients who come to your practice already having been pre-screened and eager to be helped. The positive expectation of a referral client increases the likelihood that you will be retained by them. Keys to building a referral client base are similar to building a valuable network: · Always keep referrals on top of your networking and referral partners’ minds by mentioning it during networking opportunities· Provide value to your referral partners by keeping them in the loop about the case and thanking them promptly for the referral even if it does not pan out to a new client· Remind potential clients that since your business is referral-based it is important that you do a good job on their case so that the potential client will become a referring client.· Give referrals back to lawyers who refer you clients or i

Elizabeth discusses the changing legal market place for recent law school grads and those out 10-15 years. Her position offers one-on-one counseling to assist alumni in reaching their career goals. Targeting the job search is important but networking remains the most powerful tool to make that connection that can build your practice. Elizabeth describes that while this a tough legal marketplace it is improving over the past year or so. Her office provides help with the basic tools – drafting a professional resume, building social media, looking at your connections. Many older attorneys who are practicing 10-15 years or more have trouble adapting the job search or their practice to the current marketplace. Elizabeth points out that using technology is not an option: you need to get involved with LinkedIn; have a good website; use social media. While all this technology is important, she reminds us that the basics are still important:• clean resume; • professional business card; • focused cover letters; • excel

In this episode, Scott and Oscar talk about why lawyers need to keep a positive outlook and a high energy level particularly when meeting clients for the first time. Personal insights from Scott and Oscar along with specific pointers are discussed for how to develop the right attitude to bring in business and develop your practice. Key Points include - 1. Knowing you do good work and that you can provide value 2. Planning for the initial client meeting3. Associate with positive like-thinking people4. Remember law is flexible - you can learn and develop a new practice area if your old one is not producing enough revenue