In this article, readers will learn how to get clients as an attorney and to recognize that anyone is a potential client and should always be treated that way.
Wondering how to get clients for a law firm? Want to know the secrets of how to get clients as a lawyer? Here are my top 9 tips sure to help lawyers get clients.
How about if the janitor’s son went to Harvard Law School, and he is now the general counsel of a major publicly traded computer software company in California? What if the auto insurance salesman is the 21-year-old son of the CEO of a well-known American insurance company? What if your biggest enemy is now the owner of the go-to company for work in the pre-IPO stage?
When I was practicing law, I received hundreds of thousands of dollars in business from one of these types of clients and heard stories about people getting business from similar situations. Each of these clients, if properly served, could have made the career of the attorney involved. Millions of dollars in fees could have been made. Never underestimate the people you meet.
A. Do not take any vendors you deal with for granted
Your dry cleaner, the person who mows your lawn, the mechanic who fixes your car—whomever you can imagine is a potential source of business for you. Stay in touch with them and remember to always be nice.
B. Do not take your peers or subordinates for granted
One of the best solutions for how a lawyer can get clients is to stay connected with people you worked with early in your career. This includes your peers in college, law school, and your employers. Make sure you treat everyone you come into contact with as if he could be a future client.
Relatives can often be a great source of business. Relatives love to tell people you are a lawyer or even use you for legal work. Treat them well too.
D. Do not take your former employers for granted
Your former employers (and all of the people within them) could possibly move to other employers and potentially be in a position to give you business. Your former employers may also have cases and other work they do not want to do but that you can do. Whatever the case, you need to realize that your former employers are people who are in a position to give you a great deal of work. DO NOT burn bridges wherever you go and make sure your former employers are always your advocates. Your former employers will be in a position to give you work and talk about you to others who can also give you work.
E. Do not take your superiors for granted
If you do a good enough job impressing your superiors, they can be a great source of future business for the same reasons your former employers can. Always go above and beyond the call of duty.
2. Lawyers Who Want to Get Business Need to Talk about Their Work
About 20 years ago, I was in Charlottesville, Virginia, in a hotel ballroom watching an attorney from a very prestigious Southern law firm give a three-hour PowerPoint presentation entitled “Developments in Franchising Law.” Every local owner of a Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, and other franchises had turned out for this bizarre event. I had been required to go to this for a class on franchising law I just happened to be taking.
I call the event bizarre because it was very funny. The speaker was a Southern gentleman in his mid-60s. He wore a bow tie and spoke for three hours about franchising law. He was so boring and his material was so dry and irrelevant to anything that I could scarcely believe I was still alive at the end of his presentation. The lawyer also seemed very bored by the subject matter he was delivering. In fact, there were several points where I had to hold myself back from laughing. Other members of my class reached a point where they were afraid to make eye contact with one another for fear they would also break into hysterics.
Incredibly, all of the local owners of the franchises who had been invited to this momentous event seemed to keep sitting up at attention the entire time and were the only ones (besides the law students) who made the effort to appear to really be interested what the speaker had to say. Over hors d’oeuvres at the break, I spoke with the owner of the local JaniClean franchise and another franchise owner and realized no one seemed to have any idea what this old lawyer was talking about. They all agreed, though, that he must really be an expert on the subject.
When the event ended, however, I watched as one audience member after another went up to the lawyer and told him they “enjoyed” his talk, asked him for a business card, and told him they wanted to discuss one issue or another related to their particular franchise with him. The lawyer must have picked up 10+ clients that day. Right then and there, I realized that something very significant had occurred. Just because the lawyer had spoken so much about his work, everyone presumed he was good at what he did and was eager to hire him for legal work.
If you want to get business, you need to talk about your work. People need to see you as an expert and believe you are very good at what you do. People need to believe they can turn to you for advice about what they are doing and also need to believe that you are enthusiastic about what you are doing.
When you think about it, the people you want to go to for assistance and turn to when you need help are most likely to be those who seem most excited about their work. You need to realize that sounding enthusiastic and being enthusiastic are likely to attract people to you. Writing articles is one example. Giving public talks is another.
Talking about your work goes deeper than simply writing articles or giving talks, however. Talking about your work means getting enthusiastic about your work with everyone you encounter. Talk about your work with people in your office. Talk about your work with your clients. Just keep talking!
The reason talking about your work is so important is that people tend to remember those who show enthusiasm regarding their work. This also goes for your peers. You want to be remembered by everyone you come into contact with as someone who enjoys his work.
Remember the example of the boring attorney I heard talk about franchising law a decade or more ago. Think about what would have happened with this attorney had he really been interesting! Here, he simply talked and got a lot of business. You need to speak to get business, too, and I urge you to speak a lot about what you do.
One of the most effective marketing lines I ever heard was “You can build a better mousetrap, but if the world does not know about it, they will beat a path right around your door.” People need to know you do what you do and they need to think you are enthusiastic about what you do. That is why restaurants and others put giant billboards on the highway, and some even put billboards saying such things as “Only 4 more exits until the best split pea soup in Ohio!!” Then, “Turn here for the best split pea soup in Ohio!!” People get enthusiastic about something as mundane as split pea soup because the restaurant talks about it! So too should you talk about your work.
When I was practicing law, I knew of at least a couple of attorneys who made up their hours, including a high-ranking partner in a law firm I worked in, which will go unnamed. I remember an associate working all weekend and completing an assignment at 7:00 a.m. after being up since Friday night, and then going to change and take a shower. When he returned a few hours later, he went into the office of a partner to discuss the assignment he had put on his chair that evening. The associate saw a timesheet that indicated the partner had assisted with the brief all weekend and was billing for 25 hours of time. The partner had not worked at all. Now from my standpoint, I am surely not likely to ever want to use this partner for any work.
The issue goes much deeper than this, however. If you are dishonest at all in your personal (or work-life) in the least, then this will get out. You are always being tested, whether it is in the store when the clerk gives you change or anywhere else. People want to deal with those who are honest. You want to be dealing with people who are honest as well. Your clients will ask people if you are honest, and they will give their “honest” opinion about you on most occasions.
Another example that comes to mind is the “partying” attorney who goes out with his clients for a wild substance-packed evening. No one wants an attorney who is out of control or does not handle himself in a good way at all times. Clients want attorneys who are likely to do the best work possible and make clear decisions.
When you examine most organizations that are very successful and have been around for a long time, it is easy to see that they tend to look for “steady” people who are not particularly mercurial and seem quite competent. This is something that is needed at all companies. Companies look for this because they need reliable people to run their businesses successfully.
You need to act and behave at all times as you would want your attorney to act and behave.
If you are interested in the work you are doing, you will also have the tendency to seek out others and provide them advice. People will also be more receptive to your advice because they will realize you are interested in what you are doing and care about what you are talking about.
When you are interested in others and their legal issues, you will develop a mindset prompting you to do your best to speak with others when stuff comes up that you can assist with. You will also do your best to listen and take the time to understand what other people’s problems are.
Very few attorneys are good at understanding others’ problems or even know how to do so. When you take the time to listen and ensure that you understand where people are coming from, they will be grateful. In addition, when you take the time to understand what others’ problems are, they will feel invested in you. When others feel invested in you, they want to work with you more closely.
I remember a few years ago when I was speaking with a firm outside of the law (a branding firm) about doing some work for one of my companies. At that point, I had two bids and both were roughly the same price of $250,000. The company that was my first choice was invited to come to my office and meet with me. I had several concerns I wanted to speak about. I never really got the opportunity to speak, though. What happened was the representative from this company spent all the time in our meeting speaking about what was important to him—the fact that his was a big company, the fact that it had done a lot of work for others in the past, the fact that the company had good employees. He never gave me the opportunity to say a single thing about what was important to me. Due to this, I ended up not using the company.
When you think about it, the people who are most interesting to us and who are the people we like the most are those who show the most interest in us. When you are interested in other people, you make them feel acknowledged and understood. Being interested in other people also makes them believe you are interesting (even if you are not!). Being interested in other people is crucial to being a good business generator.
A final point is that attorneys are there to serve others. The more you learn about your clients and potential clients, the better you will be able to potentially serve them. Learn everything you can about your clients and potential clients to serve them better. The more you know, the more you can assist them or offer your assistance, the more potential work and business you will have.
5. Lawyers Who Want to Get Business Need to Get Out and Form Relationships
If you do not know how to get clients as a lawyer, you need to start somewhere. In order to get business as an attorney, you need to get out and meet people and expand your comfort zone. You need to learn how to break down the boundaries of formality and form relationships with people outside your immediate influence.
If you are a young associate, remember it will be very difficult to ever build a book of business (you still can, but it will be more difficult) if the only people you know are those you are meeting through work. You must get out and meet people outside of work. This means going to events where attorneys are likely to be, but it also means going to events where you are likely to stand out because you are an attorney.
There are millions of potential social situations you can inject yourself into. It is important that you get involved in as many social situations outside of work as you possibly can. This networking will give you the ability to meet new people and connect. These people may have the ability to refer relationships to you or they may not. If you do not start to form relationships, however, then you will not be someone who can get business in the first place. Get out and form relationships!
6. Lawyers Who Specialize Get More Business Than Those Who Do Not
You need to specialize. An attorney with a certain specialty is likely to get more work in the same specialty when it becomes available. People will simply refer clients to an attorney specializing.
There are many ways to do this.
If you specialize in litigation, that is a start.
If you specialize in representing manufacturers of disposable lighters that are defective and injure people, that is probably even better.
As an attorney, you need to also put on your marketing hat. Being a good marketer means being seen and being easily found for one thing or another when people need your service. If you are good at what you do and are specialized, then people will find you.
There was a period around 1997 through the middle of 2000 when seemingly anyone with a decent idea could make some money on the Internet. This was called a period of Internet “land grabbing” and some people were making great sums of money. At the same time, others trying to make big money off the Internet were “losing” great sums of it. What is interesting to examine, however, is those who actually were making money.
Many of them were doing so by setting up small businesses on the Internet selling simple specialized products. They were selling birdcages, they were selling replacement batteries for cell phones, they were selling cases for Palm Pilots and other similar knickknacks. The reason people selling these things were making money in these early days of the Internet is due to the fact that they were the ones being found when there was a need for a particular product. Think about it: If you need a birdcage and searched for a person selling birdcages, you would want to use the person who appeared to be an expert on birdcages. In fact, this might be the only person you need.
If you need an attorney to help you with the regulations of franchise law, then you are likely to use the one who appears to be an expert in franchising, especially if there is only one attorney in your area doing this.
The specialist usually gets the business. If you want to get work, then figure out how to make yourself and your practice seem as specialized as possible.
7. Attorneys Need to Be Familiar to Others to Get Business and Clients
In order for people to do business with you and choose you as their attorney, you are going to need to be familiar—very familiar. This means phone calls on people’s birthdays. This means frequent letter updates. This means forwarding articles of interest. This means going out of your way to let people know you are there.
It does not take a ton of effort to let people know you are there. In order to let people know you are there, it is important to make contact with them as much as possible.
When I was a young attorney, I was so eager to get clients and gain business that I sought out the motivational guru for attorneys looking to get business. His entire process involved having people write down the names of everyone they knew and making contact with them consistently. Through this method, it was believed that you could get lots of work. Making sure people know who you are is essential. Some years later, I read a book called The Referral of a Lifetime, which focuses on a similar system (this book is very good, and I recommend it highly. It will help you get clients).
If you are going to get business, you need to be familiar. Once you get clients, you also need to stay and be familiar. Be familiar!
8. Still Don't Know How to Get Business as an Attorney? You Need to Study Marketing
Read articles and books about marketing. Go to a marketing seminar. Pick topics that interest you. Get interested in this subject matter as much as you can.
I constantly recommend people study marketing in a way that suits them. Only read the stuff about marketing you are interested in. The more you study marketing, the better you will become at it. Every form of marketing can translate into the world of getting legal clients. If you read about copywriting, this may assist you with writing letters to get clients. Learn and study marketing. The effort you put into studying marketing is likely to offer returns greater than the time you put in.
One big client (or several) can change your life and your entire practice of law. You need to implement a strategy in which you are resilient and always looking for clients. Just because you do not think you are good at marketing does not mean you are not good at marketing. Some of the attorneys with the most business are the biggest nerds and/or social misfits you will ever meet. Some of the attorneys with the most business are also the most introverted. In order to get business, however, you are going to need to do something because if you do not start somewhere, you will be nowhere. You are also going to need to not give up. Some relationships can take years to develop. If you try one strategy and it does not work, then try another.
At the highest level, attorneys who are good business generators may hardly practice law at all. The proverbial retired senator or judge may be used more for his name recognition and business-generating ability than for his desire or ability to practice law.
I want to bring up a point that is rather disturbing and one I hope will change your life. When I first became a legal recruiter and became known as a very good one, I started getting an inordinate amount of calls and requests for meeting with partners of law firms who wanted to move. In order for a legal recruiter to place a partner, the partner generally needs to have enough business to sustain himself (generally around 3-4 times his anticipated salary) and a long history of having a large amount of business. Therefore, a partner making $300,000 a year will need to have $1,000,000 in business in most cases. This is just the way it is.
Every day, partners with no or very little business at law firms all over the United States are calling BCG Attorney Search looking for new jobs. Privately, BCG Attorney Search recruiters could tell each other the names of partners with no business at firms throughout the cities they practice in. In the majority of cases, these partners are eventually told they need to be out of the firm in six months to a year. The consequences can be dramatic and painful. Because I have seen the results of this, and it is so sad that it has affected me personally, I actually started numerous other companies besides BCG Attorney Search to help attorneys get jobs.
The point I want to make is that if you do not work hard to generate great amounts of business, you will be at the mercy of your firm for your entire career. It can pay you what it wants to, and it can let you go if it wants to. And when a firm lets a partner go with no business, the partner often has few options because most firms only want to hire partners with books of business. Going in-house is not always easy either.
You might as well know that the most important thing you can do as an attorney for your career is to develop a lot of business. Your life and happiness in your career will largely depend on this. If you do not do this, then you will eventually, somewhere down the road, find yourself in very serious trouble or simply exploited and at the mercy of your employer into your retirement.
Get business. Follow the advice in this article about how to get business as an attorney and study my other articles referred to in this article. A successful career depends on this.
Harrison Barnes does a weekly free webinar with live Q&A for attorneys and law students each Wednesday at 10:00 am PST. You can attend anonymously and ask questions about your career, this article, or any other legal career-related topics. You can sign up for the weekly webinar here: Register on Zoom
Harrison also does a weekly free webinar with live Q&A for law firms, companies, and others who hire attorneys each Wednesday at 10:00 am PST. You can sign up for the weekly webinar here: Register on Zoom
You can browse a list of past webinars here: Webinar Replays
Harrison Barnes is the legal profession's mentor and may be the only person in your legal career who will tell you why you are not reaching your full potential and what you really need to do to grow as an attorney--regardless of how much it hurts. If you prefer truth to stagnation, growth to comfort, and actionable ideas instead of fluffy concepts, you and Harrison will get along just fine. If, however, you want to stay where you are, talk about your past successes, and feel comfortable, Harrison is not for you.
Truly great mentors are like parents, doctors, therapists, spiritual figures, and others because in order to help you they need to expose you to pain and expose your weaknesses. But suppose you act on the advice and pain created by a mentor. In that case, you will become better: a better attorney, better employees, a better boss, know where you are going, and appreciate where you have been--you will hopefully also become a happier and better person. As you learn from Harrison, he hopes he will become your mentor.
Hi, I'm Harrison Barnes. I'm serious about improving Lawyers' legal careers. My only question is, will it be yours?
About Harrison Barnes
Harrison is the founder of BCG Attorney Search and several companies in the legal employment space that collectively gets thousands of attorneys jobs each year. Harrison is widely considered the most successful recruiter in the United States and personally places multiple attorneys most weeks. His articles on legal search and placement are read by attorneys, law students and others millions of times per year.
We've changed thousands of lives over the past 20 years, and yours could be next.
When you use BCG Attorney Search you will get an unfair advantage because you will use the best legal placement company in the world for finding permanent law firm positions.
