How to Start a Law Firm

Starting a Law Firm | Hiring Another Lawyer

2012-01-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

Just like I told you all a few weeks ago, I have hired my first associate attorney! This blog is quickly going from the "how to start a law firm" category to the "how to sustain and grow a law firm" category. But that's okay. There will always be a ton of information here that someone can use when they want to start a law firm. They might just need to go back and read from the beginning to see exactly what's going on.

Here's how this new associate hiring went down. I finally broke down and saw that I needed some help. I want to pursue this more, I want to focus more on running the law firm and making sure everything works smoothly within it, and I couldn't do that with all of the legal work that we were starting to get (this month has been our best month by far). I realized that the cost of an associate would be more than offset by the value I could bring elsewhere - in other words, an associate attorney would more than pay for themselves.

The Process of Hiring an Associate Attorney

For me, the process was pretty straight forward. First, I put an ad out with the local law schools for the position. Not only do new law school students see this information, but their alumni and others that subscribe see it to. This was my posting:

We are looking for an associate attorney to join our criminal defense practice. We're a young group but an energetic one. We're looking for someone excited about criminal defense (and DUI defense in particular) with a strong work ethic, strong attention to detail, and a competitive fire. You've also got to have a car you can drive (there are many court appearances to go to).

Good things about this job - (1) you'll get a lot of experience; (2) you'll work in a fun environment; (3) you'll be pushed; (4) there's will be a lot of opportunity for growth.

Bad things about this job - (1) at the beginning, the pay will suck.

If you're interested please send a cover letter, resume, transcript, and short writing sample (5 pages or less). In the cover letter, tell me these three things; why you're interested in criminal defense; why you're better than everyone else; and what your favorite sports team is.

As you might expect, it's a little out of the ordinary. But I didn't just want an ordinary attorney - I wanted someone better than that. And that's exactly what I got.

My new associate started this week. He's hitting the ground running, is pumped to be here, and I think has been enjoying it so far. As he gets more and more comfortable here and with our cases, I think he's going to like it even more.

I know, I know, you all want to know what I'm paying him and all that stuff. Well, I'm not going to tell you. It's none of your business!

I'm kidding, it's kind of your business because I've come here and shared so much with you. Here's what I'll tell you about the pay - it's set up so that the salary is low. Very low. But, there is the opportunity to make more money, a performance bonus if you will, based on the number of people that sign up. More people sign up, he makes more money. The sky is the limit as far as that is concerned. That's all you get to know about that.

The Interview Process

After I checked the people out, I set up an interview with the five or so people that I thought were the best candidates - ended up being 3 guys and 2 gals. I gave them each an hour and brought them into the office, sat them down, and chatted them up.

For these interviews I wanted the pace to a lot more conversational than I'd done in the past. If you're a criminal defense attorney you need to be able to think on your feet, to show a little passion every now and then, and to really sell yourself. So I tried to ask questions that allowed people to show me that. Some did, some didn't.

After the interview it came down to two candidates, and both were very well qualified. The decision at the end of the day just came down the person that I thought was the best fit for the firm (which is what I tell people to do when they are choosing a lawyer).

Getting Ready for the Associate

One of the major things about hiring a new attorney is that the processes really need to be more streamlined, written down, and adhered to. When it was just me, it was easy to kind of keep a list of to-dos in my head and then just coordinate that stuff with my assistant. With another attorney in the mix, it's important that we all rely on the systems in place to keep track of what's going on so nothing is missed, or things aren't done twice. For us, that started with the weekly planning meeting to make sure we all know what we're supposed to be doing.

The weekly meeting is pretty straightforward. We have all of our open cases in a spreadsheet, we figure out what we need to do next on the cases, and sometimes we note the thing that needs to be done after that, and then we get to work for the week. The next week, we figure out what's been done, and move on to the next thing after that. We keep track of what we're doing in that spreadsheet (we all have access to it and can cross stuff off when it's done), highrise, which is where our cases are managed, and just the open lines of communication.

Okay, gotta run. More to come on this later. I know you all have questions! Ask them! I'd love to talk to you.

More on the horizon. More to come. Looking forward to this year - it's going to be epic!

Oh, and, by the way, been doing some crazy good stuff with the search engine stuff for the people that signed up. Going to talk about that over at my law firm marketing blog. Go check it out.

The One Thing You Need to Start a Successful Law Firm

2012-01-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

Before I get started I want to let you know that I've got some pretty big plans for this blog and my law firm marketing blog this year. If everything goes the way I think it will, I'm going to be posting here more often. If you like what I'm saying, and want to make sure you don't miss anything, make sure you subscribe to my feed. That way whenever I post anything you'll automatically get it.

The One Thing You Need to Have a Successful Law Firm

Although I've got a bunch of new stuff I want to talk about, and a bunch of new stuff I want to use this year (think the book - finally, video posts, podcasts, interviews, and more interactive things like that), I got a reader comment this week that I've been wanting to talk about, as it gets to the essence of starting a law firm and what it really takes to be successful.

Here's the comment:

One attorney that I read stated that really all a lawyer needs to start his or her own firm is a computer, phone, fax, and business card. Is there anything that you would add to or subtract from that?

My answer is, yes, there is definitely something I would add to that. It's probably the thing that's going to make the difference in the success of your law firm.

One of the great and terrible things about starting a law firm is all of the decisions you get to make. What type of computer to get. Should you get a scanner? Should you get embossed business cards? What's the best phone system to use? Should you have a virtual office or a brick and mortar place? The possibilities are endless. And endless possibilities are safe.

If you let yourself, you can spend months making all of these decisions. The thing is, though, at the end of the day, none of that matters.

IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL LAW FIRM, YOU NEED TO HAVE A PLAN.

That's really all you need. A plan. You need to have a plan for the type of firm you want to have (what type of law do you want to practice, and if it's more than three areas, you need to rethink it). You need to have a plan for how you are going to handle clients from start to finish. And most importantly, you need to have a plan to get clients.

Let me repeat - you need to have a plan to get clients.

If you don't have that, you don't need anything else. And until you have that, you don't need to worry about anything else. So, my advice to you, today, is to stop thinking about what kind of computer you need or what kind of phone system you want or what kind of business cards you should get. Instead, sit down, and think about these things:

1. What kind of law do I want to practice?

2. Who are my ideal clients for this type of practice (be as specific as possible)?

3. Where are these ideal clients at? I.e. how can I get in front of them?

4. What am I going to do to get in front of them?

5. What am I going to say once I get in front them (what's my value proposition)?

Answer those questions and execute the answers and you'll have a successful law firm.

As always, thoughts, comments, and questions are welcome. The more you talk, the more discussion we have, the more we all benefit. Don't be shy!

Starting a Law Firm | Experience Requirements and Dealing with Haters

2012-01-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here we are again with our weekly blog post about starting a successful law firm. The first week of 2012 is upon us, and I hope through 4 days everyone has held firm with their New Years resolutions! Studies show it takes 28 days to form a habit, so, if you've kept it up so far you only have 24 more days to go until that positive action is ingrained in your soul.

I received a few comments on last weeks post and I mentioned that I'd answer one of them as the blog post here this week (there's plenty to be said on the subject). Here's the comment:

First of all, thank you for blog - it has given me much inspiration and motivation over the past few months as I have started to plan the move to go out on my own. My goal for 2012 is/was to "open shop" hopefully around the middle of the year.

The reason I say "was" is that I have quite a lot of negative feedback from other lawyers about going out on my own so early. By mid 2012 I will have been practicing for two years (in Australia we can only practice law in a supervised position for the first two years). Prior to admission I was a legal secretary for two years. From my research (albeit limited) it does seem most Australian lawyers have significantly more experience before going solo.

So my question twofold - how much/what kind of experience do you think you need as a minimum? And how much credence should you give to the naysaying peers and colleagues?

And here's my answer.

How Much Experience do You Need to Start a Law Firm?

You're going to hate my answer to this one, because the answer is I don't know. It depends. Some people (and practice areas) require a little more experience and some don't.

Not good enough? Okay. Here's what I think. Do you need experience to get going? No. You need a law license to practice law. Is it a good idea? Sure, if you can get it. Are there other ways of getting experience other than working for someone else? Yes there are. You just have to decide what is best for you.

Before I really get going anywhere on this topic though, I want to say one thing. Never ask a lawyer if you want to do anything that involves risk. They are never going to go for it. Most lawyers enjoy being on the sidelines, watching the action and judging it from afar. The idea of actually being a player scares them to death. In reality, it doesn't matter how much experience, or money, or clients, or anything you have - they are going to be hesitant about starting a business. The great thing about trying something is that if you fail you get to keep trying.

Our ethical rules require us to provide zealous, competent representation. Competency can be acquired via experience. It can also be acquired by observing, by reading, by practicing, and by mentoring. Find some people that you respect as attorneys and start talking to them. Find out when they have things going on that you can watch. Find out what their cases are, go down to the courthouse, and get copies of their briefs (and the other side's briefs) and read them. When those briefs cite cases, go read those cases.

It's impossible to know how much experience you specifically need. It's different for everyone. No matter who you are or how long you've been practicing, don't ever be afraid to ask dumb questions to people who know the answers. Better to look dumb behind closed doors than in a courtroom.

How Much Credence Should You Give to Naysaying Colleagues?

The answer, not surprisingly is, it depends. But most of the time it's "none." There are certain people that I admire and trust, that know me well, not only from a legal perspective but from a personal perspective. It's those people that I would at least listen to if they had some opinions on the career choices I was going to make. Everyone else I would just smile at and dismiss.

The fact is, as a society we hate to see people succeed. As you look through the news, there are very rarely stories about people succeeding. Most stories are about successful people that have done something wrong to fall from grace. I think as humans it just makes us feel better to have confirmation that no one is perfect.

When you start this law firm you are going to have a lot of people tell you you aren't going to be successful. Some of those people actually think that to be the case. If they present you with some specific information related to that opinion, listen to it, and then plan accordingly to avoid that problem. Most of those people, though are in reality envious or jealous of you. They may have no desire whatsoever to start a law firm, but seeing someone with the guts to take a chance on an unknown is depressing for some, since they know deep down they'll never ever do anything like in their life (whether it's related to work or hobbies or love - they'll always do the safe thing).

I hope you decide to open your law firm. I hope you sit down and think and plan before you do so (job number one - figure out how to get clients). And when you open I hope you stick with it and create an extremely successful business.

Questions and Comments Welcome

I know you have thoughts about this. Please share. I know you have other questions. Please share.

Have a great weekend.

Profits or Growth? | Lessons from Monopoly | 2012 Goals

2011-12-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

Well, we've finally reached the end of 2011, and I must say it was a pretty good year. The business is humming right along, family life is good, and there's only sunshine on the horizon. But enough looking back, let's look forward.

As you can see from the title of this post, I've got a few things I want to talk about today related to starting a law firm. The first is whether or not you should be working toward profits or growth. The second is a lesson I learned from Monopoly this last week while I was at home visiting family. The third is a true breakdown of my professional goals for this coming year.

Profits or Growth

I read a lot of stuff. I read books, I read magazines, I read articles on the internet, and I read blogs. One of the blogs I read is called "A VC." It's written by a guy who's a venture capitalist in New York. As you might guess, this is one of the business blogs that I read.

The other day I was scanning through my blog reader when I came upon a post on A VC called "Profitable: To Be or Not to Be?" It was a great read and it got me thinking a lot about my law firm and the decisions I need to make moving forward to get to where I want to go. You can read the post here.

The paragraph that got me thinking was this one:

Many high growth companies can be profitable. They have enough revenue to cover their essential costs and could easily decide to show a profitable income statement. But they don't make that choice. Instead they invest heavily in the business with the expectations that those investments will produce more revenue (by hiring salespeople), or additional products (by hiring engineers and product managers), or additional geographies (by hiring an international team), or any number of other value enhancing aspects of the business. The result of that decision is that the business loses money or simply breaks even (I prefer the latter approach)

Sure, it's geared toward high growth companies and larger companies, but it also applies to businesses like yours and mine. At some point hopefully the money we are bringing in is more than the money that is going out. At that point we have a decision to make: do we put the money in our pockets or do we put the money back into our business?

Now, I know it's not an either/or decision. The answer is probably a little bit of both. But you can definitely skew that one way or the other depending on what your business philosophy is. The important point I'm trying to make here, I guess, is that whichever way you decide to go, make sure that it's at least a conscious decision. If you take all of the money out of your firm you're going to feel like you're spinning your wheels when it comes to growth. If you leave it all in you may feel like the business isn't reaching its true potential (because you're broke).

What's my philosophy? We're going to talk about that next.

Lessons Learned from Monopoly

I love the game of Monopoly. I've been playing it for about as long as I can count money. What I love about monopoly is that it has rules, but those rules include the ability to negotiate just about anything you want. It's kind of like real life in business - if you can get someone to take your offer, then you've got a deal.

Although I love the game of Monopoly a lot, I don't actually get to play it that much. First, it takes forever to finish a game. Second, there just aren't a lot of people around that really want to play. But, over the Christmas holiday, I found a few willing players, and I learned (or was reminded of) some great concepts related to starting a law firm, including the idea of growth or profits. I'm not going to tell you who won the game, because it's not important. But I will tell you I had a blast playing.

The game started out like many games do - everyone is trying to grab as much property as they can, hoping to either get enough properties of one color to expand, or to put together a portfolio big enough to make some deals and then expand. Over time it worked out where one player had all of the railroads and utilities plus Park Place and Boardwalk, the two most expensive properties on the board. One player had many different properties spread throughout the board, including one entire side of the board (minus the railroad, utility and chance spots), one had two properties on opposite sides of the board, and one didn't have much (worst luck rolling the dice I've ever seen).

At this point people have options on what they want to do. They can try to get more properties from people, the can expand their existing properties, or they can do nothing. We'll call the first two growth strategies and the last one a profit strategy. For about an hour I was probably in the profit strategy camp. I'd just go around the board biding my time, hoping to put together enough money to someday expand my existing properties. I wasn't active at all. But I stopped that once I saw what was happening as a result of that - I was spinning my wheels.

I wasn't losing money, but I wasn't really making that much either. People would land on my properties and pay but then I'd land on one of theirs and have to pay. Sort of the same way you get money in from clients and then have to pay it out to vendors or for other expenses. It was frustrating for me because I was eager to get ahead of the game but I just couldn't.

It took me an hour to realize I'd been employing the wrong philosophy.

After that hour I started investing my money in growth. When I had extra money, I bought a house or put up a hotel. There was some worry about landing on Park Place or Boardwalk and having to pay a big rent (incurring an unexpected large expense) but it happened so rarely that I had enough money to take care of it. And if I didn't then I knew I could leverage some of my property to take care of it (credit card - line of credit). All of a sudden my profits started soaring. By putting the money back into the business, in places that yielded good returns, I was the benefactor of those returns. A little aggressiveness went a long way.

It was during that game (and later while reading a book I'll talk about later) that I realized I needed to employ some of this in real life. I'm a growth guy. I want this business to grow, and the best way to do that is by reinvesting in the business, by being aggressive in specific, calculated ways that I'm confident will help increase business (yes I'm talking about law firm marketing, but I'm also talking about other things).

Which brings me to my goals for 2012.

Goals for 2012

I know I've already talked about some of my law firm goals for 2012, but they were really just fly by the seat of pants. These are still kind of just coming out of my brain as I type, but I'm going to try to break them down a little bit more.

1. Gross Revenue of $300,000

I think in my last goal projection this number was higher, but this I think is a good goal for the year. It's $50,000 higher than my goal for 2011 and a little bit more than that for actual increase.

Breaking that down I need to make $25,000 a month. Just looking at that it seems like quite a bit of money. But, in reality, it's only about 8 cases a month (2/week). That's only a slight increase over what I'm doing now.

2. Hire an Associate in January

This is where that "growth" strategy comes into play. Right now I'm simply wasting too much time going from courthouse to courthouse doing the procedural dance that is a DUI defense practice. I need someone to come on board that can not only cover those hearings but learn DUI defense from the ground up. I need to invest in the future of the firm.

This is not just a 2012 goal but a January 2012 goal. I plan on posting the job tomorrow on the law school job listserves and see what's out there. There's no reason to put it off anymore. Once I get someone helping me out I can devote more time to reaching goal number 1.

3. Join Toastmasters

Yes, I know, this was a goal for 2011. I don't have any excuses for not making it happen. It just didn't. But it is this year.

Why? You might be asking? Simple - communication is the lifeblood of my work. If I can't effectively communicate, particularly through the spoken word (think jury trial) then I'm not going to get the results I want. Toastmasters helps you work on those skills.

4. Redesign My Websites into a Coherent Whole

This one speaks for itself. My websites right now don't share the same message. That needs to change. I've already started working on it, but I want everything to be set in place so no matter which one of my websites you land on you're getting the same message (that we'll do whatever we can to win your case).

5. Satellite Offices in Nearby Cities

For the last year I've been expanding my internet presence by spidering out to the surrounding communities. For example, if I'd started with Salt Lake City DUI attorney or Houston Criminal attorney, I'd now be focusing on West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, or Missouri City, Pasadena, Aldine, or Sugar Land. But now that I have an internet presence there I need to have a satellite office there - a physical address I can use to meet clients, conduct meetings, and put on my website. So I'm going to do that. I think I've got one place I can use for super cheap, and finding another shouldn't be too hard. As I expand in other ways I'll add satellite offices there too.

6. Finish the Office Design to Project Our Core Values

In a business like ours, first impressions mean a lot. There are at least 10 other people out there competing with you for business, no matter what city you're in, and if you don't make people feel safe and exude a sense of confidence you are not going to win those potential client battles.

One way to do this is to have an office set up that projects what you are selling. You are successful or will be successful, so make it look that way. Make sure your office is clean. Make sure it is well lit. Make sure your artwork projects the feelings you want it to. Make sure your office set up makes sense.

Right now my office looks nice, but it could be so much better. I'm going to stop thinking about it and start doing some things to change it up. And I'm going to do them sooner rather than later.

Okay, that's it for goals for 2012. What do you think? What do you think about growth versus profits? What do you think about Monopoly? What are your goals for 2012? Let's talk about it. Send me a message in the comments.

Starting a Law Firm | "The Flinch" Review, and What Makes Me Flinch, Among Other Things

2011-12-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

Update to this post before it's even posted - I wrote it about 10 days ago - doesn't make it any less relevant, just means I'm not actually in a plane right now

Right now I'm sitting in an airplane at thirty-five thousand feet or so, headed from Seattle to New York. I've never been to New York before (can you believe that?!) but I guess this is as good a time as any to go. The University of Washington is playing Duke in basketball on Saturday in Madison Square Garden. I plan on being there. But it's not all fun and games. The plane ride, though a direct flight, has given me five or so hours to get to work. And you are one of the lucky beneficiaries.

I'm not going to answer any questions about starting a law firm or marketing a law firm because I don't have access to the internet. Yes, the plane has wifi, but I don't want it - it's amazing how much work you can get done when you don't have an internet connection.

But I haven't been working the entire time - I've been reading too. Today I happened upon a book called, I think "The Flinch." It's a free book you find on Amazon. I was directed there by Jonathan Fields, a writer and blogger that always has something interesting to say. He recommended "Flinch," it was free, so I uploaded it to the handy iPhone to read when I had some spare time (i.e. train ride to the airport and waiting to board the plane). It's a short book, and I've already read it, so I thought I'd review it.

The Flinch | A Book Review

"The Flinch" by Julien Smith, is a motivational book. The purpose of the book is to get you to realize all of the things you are afraid of are dumb and to get over it, get out there in the world, and start mixing it up. It's a great book and really hit home for me.

The idea behind the book is that we all know what a flinch is. Someone acts like they are going to punch you or you think you are about to get hit by something, and you flinch - it's a recoil based on the fear of what is to come. This book points out a very eye opening fact - every day we flinch, we back of things we should do or want to do, because we are afraid of getting hit by some imaginary object (failure, ridicule, etc.).

Flinching, as the book so eloquently points out, is an instinctive reflext that used to have a lot of value, and has some value today. If you are actually in a dangerous situation, there's nothing better you can do than flinch. It protects your vital organs. It keeps you out of harms way. But there's a problem - we don't have many truly flinch inducing events in our lifetime. But the flinch reflex wants to act, so it finds situations where fear can be created, and it causes us to flinch.

The whole premise of the book, in short order, is to stop flinching. It's not going to hurt. You are going to survive.

My Own Flinches | Things to do Immediately

As I am wont to do, I thought I'd share some of my flinches right now.

1. Hiring an Associate

For me to get to where I need to go I need an associate. I need someone to do some of the technical work (lawyerly work) work so I can focus on other things (growing the law firm). But I'm scared because I'm concerned the person I'd hire wouldn't be good enough. That manifests itself in my constantly thinking and talking about finding help but never actually actively looking for any help.

2. Growing the SEO Business

I know I've talked about this a lot here, but I've got some skills that could really change the lives of the attorneys that want to to take advantage of that. But doing that means taking another chance, it means more work, it means hiring more people, and it means more chances to fail. No one likes to fail. I hate to fail. And, honestly, even though I know I won't fail at this, something inside of me is telling me to flinch, to hold back on this, for no rational reason.

But I'm going to fight the flinch. I'm going to get started on both of these things, today. And I'm going to make your life better (potentially) and I'm going to make my client's lives better.

This is all I've got for now. Read the book. Think about where you are flinching in your life. Then stop. Hop in the cold shower (read the book), make yourself uncomfortable. Start a law firm. Until you start doing that you can't reach all of your goals.

Starting a Law Firm | Thanksgiving Edition

2011-11-24T00:15:00.000-08:00

It is officially Thanksgiving, at least in Seattle. At 12:16 a.m., we've officially entered the day of thanks. Some would say this day of thanks is a slap in the face to the indigenous people of the United States. I get that. But for me, it's a day to eat great food, mingle with my family, and, this year at least, watch some decent football.

But it also means something else. It means I don't have any court tomorrow, or Friday for that matter. It also means that right now I am waiting for my pumpkin pie to finish cooking - that's what Thanksgiving is all about right - late night cooking? And it also means that I have the time to write a ridiculously long starting a law firm post. I'm going to try to answer the questions I could find, review a book, and talk about what's going on in my firm. If you're interested in reading a ridiculously long post, you're in luck!

Mark Cuban's Book Review | How to Win

I bought this book two days ago on amazon.com. It cost me 2.99. Did I learn anything from it? No. Would I buy it again? In a second. It's the type of book I love to read from a successful businessman - it gives at least a partial glimpse into not only what it took to come up with a successful idea but what it took to turn a successful idea into a successful business. Here's a spoiler alert - it takes a ton of freaking work.

If you like to read go out and buy this book. If you don't like to read, go out and buy this book. And then read it. It's a crash course on success. It reads like this:

1. Get an idea in your head;

2. Pursue said idea with passion;

3. Work your ass off;

4. When you think you've outworked everyone, work some more;

5. Rinse and repeat.

What you'll learn from Mark Cuban is what you'll learn if you read any successful person's manifesto on success - work hard, then work harder than anyone else and you'll succeed. Don't do that and you can be mediocre. You can skate by and be comfortable. But if you want to be great, you've got to go for it every day.

Bottom line, read the book. Okay, now on to other stuff.

What Am I Up To Re Starting My Law Firm?

No one ever really asks me this, so I thought I'd ask myself. I've got a couple of things in the works right now. Here's what's going on.

First things first, I'm looking to expand a little bit. I love being a lawyer. It's great. But one person can only do so much work. Two people can do at least twice as much work. Three people three times - you get the idea. In the past couple weeks I've formed an of counsel relationship with a colleague to take care of some of the cases that I know he's good in. And I'm looking for someone to help me out with my DUI case load. Know anyone that can help? Lemme know.

Second, I'm putting together a video for my website. This isn't going to be one of those boring "if you've reached this site you've been charged with a crime. Our law firm is super boring and looks like all the rest but you should hire us" type of stuff. Hopefully it will have some production value. Hopefully it will be interesting. I've got some video people working on it and we are planning on shooting next week.

Third, and finally, I'm tweaking the website again. The current design is okay, but it's just not right. And if it's just not right, then it's wrong. I've got a new designer helping me out and I think the new look is going to be amazing. It's pretty much finalized, so it should be rolling out soon. I think it does a much better job of promoting our message than what I've got now. Hopefully potential clients feel the same way!

Revenue Goals and Projections

This is a two-fer question. The first question I got was related to this year income projections - what was I projecting. The person was asking because they were curious and because they wanted to put it into context with what I was asking for for my search engine consulting business. The second question was where I got my goal number for 2012.

For 2011, I think I'm going to be somewhere above $200K and somewhere below $250K in gross revenue. That's the best I can give you right now. I do a terrible job of keeping track of exactly what's coming in month to month. I just did my quarterly taxes and I was close to $20K a month, which puts me in the realm of where I just said.

To put that into the context of my search engine business, what I'd be paying right now would be about $1,000 a month. But, now that the question's been asked, I think that's about to go up. The reason for that is several fold. First, I'm not even close to maximizing the potential clients I'm getting to my website (that's why I'm putting on a video and revamping my website). And even with my lack of success I'm still doing better than most. Second, that number just doesn't reflect the value I'm providing. $1K per month to make $20K? Someone's getting the short end of that stick and it's me. Third, and finally, you all had the chance to get in on this early and you balked. This is an exclusive offer - when you sign up you automatically freeze out the competition. That means this service is extremely valuable.

Okay, now onto my 2012 numbers. I just looked up what I think I said, and I think I said $350K. Someone wanted to know where I got that number from, so I'm going to tell you. Last year I thought $100K was unreachable, so I made it a goal. This year I thought $250K was unreachable, so I made it a goal. For 2012, $350K seems like a lot - it make me uncomfortable - that means it's a good sign I should go for it.

Wrapping it Up

The pie is done. I'm finally tired. I've probably bored you. Happy Thanksgiving. As always, if you have questions or comments, let me know.

Starting a Law Firm | Marketing a Law Firm

2011-11-11T10:12:00.001-08:00

I know I've talked about marketing a law firm many many times, but I just think it's something you can't talk about enough. I met with a guy yesterday who's just opened his practice up here in Seattle, and as I was talking with him I heard over and over what I'm sure many of you are saying when you have conversations with yourself.

Me: What are you doing for marketing?

Him: Not much. I've finally got a couple of paying cases so I'm just trying to work those up.

Me: (Sigh) You've got to come up with a plan to start getting clients. (I tell him what I do).

Him: Yeah, but I hate doing that stuff. It's not fun.

Me: I know it's not fun. But you know what is fun? Having clients to help is fun. Counting money is fun. You don't get to have fun without doing stuff that isn't fun.

Him: I guess...

I'm sorry if this isn't all roses and lollipops for you, but nothing ever is. You've got to be good at something, right? Some sport, some craft, something. Did you just start off good at it? No. And if you say you did you're lying to yourself - ask someone that saw you when you first started out and I bet they'll tell you you sucked.

One thing I'm good at is sports. I'd say I'm pretty good at basketball and okay at golf. But you know what? When I first started out I sucked at both. I had to practice for hundreds of hours at both before I was even mildly good. Think of this marketing work as your practice for being good at starting a law firm.

That's all I've got today for the come to Jesus hard knocks motivational speech. Now let's talk about marketing from a practical perspective.

Before You Start Your Law Firm Draft a Marketing Plan

If you don't do one other thing before you start your law firm draft a marketing plan. You can do it in an hour easily. Here's what you do:

1. Make a list of all the qualities your ideal client has;

2. Think of all the places that person hangs out;

3. Think of all the people that person talks to when they have the problem you can help them with;

4. Make a plan to create a presence in those places your ideal clients go and to create a relationship with the people they talk to;

5. Create a website - and make it not only functional but visually appealing;

6. Start letting people know what you do.

Easy, right? Fun? Not all of it, particularly if you're the "I want to practice law" type of personality. At some point in the day you're going to have to take off your lawyer hat and put on your business hat. It's just a fact.

Some New Marketing Things I'm Doing

Since we're talking about marketing I thought I'd tell you about some stuff that I'm doing to execute my marketing plan.

First, I'm adding an intro video to my website. No, it's not going to be your old stuffy traditional video (think something like this - without the long intro that makes you want to click away before you even hear what the guy has to say). I'm thinking something that's more along the lines of something like this (though obviously made for what I do - and this video is a breakdown of the video I'm talking about - watch the whole thing, you'll learn something, guaranteed). Do you see the difference in the way the videos make you feel? In this business, no matter what type of law you practice, the key to success is showing people not only that you're good at what you do but why they should choose you (and pay you more) than the hundred other attorneys out there doing the same thing.

Second, I'm revamping the website. The look is okay, and it's been working, but it isn't exactly what I want. I think it can be better. So I'm going to make it better. It isn't so much about changing the content (though some of that will be changed) but changing the feeling of the site. Right now it just feels a little too passive. I want people to feel like when they hire us they are getting a champion for their cause.

Third, and finally, I'm doing more to reach out to people physically. I'm sure I've talked about my bar owners plan on here several times, so hopefully you remember what that is. But I'm going to actually pursue that with the vigor that I have my online efforts.

The End of the Year is Near

It's already November. That means several things. First, the holidays are coming up, which is always fun. Second, and most importantly, it's time to start wrapping this business year up and start thinking about next year. It goal making time! I've been making some notes for possible goals for me next year, and you should be doing some of the same. Here are mine (these are both personal and professional - in my mind they are one and the same).

1. $350,000 gross revenue;

2. Get a new car;

3. Pay down current car by at least $10,000;

4. 5 clients in SEO work;

5. 4 trials;

6. Baby;

7. Hire an associate.

These goals are not finalized yet, but should give you an idea of what I'm thinking about. In all honesty, I think the goals aren't ambitious enough. But we'll see what the final ones look like.

Questions, comments? I'd love to hear them.

Steve Jobs' Biography and Starting a Law Firm | SEO Spot Available | Overcoming Fear

2011-11-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by the title of this post, this might turn out to be a long one. I've decided to go from two posts per week down to one, so the one per week could turn out to be longer than usual, if I have something to write about (which I do this week). If you don't like it, too bad. Just read the post slower to stretch it out over a week.

I'll give you a brief overview of what I'm going to write about in case you want to skip something or jump around. First, I just finished reading Steve Jobs' biography and I'm going to tell you what I thought about it and what lessons, if any, I plan on trying to take with me moving forward. Second, a spot has opened up for SEO services if anyone wants them. One of the people I was helping, though they'd just gotten on the first page of the search results for their term, decided they didn't have the funds to move forward. Bad for them, good for you. And finally, I'm going to talk about overcoming fear and getting out of the loop that we all find ourselves in from time to time. Here we go!

Starting a Law Firm and Steve Jobs | What You Can Learn

First things first, I'm not going to keep you in suspense - I thought the book was fantastic. As I'm sure you know this book is a full run through of Jobs' life, from start to finish, with everything in between. Although I don't know Steve Jobs, I believe the book is a good recitation of his life, and did a good job capturing who he was as a person and as a businessman. The author was instructed to include all the good and the bad that make Steve Jobs who he is, and that comes through. And included in that life story are a bunch of great lessons we can use to help our business moving forward.

This Book Shows You the Hard Work that Success Requires

One thing I love about this book is its refusal to gloss over the early years, the hard work, the late nights, and the sacrifice that are required to have a successful business. Too often authors decide to glamorize a company as some instant success, some sure thing, when in reality it's anything but that. Okay, now on to some things I thought were cool and interesting.

Differentiate Yourself with User Experience

As you begin to work on your practice and think about ways to get clients (you will spend a lot of time thinking of ways to get clients when you are starting your law firm and when you are growing your law firm) you'll soon come to realize that if you could just show other people what makes you so special then you'd be half of the way there.

One way to do that is to create the best experience out there for your clients from start to finish. And the best thing about this is that it's possible - you can control their experience from the moment they find you or are referred to you for the rest of their interaction with you. It just takes some thought, some planning, some attention to detail, and a commitment to stick to it. If you want, you can create an experience that makes it nearly impossible for a potential client to say no to your services.

Great Expectations Get Great Results

Throughout the book many different people talk about Jobs's "reality distortion field," or his ability to will project to succeed in ways people didn't think were possible. The way he would do it is, for the most part, tell the people working with him that the way he wanted it was the way it had to be, so if it was impossible right now, find a way to make it possible - and most of the time they did.

That lesson carries over to the practice of law in several ways, but for purposes of this blog it's the idea that it's okay to expect success - see the the outcome you want and then go work at it until you make it happen. If you give up before you even try you've already failed.

If You're Standing Still You're Moving Backward

Toward the end of the book Jobs mentions a couple of times reading a book called "The Innovator's Dilemma" which discusses successful company's tendency to languish in their success and miss what should be an obvious shift in the dynamics of their business (see Borders and Blockbuster for concrete examples). He never wanted that to happen to Apple so he was constantly looking for ways to innovate, to stay ahead of the curve. Those lessons can be applied to law firms as well.

No, I know we're not working against the newest technology, trying to find the next big thing, but there are changes to society, to the way we live, to the way we think, to the way we consume information, and to the way we look for lawyers that are dramatically different than they were ten years ago. If you aren't constantly looking around and adjusting your business plan to take advantage of these changes and adapt to these changes, you're going to find yourself at the back of the pack.

It's Important to have "A" Players on Your Team

On of Jobs's core beliefs was that "A" players get you "A" results and everybody else gets you crap. In Jobs's eyes, if you weren't an "A" player, you might as well be an "F" player. He got rid of several people because he just didn't think they were up for the job.

This lesson is maybe the most important lesson of all. The people who work for you, the people you work with, if they aren't the best, they're bringing your work product down. And, likewise, if you aren't bringing your best, you might as well be giving nothing.

Go read the book. You won't be disappointed.

SEO Spot Available

If you remember a while back I let all of you know that I was going to start doing some SEO work for law firms and lawyers that needed or wanted my help. I've had some great success with my own law firm and I wanted to pass the opportunity to get the exposure to potential clients that comes with organic search results on to other people.

I decided to take on two clients, because that's all I had time for. And I did. That was a few months ago. Today, one of them decided they couldn't afford my help anymore. This person, by the way, was already on the first page of Google for his desired keywords (it had been about 10 weeks, which is pretty darn fast). I don't think he had all of his ducks in a row and needed to take care of some other, more basic things first.

His loss is your gain. If you are interested, please email me and we'll chat. I will tell you though, the right person for this has at least one thing in place - a website. It doesn't have to be the best website, but it needs to be up, it needs to be functional, and you need to be willing to make a few minor tweaks to really make it pop. As I said, it can take a couple of months to take effect (and depending on the keywords it can take a little bit longer than that), but once you're up on the top of Google you've got priceless real estate, and that's going to be reflected in your bank account.

Email me if you're interested. If I don't hear any responses I'll ask some other colleagues I know that would be interested in the service.

UPDATE: Spot is filled. Thinking about expanding to add a couple more people - this service is just too important if you're starting out. I'll keep you posted

Starting a Law Firm and Overcoming Fear

If you read this blog at all then you know by now, two and half years into this gig, I consider myself to have moved out of the starting phase of law firm growth and into the growing stage of law firm growth. What that means for me is that if I wanted to tread water, if I wanted to just stand still, I probably could for a while, and I probably have been for a few months. Once you get to that point you have to start doing new things, start branching out, start spreading your wings - but that's scary.

Now, I'm not talking about going into a new practice area or anything like that. I'm a DUI lawyer, and that's what I'm always going to be. What I'm talking about is taking advantage of the marketing systems I already have set up and building additional layers on that to open up my services to more clients. These new layers, though, they're not just new, they're unfamiliar. They're scary.

But you've got to overcome that. That's the fun part of this entire experience - doing things that you probably never thought you'd do. And I'm doing that in three ways:

1. Recognize that the fear isn't rational, that it's made up in my mind.

2. Know that the worst that can happen is you fail - then you just go try it again.

3. Set up real deadlines with real consequences just in case you have a harder time with number 1 and number 2 than you anticipate.

So that's what I did. I had a meeting with my business coach today and we set a hard date to do a couple of things I know I should be doing. And if I don't make that date I'm going to take a $100 bill and burn it up.

The way I see it, I'm letting a lot more money leave my office every month than $100. That's a small price to pay, if necessary, to motivate me to do what I need to do to make my law firm better.

What should you be doing that you're afraid of? Get over it and get started.

Lead, Follow, or Get the F&*! Out of the Way

2011-10-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

I wish I'd come up with the title of this post, but I didn't. I stole it blatantly from "Both Sides of the Table" an entrepreneurship blog that I frequently read. I stole the title because I think it says everything that needs to be said on the subject (although I guess, not really, since I'm saying more about it right now). The post had some great insight into what we do as business owners that I thought I'd share on here.

Leadership Isn't Easy

Two paragraphs about leadership that I thought were great for us to think about:

It’s hard to be a real leader. To do that you need to be saying & doing what most people think is wrong. If you think you’re on to a really big idea and everybody else thinks so, too, then most likely it’s already conventional wisdom and you’re too late. When Steve Jobs decided to open retail Apple stores people thought he was crazy. When he launched the iPad many people were saying, “I don’t get it, it’s just a big iPhone” or similar.

Leaders need to be early, have conviction, be persuasive and get others to follow when rational people should not. And trust me, the world is FILLED with naysayers. Whether they succeed or not does not defeat their leadership and willingness to try.

I really like these two paragraphs because that's where I want to be with my firm. I want to revolutionize the practice of DUI defense. I want to change the way that things are done so that my clients get better results, so the cop's jobs are harder when they are out on the street, so innocent people aren't charged and forced to fight a DUI charge they never should have received.

It's easy to want that, but to actually go out and do it is an entirely different story. I've got some ideas for some things to do, but they are a bit controversial. At the end of the day my ideas center on educating the public before they find themselves in their car with flashing lights behind them. They also center on streamlining the DUI defense process so that all of my clients get the kind of representation they deserve (which often requires expert witnesses).

When it comes to just starting a law firm in general, there are always going to be naysayer. "You're going to do what?!" is a typical response from people. You've got to have some conviction for what you are doing, some drive to be better, and then you've got to go after that with passion. And remember, just because people think you're crazy doesn't mean you have a bad idea.

Being a Leader Means Getting Some Followers

Another great paragraph from the article on followers:

There truly aren’t many leaders. It’s a thankless and stressful job. And leaders aren’t always right of when they are they don’t always win. But in every team you need the majority of people who excel at their job functions. They are great at their respective fields whether they be marketing, sales, programming, PR, whatever. People in these job functions are also leaders – don’t get me wrong – but on each team you still need leaders & followers. You simply can’t have a team of people all pulling in different directions.

When you read that paragraph, it becomes clear that being a follower isn't a negative label. In any business you have certain roles to fill. Not everyone can be the person that directs the company in the future or is charge of the vision for the company. People need to be there to execute this vision. In the law firm context, this is your team.

When I first started, my team was me. I did everything. But, as I've become more successful I've begun to see the value in having people that can fulfill certain roles and fulfill them extremely well. For example, I don't do the books anymore - I have an accountant that handles that aspect of the business. Very soon I'm going to have someone acting as a CFO (not just for me but for others) to help direct me on the state of the firm from a cash flow and growth point of view. Just last night I talked to a new website guy who's also got a great background in marketing, website design (from a user standpoint), and website analytics. He's going to help me make sense of what I've got going on with my marketing. And obviously I've got my assistant, who keep the ship running.

The great thing about these people, these "followers" is that they are all able to be unleashed to fulfill their roles in great ways. All successful law firms have these roles to fill, and the more successful you are at filling those roles with people suited to those roles, the better off your business is going to be.

Get the F@$! Out of the Way

Here's his take on these type of people:

But too many people are “back benchers” – the people who are in the back of parliament and get to throw out their opinions in public time but aren’t having to lead. I learned early in life about the destructive nature of back benchers.

Throughout life I’ve realized that many people are back benchers. “That will never work” is their motto. They like to criticize but they don’t have strong ideas of their own. They “know” what’s wrong but they never do anything about it. They never lead. Yet they don’t follow.

When you spot people like that in your company you shoot them. If you wake up one day in any organization and you realize that you’re no longer “part of the solution” it’s time to get the fuck out of the way. This is especially true when you’re senior and too many people are looking at you or when your disbelief undermines the confidence of others.

In work I find nothing more irritating than people who always have their three critiques of your plan but never do anything themselves. I don’t hide it well. I have “get the fuck out of my way” written all over my forehead. It can be a weakness, sure. It makes me less of a politician. But I sleep better at night.

Here's the thing about criticism - I'm all for it. Critique my ideas. Tell me they suck. But if you tell me they suck, you better tell me why you think so and what you think will work better.

In some ways these are the people that fall back on the old "this is the way we've always done it" when new suggestions for things are made. I don't care how it's been done forever - maybe it's been done forever wrongly. If you have these people around you, get rid of them. They aren't giving anything to you, your business, or those around you.

I strongly urge you to check out the whole article, it's really good. And then get moving on your own company - there's always work to be done!

Starting a Law Firm | The Attributes of a Successful Entrepreneur

2011-10-20T09:40:00.001-07:00

I don't do this very often, so I don't feel bad about doing it today. I'm going to talk a little bit about a post I read on another blog, send you to that post, and then call it a day. It's a good enough post that it speaks for itself, and I've got other stuff to do today - for the most part, starting a law firm has nothing to do with this blog!

The article comes from a blog called "Both Sides of the Table." It's written by a guy who used to be an entrepreneur but who now owns a venture capital business (though I guess technically he's still an entrepreneur). He wrote a post entitled "Entrepreneur DNA" (the link takes you to the post where he listed out 12 qualities that make an entrepreneur. I wanted to just talk about a couple of them.

1. Tenacity

Right after listing this word, the author says:

The most important aspect of an entrepreneur is never being willing to give up.

Couldn't have said it better myself. There will be times when you will be challenged here. There will be times when it will be easy to give it up and go do something else. But if you really want to start a law firm you'll push through that.

2. Perspiration

At the end of the day, what's going to make your business a resounding success or a dismal flop is the amount of work you put into it. People don't just wake up one day with a million dollar practice. They bust their butt every day to build it. And you are going to have to do the same thing. If you want something easy, go work for a law firm, they'd love to have you. If you aren't willing to see a challenge in front of you, accept that challenge, and get to work on it, then starting a law firm probably isn't right for you.

3. Willingness to Accept Risk

This is probably the most important and the hardest one for lawyers to get over. From the first day of law school until we retire, we spend every waking day of our lives dealing with and trying to fix or defend the problems other people have created. We see time and time again how one minor error can result in utter destruction. And that scares us.

But if you want to be an entrepreneur, if you want to start a successful law firm, you've got to be willing to accept risk. This is how the author of the article puts it:

I'm not talking about crazy risks, but entrepreneurs are people who are willing to start a business on a leap of faith. They don't wait on the sidelines forever doing "side projects" until the day when they are ready to start a company. If you aren't willing to take a shot by going full time on your startup it tells investors you aren't confident enough in the idea or in yourself.

Scary, right? "Leap of faith" is a term lawyers don't often throw around. It's probably followed closely by "litigation." But if you want to start your law firm, you're going to have to step off that ledge and just go for it.

Go read the rest of the article. It's worth it. And tell me what you think the attributes are of someone that can successful start a law firm.

Building a Law Firm | The Next Steps

2011-10-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

I think the time has finally come to make the transition on this blog from starting a law firm to building a law firm. I'm two and half years into this wild ride and it's time to make the next step. What is that next step, you might be asking? Well, I'm about to tell you, and, in my mind right now, I think there are approximately four parts of the plan. As always, if you can think of more, let me know.

Step 1 - Online Marketing

If you've been reading this blog then you know I love online marketing. I'm actually helping a couple of you out to improve your own search engine ranking. But, as I've talked about here, it's not just about being able to get to the top of the search rankings. Once you're there, you've got to have the kind of message that resonates with people and gets them to call you. For me, that message needs to be tweaked. I'm not getting nearly the calls that I should from my website and I want to improve that.

Here are just a few statistics (taken from my Google Analytics account). The search numbers are going to be a little bit skewed, but they I think paint a realistic picture of what I'm working with.

In the last 30 days (from September 13 to October 13) I've had 351 visits to my DUI website. 304 of those visits were unique. Of those total visits, 696 pages were viewed, or 1.98 pages per visit. The average time spent on the site was 1 minute 42 seconds. The bounce rate is 65 percent, and 81 percent of the visits were new visits.

Of those visitors, 156 came from Google, 46 came from my main website (a click through), and 21 came from this blog (probably to just check it out). Seattle DUI attorney was used 24 times to get to the site, dui attorney seattle was used 22 times, dui attorney was used 12 time, dui lawyer was used 10 times, seattle dui lawyer was used 7 times, and bellevue dui lawyer was used 5 times.

Okay, so what does all of this mean?

In a nutshell, what it means is I'm getting about 80-100 visits to my web site each month from people that are looking for something to do with DUI attorney. I can tell you with certainty that I am not getting 80-100 potential calls per month. In fact, I'm getting a small fraction of that. That means something is wrong with my message. So, we need to tweak the message.

Here's what I plan to do in the next 30 days with my website:

1. Revamp the message so it's more powerful than it currently is;

2. Incorporate video on the front page, of me, explaining what we do and how we do it; and

3. Testing to see what works and what doesn't, and going from there.

And, although I gave you just he numbers for the DUI site, I plan to do these three things with all of my websites.

Step 2 - Offline Marketing

Right now my offline marketing is minimal. And there's one reason for that - it's outside of my comfort zone. No, I don't really have any problem meeting people and bullshitting with them, but I like to have a plan to make progress toward a specific goal. And I'm having trouble putting that together with my offline marketing.

At the end of the day I know there are a dearth of potential referral sources out there in the form of bail bondsman and those that work in the entertainment industry (I'm talking about bar owners and bar tenders, waitresses, etc. - get your head out of the gutter!). But I don't have a specific plan to reach out to them - until now.

Here's the plan for the bail bondsmen:

1. Reach out to the one's I know and the one's I see in court and take them out to coffee;

2. Find out who they refer business to and why;

3. Find out their primary means of getting them business;

4. Get their information and get them on our newsletter list;

5. Find out ways I can help them get new clients;

6. Set up a quarterly event for bail bondsmen to come and do something fun sponsored by the firm;

7. Become the person they refer business to.

That sounds like a pretty good plan, right?

Here's my bar owners plan:

1. Reach out to the bar owners I know (a couple);

2. Offer to do a presentation for them and their staff that is two parts. Part one is an overview of dram shop laws - what to do to keep the bar from getting sued. Part two is an overview on how to avoid a DUI conviction.

3. At each event get contact information of everyone present - add them to mailing list.

4. Sit down with bar owner after and ask if they like presentation - get them to set up my cards somewhere in their bar (preferably behind the bar for staff to hand out if the need arises);

5. Ask them to call two of their bar owner friends and tell them about this great presentation I did so I can do the same thing for them;

6. Rinse and repeat.

I'm sure there are some steps missing in between, because I'm doing this on the fly, but that's the gist of it. Doing that alone will increase my exposure to the market immensely, and will help me make some true connections with people out and about.

Step 3 - The "Building" Part

The "building" part of building a law firm includes the first two steps, but this is where the rubber meets the road. It's time to get some more people working for the firm.

Yep, that's right. It's time to expand. But, and you know this if you read this blog regularly, I've got some money issues (personally). I don't like to spend money needlessly, and I don't like the idea of taking on a full time associate (at least right now). So, what else is there to do (besides hiring an associate)? Glad you asked.

And, before I explain what I'm going to do, I wanted to give a shout out to RJon, my business coach (and resident law firm management guru), for talking through this with me. And, in case this all just sounds so easy to do and I make it sound like it's just been a joy ride to even come up with this plan, it hasn't been. This is a scary step for me. It's almost just as scary as opening up in the first place. I am taking another step into the unknown, and I'm a little intimidated by it, to be quite honest.

I've had this plan in my hands for at least 6 weeks. I've talked to several people about it, but I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on it. Well, now's the time to do it.

The plan is this - hire someone of counsel to take care of some of my cases. Yep, that's it. Pretty easy, right? My hang up, though, is that I don't want to lose any quality of representation. In the law, as you know, your reputation is everything. Mess up enough cases and people will start telling others how bad you are. I don't want that to happen with my new associate attorney.

And it won't because I've come up with a plan. Here it is:

1. Find a solo practitioner that is a good lawyer but could use some more work;

2. Check up on them to make sure they are as good as you think they are (licensed; no bar grievances of substance; know how to work a case; know how to handle themselves in court; etc.);

3. Get them on board to help you out with a case from time to time (help them understand that these cases have certain perks - they are guaranteed payment, they don't have to sign them up, they get to be true "lawyers" - all they have to do is abide by a few rules);

4. Next case that comes up give it to them as a test case;

5. Here are the ground rules: meet in my office or in court (not at their office); when correspond with client, done on our letterhead or via our email address; bi-weekly status reports to see what's been going on; all work on case logged in case management software;

6. If they suck, they don't get another case. If they do well, they get another case.

The advantage of this type of arrangement is the solo practitioner gets to keep pretty much all of their autonomy. I don't care when or how they do the work, just that it gets done and gets done well. The advantage for me is it frees up more of my time to work on building the business.

I'm already in the process of making a move on step three. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Okay, that's all for today. As always, your comments and questions are welcome. If you think I've left something out let me know. If you think one of my ideas is brilliant let me know. If you think one of my ideas is dumb keep it to yourself (just kidding - let me know). Until next time...

Marketing a Law Firm | Marketing Mailbag

2011-09-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I love Bill Simmons. If you don't know who he is, that's okay. He's just the greatest sports columnist of all time. Anyway, he does these mailbags every month or so where he posts real reader's emails and then responds to them. Because I'd love to be him, I'm going to do my own mailbag today. It's not going to be nearly as funny or entertaining, but you'll probably like it. Here we go.

Hello again,

I wrote the following email to you in July regarding my practice and never received any response. I would appreciate if you could read my story and get back to me. You regularly feature start up offices on your website and I was honestly surprised that my email was ignored.

I understand if it was just an oversight and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks,

Patrick, New York

I was debating for a long time whether or not I'd respond to this. I never sent an email back to this guy, because the first time I read it I was a little pissed off. Here's why. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I am not writing this blog for you. I am not here to meet your every whim and fancy. I am writing this for me. I like to talk about this stuff, and it's a great place for me to organize my thoughts and talk about a subject that interests me.

When I offered to do post start up stories here it was because I thought it would be interesting for everyone to read and see what others were doing. It was not to promote anyone's practice, nor was I obligated to post anyone's story. If you got your story posted, congratulations, you said something that I thought was cool. If not, try again. I promise you if you write something interesting, I'll post it here - if you don't believe me, use your second email as proof.

How is it going? I dont even know if you check this, so Ill keep it short. I read your entire SEO blog and I am trying to follow it as best as I can.

I am a criminal defense/immigration attorney in Houston. My website just went live 2 days ago and I have my blogs/articles set up. I read somewhere in your blog that I shouldnt start writing blogs (and backlinking) and articles (and backlinking) right away or else google will think something fishy is going on.

So should I stop? I have written 3 blogs in 3 days on each blog and I have submitted 1 article on goarticles. All of the blogs and the article have backlinks to my site. If I should stop....when is it ok to start up again? Thanks a ton! LOVED the blog!

Eric in Houston

See, this is the right way to ask a question. The tone here is completely different than the first question. But I digress. Here's the answer.

One post per day is great for your blogs, but for your own sake, you might want to slow it down a bit. What I'd suggest is two posts on your blog per week, and one article per day (Monday through Friday) linking to your blog and one linking to your website. What you don't want to do is have your site go live and then throw up 1000 links. If links were meant to be votes for your site, and you were some independent judge, wouldn't you think that was a little fishy? I would to.

So, you've got your posts done for this week, now go out and write some articles and link them back to your website and your blog. If you are going to err one way I would say more articles with links to your sites than articles on your sites.

I have a question about how you approach this keyword marketing. When you are targeting multiple keywords per site and doing 2 articles a day (4 keywords) how often do you use the same keyword? Twice a week? Once a week? I don’t want to use the same one everyday because I feel like it will have diminished returns, but I want to use it enough to boost my search ranking as fast as possible. What do you think? I am going to make a monthly spread sheet and mark off which words I use each day but I need to know how often to use each word.

Thanks and hope your practice is still going well.

Robert, Seattle.

Here's what I do. For each page (website or blog) you want to make a spreadsheet that lists five or six keywords that you want to target. For example, if you are doing criminal defense in Seattle you might think of Seattle criminal lawyer, Seattle criminal attorney, Seattle criminal attorneys, Seattle criminal lawyers, criminal attorney, and criminal lawyer. Every time you write an article and link to that page, make a note in your spreadsheet. If you cycle through those words every time you make a link you should be fine.

But I will tell you, when you are marketing your law firm on the internet it is important that you vary your keywords. You don't want to have a thousand Seattle DUI lawyer links and nothing else. That sounds weird to me and it sounds weird to Google.

And, one last note on a comment within the last question - "I want to boost my search ranking as fast as possible." This is not the mindset you should take into this. In many ways, SEO is a zen thing in that it will happen when it happens. All you can do is put the work in, keep your nose to the grindstone, and wait for the benefits to start rolling in. You have to take this approach because you have no idea how long it's going to take you to get where you want to go. If you are setting the timeline, you are likely going to be disappointed.

Okay, that's all for me. Have a great weekend. And again, thanks for all your emails, and thanks for reading!

Law Firm Marketing Book Review | Duct Tape Marketing

2011-09-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

Another day, another law firm marketing post. This time I want to talk about a book I haven't actually finished reading yet, though I'm about to, called Duct Tape Marketing. And, before I even get started, I want to again point out that I am not being paid to talk about this book. In fact, I had to buy it myself. But it's worth it. And in about 3 seconds, I'm going to tell you why.

Duct Tape Marketing is not a law firm marketing book. And that's why I like it. It's about marketing a small business in general, which is what we all do.

Right away the book makes a great point, one I think I've made on here several times - we are all in the business of marketing. If you aren't promoting yourself, no one will be. After you open up your firm do me a favor and wait by the phone to see if it starts ringing. It won't. And it will continue to be silent unless you do something about it.

What I really like about this book (and by the way, in case I don't say it, you should read this book - it's got a ton of helpful information) is that it's low on philosophy and high on tools to utilize in your practice. That's not to say you don't need the philosophical books (you do), but this is a great book to actually develop a marketing plan.

One of the most important lessons I hope you take from this book revolves around standing out from the crowd. In our profession, it's really difficult to differentiate yourself from everyone else. And it's impossible if you don't sit down and take some time and actually think about what it is you want to do.

For example, let's say I Google Houston criminal lawyer. You get 836,000 results. Now, that's probably about 200 law firms that claim to be practicing criminal defense. Go look at their websites. They all look the same. They all say they are aggressive and determined and experienced. Because they all say that it washes out with potential clients. You've got to climb over that hurdle and come up with a dynamic message that is going to cut through the usual clutter. Getting yourself to the top of the search engines for Houston criminal lawyer is a big part of the equation, but you're not going to make as much money as you should unless you connect with people once they get to your site.

Duct Tape Marketing (link isn't to book but to website) gives you a plan for figuring out how you are different. They give you at least three ways to drill down into what your law firm is all about to find what sets you apart from everyone else. And that's what I really like about it.

The other thing that's great about the book is the outline it gives you to set up a fully functioning marketing system with your practice. If you implement the items discussed in this book you'll have a leg up on everyone when it comes to website and advertising performance, generating referrals, and creating happy customers who love to talk about you. I can't wait to start implementing the suggestions in this book.

And remember, that's the important part. Reading the book is not enough. Take what you can from the books you read and actually make them a part of your practice. They say it takes about 28 days to make something a habit. Today's a great day to start day number one.

Have any of you read this book? Thoughts, comments, suggestions? I always look forward to hearing from you.

Why Now is the Right Time to Start a Law Firm

2011-09-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

Before I get too far, I want to tell you that we aren't doing the Mastermind on here with Anonymous. There was simply far too much information and far too much to get into. I shared some private email exchanges with them and hopefully they'll take the initiative to go out there and get a business coach (and if you don't like RJon go find someone else - he's not the only one out there).

Now, on to today's topic, "Why Now is the Right Time to Start a Law Firm." I'm going to let you in on a little secret, I do a lot of reading. Books and blogs are my two main vices. I read about all kinds of stuff. For example, right now I'm reading two books, one is about the formation and rise of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club, and the other is a book mixed with Eastern philosophy and business advice. But the post today was sparked by a blog post I read. I'm going to give you most of it here.

The blog is called "A VC: musings of a VC in NYC." In case you don't know, VC stands for venture capital. This guy invests in businesses. Here's his blog post, entitled "What's Going On?"

I talked to my mom yesterday. She was upset about the jobs situation and worried that Obama will not have any solutions when he addresses Congress on the issue this week. I'm worried about all of this too. But I have no illusions that Obama or anyone in government (including those who want Obama's job) can do much about it.

The most interesting piece in the New York Times yesterday was not David Carr's hatchet job on Mike Arrington. It was the piece about problems at the US Postal Service:
The post office’s problems stem from one hard reality: it is being squeezed on both revenue and costs. As any computer user knows, the Internet revolution has led to people and businesses sending far less conventional mail. At the same time, decades of contractual promises made to unionized workers, including no-layoff clauses, are increasing the post office’s costs. Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.
Right there you have in a microcosm the issue facing most developed economies, particularly western europe and the US. We are undergoing a big time technological revolution that is disrupting big industries and big companies all over the place. And many of these big companies (and societies) have in place huge entitlements that make it impossible to operate them profitably.

The US Postal Service story is not a unique situation. It is the situation. And we are going to be living with this situation for many years to come. We are crossing a huge chasm from an industrial society to an information society. And there is immense pain in that transformation. Obama can't solve the problem nor can any of his opponents. Time will solve this problem as new industries get built, people learn new skills and new jobs, and we dismantle entitlement systems that are not sustainable.

That is what is going on. I'd love to hear Obama tell the country that. But I doubt he will. But someone should.

Here's what I got out of this article, and why it's a great time to start a law firm - the legal industry is one of those industries that's being blown up by the switch from industrial society to information society. And you are here at the beginning to set your roots and take advantage of the opportunity.

When I think back to when I opened my firm, I see that I couldn't have opened at a better time in my life. In the last ten years we've undergone a huge transformation. No one talks on the phone anymore. No one uses the yellow pages. Everyone goes to the internet. Everyone wants everything done now. And everyone wants everything done as economically as possible. Okay, maybe not everyone. But a lot of people.

What the transition from industry to information has done is give everyone the freedom to ask "can we do this differently?" And, typically, the answer is yes. And, if you get started right now, you can be the answer to this question.

Technology allows you to start a law firm that is more efficient, better organized, better staffed, better run, and that gets better results than the old, established firms. You've got managing partners in law firms that don't even know how to use email!

Now is the time to take advantage of this great change. Now is the time to set your roots. Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities out there so you can become the established presence in this new paradigm. All you have to do is get started.

Like Blockbuster and Borders, large law firms are going to start to go belly up. The infrastructure they've built and the traditions they live by don't apply in the information age. Sit down tonight, think about how you can take advantage of this blossoming new society, and get to work.

Starting a Law Firm in a "Bad Economy"

2011-09-02T09:44:00.001-07:00

If you read any of the comments on this blog, you'll notice a pseudo discussion that broke out regarding Wednesday's post on the starting a law firm mastermind session I recently attended. It wasn't going the way I wanted it to (i.e. nothing productive was being said) so I issued a challenge to the commenter - tell us your story and let us see if we can help you past your problem. Hopefully they will accept the challenge.

One of the issues I had with the commenter's comment was the idea that things are tough because the economy is bad. Now, don't get me wrong, I know the economy is bad, and, honestly, it's probably going to get worse. But if I ever talk to you I don't want to hear the economy is bad, and here are just a few reasons why.

1. The Economy is Macro - Your Law Firm is Micro

When people talk about the economy they talk about it in one of two ways. They either talk about the country, like "the stock market just tanked again because a new jobs report came out and it sucks" or they talk about themselves personally, "the economy sucks because I lost my job and can't find another one."

The truth of the matter is, for most people, the economy is just fine. People have jobs. People work. People pay taxes. People buy boats. People buy houses. People go on vacation. These people are our potential clients.

When you start a law firm your goal should not be to take over the legal needs of every person in the United States. You pick a niche so you can focus on a specific group of people. Within that group of people I'm sure some people have money and some don't. Take an hour to sit down and think about where the potential clients with money are and then go get them.

2. The Economy Provides a Great Excuse to be "Special"

One of the things we talked about in our mastermind was the need to be special, and the need to get over that. Being special can happen in two ways.

The first way it can happen is by comparing yourself to others to make you feel like the better person. This can manifest itself in many ways, but the one we all know is the person you talk to that can never just say congratulations when you've accomplished something. They've always got to have a story that's better than yours. They've always got to be seen as the best.

The second way is comparing yourself to others to make you feel like the worse off person. This can also be known as the pity party. The idea is by making others see how much you are struggling, how much pain you are in, they'll feel bad for you and give you some attention.

This business about the economy is a great way to feel special by getting people to feel bad about you. By telling everyone you meet how terrible the economy is, you can get a lot of sympathy, a lot of well wishes, and a lot of pats on the back. The problem is, you're still going to be poor.

3. A "Bad Economy" Gives You an Excuse to do Nothing to Build Your Law Firm

If it's the economy's fault that everything is so bad, then I guess there's nothing you can do to change it. You'll just have to wait around until the economy improves to make any money. Hopefully it improves.

The truth is, there is money out there. There is a lot of money out there. You just have to go find it. And finding it is going to take some courage. It's going to take doing things that you have never done before. And the scariest part about this whole thing? It's not going to take a lot of money, but you're going to have to risk falling flat on your face.

Times have changed dramatically from even 10 years ago. Things are not done the same way they once were. People are walking around with smartphones and iPads. They are working from home. They are using their minds much more than their hands. They are partnering with people around the world. And they are becoming much more sophisticated from a marketing standpoint (and by sophisticated I simply mean a lot more skilled at weeding out information that is not important to them - i.e. advertising).

If you want to start a successful law firm you are going to have to step out of the box, set the box on fire, and start building a new box. For example, one of the things I do when I think about marketing is take a look at what everyone else is doing. If I'm doing that I stop and re-evaluate to see if I can come up with a way to do it just different enough (or completely different if necessary) to set myself out from the crowd or reach people in a new and exciting way. That is how you become successful, in the law business or any business.

Stop Talking About Your "Economy" and Start Getting to Work

Before I go any further, by the way, I want to make one thing clear - this post is not aimed directly at the commenter from Wednesday - it is aimed all of us. We all have our "economy" sticking point. We all have that thing that we fall back on to rationalize why we didn't do something or why something didn't pan out. We all have something to explain why we aren't reaching our full potential.

Today is the day that you should shed those crutches. Recognize and embrace that success beyond your wildest dreams is possible. Believe that you can be as successful as you want to be at this, and then attack this endeavor and your life with the excitement that it deserves.

I hope anonymous sends me that email.

In the comments, I want you to tell me two things:

1. What is your "economy?"

2. What can you do to get over your bad economy?

Can't wait to hear from you!

Starting a Law Firm | San Francisco MasterMind | Supplemental Income

2011-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind couple of days for me, in a good way. On Friday afternoon I hopped on a jet bound for San Francisco, ready to figure out how to take my practice to the next level. And I've got to tell you, it was a great experience. And it's exactly what I'm going to talk about today. In addition to that, I'm going to answer a reader's question about supplementing your income while opening your law practice. Here we go! Oh, and one last thing, after you get done reading I want your comments about MasterMinding. Do you think it's bogus? Would you do one? What's holding you back? Thanks in advance!

San Francisco MasterMind - Getting Out of Your Fuselage

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a MasterMind session put on by my business coach, RJon Robbins. You all know who he is. I've talked about him a lot.

The idea of the MasterMind, from my perspective, is this: we've all got messed up stuff running around inside of our brains, and for must of us, the stuff is different. There is one common theme though, with this messed up stuff - it works to sabotage our efforts to start a successful law firm. Now, this stuff I'm talking about isn't big stuff. It's not like we're all crackheads running around out there. It's more subtle than that. But that's what makes it so powerful and so dangerous. The goal of the MasterMind is to figure out what that messed up stuff is, how to work past it, how to recognize it, and how to move forward without it.

I can't go into too many details about the actual experience in San Francisco, and there's a reason for that - it's confidential. When we are in that room together we are sharing our most intimate secrets. We talk about our law firms, what is working and what isn't. We talk about out lives, what is working and what isn't. And, for some people most importantly, we talk about our pasts and how our experiences have shaped the way we view the world. It's the feeling of safety that allows for so much sharing, so much self-inflection, and so much growth in such a short period of time.

And, by the way, the best thing about the MasterMind is that we all walk away with a plan to triple our law firm revenues. At least. My plan, for example, if executed, takes me over one million in revenue.

Now that I've told you about the results, let me tell you about the process. We met in San Francisco at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. I was there, my wife was there, RJon and his wife were there, and there were about 8 other attorneys there (some with spouses, some without - the spouse was optional, I just wanted to include mine because I knew it would give her a great window into the way I think about my law firm). After dinner we watched a movie to kind of set the scene for the weekend and give us all a firm analogy to work with when either explaining our problems or helping people with theirs. Once the movie was over we talked about it, setting some ideas in our minds for the next day, and went to bed. Our homework assignment was to come up with one or two things that we thought were holding our business back.

Let me digress here for a moment. There are many things that hold our business back, and they fall into two different categories; mechanical and intellectual. The mechanical stuff is easy to fix - it's the stuff that processes and procedures can help with. For example, the way the phones are answered, the way that potential clients experience you and your staff, and the forms you use are mechanical. It's the intellectual, or emotional stuff that's hard to fix. Examples of this include the way we feel about money (our relationship with money), the way we view ourselves (otherwise known as self-esteem), and the rules that we've created that hold us back (that in actuality aren't rules at all). This is what we try to become aware of at the MasterMind.

When we get back into the room on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. sharp, we each take a turn going around the room. We record our experience (just our turn, not anyone else's) so we can remember everything. It starts by giving a little bit of background about us, talking about where our law firm is at, and then laying out our one or two "intellectual" problems. Then everyone takes a turn going around the room giving constructive feedback on what can be done to become more aware of the problem (otherwise known as fix the problem).

The great thing about this MasterMind specifically is RJon's presence. We don't do these every day. Some of the problems people have I can't identify with and have no idea how to fix. And someone needs to be there to make sure no damaging advice is given. That's what RJon does. He's got both creative and practical solutions for everything, and more importantly, he's got the experience to know how to flesh out the underlying problems. What that results in is you learning something extremely valuable on everyone's turn in the hot seat. Everyone's experience provides you with helpful things to take away and implement.

So, on Saturday we went from 9:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m. only stopping for about an hour for lunch. And it didn't feel like a long time to me at all. On Sunday we went from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - no lunch. And again, I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.

One last thing about the MasterMind before I move on. The one I attended last weekend was free. All I had to pay for was airfare, hotel, meals. Normally when RJon does these things he charges $5000 a seat (and that's what he's charging for his next one). While we were there he asked us for help describing what happens at these things so that people can understand the value they are getting out of attending. And I can see why he asked, because it is hard to describe without actually being there.

Why You Should Consider Attending a MasterMind

Before I go anywhere with this, I want to point out that I am not being paid anything by RJon for this post. Not a dime. If you sign up for a MasterMind with him I will not receive anything except a thank you from RJon and a thank you from you when you're done.

I've got two reasons why you should attend a MasterMind.

1. It Will Make You Money

I told you when I walked out there I had a plan for a million dollar criminal defense law practice. And I can guarantee you when you walk out you'll have the same. The people I was with practiced all different areas of law: estate planning; corporate law; family law; immigration law; and business law. They all walked out with ideas to dramatically expand their law practices in practical, real world ways.

Now, like any other ideas, these ideas require execution, which is all up to you. But the advice you get here will be like you'll get no where else. And the advice you get will make you back your $5000 and then some (which should be the way you evaluate spending money - look at what you get, not what you put out - if it's more than the cost, intrinsically or extrinsically, then it's worth the price).

2. You Will Grow as a Person

One of the great things about owning a business is that it becomes a reflection of you personally. That's also one of the bad things. The way to succeed in business is to also make sure you've got your stuff together personally. Much of that just requires understanding where you are coming from and why you have the perspective you have.

What the MasterMind session allows you to do is work on yourself while you are working on your business. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, in my session we discussed my relationship with money - it's an immature one. It's immature in the sense that I haven't yet fully grasped the potential and power of money for what it really is - a tool to get you the things that you want. In reading that last sentence that probably seems obvious, spending money to get what you want. If that were so, then RJons MasterMind sessions would be sold out. It's the concept of spending money to make money that is known as a maxim of business but is hard to execute in real life.

At our session in San Francisco I had the opportunity to see lights turn on in people's eyes as they made real personal breakthroughs. And if you don't think you're due for one of those then you are the best candidate to try this out and see just how many demons you're hiding inside your head.

Bottom line, think about it, find the money, and try something like this. I recommend RJon because I know he knows what he's doing. But there are others out there. If you aren't looking to grow in this way you and your business are suffering.

Supplemental Income and Starting a Law Firm

Here's a question I got http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giffrom a reader last week:

This is completely off-topic, but I have a question for you. I recently went to a seminar with RJon, and he said that in order to be successful, you should put all of your energy into your new firm. What is your take on doing contract work to supplement your income while trying to establish your new firm? Thanks!

The answer to this question is simple - it depends. I don't think it's wise for anyone to just jump out there and get started without any kind of support. There's a real chance you won't make much money the first few months you are open. Having a support system, whether it's by a contract position, covering for other attorneys, or a loan from friends and family, is something to think about and figure out before you get started.

As for contract positions specifically, I'll only say this - be wary of using that as a crutch not to pursue your law firm. Starting a law firm is scary. Our subconscious doesn't deal well with scary. Instead of just telling you you're scared, it will do devious things to distract you, like convincing you how great the contract position is. If it becomes a crutch it's bad, if you use it as a tool to move forward it's good.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments and questions, particularly when it comes to MasterMinds. What is your hesitation? Is it the price? Is it the process? I'm curious!!

Starting a Law Firm | Steve Jobs and the iPad

2011-08-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I didn't really know what I was going to write about today, as my starting a law firm material is pretty low, and then I looked at cnn.com and saw that Steve Jobs stepped down today as the CEO of Apple (don't worry folks, he's still going to be the chairman of the board, so his design aesthetic should at least linger). Then I remembered that pretty much all day I've been thinking about getting an iPad, even going to an Apple store today and walking around, and I thought that would make a great topic for today's post.

Why Would a Lawyer Want an iPad?

I don't know why any lawyer would want an iPad, but I can think of several reasons why I would want an iPad. Here are a couple.

1. I am wasting way to much time in court waiting around.

In the world of criminal defense, you waste about half of your life just standing around waiting for things to happen. They call 50 people in for an 8:30 court date and start knocking them out. That means there are significant amounts of time spent sitting in a chair in a courtroom.

Until now I'd just carried my iPhone with me and made due. I can check email, read some stuff, and otherwise keep myself occupied. But I know that I could be doing so much more. With the iPad I could not only read cases and briefs and emails, but I could actively read them, which is so much better. The iPad gives you the capability to edit documents, work with PDFs, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I can actually keep working while I'm sitting around in court!

2. If I take some time to learn how, it can be a powerful trial tool.

I keep up with technology for the most part, and I've seen some of the things the iPad can do. And I'd like to be able to take advantage of them when I'm in trial. As a criminal defense attorney I need all the help I can get (the deck is often intentionally stacked against you). If this can help to even the playing field even a little bit, then I'm for it.

What Kind of iPad am I Getting? 3G or Wifi Only?

This question alone is what has been holding me back the most. There are basically six options you have for an iPad - 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes and wifi or wifi and 3g enabled.

I'm thinking of getting the 32 gig model, just to make sure I have enough room (I don't think I'll ever be able to use that up), but I was wavering on whether or not to get the 3g or the wifi only model. The 3g is more expensive - $729 versus 599 and you have to pay a monthly fee for the 3g service, but, you have the added safety net of always being able to connect to the internet, even if there is no wifi around. This is important for me because our courtrooms, like I'm sure most of yours are, are still living in the 80's when it comes to technology. That means even if they've discovered the wonderful world of wifi the signal is often weak and crappy.

So I think I'm going with the 3g 32 gig model. And of course I'm going with black. That's just my style.

I'll keep you up to date periodically with how the iPad experience is, what is working well, what isn't, what added benefits I've discovered, what drawbacks there are, and what applications I'm using. Hopefully it will help you out.

As always, love to have comments and questions. Been a little quite lately. Don't you all have anything to say? :)

Starting a Law Firm | Update on Law Firm Marketing | Mailbag

2011-08-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Before I get too far, I wanted to tell you I answered a couple of questions and updated my pricing schedule for the new law firm internet marketing service I'm offering. Click on the link to go check it out. I've already got one person signed up, there's only room for one more, and I'm not joking about this when I say it could be a game changer for your practice. But enough about that. Let's get on to the good stuff.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
I got a couple of good questions from readers, so I thought I'd spend today answering them. I've found that this is a good way to talk about some thinks I might not have though about or to readdress an area I may not have been too clear on. If you've got a question, leave it as a comment and we'll talk about it on here. And, since these are reader questions, if you've got your own experiences, please share in the comments. The more the merrier!

Starting a Law Firm and the Phone System

Here's a comment from Anonymous, who says:

Great blog - enjoying the wealth of info.
One question - you have no physical phone lines in your office so is it safe for me to assume that you are using your cell service for Internet connectivity? What type of cell service plan do you have?

This comment came from the post on (link provided for quick reference), and I'll do my best to answer it, though I'm not precisely sure where the commenter wants me to go with it.

Yes, I don't have any physical phone lines in my office. I use a combination of Google Voice and Skype for my set up. Google Voice provides the phone number, Skype provides the feel of a physical telephone system (ability to forward, etc.).

As for internet connectivity, it is not safe to assume I am using my cell phone for internet connectivity. Where I live, we have internet delivered through cable, just like TV. I believe it's called DSL, or was called that. I have internet in my office, set up to a wireless router, that provides all of us with internet service. When a call comes in to Google Voice it is forwarded to my assistant's Skype number and she then answers it and deals with it as if it came directly to her. If I need to take the call she can forward it to my skype number or to my cell number (I typically have it forwarded to my cell in the office out of pure convenience to myself).

That's how it works.

To answer your specific question, I have an iPhone 4 through AT&T. I'm on the original data plan that has no limit for $30 a month, and my phone service I think is about $65 a month. That's it.

Starting a Law Firm and "Dressing for Success"

Another recent comment that I thought I'd talk about comes from Ian, who says:

Hi Jim,

I've been following your blog for awhile and I can honestly tell that you have a gift for it. Kudos to you!

Reading your latest post a question popped into my mind that you tangentially touched upon in the past when you talked about your buying an iphone when you started your firm in order to portray the right image with clients.

How important do you think the accoutrements of what people (and other lawyers) perceive as success in a lawyer (the Rolex, the BMW, the Gucci loafers, whatever) are in building up business? We all heard the adage "dress for success" but I'm curious to hear your take on things.

I'm coming to this issue as the driver of a Dodge Caravan (for me it doubles as family vacation vehicle), the wearer of an (admittedly Swiss) watch that cost about $250 and an occasional shopper at Jos A. Bank when they're running big sales, etc. I gotta admit that even in my mid size town (population 250,000) I sometimes feel a little put down at attorney meetings where the parking lot usually looks like an import car dealership, so I'm wondering what your thoughts were.

Cheers and thanks for all you advice,

Ian

This is a tough question to answer as it may apply differently to different people, depending on your practice area and things like that. But here's my take.

First things first, first impressions are everything. People are going to decide a lot of things about you, right or wrong, based on what they think of you the first time they meet you. The great thing about this is you have the opportunity to control pretty much all of the variables surrounding meetings. The bad thing is you have the opportunity to control pretty much all of the variable surrounding meetings.

When people meet an attorney for the first time they have a lot of stereotypical things built up in their minds. Some of these things are good, some of them are bad. The key is to sit down and think about what stereotypical things your clients will be thinking and accentuate the good and delete the bad.

For example, I'm in criminal defense. When people think of criminal defense lawyers they typically turn to what they've seen on television - well dressed, smooth talker, a "shark," untrustworthy, sneaky, and some things like that. So, when they first come to meet me they are immediately trying to size me up to see if I fit into their stereotypes - if I fit in the right way I get hired. If I don't, they'll "think about it."

So, I make sure when I meet with clients, almost all the time, I'm wearing a suit. And a suit that makes me look good. The idea is to present an aura of success, of confidence. That's what they need in their attorney, and that's one thing that will make them feel comfortable.

Second, I make sure my office is nice, not overly done, and inviting. I want them to feel at ease, feel like I have no problem paying the bills (which I don't) and feel like I'm sitting in my office slugging it out for my clients on a daily basis (I am). I don't want it to be over the top because I don't want them thinking about how I paid for all the stuff I've got in my office. I want them to listen to me.

Now, where first impressions aren't made - the type of car you drive; how much your suit costs (please, though, spend enough money on a suit so that it looks good on you - if you don't feel like taking on the world in that suit, move on to the next or get it tailored - there's no reason to look like a slob); and anything else you can think of.

I drive a 1997 Toyota 4Runner. It gets me from point A to point B. When I meet clients and potential clients, I don't typically show them my car. I also don't tell them the price or make of my suits. I don't own a watch. I have nice shoes, because nice shoes make for a nice suit, but I didn't spend over $200 for them.

I think at the end of the day, it all comes down to meeting client expectations. If you're worried about impressing other attorneys, I wouldn't worry about it (unless, of course, they fall into client expectations). Whenever I see some guy with a nice car I don't think he's better than me or more successful than me, I just think he's a car guy (they should see my golf clubs!).

When you're starting a law firm it's important to look established, like you're organized, but it's not important to throw off a fake air of success. Just put yourselves in your potential client's or current clients' shoes and go from there.

That's it for the mailbag today. What do you think about these two topics? Have a question about something else? Let me know!

Starting a Law Firm | Influencer: The Power to Change Anything | A Review

2011-08-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

I was flying back from Kansas yesterday after visiting some family and I was reading a book that I thought would be relevant to discuss here. As the title of the post suggests, the name of the book was "Influencer: The Power to Change Anything." It is written by Kerry Patterson, among others, and was really quite an amazing book. Here's a review of it, and I hope you go out and buy it. (It's sad we have to put this here in today's world, but I'm not getting any payment for this - I didn't even get the book for free!).

Throughout our daily lives there are things going on that we'd like to influence the outcome of. We want our wife to let us go play golf (don't read anything into this honey!). We want our companies to be more efficient. We want to lose weight. We want to stop eating the things we know we should not be eating. But exerting this kind of influence over ourselves and others is difficult, and in some ways can seem to be impossible.

Well, it is possible, and this book, Influencer, gives you the tools to do just that. What the book does is break down influence into six different categories:

(1) Personal motivation (making the undesirable desirable);

(2) Personal ability (surpass your limits);

(3) Social motivation (harness peer pressure);

(4) Social Ability (find strength in numbers);

(5) Structural motivation (design rewards and demand accountability); and

(6) Structural ability (change the environment).

Then, step by step, the authors walk you through how you can use these categories to change the things you want to change (for the worse or for the better).

It's a great book because not only is it filled with a lot of theoretical information, it also provides a lot of great real world examples. The examples include changing corporate culture, losing weight, stopping debilitating diseases, harnessing the power of employees, and many others. It can be a great insight and provide great direction into improving any challenges you are currently facing in life and opening new doors that you thought might be closed to you.

It should be pretty clear to you how this book is relevant to starting a law firm. But just in case it isn't, I'll tell you personally how it's going to help me.

First, there are things that I have to do all the time that I don't necessarily like to do. It's not that they are bad things, I just don't personally find them enjoyable. What this book has allowed me to do is take a step back and reframe the way I look at things, in order to derive the satisfaction I should out of completing those tasks.

Second, there are personal goals that I want to reach that I know I am holding myself back from. This book has provided me with the tools to change bad habits into good, to make myself more productive, and enjoy every single bit of it.

Third, and finally, the book has provided a lot of insight from a managerial and entrepreneurial standpoint. There are ways to handle specific situations that are much better than others. There are specific steps to take in a specific order to garner the best results. And there are important things related to my business that I need to keep top of mind if I want it to continue going in the direction it is going.

Starting a law firm should be the best experience of your life. You should enjoy it. So take the time to think about why you are doing it, what it really means to you, and then get out there and do it. Oh, and read the book. I guarantee you'll get something from it.

Starting a Law Firm | A New Opportunity for You

2011-08-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Don't want to talk about this anymore here, though I've gotten several responses. For more information, go to lawfirmwebsiteseo.blogspot.com, my site that's more relevant to this.

I was at a DUI conference in Boston a couple of weeks ago and I had an interesting conversation with several people there. As we DUI lawyers are wont to do after we've had a couple of frosty beverages, we started talking about the respective strengths of our practices - how we're doing, where we are struggling, and what others might be doing that is working that we can use when we got back home.

A funny thing happened time and time again when I was having these conversations, everyone was paying a lot of money to try to take advantage of everything the web had to offer - and they weren't seeing great results from it. I would tell them about what I've done, how effective it has been for my practice, and I could just see their eyes light up as they asked me question after question about how to do what I did. And for pennies on the dollar.

One particular person I talked to said he wanted us to meet after the conference to talk about how what I knew could help their firm and their firm's business. I said sure, I'd meet with them, just like I've met with countless other people (and discussed on my blog) to talk about what I do from a search engine perspective. But he said something I hadn't heard before - he said "I want you to help us do this, and I want to make it right for you." That got the wheels turning. And here's why.

Anyone can do what I do to get higher rankings in the search engines. Literally anyone. But, it takes work. It takes grind it out work. It takes monotonous work. I'm just stupid enough and bull headed enough to do it - and over time I've gotten good at it. When I tell most people how to do it (the process will probably take you about an hour a day, every day, forever) they shy away from it, even though the rewards are huge.

So, I've decided to hire out my services to people that are interested in using them. What I will do, for a fee, is employ my strategies on your website to get them ranking at the top of the search engines for your desired keywords. I will do this and continue to do it as long as you see value in it, and I think you'll see value in it the moment we hit the top three results (which, depending on the competitiveness of your keyword could take a couple of weeks or a couple of months).

Since you all are my faithful readers I thought I'd give you the opportunity to sign up first. But here's the catch - I don't want to get overwhelmed with this, so I'm not going to just let everyone sign up. Right now I have no clients - none. Like I said, this literally was discussed three weeks ago with a DUI lawyer colleague of mine. I want to start slow and build over time, so right now I'm only going to take on two clients. That's it. So, after you read what I'm offering, if you're interested let me know quickly.

Here's what I'm going to do. When you sign up for me, whatever keywords you want, you have exclusive rights to those keywords with me. They have to be location specific, because that's all that matters anyway, so once you sign up, you'll get my full attention to your specific location based keywords. You get to pick two, and then as we grow, you can add more on for a nominal fee.

For example, let's say you practice divorce law in Kansas City. Two great keywords for you would be Kansas City divorce lawyer and Kansas City divorce attorney - that's what people type in when they are looking for you. You would have the exclusive rights to those keywords with me as long as you were a client - that means I would never sign anyone up in the Kansas City area for divorce law.

Don't know if anyone is still interested, but if you are, here is how the price structure is set up. I don't want to work for free, but I don't want to get paid for the premium value I'm giving you until you are getting it. So, the way I've set it up is a tiered fee structure. Every week I'll check your keywords and report to you the results. As long as you are not on the first page, the fee is $500 a month. Even if you get on the first page during a month, you don't owe any extra. Once you are on the first page, the price goes up to $1000 a month. That reflects the value you are getting - you should start to get more pageviews and hits on your website from being on the first page. Once you are in the top 3, the price goes up to $3000 a month, and it stays there forever.

I'm not sure if that sounds like a lot of money to you or not. If you are just starting out it may seem like a big commitment. But here's the thing, my guess is if I get you even one new client a month you have already paid your costs for the month (that's at the $3000 a month level). After that, everything is profit. To put it into perspective for you, the guy I talked to was paying at least $7000 a month for his search engine help!

This kind of search engine help probably isn't right for everyone. From my perspective, this service would be most valuable to people that have potential clients looking for their services on the internet - this means, for the most part, consumer based services. The one's I'm thinking of are criminal defense, bankruptcy (consumer), family law, personal injury, estate planning (maybe), employment law (from the employee side), and on and on.

I have no idea if anyone is going to be interested in this. I can tell you I could easily pay the price I've asked for with the business I've brought in using these techniques. I thought some of you might want some help from a reputable source that truly has your success in mind.

Remember, I'm only taking two spots for now, so let me know if you're interested and we'll talk further.

Starting a Law Firm | Spending Money to Make Money

2011-08-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

I know I've talked about this before on here (at least I think I have) but there are decision you will be asked to make every day that require you to shell out money. And I'm not talking about paying for phone services or things like that. This money decision I'm talking about typically comes in the form of you paying someone to do something you could do yourself.

Now, if you are asking yourself "why pay someone to do something you could do yourself?" this post is specifically for you.

When you first start your law firm you won't even have to ask yourself this question - you probably won't have any choice in the matter because you won't have the money to spend. You'll have to do it yourself. But once the phone starts ringing and you start actually having to manage your time and resources, you're going to have to start spending some money - if you want to keep making more money that is.

What I'm talking about here is leverage - using what you've got to get even more. Leverage is an extremely powerful and effective tool if used right. And it's easy to learn how to use it right.

Here's a perfect example. When I started my law firm it was just me. I answered the phone, I did the paperwork, I folded the laundry, I mopped the floor, I went to court, I did it all. But eventually I found myself missing calls because I was in court so much. I found myself spending a lot of time doing paperwork and filing paperwork. All of that time I was losing to those activities was hindering me from going out and getting new work. So I hired Kelsey.

For the sake of this post let's say I pay Kelsey $10/hour (I don't, I pay her more than that, but it makes the math easier). Let's say she works 40 hours a week - that's $400 week or $1600 a month. For $1600 a month she has freed me from the responsibility of answering the phone, filing paperwork, following up with clients for documents, filling and mailing newsletters, and many other things. Do you think I can make more than $1600 with my new found 160 hours of free time? You betcha.

Yes, I know that seems like a lot of money, and I know it's a leap of faith to hire someone and let them help you. I mean, what if you hire them and then the phone mysteriously stops ringing, right? That would suck.

But here's the honest truth - it's not going to stop ringing. It's going to ring this month just like it did last month. Actually, that's a lie, it's not going to ring like it did last month - it's going to ring more because you're going to have the time to go after those marketing opportunities that you've just let slip away because you've been so busy drafting notices of appearance. You're going to schedule more meetings because you're not going to miss any more calls.

If you're not ready to spend some money to make some money I get it. I was there. And that's okay. Just know you are limiting your law firm's true earning potential by holding yourself back.

Go get em.

Starting a Law Firm | Your Stories

2011-07-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here's another Friday edition of your stories of starting a law firm. I'll comment a bit at the end.

I graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2009. I had an excellent job lined up with the United States Army JAG Corp. I had a wonderful live-in boyfriend and President Barack Obama spoke at my graduation. Hope flourished and happiness abounded.

Then I found out that my student loan lender would not approve a bar study loan. Lender told me something about my debt being very high and not having enough credit to justify the extra $5,000 being tagged onto my educational investment of over $100k. I worked three jobs while studying for the Indiana bar to make ends meet. My failure at that exam came as no surprise in retrospect, but was absolute heartbreak in the moment. The Army let me keep my appointment, if I passed the February Bar.

I geared up to take the February Bar. My living expenses became easier to manage when my boyfriend took on all of the rent. I cut down to one job, then to none to have time to study. I worked hard, doing all of the prescribed BarBri lectures and exercises every day. Then one evening in January my mother called. My father was in the hospital. Yes, he was alive. No, there was no cure. He had about one year. Come home when you can. Daddy needs you now. I can’t take care of him alone.

I failed the exam again. My world ripped apart. No more Army job. No more dreams of paying back my debt and traveling the world. My boyfriend moved with me into a two room apartment over top of a Chinese restaurant near my childhood home in upstate New York. He complained I spent all my time with my parents and that he shouldn’t have to find a job to pay rent for that shitty apartment. After sleeping on my couch for a month, I threw him out. I begged for (and thankfully got) a flexible job as an administrative assistant, which brought in $10.40/hour, but allowed me to leave when my dad would have his spells.

It was the fall of 2010 by then, and I felt like a complete failure at life. I had a miserable family, enormous debt, a crappy job, and a broken heart. People either avoided me entirely or started every conversation with “I’m so sorry…”. The depression was very strong, and some days felt like an eternal hell. I slowly found my way out, by focusing on the small things I did have.

I have a wonderful dog. I have an awesome chicken soup recipe. I met a nice guy who kept asking me out to dinner, despite my melancholy aura and clearly-sad-but-trying-to-be-happy smiles. He asked me about the law and how I felt about the morality and ethics of current events, just to see me perk up enough to argue with him. I started to remember why I went to law school in the first place. I began to feel feisty again.
With A LOT of support and encouragement from him, my mother and my co-workers, I took the New York State Bar. I’ve never been more scared, as I truly believed my entire value as a person lay within that test result. I passed. I’ll be sworn in next month (July 2011). I still cry when I think about it.

I’m in the process of setting up my own practice. I’ve learned a lot about myself and life in the past years, and my priorities are certainly much different. I refuse to be beholden to a job and I will not slave away at law firm trying to earn my dues by reaching a prescribed set of billable hours. I have spent years feeling beaten down and unworthy of success, emotions I will not accept as excuses anymore. I am a professional. I can provide services to my community to help ease suffering and preserve dignity. I plan to focus my practice on family law, with some criminal misdemeanors – my passions since my law school days.

I have been conducting informational interviews with local counsel for several weeks. I’ve found that most lawyers in this rural area are hungry for work, but almost all of them refuse to go to Family Court - too much drama. A majority of the local attorneys don’t have websites. If they do, it isn’t functional or it’s just a one page ad to call them. Most refuse to bill flat fees.

*To note, I live in a very rural area in Upstate New York, where a lot of people don’t have access to the internet and still utilize the public library for computers. I don’t know how much business a website would pull in, but at least nobody else would be competing with me through that forum for clients (or so I hope).

I’m still in the planning phase, but I’m trying to make sure I check off at least one “to-do” every day to make sure I am working toward my goal of opening my doors by August 1. I’m slowly deciding on my practice model – flat fee billing is currently winning me over. I’m getting the word out to my professional contacts that I’ll be practicing family law and criminal misdemeanors. A few colleagues have already asked when I open my doors, and if I’ll handle their traffic ticket cases, so I’m hoping that’s a good sign.

I quit my admin assistant job, effective July 1. I bought domain names and am learning how to make a website that works and (hopefully) looks good. I found inexpensive but beautiful office space next to an attorney who is looking to retire and travel. My father left me his entire office (he was a city planner), which negates all of my initial office overhead expenses, like most furniture and office supplies. I bought a Lexis account. I bought a discounted iPhone ($50 for last year’s model sounded fine to me). I’m looking into malpractice and health insurance. I guess I need an e-Fax service? Then I can order business cards and letterhead.

I do have specific questions I need to find answers to, such as:
How do I develop intake sheets and a standard retainer?

If I bill flat fee do I still need a trust account for each client with traditional billing follow-up letters stating the amount removed for services rendered?

Should I bill hourly before making the leap to flat fee?

Should I accept credit cards?

Do I really need to invest in Quickbooks yet?

Do I make my practice a PLLC or should I stay un-incorporated for now?

How do I create a business plan for a solo firm?

Do I need a credit card?
Of course, most of these questions assume I’ll have clients, which seem like mythical creatures at the moment: Where do they come from and how do I find them?

I bought a number of books about starting a firm (Foonberg’s, Elefant’s and some others that looked reputable). I like Solo By Choice, but the others give very outdated technological advice and mandate things I don’t understand the purpose of, like “make sure a photograph of your family is on your desk.” (Um, so my client knows who to hold hostage if they’re unhappy with me? Or to remind me the people in the picture need to eat too, so I better find work?)

I am reading blogs for encouragement, advice and support. Yours has been an outstanding resource, and I love digging through your archives to read about your early days. Thank you for chronicling your journey. If you or any of your readers has advice about starting as a solo in a rural area, or marketing in a rural area, I’d appreciate the knowledge. Thank you for the opportunity to ask you my questions.

First of all, I just want to congratulate you for as far as you've come so far. You haven't been given any breaks in life, and it takes a lot to keep picking yourself up off the ground. I'm proud of you.

Now, on to the practical stuff. It sounds like you've been thinking about this for a while and have started doing some planning. That's great. You've got an idea of what you want to practice that's focused enough for your geographic area (doesn't sound like many people want to do family law) and you've already been getting out there and letting people know about it. Let's just get right into answering your questions.

1. How do I develop intake sheets and a standard retainer?

Get out there on the internet and make something up. What kind of information do you want to find out when a potential new client comes in? That's what you make your intake sheet ask. And there are tons of retainer agreements out there.

2. If I bill flat fee do I still need a trust account for each client with traditional billing follow-up letters stating the amount removed for services rendered?

Nope. I still have a trust account just in case I need it, but if your fee is earned upon receipt it's yours. Put it in your bank account. Check your local rules of professional conduct to find out exactly what that means (Washington State, for example, requires specific language in the fee agreement about when the client might be entitled to a refund - if I die or lose my license, for example).

3. Should I bill hourly before making the leap to flat fee?

It's your law firm, it's your choice. Weigh the pros and cons and make a choice. If it doesn't work, change it up a little bit.

4. Should I accept credit cards?

Yes.

5. Do I really need to invest in Quickbooks yet?

I say no, particularly if it's just you. Your finances will be prettyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif easy to take care of - how much money is coming in, how much is going out? A spreadsheet will probably work at the beginning.

6. Do I make my practice a PLLC or should I stay un-incorporated for now?

I personally chose to create an entity at the beginning. I think it just makes everything cleaner later on. If it's just you it's a pass through anyway. It doesn't make things that much more complicated for running the business.

7. How do I create a business plan for a solo firm?

I've blogged about this before. Here is a post I found on starting a law firm business plan. I've got some other posts out there. There's a bunch of stuff out there on the internet. Remember, a law firm is no different than any other business. You need to know what kind of business you're going to run (area of practice), how you're going to run the business (processes), and how you're going to get clients (marketing).

8. Do I need a credit card?

I have no idea. Is it important to establish your credit as quickly as possible? Yes. I have a credit card I put monthly expenses on and pay off every month. Helps to build up some points for fun later and helps to establish good credit. At the end of the day it's up to you.

Hope these questions helped. And remember, you can read all the information and books that are out there but eventually you're going to just have to start trying stuff and see what works for you. Good luck!

Marketing a Law Firm | The Use of the Golf Course

2011-07-13T12:56:00.001-07:00

Before I get going on this, you don't have to be a golfer to get somehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif great information out of this post. In a lot of ways this post is supposed to help you do some of the things you like to do while getting new business, making more money, and at the same time expensing an activity you really like to do - which is one of the great things about starting a law firm - you can actually do all three at once.

I don't know if I've talked about this much, but I love to play golf. One of my goals is to play on the senior PGA tour some day (I've 19 years to get ready). The golf course, for me, is a great place to hang out with friends, release some of my competitive energy, gamble, and drink all at once. What more could you ask for?

Oh, you want to market your law firm too? Fine. You can do that too.

First things first, you've got to approach this type of marketing, often referred to as "networking" with a specific state of mind. In fact, I don't even like to call it networking. I like to think of it as "relationship building," because that's what it really is. The purpose isn't for someone to necessarily give you business that day but to create a relationship of trust and respect so that when they or anyone they know needs your particular kind of help they'll call. If you think of this as a hassle, as a means to get another business card, then you are doing it all wrong. No matter what kind of event I go to I always try to meet two to four new people and really get to know them a little bit. Then I have a happy with them and get to know them more. And on and on, eventually, maybe, to the golf course.

The great thing about starting a law firm and marketing a law firm is that almost anything counts toward both. So long as there is a business purpose behind what you're doing, it's a business expense. And, whether you realize it or not now, identifying as many things as possible as business expenses will really help your bottom line.

Finally, to the point of the post - how to use the golf course for law firm marketing.

I use it for two reasons. The first thing I use it for is to establish new connections. There is no better way to get to know someone than to spend 4 hours with them out on the golf course. You get to see how they handle stress (the three foot putt for par), success (when they knock one close or hit a great shot), and failure (we've all duffed a shot here and there). And they get to see the same from you - it's a great way to form a bond right from the get go. Typically I do this by having someone I know invite a couple of people out so we can meet and play - no obligations. At the end of the round I give them my business card, get their card, and follow up with a happy hour or some other kind of meeting - instant business relationship, and I got to play a round of golf.

The second way I use golf for marketing my law firm is as a thank you. We are not allowed to pay people for referrals where I practice, and I don't. But that doesn't mean I can't thank the people that mean the most to my practice - those that refer me business. Every once in a while I'll just call a couple of people that refer me business and ask them if they want to play a round. I'll introduce everyone to each other, solidify the bond, and make sure to say "thank you" for thinking of me when someone they knew needed help. It's completely random and I often invite people that haven't referred me business in a while, so it's not a reward for the specific business, it's simply saying I appreciate you.

Hopefully it's not too difficult to see how this could translate to whatever it is you like to do. A baseball fan? Invite some potential referral sources or good clients to the ball game. Like the opera? Do the same thing. Paintball? Organize a game. Whatever it is, imagine how you can use that to form some business relationships and run with it. You'll be better at selling yourself because you'll be in a comfortable place (and by selling yourself I simply mean making meaningful connections - showing people that you are trustworthy and know what you are doing in your business) and you'll have fun at the same time.

See you Friday - we'll have another starting a law firm story. I'm off to court!

Starting a Law Firm Stories | The Bankruptcy Lawyer

2011-07-08T12:30:00.001-07:00

Another day, another successful starting a law firm story. This week, though, we're going to have an added feature - I'm going to break down this guy's website and give him some ideas for improvement. I won't do this for everyone, but this guy's in my city, he wrote me what seems like forever ago, and I didn't get back to him until today because I suck. So he gets a little bonus as an I'm sorry.

And I apologize for this, but this one's going to be long (though it's going to be packed with some ridiculously great information).

First things first, this guy, as the title implies, is a Seattle bankruptcy lawyer (if you want to see his site, click on the link). As you might expect, this is a highly competitive niche. There are at least hundreds of people out there trying to get exactly the same clients he is. And that's okay - as long as you're better than they are. Here's his story:

Hi, my name is Joe (name changed) and I recently started my firm in Seattle, WA. My law firm primarily focuses on helping people solve their debt problems by helping debtors file chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy or helping debtors settle their accounts. Additionally, I am looking to get more work in trademark, business and entertainment law.

I moved back to Seattle around November of last year after going to law school and working for a few years in Denver, Colorado. I had the pleasure of graduating from law school in one of the worst economies ever (2008) but was lucky enough to find a full time associate attorney job in early 2009 doing real estate litigation insurance defense. Unfortunately that job only lasted 6 months as I became the first attorney ever laid off by that particular firm due to the said economy and lack of business.

Fortunately I had a buddy who had recently started a bankruptcy firm in Denver and he offered me part time work while I looked for full time work. I was looking for over a year, was a finalist for a few jobs I interviewed for, but unfortunately there was always another applicant with more experience. I finally came to the conclusion that I had to go out on my own if this whole law thing was going to work out.

I had learned some applicable skills (especially in SEO with the Denver firm ranking #1 for most terms) through my work experience and decided if I was going to go out on my own I should do it in my hometown of Seattle. I launched my website, www.bankruptcy-law-seattle.com last September and packed up and moved from Denver to Seattle last November. I started getting serious about the firm in January of 2011 and so far things have been taking slower to develop than I initially thought it would.

I have tried to focus on SEO and getting my website ranked on the first page of Google with mixed success. I am on the 1st or 2nd page for most terms I am looking to get ranked for, but have had a little help with getting on the Google Maps. I have been trying different marketing techniques with mixed results and am always looking for things that might produce good results. I have also been contracting with several out of state firms which I am hoping will lead to profitable business.

So far I have too much free time, but if that changes and I get too busy I figure I can always hire some help so that would be a good problem to have. This month has been my best month so far, so I hope things continue to be on an upward trend.

Before we even get to the website, let's talk about the story.

1. Your Story

I think it's probably pretty indicative of a lot of stories out there. Economy sucks, can't find a job, make a job. That's totally cool. But, let's dig in a little bit further and talk about a couple of things.

1.1 Area of Legal Practice - Bankruptcy and ...

Your description of the bankruptcy work you do is great. The rest of it, not so great. If you want to pursue business, entertainment, and trademark law, you're going to have drill down more. There are many practices that focus on just business, just entertainment, and just trademark, and even with special niches within those practice areas. If that's what you want to do great, but don't expand your practice areas just because you aren't getting the business you want right now. The last thing you need to do is lose your focus on your bankruptcy practice because you're pursuing a couple of shiny objects out in the distance.

My advice, not knowing anything other than what you've written, is to give it six months of just going after bankruptcy exclusively. We'll come up with some ways to fill some of the free time you have right now. :)

1.2 Marketing a Bankruptcy Practice

And here's how.

1.2.1 Start a Blog

First things first, you need to start a blog. Bankruptcy attorneys are a dime a dozen. You need to show people why they should hire you over someone else. And it shouldn't be because you are the cheapest. Start a blog today (here's a post on starting a law firm blog), and put up some video posts on there. Don't be afraid to be interesting! Think about the things that potential clients are interested in and write about them.

For example, I don't know anything about bankruptcy. If I were going bankrupt these would be some of the things I'd want to know:

1. Am I going to lose my house?

2. Am I going to lose all of my money?

3. Are there things I can do to keep more of my money and wipe out more of my debt?

4. What can you do that no one else will do?

Answer these questions and you'll have a great start.

1.2.2. Get Off Your Butt and Market

How can you do this? There are a couple of things I can think of righthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif off the bat. First, make a list of all the places people facing bankruptcy go. I have no idea what they are but I hope you do. Now, call those places and offer to do a presentation on how to save your ass-ets if you're going into bankruptcy. If they aren't interested ask them if you can post a flyer. You'll have a room full of potential clients immediately.

Second, go to a local farmer's market and open a booth. Make a sign that says "Bankruptcy Lawyer - Questions Answered for Free." All they have to do to get a question answered is give you their contact information and take a card. It will blow your mind how many questions you'll get - and clients.

That should give you plenty of things to do. And here's my experience with marketing a law firm by going to the farmer's market. It was great.

1.3 Your SEO Efforts

I'd love to hear more about what you are doing for this. If I were you, my goal would be to be number one for "Seattle bankruptcy lawyer" and Seattle bankruptcy attorney." When I just checked you weren't on the first page for either (maps doesn't count). If you're not on the first page you might as well be on the 10th page.

Starting the blog will help. Follow my instructions and you'll build yourself a great site to link from (kind of like this). But you've got to write from the heart, and you've got to write regularly, no matter how much it sucks.

I hope part of your SEO is getting links to your site, and I hope, I pray, that it doesn't involve commenting on anyone else's site or Avvo. Those are bogus. We'll talk more about it when we have our happy hour, but you're wasting your time if that's what you are doing.

1.4 Make a Law Firm Marketing Plan and Stick to It

From your email it looks like you are trying a whole bunch of things half way and hoping one of them sticks. For example, this "out of state business thing" makes no sense to me. Maybe you're talking about standing in pro hac vice for someone or something. But I'd focus my efforts locally if you want to have a consumer bankruptcy practice.

Here's my suggestion. First, turn off your computer, your television and your phone. Second, sit down with a piece of paper. Third, think about who your ideal client is - write that at the top of the page, and be specific. Age, gender (if applicable), occupation, education, etc. If you know a foreign language that's a great niche to get yourself into. Fourth, think about all of the places your type of client hangs out - write them down. Fifth, think of ways you can get into those place to get in front of said potential clients - write them down. Sixth, execute plan to get ideal clients.

If the idea won't get you in front of your client, don't do it. Give your ideas at least 3 months to see if they work. Everything in marketing takes time to stick.

Okay, have I beat you up enough? :) No? Okay, let's talk about your law firm website. But, before I do that I do want to point out that this is all meant to be constructive criticism. I am excited that you had the guts to go out on your own and I want to see you succeed. Now on to more criticism!!

2. Seattle Bankruptcy Lawyer Website Critique

I'm going to break this down page by page (though I won't talk about every page). Before I even get there I want to talk about the general layout and give you a couple of suggestions.

2.1 Overall Layout

First, your site is way to busy. When you are putting this together you need to think about what it looks like from the potential client's perspective. When I first saw I simply thought "information overload!" Scale it back a little bit. Say more with less. And, if you can, square everything up. The diagonal lines are a bit disconcerting.

2.1.1 URL

Second, your URL is bankruptcy-law-seattle.com, but you have links on here for business, trademark and copyright, and sports and entertainment, in addition to a button on the right that says "business law." I don't know about you, but I am not calling a bankruptcy lawyer to talk about business formation - there's just something ominous about that. This is a website about bankruptcy - don't gum it up with a bunch of other stuff.

If you want to be a business lawyer and a sports lawyer that's fine - but build out separate websites for them. Bankruptcy clients don't care that you know trademark law, and sports clients don't care that you know bankruptcy. They want to know how you can help them with their specific problem.

If you want to tie it all in create a home site that let's you link out to all of your other specific sites (another great SEO trick). You've already got it for your email.

2.1.2 Left Side of Page

Do we need to keep telling people what you do? Maybe that should be "Five Critical Questions Answered" or something like that instead of "Practice Areas."

"Resources" - just make the word a link to your resources.

"Tell us about your case." Do you really need the security phrase? Are you getting spammed that much? For me it immediately says "I don't trust you."

Think of some educational and helpful things to put over there.

2.1.3 Right side of page

Okay, I like what you have here. The only problem is, what am I supposed to do and why is it so lawyerly? Take off the "consumer bankruptcy" and "debt settlement" titles and put in three words really big - CLICK HERE TO - and then leave the rest of the stuff underneath. And don't send them to more information, send them to your contact page or have a window pop up where they can put in your information.

Here's the key about bankruptcy - they don't care HOW you do it they just want you to do it. (Add those pages the button links to to your resources - About Consumer Bankruptcy, for example)

Take off the business law button and replace it with another bankruptcy subject people can click on.

2.1.4 Footer

This is another great area to put in some keyword links. Remember to use the words you think people will be using to find you - Seattle bankruptcy lawyer - for example. Your words aren't descriptive enough right now.

2.2 Bankruptcy Lawyer Home Page Critique

Let's just go from top to bottom.

"Call us today: (206) 390-9451." Why are we calling? To get a quote? To get a consultation? Just to talk? Tell them WHY they should call today. And make it bigger.

2.2.1 Text in Middle of Page

The text portion of your site needs to be updated big time. I like the big bold print at the top, but remember you aren't talking to a bunch of lawyers you're talking to regular people. For example, just change the word "obtains" to "gets" and you've made a huge step. You could also just say "We Can Make the Phone Stop Ringing from Debt Collectors in 48 Hours. Call Now to Find Out How!" That's catchy. That is enticing to people. That makes people pick up the phone. Obviously if that's not true then don't say it, but think about why people are coming to your site and then tell them how you can solve their problem, if they just pick up the phone.

The text itself is not great. It's too wordy. It's too lawyerly. It's too much like what everyone else says. Let's break it down sentence by sentence.

"We are a Seattle based law firm practicing in the areas of Consumer Bankruptcy, Debt Settlement, Business and Intellectual Property (Trademark and Copyright) law." That sentence took me fifteen minutes to write because I fell asleep three times. First, people know what you do, you tell them that in the bold print! Second, no one cares about the other practice areas. This sentence is a great place to piggyback from the bold print. Do it. I'd say something like "Phone ringing at all hours of the night? Afraid to leave your car in the driveway because it might get repossessed? Wondering how you're going to pay the bills next month? We can answer those questions for you. We can help you get your first good night's sleep in months. We can help you get rid of the debt that is weighing you down like a ton of bricks." Isn't that way more appealing?

"We offer a compassionate and dedicated Seattle bankruptcy lawyer in the areas of chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy as well as an attorney well versed in business matters to ensure you have a partner in navigating your way through the complex Washington state and federal legal system." Wow. That's all I have to say.

The rest of the text is just as bad. Scrap it and start over. Tweak it until an 8th grader can not only read it but will want to pick up the phone and talk to you.

One other thing about your text - work in some of your keywords to tell Google what the page is about. I'd try to say Seattle bankruptcy lawyer and Seattle bankruptcy attorney once on each page. Don't link it out on your home page (sort of like it is now), but do it on your subpages linking back to your home page. And never link your firm name - no one cares about that.

2.2.2 Areas of Practices Section of Page

I would change this to say "Seattle Bankruptcy Lawyer" "Seattle Bankruptcy Attorney" "Seattle Business Lawyer" "Seattle Sports Lawyer" etc. Don't people to click on them because they won't and that's not the point. Point the links toward the relevant site and then you'll start to get some great Google juice from your home page.

2.3 Wrapping Up the Seattle Bankruptcy Lawyer Website Critique

I'm too tired to keep going, but I think you get the drift. You've got good bones here, but it can be so much better. Take of your lawyer hat, but on your businessman hat, and start thinking about what your potential clients are interested in seeing.

Can't wait for that beer!

Starting a Law Firm | Your Story Friday

2011-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

As I promised, this is the first of hopefully many posts from you all about your journey to starting your own law firm. I want to know why you decided to start a firm, the story behind, and how it's been. We can all learn from each other here, and I know there are more great stories out there to be told.

So, without further adieu, here is Scott's story. Looks like he's an Albany personal injury attorney and Saratoga Springs Employment lawyer. Enjoy!

I just read your post, and read your blog with some frequency. Here's my story:

I am 32. I worked for a small(ish) firm out of lawschool for about 5 years. It was a great group of people, and I am greatful for the lessons that I learned during those years. I had always thought about going out on my own, and found myself very interested to talk with friends who had made the decision. My largest concern, obviously, was business, and that was the one thing I was not really picking up at my firm - how to develop business.

With some hesitation I left the firm and took a position with a larger firm as a partner, co-leading the litigation group. I initially enjoyed the work, which allowed me to represent plaintiffs in employment and serious personal injury cases. I quickly realized, however, that the firm was not a good fit for me. Once I realized that I decided it was time. After talking it over with my wife, who is also a lawyer (and my biggest supporter), I gave notice and was on my way.

I opened the doors to Peterson Law Firm around April 1. (I didn't literally open them, I worked from my home office until I found space that I was comfortable with, both financially and professionally). I was fortunate to have had a handful of great clients come with me, but since I represent mostly individuals in employment and personal injury cases, there is always that underlying concern over where the next case will come from.

So far business has been consistent. Some days I feel overwhelmed being on my own, but I've tried my best thus far to leverage technology to help. I quickly signed up for a cloud based file management system, which also does time keeping. I've set up dropbox for offsite file storage (love the iphone app), and I've outsourced my phone answering service as well as my dictation. I'm not quite ready for live help, but my goal is to be able to comfortably hire an assistant at the end of my first year.

It's been a crazy couple of months. There is absolutely nothing like working for yourself, and I honestly don't know that I'd ever work for someone else again (unless I had to). Thus far my biggest struggles have been with time management (it's been an adjustment coming from always having a full time assistant) and staying on top of my marketing. I have good contact with the legal community, and am going to begin writing a monthly column for my local bar journal next month. I have two blogs, although they have not been updated nearly enough. I built my website for the time being, and I have to say I'm enjoying seeing it moving up the search rankings (although not fast enough for me).

You are right on point about outsourcing. I constantly get messages from vendors trying to sell me a package which will "get [me] on the first page of google." Problem is, when I search for some of their clients (always ask for this), they are not on the first page of google.

For what it's worth to those considering going out on their own, I have had no less than 10 attorneys at larger firms tell me how much credit they gave me for, in the words of one, "doing something that most of us don't have the b*lls to do."

What's your story? What made you decide to start a law firm? How's it going? Let me know, tell me something interesting, and I'll post it.

Have a great weekend!

Marketing a Law Firm | Creating a Referral Network

2011-06-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

Before I get started on today's topic - creating a referral network, I wanted to thank all of you so far who have submitted your starting a law firm stories. So far they have all been great, I'm looking forward to posting them, and I appreciate your generosity. Keep them coming!http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Now, the topic of the day - creating the referral network, or, in a nutshell, how to market a small law firm. A lot of this information was created during a discussion I had today with a guy named Henry. Henry works for RJon Robins, who owns a business called "How to Manage a Small Law Firm. The best way to describe these guys are as business coaches. They help you get your hands around managing a law firm, marketing a law firm, and building a successful law firm. I've talked about his services before (see this post on law firm coaching), but since this information came directly as a result of that conversation, I wanted to mention them again and encourage you to check them out.

Okay, on to the meat of it - building a referral program for your business.

You don't have to be in business long to know that referrals are like gold for law firms. In most cases the people come pre-qualified to sign up with you (they already in some ways know, like, and trust you) and are excited to gets some help. They typically pay on time and in full (they don't want you running to their referral source and chewing them out) and are happy to have your help.

But referrals don't grow on trees. They have to be cultivated. To maximize your referral base, just like everything else, you need to have a system in place to make sure you are cultivating all of those wonderful resources. Here's one system that I've discovered (though I have yet to implement - that was the point of the call) that makes a lot of sense.

To start, you're going to need to make a list of basically everyone you know. This would include former clients, current clients, attorneys, car repairmen, plumbers, family, friends, enemies, competition, everyone. Just make a huge list. Then you are going to go through each person and divide them into three groups.

Before you start dividing up I'd encourage you to put this information in some kind of a spreadsheet so you can keep track of it. The idea is, over time, to move people from one group to another. Just trust me on this - use a computer.

Group one we'll call the "Top 20." Though it doesn't necessarily have to be 20 people, and when you start out it won't be 20 people (it might not be any people), these are the people that have given you two or more referrals in the last year. At least that's what makes them top 20 in my business (and as an aside, criminal defense is one of the hardest markets to build a referral base from - the clientele are simply more limited). It may be three or more or it may just be one, depending on your line of work. Bottom line - these are your star referrers.

Group two is called the farm team. These are like the minor leaguers of your referral network. These people have tried to refer you business in the past and it hasn't work out or have referred you business but they haven't cracked into your Top 20. I wouldn't put any time limit on this for when they referred you the potential business.

Group three is simply who you know. They haven't sent you business and aren't in the Top 20. You just know them.

Once you've done that (or before if you want) you should make a list of all of the categories of people that may be potential referral sources to you. This list should be specific. For example, lawyers would not be a good category for me, but family law attorneys and personal injury attorneys probably would (a lot of access to individual clients, etc.). For me, the criminal defense lawyer, the kinds of categories that I came up with were:bar owners; bail bondsman; college students; family law attorneys; bankruptcy attorneys; small business lawyers; personal injury lawyers; union leaders; and employee assistance program managers. It took me ten minutes to come up with this list and there may be more.

Once you've got your categories, go down your list and categorize people. If they don't fall into a category, give them one that describes them well.

Don't look now but you've just put together a pretty legit referral list!

But it doesn't stop there. Now that you've got this list, you're going to want to do one thing immediately - get in touch with your Top 20 and thank them for being a part of your law firm business. Take them to lunch. Let them know you appreciate them. Then in a month or two do it again - put it on the calendar so you don't forget.

After you've done that you're going to use this list to help you market your law firm. The idea is to move the people in the "who you know" category into the "farm team" category and the "farm team" people into the "Top 20" category all the while increasing all of the categories! Sounds easy right? Well it is! You just have to do the work!

Once you've taken out the Top 20 and thanked them for their help, take a look at all of the categories you have. Now, look at the farm team. You know these people are interested in helping you - they've already sent you business. Do any of them have contacts in any of the categories of people that are good referral sources for you (or are they in one of those categories)? They do?! Great, then get an introduction and let them know how you can help them look great by being a great referral source. (Obviously you should do this with the Top 20 too, and for that matter the "who you know" people). Go meet those people and include them in your list.

Believe it or not, you've just created a referral network for yourself. You're welcome.

The hardest part of this, like with everything in life, is getting started and getting it going. It's going to throw you out of your comfort zone a little, but that's okay. That's actually amazing. Give it some effort and the returns will be ridiculously high.

Now, for one final thought, the last thing we talked about in our conversation, and something to think about when you are marketing a law firm, are the 6 strategies for successful marketing of a service business, in order of importance:

1. Contact and follow up with past, current, and prospective clients;

2. Network and referral building;

3. Public speaking (live, webinars, podcasts, etc.);

4. Writing and publicity;

5. Promotional events (sponsoring stuff); and

6. Advertising.

As you might expect, absent some very special circumstances, the return on investment drops off dramatically after number 3.

Hope you enjoyed the post and learned a little bit about law firm management. I'll put up someone's story tomorrow and comment. See you tomorrow!

Starting a Law Firm | Three Important Lessons

2011-06-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I had a happy with a guy last week. I'd met him through a friend. When I first met him he had just finished his LLM in tax and was in the job hunt - and it was a tough job hunt. I, of course, told him he should think about going out on his own. "The money is better, the work is better, and you'll be happier," I told him. He wasn't buying it.

Fast forward to last week, probably a year since we last met and talked. He was out on his own, doing okay but not great. He gets pretty much all of his business from referrals, worries about charging too much money, and is scared to death of flat fees. But he must be doing something right, because he is making some money.

After talking with him for a while I realized I needed to write this post. I'm pretty sure I've talked about these things in the past, but it never hurts to hear them again. These three lessons are extremely important to starting a successful law firm. Seriously. If you can get these lesson through your thick skull (I never said they were easy lessons) you will increase your chances of success by one hundred fold. So let's get to it.

1. You're Either In or You're Out

I understand that some people just don't want to run their own business. I'm okay with that. And I understand that the economy is tough and that jobs are hard to find. That's simply going to be the reality moving forward. These two truths make finding a job tough, and when people need to eat, they'll do things for money that take them out of their comfort zone (not too far out of their comfort zone mind you - for all you with a less than biblical mind). This means, for some going out on their own.

But here's the thing. You can't have one foot in the job search pool and one foot in the starting a law firm pool. It simply doesn't work. If you find yourself going out on your own the best way to do it is to jump in headfirst and swim.

People can tell when you aren't committed to doing something. And when that something is running a business that is supposed to be designed to help them, they get nervous. Nervous people don't hire. Trusting people hire.

In a nutshell, lesson number one is this - if you can't find a job and decide to go out on your own make a commitment to really go after it for a year. Just one year. Stop submitting resumes. Stop telling people you are looking around. Start telling people you are the owner of XYZ Law Firm. Start telling people how you can help them solve their problems. Do a little marketing. You might be surprised by what happens.

2. You Have to Spend a Little Money to Make a Little Money

This one sounds obvious, but for me, at least, it was really hard to put into practice. Part of our training as lawyers taught us to look at all the angles, see all the faults, document all the possible ways a project could go wrong. That's great when you are working for a client and assessing risk, but it's terrible when you are trying to make business decisions.

For example, I was talking to my buddy at this happy hour. We were talking about setting up a website. I told him it was a must (and it is). He asked me where I hosted my site. I told him I had no idea - I use the host my web guy uses for all of his sites because he likes them. He asked me how much it was. I said it was like $10 a month. He looked at me, dead in the eye, and said "I found one that works okay that's free."

Great! Free! Works okay! That's amazing! Okay probably means 80% of the time. What a way to evoke potential client confidence.

Spend the $10 a week to have reliable service.

I know if you are starting a law firm you are probably doing it on a shoe string budget to start. I get that. But at some point you are going to have to start spending a little bit of money. The question you need to ask yourself is if the expenditure is going to make you money, and you make money in two ways.

First, if something frees up your time so you can spend it making more money, that is worth the money. Great examples of this are assistants and any technology that makes you life easier. My assistant, for example, is great. She does a whole bunch of stuff that I could probably do if I wanted to but eats up a bunch of time I could be spending doing other, more productive things (like writing this blog).

Second, if something brings in more money, it's worth spending money on (and most of the time it's worth experimenting with). This, in a nutshell, is advertising and marketing. There are a ton of free things you can do to market your law firm, which maybe I'll talk about on Friday, but there are other paid things you can do that can really help.

I know what you are saying right now, "how do I know if these things will work?" Bottom line is, you won't until you try. But the key here is to try with a reason. You need to be asking yourself one question at the end of the day - does what I'm paying for bring in more money than I'm spending? If it does, then it's probably worth holding onto for a while.

Here's an example from my practice. As most of you know, I'm a DUI defense and criminal defense attorney. Most of my business comes from the (free) internet and from referrals. From time to time I will be persuaded to try a paid service that generates leads for my businesses. (As an aside, I haven't found one yet that works, but I keep on trying). This time the service I tried was myduiattorney.org. People go to their site, ask for a consultation, and my phone rings. They've got great search engine placement, so I thought I'd give them a try, even though I was skeptical that the only people that ask for consultations on sites like those are by definition bad leads. So I signed, up. But here is the important part. I made sure I did two things.

1. I made sure to sign up for a long enough term to see if it was producing but short enough not to lose my shirt if they sucked; and

2. I made sure to TRACK ALL LEADS coming from them to see how they turned out.

As I suspected, the leads were not the kind I was looking for. So at the end of the trial period, I cancelled.

But here's the important lesson - I spent the money to check it out. I didn't dismiss it simply because it cost money. I didn't want to lose out on a potential opportunity so I checked it out. If it made money I would have stuck with it. It didn't, so I dropped it and moved on, attributing it to the cost of running a law firm.

Don't think of things in terms of what they cost - think of them in terms of what you will gain. If it's worth it, pull the trigger.

3. Don't Try. Do.

I've got two stories to get this lesson started, but before I tell them, I want to let you all in on a little secret. I don't know everything. Yep. That's right. I make mistakes. I have fears. I have limitations. But I'm working to get over them. Which leads me to my first story.

I credit a lot of the success of my law firm to the owner of the first firm I rented space from. He didn't have a lot to teach me as a lawyer, but he was an astute businessman. And while he didn't spend a lot of time with me one on one talking business (though he did do that a couple of times), I was able to pick up a lot (both things I thought were good and bad) from seeing the way his firm functioned.

One of the things I'll probably remember forever is a time he got after one of his employees a little bit. He'd asked him to do something and he hadn't gotten it done. He asked the guy what he was going to do about it and he said "I'll try to..." and that's about as far as he got. Once those words came out of his mouth the owner said "do me a favor. Come over here and sit in this chair. (he sat) Now try to get up. No, don't get up, try to get up. Stop trying and start doing." Seemed like a harsh lesson at the time, and I probably wouldn't have taught the lesson in that way, but it makes a lot of sense. No trying. Only doing. (I'm pretty sure that lesson was taught in Karate Kid too, but that's for another discussion).

That story leads me to my second story, and this third lesson. I was talking to this guy at happy hour and we were talking about all of the ways he could ramp up his business. This discussion included things like start a blog (which you should all do), raise fees, ask for more money, etc. Every time we started talking about something he'd say something like "I'll try to do that" or "I'll think about it." Finally after one of these times I just said, "no you're not. Do you even want to talk about this stuff? We can talk about something else if you want. But I can see it in your eyes that you aren't going to do any of this stuff, so why waste our time." It shocked him, but it was the truth.

Bottom line, you need to get started today. Stop making lists and thinking about things and researching and discussing and planning. Start. The great thing about it just being you (or a couple people) is that if you make a mistake you can just change course until you get on the right course. Starting a law firm is all about experimenting, tracking, and analyzing the results to see if you are on the right course. If you are on the wrong course, try something else. But I can guarantee you you will never be able to plan a perfect anything the first time - there are variable out there that you don't even know exist yet.

I hope these lessons help you. I know for me, just writing about them, reminds me of some of the things I need to do stay on a successful path. As always, comments, questions, concerns about this stuff, just let me know. I'd love to chat.

And, if you've made it this far, then I can tell you really care about starting your law firm. Because of that I'm going to give you a chance to get your story out there and get some Google love. If you've started a firm recently I want to hear about it. Send me a post, at least three hundred words long. I want to know about why you started, how it's been going, and what your next steps are. Let me know what you practice, with a geographical location, and what your website or blog is, and I'll include a link with the post. Good luck!

Marketing a Law Firm | The Dangers of Outsourcing Your Marketing

2011-06-17T14:14:00.001-07:00

I've written in the past about marketing your law firm and outsourcing your marketing efforts to third parties, and to summarize, I'm generally against it, particularly when it comes to online marketing. There's just too much opportunity for you to get in trouble (don't believe me, here's a great example of what can happen when you outsource law firm marketing). I hadn't written or thought about it much until this week, when I got an interesting fax.

I'm not going to tell you who the fax was from, because I don't want to promote them in any way, shape, or form. But I will tell you what was in the fax. Here's what it said:

Having too few reviews or want to boost your online presence?

We can improve your online reputation by posting positive reviews on major review sites. People go there when they want to find good, reliable services in which they can trust.

Having positive reviews on those sites will drive more people to choose your business and will make your name stand up from all of the other competitors.

Our services include:
- Improving your reputation by posting good reviews and other links;
- Suppressing negative reviews or other links that might damage your reputation, with positive ones which you can control;
- Increasing your online popularity by creating websites and offering SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services.

Find out more about how we can help by visiting our website at ...

Thank you for according us your time and understanding.

Hopefully you can already see all of the things that are wrong with this, but I wanted to talk about two in particular.

First, and foremost, don't do this. Ever. Not only is it just bad for business (you should have a system set up for asking for reviews from your clients that makes it easy for them to do so) but if you get caught you are going to face the wrath of a lot of your colleagues, and they will make sure anytime anyone looks for you they'll find out you've been using fake reviews (see the link above to see what I'm talking about).

It's not hard to build up a good reputation, on and off line, but it's really easy to destroy it. If it sounds easy and too good to be true, it probably is.

Second, and more importantly for me as a consumer, I wonder how much of this is going on. This can't be the only company offering these services. What good is a review if you can't be certain it came from a real person with a real experience? There are plenty of people out there who would love to review your services. All you have to do is ask.

Starting a law firm is hard. Marketing a law firm is harder. Make a plan, put it to work. Clients will come. Don't take shortcuts. They may help in the short term, but they could blow up your firm in the long term.

Starting a Law Firm | Plugging the Leaks

2011-06-15T15:15:00.001-07:00

I read several blogs about business, law, criminal law, real estate, and some other stuff. One of them I read the other day was talking about productivity, which for me, lately, has been an area of focus. In the context I'm thinking, productivity simply means getting the most you can out of every day. By taking a couple of minutes it's pretty easy to think of some ways to increase productivity - outsourcing work you don't need to to, creating standard operating procedures to systematize what can be systematized, and on and on. But there's another way to increase productivity, and it's something I refer to as plugging the leaks.

Oh, and before I get too far, I didn't come up with the term "plugging the leaks." I read it on a blog somewhere (can't remember where) and that's what they called it. I think it describes perfectly what goes on, so I adopted it too.

The idea behind this concept is that we all have leaks, those things that hold us back from being as productive as we can. For some it's facebook, for others it's the latest edition of Us Weekly, for others it's politics. Whatever it is, we all have these things that hold us back from doing the things that we should be doing. Most leaks are self-created, meaning we simply choose to allow the leak, rather than it choosing us.

After reading this blog post I identified precisely with what the guy was talking about. I've got several leaks, some related to starting a law firm, some not. As with any problem, I think the first step is identifying those leaks and coming up with ways to plug the leaks, to prevent them from affecting you.

Anyone that knows me could probably list off most of my personal leaks - television, reading, golf, sports. These things get in the way of accomplishing what I need to do on a daily basis. For example, I often mean to work from home, but with the television on, I just get sucked in, even if the show is terrible. So I need to come up with some ways to get away from the television. And for me, out of sighhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift out of mind works pretty well, so it may be as simple as taking myself somewhere that the TV isn't.

But I know you all don't care about my personal leaks. You want to know about my professional leaks. The things that keep me from having the best law firm I can have. Well, here are just a couple.

First, I tend to over think things a bit, particularly when it comes to the design of my law office, law firm marketing, and things of that nature. I talk about doing things and write them down on my to-do list and then I read a lot about what I should be doing, think a lot about what I should be doing, instead of just doing it. For example, I've been thinking about what rug to get for my law office entry for three days now. I know at the end of the day it really doesn't matter that much, but I want everything to fit so perfectly that it slows me down.

Second, I let myself get easily distracted. I always mean to turn off my email and work on something continuously for a bit. But it's really tough for me to do. And, by the way, notice I said "let" myself get distracted. It's completely my decision.

So, moving forward, the plan is to start plugging the leaks. I know it's going to take a lot of willpower, and it's likely going to be a long process. But I'm going to get there. And it's going to start today. I'm pulling the trigger on the rug.

What are your leaks and what are you doing to plug them?

P.S. - we have a new law firm mascot - meet Piper!

Marketing a Law Firm | Video for Your Website?

2011-05-26T16:10:00.001-07:00

I want to apologize for not posting on here the last couple of weeks, to myself, if nothing else. This is a complete excuse, but we recently moved into ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif new office, and the move and design of it has sidetracked me big time. Here's a post I've had in the hopper for a couple of weeks, and I plan on posting regularly going forward.

If you know me, then you know I am constantly looking for new ways to market my law firm. Some of them are out of the box, some of them are more traditional, and some them are simply variations on a theme. Today I want to talk about something that is a variation on a theme - video for your website.

If you check out my website, you'll see that I don't have any video on there, yet. But I think that will be changing very shortly. And the reason is simple, video allows you to make a connection with someone that text and pictures simply can't. I can talk directly to potential clients with video, I can answer their questions, and I can show them I am good at what I do (and include some marketing fundamentals that help make the whole thing pop).

What you get from most law firm videos is what you would expect a law firm to make - boring, predictable, almost like they were reading from the text of their website. Does that do any good? It can't hurt. But your law firm website video can be so much more than that (and I'm trying to make mine just that).

I'm no law firm marketing genius - I'm just a lawyer who opened his own firm and wants it to be successful, but I've tried to learn from people who are, and this is what I've come up with for a recipe for success:

1. Don't be afraid to tell people what to do - when my video is put on the blog it's going to have with it a big sign that says "Click to Watch." Leave out the sign, you'll leave out viewers.

2. Include some production value. RJon, as a big proponent of videos, probably won't really agree with me on this one, but I think the video that's going to be on the front of your website and is meant to get people to call should have some production value. By that I mean it shouldn't look like you made it in your basement or probably even in your office.

3. Include as much proof as you can. There are two types of proof here you want to include - real and social. The real proof includes your training and experience. Member of a special group? Let em know. Publish an article somewhere? Let em know. Social proof is how you've helped others. Tell one of your more compelling client related stories.

4. Tell your prospective client what you can do for them. This is where you hit them with the time, reputation, money benefits. Let them know you can help. Tell them about your process and why you are different from everyone else.

5. End with a bang. Let them know what they should do next. "Call us" is a good start. And, it might be creative to let them know who shouldn't call. "If you are just looking for x, then we might not be right for you." The thing is, though, if you are going to use this qualifier, it should be something that will actually exclude people, not one of those "what's your greatest weaknesses turned into a positive" things.

I'm putting together my script right now. Once it's all put together I'll post it up here and let you take a look.

Hope all is well and you are on your way to starting a successful law firm!

Oh, and one last thing. June 1 was the two year anniversary of my firm. The people at the bank that are now trying to get me to take out a loan with them tell me the first two years are the toughest. I'm looking forward to moving out of survival mode and into growth mode in the coming years. You should join me!

Marketing a Law Firm | Paid Leads

2011-05-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

If you go back and read my posts you'll see a pretty common theme with me. Every six months or so someone will talk me into paying to advertise with them. Typically it's in the form of some type of paid "leads." Well, it's about that time again, so I bought in.

As time has gone by I've become more and more reluctant to buy into these things, but when I see something that has some promise (and a relatively low price tag) I can't help but give it a shot. If it works that's great. If it doesn't I can move on. That's what marketing a law firm is all about - testing testing testing.

I've already talked about adwords and using yodle. I've talked about Nolo, but this is something new. Sadly for you, if it works, it's field specific.

The idea behind the the service is that when people go to this particular site looking for help I can give them I am exclusively listed as an attorney to call. If it sounds like a lot of the other things people are selling you're right, it is. I pay a flat fee (there was an option to pay for each lead) each month to be the main person on this site.

You're probably wondering what made this site different from all the other sites trying to sell the same thing. For me, the difference was exposure. Whenever people try to sell me something on the internet, the first thing I do is go check out their exposure - what kind of a presence they actually have on the internet. The better the presence the more people will be visiting the site and the more potential clients I get exposure to.

For example, let's look at Nolo. I'm a DUI attorney. We all know this. If you search DUI attorney it might take you 5 pages before any Nolo sites pop up (I didn't check this, but I know they aren't on page 1 - not even close). Because of this lack of exposure they don't get many people to their site that are actually qualified prospective clients.

This new service I've signed up with offers that exposure. They know http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwhat they are doing with SEO and I've seen them moving up the rankings for the past 6 months or so. For me that is a good sign that they are interested in staying put, in actually providing me a service, and are trying to produce what they are promising.

When you are thinking about marketing your law firm, remember these things:

1. Everything is negotiable.

2. Don't lock yourself in long term - make them prove they're reliable.

3. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

4. Don't just throw your money away, measure results to see if it's worth it.

5. Think about how clients will get to you through this service. If it takes more than 4 mouse clicks it's too hard.

Have a great weekend!

Starting a Law Firm | Follow Up on Technology

2011-05-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Last week I posted about law firm technology, namely, what I use in my office to do work on a daily basis. You all gave some great comments and I got a couple of emails about it, so I wanted to follow up on that a bit.

Before I get too far, though, I want to point out that it's important not to lose the forest for the trees. Having a perfect technology set up from the beginning isn't going to ensure success when starting a law firm. It can't hurt, but it won't be a deciding factor. And the great thing about starting out is you are small, agile, and can make changes quickly. Get a system set up and try it out. If it doesn't work, change it. It's really that simple.

First, I want to talk about using gmail and google apps for your law firm. When I wrote last I mentioned that the one major hangup with using Google was that I couldn't get all of my contacts to share between my assistant and I. Well, Barry Hammond solved all those problems with one email. He pointed me to this site, which is a private company that's made an application for google apps. As long as you stay small the application is free. I've already signed up and am using it, and it's great. Thanks!

Second, I got an email from someone who asked the following questions:

1. How do I combine Highrise and Gmail Calendar?

2. How do I perform conflict checks?

3. What do I use for accounting? How do I keep track of invoices?

4. Why do I use blogger for my blog? (she doesn't like it)

Here are your answers.

How do I combine Highrise and google calendar in my law firm?

The short answer is that for the most part I don't. All I use the calendar for in gmail is for court dates, meetings, birthdays, etc. I don't use it for tasks. I use Highrise for tasks and to note all of the other things I mentioned (it's always a good idea to keep track of important dates in two places, just trust me on this).

Highrise is great because it can keep track of all of your cases and what is going on with those cases. When you start a case with Highrise it creates a specific email address for that account. Simply add it to your gmail contacts and every time you send and email related to that case blind copy highrise and it will be logged in, in chronological order. Second, whenever you want to assign a task to another person, it will send them an email alerting them to the assignment. And you can check to see if the task has been completed (checked off).

If that didn't answer your question let me know specifically and I'll see what I can do.

How do I perform conflict checks?

Thankfully, in my line of work, I don't need a very comprehensive conflict check. In most of my cases the only witness is a police officer. So long as I haven't represented them before in some matter I'm usually safe. If there are other witnesses it's usually pretty easy for me to know if I've represented them before. I can just search through my old case files.

One thing you might be able to do on Highrise is make sure to attach all the interested parties to the case (witnesses, counsel, etc.). When you get a new case, simply search Highrise for that potential conflict's name and if it pops up check it out.

What do I use for accounting? How do I keep track of invoices?

I use quickbooks for accounting. And I don't do invoices very often. My fee agreements are flat fee. If anyone pays on a payment plan we typically lay that out in the fee agreement and they write me a specific number of checks that I cash each month on a date they have agreed to. I typically don't invoice them for that since it's already "invoiced" in the fee agreement.

Why do I use blogger?

I use blogger because I like it. It's free, it's easy to use, and it's fairly simple to navigate. The stuff you hear about having your own URL for SEO purposes is not that accurate. It might help a little bit, but it's not going to make or break you (I think this blog is a perfect example of that). Bottom line is I like it, it's what I've using for years, and I don't have any reason to switch.

That's it for this post. I owe myself another, so I might get to another today (if there's time).

As always, love to hear what you think. And if you have questions, please let me know.

Starting a Law Firm | Technology

2011-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

I got an email from a guy who wanted to know what kind of a technology set up I have in my office. So here we go. This should be some fun, light reading for you all on a Friday afternoon! The way I'll do it is just go from initial client phone call all the way through resolution of the case. Here we go.

All of my client engagements start with a phone call or email from my website. Let's talk about the phone first. My set up is like this. I have a google voice number, which I've had for about two years now. I'll probably never get away from it. What I like about google voice is that I can take it with me wherever I want to go, it's free, and it's easy to set up and maintain. I've never had a problem with it. Ever.

I've also got the Google Voice App on my iPhone, which lets me make calls from my phone like I was calling from the work number. Makes it easy and convenient to make "work calls" from anywhere in the world without the other person getting your cell phone (and if they've seen your number before they know who you are).

When you call the google voice number, depending on what time of day it is, one of two things happen. If my assistant is in the office, the phone is forwarded to her number. That number is a Skype number. We have no physical phones in the office (except for our cell phones). When the skype number rings she answers it and the person on the other end of the line has no idea it's not a real phone. I think the cost for Skype with outgoing call is something like 4.99 per month per number. We both have a number. The reason I use Skype, in addition to it's cost, is it has many, if not all, of the conveniences of a typical office phone, and then some. It's possible to do conference calls, forward calls, mute calls, etc. And, on top of that, you can do videoconferencing if you want. It's great.

If the email option is chosen, then we obviously get an email alert that someone has filled out the form. We use the Google suite for our mail and calendar. It isn't necessarily as efficient as Outlook (I've tried both extensively), but it gets the job done. The only thing I really hate about gmail is that I haven't yet found a way to share all of our contacts with each other absent exporting a .csv file and importing them in. I'm sure Google will fix this soon, because I'm not the only one to complain about it.

With Google calendar and Google docs we have the ability to share all the information we need to without a bunch of fuss. It's really pretty easy to do. I've also got me email and calendar synced with my iPhone so I can immediately tell if I have conflicts with meetings or other court dates when scheduling something is necessary.

Once someone hires on we enter them into our client management system - highrise. Highrise is not necessarily set up for law firms, but I like it. It's simple, it's intuitive, you can collaborate with everyone in your office easily, and it provides an electronic "file" that everyone can work on and monitor progress on at the same time. You can attach documents, include contacts, copy emails, add notes, add tasks and assign them to people, and much much more. It's a great hub for all of our work.

My office set up is pretty straightforward. I have a laptop that I dock in a docking station. The laptop is a Dell latitude E5400. I've always worked with Dells and never had a problem. That's why I bought the one I have now. The dock is hooked up to two 21 inch monitors that I've pushed together. This allows me to view two documents at the same time, write a motion or email while referencing documents, and keep from having to open and close browsers over and over again.

I have a wireless mouse and keyboard by microsoft that I just picked up at the local Best Buy or Office Depot, I have a pair of Logitech wireless headphones with mic that I use for skype, and I have a logitech hd webcam that I use for video conferencing (which I don't do often).

Our printer is a wireless hp LaserJet P1102w that is about a year old. I bought it after my other one broke and it works like a dream. It's black and white only, doesn't seem to through ink too fast, and prints nice documents. And having it wireless means I can stick it anywhere in the office and my assistant and I can both use it as much as we want.

I keep all of my documents electronically using a Fujitsu ScanSnap S510. It's awesome. I've had it since I started my law firm and have never had any problems (it occasionally gets grumpy but has never broken down - sometimes you have to turn it off and then on to scan, particularly if it's been sitting idle for a long time). I've scanned hundreds of pages of documents at once (it's sheet fed so you just drop them in and let the scanner do the work). This is definitely something you should get.

For fax services I use efax. I think I spend about $25 a month on it. Never had any problems so never had a reason to look for something else. The price is worth it for a service that always works. There may be cheaper out there - Google internet faxing and you'll find plenty of options.

For electronic file storage (where I put everything once I scan it in) I use dropbox. You get 2 gigs for free and 10 gigs for 9.99/month. You can access it wherever you want and share folders with everyone in your office. This means you can all work on the same document, save all the changes in one place, and pull them up whenever you want. People always ask about security when it comes to this stuff and my stock answer is security is a concern for dropbox. If it wasn't secure no one would use it. There is nothing that is 100% secure. Not even your office. If you want something to be ultra safe, spend the money necessary and do it. In reality, very few people care about what you do, and even fewer want to steal what you have.

My legal research tool is LexisNexis. I think I pay $135/month for my state, my federal, and supreme court access. There are certainly cheaper, this is just what I locked myself into when I first started.

I have a physical office location. I have since the day I opened. I started by renting a single office from an established law firm, moved out and got a pretty small stand alone office with shared conference rooms, and in a couple of weeks will be moving to a stand alone office with my own conference room (app. 700 square feet).

That's about all I can think of right now. I'm considering getting an iPad for help with trial, but I'm not going to until I've done a little bit more research and know it will be useful.

If I've forgotten something leave a comment and I'll tell you what I do for it. Good luck starting a law firm! You can do it.

Starting a Law Firm | Marketing

2011-04-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

I read a lot of other blogs (among other things) and on a couple of blogs I read there was a lot of discussion about marketing and how that reflects on you as a lawyer. What happened was, some guy right out of law school got onto SoloSez, the American Bar Association's website, and asked a question about marketing his practice. (Now remember, I am paraphrasing greatly here - if you know what I'm talking about and it didn't go down like this I don't care - there's a lesson here either way).

He started his law firm to be a civil lawyer but is taking criminal defense cases for courtroom experience (another topic all together) and was concerned because he thought a public defender program might take away his opportunity for criminal appointment work.

He came up with three ideas to help him with his practice:

1. Bite the bullet and pay for traffic ticket lists. Do mailings.

2. Pay for SEO to increase my website's search engine effectiveness.

3. Continue networking as much as possible

Since I try to write about marketing on Wednesdays, I thought I'd discuss his problem and show you how I'd work through it.

And before I get too far, if anyone stumbles on this post and wants to write about the idea of working in criminal defense for the sole reason of getting experience for a civil practice, take it somewhere else. There are a ton of other places that would love to talk about that. I don't think it's a great idea, necessarily, but that's not the focus of this post.

Step 1 - The Real Problems

Two things immediately jump out at me when reading this guy's plea for help. First, he seems to be really concerned about his criminal defense practice and not too concerned about his civil practice. Maybe that's just because he's worried about losing his criminal clients and didn't waste time on how busy he was on the civil side, but if it were me, and I was doing it just for the experience, I wouldn't worry about it going away. I'd focus more on what I wanted to do. He should know civil lawyers never go to trial anyway!

Second, he's come up with some suggested marketing ideas to get new criminal clients (I am presuming) but he doesn't have any ideas for growing his civil law practice. His concern seems to be entirely on saving his criminal work (maybe that's because he doesn't have any civil work? I don't know).

I see these are problems because by his own admission these aren't cases he wants to take. If you are a civil litigator why would you be worried about marketing to divorce clients? You wouldn't. Why is this guy so worried about marketing his practice to potential criminal clients? Again, I don't know.

2. How I Would Approach the Problem

If you want to be a civil lawyer, you've got to do civil law, period. Knowing how to beat a speeding ticket isn't going to help you one bit when you've got someone who is trying to collect on a car accident or wants to sue a supplier on a breach of contract theory. Knowing how to defend a DUI isn't going to help either. If you want to be a civil lawyer, go be one!

I'm not here to say whether or not doing criminal defense to pay the bills is right or wrong (actually I am, but, like I said, that's a conversation for a different day), but if that is your motivation, then make sure you remember that when it comes time to make business decisions.

For example, buying traffic ticket lists? Why would you do that? How does that benefit your civil litigation practice? It doesn't. There is no reason to chase criminal clients just because that work is going away for you. Why not invest your time and money into marketing toward civil clients?

3. Some Marketing Suggestions

If you are interested in marketing a civil practice you need to think about where the civil clients are and how to get in front of them to show what you are talking about. Here are a couple of things I've come up with in the past when brainstorming with people:

1. Hold a free seminar on why it's important to incorporate your business when starting out. (By the way I could come up with a million seminar ideas - you are only limited by your imagination. This is a great way to demonstrate your expertise and build relationships).

2. Offer a free "business review" to identify any potential problems and practices one might have with their business (contract review process, document retention, etc.).

3. Start a blog talking about things that are relevant to business (or your potential clients). Make a list of the most common questions your perfect client might have and then answer them in blog posts).

4. Find out who your ideal client is, think about where they go and what they do, and then think of some creative way to get in front of them.

Those are just a couple of ideas. And while they aren't magical, I can guarantee you they are going to be more productive than paying for traffic lists and paying for SEO (which you shouldn't pay for until you know what works and what doesn't - otherwise you might as well just send me your check, you'll get the same results). Throwing money at the problem isn't going to solve it. You are going to have to get out of your comfort zone and throw yourself out there.

Getting clients is not easy. Whether you are a grizzled veteran or a newly licensed rookie, you've got to work at it. Don't be discouraged - just work harder.

Do you have any ideas for marketing a civil law firm (by the way, it needs to be WAY more specific than this - I have no idea what you do and I'm a lawyer)? If so, let's hear about it!

Starting a Law Firm Book Review | Lawyer 2.0 Part II

2011-04-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most you read my post on the starting a law firm book I reviewed on Wednesday. If not you can read that post here. It got some interesting comments, one from Carolyn Elefant, a former lawyer turned starting a law firm guru (who I admittedly got a lot of information from before she started solo practice university), and one from the author of the book. The both make a couple of good points, so I wanted to talk about them.

Carolyn's Comment on My Lawyer 2.0 Review

First, let's talk about Carolyn Elefant's comment. Here it is, in case you missed it:

If you review and pretty much trash a book, the least you can do is link to it. I notice that your idol Rjon uses my shingle as a key word for his videos on YouTube yet you won't even link to someone's book that you reviewed.

I'm not going to talk about the tone of the comment, as it's irrelevant in my eyes. What I want to talk about is the substance, namely why she mentioned what she mentioned.

If you read the comment you'll notice the emphasis here is on links and keywords. She is concerned that I didn't link to the book for people to go and check it out. I'm not sure what the point of the RJon comment is, but I think she's trying to say that when RJon does his stuff he is nice enough to use a keyword Carolyn has in many ways coined (I believe "My Shingle" was the name of her blog when I used to read it).

In my mind this is the type of stuff that should be included in a starting a law firm book - the importance of links and keywords in your posts. Carolyn understands the value of a good link, what that can do for a website in terms of Google ranking and visitors. That type of information is not only important but critical for building business, whether you are starting a law firm or writing a book about starting a law firm. It is the type of thing that you can do on your own without a lot of cost that can pay off huge in revenue.

Thanks Carolyn for pointing that out for me. And, if you'll see, I have added a link. My thinking in not adding a link at the time was that if I'm not endorsing a product I wouldn't include a link - that's why I gave the full name of the book so anyone could easily Google it and find it. But I have no problem adding a link, though I did make it no follow, which is internet speak for Google won't give it any credit as a link (though I encourage you to go check it out and see if it's something for you).

Josh Williams', the Author of Lawyer 2.0, Comment

I don't know why but his comment hasn't shown up on Blogger for me yet, but I got an email that it had been posted. It was long and I wanted to talk about it here, so I'll republish in case it is lost:

As I state prominently on the back cover of Lawyer 2.0 and on the first page of the companion website (www.lawyer2point0.com), “Lawyer 2.0 is a comprehensive summary and description of all the technological tools I utilized to build a six-figure solo law practice in less than 12 months.” Accordingly, I limited the scope of the book to a discussion of all the technological tools I use in my practice and describe how I use them; I felt that Carolyn Elefant’s excellent book, Solo by Choice (www.myshingle.com), more than adequately covered all the other considerations that go into building a successful solo practice.

The tools outlined in Lawyer 2.0 are what I have decided to use in my practice after considerable research and trial and error, and I felt other solos could benefit from reading about what has worked for me rather than go through the costly and time-consuming process of trial and error themselves in setting up an infrastructure for their solo practices. Thus, I think solos who need guidance with respect to the technological nuts and bolts of setting up a law firm--including a comprehensive description of how to create a paperless/digital law office--will find the book and companion website (where I give away half the contents of Lawyer 2.0 for free via blog posts) to be excellent resources.

For a discussion of fundamental business principles, ethical concerns, philosophical and other important considerations that go into building a solo practice, I recommend that solos read Solo by Choice; I am hopeful that the author of this blog will publish a similarly-helpful publication.

Okay, now that that's done let's go through this a little bit and discuss, because I think he makes some good points.

First, let's talk about the purpose of the book, to "a comprehensive summary and description of all the technological tools I utilized to build a six-figure solo law practice in less than 12 months." That is actually a great summary of the book and what the book is really about. If the title of the book was "The Technology You Need to Build a $100,000 Practice," my review of the book would probably be much different.

But this is how the book is billed. How to Build a Six-Figure Solo Practice in 12 Months or Less. To me, that sounds a little more comprehensive than "a comprehensive summary and description of all the technological tools..." It's a bit deceiving and is the reason I wrote the review the way I did. I didn't think it delivered what it was selling (and I apologize for not reading the fine print).

What's missing from this book is how he actually built the six-figure solo practice. I guarantee you it had less to do with the technology he had and had a lot more to do with the marketing and management aspects of how he set up his law practice. And before you harp at me, I know technology has something to do with both marketing and management. But instead of "I bought a Toshiba laptop," I would have expected something like, "when clients call this is how I answer the phone. I have a database set up that captures the following information and this is what I'm trying to figure out from the get go..." That is what is critical to successfully opening a law firm, not whether or not you have a live secretary or a virtual one.

Second, great shout out to Carolyn's book Solo by Choice. I feel like I've read it and was again left wanting more. But, just to be sure I'll grab a copy this weekend, read it, and let you know what I think. Make no mistake, Carolyn knows her stuff. Like I said, I used to be an avid reader. Though in the last year or so it's turned much more commercial, with classes and stuff that tend to be more of an ego boost than a reality check for what is required to be successful (and to be fair, I have not enrolled in any of her classes - they could be wonderful - this is just my opinion from the outside looking in). She's got some great stuff on her old website and blog, though, if it still exists.

Third, and finally, regarding why he wrote the book. I think that's great. I am all for the book. It has some useful information that some people care deeply about. Just don't bill the book as a how-to manual for building a $100,000 practice. If you followed everything in that book you'd have a great set up in front of you but you'd be waiting forever for the phone to ring. I would have liked to have known what you did to market your practice - if it's high volume you've got to have your hands in a lot of cookie jars (adwords, blog, facebook, twitter, newspapers, radio, television, etc.). I'm always interested in what works for people and what doesn't. That information is critical to the success of your firm.

The Book Does Fit a Niche Need

As I close this out, I do want to point out that this book fits a niche need. I'm sure there are people out there that are interested in a thorough review of how technological choices were made when starting a law firm. When I write my book it definitely won't have this amount of depth on this subject matter. If you want to find out why this guy chose a certain laptop or why he uses gmail as his email application, go read the book. It will give you a great understanding of that.

And, finally, I do want to give him credit for putting pen to paper. It takes a lot of time and effort to put something together like that, as I am quickly learning. And opening yourself up to criticism, fair or not, is just about as scary as starting a law firm. The book is well written, I just think it under-delivers.

I look forward to his review of my book when it comes out.

Have a great weekend. As always, questions and comments are welcome.

Starting a Law Firm | Lawyer 2.0 Book Review and My New Book

2011-04-13T14:39:00.001-07:00

You all know that I've got big, grand plans to write a book about starting a law firm, right? And that my book would be different from all of the others because it would be updated to include today's technological improvements as well as be more focused on the "business" side of owning a law firm? Well, now I've got some extra motivation out there to get started - a starting a law firm book I read yesterday called "Lawyer 2.0 - How to Build a Six-Figure Solo Practice in 12 Months or Less." You can find the link to the book here.

I'm not going to provide a link because I don't think you should read it (though you know how hard it is to find it). What I'm going to do instead is review it and give you my take on why I think you should not buy it. Ready? Here we go!

I stumbled upon this book through my Google Reader. A blog I read regularly called "The Attorneys ATM" or something like that had a post pointing people to this new book about how to start a law firm. The blogger was touting the book because he'd been mentioned in the book as a helpful resource when it came to internet marketing. Because I'm kind of into this whole how to start a law firm thing I thought I'd check it out.

The book costs $20. I bought it with the idea that I'd review it here. If I thought it was good I'd say so. If I thought it wasn't so good I'd say so. And, as I've already alluded, I was pretty disappointed in what I found.

To get right to the heart of the matter, this book is too much like Foonberg's "How to Start a Law Firm" book that was written ten years ago. It talks too much about what kind of stapler to buy and whether or not to get a postage meter and not enough about fundamental business principals that can and will make or break your law firm. Here's a break down of the table of contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Hardware

Chapter 2 - Practice Management

Chapter 3 - The Paperless Law Office

Chapter 4 - Legal Research

Chapter 5 - Online Marketing

Chapter 6 - Other Considerations

As you can see just from the titles of the chapters, it's really heavy on what to buy and what to think about when setting up your office and really light on preparing your law firm to be successful from the very beginning. To give you an example, there is an entire section on whether to buy a laptop or desktop and what to look for in your computer hardware configurations. I get that that's important, but I'm going to trust you can figure that out by talking to the computer salesman. Tell them what you want and they'll tell you what to get.

There's also the entire section on going paperless, which includes instructions on how to set up your filing system. I'm not saying this isn't important on some level, but it's not going to determine whether or not your law firm is successful.

And, by the way, I'm going to let you in on a little secret - it's not that hard to make $100,000 your first year. I did it. I'm sure many others have done it. And you can do it. But this book isn't necessarily going to help you get there.

Another way in which this book falls short is that it is geared toward one area of practice primarily - the high volume pump and dump practice. He talks a lot about what his practice is like and what you need if you have a practice like his. What he doesn't talk about is the thought process behind those decisions or why he chose one thing over another.

And by far the weakest area of the book is the online marketing segment. If you buy the book (and at $20, why not, right?), read it, and then dig around on this site for a little bit, you'll see just how short he falls. The first and largest red flag I see from reading this section is that the only references he makes to resources are other attorneys who claim to be online marketing experts. I've got news for you, there is an entire subset of people out there making a living based purely on their knowledge of search engines and how to rank high on them.

That's how I got my internet knowledge. I poked around until I found professional internet marketers who were teaching those fundamentals and learned from them. My references are to those people.

So, I'm going to start working on the book immediately. I just feel like I owe it to you all. There is so much misinformation out there that it's really kind of scary. And to give you an idea, completely off the cuff, of what my table of contents would look like, it would be like this:

Chapter 1. Why Do You Want to Start a Law Firm?

Chapter 2. What to do Before You Open the Doors

Chapter 3. Three Critical Questions You Must be Able to Answer (1. Who is your ideal client?; 2. How are you going to get clients?; 3. How are you going to get clients if your first idea doesn't work?)

Chapter 4. Fighting Fear

Chapter 5. Opening a Law Firm - the Essentials (I'd put all the nuts and bolts in here - 75% of the other guy's book condensed into one chapter).

Chapter 6. Internet Marketing (this would be the biggest chapter - it would also be worth the price of the book alone).

Chapter 7. Creating your team (accountant, bookkeeper, etc.)

Can you see the value in this material over the other? I hope so.

Okay, now that I've laid the gauntlet on myself I better get started. And I guess step one is figuring out how to write a book!

This post would be a great place to leave comments about what you would like to have in the book. I can't guarantee you everything will make it, but I can guarantee you it will have a shot if you let me know about it.

How to Start a Law Firm | Law Clerk Search

2011-04-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

So I'm in the market for a law clerk. No, not a virtual one - and no, I don't want your resume, unless you think you are extremely qualified and want to work for an extremely low wage (insert sarcasm, sort of). Since I hope you are all looking for law clerks this time of year (they are a great way to leverage resources - they aren't that expensive and if you teach them well they can provide a great benefit) I thought I'd tell you about my process for finding a great law clerk.

I've got to worn you, I haven't completed the process yet, so it could be a bust, but the concept seems pretty good. So here we go.

First things first, I do criminal defense, so I want to try to get a law clerk that is interested in criminal defense. At the end of the day I may hire this person on as an associate - this should work out as an extended tryout if I do it right. Because of that I want to make it clear that the benefits of this job are closely related to the practice of criminal defense, and not other places.

Second things second (I'll stop doing that going forward, I promise), I want to make sure this person is at least minimally qualified for the job. The minimum qualifications include not being dumb, being in law school, being able to write a coherent sentence, and being able to follow simple directions. Because those things are important to me, I turned the process of submitting the application materials into the the first test. These are the things I've asked for: (1) cover letter; (2) resume; (3) writing sample. But it doesn't stop there.

Within the cover letter I've asked them to tell me three things, in addition to what a great person they are: (1) what their favorite sports team is; (2) what their favorite Seattle summertime activity is; and (3) why they are interested in criminal defense. I don't really necessarily care what the answers are (though if you yell me you like the Missouri Tigers or K-State Wildcats as your favorite sports team you better have outstanding credentials), what's most important to me is that they took the time to read and follow the directions. In case you didn't know reading the fine print in the practice of law is kind of a big deal.

If you don't follow those directions, no matter how much I like you, you get cut.

Third, once the first cut is made, I'm giving them a mini-assignment. I'm asking them to research a question (not a hard one) and write me a memo answering the question (2 pages or less). I'm actually doing this for two reasons. First, it's another chance to see if they can follow directions. Second, it's an opportunity to see how badly they want the job. Put a little time and effort into this thing and it will show. Throw something together and I'll know it.

Fourth comes the interview. I think I'll probably structure it like I did with my assistant search - the same questions for everyone. Just makes it easier. What I really want to see at the interview is that they've got some social skills and we can work together. My new office is big but it's not that big. If I get to pick who I work with I might as well like them.

Fifth, and finally, I'll probably do a final happy hour to top it all off. I mean, let's be honest, everything's better with a happy hour right?

We are just about to wrap up phase one - the application submission process. I'll let you know how it turns out and who I pick when I get to that stage.

What else? Oh yeah, set up payroll this week. Once that's all done I'll talk about it a little bit and give you some information on who you might want to talk to if you're interested in setting it up yourself (I need it for my assistant and the new law clerk - there's a program where the state will reimburse you for a portion of your law clerks wages, but you've got to have payroll set up).

As always, your comments and questions are welcome. See you next week.

Starting a Law Firm | Leaving Another Firm

2011-04-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'm such an idiot. I have been writing these posts about starting a law firm here for a couple years now, and not once have I talked about what you should be thinking about if you are leaving a firm to start another one. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Okay, I might be being a little hard on myself. But I have completely missed what is a very relevant topping with regards to starting a law firm. It took a lunch with a great attorney this week for me to realize people are doing this every day and I should talk about it on here.

I will probably talk about it more in the future, but for today I thought I'd break it down into the three most important things you should consider when starting a law firm by leaving a law firm. And, just to be clear, what I'm talking about is leaving to start a competing law firm.

1. They are Your Clients Too

Before I get too far into this, I want to point out that I'm talking in generalities here. Before you go running off half-cocked with half of your current firm's clients, make sure you are following the rules in your state regarding how this should be properly done. Okay, disclaimer over.

When I was in Kansas, I worked at a firm where I had no rainmaking responsibilities. The owner of the firm had his clients, and he was good with that. We didn't get to talk to the clients, and we weren't expected to bring in new business. We were truly just attorneys practicing law.

Most of you out there, though, aren't in that situation. You come to a firm, learn the ropes, and then start letting people know what you do. As they need help they come to you specifically or call the firm because of your connection and get signed up. You may not do all of the work on their cases, but you do some of it. In some ways you would consider these people "your" clients.

One of the first things you need to do when you consider opening your own law firm is to figure out how to let all of "your" clients know you are leaving and give them the option of coming along. I don't know the rules in every state but I do know this - it is the client that chooses the attorney, not the other way around. If you are leaving and you have been working with the client, they have the option of choosing to have you continue to help them.

Just because you can do that, though, doesn't mean you should tread lightly and think through in great detail how you are going to undertake this endeavor. You don't want to burn any bridges, but you are entitled to help people that want your help. If you have decided to open your own business you have accepted the responsibility of making tough decisions. This will likely be the first of many.

What would I do if it was me? I'd do two things. First when I let the firm know I was leaving, I would talk to them about my clients and work out an agreement for splitting any fees that may have already been placed in the trust account and an agreement for letting clients know I was leaving and what their options were. And I would put this in writing. You know what an oral agreement is worth.

Second, I'd let the clients know I was leaving, what I was doing, when I was doing it, and that they were free to come along if they wanted to. I would do it in writing and in person (if permissible). Remember, you aren't poaching clients here, you are allowing them to make an informed decision.

If you've been reading this blog you know that finding and signing up clients is the key to your success. To simply forgo a wealth of potential clients to avoid stepping on toes or making people feel uncomfortable is irresponsible of you as a business person.

Oh, and by the way, you should be prepared for the owner of your firm to get pissed. Let's talk about that next.

2. A Well Planned Exit Strategy

When you go and tell your boss that you've decided to go out on your own, open an office next door, and compete directly with him, typically one of two things will happen:

(1) You'll immediately be fired; or

(2) You'll help with your "exit," but you'll just be giving the owner time to make sure all of his or her clients are going to stay with them.

Either way, I'd say it's important for you to have a plan before walking into the bosses office.

Most of the stuff you can do on the fly, after you've officially announced your departure. Insurance, website, business cards, etc. can all be set up in a really short amount of time. What you want to have in place, your "plan," is a marketing strategy, a "how to keep some of your current clients" strategy, and a time frame for when you announce your departure to when you actually leave. It's possible that you could have to implement that strategy very shortly after you talk to your boss.

3. Don't Let the Cat Out of the Bag too Early

One of the things I talked about with the attorney I met this week was whether or not it was okay to talk to other attorneys about her departure from the firm. There was the opportunity to share some office space with some other attorney and they thought it would be a good fit. But the attorney was a little hesitant to talk to these other attorneys because they know the attorney's boss.

And hesitant they should have been.

If you are new to the practice of law or don't have a lot of contact with other attorneys I have one piece of information that is going to be invaluable for you - we are a bunch of chatty Cathys. We sit around waiting for hearings, waiting for depositions, going to CLEs and we don't want to talk about work so we talk about the next best thing - what our fellow attorneys are up to. It's human nature, and attorneys are bad about it.

I would expect the moment the attorney left the office that a phone call would be made to their boss about the exchange that just took place. When that happens suggestions one and two get messed up - you can't figure out how to keep your clients and you don't get to control the message of your leaving the firm.

Bottom line, keep this idea close to the vest until you are ready to let everyone know. You know the old saying by Ben Franklin: "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead." The more people that know your plan, the more likely it is to get out.

4. Control the Message

I remembered this fourth one while I was writing this so I thought I'd include it. I'll keep it short.

One of the great things about having a plan for your move is that you get to control the message. You get to announce your departure to your boss, you get to announce your departure to your clients, and you get to announce your departure to your colleagues. When you get to do this, you get to spin in it in a positive light.

Put together a time line for client letters, new firm announcements, etc. before you leave so you get to frame your departure from your old firm and the beginning of the new.

Okay, that's it for today. As usual, if you have questions let me know. Thanks for reading. Hopefully I'll have something cool to say on Friday.

Starting a Law Firm | The Conference Room Conundrum

2011-04-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

I guess this blog is supposed to have some day to day type of stuff in here, so that's what this post will be about.

As I've already written, I'm in the process of relocating my office. I found a great space - here are some pictures (a before view - I'll show you an after view after I move in) - but I've hit a bit of a snag with the landlord.

As you can see, the way it is set up is completely open. I like this. But I wanted to have a space where I can have some privacy if necessary - for new client meetings, interviews, and the like. This space doesn't have that, so I was going to build it out. But I want a look like this. It's open, allows the light to get all the way to the back of the office, and leaves the office with that big, open feeling.

The only problem with that is that option is expensive. Like $20,000 expensive. Not worth the investment. Not at all. So I started looking for other options, and I found this as an acceptable alternative. Not exactly the same but very close. Doable. I actually don't have a cost on this yet, but am bidding it out as we speak.

The landlord understood what I wanted and agreed to give me a credit for what they would have built - a boring, closed in conference room with windows. I thought they'd give me about $1,500 because that is what it cost. I get the lease and you know what the allotment is? $400. You have got to be kidding me.

I call the realtor (the guy working for me) and tell him the landlord is crazy if he thinks $400 would put that wall up. Come to find out the guy only included the expenses (and it's still not enough). He didn't include labor because he's got guys that do it in house.

I like this space, and I don't want to look anymore (this is pure laziness, by the way), so I'm trying to come up with an option that works for everyone. I figure if he gives me a free months rent (app $900) we'll just call it good. I'll build out the conference room how I want and that will be that.

What do you all think about this? Any suggestions?

Bookeeper on the Payroll

My "team" will be nearly complete after this afternoon. I've now got a realtor, an accountant, and now I'm adding a bookkeeper to the mix. I'm doing this for two reasons. First, I'm putting Kelsey on the payroll and I don't want to figure out how to do it. Kind of one of those "my time is more valuable than that" things. Second, I'm hiring a summer law clerk. I can get reimbursed for some of the cost of that through their law school, but I've got to have them on the payroll. And third, it's only going to run me about $100/month, well worth the cost.

It seems like right now the law firm expenses are really piling up. But as you become more and more successful you'll see that things get more and more complicated. Paying an accountant and a bookkeeper a little every month, moving into an office that suits my needs completely, and hiring a law clerk are all costs that add up. But each one of those expenses frees up more of my time and energy to bring in even more work. One new client a month (total, not for each) still pays for more than those expenses combined. That means I'm making money by adding to my team.

RJon Phone Call Update

I wanted to bring your attention to this comment I received this week about RJon, my business coach. I think it's really important that you try to find someone like this to help you through that side of starting a law firm (even if you don't use him). Here's what Angela had to say:

Hi Chris,

I chanced upon your blog a while back after googling "how to start a law firm" or something similar. I read your information on RJON, looked at his website, contacted him from various forums and this Monday participated in the free intro call. It was a very inspiring and clarifying 40 minutes. I can recommend that anyone should take him up on his free call, its free and really not that much of a time investment.

I hope to participate in his program but you are right- it is expensive. I'd love to call you to ask in more detail how the program worked for you.

angela

I don't want to sound like I'm pushing you all too hard to RJon, because like I said, I don't care if you use him or find someone else to help you, but finding someone to coach you through this business stuff could be the difference between success and failure for you. It's not as straightforward as it seems, and there are some things that you can do to really make your practice take off at the earliest time possible.

Have a great weekend. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll talk to you next week.

Starting a Law Firm | Opportunities and Office Space

2011-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Hope all is going well. Missed a couple of posts. Sorry. Been busy. But I'm back and I'm ready to write! Here we go.

Opportunity to Learn How to Start a Law Firm Right the First Time

Wanted to start this post off with a bit of information for all of you out there thinking about starting a law firm or wondering how you can really jump start your practice. If you've been paying attention at all you know I have a business coach named RJon Robins. He's a great guy, knows a lot about law firm marketing and management, and truly has helped me take my practice to where it is today. And he's got an opportunity I wanted to let you all know about.

Before I get into it, though, I want to issue a disclaimer. The link I'm going to give you to sign up for this free phone call is an affiliate link. That means if you click on it and then end up signing up with RJon for help, he'll pay me a little bit of money. A referral fee for lack of a better term. Although it has nothing to do with my endorsement of his services (you can see I have posts about him going way back before I had any affiliate arrangement with him) I wanted to let you know.

With that being said, let's get to the meat of this opportunity. RJon is having a free phone call to tell people about his starting a law firm course. It's a course that actually morphed off the course I originally bought and provides all of the tools you need to run a successful law firm. It's a great resource and something all of you should think about signing up for if you are serious about not just opening a law firm but opening a successful law firm. Click on the link here to go sign up. Like I said, the call is free, I guarantee you'll get some good information even if you don't sign up, and if you're serious about doing this, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Spending Money to Make Money

That's pretty much my pitch for the phone call. But while I have your attention I want to talk to you about something that has taken me some time to learn but is vital to your success in business and in life. To make money you have to spend money. Period.

What has prompted this section of the post was my thinking back to when I first met RJon, on a call exactly like the one you are going to be signing up for. He talked about all the things his program offered, provided a lot of proof that the service was legit (which was a huge fear of mine), and then told me the price - $2500. When I heard it I thought, "holy shit that's expensive. I don't want to spend my money on something like that." And that was one of the dumbest things I think I've ever thought.

Here's the thing about owning your own business. You have to treat it like you treat your legal career. I hope as attorneys, no matter where you are in your professional career, you don't think you've reached the peak of your skills. There is always more to learn, always more to hone, always more to add to your arsenal. And to do that you typically have to pay some money. I don't think twice about dropping $1000 to go to a trial lawyers CLE because I know it's going to help me infinitely moving forward. There's a business term for that - ROI - return on investment.

These types or programs are exactly the same. The money you are paying is (or should be) inconsequential compared to what it will earn you over time. To put it in financial terms, wouldn't you willingly spend $2500 to make $25000 based on the information, resources, and practical help you get? If you say no don't open a law firm. You're an idiot.

I've paid for RJon's programs and I've paid for other business programs too. I just bought a course that cost me $1,500 (not related to law) that I thought might give me just a couple of more tools to make me that much more effective. If it helps me get one more client it's already paid for itself.

My point is if you're opening a law firm you need to start thinking like a businessman. And a businessman knows that money doesn't represent security or purchasing power, it represents leverage. Money to the businessman is a unit of leverage that can be used to get more units. You start thinking like this and the money will start rolling in.

By the way, if I don't get any comments or questions on this I'm going to be disappointed. This isn't an easy concept to wrap your heart around. It's easy to wrap your mind around, but it's scary when you first start doing it. Let me know what you're thinking, let's talk our way through this, and get your growth projections from a 20 degree angle on the graph to an 80 degree angle.

And, by the way, RJon is the one that helped me through explore this concept. And to give you an idea of what a cool guy he is, the example he used to explain the concept was a drug dealer (I've talked about this in the past if you want to see the example played out).

New Office Space!

And speaking of investing in money to make some more, I submitted a letter of intent on some new office space next week. It's time to get out of my current space.

If I haven't walked you through my decision to move offices, I give you a brief synopsis. About a year ago I moved out of downtown to a more industrial district. The downtown office was nice, but access sucked, parking sucked, and it was expensive. I wanted to move some place that was more my style, and I thought I found a cool spot. The access was good, the parking was free (garage in the building) and the rent was cheap (relatively). It was about 200 square feet or so and had two free conference rooms that were right next door. The building was new and seemed cool.

But I forgot to do something I knew I should have done - or I wasn't realistic with my analysis. I didn't think about the entire process from a client perspective. I considered how they would get here and what they would think of the space when they got here, but I didn't think about what would happen from when the client arrived to when they actually got to the office. See, there is no central lobby in the building like a traditional office building. When you get in the parking lot there are elevator bays on the north and south sides that take you up to the floor you need to go to. But to get into the elevator bays you need a security card - 24 hours a day. That makes getting clients up here difficult. And it isn't the first impression I wanted.

So I'm moving. The new space is 700 square feet, is in a better location, has better location, and is even cheaper per square foot than this place. There's enough room to build out a conference room (a portion of which the landlord is paying for) and hold me, my assistant and a law clerk or new attorney. And it's cool as hell. I hope we seal the deal and get started on making the space ours.

Speaking of making the space ours, I'm kind of in a reflective mood today, and it got me thinking about office space and what it really represents to me. For me it's not just about having a cool space. It's about having a place I'm excited to go to everyday, about having a place that's my own, that I built up, that I paid for, and that I can call my own. For me it represents stability, safety, and success. It's my home base, my place to hatch new plans, to refine old ones, and to continue my plan to dominate my market for legal services (by the way, this doesn't have to be your plan, but you should have a plan). I'm excited for this new space because in many ways for me it represents that I have arrived. Even though my practice has been open for almost two years, this is something tangible that represents I've been doing things the right way.

Thanks for reading. Thanks (in advance) for sharing. See you Friday.

Starting a Law Firm | More of This and That

2011-03-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

Whew, what a week! Got a little busy last week, plus had some family visiting from out of town, so I didn't have time to write any posts. I'm making it up to you by giving you three this week, including this long one covering several topics, including: more on taxes; phone systems revisted; how to write marketing articles; and my quest to find the perfect law firm office space.

This could end up being long, but I'll do my best to keep you entertained.

Update on the Taxes Talk

After that article on taxes and accountants I am now fully aware that some people read these posts and actually read them all the way through! Guess I just needed to talk about something lawyers could relate to on a real lawyerly level - the tax code - to get your juices flowing.

If you take a look at my last post on law firm taxes, you'll see that I didn't pay any quarterly taxes last year. And you'll see the comments where people are concerned about that (which I actually really appreciate). To quell any fears, I wanted to let you know that I did a little research (after the fact, admittedly) and it turns out I'm going to be okay for not paying my quarterly taxes last year. What you pay year to year depends on what you took in the year prior. Because I only had 6 months of revenue (if you'd call it that) I didn't have much of a tax base at all. Using those numbers I wouldn't have had to pay quarterly taxes. I wouldn't have qualified.

This year is a different story, and I know it's time to start taking that stuff seriously. That's why I met with an accountant prospect last week. We shared a couple of pitchers of beer together, talked business, talked life, and talked accounting. I think he knows what he's doing so I'm going to give him a shot to see if he can help me out. The best part about it is I can stop worrying about having to do it myself.

To give you an idea of what we worked out, he bills hourly, though not for phone calls and things like that (which I get). And, if I prefer, we might be able to work out a flat fee. He open to negotiate. From there he's just going to start helping me out to take advantage of everything I can to keep this business on the right track.

I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Phone Systems Revisited

I've talked about phone systems a lot (here and here at least). I've been thinking about them again and wanted to give you an update on what I figured out.

If you weren't already aware, my phone system is basically set up like this. At the top of the pyramid are two google voice numbers. One of those numbers is my primary number. It is used on all of my marketing materials. It is what people call when they want to reach the firm.

The next layer of the pyramid are two Skype phone numbers and a virtual receptionist. One skype number is assigned to me and one to my assistant. With skype we basically have an office phone system on our computer. We can instant message (though we use google chat for that mostly - way faster), we can put people on hold, we can transfer calls, and we can do video conferencing if necessary. I think the cost for Skype is around $15 a month, though I could be wrong on that.

The virtual receptionist is $79 a month plus a per call fee (typically runs about another $50 a month. They will answer the phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if I want them too.

The third and final layer of the phone system is my cell phone and my assistant's cell phone. Depending on the status of the phone systems our cell phones serve as a last resort backup and also have the capability of dialing out with the Google voice number with the recipient believing it came straight from the office.

During normal business hours (i.e. when Kelsey, my assistant is here) the Google voice number is pointed to ring her and my Skype numbers. This takes about 5 seconds at the beginning of the day. When someone dials the google voice number it is automatically routed directly to the Skype number.

When Kelsey is not here, the phone is switched to the virtual assistant. Whenever anyone calls it is routed to them. They answer like they were here (with my law firm name and everything) and then buzz my cellphone to see if I would like to take the call. If I don't answer (or even if I do) I get an email from them with the callers name, phone number, and the purpose of the call.

The system was working okay, but not perfectly. We were getting frustrated because sometimes the number would only ring on skype once or twice before getting kicked to voice mail (typically it rings for about 20 seconds). Other times, our microphones wouldn't work when a call was picked up, or a call would be dropped for unknown reasons. It got to the point where it was starting to be more than annoying, so I started looking into other stuff.

And I did look. But I didn't find much. Actually, I didn't find anything. Sure, you can set up some kind of huge PBX system and get servers and that kind of stuff, but that's exactly what I'm against. Advances in technology should allow you to do all of that stuff easily and cheaply. And, as I soon learned, my setup is probably the easiest and cheapest way to do it.

The other great thing about it is it is highly mobile. That means I can set up my office anywhere. If I want to make some calls from the beach in Bali, as long as I've got an internet connection I'm good to go (which is easier to get now more than ever). And should there ever be a disaster of any kind where I live, my office literally wouldn't skip a beat (unless the electricity and internet went out - but then everyone would be paralyzed from a communications standpoint).

To fix our phone problems we made a couple of minor fixes that might help you too if you're experiencing problems. First, when Kelsey comes in in the morning she is only going to point google voice at her skype number, at least until I come in (yes, you can logically deduce that she's here before me). Second, I set up the internet connection so she has a hard connection (as opposed to the wireless that she did have). This should help eliminate any dropped calls or bad reception (there are two of us on a business bandwidth). That's it. Problems should be solved. I'll update you in a couple of months.

Writing Good Marketing Articles

If you don't know by now critical to starting a successful law firm is finding clients. Read another way - marketing. If you've been reading this blog for a while then you know a lot of my time is spent on internet marketing, which includes writing articles (including on this site).

As part of that effort, I've got some sites where I will post articles submitted by other writers to be posted on my site. The benefit for me is that I get fresh content. The benefit for them is they get a relevant article with a link back to their site. It's a win win for everyone.

But lately I've been getting terrible article submissions. Not only are they thoughtless and lazy, but the grammar is terrible (and I don't mean a couple of misspellings - some of the articles read like Yoda wrote them). So I thought I'd talk for a couple of minutes about article writing and how to do it right.

First things first, at least 300 words. That is your bare bones minimum. But it isn't that much. To give you an idea, this article, up to this point, is 1371 words. That's at least four times longer than it needs to be. So, don't be afraid to be brief and make one point in one article.

Which brings me to point number two - keep it simple. Write like you are talking to a client. Explain to them what the terms you are using mean and when a 1 cent word will do, use it (versus a $5 word).

Which brings me to point number three - write about things your client cares about. Think they care about what that new case says? They don't. What they care about is what the case means. Talk about the fact, what the rule is, and how they can use that rule in the future to their benefit. If you want to do a little lawyerly analysis fine. But keep it brief.

Fourth, and finally, don't outsource your article writing to a third party, unless it's someone in your office or a law clerk or someone like that. I guess what I'm trying to say is, when you outsource your marketing you outsource your reputation. Read that article to see exactly what I'm talking about. When you write crappy articles, sometimes people will find them. And sometimes those people aren't nice.

You can make a lot of headway online if you work hard and do it right. You just have to keep after it.

Law Firm Office Space

I don't know if I've talked much about this lately or not, but I'm in the market for new office space. My space now isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't ideal. I've been here for almost a year, and it's time to move on. I'm glad I came here, though. It's kind of one of those, "you don't know what you don't like until you experience it" kind of moments.

There are a couple of things I think are important for a law office. First, I think it needs to work like people expect an office to work. That means people need to be able to get to it, you need to have a conference room area, and if you are seeing a lot of people, you need to have a waiting area. Second,it needs to look like an office, at least to the extent that it give people confidence that you know what you are doing. People expect things when they come and see you (like wearing a tie) and when they don't pick up those expected cues it can fluster them. Not good. Third, it needs to be fairly easy to get to. Someone should be able to plug it into GPS and find it.

My office right now really meets none of those criteria, and that's a problem. So I'm fixing it. There are some things about my office that will not be traditional. It will have an open concept - if there is division required it will be with glass, not with drywall. It will utilize technology to the nth degree. It will be cool.

But some of the traditional aspects must remain. Clients need a place to sit. We need a place to discuss things. We need a place to have meetings. I need a place to work. Those things are non-negotiable.

The spaces I'm looking at right now range from $1,000-$1,500 a month and from 800 square feet to 1200 square feet. They are the kind of place we can grow into (to give you an idea, right now my office is only 200 square feet tops. It will be interesting to see how I fill the place up!

You don't need an office to be successful, but if you are going to get one you might as well get something you can be proud of. That's what I'm going for here. Something I can be proud of, and something I can in for a long time. As with everything else, I'll keep you updated, maybe even post some pictures and let you help me decide!

Okay, this is plenty long. I'll write more about something else tomorrow. Let me know if you'd like me to talk about anything specifically. And, as always I welcome your comments!

Starting a Law Firm | Taxes

2011-02-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a short post today, mainly because I can't think of much to write about. But, since tax season is fast approaching, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about what I do along those lines. Here's a hint - not much.

When you are starting a law firm there are two things that you can be pretty sure of. First, you aren't going to be making a ton of money your first year. Second, especially if it's just you, there are going to be basically two line items, income and expenses. Amortization, depreciation, and capital expenditures probably aren't going to be entering the mix much.

So why make it more complicated than it needs to be? For me,up until this year (2011) I didn't even use quickbooks. I just had a spreadsheet. When money came in I noted it. When I paid a bill or incurred an expense I noted it. Then at the end of the year I added it all up and figured out what my tax liabilities were (if any). And there weren't many.

I haven't done my taxes for 2010 yet, but I must admit I'm a little bit nervous. I made a little bit of money ($45,000 or so - net) so I know I need to be paying some tax on that. But I don't know exactly how much. That's what's making me nervous. I could end up owing some decent money, which is going to be painful to part with.

This year, in hopes of lessening that burden, I'm putting money away every month into a money market account. I'll make a little bit of cash on it and then have it available when it's time to pay Uncle Sam. Better that than to reach the end of the line and realize I don't have enough to foot the bill.

What are your tax strategies? When do you think it's time to hire on a CPA to help you out? For me, that's probably coming up soon. But the thought of it's a little scary.

Have a great weekend.

Marketing a Law Firm | Avvo.com, Social Media, "Networking" and You

2011-02-23T11:08:00.000-08:00

Before I get too far into this post, I want to put it into context. I am not trying to be mean. I am not trying to be harsh. I am trying to give you the information you need to start and run a successful law firm. I'm not really that good at sugar coating things (ask my mom and my wife!), so I'm just going to give it to you straight.

I'm not going to say any names, but I met with another guy last night over beers who is venturing out to start his own law firm. He was a great guy, pretty fresh out of law school (though with a lot of legal experience considering), who, because of the present economic state of the country, doesn't have many job prospects.

We sat down to talk and I asked him what I always ask people when I first meet them to talk about this stuff: (1) what is your practice area; and (2) what plan do you have in place to be successful. He knew what his practice area was, which was a good thing, but when we started talking about what his plan was I got the same look I probably gave when my contracts professor asked me a question about anything - sheer terror.

And that's okay. Most of us don't have a plan when we set out, particularly when, like this guy's situation, the necessity of starting a law firm is thrust upon us. So I decided to break it down a little bit further and ask what is really the most important question you need to be able to answer to be successful - what are you doing to get clients?

Now, before I tell you what his answer is, if you are seriously considering opening a law firm, I want you to do me a favor - take five minutes, right now, and make a list of the things you can think of to get clients. And the ideas can be as crazy as you can make them. Okay, go.

Interlude - the Process

I wanted to make this exercise a little bit easier for you, so I'm trying to fill some space between the question and the answer. So we'll talk about something else for a minute, something that is law firm marketing related. The process.

When you aren't thinking and working to get new clients, you should be thinking and working on the processes your firm is going to have in place to handle clients once the phone starts ringing. The best way to do this is to put yourself in the shoes of the client, from the very beginning of the process.

It should go something like this: client has a problem; client seeks out help for that problem (this is where you need to be); client finds your website or hears about you; client is looking for specific information to determine if you know what you are doing and if they can trust you (provide that information); client decides they want to talk to you, how do they do that; client calls, how do you answer the phone?; are you setting a meeting?; what information do you need from them?; what do you do when you get off the phone?; and the list goes on and on. Each time you think you've got all the answers, break it down into smaller pieces.

And, as you are figuring all of this out, write it down. That way you don't forget, and when you hire people to help you (which you will because you'll be busy with clients) they can hit the ground running by just reading the law firm manual you've created.

Law Firm Marketing - the Plan

Okay, back to the original question. I asked the guy "what are you doing to get clients," and he gave the answer I bet a lot of you immediately thought of. He said, "I'm doing a lot of social media stuff, participating on avvo.com, I'm active in the solo/small firm section of the bar association, and I'm meeting with a ton of attorneys."

Oh boy.

I then asked the million dollar question - "getting any clients from this?" I already knew the answer.

Here's the thing about those three or four methods of "marketing." They make us feel really great, like we're really doing something. We're getting our name out there, we're answering people's questions, we are exchanging business cards. But the problem with that is that it's too easy. And generally, in business, when something is easy, it's ineffective. And easy and cheap, which all of those are, drops the effectiveness down to near zero.

The problem with all of those marketing ideas is that they don't do what marketing is meant to do - put you in front of your target client. All of your marketing efforts should be funneling people that need your business your way.

So, what is my suggestion? Here it is. Stop posting on avvo. Keep your profile and try to get your clients to review you. When you do something good, post it on your profile (when people google you, and they will, they can find out what a great lawyer you are). But other than that, stay away.

Have a facebook page for your business and try to get everyone you know to like your page. Don't expect to get new clients directly from it, but use it as a way to keep your former clients and friends informed about what is going on with your firm and to "remind" people what you do. The best thing that can happen from keeping up a facebook page is someone who likes it is sitting around the water cooler with a friend who talks about a problem they have that you can fix. They just saw your page, so you're top of mind, and they tell that friend to call you.

Networking events. Don't use these for business generation, at least for immediate business generation. Use these events as an opportunity to have a great time and get to know others in your community. Tell people what you do but then learn about them. Networking is all about building long term relationships. They do result in referrals, but months and years down the road after you've built up trust with people you've met.

So, what should you do? Easy. Take some time, sit down, and think of some ways that you can get in front of clients. I know one great place most people go for legal services - the internet. Figure out how to get seen on the internet and start working at it. Like I told the guy I met yesterday, anyone can do it, but it takes a lot of hard work. But that should be okay, because that's what's going to separate you from everyone else.

Another idea - hold a seminar. Invite your friends and talk about what you do in an interesting way. I've given presentations on how to deal with the cops. I put some funny videos in, tell them about myself, and answer questions afterward. Get everyone's contact information at the presentation, and then tell them you'll be giving another one in two months and if they know anyone that might appreciate it they should let them know about it.

Getting clients is only hard because we feel safe doing what everyone else does. Branch out, be creative, and do what other people aren't. Next thing you know, the clients will be rolling in.

Can You Dress for Success?

2011-02-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is a two part question that actually got me thinking after I read two separate blog posts (although to be specific it was one blog post that referenced another). The post was by the author of Simple Justice, a blog I think is fantastic (to translate fully, I'm suggesting you go take a look). It's a criminal defense blog, but it's more than that. Scott Greenfield, the author, discusses topics ranging from criminal defense to marketing to practicing law generally to a select group of individuals he describes as the "slackoise," which I might actually be a part of.

But I digress. The post I saw today was entitled "The Easy Answer: Change Clothes." Here's a quick recap before I give my two cents. Scott read a blog post by Susan Cartier Liebel, who runs Solo Marketing University (that, by the way, is not an endorsement - I don't anything about the business, how it's run, or if it's good). The gist of her post was that people are always judging you so it's better to be well dressed and presentable at all times - "Better they make a snap positive assessment" than a negative one.

That's all well and good, and the first point I'll talk about below. But Scott, as he is wont to do, takes the post a step further and discusses the story from a lawyering standpoint. His lesson from this story, which is the second point I'll talk about, only I'll bring it back to a starting a law firm perspective, is that we are communicators and persuaders. If you want to persuade you've got to know your audience and frame your presentation in a way that makes them understand what you are saying. His point is that it doesn't matter what you are wearing if you are just going to talk at someone or talk over them. If you aren't effectively communicating you have no chance of success.

Now that you have the background, here are my two cents to answer the question, "Can You Dress for Success?"

You Don't Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

This saying used to be a commercial for some type of beauty care product - soap, deodorant, or something like that. The idea behind the commercial was if you stink, people aren't going to like you. And that makes sense.

The same goes with being a lawyer. People have in their heads an idea of what an attorney is supposed to look like, what one is supposed to sound like, and how one is supposed to act. Going against those assumptions for the simple sake of being different, isn't going to help you get more clients. It's going to make people that meet you and are considering hiring you uncomfortable. You want to exceed client expectations not fail them.

Whether we want to believe it or not, we are being evaluated at all times on many different levels. Our looks are definitely one of those evaluation criteria. So why not control something you have complete control over and look your best? If I can instill an added sense of trust and competency with opposing counsel and the judge because I look nice, why wouldn't I do that? That's advocacy, whether you want to believe it or not.

My only point of disagreement with Susan's ideas relate to dressing well all the time. And I think Scott agrees with me a least a little because he tells a story about a guy that used to mow his lawn with a tie on. It's true that everyone out there may be a potential client for you - but it's also true that you are more than just a lawyer. You may be a rock climber or a golfer, a swimmer or a Harry Potter fanatic. Whatever it is, you may not always be able to wear a suit. And that's okay.

When people are meeting you as an attorney, they need to "see" you as an attorney. If I met someone at the grocery store on a Saturday and they were wearing a suit, unless they were coming from a funeral or worked at a hotel I'd think it was kind of weird. No one thinks you should be wearing a suit all the time. So don't.

The Art of Persuasion

If Susan's post was the frosting, Scott's is the cake. He delves a little bit deeper into the art of persuasion (which is our business and the business of running a law firm). Scott's post, however, feels like his viewpoint is not that of a marketer, but of a legal professional. And he's right and wrong.

His point is that being a lawyer is about sending and receiving (communication, in other words). If you are sending, but it's not being received correctly, then that's a you problem, not a them problem. You haven't tailored your message to sway the person you are talking to to adopt your point of view (or hire you).

While this is a critical skill as a lawyer when you are practicing law, it's also a critical skill when you are running a law firm. If you have an idea for the kind of message you want to present to the world about what your law firm stands for, then you need to make sure the signals you are sending are being received in a convincing manner.

What does that mean? In short, it means taking a step back, thinking about who your client really is, and then putting yourself in their shoes and finding out what it is they are looking from from a service provider like yourself. When you think you know what that is, assuming it's something you can provide, figure out how to demonstrate that your law firm has that ability and then go do that.

Sorry if this Post Sucks

I'm not proofreading this post and I'm not changing it, even though I feel like it's really disjointed. I'm just too lazy. Hopefully you can cut through my bad writing to see that there are two really good points in there: (1) that you need to dress nicely (not extravagantly, but your suit should fit you); and (2) that ultimately you are trying to be persuasive in many different ways - a nice suit won't make you persuasive, it takes really getting to know your audience and then crafting your message so they can allow themselves to believe you are right - and this is a marketing and practical lesson.

Have a great weekend! And, as always, if you have comments or questions, please let me know.

How to Start a Law Firm | Two Marketing Ideas Shot Down

2011-02-17T00:50:00.001-08:00

I can't help it. I think it's just in my blood now. But I am constantly thinking of ways to increase my conversion rate for potential clients (i.e. calls from the website) and thinking of ways to get more people to want to choose me over the other options out there. It might be obvious, but it comes down to being different from everyone else, in a good way, and also giving people what they are looking for.

I'm rolling out a new website in the next week or so, (and, by the way, you can see it here, and I'd love to hear comments from the perspective of a potential client - you have about 48 hours before it's set in stone) and that got me to thinking about things that I could add to the site to make my firm more appealing. And I came up with two ideas, which I'll share with you now.

But before I get to the ideas, I wanted to let you know I've been reading a lot about persuasion and marketing lately (two more books in addition to the two that I reviewed the last time - if you want to hear about them I'll review them, they are fascinating). The idea for this reading is twofold. First, I want to market my firm better from a general standpoint - I want to drill down what the identity of the firm is so I can make business decisions in the future based on that defined perspective.

And second, I want to make it easier to sign up potential clients. If you've just started working on opening your own law firm or are in the thinking stages I can tell you there is no better feeling than someone that walks into your office and just wants to sign up. They already know a lot about you and just want to take care of the formality of signing the paperwork.

Anyway, back to the subject. My two ideas were these: (1) limit the number of DUI cases a week that I take to two; and (2) provide a service based money back guarantee. I can feel all of you going bonkers right now telling the computer screen how stupid I am for dreaming up both of these ideas.

But you are in luck. Because the purpose of this blog is not to just tell you what I'm doing but to walk you through the thought process, I'm going to do that. You might still think I'm stupid, but at least you'll know it was reasoned stupidity.

Limiting the Number of Clients I Take - aka Scarcity

There are two schools of thought out there when it comes to the number of clients your firm will take on at a time. The first is to take on as many as possible and figure out the details later (I would describe this as almost every firm - the fear of the phone not ringing is a large motivating factor here). The second is to take on a reasonable number of clients, maybe at a bit of a higher price, and do exceptional work for them. Limiting the number of clients is obviously in line with the second school of thought.

I'm not finished yet, though. The idea isn't just to limit the number of clients to two per week, but to let all potential clients in the meeting know that this was the case. That means once one signed up all meeting for the rest of the week would be told that there is one spot left for this great service. If you call too late, we won't be able to take your case. It's a classic business device to help potential clients make sales.

I ran this idea by Kelsey, my assistant, because she's got a pretty good business sense, and she immediately didn't like the idea. I don't really remember why, but she didn't. So, like anyone that wants to have someone tell them their idea is good so they can run with it, I told someone else - RJon of starting a law firm fame (the big box on the right side of the page) - and he didn't really like it either. I remember his answer because I wrote it down, but it had something to do with the idea that my firm is already a boutique type firm - the exclusivity is inherent in its structure. There's no reason to ramp it up another notch.

Two nos is a sign, but this idea isn't completely off the shelf yet - it's just not going to be incorporated into the website.

The Service Based Money Back Guarantee

I can picture the horror on your faces at just reading this.

"Aren't people just going to say they aren't satisfied so they can get their money back?"

"What if you end up paying out a bunch of money and working for free?"

For me, the bottom line here is I know I already provide great customer service - that is actually one of the things that separates me from other firms. So I'm not as worried about people asking for their money back, even with a DUI practice where things can go haywire from time to time.

Ask anyone that provides a money back guarantee and they'll tell you there are many more people that are convinced by that guarantee to sign up than scammers that will go back on you when the job is done. RJon so much as admitted this to me (he's got a money back guarantee on his services).

No, that wasn't the hang up for me. The hang up was a different thing RJon mentioned that got me thinking (and, for the record, Kelsey was against this two - rarely am I wrong - I'm the owner, right? - and rarely am I wrong twice in one day - I think she relished that just a bit) about a potential problem with this idea.

RJon mentioned the fact that contingency cases aren't allowed in criminal cases. Duh. His concern was that others might not see my service based guarantee any different than a results guarantee. I disagree, but that got me thinking about something else that might cause more headaches than it's worth.

If I offer a money back guarantee, there is an argument there that I haven't actually earned the fee until the matter is over and the client tells me they are satisfied with the work. That begs the question, do all of those fees go into an IOLTA account until they are "earned" or are they still "earned upon receipt" and only subject to be returned if the contract clause comes to fruition. I have my ideas but decided at the end of the day it wasn't worth the headache.

I'm on a big time marketing kick right now, which is good for you and good for me. After all, a big part of having a successful law firm is having enough clients to allow you to eat. You get that down and you can figure out everything else, right?

Please take a look at my site and let me know what you think. Your opinion matters to me (though no stealing, okay?!). And, as always, if you have any other questions, let me know.

Book Review Friday | The Dip | It's Not About the Money

2011-02-11T09:54:00.001-08:00

Something amazing happened to me last night. I was looking around on my local library's website and I found out that they have a ton of books in PDF format that you can download instantly to your computer! As I am apt to do whenever I discover a resource for books, I took advantage of it. Last night I went through two books, both related to business, and I thought I'd write about them today. Here we go.

The Dip | Seth Godin

I'm not sure if you know who Seth Godin is. Though I don't know him personally, I do know he's written more than a few books about marketing and business. This is just one of them. "The Dip" is about how to work through that time that every business faces, when the going gets tough, there's a lull in business (or it's flat) and you need to decide the direction you are going to go.

The idea of the book is simple. If you want to have a successful business, you need to be the best in the world at it. And when I say best, I mean best for your client, right now, based on what they believe and know, and when I say world, I mean the client's world, what they have access to. This "best is subjective" in the sense that your clients get to decide what is best. And an important factor on clients thinking you're the best is you've got to think it yourself.

What The Dip is is that time between when you first start out and when you are the best in the world. It is that tough time, the time when you've got to slug it out, to "pay your dues" and rise above everyone else. Many people don't survive the dip, or at least get out of it. It is "the long slog between starting and mastery."

And I am officially in the dip right now. At two years into my business, the newness is over. I'm still excited to come to work and to do the work that I'm doing, but the freshness of being out on my own, of being able to do what I want, has worn off. Now I'm focusing on success. I'm thinking and acting in ways that are related less to survival and more to becoming the best DUI attorney that's out there.

But the road is not easy. There is a lot of work to do. Mastery of your craft, being the best, is a long and arduous road. You've got to be dedicated to making it there or you'll find yourself trying to walk up a down escalator. At best you'll be doing everything you can just to stay where you are at.

There are two main points to the book. First, when you hit the dip, you've got to decide if this is something you can be successful at. If not, it's time to get out. Quitting for success is I think the way he describes it. And second, assuming you decide that what you're doing can be successful, is to fight through hard part to get to the end. DON'T QUIT WHEN IT HURTS.

My two choices for facing this dip are to quit or to become exceptional. I think you all know where I'm headed on this one. And for me, exceptional means two things. First, it means becoming a true master of my craft. I've been practicing for five years, but I know I've still got a lot of learning left to do. Second, it means continually thinking about ways to let people who need my services know I'm available and let them know why I am right for them.

I'd highly recommend this book. It's only 80 pages long, it's filled with a lot of anecdotes, and it's a great motivator to get you working hard to be successful.

It's Not About the Money

This book is a complete 180 in a lot of ways from the Dip. This book is about personal growth. It is about finding out what your relationship is to money so you can do two things: (1) enjoy more of what is happening right now; and (2) avoid some of the classic pitfalls that are associated with your financial archetype.

The premise of "It's Not About the Money" is this: we all have our own experiences with money and we are all hardwired, biologically, to always want more. This underlying foundation of "not enough," however, undermines our life right now. It keeps us from enjoying the experiences we are a part of now, and if not acknowledged can cause us to make bad decisions.

One important aspect of taking control over your subconscious desire to want more is to understand what your core story is when it comes to money. Typically this core story is formed at a very early age by your life experiences. For example, in the book, the author tells a story about a guy who's family was very poor. They had some cousins who were comfortable financially and it was a visit to their house that cemented his core story - that he would do whatever it took to not be in the situation he and his family were in. The result was, when he was older, that he was great at saving and spending his money wisely, but he was always anxious that at some point it could all be lost.

I'm not necessarily going to tell you about my core story, but I'll tell you this about me - I'm part guardian and part empire builder when it comes to my financial archetype. The book describes the pitfalls of a guardian archetype as worry and anxiety and the gifts of alertness and prudence. The pitfalls of the empire builder are greed and domination and the gifts are innovation and decisiveness. I must say I can see those things in my actions. Here's just one example.

I've told you a lot about my talks with RJon and I actually discussed this exact interaction with him in an earlier post. We met in person when he was in Seattle and we did a mastermind session. The exercise we did at the meeting was to write down our three biggest problems with our business. One of mine was wasting too much time doing administrative tasks.

As we discussed what I was feeling RJon just said "why don't you just hire someone to help you?" At that moment a palpable set of anxiety ran through me. My immediate thought was "what if I hire someone and then the phone stops ringing and I can't pay for them?" Any rational observer of the situation would point out that the money had been coming in pretty steadily and the chances of it drying up completely are almost zero. But getting over that hurdle for me was hard because of the inner guardian.

This is important information to know and understand as you are starting a law firm for a couple of reasons. First, there are good things and bad things with whatever archetype you determine you carry (and you can have parts of many). The important part is being introspective enough to recognize when something you are thinking or feeling may be based more on your "core story" than in reality. My example demonstrates this exactly. And, by the way, I immediately hired an assistant and it has completely transformed my practice, in a good way - and people are still calling!

Second, if you know what your strengths and weaknesses are you can take steps to accentuate the positive and diminish the negative. Part of being a Guardian is being prudent and alert. If I can use that to keep myself informed as to the actual financial state of my firm, I can reduce the anxiety and worry I fear when it's time to make a financial decision.

If you've got some free time I'd definitely take a look at this book, and I'd recommend doing the exercises within. They may feel a bit cheesy, and I'll warn you there is a lot of Eastern religious practice intertwined throughout (that is part of the idea of finding the freedom from wanting), but there is a lot of good information that you can use to help you as you venture out and start your own law firm.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions? And Disclaimer

Have any of you read either of these books? What did you think?

Just to be completely forthcoming here, these are true book reviews. I'm not making any money on these, no one asked me to write these reviews, and if you check them out and buy them I don't make any money. I just thought they were helpful. Enjoy!

And, as always, questions and comments are welcome.

Starting a Law Firm | Testing Your Assumptions

2011-02-09T11:53:00.001-08:00

Hi! Welcome to another edition of how to start a law firm. I know the Wednesday post is typically about marketing, and I will talk a little bit about it at the end, but I wanted to start with something a little bit different. I want to talk about discovering your fears and questioning your assumptions to maximize the success of your business (and really anything else that you do).

If you can't tell from my writing, I love the business of running a law firm. I like thinking about ways to get clients to me, I like to think about ways to get them to sign up once they get here, and I like thinking about what to do to make my firm run like a well oiled machine. While this probably sounds fun to you too, there's a lot more to it than just having a check list to run down to get things done. We all do things to get in our own way and sabotage what might be a great thing. The key is identifying what those things are and moving past them.

To help me with this side of running a law firm, I read a lot of books about business, read a lot of blogs about business, and just think a lot about business. One of the blogs I read a lot is called "I will teach you to be rich." It's run by a guy named Ramit Sethi (pronounced Ram-meet, in case you were wondering - I did for a long time). He's a small business owner who's business is helping people make money. I've never bought any of his products, so I can't vouch for his paid stuff, but his free stuff is amazing.

I was reading one of his posts today, entitled, "Testing Your Assumptions" and I thought it would be a great thing to write about here today. I've linked to the post so you can go and read it, and I'm only going to briefly discuss what he's said. What I'm going to write about are some of my assumptions and the ways they may be holding me back. Like always, you are going to get a first hand look at what I think is holding me back.

Our Assumptions - a Little Background

A funny thing about human beings is that we are pretty scared a lot of the time, but we aren't really great about identifying those fears and figuring out how to move past them. What we are great about doing is internalizing those fears and rationalizing our way around them. The good news with the way we handle fear is that we often don't have to face them. The bad news is we don't get to accomplish everything we should be.

Now, I know you, Mr. or Ms. Reader, don't internalize your fears and rationalize your way out of taking action. I'm talking about the other guy or girl. I know that when you find yourself saying these things like:

"I shouldn't pick a niche area because the money simply won't be there" or

"So many people fail when they start out I probably shouldn't do it" or

"You've got to have a lot of money to start and I don't so..." or

"I don't have enough experience to open my own law firm"

that you just move right on past them and actually test your assumptions instead of letting them control you.

I'm going to tell you about some assumptions I have below and what I'm doing to test them out. What I want you to take out of this article today is this: Failure is Good. What I mean by that is you've got to be constantly checking your assumptions to see if they are reality or a result of your rationalization of fear of failure. Sometimes you'll find you're right, sometimes you'll find your assumptions were dead wrong. Failure is okay if it comes from testing your assumptions. That's the only way you can eliminate the bad and implement the good.

Three of My Assumptions and How I'm Testing Them

When I first started out I had a lot of demons following me around. A lot of tiny voices in my head telling me why I wasn't going to be successful at what I was doing.

Assumption Number 1 - "I look too young for anyone to hire me."

I don't know if you've seen a picture of me, but I do look pretty young. If I told you I was 25 you'd probably believe me.

This assumption was holding me back in several ways when I first started. Although I didn't specifically address it, whenever I'd meet with a potential client, it would be running through the back of my mind. "Are they wondering how old I am?" "Are they just waiting to get out of here so they can go talk to an attorney with gray hair?" These were actually things I was thinking about.

The first great step for me here was identifying that I was making an assumption that was holding me back. I assumed that people didn't want an attorney that looked young. And even though I wasn't actually discussing it in my potential client meetings, I think that self-doubt was creeping through on a sub-conscious level and affecting my meetings.

So I talked to some people about it. I talked to RJon (who I've referenced here several times) and I talked to a colleague that was in a similar situation. I quickly realized two things. First, not everyone is looking for an old attorney. In fact, the people I'd probably most like to have as clients (younger professionals) probably are looking for someone just like me (a go getter who knows his stuff, has enough guts to go out on a limb and can relate to their situation). I'd never thought of that because I'd been so locked in with my assumption.

When I talked to my friend about it with the same problem, she just said "it's not a problem for me. I've got my sales pitch down and it works more often than it doesn't. You just have to go in there like you deserve to be their attorney." Light bulb moment.

Although I wasn't completely sold on what she'd told me, her and RJon seemed to be making a lot of sense. So I tested out my assumption by mixing up my sales presentation. For some potential clients I'd bring up the fact that I looked young and talk about it. For others I would simply talk to them like I knew I belonged to be there and they deserved my help. Lo and behold, when I didn't talk about it and projected confidence, people started signing up. When I talked about my youthful appearance they didn't. I think at the end of the day people don't think about it as much as I thought they did. My assumption as really hurting my business!

Assumption Number 2 - "People Don't Have Enough Money to Pay My Fee"

I'm not going to lie to you, this is one I'm dealing with right now. It doesn't really require that much background. I'm just not signing up as many people as I think I should be, and I'm getting a lot of "I don't have enough money." It's easy to assume that that's the case, but I think there's more to it than that.

I'm assuming it's a them problem, when, at the end of the day, it's a me problem.

Bottom line here is that I haven't demonstrated to them that I'm providing the value for the fee I'm proposing. I need to do a better job showing them what I'm going to do for them, why I'm the one to do it, and why my fee is a reasonable fee for it.

My assumption that people don't have enough money to pay me is keeping me from realizing the full potential of my business.

So, I'm going to test this assumption by completely revamping my potential client meeting process. Not only am I going to come up with some new ways to demonstrate value to them, I'm going to come up with some ways to help my potential clients find the money to pay for my services that they didn't know they had. No, I'm not going to be pushy, I'm not going to give the hard sell, I'm just going to be prepared to educate them so they can make an informed decision.

I'll keep you in loop on what I'm doing.

Assumption Number 3 - "I don't have enough time to do everything I want"

This is probably something that we can all relate to. There is this constant feeling that time is running out, that nothing is ever going to get done, and that deadlines are always looming.

This assumption, for everyone, is wrong. I don't care who you are.

To test this assumption out, I want you to do a few simple things. First, make a list of all the things you do in a day. When you check your email and facebook write it down. When you post to twitter write it down. When you work, write it down (and write down what you are working on). When you surf the internet, write it down.

Do this for one week and then take a look at all the time you are wasting. Now, I'm not suggesting you should stop checking facebook and your email. That's something even I couldn't do. What I'm suggesting is coming up with a system that maximizes your time.

What I've tried to start doing is checking my email only every 2 hours. I check it when I get to the office, at 10:00 a.m., at noon, at 2:00 p.m., and at 4:00 p.m. Trust me when I say if you're checking it every two hours you aren't going to miss anything. Same with facebook and twitter. Figure out all the time you are wasting and stop wasting it.

The second thing you should do is stop doing the minutia and anything that isn't productive. For example, are you doing all of your own filing and stuff like that? Why? Get someone in there to do it. Pay them or have them work for free (there are a lot of people out there that would work for free to put your law firm on their resume). But stop doing the things you have no business doing.

And stop making yourself busy just so you feel good. For example, in the last two days I've said no twice and it's felt amazing. The first no was to a request to be on a committee. I won't get into details but it was not going to be productive. After the first meeting I went to I told the person I couldn't be on the committee - my time is too valuable and I didn't think I'd be able to contribute anything worthwhile. The second thing was a meeting of small firm lawyers. I thought the topic of discussion was interesting, but I knew I wouldn't get anything new out of it because of the precise details of this meeting. So I didn't go. I'm writing this instead!

Telling yourself you don't have enough time to do something is the easiest way to rationalize not doing something. I bet if someone offered to take you on an all expenses paid vacation you'd find the time to do it. Make the time for these things too.

I know I said I was going to talk about something marketing related at the end, but this post is already too long. What I can promise you is that coming up very soon I'm going to let you in on the secret to my reaching number one in Google for my search terms. Hope that's got you excited!

How to Start a Law Firm | Where I Get My Help

2011-02-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

I'm going to cover several topics here again today, so I thought I'd give you a little preview here in the first paragraph before diving in. First, I'm going to talk about where I get my help from. Second, I'm going to answer a reader question about data backup and storage. And finally, I'm going to talk about what to do if clients won't pay (another reader question). So, here we go!

Where I Get My Help From

It may seem like I've got my stuff together, like I've got all the answers, but the truth is, I still have a lot of questions about running a law firm as a business and how to continue to take what I'm doing to the next level. Granted, I've had time to think about and answer many of the questions you all have had, but you'll notice as your practice continues to grow and with it your understanding of business, that your questions become more nuanced and complicated.

If you've read my past posts, you know that when I started out I had someone there to help me answer a lot of these early entry questions and give me some materials to help me start out. His name is RJon Robins and he runs a program called, surprisingly, how to start a law firm. When I started out I bought his program and it was worth every penny.

I was talking to him the other day (we talk about once a month) and I was telling him about how much fun I was having helping all of you. He then asked a very obvious question, "are you telling them to come and check out all of the free material I have" and I sadly had to say no. So I'm doing that again today. You should go and check out his material. There is a lot of free stuff out there and some paid stuff too. I've also put a link on the sidebar to one of his free publications, something that I think all of you should read.

Here's my disclaimer about this though. Remember in my post a few posts ago when I told you about taking down the adsense garbage that was up and pointing you toward things I thought could actually help? Well, I only have two things I'm going to recommend, and this is one of them.

In all fairness to you, though, if you end up buying anything from RJon I'm going to get a little bit of a cut from that. That's just the way the world works. But I wouldn't be recommending this product if I hadn't tried it myself (and I actually still use it). There's no obligation to seeing any of the free stuff, and I think you'll start to see the value he can provide you immediately, so go check it out.

If you hadn't read my previous posts about RJon you can see them here and here and here and here.

The other product I'd like you to know about I'll talk about next week.

Starting a Law Firm and Data Backup

I got a question about data backup and storage, and this is important so I thought I'd write a little bit about it. And actually, I'm going to write a very little bit about it. The same day I received this comment I saw a blog post from someone I follow that talked about the same product I used and did a great job of explaining it.

I use dropbox and that's it. Here's a great post about dropbox that tells you everything you need to know.

What to do with Clients that Won't Pay

I'm not sure if I talked about this much, but it's always worth talking about. So, here we go.

Before we get to what to do with clients that won't pay, what I'd suggest you do is try to set up a system where clients have no choice but to pay. If they don't make it past that initial hurdle, they don't even make it onto your client list. The system will be slightly different depending on what type of fee arrangement you have set up, so here's a brief overview of two.

If you charge flat fees (like I do) then it's important to do two things, first, agree upon a flat fee, and second, secure a method of payment to ensure that fee gets paid (if you are going to allow payments). What I do is typically ask for about a fourth of the fee up front and then set up a payment plan where the payment method has already been provided to me (post dated checks or a credit card number). I haven't had any problems with this way yet, though I know if people want to weasel out they can. If you don't have to track people down for payment then it's typically much easier to get paid as agreed.

If you charge by the hour, I would suggest getting enough up front to cover at least the first portion of the case (investigation and demand letter, filing of complaint, etc.). Then, in the fee agreement, you have a clause in there that when the retainer amount gets at or below "x" they've got to re-up to keep the representation going.

Now, here's the key to making both of these work, which answers the question "what do I do if clients aren't paying?" - if they don't pay you don't work. Simple as that. A check bounces or they fail to re-up their retainer, you simply write them a letter and tell them all work is suspended until they hold up their end of the fee agreement. Give them a week or so to comply, and if they don't you send them a letter letting them know the representation will be ended unless they get it in gear.

The key here is to have the guts to stop working if you aren't getting paid. For some reason that's a tough thing for lawyers to do (though it isn't tough for anyone in any other business), particularly when you are first starting out and maybe don't have a bunch of other work to fall back on. Just remember that just because you are busy doesn't mean you are running a successful law practice.

That's it. It's that simple.

Super Bowl Picks

I know you all are on the edge of your seat to get my Super Bowl picks. And if you aren't watching the Super Bowl in just about exactly two hours, then shame on you! Take some time off, at least watch the commercials, and have a beer or two. It won't kill you.

I'm a bit biased this year because my brother is a big Green Bay Packers fan, though I have no idea why since we grew up in Kansas and I'm pretty sure he's never even set foot in Wisconsin. So I think I've got to root for them, even though I probably would anyway. Put that team in a dome with turf and they are dangerous.

My score prediction, Packers 35, Steelers 24.

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!! And, as always, if you've got questions, let me know.

How to Start a Law Firm | That's What Pros Do

2011-02-02T13:29:00.001-08:00

Starting a successful law firm and running a successful law firm takes a lot of work and a lot of effort. There are a ton of things to do that you won't even have thought about as you get to work. But, if you are in determined to be successful, you'll get everything done that needs to get done and everything done that you want to get done. I saw a blog post today that reminded me of that and I wanted to share.

The author of the blog is a guy named Jonathan Fields. It's an entrepreneurship blog more than anything else. He's not a lawyer (though I think he maybe was in a former life). Now he just talks about what has to be done to be successful in work and in life. I highly recommend you read it.

The post I read today is titled "That's What Pros Do." The post begins with a rundown of what he did last month. Here's what he wrote:

1. Published 17 blog posts

2. Organized, promoted and conducted four conference calls

3. Processed more than 6,000 emails

4. Updated my Facebook status dozens of times

5. Tweeted hundreds of times

6. Read hundreds of posts, articles, and a few books

7. Had 14 skype/phone meetings and interviews

8. Attended 5 face-to-face meetings and events

9. Meditated, moved my body and played guitar every day

10. Ate breakfast and dinner with my family nearly every day

11. Wrote 25,000 words and completed the manuscript for my next book

That's a lot of stuff. But that's what it takes if you want to be successful at what you do. It's probably a bit cliche, but you get out what you put in. Nobody gives you anything for free. Put in a little sweat equity, though, and the returns can be limitless.

Here's how Jonathan answered the question "How do you get so much done?"

Because that's what pros do.

There's no magic to it.

There's nothing superhuman or even exceptional about it.

Being prolific is how I earn my living.

Being ubiquitous is how I earn my living.

Building relationships, online and offline, is how I earn my living.

Helping people with whatever time I have is how I earn my living.

Listening and devouring knowledge is how I earn my living.

Solving problems and adding value is how I earn my living.

I get so much done BECAUSE IT'S MY JOB and I LOVE IT!

Tools, strategies, tactics, apps and vehicles are all great.

But, it starts with being willing to hunker down.

Day in, day out, regardless of the weather.

Show up. Dig in. Own the work.

Because that's what pros do.

I loved this post because I think it really speaks to what it takes to be successful at anything you're going to do in life, even starting a law firm. And, by the way, if you think you make your living by applying the law to a set of facts, no matter what area of law you practice, you're destined for failure. What you and I do is in many ways exactly what Jonathan does.

We are constantly producing.

We are building long lasting relationships.

We are helping people with whatever time we have.

We are listening and devouring knowledge on a daily basis.

We are solving problems and adding value to our clients.

When you own your own law firm you aren't just another cog in a wheel. You aren't even the manufacturer of a "well oiled machine." In today's day and age you are the inventor of the machine. You are creating something from nothing in whatever way you see fit.

That takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. But that's what pros do.

Starting a Law Firm Mailbag

2011-01-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't the usual Wednesday/Friday installment your used to, but I got a little behind. To make it up to you, this is going to be a super post - I don't know how many words it's going to end up being, but it's going to be big. Hope you're ready for it.

The theme of this post is a mailbag. Don't know if any of you are into sports, but if you are, then I'd hope you'd know about Bill Simmons. He's one of the best sports columnists I've ever read. He incorporates politics, pop culture, and even his own family when he writes. I'm not nearly as talented so I probably won't do any of that, but I will treat this post as a mailbag of sorts - reader questions and comments. So, here we go.

How to Start a Law Firm in a Different City

Ah, a question true to my own heart. This is what I did. Moved about 1,800 miles or so to open my own firm. And though I knew a couple people (literally) I didn't have any ties to the city through school or youth or anything. I was starting with a clean slate.

Here's what I did. First, I decided what I wanted to do - settled on eminent domain and criminal defense. Second, I thought about how I'd get clients in those two practice areas (turns out eminent domain is something you can get a lot of referrals to - not many people do it; and criminal defense is consumer driven). Third, I started putting together my systems for getting clients according to how I'd determined to get clients (eminent domain - meet attorneys in the biz and let them know I was around; criminal defense - internet marketing).

That's what you should do. It's just that easy!

Update on the Book

I've people ask me about this, so I'll just tell you. Yes, I'm going to write it. Yes, it's going to be good. But to be good takes a little bit of planning. If you want to tell me what you'd like to see in the book let me know.

What I'm thinking about right now is a starting a law firm with a slant for the twenty-first century. I've got Foonberg's book, How to Start and Grow a Law Practice (or something like that) and no offense to Foonberg, but three-quarters of it is crap. Not crap like bad writing crap - it's just outdated. And who publishes a book anymore anyway? This is going to be an ebook. From the top of my head, this is what it would look like:

1. Should I Start a Law Firm? Common Hurdles.

2. The Business Plan - Essentials to Starting Off on the Right Foot.

3. The Groundwork - Your Marketing Plan.

4. The Foundation - Executing Your Marketing Plan (or SEO 101).

5. The Nuts and Bolts - Phones, Office, Paperless.

6. Opening Day - 5 Things You Must Have.

7. Oh My God the Phone is Ringing, What do I do?

8. First Year Expectations.

9. Second Year Goal Setting.

10. Hiring Employees - When's the Right Time?

And then a couple of bonus chapters.

11. So You Want to Play Golf Every Day? Making Your Law Firm Work for You.

12. 10 Things You can do to Make Your Law Firm Attractive to a Buyer.

I literally just made those up, so don't ask me any questions about what's going to be in them - I don't yet. Except that I'd imagine it will be a lot of the information that's already here. Stay tuned. I plan on getting to work on this in the next couple of weeks (so maybe a summer release?).

Adsense and Me

When I noticed that people were actually reading this, the internet marketer in me couldn't resist, and I put some adsense ads up here. Every time I actually look at the site the ads I see are pretty ridiculous. I can only imagine what you see. Law firms with bad marketing companies, random stuff, and occasionally a product about starting a law firm.

I've finally come to realize you are much more important than that. I don't really know many of you, but I know where you are and I hope you join me in the future. Because of that, I'm only going to put products up here that I'd actually recommend you use (and that will be happening shortly, because I've got some stuff I recommend.

Now, some of the stuff I'll get paid for if you buy it. That's just the way the world works. But I promise I'll always let you know if there's an agreement with me and the person on the other end of the link. And I'll let you know exactly why I endorse the product and whether or not I've actually used it. If you want to know more about something just comment - I'll respond and that way everyone can know exactly what's going on. Fair?

Update on My Plan for Multiple Sites

I got an email (or a comment, I can't remember) about the status of my plan to roll out websites for all of the cities surrounding my major metropolitan area. So, here's the update.

I should have done this sooner since I made a radical change here. I actually scrapped that plan. It was going to be way too much work for way too little a return. And, I was overlooking a major asset that I'd created that could do the work of all of those little sites by itself - my DUI website.

I don't know if I've told any of you this, but my website ranks nationally for DUI searches. Yep, if you are in Boston right now, or Minnesota, or Iowa, and you search DUI attorney, there's a pretty good chance my site's going to pop up on the first page (and I'll guarantee you it's on the first two pages). Yep, I know, you can find out who I am if you want (I guess the like button on the sidebar isn't enough - I'm an idiot!!). I'll give you a hint. Mine is the only site that isn't anywhere near any of those locations.

Because this site is so strong, all I have to do is have the other cities listed on the site, throw some links to my site with those keywords, and I'll immediately start getting picked up in those cities. Pretty crazy, right? So that's the new plan. I'm tackling one city at a time (the links will continue to grow and gain more power over time, so when I get to spot one for a city it should stick for a while).

I just realized it's probably important to update stuff from time to time. Why don't we do a quarterly review of my goals and where I'm at? Book it.

The Job Market and New Attorneys

This is a bit of a sticky situation. I don't really want to tell you what I think about this because anything I say will be completely anecdotal and based on what I think the future of law practice is. But I think it goes without saying the market is tight (and that might be the understatement of the night).

There are really two things I guess I want to say to new attorneys out there that are thinking about opening a law firm right out of law school (three - the third being it can be done and you can be extremely successful). But they each deserve their own paragraph.

First, if you're going to do it you've got to commit. What I mean by that is I know there are people out there that don't really want to do this. They can't find a job, they are freaking out, bills are piling up, and opening a law firm starts to look like a pretty good option. And maybe it is a good option for you. But you decide you are going to open your own shop you've got to commit to yourself that you are going to whatever it takes to be successful.

Thing is, I know that some of you don't have it in you. Yeah, I know, that hurts. But it's true. We weren't all born to be bosses, to be self-starters. Some of us enjoy the security that comes with working for someone else. If you're that someone, just keep looking for a job. You'll find something (the first one is always the hardest to get). Just hide the desperation when you interview - they can smell it (that's a joke, sort of, they know you're all desperate!).

Second, now that you've committed you've got to come to grips with something - you are going to be freaked out for at least a couple of years. You are going to be afraid of several things. First, you're going to be afraid that you are going to mess someone's case up beyond all recognition and you're going to go down in flames. And, I don't mean to make you more afraid, but that's a legitimate fear.

You're also going to be afraid that you are going to go broke, fail as an attorney and a business attorney, and wind up flipping burgers at McDonald's (and there's nothing wrong with this, it's just going to feel like a step down). And again, that's a legitimate fear. I can promise you there are a lot of attorneys out there that opened their own shop years ago and they are just getting by. And that could be you.

Fired up yet to hang your own shingle?! :)

But here's the great thing about fear. Channeled the right way, it can pay huge dividends. Let's take the fear of messing up someone's case. The easiest way to mess up is to try to do something you don't know how to do. So, let that fear push you into learning the areas you want to practice in (that's also why it's important to pick one or two and go with them). Since the day I've opened I've done two kinds of cases - criminal and eminent domain. If anyone ever calls me about something else, I send them to someone that knows that area of law.

To learn the ropes, there are several things you can do. First, if you are still in law school, go volunteer at someone's firm. Yep, I said volunteer. It's got to be volunteer work for one specific reason - you are there less to do work and more to learn. While you will be doing the legal research and stuff that's required, you'll also negotiate an hour a week to just talk about the practice - learn the ins and outs that aren't in the statutes and cases. And, whenever there's something going on (client meeting, strategy session, court) you get to be there. You don't get to talk, but you get to be there.

And, I think it goes without saying, pick up all the practice guides you can get.

Second, and finally on this topic, the fear of the business failing. First, you're going to be less afraid of this (at least at times) because you are going to have a plan and you are going to execute it. You are going to acknowledge early that free work is not the kind of work you want to do and instead of caving to that person that "can't afford" your fee, you are going to market the shit out of your practice. You are going to do things you think might work but are cheap and get your name out there (see my old posts about the flea market and fraternity presentations). Bottom line, you're going to hustle and get some work.

When you start to think about the money you are going to make in the first six months, just automatically cut it in half. It's going to be slow at the beginning. Accept that. Don't let that fear make you act irrationally. Allow it to push you to work harder.

Okay, the Last Thing for All New Graduates Out There

Law school is good for a couple of things. It's great for keeping old law professors feeling great about themselves, and it's great for creating some of the most pessimistic people out there. From day one we are taught to do pretty much one thing - fix problems or foresee potential problems. Over three years of law school you see a lot of big problems and diagnose a lot of potential problems.

That's what lawyers do, so it's an important part of your education. But it's not always great for the business side of owning a law firm.

By the way, here comes the motivational portion of this post, so prepare yourself for it.

If you want to be successful at this, you're going to have to stop worst case scenarioing everything. Yes, I said scenarioing - it's a word I just made up. Do you know what I mean by that?

For example, it's easy to think about the phone not ringing, you going bankrupt, and living in a van down by the river for the rest of your life. That certainly wouldn't be a fun experience. It's easy to think about messing up someone's case. It's easy to think about all of the reasons your marketing plan won't work. It's easy to think about all of the ways that this thing could fail. But at some point you're going to have to take the leap and dive in head first.

This can be done. It isn't easy. There are a million reasons and ways you could fail. But if you're successful you'll likely have made the best decision of your life. And if it doesn't work out, you'll be a better person and a better lawyer for it.

You can control your own future. You can practice the kind of law that you want to practice. You can practice law the way you want to. And, at the end of the day you get to put all the money you make from your hard work in your pocket.

If you've made it here, congratulations. Let me know what you think about what I've said. Comments are always welcome.

Marketing a Law Firm | I Need Your Help Now

2011-01-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

The day has finally arrived. I am requesting all of the readers' help on something I'm actually already in the process of doing, but would love to have some feedback on. I want you to be completely honest, and try to put your business/potential client hat on for this one. I don't really care what other attorneys in the area will think, and I'm certain they will think it's borderline tacky. Here we go.

As I think you all know, I'm a DUI lawyer. That poses some specific disadvantages when it comes to marketing my law firm. One disadvantage is that every person out there that can afford my services is a potential client, yet they are not a potential client until they actually need my services. Another disadvantage is the market is flooded with people calling themselves DUI attorneys. For the layperson it is often difficult to decide who to pick to represent them.

So, I've decided to differentiate myself from the pack by forming an identity for both myself and my firm. I do, however, want to give credit where credit is due, so I want to thank this Tulsa estate planning lawyer for contacting me with some suggestions for my own practice and this Tulsa DUI lawyer for providing me with the idea (which I borrowed from him - he doesn't need it where I am anyway). The links I've just provided are extremely valuable, so I hope they like them!

The Tulsa DUI lawyer I'm referring to markets himself as "The Tulsa DUI Guy." Now, I know what you're thinking, a little cheesy, right? But it is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for for my practice and the precise thing you should be looking for for yours. And here's why.

First, it is easy to remember. It rhymes for goodness sake. That means when people see or hear of it it will stick in the brains and they can recall it if they ever need a DUI lawyer. Also, when someone asks for a reference, yours is readily available ("call the Tulsa DUI guy, I've heard he's really good).

Second, it separates you from everyone else. In today's day and age, everyone has the ability to market and brand themselves in any way they want - that's the magic of the internet. But with this people will instantly know who you are and what you do, and done the right way it can put you out in front of people's minds without them even realizing it.

Third, and finally, it allows you to build a cohesive brand across all avenues of advertising. When you have advertising materials, a catch phrase like this eliminates the need for explanation. People immediately know who you are and what you do. And whether they see it on the internet or a billboard, the dots can immediately be connected.

So I've decided to call myself The (my location) DUI Guy. I think it will do a great job of accomplishing the three things I just discussed. What do you think?

And, by the way, if you want to comment that you already know where I am and who I am so I should just spit it out, I'm not worried about you finding out who I am. I want this blog to continue to be an avenue for attorneys to talk about the business side of law without having to worry about what other people are thinking (i.e. potential clients). It's kind of like for me, I know when people are selling to me, but the process is a lot more enjoyable if they don't walk me through their rationale for everything they do. If we all need one thing in our practice, it's a better understanding of how to create and run a successful business.

So, please comment and let me know what you think. And, like I told my wife - who isn't completely sold on the idea yet :) - I'm always open to suggestions.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Starting a Law Firm | Hourly Billing or Flat Fees?

2011-01-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to say that I have something to read about because of reader comments! Thanks and keep them coming.

Today's discussion is about billing. Hourly versus flat. I don't know if I've talked about it specifically here before, but I feel like I've mentioned it in a post before. Doing a post only about billing though should make it easier to find in the future.

Here was the reader's comment:

I think that one solution, or at least partial solution, to the "unable to pay" client question is charging flat fees rather than hourly rates. I'm not sure if you've posted a topic on the subject in here yet (I'm reading through everything for the 2nd time now), but it's something I'd like to see a discussion about.

I'm looking at doing immigration law when I open up my own firm, and the first comment I invariably get from people is "Oh, so you're not planning on getting paid?" Well, I am planning on getting paid, but it's going to be a reasonable flat fee for my services rather than a huge retainer or hourly billing.

Before I even get started though, let me tell all of you out there that are thinking about starting a law firm something - there are a lot of people out there that can come up with a lot of possibilities for why you might not be successful at this. And everyone is going to tell you what they've come up with.

When this happens you have two options, believe them, listen to them, and worry about it until you make it happen (the self-fulfilling prophesy) or nod your head and remember all of the planning you've done to prevent the things they talk about.

"What if no one hires you?"

"Oh, so you're not planning on getting paid?"

My response, and pardon my french, is "what the fuck do you know about starting or running a successful business? Oh nothing? Thanks for the encouragement." (That's not literally my response but might be what I'm thinking)

If people have legitimate concerns, things that sound like questions you should answer (and quite honestly, things that we talk about here), then listen. But when people start talking about "what ifs" it's time to tune them out.

When people tell me they are starting a law firm I always ask them a few questions to see how serious they are about it? Have you thought about what your practice areas is going to be? Have you thought of a marketing plan? Have you thought about what you are going to do when someone wants to hire you (the process of it)? If you can answer those questions, and they make sense, then I'm all for it.

Okay, back to the topic, hourly fees versus flat fees.

In my mind this is a no brainer no matter what field you are in. Flat fees win every time. They win for you and for the client. And I'll tell you why.

Before we get too far, let's clarify what each is. An hourly fee is a fee that is charged per your hour of work. The more hours you work, the more you get paid. The flat fee is earned upon receipt. They pay you and it goes right into your bank account. That fee is typically the only fee earned for representing someone in that matter.

Here's why I like flat fees versus hourly fees.

Your Time is More Valuable than That

I enjoy working, believe it or not. But I also enjoy playing golf. I also enjoy sports, a lot. And from time to time I like to have a beer, sometimes even in the middle of the day.

But I can't enjoy my round of golf or my beer in the middle of a Wednesday if all I'm thinking about is how this is directly cutting into my bottom line. An hour lost under an hourly billing concept is literally money out of your pocket.

My time is extremely valuable to me. And I don't ever want to be a slave to the clock. I've billed by the hour before and it isn't fun tracking your life in six minute increments.

Your Job is to Solve Problems, Not Create Them

I don't care what anyone says, when you work under an hourly billing method, the temptation to create problems or make mountains out of molehills is always lurking. And the reason is obvious. How about an example.

Let's say a guy comes into your office and says "I've got a problem that could potentially cost me $100,000. I'm being sued right now. Can you help me?" You sign him up and start looking at the case and immediately recognize a solution that could save him the whole amount. All it takes is a one page letter.

If you are billing hourly do you write the letter and charge him $100 bucks? "Of course you do!" everyone is saying right now. But, if you're billing hourly do you investigate every other avenue to make sure you aren't missing any other defenses just in case the other side balks at what you have to say?

If you are billing at a flat fee rate you write the letter, collect your $5000 (the amount you charge for pre-filing work) and move on to the next matter.

You may think this is impossible, but when you start thinking about the value that you can provide not on an hourly basis but on a project basis, you'll be surprised at how much more money you can make. And your clients will be happier because you're both on the same page. Which brings me to point number 3:

Your Clients Will Trust You More and Value Your Service More

You ever take your car to the mechanic? What happens when you get that bill and it shows how long it took to do the job? When that happens to me I am automatically skeptical. It's human nature to be that way because you have to put your complete trust in the person that they were honest with you about their time.

Same goes with your clients. And, it's say to say, but people are generally skeptical of attorneys - they are groomed to be that way.

But, if you charge a flat fee, they know what they are paying for. They understand the value they are getting and they are comforted to know there aren't any surprises. And you can tell them what you've done without having to justify the time it took to do it.

You Can Apply Flat Fees to Any Area of the Law

Flat fees aren't just for immigration law or criminal defense. You can use them in any area of practice. The key is to make sure you define the scope of work, define client expectations, and remember what it is you are there to do.

Let's take our example from above. In that case your flat fee agreement might be something like $5000 for any pre-litigation work (responding to the demand letter, trying to resole the case, etc.); $10,000 for any everything through written discovery (answering complaint and interrogatories, requests for production); $10,000 for depositions; and $5,000 for a summary judgment motion; and $10,000 for trial. And, and here's the kicker so long as it's not family law or criminal defense, you can negotiate a bonus based on the amount of money you save him, say, 10% or something of the amount saved.

In our example, your letter that makes the matter go away gets you $15,000. $5000 for the pre-litigation work and $10,000 for saving him from paying $100,000 in the suit.

It Works

I don't know what it is with attorneys, but we always like to just shoot down ideas for no particular reason. I'm picturing a lot of you out there right now shaking your head saying "this will never work with my clients because...." Just do me one favor - TRY IT.

If you try and they balk, fine. But then try it with the next guy. And don't do it half-assed. Show them why it's better for them. Let them know the advantages. Work it into your initial client meeting sales pitch (and if you don't have one of these, make one). You'll not only start making more money but you'll be able to spend your time solving your clients problems, and, when you want, spending your time doing what you want.

Specific Help for the Commenter

You ask a question, you get personal help. That's just how this thing works. Here it is.

For immigration attorneys I think flat fees are a no brainer. And they must be up front flat fees - no payment plans. And here's why.

First, if you lose, your client is likely leaving the country. Not only will you not be able to get any money from them but you might not even be able to find them again.

Second, your clients are already pre-conditioned to paying up front. They expect it and are willing to do it, if you don't let them talk you out of it. It doesn't take much to point out to them why you charge a flat fee - and the value proposition makes sense to them (they don't pay for time, they pay for results).

And finally, they typically have some money laying around or have the means to pool it quickly. Facts are facts. Illegal immigrants are liquid. They typically don't have bank accounts, don't live fancy lives, and don't own expensive stuff. They save their money to send back home or for a rainy day. You are the umbrella they buy when it rains.

If you do good work as an immigration attorney you can make a ton of money. People talk, and giving good service to one person typically results in two or three more calling for help. Just remember to get paid up front.

One Final Story About Value

I know I've told this little story somewhere before, but it usually does a good job of getting the message across to clients who are worried about paying you a big fee, you fixing their case fast, and they are left feeling like they got cheated. I'm sure I'm going to butcher it, but you'll get the point (actually after writing this I went out and found it, so this is it exactly.

Pablo Picasso was sketching in a park one day when a woman strolling past recognized him: "You're Pablo Picasso aren't you?" she asked. He replied that he was. "You're my favorite artist!" she exclaimed. "Would you please sketch my portrait?"

After studying her for a minute, he closed his eyes and thought for a second, opened them and drew three lines on the paper.

He passed the paper to the woman who looked at it for a moment, and she gushed "It's perfect! You've captured exactly who I am! I must buy the sketch Mr. Picasso. What do I owe you for it?"

"Five thousand pounds."

"What!?" she blurted. "How could you ask for so much. It only took you a few seconds."

"No madame," Picasso calmly replied, "it took me my entire life."

Not only is this a final story about value, it's also the final reason you should use flat fee billing. Clients aren't paying you to reinvent the wheel. They are paying you to solve a problem. As an hourly biller, wouldn't you feel like shit if someone came in with a problem that was very similar to one you just fixed, and though the problem is huge for the client you could only bill them a fraction of the value provided because it only took you a fraction of the time to solve (because all of the paperwork and research was already done).

How great would it feel to tell the person, "I've handled cases like this before and can do it for X dollars." When they hire you you can actually use the work done in the past to benefit both the client (resolving their case) and you (streamlining your work).

Marketing a Law Firm | Reader Questions

2011-01-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

I love getting comments from you all. It helps me help you with thing I might not think about. I got a great comment/question this week from "New York Lawyer" and I promised to respond to it in the this post (it was a detailed question). So, here we go!

The gist of the post is that this guy (I'm just using "guy" - if you all are sensitive about this issue get over it) is a New York lawyer who just started a law firm. He's in a home office but has visions of a separate office as business picks up. He expressed these "problems" and wanted my thoughts on them:

1. He didn't want to go solo with no experience but has been forced to because of the low salaries offered by employers. How do you market yourself without the experience?

2. What do you do when people can't afford you?

3. How do you market to a low income population?

I know I've touched on some of these issues before, but maybe not as specifically as requested in these comments. To put the questions in context I'll post the relevant portion of the comment before answering.

How do You Market Yourself Without Experience?

#1 - One of the first points of understanding that you expressed in this segment of your blog is the fact that the economy has left many of us lawyers with no choice but to go out on our own. For me, I never wanted to go solo before obtaining at least three to four years of experience. One problem is that there are not many employers willing to pay lawyers enough to live. No, I did not expect to receive offers of $160,000/year straight out of law school. I did, however, expect to receive at least $60,000/year versus offers of $43,000 - 45,000/year and lower. Yes, I said "lower."

In New York City, you cannot live on low salaries unless you are already financially situated or living with friends or relatives who can support you a bit until you get on your feet. Many of us do not have those luxuries.

The second problem is that some firms just are not hiring as many lawyers as they did before. Competition is stiff. Thousands of newly minted attorneys are joining the ranks each year. They need jobs as well. We're all in this together.

Therefore, because we have to live and make extremely high student loan payments, many of us have had to select a different route, including going solo or even taking temporary assignments.

I said all of that to say that when you don't have a lot of experience, sometimes, there's a hesitation about marketing yourself a lot. Clients want to know that when they knock on your door, you can handle the matter they present to you. Sure, you were trained to go and do the research for the matter. You can also talk to experienced lawyers and obtain advice about your case. But something inside of you initially wants to hold back when you consider the fact that the clients are real people with real situations that they're leaving in your hands. What are your thoughts on this?

I understand what it feels like to be out there trying to sign people up, wanting to help them out, but being hesitant because you don't know all the answers and don't feel 100% comfortable handling their case. When I first started out I was in the same boat (though I had some people to rely on). At my first job I was in an "eat what you kill arrangement." I received a very small base salary and then got paid based on what I brought in.

Here's what I would suggest - get out there and learn what you're doing so you're comfortable helping people. I don't have any idea what kind of law you want to practice, but I can guarantee you this, there are a ton of resources out there to help you. Use them. And then go watch other people put them into practice, and put them into practice yourself.

For example, when I started my firm it was in a new state where I'd never practiced. I had a basic understanding of how everything worked but wasn't familiar with the nuances. I did two things the first week I moved to my new place - I went out and got all the practice advisories and materials in my practice area that I could get my hands on, and I started going to court and just watching what was going on.

No one likes to say this, but lawyering, for the most part, isn't rocket science. It's putting in the work to understand your client's facts and how they apply to the law. If you are committed to doing that with each of your clients, you can be confident that you can represent them. If they ask about your experience be honest, and don't forget to tell them what you've been doing to make up for that lack of experience.

The bottom line is that not everyone can afford my services (or I haven't convinced them of the value of my services). And, while it makes me feel special to be busy and working, I'd rather put my free time into marketing my practice than working.

The hardest thing to come to grips with when you are new to starting a law firm is the true value of your services. You've got a knowledge base that not many others have, and when you apply that base with your effort for each client, that equates to a lot of value. Remember that when people try to talk you off of your fee.

And one last thing on people that can't afford you. Part of your sales pitch should be informing them of ways they can pay you. Do they have credit cards? Do they have friends and/or relatives they could borrow from? Do they have a piece of property they'd like to put up as collateral? The thing I always point out is if they want to hire you, if they are interested in what you have to offer, then there's always a way to find the money. Probably sounds a little cold-hearted but it's true.

What do You do When People Can't Afford You?

#2 - The second problem that I've run into is the fact that there are lots of clients out there that need help; however, they cannot afford to pay me or anyone else for that matter. So far, I've assisted one client for free in their criminal appeal. It was a long process, but it provided great experience for me. I also assisted another client who paid me to represent them at an arraignment hearing. I've been involved with the city's volunteer attorney program, which assists clients in various civil matters. The volunteer attorneys typically volunteer their services for the day.

All of these opportunities have provided tremendous experience for me. But I still have to live. My firm will not survive on pro bono work.

I realize that sharing my contact information with the clients can be a means of marketing myself, because they can in turn recommend me to other people who may be in need and can actually pay.

I wish them luck and send them on their way or to an attorney that I think they can afford.

"What is Your Advice Regarding law Firm Marketing to a Low Income Population?"

I don't.

If you live in New York where it's so expensive and you have to make a lot of money to live and all that stuff, then there should be a lot of people out there that can afford your services. Market to them.

I market my services to people that can pay for me. And you should too.

If, however you are hell bent on helping the underprivileged, then here's what I would do (and God bless you for wanting to do that). First, your firm needs to run like a well oiled machine. Whatever you are doing, there needs to be a specific process that happens for each case, every time. And the reason for this is you are going to have to be a volume firm - more case equals more money. To give people the value you are going to promise, you need to have the operation streamlined.

Second, you need to specifically spell out (and then stick to) the scope of work you will be doing. If it is a litigation matter and they want you to write a letter, charge a fee for that. If they want you to negotiate up to the time of filing, charge a fee for that. You get what I'm saying. If you don't do this then you'll start to get some scope creep and find yourself very busy and very poor.

Third, and finally, you're going to have to have the balls to stick to what you say. You aren't going to be able to help everyone. Some people might just not have any money. Unless you know going into a case you're doing it for free, don't expect to get paid later. It's just going to leave you pissed off and resentful.

Anyone have any thoughts about these questions? Any experiences? Let's hear them!

Starting a Law Firm | Productivity

2011-01-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have a bit of a problem. I love to read. I read a lot of books every year, averaging probably about one every two weeks (that may not be a lot to some, but it is to me). The problem, though, is that I don't just read one book for two weeks. I read three or four at a time, hopping back and forth until they are finally finished.

That might sound like a pretty amazing feat, essentially keeping the plots and ideas of all four books in my head at one time, but in reality I'm actually cheating myself out of getting the most of each of those books. And the same thing happens to all of us when starting a law firm, so I thought I'd write about that today.

Multi-tasking is a Myth

I hate multi-tasking, but I feel like I do it all the time. I've got a laundry list of things to do every day, and while I'm knocking them out I'm constantly checking my email, taking phone calls, checking Facebook, checking Twitter, taking a quick peek at espn.com, and a myriad of other things. It's both a time and an energy suck on my day.

And it's also a hard habit to break.

For example, right now as I'm writing this, I've got the incredible urge to check my email. I'm sure it comes over you all as well. I just checked it 15 minutes ago. On a Friday night at 6:00 there is no way that anything interesting has come in. But I just can't help but want to look. Fight that urge.

Multi-tasking is essentially what I'm doing with the books I read. And the end result with my work is that it takes me longer to complete and it's not as high a quality as it might be if I just sat down and devoted all of my attention to it for a specific period of time.

Research shows the most things you can do at one time is two. And the second thing accounts for the downtime you have with the first thing. Think about baking a cake. It's got to bake in the oven right? You aren't expected to sit there and watch it bake. Go do something else! But if your attention needs to be devoted to a task, it should be wholly devoted to it.

That's why starting today I'm going to block out my calendar into time increments. I'm going to give myself a solid two hours to devote to writing that motion (as opposed to a bunch of 30 minute increments), I'm going to block out an hour to think and strategically plan for marketing instead of trying to fit it in the cracks of time that I have. And I think my productivity is going to skyrocket because of it.

You should do the same.

One-Pointed Attention

If you are saying to yourself "there is no way he is going to be able to resist the urge to look at email for an entire hour" you are probably right. But by implementing one-pointed attention I'm going to be able to eventually.

One-pointed attention, from what I understand, is based on some principles of meditation. There basically three rules:

1. Unscatter

2. Turn em all off

3. How long can you hold it?

That's it. Pretty easy, right? Let's talk about each one.

Unscatter is exactly what it sounds like. Take 30 seconds and just let your mind focus in on something, preferably the task at hand. Or, in the alternative, let if focus on nothing. Stop thinking about the next thing to do or the project that might be coming up or the party you really don't want to go to. Just let your mind relax a little.

Second, turn em all off. I think we know what this means. I've slowly started doing this, and it has profound effects. For example, you know why I haven't checked my email while writing this post? Because it's not up. This window that I'm writing in is the only thing turned on with my computer right now. It's sort of like out of sight out of mind, but it takes a little bit more self-control.

Third, and finally, how long can you hold it? Here's the thing, we all like to feel like we're important. We all like to feel like without us people would be losing their minds. But I'm going to let you in on a little secret - they don't. If you don't look at your email for an hour or two (or four, if you get really good) the world is not going to stop. Deals are not going to be lost. Armageddon will not ensue.

But to get to that point you've got to go through steps one and two and then see how long you can take it. And when you try it I think you'll be surprised just how hard it really is. We have been so conditioned to constantly accept stimuli that even a brief break can feel very uncomfortable. Try it to see what I mean.

Systems is the Name of the Game

I know I've talked about this before, but I wanted to mention it again. If you feel like your firm is out of control or that you don't have time to focus because you are so busy doing a million little things, take a second, step back, and look at the big picture. Write down some of the things that you are doing over and over again and think of some way to automate it.

Here's an example from me. My office is filled with checklists. There is a checklist for answering the phone (what to say, then the next step, then the next), there is a spreadsheet to account for all incoming new clients so I can see at the drop of a hat what is coming in. When we sign up a new client there is a checklist for what to do. When a case is resolved there is a checklist for what to do. When a current client calls there is a checklist for how to handle it - and let me tell you the checklist does not tell the assistant to give me all calls, it tells her to schedule a time for me to call them back (unless it's an emergency). That alone will save you an hour a day.

Doing this will make you exponentially more productive and clients will love you even more than they do now. Know why? Because you're consistent. When they call they know exactly what is going to happen. When you file something in their case, they know they are going to get a copy of it. They know after the first two weeks that every week they are going to get a synopsis of what's been done in their case and where it is headed. And happy clients make for referrals - lots of referrals.

So, this weekend, take a couple of hours to unwind and think about the things you find yourself doing over and over again. Is there any way to make that process smoother and faster?

Meeting with the Banker

I had a meeting with the Bank today. It went pretty well. I didn't set up the meeting, they did. Seems they are trying to get to know their business clients a little bit better (I know they want to find ways to sell me more services, but I'm okay with that).

It was a good chat. We talked a little business, they gave me some ideas they thought could help me out, and we agreed to continue the discussion.

One thing that surprised me, though, was their willingness to give me a line of credit. I think it has something to do with me coming up on two years in business (because they mentioned that a couple of times), but that surprised me. I thought it would be harder to get money than that.

I actually just read the paragraph above the last one and realized I'd provided far too little detail. I mean, that's what this blog is about, right? So, here's kind of how it went down. Me and two bank employees went into this conference room. It was completely relaxed (I think that's because I knew I wasn't asking for anything) and they were very nice people.

The discussion started with them peppering me with a lot of questions about the business. When did I start, how long have I been here, do I have any loans, bank account balances, do I bank anywhere else, blah blah blah. I answered their questions and they discussed some of the things they could offer, including a line of credit, payroll services, and things like that. Then we talked a little bit about personal finance, what my plans were for the future, and some things like that. Then they told me about some of the things they could offer for that.

Which, oddly enough, one of the things they mentioned they had was 100% financing on a home. Turns out they played it safe during the housing boom and can still offer stuff like that. I thought that was interesting for two reasons. First, they thought I'd be dumb enough to be intrigued by 100% financing. And second, they think it's a good idea, even with the housing prices where they are, to offer 100% financing. My guess is you'd have to have some pretty stellar credit to qualify. But that's neither here nor there.

That's all I have this week. As always, if you have questions, let me know. And take a minute to let your mind relax. If you need me, I'll be checking my email!

Law Firm Marketing | Blogging Basics Presentation

2011-01-12T19:54:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to be asked to give a presentation today at my local bar associations solo/small firm section meeting. We meet once a month and talk about things associated with being in and running a small firm. The presentation, as the title of this blog indicates, was about the basics of blogging.

I thought it went really well, though I was struck by a couple of things. Here are a couple of my thoughts.

First, there are a lot of people that are going out on their own. I think in this meeting, of twenty or so people in attendance, at least three or four were planning on starting a law firm. I think a lot of this, obviously, is predicated on the economy. No one has any choice but to try to go out and make some money on their own.

Second, there is a lot of disorganization out there. And what I mean by that is simply there are a lot of people out there that don't have much of an idea of where they want to go or how they want to get there. I would wager that if I asked most of the people in there what they were doing today, this week, this month to promote their business and be a better law firm, they wouldn't be able to give me a straight answer.

Make no mistake here with what I'm saying. I'm not really meaning to talk trash on them or anything like that - I applaud their having the guts to go out on their own. But what strikes me as almost criminal is the true lack of foundation most attorneys have coming out of law school when it comes to actually starting a law firm and running it successfully. Many of these people, unless they take some time to learn how to be successful, are out in a row boat without an paddles, just hoping the current takes them to where they want to go.

Third, and finally, there is a lot of interest in learning about marketing and learning about creating a successful law firm (at least there was from this group). At least, there was in this type of circumstance (when the seminar was set up for them to come). I get the funny feeling that there is a lot of thinking and a lot of reading and a lot of attending seminars, but there isn't a lot of doing.

I wish them all the best, told them about this site, and hope they visit. I also told them to email me if they ever want to talk, and I meant it.

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum from my talk, and a great example of what we should all be doing, was a webinar put on by Ramit Sethi. The speaker was Noah Kagan, a guy who's been involved with facebook, mint.com, and many other ventures. The topic of discussion was "hustling." It wasn't hustling in the negative sense of the word - getting stuff from people by lying to them. It was a discussion on doing what needs to be done, and doing it today, to reach your goals.

For example, if you want to talk to someone, don't go to their website, click on the support page, and send an email. Either pick up the phone and keep talking until you get the person you are looking for or do some digging and try to come up with the actual email address of the person you want to talk to. Sure, it's way easier to send the email to support and wait and hope, but if you want results, you've got a much bigger chance if you track that person down.

Bottom line, don't take no for an answer, get your ass out there and pound the pavement, and do whatever it takes to be successful.

Good luck!

Starting a Law Firm | Time is of the Essence

2011-01-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this is a common saying or not, but I find myself saying it a lot, "getting started is often the hardest thing to do." That statement resonates with me a lot because I repeat it to myself every day - right before I push off doing something I know I should do and I know will help my practice. So I wanted to talk a little bit about it today.

One of the fundamentals principles of starting a law firm is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of being specific, fear of being laughed at (particularly when you decide to pursue novel marketing ideas), and, often, the fear of being unsure that you can provide the service you are promising to people. Fear, at least for me, often results in procrastination.

"Let's just get started on that on Monday." "It can wait until later." Until it finally falls of the radar screen and never gets done.

My actions and this way of thinking came to the forefront of my mind this week as I was reading a book. It's a business book. It has nothing to do with the practice of law. The premise of the book is that the idea of making money slowly over time is outdated and ineffective for the most part. To attain true wealth one must build something that has either great scale (it can be sold to a lot of people) or great magnitude (it is expensive, so even though only a few want it great wealth can be obtained). Think "Angry Birds" on the iPhone (scale) and selling real estate in Malibu (magnitude) for examples.

I am hesitant to tell you the name of the book because it's extremely cheesy. If it weren't for a direct recommendation from someone I trust on such matters, I never would have picked it up. It's called "The Millionaire Fastlane | Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime." I know, cheesy. It's written by MJ DeMarco (and just so you know, I'm not getting any money from this book for talking about it - I just really like it).

But the content is great. You've already heard about the premise - it's the execution of that premise that brought to mind this idea that time is of the essence. The book points out time and time again that you get nothing for free. If you want to be successful, you have to work at it. In the beginning, that might mean turning off the television or staying in on a Saturday night. But the payoff is worth it.

Put into words, traditionally our goals are events, as opposed to processes. It is the failure to define and understand the process that gets people in trouble and prevents them from achieving success. I'll give you an example from the book and then I'll give you an example from my firm.

One example from the book was the guys own story. He designed an internet limo reservation service, much like the attorney services you now see. You type in where you are, where you want to go, if you have any special needs, and it sends the lead to a few limo companies that then get back to the client with their bids. When the bid is one, MJ got a cut of that. He eventually sold the company for a hundred million dollars or something like that. That is the event. People see the event and think "why don't I just do something like that." What they forgot to recognize was it took several years of hard work to realize the event. Most people won't or can't commit to that process.

My example is my search engine ranking. I'm young enough to know the Yellow Pages are dead. If you are relying on Yellow Pages to get clients, you better start looking elsewhere. I also knew the Internet is essentially the new Yellow Pages, but with a catch - you can have the prime listing (the number one position) for free! All it takes is a little elbow grease and time. It took me a year of about working on that goal 2 hours or so a day to make that happen. But it happened, and I'm benefiting greatly because of it. But when people talk to me they see the event (1st spot for my search terms) and not the process (busting my ass to make it happen).

That's why I'll typically tell anyone that asks how I got to where I did. I know there is little to no chance they will actually follow through (though if they did they'd reap the benefits).

If you're still reading, congratulations, because I've finally made it to the point of this post - COMMIT TO THE PROCESS. Understand you are going to have to bust your ass to be successful and get started doing it today. I can tell you from personal experience that the sooner you start and the more you do it the easier it gets. There are things you can be doing today to make your law firm successful - do them. Don't put off the process hoping the event will magically appear - it won't.

Reader Poll

Some of you will actually read this all the way down and some of you aren't afraid to ask questions, so I thought I'd take a reader poll to answer something I've been contemplating - writing a book about starting a law firm.

I love the idea of how to books. They can answer your questions, get you started down the right path, and more importantly, keep you from making stupid mistakes that are only the result of not having done it before. The book I just reviewed was a how to book - it doesn't tell you what kind of business to start but lays out very succinctly a method for making money quickly and then using that success to leverage success in the future.

I know there are already books out there about starting a law firm - namely "How to Start a Law Firm" by Jay Foonberg. I know this because I own the book. It's okay, but in my mind it's extremely outdated. Foonberg I'm sure is a great guy, but he simply doesn't have the familiarity with technology that most of us do - it's a generational thing.

My book would cover all of the subjects I talk about here on my blog and then some. But here's the key - it would be organized in a way that you could actually find and have specific questions answered. Where should you really start? That's in there, at the beginning. What factors should you think of when getting office space. In the office space section. When you should you expand? How should you go about creating a marketing plan? All in the book.

So, here's my reader poll. Would you be interested in that and do you think others would be? In my mind I'd create the book, slap it up here on my site and sell it for like 15 bucks or something. You pay for it and it's downloaded directly to your computer. No publication costs, no marketing costs. You find me, you can buy it.

What do you think? I'd really like your feedback. Answer by posting a comment.

Law Firm Marketing | Reader Questions

2011-01-05T12:05:00.000-08:00

I love getting questions from readers for two reasons. First, it lets me know that people are actually reading this stuff. Second, it gives me a bunch of things to talk about. Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to Rod over email. He had some helpful information for me and asked a couple of questions about law firm marketing. I thought this would be a great place to answer them. So, here we go.

His questions were about search engine optimization, also known as SEO. They were:

1. How many calls a week do you get from search engines?

2. How many clients?

3. How long did it take you to rank high?

4. I have an attorney with 3000 backlinks to his page. I'm sure he used an SEO company from India, because most of the links are blog comments and are senseless. Is this something I can overcome on my own, or should I hire an SEO company to spam blogs?

All great questions. Here are the answers.

Calls Per Week From Search Engines

I have to admit I don't know the precise number of calls I get from the search engines. It is something I am just starting to keep track of (which is dumb - I should have been doing this a long time ago). And, before I get too far, I'll tell you a little bit about how my stuff is set up. First, I have my "law firm website." It is the name of my firm and has all of my email addresses and everything. I've also set it up to have the landing page for my criminal defense marketing efforts.

After that I have a website devoted specifically to traffic tickets and a website devoted specifically to DUI. I do this for a couple of reasons. First, the sites are tailored to what the clients are looking for, which will hopefully result in more qualified clients that reach each of the site. Second, it lets the search engines know specifically what my site is about. Don't know if it makes a big difference, but it can't hurt.

Although I don't know how many calls I get per week (I'll tell you my ballpark average here in a couple of minutes) I do know how many people are visiting the site. I've installed Google analytics on each of my sites (and you should too) and it gives me a bunch of handy information, including where the people went on the site, how long they were there, and what keywords they used to find me if they came from the search engines.

Last month the traffic site got 174 visits, 397 page views, 2.28 pages per visit, an average visitor time of 2 minutes on the site, 88% of the visits were new visits, and there was a 55% bounce rate (people left after looking at only the first page). If you just divide the visitors by 4, that means there are about 38 visitors per week (I used 88% of the number above because I check the site every once in a while and didn't want to count that). Of the 38 visitors I'll get about 5-10 calls per week. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

There are a couple of lessons to be learned in these numbers. First, the bounce rate, while high, isn't terrible when we are talking about traffic tickets. If people get to the first page and call me I'm okay with that. Second, even though I'm only getting about 33% of calls from people that visit my page (and the numbers are actually probably lower than that), I'm okay with that too. A lot of people searching out traffic tickets are looking for ways to do it themselves. I give them a lot of information on the site so if they are just looking for a do-it-yourself they won't call me and bother me with a lot of questions. It's pre-screening in a way.

Of those 5-10 calls, I probably sign up about 75% or so.

For the DUI site I had 246 visits, 774 page views, 3.15 pages per visit, average visitor time of 2:53, 75% of the visits were new visits, and there was a 49.59% bounce rate. Dividing by four, there are approximately 46 visits per week. Of those 46 visits, I probably only get 5 calls a week. Of those I'll typically sign up 50% (though as I write those numbers up I know they don't add up because I am not signing up 2 people a week).

The information here is actually more interesting than the traffic, and shows me exactly where my problems lie. Getting people to the site is fine. 46 visits per week is great. Where I am losing out big time is getting people to take the next step and pick up the phone. There are a lot of people just looking for information here too, but the majority of these people will end up with a lawyer. If I can figure out how to get them to take the next step my business will skyrocket.

Sadly, I don't have numbers for the criminal site. Something to put on the to-do list! I typically get one or two phone calls a week about non-DUI criminal matters (my marketing for this area though is not an emphasis).

Client Calls

I've pretty much already answered this. We're looking at maybe 10 calls a week or so, with fluctuations from week to week (I will literally have some weeks with 2 calls and some weeks with 20 calls). For me, this isn't an SEO or internet marketing issue, per se, it's a call to action problem. I need to figure out how to get people to go from the internet to my office better. It's definitely a goal of mine.

How Long Did it Take You To Rank High?

This is a loaded question. Timing depends on many factors. I would say the two key factors related to timing are the work you put in to help Google find you and the competitiveness of your keywords.

First, the work you put into it. The way that Google is set up, they want to have the searchers query answered in the first couple of search results. For example, if I search Google for "how to make 2 foot putts" (this is for my brother in law, not for me) Google wants to make sure your query is answered at the top.

There aren't enough people in the world to read and review every website AND rank them for specific searches, so Google has put together a computer program to do it. The basics of the program are this - Google looks at the content of the site and the links that go to and from the site to find out what the site is about, then Google looks at the links that are coming from your site to determine how much "authority" your site has. Authority, for purposes of this post, I would define as the likelihood that your site would answer a search query.

There are ways to help your site build authority with links, but it MUST BE DONE THE RIGHT WAY. I'll talk a lot more about this when I answer the last question, but to summarize, the best way to help Google understand how good your site is is to write articles related to your practice area and then link them back to your site. You can do this on your blog or on article submissions sites such as ezine articles, goarticles, squidoo, and hubpages. You cannot duplicate content. Google will know. You cannot steal content. Google will know. Article writing tells Google that you know what you are talking about and helps your site build authority.

Now, the second part, competitiveness. I'm pretty sure DUI attorney and it's related keywords are some of the most competitive in the legal world (bankruptcy and personal injury are probably up there too). That means you've got a lot of people trying to get into one or two spots. It took me about a year to get to number one for my local search terms (location plus your keyword - San Diego DUI attorney for example). Now that I'm number one though I expect to be there forever. I'm not number one yet for DUI attorney, but I'm getting close. In fact, if you Google DUI attorney anywhere in the world I should show up on the first page (that fact isn't that important, I just think it's kind of cool).

My traffic site took me about 4 weeks to get to number one. It's much less competitive. Plus I did a ton of work on them both, and still do (when you first start out you can either sit by the phone and make it ring or get out there and do something to make it ring).

Hiring SEO and Blog Comments

Here's the thing about hiring an SEO company - it just doesn't work that well. And the one's that do work well are going to be expensive. One important question to ask anyone that is trying to sell you on SEO is whether or not they are going to get you ranked in the organic results, the map results, or the ad results. If they say anything other than organic, in my opinion you are wasting your time.

And if they say organic, I'd ask for a detailed explanation of what they are going to do, and if they even utter the words "blog comments" I would hang up and start looking elsewhere.

Blog comments, and comments in general don't work for SEO purposes. If you want to get into an engaged discussion and let people know where it's coming from, do it. But don't leave a bunch of junk in someone's comment box with a link thinking Google didn't long ago find a way to completely eliminate that factor from its ranking algorithm. And, by the way, if any question about doing something ever includes the words "spam" the answer is no. Kind of like if the question involves the word "fraud." It's just not going to work out in the end.

And, there's another consequence to using these people - you don't get to control the message. And, while that might not seem like a big deal, it can have far reaching consequences (see here). I don't do it, but there are some people that expose comment spammers for what they are. And they don't just write a blog post, they've got some knowledge like I do. The effect of the exposure is the search results start showing some of these posts, making you look like a fool.

Slow and steady wins the race. To answer your question, this is something you can easily overcome.

Hope this helped everyone out. Have any questions or comments? Let me know. I'm always looking for something new to write about!

Law Firm Marketing | Financials and Other Questions

2010-12-31T10:33:00.000-08:00

It's officially the last day of the year. I've already posted my law firm goals for 2011, which you can read here, so it's time to do a little reflecting back and a little question and answer. Here we go!

2010 Financials

This one is going to be short and sweet. My goal, I believe, at the beginning of the year, was to gross $100,000. I came up just short of that goal at about $96,000. Not too bad for the first full year as far as I'm concerned.

Now, I know what you all want to know - how did that break down month by month and with expenses? I hate to tell you this, but I don't know yet. I'll do a month by month calculation once I do my taxes and I'll let you know. I can tell you that my monthly expenses were about $4,000 for January through October, and about $6,000 the rest of the way. For me that adds up to about $52,000 in expenses. Means I netted about $44,000, and that feels about right.

Stay tuned for the month by month breakdown. It will give you a glimpse into the topsy turvy world of owning your own practice.

Starting a Law Firm Right Out of Law School

I got this question two or three times this week and I've gotten it a few other times in the past and I thought I'd talked about it before, but I haven't. So here it goes.

I think starting a law firm straight out of law school is fine - if you lay some ground work first. Pardon my french, but when you graduate from law school you don't know shit about being a lawyer. It's just a fact. But, you can help that out by doing some things while you are in law school.

First, get some experience. Go work for someone, even if it's for free. Decide the area of practice you want to be in and start calling those people up asking for work. Volunteer to do it for free until they feel like paying you something. The money isn't important, the experience is. And the great thing about volunteering is the lawyer you work for won't have to feel the need to make money off of you. That means you have the opportunity to sit in client meetings, go to court, and see how everything really works. You know how to write a research memo, you need to figure out how to sign clients up and what to do after they sign up.

Second, with all that free time you have in law school start working on your internet presence. Start a blog that is related to your practice and start writing. Check out my law firm marketing site to see the basics of getting started so you do it right. Blogging will not only help you get found on the internet it will help you learn some of the ins and outs of your area of practice.

Third, create a business plan. It doesn't need any financial projections (though start up and estimated monthly expenses are nice). The key is to think about what you are going to do to let people know you exist and how you are going to differentiate yourself from everyone else that is already out there.

Fourth, find a mentor. No matter how prepared you are to face the world when you get out of law school you are going to have some questions that need answering. You will face situations where you don't know what to do. It's nice to have someone to rely on (reasonably) to help you out. This would be a legal mentor, not a business mentor.

Fifth, and finally, find someone you can talk business with. I've got a buddy of mine who started his own firm about the same time I did. He and I meet up about once a month to talk about business. We talk about what's going on with our firms, what problems we are facing, and how we can fix them. It's important, I think, that this person be outside of your firm. Though you should be having these talks with a partner if you have one, you need an outside view of the situation to help you see things more clearly. This should be a no-bullshit relationship too. If they think you're acting like a child or slowly walking your law firm off a cliff, they should have the confidence to do so (respectfully, of course).

In addition to those five things, I do have one more recommendation - get some help from my buddy RJon. If you haven't read all the posts, RJon is a law firm management and marketing expert that I met when I first opened my firm. I bought his product, which was then titled "the revenue doubler" to help me start my firm. This product is like a law firm in a box - it gives you all of the tools you need to successfully open a law firm, from the business side of things.

Well, RJon finally got wise and has started a new program devoted to helping people that are starting a law firm. He's put together a bunch of free videos entitled "The 6 Most Common, Costly & Frustrating Mistakes Most of Us made when Starting a Law firm." The link is here. The videos are free so go check them out. I guarantee you will take away some extremely valuable information.

Additionally, RJon has a program called "How to Start a Successful Law Firm in 90 Day or Less." Although I haven't been through the entire program, he's been kind enough to let me inside to see how it works, and it's great. The thing about this program that is different from others is that you have not only written materials but group phone calls and one on one calls with RJon where you can pick his brain.

I had a one on one with him this week and he helped me shape a lot of the direction for my 2011 goals - the information is that good.

That's my little plug for him. In the interests of fairness he did let me into the how to start a law firm program for free if I promised to talk about it here. But if you've read this blog long enough you know I won't endorse something unless I think it's actually helpful - that's the whole point of this blog.

If you have any more questions about this, let me know. I know when I started I had a bunch.

SEO Questions

Here's a question I got from someone:

You asked for some questions and I have a lot. I'll focus on SEO.

1. How many calls a week do you get from the search engines?

2. How many clients?

3. How long did it take you to rank high?

4. I have an attorney with 3000 backlinks to his page. I'm sure he used an SEO company from India, because most of the links are blog comments and are senseless. Is this something I can overcome on my own, or should I hire an SEO company to spam blogs?

Let's take these one at a time.

1. How many calls a week do you get from the search engines?

Sadly, I don't have really concrete answers for this. I would say anywhere from 1-5 for DUI, 5-10 for traffic, and 1-2 for criminal. I'm going to start tracking this better in 2011, so I should have some better numbers for you.

One thing I want to point out, though, is that typically my potential clients are qualified. What I mean by that is they know a lot about me, have a good feeling about me, and generally want to hire me. I make no bones about the fact that I'm not the cheapest attorney out there, and that scares away a lot of price shoppers.

2. How Many Clients?

Again, tough to say. I'd say I get 1-5 traffic clients a week and about .50 DUI/criminal clients a week. My average fee for a DUI is $4,500, so by doing the simple math, if I signed up one a week (50 weeks) that would get me $225,000. Not bad. That's what I'm working toward for this year - one new DUI/criminal client a week.

3. How Long Did it Take You to Rank High?

This is a tricky question, because the answer isn't going to be the same for everyone. A lot of it depends on the competition in your area for a specific keyword and the sophistication of your competition (the sophistication part will be address in the next answer). My situation provides the perfect example.

I started my firm in June 2009. I put in about 2 months of work before that on the DUI keywords (DUI lawyer, etc.). It took me about 10 months to get to number one, and I've been there ever since. And my strength is growing.

For traffic attorney keywords, it took me about two weeks to get to number one.

The difference is competition. A lot of people want to be number one in DUI so there is a lot more clutter to get through. And there are more people that know what they are doing because of the lucrativeness of DUI law (and I'm actually not talking at all about attorney - the most unsophisticated group of people with regard to internet marketing out there - but think avvo, law.com, findlaw, etc., it pays for them to be high in the search rankings).

So, my answer to this question is, it depends. But you aren't going get any higher if you don't start working on it today.

4. Should I Hire an SEO Company to Spam Blogs?

NO! Let me put it to you this way, if any question you ever ask includes the words spam, fraud, or kickback, the answer is probably no.

I told the person that asks this question the truth about commenting on blogs - it's useless for SEO purposes. If you want to be social, fine, comment away. But Google's going to make you work to get the authority you need to be number one in the search engines, and commenting on blogs isn't it.

The best way to get to number one in Google is to create great content and then let Google know that you are the authority for that content by linking it to your site.

And, to answer the specific question, for example, I would wager that one link from this blog would outweigh all 3000 of that attorneys spammy comments. Why? Because if it comes from here it means something. Anyone can comment on a blog.

I think that's it for now. If you have any other questions, please let me know!

Oh, and Happy New Year!