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Volume 141, 2017 $6.95
5 Tips for Keeping Referrals Flowing
Robert Theofanis
14 Marketing Misconceptions That Cost Lawyers a Fortune
Trey Ryder
10 SEO Specialists Share Their Best Tips for Lawyers
Chris Dreyer
The Wrong Approach To Selling Professional Services
Tom Trush
Disrespectful Clients Don’t Get to Stay Clients
Ruth Carter
Make Time for Business Development With Time-Shifting
Mike O’Horo
Look in the Mirror: Associates Hold the Key To Their Own Happiness
Jay Harrington
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2017 EDITION—NO.141
TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Fourteen Marketing Misconceptions that Cost Lawyers a Fortune
by Trey Ryder
8 Disrespectful Clients Don’t Get to Stay Clients by Ruth Carter
EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor EDITOR Wendy Price CREATIVE SERVICES Skidmutro Creative Partners CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths STAFF WRITERS Dan Baldwin Jennifer Hadley
12 Look in the Mirror: Associates Hold the Key To Their Own Happiness by Jay Harrington
LAW FIRM OF THE MONTH
16 Law Offices of Burch, Coulston & Shepard, LLP, Newport Beach Combining Passionate Dedication with Specialized Knowledge in Family Law
by Dan Baldwin
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14 Marketing Misconceptions That Cost Lawyers A Fortune by Trey Ryder
You must have a huge, expensive website and blog to attract desirable cases and compete head-on with other lawyers. Wrong! If you want a formal, corporate-looking website for all the world to see, fine. But please don’t think you must compete in this arena. Every week I get calls from lawyers who are unhappy because they have spent huge dollars on their websites, search engine optimization, and ongoing maintenance hoping they can break even on their investment. And when they talk with their web company account rep, the answers are usually the same: You need to pay us more money so we can ... (insert here whatever service they think you need). Handsome websites and search engine rankings are not the only answer. A website is only one piece of your marketing mosaic, and you can attract highly desirable cases without spending a fortune with your website company.
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Common marketing methods don’t work in today’s competitive environment. Wrong! Common methods—such as advertising, publicity, seminars, newsletters, websites, social media—can be highly effective when used correctly. If they don’t work for you, more than likely you’re sending an incomplete marketing message or using an outdated approach. The method you choose is only as good as the message it delivers. If your message lacks any needed components, you’ll lose clients to other lawyers who deliver a complete educational message.
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Your marketing’s most important function is to promote your services. False! The most important function of your marketing program is to establish that you can be trusted. Most of us don’t do business with people we don’t trust. While your prospect is considering whether to hire your services, he is also trying to determine whether he trusts you.
e r
All you need to do is get the word out. No! You must both get the word out and get a response back. This
6 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
is the meaning of “direct response marketing,” often shortened to “direct marketing.” As our media society grew in the 1950s and 60s, marketers had no need to measure direct results, so they used institutional advertising. But today, your marketing efforts must be built on proven principles that cause prospects to respond. Because if you don’t get an answer, you can’t be sure your prospect even received your message. A public relations program that generates feature articles and broadcast interviews will attract new clients to your practice. Maybe not. In most cases, p.r. programs bring exposure, but exposure does not always bring new clients. Attorneys routinely report, “We were happy with the number of articles about our firm, but we didn’t get even one new client!” A good publicity program can be an important part of your marketing effort. But whether your publicity program generates only exposure or solid marketing results depends on the experience and know-how of the person carrying out your program.
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The toughest challenge you face is to persuade your prospects. No! Your toughest challenge is to find potential clients. Your marketing program should attract qualified inquiries so you start to build a trusting relationship with genuine prospects. You could have 100 new clients tomorrow if prospects knew how you could help them and where to find you. But, in most cases, prospects don’t know you even exist. So you must assume the burden of getting your message into your prospects’ hands.
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Word-of-mouth referrals will bring you all the new clients you want. Usually not. Every lawyer wants good, qualified referrals. But when you rely on referrals as your only source of new clients, you allow third parties (referral sources) to control your flow of new clients. In addition to attracting referrals, you should have an ongoing marketing program that generates inquiries directly from genuine prospects.
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The most effective time to start delivering your marketing message is when your prospect is in your office. Wrong! The most effective time to deliver your marketing message is when your prospect first thinks about his problem and wants to know what solutions are available. You have a significant advantage over other attorneys when you have a packet of materials you can mail to your prospect, regardless of his location. You can offer your information packet any number of ways, such as through advertising, publicity, newsletters or direct mail. When your prospect thinks about his problem, he sees that you offer material on the subject. He calls your office and requests your information. Then you send your materials by mail or email. In many cases, this puts your marketing message into his hands before he calls other lawyers.
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You should mail your newsletter to clients and prospects quarterly. Not even close! Every day— when your prospects are knocked over with an avalanche of advertising—you’re fortunate indeed if you can create an impression in your prospect’s mind. If you hope to make your impression stick, you should send your newsletter at least monthly. The more often you mail to prospects on your mailing list, the more new business you will likely attract. The frequency with which you deliver your newsletter is much more important than the number of pages.
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Prospects will go out of their way to do business with you. Hardly! You must go out of your way to attract their business. Lawyers often think a small obstacle, such as having to pay for a long-distance phone call, will attract calls from more qualified prospects. And this is true when your prospect comes to you by referral. But if your prospect does not have a personal recommendation— and has not yet received your marketing message—he may have no greater interest in hiring you than in hiring any other lawyer or law firm. So the small barrier that you hope will qualify him actually causes him to call someone else. I urge you to provide an email address, toll-free number, business-reply envelopes (where you pay return postage), and other conveniences. These increase the likelihood that your prospect will contact you before he calls your competitors.
a
By lowering your fees, you gain a competitive advantage that you can make up in volume. In your dreams! When you lower your fees, (1) you undermine your credibility because prospects wonder why your services are no longer worth what you once charged, (2) you attract clients who know the price of everything and the value of nothing (people who are loyal to the dollar are never loyal to you!), and (3) you lose money because it is
s
usually impossible to achieve the volume of cases you need to make up for the profits you lose. Instead of lowering your fees, leave them alone—because it’s easier to justify why you charge so much than to explain why you charge so little. If one person can make good marketing decisions, three people can make great decisions. Wrong! Your marketing program needs one quarterback who calls the shots. The more people involved in making the decision, the longer it takes to make and the more watered down it becomes. Marketing is like football. Can you imagine how long it would take if the entire team offered their ideas and everyone had to agree before they could make the next play? If your marketing program doesn’t bring you the results you want, change methods or change quarterbacks. But don’t compound your quarterback’s problems by bringing in more people to help him make a decision.
d
You make your marketing more efficient when you cut out the bells and whistles. Usually not. Often, what lawyers think are bells and whistles are actually the essential steps that make their programs successful. Here’s what happens: After their marketing plans succeed, lawyers trim back their programs to make them more efficient. Their attempts to “streamline” their marketing—aka make it cheaper—seem like a good idea until they realize their marketing no longer works. You’re wise to test different steps in the marketing process to see if they’re necessary. When conducting a test, change only one variable at a time and track results closely. If your results start to decline, you’ll know that variable is important to producing the results you want.
f
To attract new clients, you should promote your services. No! When you promote your services, you take on the role of a salesperson, which undermines your credibility. This is called selling-based marketing. Instead, promote your knowledge using Education-Based Marketing. This allows you to attract new clients, increase referrals, strengthen client loyalty and build your image as an authority without selling. Education-Based Marketing gives your prospects what they want, information and advice—and removes what they don’t want, a sales pitch. n
g
Trey Ryder specializes in Education-Based Marketing for Lawyers. He designs dignified marketing programs for lawyers and law firms in the United States, Canada and other English-speaking countries. Trey works from his offices in Payson, Arizona and Juneau, Alaska. To read more of Trey’s articles, visit the Lawyer Marketing Advisor at www.treyrider.com.
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017 7
Disrespectful Clients Don’t Get To Stay Clients by Ruth Carter
You know what feels good? Firing a client. My firm was hired to help a client with multiple applications for registering their intellectual property. We tell every client there’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to get them everything they want. This client got upset about the status of one of the applications, and then refused to pay the balance on a project. I explained that their feelings didn’t negate their obligations, and if they didn’t pay, we’d be constrained to withdraw as counsel from all their pending applications. They refused, so I withdrew as the attorney of record and the firm disengaged from all their projects.
Disrespect Shouldn’t Be Tolerated in Lawyer-Client Relationships This situation wasn’t about money. It was about the lack of respect for me, my work and the firm. And a client who doesn’t respect me doesn’t get to be my client anymore. I would have had the same response to a client or potential client who was rude to me or anyone else at the firm. I can handle clients who are high-drama, but I have no tolerance for disrespect. I’ve learned as a lawyer that we teach clients how to treat us. We set the tone and the boundaries of the relationship. We get to decide how we handle payments, whether we are accessible after hours or on weekends, and we set the expectations for how clients communicate with us. A young lawyer wrote a blog post about dealing with an irate opposing counsel. When she wouldn’t stop screaming at him, he told her to call him back when she calmed down and he hung up the phone. She immediately called him back and continued screaming, and he hung up again. The same rule could easily be applied to a screaming client. We’re no one’s punching bag. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with clients asking questions about their bill, of course. It’s refusing to pay what the lawyer is reasonably owed that I take issue with.
One and Done Clients A few times in my legal career to date I’ve worked with clients who weren’t so problematic that I felt the need to disengage from 8 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
the representation, but I won’t let them hire me again once their case is complete. I’ll tell them that I’m unavailable to assist them and send them to the county lawyer referral service (because friends don’t send friends bad referrals). In my contact database, I have a group called “Black Ball.” These are people I will not work with or for, and people to whom I will never refer work. This list is for all types of professionals, not just lawyers and prospective clients. I don’t tell anyone they’re on this list; it’s something I keep just for me.
“You Never Regret the Client You Didn’t Take” This is one of the best pieces of advice I heard during my first year in practice. If a prospective client is causing headaches, they don’t get to become a client, because they’ve already shown how they will treat the firm. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t go to law school to be miserable as a lawyer. I don’t mind challenging clients much of the time, but no client is worth my peace of mind. Circling back to my story, once I decided to disengage from this client, I respectfully closed out their file, sent them copies of the documents they might need to continue to pursue these matters on his own, and wished them well. (Note: Be sure to follow your jurisdiction’s rules when declining or terminating representation.) I wasn’t angry—it was a matter-of-fact thing I had to do. I have better things to do with my energy, like work on other projects and for other clients, than to be angry with this person. n Ruth Carter is a lawyer, writer and speaker. She is Of Counsel with Venjuris, focusing her practice on intellectual property, social media, First Amendment and flash mob law. Named an ABA Journal 2012 Legal Rebel, Ruth is author of the ABA book The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers, as well as Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans. Previously published in AttorneyatWork.com. In Nothing But the Ruth, she writes about the lessons she’s learning while building her practice. She blogs at UndeniableRuth.com. Follow her on Twitter @rbcarter.
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Look in the Mirror: Associates Hold the Key To Their Own Happiness by Jay Harrington
In a 1955 essay in The Economist, Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a British historian, described a phenomenon that would come to be called “Parkinson’s Law.” His key insight: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, if something must be done in a day, it will get done in a day. If something must be done in a year, it will get done in a year. Work takes as long as we allow for it. If you believe that achieving success as an associate takes 3,000 hours of work per year, then it will. It’s Parkinson’s Law of being a lawyer. Working hard, working long hours, working late into the night—too many of us accept the inevitability of a life driven primarily, if not exclusively, by work. Author Seth Godin has remarked on the fact that lawyers, in particular, find a way to fill the vacuum of their time with work: “Busy corporate lawyers spend 12 hours a day at work, and somehow, are busy the entire time. It’s easy to imagine that they could get their work done (most days) in 8 hours, but the container they’re using is size XL, and so the work expands to fit.” Stop and read that quote again. Is your immediate reaction to dismiss it as the ramblings of an ignorant idealist nonlawyer, or the considered commentary of a thoughtful outsider to the profession? I hope it’s the latter because Godin is onto something: When it comes to the pain of the legal profession, much of it comes from self-inflicted wounds.
The Roots of Dissatisfaction Among Young Lawyers As a hardworking associate, it’s easy to pin the root causes of career dissatisfaction on someone or something other than yourself: a partner or client, your law firm or the profession, more broadly. But there’s clearly more to the story. Money does not seem to be the issue. Those earning $160,000 per year as first-year lawyers at top firms are battling many of the same issues as those earning less. And while firms still have a long way to go to adapt to the changing preferences of talent in the marketplace, many are taking steps to offer more flexible work schedules. The surprising thing is that associates don’t seem interested. A recent survey by the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance found that while more law firms are offering perks and programs intended to enable associates to work a more flexible schedule, such as the ability to work remotely or craft a more 12 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
convenient work schedule, only 8.8 percent of associates are taking advantage of these programs.
What Makes a Fulfilling Legal Career? What We Don’t Know Can Hurt Us So what gives? I think the answer lies in a fundamental lack of awareness and understanding of some principles that add perspective to what makes a career—in the law or otherwise— fulfilling and satisfying. Mark Twain once said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Who am I to quibble with Mr. Twain? But here goes anyway. We don’t understand what makes us valuable. Yes, law firms place a high value on billable hours. But they place a higher value on excellence. Ask any partner what they’d prefer: An associate who bills 2,500 hours per year and does average work, or one who bills 1,800 hours and does exceptional work. It may not seem obvious, but if you can make a partner’s job easier, give them peace of mind, and make them look good in the process, you’ll be considered invaluable even if your billable hours don’t stack up against others. It’s easy to bill hours—you just need to be busy. It’s far harder to be valuable—it requires focus and intensity. But if you can muster the intensity required, you can maximize the results you produce, and therefore dramatically increase your perceived value. Being valuable provides leverage for all types of things, such as confidently requesting a flexible work schedule during a time in your life when you really need it. We don’t know who to say no to. It’s fashionable in thought leadership circles these days to extol the virtues of saying “no” more often. This is good advice, as saying “yes” to everything leads to being overwhelmed, and creates lack of focus and dispersion of effort. But this advice requires context: We need to learn what to say no to. Yes, we should say no to work requests if we can’t possibly take on more. But we need to start with low-hanging fruit— saying no to more trivial, non-work requests that we too readily say yes to. We say yes to lunch, yes to chitchat around the water cooler, and yes to the distractions of social media and the internet. We say yes to happy hour, which leads to dinner and more drinks, which results in us saying no to our alarm clock and an early, productive start to our days.
By learning to say no to what doesn’t matter, and yes to what does, you can make room for the deep work required to make a big impact while working a normal schedule (even by nonlawyer standards). We don’t think long term. The typical associate treats their job as a job. But the key to success lies in treating it as a journey. And in most cases, it’s a long one. We burn out because we’re always sprinting, when, instead, we should be seeking more balance, and giving ourselves time to recover. Just as top athletes train in intervals allowing for intensity and recovery, we must do the same if we expect to make it over the long term of a successful legal career. In almost every professional endeavor, it takes years of practice, persistence and patience to gain mastery. Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, once said, “Timing, perseverance and 10 years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.” There are no shortcuts. There’s not some trick or hack that will have any meaningful impact on your career or the satisfaction you derive from it. We come to enjoy what we’re good at. And we’re good at what we practice over the long term. We don’t pursue enough (or any) outside interests. Shortly after I started my own law firm, I had lunch with a practice group leader at one of the top firms in the city. He was a bit of a local legend, powerful and successful. I was young—in my early thirties—and he was at the tail end of his career and approaching retirement. I asked him what he intended to do with his newfound freedom. “I plan to work,” he said, without irony or a hint of sarcasm. He went on to explain that he didn’t have any hobbies because he spent the last 40 years focused solely on his practice. “Work is my hobby,” he said. I think this speaks for itself, but in case you need the meaning of this anecdote distilled more clearly: Work will take over if you let it, and if all you have is work, you have very little.
They ended up in law school by default as a result of a decision, she explains, “made for reasons having nothing to do with the actual practice of law and without diligence about whether the profession is really a fit.” That may be true for some, but I think it’s a fairly cynical view. It suggests that, for many associates, career dissatisfaction is a fait accompli. I believe that, regardless of whether you consider the profession a “fit,” there are things you can do to make your legal career more enjoyable and satisfying over the long term. Don’t accept the notion that, when it comes to life as a lawyer, you just need to grin and bear it. Instead, grab hold of your career, and by doing so discover a life rich with significance and meaning both inside and outside of the office. It all starts with looking in the mirror and embracing the fundamental truth that no one is more responsible for your happiness than the person staring back at you. n Jay Harrington is co-founder of Harrington Communications, where he leads the Brand Strategy, Content Creation and Client Service teams. He is author of the book One of a Kind: A Proven Path to a Profitable Practice, as well as the e-book How to Start Fast as a Law Firm Associate. Previously, Jay was a commercial litigator and corporate bankruptcy attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Foley & Lardner. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. Previously published in Attorney at Work. Follow him on Twitter @harringj75.
Is Unhappiness as a Lawyer a Fait Accompli? In 2014, Leigh McMullan Abramson, an Ivy League law grad and former Big Law litigator, wrote a piece for The Atlantic in which she discussed the fact that the law is the only profession that has spawned such a large cottage industry devoted to helping members of the professions quit. She highlights all of the “specialized career counselors, blogs, books, and websites offering comfort and guidance to wannabe ex-Esqs.” Citing her own experience, Abramson writes: “I spent my first year as lawyer holed up in a conference room sorting piles of documents wearing rubber covers on my fingertips that looked like tiny condoms. Eventually, I was trusted with more substantive tasks, writing briefs and taking depositions. But I had no appetite for conflict and found it hard to care about the interests I was serving. I realized I had never seriously considered whether I was cut out to be a lawyer, much less a corporate litigator. After a few years, I just wanted out, but I had no idea where to begin.” Abramson argues that many lawyers aren’t cut out for their career because they entered the profession somewhat mindlessly. Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017 13
14  Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
Business and Partnership Matters & Board/Association/Property Controversies “Shannon is a well-respected litigator who is committed to getting her clients the best possible results. She is smart, hard-working, and experienced. I would not hesitate to refer my clients and colleagues to her for business litigation matters.” –Marie DiSante, Labor & Employment Attorney, Managing Partner – Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP
“Shannon is very knowledgeable about the law, which I would expect; but what sets Shannon apart is her ability to be sympathetic, realistic and honest with her clients and convincing and tough when she needs to be with opposing counsel. I found her to be eloquent and wise, knowing the right time to speak up and doing so well when she did. Having Shannon by my side gave me the reassurance I needed.” –Monica Colonnier, Esq.
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COMBINING
PASSIONATE DEDICATION with SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE IN FAMILY L AW by Dan Baldwin
A
ttorneys at Burch, Coulston & Shepard, LLP focus on family law cases in Orange County, a specialization that creates an extensive knowledge of California’s divorce and family law, the court system, and opposing counsel. The firm has nine attorneys all exclusively practicing family law. Five are certified by the Board of Legal Specialization as Certified Family Law Specialists. The firm was founded in 2005. Each attorney and member of the support staff is intensely aware of the enormous impact their work has on the personal and professional lives of the clients they serve. “Above all else we are compassionate and dedicated. We are a successful law firm because we have been able to combine compassion and dedication with a high level of technical competence,” says Robert Burch, Partner. Courtney Shepard, Partner, says, “We believe it is important to not only educate our clients about the law, but also the legal process to help reduce their stress brought by the fear of the unknown. The majority of clients are not familiar with the nuances of family law and clients have told us that they appreciated having the process explained to them at the beginning of the case. “Many people don’t realize that family law encompasses a variety of other disciplines, such as complex business issues, 16 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
estate and trust issues, real property, immigration and even criminal law. It is not simply dividing a bank account in half or deciding who is awarded the couch. It is more complicated than other fields of law and we enjoy the complexity and variety of legal issues we address on a daily basis. That being said, with our firm the law is very much a ‘people’ business,” Shepard says. Burch says, “From the beginning we wanted to practice law differently. Other law firms seem focused on prestige and money. We wanted a personable client-focused law firm where we could dedicate ourselves to close relationships with our clients and other lawyers.” The attorneys of Burch, Coulston & Shepard believe that preparation is the key element to success at the negotiating table or in the courtroom. “We pride ourselves on thorough, diligent and tireless preparation to ensure the best possible outcome for our clients. We dedicate ourselves to our clients by knowing the details of the law and how it applies to our clients’ cases. Our ability to outperform other attorneys stems in part from regularly spending free time studying the law in order to keep a sharp edge on our courtroom skills. Our track record of preparation above and beyond other attorneys has earned us a reputation for professionalism with judicial officers, court staff, and other attorneys,” says Shepard.
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OF THE MONTH
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Attorneys at Burch, Coulston & Shepard, LLP: Leyla Tabatabaie, Brooke Archbold, Sarah Carlson Lambert, Todd P. Coulston, Courtney L. Shepard, Robert Burch, Kevin Harrison, Marietta Espiritu Raqueno and Michael Wilkins.
EVALUATING THE EVALUATOR The case of a custody battle taken to extremes provides a dramatic illustration of the level of dedication the firm has to its clients. The firm represented a husband, a working father dedicated to his two autistic children. His wife did not believe he should have joint custody of the children. She fought the father legally and requested a child custody evaluation. The court appointed one of the most widely recognized custody evaluators in the county. The evaluator recommended that the wife have sole custody of the children. The father disagreed and worked with the firm to take the case to trial. At trial, the firm’s attorneys proved that the custody evaluator was wrong and that custody of the children should be awarded to their client, who was better able to provide stability and continuity to the autistic children. The court awarded custody to the client, but the wife appealed the 18 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
decision. When the appeal was dismissed she abducted the children. The firm worked through the courts and the district attorney’s child abduction unit to find the children. Following the abduction the wife had taken the children out of state and changed their names. They found the children, the mother was arrested and extradited to California where she served jail time for her crimes. The husband regained custody of the children and has been able to improve the children’s autism and mainstream them into public school, where they are living a happy healthy life. Burch says, “I feel as if our law firm is more committed to our clients than the typical law firm. We really are dedicated to understanding our clients’ goals and working passionately to secure real results. A lot of law firms see their clients as file numbers within the context of billable hour goals. I think we are different. We enjoy developing close relationships with our clients and being invested in their success.”
In 2015, 2016 and 2017 he was selected as a Super Lawyer in family law for Southern California. “I went into family law because it is a field where you can have a dramatic impact on a client’s life. You have the ability to advocate for people when they are going through a difficult time in their lives, often the most challenging and heart-rending time of their lives,” Burch says.
© christopher TODD studios
COURTNEY SHEPARD – AN AGGRESSIVE AND PASSIONATE ADVOCATE
ROBERT BURCH – LOCAL EXPERTISE AND INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION Burch has practiced exclusively in family law his entire career and has handled all types of family law matters. He has focused his career on representing business owners and handling complex marital estates and has worked on cases involving as much as one hundred fifty million dollars. Some of his clients have received child and spousal support awards as high as $130,000 per month. His dedication to child custody cases had taken him to litigation in several international custody cases. He was one of the primary attorneys in the highly publicized “Baby Santina” custody case. They were victorious in court against a team of attorneys led by Gloria Allred. Burch was recognized by OC Metro Magazine in 2011-2016 as one of the top family law attorneys in Orange County. He has also earned the highest rating (10.0) from the lawyer rating agency AVVO in the area of family law. In 2008 Super Lawyers magazine rated him as a rising star in family law.
Shepard practices exclusively in the area of family law and has been declared a Certified Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She has successfully litigated cases involving issues of child custody, child support, spousal support, and attorney fees, and recently completed a nationally recognized Trial Advocacy program which focused extensively on the litigation of child custody, support and complex business matters. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association and the Family Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association. Shepard graduated from UCLA with a major in political science with a business specialization. She earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Whittier Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review, a Dean’s List honoree and a fellow in the Center for Children’s Rights where she received a scholarship. She served as on the Whittier Law School Trial Advocacy Honors Board while competing in national competitions. She has prior legal experience as a certified litigation law clerk with the Orange County Office of the District Attorney and was selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2013-2017. The attorneys joke that Burch and Shepard represent “the long and the short of Burch, Coulston & Shepard.” Although Shepard is 4'10" tall she has been described as “a firecracker” and “a Pistol” and “a bulldog” in action. Among the attorneys and staff she is known as “Tiny but Mighty.” Burch is 6'3" tall and is often called “a gentle giant.”
WORK HARD, BUILD A REPUTATION FOR INTEGRITY, AND CARE DEEPLY ABOUT CLIENTS Burch, Shepard and the other members of the team take a three-pronged approach to serving the law, the firm and their clients: work hard, earn and maintain a solid reputation, and truly care about each client. Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017 19
© christopher TODD studios
Burch says, “We work tirelessly at great personal sacrifice to achieve the highest level of technical expertise as we can— constantly. We all spend extra time researching and thinking about the law so that we truly understand how the law works and its practical application.” The firm prides itself on being honest and straightforward with clients, the courts, and opposing counsel. A sound reputation is built on an equally sound track record of success. “We care about our reputation. That means we are always honest and straightforward with the court and opposing counsel. We take pride in the work product we submit to the courts and other lawyers. Above all else, we are always very well prepared. We put the time into every case so that we know the law; have the evidence; and can effectively present our arguments,” Shepard says. All in the firm agree that the most important factor in their ongoing success is the care they take with each client. “We have found that the best way to build a law firm is from referrals from happy clients. Clients are happy when they know that you are dedicated to them and their case and not to yourself,” Burch says. One could also add “innovate” to that list, as the firm is on the leading edge of many aspects relating to their practice areas. For example, the firm is currently working several cases applying innovative concepts of fiduciary duty to family law cases where the traditional analysis would not yield satisfactory results. Their attorneys are arguing that the Legislature intended to incorporate and apply certain provisions of the corporation code to marital dissolution cases. They state that the concepts of 20 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
business partners owing a duty of loyalty to their partners apply equally to spouses in a divorce case such that the spouses are precluded from investing separate property without first offering their spouse the opportunity to invest. Where a spouse during marriage did not offer an investment opportunity to their spouse, the failure to offer that opportunity is a breach of their duty of loyalty and that consequently a constructive trust should be imposed on the property, thereby reclassifying separate property to community property. Legal innovation, increasing technical knowledge and experience and keeping up with a changing legal environment are all part of the standard work day. But Burch says that the firm’s ‘people business’ approach is their real advantage. “One of our strengths is that Courtney and I are compassionate, loyal and dedicated people. Our compassion helps us care about the results we achieve for our clients. Our loyalty to our clients persuades us to dedicate long hours, often to the detriment of our personal lives, so that we are more prepared than the other side. Nobody will out work us because we truly care about the results we can achieve for our client,” he says. n Contact Burch, Coulston & Shepard, LLC 26211 SW Birch Street Newport Beach, CA 92660 949.565.4158 www.ocdivorce.net
KHASHAYAR LAW GROUP A CIVIL LITIGATION LAW FIRM
Our experienced litigation teams are assisted by a support staff of professionals with diverse backgrounds. Our team is conversant in multiple languages, including Farsi, demonstrating our desire and ability to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse community. RESULTS
ACCESS
The San Diego personal injury team at Khashayar Law Group has received millions of dollars in compensation for our clients.
Our clients appreciate our hands-on attorneys and are reassured by their around-the-clock availability. At Khashayar Law Group, our clients can always speak directly with their attorneys at any time, day or night.
EXPERIENCE Some cases need to go to trial, and we are aggressive and experienced enough to take them to trial.
SKILL A personal injury lawyer not only depends on their knowledge of the law, but also requires the skills and experience to use that knowledge in negotiations and the courtroom.
COMPENSATION Cases of personal injury are not limited to instances of physical harm and loss. The damages can be financial, emotional or psychological, and harm your reputation. At Khashayar Law Group, we use the latest technology to test and refute evidence presented by opposing counsel to give your referrals the compensation they deserve.
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Make Time for Business Development With
F
timeshifting
or the 25 years I’ve been coaching lawyers, their #1 excuse for not being more serious about business development (BD) has been “lack of time.” During our planning sessions, after you declare your goal, I ask how much time you’ll commit each week to achieve it. This is the “no matter what,” “never fall below,” hygienelevel commitment. For most lawyers, the answer is three hours per week, and most fail to honor that consistently. Harsh reality check: That won’t get it done. It’s simply not enough time to generate meaningful business. It’s very important that you free up time for BD by delegating as much as possible, i.e., firing yourself from any job or task that can be performed by someone else. Today, let’s look at the second way to free up time: Time-shifting.
Common Time-Shifting In the late ‘70s, the VCR changed TV-watching forever by enabling us to record TV shows and watch them at our convenience. This became known as “time-shifting.” Entertainment-wise, this freed us from the tyranny of broadcast schedules that didn’t align with our own. Subsequent technologies have now made it that almost nobody watches anything at the time the TV networks broadcast it. Similarly, various technologies now enable us to work whenever, wherever. Yet, lawyers remain in the habit of performing all client work and firm-committee responsibilities during prime business hours. Then, if they somehow manage to get that all done, they might try to squeeze in a little (grudging) time for BD occasionally. Unfortunately, the people you need to interact with in your market tend to be available primarily during normal business hours, not during the few off-hours that you might have left over after these other tasks. 22 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
by Mike O’Horo
Applying Time-Shifting to Business Development What would prevent you from adopting the same time-shifting philosophy and techniques that you apply to entertainment, to free up time for BD? • If you’re writing a brief, does it matter what time of day you work on it? • If you’re analyzing an IP portfolio, does it matter if you do it from 9:00-11:00 AM or 7:00-9:00 PM? • Couldn’t that associate development committee meet at 6:00 PM instead of 2:00 PM? • How smart is it to work on that ABA presentation during the business day? I’m betting that a big chunk of what you do during prime time can be shifted to off-hours. In fact, I’ll argue that anything that doesn’t require real-time interaction with another person who’s only available during prime business hours can be shifted. You may be thinking, “You’ll have me working early in the morning and late at night.” No, I won’t, but you might, if it’s important. Think about all the late nights, early mornings, and weekends you work because of client deadlines or demands. It’s not even a decision. You do whatever is necessary to deliver for that client and keep them happy. Isn’t it time to make yourself an important client, too? Doesn’t your professional and financial security warrant real priority? • What if you shifted two hours of billable work to non-prime time each day? That would give you ten hours per week to devote to business development. • What if you also delegated every task that doesn’t absolutely require you to do it personally, and limited your role to oversight and quality control? You might free up another hour or so per day. • Total recaptured for BD: 10-15 hours/week I’ll bet that if you’d been asked to devote 10-15 hours per week to business development, you’d have said it was impossible because you didn’t have time. It’s not.
How to Get Started Review your time sheets for the past three months. Make a list of every entry that represents something that you can delegate. Add up the hours you spent on those. This is BD time that can be available to you (minus the initial time investment to make sure that the delegated work is up to par). Arrange the remaining responsibilities that require your personal participation in four quadrants according to their combination of Important, Not Important, Prime Time, and Non-Prime Time. For your first attempt, place them where they are today. Then, move them to where they should be, based on their priority and time flexibility. Here’s an example of a first attempt by an IP litigator I’m working with. It will have to become more granular, but it’s a good start, and he’s working on improving it. I highlighted the “Committees” item to alert him to take a closer look at his committee commitments to see if his colleagues would be willing to move these meetings to non-prime time.
IMPORTANT
PRIME TIME
NON-PRIME TIME
Client communications
Timesheets
Court appearances
Sign checks
Trials
Review case papers
Mentor attorneys
Drafting
Committees
Family
Coordinating cases
Friends
Case phone calls
Charitable organizations
Case strategizing
Exercise
Team Leader – Commercial Litigation
NOT IMPORTANT
Personnel issues
Internet
Breaks Water cooler talk
If you accomplished both delegation and time-shifting, reallocated that time to BD, and consistently focused that time on a robust market segment under the guidance of a seasoned coach, what effect might it have on the amount of business you bring in? What effect would that have on your professional standing, financial security, and peace of mind? Why not find out? n Mike O’Horo is a serial innovator in the law business. His current venture, RainmakerVT, is the world’s first just-in-time interactive virtual rainmaking training that not only teaches lawyers how to earn high-value clients, but also enables them to gain far more practical experience in the virtual world than is available to them in the real world. For 20 years, Mike has been known by lawyers everywhere as The Coach. He trained more than 7000 of them, generating $1.5 billion in new business. Mike can be reached at mikeohoro@rainmakervt.com.
IS YOUR LAW FIRM MAKING THE BEST IMPRESSION?
We’ll help you put your best foot forward. From logos and brochures to websites, strategy, writing and beyond, we’ve got you covered! Jenny Strauss, Partner & Brand Strategist (215) 460-0835 jenny@skidmutro.com
View our portfolio at skidmutro.com
Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017 23
10
SEO SPECIALISTS
Share Their Best Tips for Lawyers by Chris Dreyer
“IF YOU WERE WORKING WITH AN ATTORNEY TO IMPROVE A LAW FIRM’S SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR #1 TIP TO GET RESULTS?”
T
his is the question we posed to more than 50 SEO specialists who have done SEO for lawyers. Their answers will provide you with good direction whether you’re formulating your own law firm SEO strategies or just looking for general advice. If you want to improve your own website rankings or your clients’ website listings in the search engines, then this expert Q&A roundup is what you’re looking for. Enjoy and share it with others. Thank you!
1
SEAN SMITH
simpletiger.com twitter.com/snsmth
Having worked with plenty of law firms, I would say typically the thing they fall short on the most is producing high-quality answers to questions their potential clients might have about their services as a means to attract would-be clients. There usually isn’t a lot of local competition for these types of phrases and typically, visitors are pretty intentional when it comes to law, so they usually convert well once they’ve read content like this. There are plenty of other law firm SEO strategies, but this is just one where I see firms fall short.
2
ROBBIE RICHARDS
robbierichards.com twitter.com/robbierichmktg
Regardless of the client, I always start with an audit. This tells me a lot about the client, their specific practice areas, as well as the competition they are up against. From this initial analysis I’m able to quickly identify the opportunity areas that will provide quick wins for the client, and solidify enough upfront trust to establish an ongoing relationship. Most of the legal clients we work with are local SEO projects, some with multiple locations, others with multi-lingual targeting within a single geographic location. We are even working with a defamation attorney right now that has international clients. As a result, the strategy and approach vary a bit. That’s why I always start with the audit. The insights save us a lot of time spinning our wheels, instead of getting shit done. All that said, we look across the following areas: Google My 24 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
Business, website and landing pages, content audit, citations, link analysis, reviews, social media, structured data, and competitor analysis. From there, we can usually find quick win opportunities. Knowing that this is kind of a “duh” answer so far, I’ll list out the tactics that move the needle the most for legal clients. Each of these tactics fall under what I like to think of more as a single “framework” that delivers short- and long-term results. Content audits: Basically—we analyze all the indexed content on the site, and look at four key metrics—links, organic traffic, conversions and engagement. We map data points across these four areas down to the page-level and make one of four recommendations … (1) Keep, (2) Remove, (3) Improve, (4) Consolidate. After we have executed on this, the client will often see immediate organic traffic gains, and have a really solid content base to build all ongoing efforts from. We recently did this with a client in the defamation law space. In seven months their site has gone from ~3,500 organic visits and 130 online leads a month, to ~10,000 organic visits and 299 leads in August. And, that was without writing a single new post or page on the site. This strategy works well in legal, because clients often come to us with a ton of content already on their site after working with other companies for years on their SEO. Existing KW research: Once we have established the base, we identify all the low-hanging fruit on the website. I’ve written in-depth about the process here. Basically, we emerge with a shortlist of pages with existing rankings 6-20, that with a little promo can make some quick gains. Citations & Reviews: Citations have long been known as a staple in the local SEO ranking factors. We get the client listed or updated on the top 50 directories, then run a manual submission campaign using Bright Local to build out the profile and get some more niche relevant listings. On top of that, we use our in-house review management system to collect positive reviews across the major review sites and sync a live feed to the client’s site. This social proof is massive for conversions. Google My Business: It amazes how many clients come to us with a poor GMB page, or none at all. This is the centerpiece of the local search presence. We spend a lot of upfront time optimizing that profile, and building links to it. BONUS: Legal is an incredibly competitive space. So, if
a client has some budget, while they are working on SEO, I often recommend running a small local PPC campaign to get immediate visibility in the SERPs, and get the phone ringing. This is particularly effective now that you can run ads in the map pack. I usually start with Click-to-Call only campaigns on mobile devices.
3
MICHAEL MOGILL
crispvideo.com/legal-video twitter.com/mmogill
“If you were working with an attorney to improve their law firm’s search engine optimization, what would be your #1 tip to get results?” Invest in videos that provide value to prospective clients. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is often considered one of the most important strategies to utilize when marketing your law firm. If you’re not on the first page of Google, chances are potential clients won’t even end up on your page- in fact, less than 10% of internet users even venture to the second page of search results. SEO differs from paid marketing in that it relies on organic growth, which relies almost exclusively on targeted content marketing. To have an effective content marketing strategy, you must first have valuable, desirable content—that’s where video comes in. Video marketing is a proven strategy to enhance your brand, but that’s not all it does. Videos have become a dominating force in online activity, and companies are responding by making their content more visual and interactive. HighQ predicted that 2017 will be the year of video marketing, and there’s a reason for that. Generating website traffic can be a tough component of your firm’s marketing strategy, especially in the age of paid advertisements. With an average of 3 to 4 homepage ads coming from sponsored companies, getting your company to the first page of Google can be a daunting task. However, having relevant and high-quality videos on your site is proven to boost your search rankings more effectively than organic content alone. Google rewards relevance and quality, so if your firm adds videos to your site, it could significantly improve SEO. Here are a few statistics to highlight the positive impact videos can have: • Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic • Video leads to a 105% increase in time spent on your site • 65% of decision makers will click through to your site after viewing a branded video • Embedding a video in your firm’s landing page can increase conversion rates by 300% • Video can also influence metrics such as your bounce rate— by improving the overall content on your page by including quickly digestible content like video, you can increase the odds that visitors stay on your page. Numbers don’t lie, and search rankings don’t either. Videos are truly an impactful way to gain the upper hand in the competitive law industry, and can exponentially increase traffic to your firm’s website.
4
ROB TIMMERMANN
wearetg.com twitter.com/timmermanngroup
From a business owner’s perspective, I would want to promote my law firm through marketing instead of the individual lawyers promoting themselves. What happens when you do this is the firm has a much better chance of longevity because the firm controls the inbound leads. This is because people will have the name of the firm as top of mind rather than the name of the lawyer. They also control the leads by showing up when people are searching for the type of firm they want.
5
MARCUS MILLER
bowlerhat.co.uk/ twitter.com/marcusbowlerhat
This is a fiercely competitive industry. So getting the basics of your Local SEO and on page work dialed in is essential here. But it won’t be the competitive difference maker. The difference maker in competitive industries is always authority, so the most important tip is to focus on building authority. This, of course, is easy to say, but not always so easy to do in practice. Create content that truly helps the law firm’s potential customers. Something that is truly useful and authoritative. I would then concentrate on promoting and building links to that content to help raise visibility of that content piece (or pieces) and to build up domain level link authority. This is strategically simple but there can be a lot of moving parts. I covered this approach in more detail in a recent Search Engine Land column.
6
LEXI MILLS
twitter.com/leximills
There are plenty of opportunities to comment on the legal perspective of current news. I would encourage members of the firms to write or dictate their perspective on this. I would craft this into a blog post, with graphics and video where possible, get it signed off, and then promote it to local, national, and trade media to build links and grow the reputation of the firm. Or perhaps create a piece of content or an online app that translate legal speak to ‘human.’ There are many legal terms that may be frightening or difficult to understand. Making a dictionary that explains legalese using videos, gif, famous movie references, and visual examples would be strong promotional and consumer content that could be targeted to specific sectors such as students, families, immigrants, etc. depending on the law firm’s strategy. Creating top tips or mistakes to avoid lists for legal issues could work very well. For example, key things to know to maintain compliance with your O-1 visa. Top considerations for a prenup. How to save money on taxes when you are a dual resident. Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017 25
All of these topics can be targets to particular audiences and linked to current news cycles, helping to grow not just domain authority but also brand awareness and conversions.
7
KASPAR SZYMANSKI searchbrothers.com twitter.com/kas_tweets
Working with attorneys, it is vital to look into the physical business location while considering their websites’ SEO signals. In legal business, prospective clients are most likely to search for a lawyer nearby. The website needs to convey that important information to Google and users alike. Ensuring search engines understand the locality of the business is a crucial first step towards creating positive user signals before anything else. Of course, in a vertical as competitive as the legal business, one fundamental signal will hardly suffice to achieve the goal of persistent visibility in search results for relevant, converting queries. It is, however, the first step towards providing a great user experience and to win the SERP game big.
8
JAKE BOHALL
hivedigital.com twitter.com/jakebohall
The legal services space is very challenging for SEO due to competition and investment in the space. Most attorneys have the budget to spend on SEO, so you quickly find that much of the low-hanging fruit typically available in SEO does not provide any real boosts, but simply helps get you closer to “par” with your competitors. Having a mobile friendly site that is well structured, full of great content, easily accessible for mobile, free of errors, and efficient for crawlers is a norm in the space, and authority really becomes the key to setting you apart from competitors for search rankings. To really be effective as a law firm, it’s important that you have the type of in-depth content that will support link growth by being an exceptional resource for others, and even more importantly…that you are seeking out opportunities to have your subject matter expertise highlighted in the media. This is most often through guest appearances on local news networks, contributing legal opinion in articles on major sites, and increasingly by establishing a pro-bono service offering that identifies you as more altruistic than others in your space.
9
MARKO SARIC
howtomakemyblog.com twitter.com/markosaric
My #1 tip would be for the law firm to create some great content and publish it on its website or blog. Without content, it will be difficult to rank in the search engines. 26 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
The process would be to analyze the target audience and to find a sweet spot between the services that the law firm offers and the needs/wants/questions from the target audience. That will make it clear what topics need to be tackled. Then it would be all about creating great quality content that answers questions that the audience has in order to attract them to the site, help them, inform them, and educate them. The blog or the website should be optimized to get leads, too, so I would include live chat and other call to actions to get in touch for those who are tempted to take it further.
10
MARIE HAYNES
mariehaynes.com twitter.com/marie_haynes
I have done a lot of work helping attorneys who have been the victims of bad SEO work. In the past, it was commonplace to see legal websites that had absolutely horrible link profiles because an SEO company had spent hours building lowquality directory and article links. Many of these websites received manual unnatural links penalties or were negatively affected by Google’s Penguin algorithm. Now, links are still very important, but the only links that really move the needle are ones that have real purpose outside of SEO. If you can figure out a way to earn links rather than build your own, then you have a formula that really should help improve rankings. But who wants to link to their attorney’s website? That makes link earning hard. However, I have seen some attorneys earn some fantastic links. One of the things that works the best is to do something that journalists want to write about. Examples could include doing some pro bono work for a community group, setting up a petition, or bringing awareness to a real problem in our society. Once you have a case or situation that you can talk about publicly, then create content that people truly want to read that describes the situation. This means that someone in the firm who has good legal experience needs to write this content as opposed to a journalist who works for your web design company. Then, start spreading the word via traditional PR outlets, social media shares, etc. If you do things correctly, you’ll often get lots of people talking about this situation, writing about it, and linking to it. A few good links like this can make a huge difference. n Chris Dreyer is the Founder & CEO of Rankings.io, which provides SEO (search engine optimization) services to lawyers, to help them obtain more clients, cases and revenue. To learn more, visit rankings.io or email Chris at chris@rankings.io.
Our law firm is vertically integrated to provide full service to lending professionals. Below is a common list of services we provide for our clients: • Entity formation, ongoing maintenance and licensing in all 50 states. • Securities offerings of all kinds (Reg D, Reg A, state offerings). • Lending compliance in all 50 states (guidance on licensing, usury, foreclosure, etc.). • Loan documents in all 50 states. • Consumer lending compliance (TILA/RESPA/ ECOA/HOEPA). • All loss mitigation (modification, forbearance, settlements, non-judicial/judicial foreclosure, inclusive of trustee services in CA, AZ and NV). • Creditor representation in bankruptcy/litigation in California. • Title claims of all kinds.
UP & COMING TRENDS
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WE PROVIDE PEACE OF MIND Contact Ruby at 949.379.2600 R.Keys@geracillp.com geracilawfirm.com
BAD STRATEGY
The Wrong Approach to Selling Professional Services by Tom Trush
A dangerous epidemic continues to wash through the business community, especially among professionals selling services. In fact, the problem is so prevalent that I gave it a name— “The Juswanem Syndrome.” Sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? I’ll explain what it means in minute. But first, let’s set the scene ... As I mentioned many times, those who don’t consistently market their services often find themselves in frustrating situations. Time and again, the need for sales leads them to the first marketing opportunity that comes to mind. These days that activity usually involves social media. Resources such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn remain the shiny objects offering promises of almost endless prospects. And rightfully so—social media is an incredible connection tool. The problem, though, is the approach. You see, regardless of the tool, resource, strategy or tactic, service providers often express to me a similar desired action from prospects. And it almost always begins with the same words: I just want them ... (Or, as the quicker spoken version sounds, I “juswanem” ...) The full request might sound like: I juswanem to call me. If I just get prospects on the phone, I know I can convince them to do business with me. Unfortunately, this approach is one of the quickest ways to turn off potential buyers. After all, who does it benefit? YOU! The Juswanem Syndrome leads to marketing messages that show prospects lack of respect. It causes you to protect the information prospects seek. This barrier then pushes prospects elsewhere to find the initial guidance they crave. Instead of a phone call, why not first focus on establishing trust? A positive belief in you is critical when attracting
28 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
prospects and turning them into your clients. Without trust, you have zero chance at generating a sale. So let’s look at the three primary reasons we trust people ... 1. Previous Behavior Past behavior is usually a strong predictor of future actions. 2. Capability We trust people based on what we believe they can do. 3. Alignment If we share a common goal, then there’s a strong chance we’ll work together to get there. Of these three reasons, alignment is the most important (yet most ignored) when marketing. Today, more than ever, you must prove you’re not just someone pushing services. Unfortunately, in most marketing situations, the alignment between buyers and sellers matches as well as oil and water. After all, as a service professional, your goal is to make sales. Whereas a prospect simply wants to solve a problem. So, to create an alignment, you must match your marketing to your prospects’ problems. And remember, your marketing must develop relationships before it can drive profits. n Tom Trush is a Phoenix, Arizona-based direct-response copywriter who helps entrepreneurs and executives craft lead-generating marketing materials. Pick up his latest book, Escape the Expected: The Secret Psychology of Selling to Today’s Skeptical Consumers, for free (just cover shipping) at writewaysolutions.com/blog/free-book-offer.
Five Tips for Keeping Referrals Flowing by Robert Theofanis
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awyers often pursue new clients at the expense of servicing and marketing to existing clients. This is a mistake. It’s also a mistake to pursue new referral sources at the expense of your existing referral network. Your existing network should be your priority. Only seek out and develop new referral sources once you’ve taken care of your existing network. Here are five tips for nurturing your referral network.
if you accepted or rejected the representation and update them upon conclusion of the representation. It may make sense to provide more frequent updates. No one is asking you to divulge client confidences here; you can keep it general. Here’s an example: “Hey Tom, I just settled Mary’s case for her. She was very happy with the outcome. Thanks again for sending her over!”
1. Systematize Your Approach
4. Show Your Appreciation Early and Often
If you don’t have a system to keep you organized and on track, then you’re just shooting from the hip. Technology is great for this. Your practice management system probably has some CRM features built in. If not, no worries. A perfectly acceptable bare-bones system would be a piece of paper or simple spreadsheet listing the names of each referral source. Each quarter of the year (see No. 2 below), you’d write down what you did with, or for, the referral source (had lunch, sent email update, paid a referral fee, etc.). At the end of the quarter, you’d just copy your list over to a new piece of paper or worksheet and start over. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
In some states, appreciation is shown by referral fees. That’s fine. But those are typically paid at the end of a case. You cannot wait this long to show appreciation. As soon as you undertake the representation, you need to show your appreciation. Figure out if your state allows you to give anything of value. For example, in California you can give gifts to nonattorney referral sources so long as they are purely gratuitous (i.e., no quid pro quo). You need to know if your state allows gifts. If it does, your referral source is probably receiving gifts from other lawyers. You don’t want to appear cheap because cheap equals unappreciative. If gifts are permissible, the value of the gift should be commensurate with the value of the case referred. A $50 bottle of wine is probably fine for a routine fixed-fee case, but it won’t cut it on a six-figure personal injury case.
2. Remind Them That You’re Alive If you want your network to think of you when something comes up, you probably need to have three to five points of contact per year. Otherwise, they may just forget about you. Not all points of contact need to be time-consuming or expensive—you don’t need baseball games or dinners. A fiveminute conversation to catch up in the courthouse hallway is perfect. Likewise, a personalized email with no strings attached will work wonders. (“Hi Christine, How are you doing? I saw this article and thought of you. I’m sure you’re busy. No need to respond. I hope all is well!”) Your goal should be to contact each referral source once a quarter. That should allow you to hit three to five times per year. And remember, more isn’t necessarily better. You may become annoying if your contact becomes unnatural or too frequent.
3. Update Them on Matters They Referred to You This is a matter of professional courtesy. If someone is kind enough to refer a matter to you, you must keep them apprised of the milestones. At a minimum, let them know 30 Attorney Journal Orange County | Volume 141, 2017
5. Personalize Everything Technology is great for automating rote tasks. Nurturing your referral network is not a rote task. Most people are tech savvy enough to know when something, such as an email, has been automated. Honestly, it’s worse to send an obviously automated communication than to send nothing at all. Being on the receiving end of automation masquerading as personalization feels gross. So, handwrite your notes, sign your letters by hand, draft personalized emails—and don’t outsource any of this. n Robert Theofanis is a workers’ compensation attorney based in Los Angeles. He earned a J.D. cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a B.A. in Physics cum laude from Occidental College. Previously published in AttorneyatWork.com. Robert blogs on entrepreneurship for attorneys, marketing, and modern legal practice.
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