Re: Meanwhile, for those of you who practice law.....

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JF,

Exactly what kind of business do you do for new startups?
They have already established their entity, hence the public
filing, and they are usually broke and undercapitalized,
hence the fact that they will go out of business, in all
likelihood (Your words). So, what do you do? Handle the
traffic ticket if the business owner speeds? I'm asking,
because several years ago, I did exactly what you have
recommended. I sent out a nice letter. Maybe 2 ot of 100
called me, and they were looking for free advice, as usual.

On 5/15/06, JF wrote:
> For better or for worse, I continue to occasionally write
> posts that may actually help those drowning solos actually
> build their practices. I have been practicing real estate
> law for a number of years, but the downturn in the real
> estate market has forced me to expand into other areas. I
> have had no problem obtaining new clients and new types of
> work, and I do this by fishing where the fish are. For
> example, in the past, I have suggested that solos hand
> out "Have You Made a Will?" brochures to their existing
> clients. A great way to get your client to come in for
> some estate planning. When the new bankruptcy law went
> into effect, many bankruptcy lawyers dropped that area of
> practice. I spent an afternoon on the phone calling these
> lawyers, telling them that I am practicing bankruptcy law,
> and now a number of them have used me as their referral
> attorney. I originally built my real estate practice by
> opening my office next door to a large, busy real estate
> broker office. The referrals came quickly and
> consistently. Again, fishing where the fish are. All this
> has been supplemented by bar lawyer referral programs.
>
> My newest marketing endeavor targets business entities,
> who (in my opinion) ultimately make the best clients. I
> had ignored business clients in the past (with the
> exception of real estate developers) largely because I did
> not believe there were many new businesses in my area, and
> existing businesses typically already have counsel. Then I
> checked the new business certificate filings in the city
> that I practice in and found that there are many new
> business filings every month. I have been active in the
> local Chamber of Commerce for over a year, and I am the
> only lawyer who gives them my time. So I simply called the
> Chamber director, who confirmed that, yes, a good amount
> of new business people call her for lawyer referrals, and
> from now on she will certainly give them my name (since
> I'm the only lawyer in town who bothers with them). I had
> my first client within a week. Granted, many of these new
> businesses will fail, but I will receive the start-up work
> and retain those that succeed.
>
> Virtually all solos know how to practice law. The hard
> part is obtaining clients, which seems to be the problem
> people have here. The work is out there; you just have to
> reach out and grab it. It's all about relationship
> building, making yourself visible in the community, and
> letting people know what you do.
>