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

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Good piece! Well written. Interesting! Keep up the good
work! By the way, where are you from? Just curious.

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkeson, Atty.
Lake Charles, LA

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.
>