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

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Thank you; a compliment from you means a lot. I am from
Massachusetts, just north of Boston.

On 5/15/06, Hardy Parkerson, Atty. wrote:
>
> 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.
>>