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

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Why not try your Chamber of Commerce, which worked for me? You might
also want to try joining a local club or two, such as a Rotary.

Another good source of bankruptcies is Hyatt Legal Plans. Hyatt Legal
Plans is a legal insurance program. While most of the fees they pay
are low, their bankruptcy fee is decent ($800.00 for a Chapter 7), and
since not too many attorneys do that work anymore, I'd say there's a
good chance that you could get one or two a month. They do have
limited attorneys on their list, depending on your area, but check
them out and see if they have room, especially for someone who does
bankruptcy. What state are you in?

Hyatt also sends over a fair amount of traffic tickets. And whenever
you receive a client, they are usually covered for wills and some
estate planning. Since it's free for the client, they almost always
give you the follow up work.

On 5/16/06, Ronald wrote:
> JF,
>
> I'm really having a tough time finding business to replace my
> consumer bankruptcy clients. I usually did 2-3 Chapter 7 per month,
> and now they are simply gone. I have tried to do LLC formation and
> traffic tickets, but I can't seem to draw any clients willing to pay
> anything above cut rate. I may try running some DUI ads soon, maybe
> that will bring in some new business. I'd love to find some
> business clients, but I am not sure I have the resources to serve
> them.
>
> On 5/15/06, JF wrote:
>> I am in a city, not a rural area. For the past five years, I have
>> mostly represented real estate developers, sellers, buyers, and
>> lenders (in Massachusetts, only attorneys can conduct closings,
>> not the title companies directly). As I stated in my posts, lately
>> the real estate market has been slow, so I have supplemented with
>> wills, estates, trusts, bankruptcies, and now business law. I will
>> not state my income, but on average a real estate closing,
>> including title insurance commission, brings me about $1500.00
>> (mostly sales, not many refis), and I typically do double figures
>> in monthly volume, even in slow times. So I do o.k., although
>> overhead is high.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 5/15/06, Ronald wrote:
>>> What kind of work do you get hired to do? Are you in a small
>>> rural community? How much is your yearly profit from law
>>> practice?
>>>
>>> Thank you in advance.
>>>
>>> On 5/15/06, JF wrote:
>>>> You misunderstood my post. I am not chasing the people who
>>>> already have filed. I never said I would send out a "nice
>>>> letter". I said that I am now holding myself out to the
>>>> director of my Chamber of Commerce as a business lawyer,
>>>> meaning that when new lawyers call her for a referral, she
>>>> will give my name. I will then advise the new business as to
>>>> typical start-up issues such as: forming an LLC, corporation,
>>>> or partnership agreement; reviewing and negotiating commercial
>>>> leases; assisting with commercial financing and related UCC
>>>> issues; preparation and review of business acquisition
>>>> documents when necessary; assisting with permitting; filing of
>>>> business certificates; etc. Yes, most of these businesses will
>>>> not survive, but hopefully the ones who do will remain clients.
>>>>
>>>> What other name do you write posts under?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 5/15/06, Jimmy wrote:
>>>>> 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.
>>>>>>