It seems obvious, doesn’t it? The decisions attorneys make will have a huge impact on their success as lawyers. Decisions such as choosing between government and private practice, in-house vs. law firm, the legal practice area(s) to pursue, the law firm to work for and the structure of their law practice. Yet I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to attorneys about the career decisions they have made only to learn that these decisions we not well thought out. Intelligent and well educated though attorneys are, when it comes to making important decisions about ourselves, lawyers generally perform no better than anyone else. Our clients receive more carefully thought out  strategy about solving their legal problems than we give ourselves about a matter as  important as our career. Why is this so?

It’s hard when it’s personal. We tend to have what is called “outcome apprehension” when making an important decision that affects us personally; the fear is that the choice we make will not be successful. This fear then infects the decision making process causing stress and anxiety, often resulting in a less than desirable choice.  One reason clients seek advice from a professional is that the professional is objective and unattached to the outcome of the advice he gives.

Lawyers often take first job they are offered. Why? Because we all want to be wanted. If a law firm makes a job offer there is a tendency to accept it because it validates our worthiness. This can be much easier than pursuing a position at another firm and risking rejection, even though the second firm is much more desirable.  Over the years I have seen numerous examples of  accepting-the-first-offer-regret and have helped clients to make and implement the right choice, abet late, for themselves.

Another difficult decision is what practice area to pursue. Litigation is a good example. By the time we graduate from law school we are indoctrinated in the value of the rule of law and the importance of our justice system. Couple this with youthful enthusiasm and the number of openings for litigation associates and the result is many young attorneys working in litigation when, by personality or inclination, they are not well suited to the area. It can be difficult to correct this mistake and change to a practice area of the law where the lawyer’s talents and interests are better matched. This may require moving to another firm. The longer an attorney stays in an ill-suited legal area, the greater the difficulty in making the change. If this situation applies to you, I encourage you to take action without delay to make the necessary change. You don’t want to become locked into the wrong practice area.

There are many other areas where our decisions will determine our career success, for example:

• whether to change law firms
• should you form a partnership or go solo
• where to practice
• do you specialize
• in-house vs. law firm
• whether to leave the law
• important office management decisions
• marketing/client development strategy

The point I am making is that the major decisions you make in your legal career deserve your carefully thought through, reasoned deliberation. So treat yourself like a client; take your time, be organized, be objective, get help if you need it.

You do not have to do this in a vacuum, there are numerous resources available to help you through the process and sharpen your decision making skills. There is an abundance of books about how to make good decisions, I will be glad to recommend a few. Also, I have a website wisedecisions.com that has some useful decision tools and explains the steps to follow in making an important decision. If you use Flipboard, I have a magazine Wise Decisions…. where I curate articles about decision making.

Don’t forget about your clients. The better your decision making skills, the better service you can provide to them. I discuss this at Wise Decisions for Lawyers.

Making the right decisions in your legal career is not only the easiest, but the single most important difference you can make in achieving your professional success. So how about making a decision now to put in the effort needed to make the very best decisions about your career?

Have a Great Practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

Happy New Year!

A couple of years ago I posted a series of three blog posts designed to help fellow attorneys 1.) examine their existing law practice 2.) evaluate what changes in practice areas they want to make and 3.) make those changes. I hope they were helpful, I received a lot of positive feedback.

Monday will begin the first full week of 2013. Your books for 2012 should be closed and you are now able to review the numbers and determine how your practice went in 2012. Now is the perfect time to examine your law practice and make any adjustments necessary such as adding or dropping specific practice areas and/or modifying the portion of your law practice devoted to each area. It is an opportunity to plan the changes you want to make in your law practice during 2013. I encourage you to review these three posts, think about what you want out of your law practice and take the necessary steps to make the changes.

Here are links to the posts:

1. The Law Practice You Have
2. The Law Practice You Want
3. Bridging the Gap to the Law Practice You Want

Have a Great Law Practice!

Daniel Roberts, J.D.

Professional Lawyer Coach

CoachingforLawyers.com

You have worked hard getting through law school, finding a job and now putting in the hours at your law firm. But what about partnership? How do you get there? Here are five tips that will help:

1. Know the criteria.

If you don’t know what is expected how can you possibly achieve the goal of partnership? Knowledge is power. It is important to know what the firm expects by way of hours, marketing efforts, pro bono investment, bar activities, etc. It is also important to know the practice area specific requirements. For example, in litigation how many hearings, trials, depositions, motion and briefs are expected.

If you’re in a large firm this information may be fairly easily obtainable. There may be a written document that outlines the firm’s expectations for partnership.  However, do not assume that fulfilling those requirements will necessarily result in a partnership offer. Overachievement is wise. And, competition with other associates  needs to be considered. In smaller firms  the criteria may be more subjective. However, there are still certain expectations, perhaps unspoken, the partners have and that must be met before a partnership offer is extended.

The best way to determine the firm’s criteria is to ask. If you have a mentor partner, ask him. Ask other people in your practice group. Especially valuable could be new partners who have gone through the process recently. Don’t overlook partners who have left the firm.

2.. Make a plan.

It is important to have a plan in place. A written plan. The form is not important. It can be a spreadsheet, Word table, project management software or via an online task management website. The plan needs to include a list of the criteria the firm expects you to meet or, better, what you plan to accomplish.  Create a set of action steps designed to meet each criterion and a timeline designed to have all action steps completed and each goal accomplished at least several months before partnership consideration. Be conservative, things happen; litigation settles, depositions are rescheduled, legal articles are not published when expected. Start early.

3. Market.

Business is the lifeblood of a law firm. It is important to learn how to market, market consistently and keep the firm appraised of your efforts to bring in new business. I have only worked with one associate who was with a firm that did not want their attorneys to bring in new business. That was due to the size of the law firm, the practice area and their blue chip client list. They didn’t want to run the risk of conflicts. Rest assured, your firm want’s you to bring in business. It can be a large part of the partnership decision. As an associate, you should begin your marketing efforts as soon as possible after joining the firm.

4. Play Politics.

Becoming partner is about more than how good an attorney you are, how many cases you have tried, your billable hours, articles written, pro bono, etc. . It is also about personal relationships and ”likability.” In your partnership plan it is important to know who decides who becomes a partner. Is it one partner who leads the effort or is it a partnership committee? Who is on the committee? You need to know everyone who is involved in making the decision. If  one of the decision makers  is in a branch office, find a reason to visit the office and while you are there make contact. Be sure all of the committee members know you and what you are doing for the firm. Stay in touch.

5. Act like a Partner.

People will see in you what you see in yourself. Therefore, it is important to cultivate the mindset of a partner. Think like you have already made it. How would you act? What suggestions for improvements in practice management do you have? How could marketing efforts be improved? Should the firm move into a new practice area? Be respectful, of course. The more you think of yourself as a partner, talk like a partner, and act like a partner, the more  the other attorneys will see you as partnership material.

You have achieved a lot in your career thus far but the work is not over. Now is the time to focus on the next goal: becoming a partner in your law firm. Focus, plan, execute. You can do it!

Have a Great Practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

We are in the final quarter of 2012. How has your business been so far? Are you on track to achieve your legal marketing goals? It’s time to refocus on how you will achieve your law practice income and client development goals for the year.

1. Take an honest look at where you are now. Are you on track? Have you been following your marketing plan faithfully and putting in the time you committed to yourself for marketing your law practice? If you are not where you want to be, you are not alone. Often lawyers fall off of the marketing wagon. Summer doesn’t help with family vacations, clients and prospective clients being out of the office.
2. Take a careful look at your 2012 Marketing Plan. Being objective, determine where you achieved your goals and where you did not. Don’t beat yourself up, it doesn’t help and is an energy drain. What worked? Great, stay on track with that. What didn’t work and why not? Was it a change in the legal market, an internal law firm issue or something else out of your control? It’s not your fault. Was it a miscalculation; perhaps using a marketing method that didn’t fit with your personality or focusing on a practice area that wasn’t right for you? Don’t blame yourself, you’re not perfect. You have made progress; now you know what doesn’t work.
3. Make the necessary changes to your Marketing Plan. You still have time to achieve your goals but you need to concentrate on the next three months. Where can you get the biggest return on the time you are investing in your legal marketing? After allocating time for continuing with what has been working (should you increase your effort in those areas?), determine the amount of time you have left in your marketing time budget. Next, revise your marketing plan being specific about the new actions you will take, the marketing tools you will use and the timeline to follow. Remember, the holiday season is gold for marketing person-to-person. Be sure to leave time for connecting with current and prospective clients socially. The holidays give you a great reason for making contact with prospects when you might feel uncomfortable otherwise.
4. Invest the Time. You should have a Marketing Time Budget. Commit to yourself that you will spend at least that minimum amount of time per week implementing your marketing plan. Even a less than stellar marketing plan followed consistently usually outperforms a great marketing plan implemented inconsistently. If you are having trouble staying focused, remind yourself that this push is only for three months; you will think about next year’s marketing next year. Imagine how great you will feel going into the holidays knowing that you put in the effort and did your best.

Just do it. Be honest about where you are now, make the necessary changes to your marketing plan, invest the time and 2012 will turn out to be a excellent year for your law practice.

Have a Great Practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

Most lawyers hate marketing. The usual line goes something like: “I didn’t go to law school so I could ask people for business. I’m a lawyer, not a salesman.” Yes, but to get the legal business you want, most attorneys need to market.  The fact is that people, and attorneys are no exception, typically don’t do things they hate to do. And when we do things we hate we don’t usually don’t do a very good job.

The big lawyer marketing secret, the one thing that can make all the difference in your client development efforts is: YOUR ATTITUDE! If you approach a marketing opportunity with the mindset that you are going to impress people, hand out business cards and receive legal business as a result, you will be ineffective. Worse, you are likely to turn off a potential client. Marketing with the wrong attitude can be counter-productive and it is also much harder.

The right attitude makes all the difference. Imagine the same marketing opportunity. Perhaps it is a social gathering, a Chamber of Commerce event or a civic club meeting. Instead of the sell, sell, push, push mindset see yourself this way: You look forward to the event because you will have a chance to get out of the office and take a break from working on files. You come into the event looking for people you know, sure, but also with the clear intention to meet new people.

People are interesting. You want to learn about them,  what makes them tick, what their business is like, what their interests are, their viewpoints, what you have in common. The secret is to stop being self-focused; thinking about yourself, what you want and how to get it. The attitude that makes marketing so much easier and more effective is simply to think about others. When you focus on other people it takes the pressure off and keeps you from being self conscious and uncomfortable.

Here’s how:

• Ask questions. People love to talk about themselves. The person you are talking to is probably a bit uneasy in this social situation. Give him a chance to talk about a subject he knows; himself.
• Find the pain. Determine what issues or problems he or his business is facing. Where there are problems, legal services may be the solution. But don’t push! People can sense a salespitch.
• Help. There is a good chance that you can help in some way. Perhaps a referral to someone you know. Possibly a suggestion or a bit of advice (of course be careful about giving legal advice). Maybe a reference to a website, an article or an information source that would be helpful. It is even better if you can connect with the person later to deliver the information.

There is a lot to effective legal marketing but the attitude you bring to the process is critical. Get over yourself and what you want. Focus on others and how you can help them. You will make good contacts, maybe even some new friends, and more effectively market your law practice.

Have a Great Practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

How is your law practice going? Are you where you wanted to be in your legal career? The chances are that there is room for improvement but how do you determine where to start? You probably have at least a general idea. However, before you take steps to improve your law practice or make a significant change in your legal career, wouldn’t it be a good idea to get the whole picture? You could then analyze what needs to be done and what should be done first.

Several years ago I developed an assessment for lawyers,  theLawyer’s Life Assessment,  to help attorneys identify areas where things are working well and areas in need of change. There are 100 statements in the assessment. For each statement the lawyer scores his level of agreement on a 1 to 10 scale. The statements cover both practice and career factors. They also include statements related to one’s  personal life as personal characteristics and habits can significantly affect one’s professional life. The Lawyer’s Life Assessment has been well received and attorneys have told me that it has been helpful in pinpointing what changes to make as well as confirming what is working well.

Thanks to my web guru I now have an interactive version of the assessment on the Coaching for Lawyers website . Before it was necessary to download and print out the assessment, then add the score for each section and compute the average. Now you can go to the webpage, enter the score for each statement and the total score and average for each section is computed for you. In a short amount of time a lawyer can have a pretty good idea of what is working well and where improvements need to be made.

I encourage you take the Lawyers Life Interactive  (there is also a PDF version on the website  if you would rather download and work offline). This assessment should help you identify areas to work on. You can then prioritize and make an action plan of the specific steps needed to reach your improvement goal. Of course, you have to follow the plan!

Have a great law practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

The holiday season, the period between Thanksgiving and New Years, is the best time of the year for marketing your law practice. During this time business is more likely to  be slow at the law firm.  For most attorneys there are fewer cases to sign up as many prospective clients wait until the holidays are over to hire a lawyer. This lull in legal business can be a blessing as it provides you with the time to market. With the seasonal marketing techniques available, a wise attorney can sow the seeds for future business. Are you using the holiday season effectively for your legal marketing? If not, you should be. Here are 3 tips to help you make the most of this special time:

1. Holiday Cards. Everyone likes to be remembered. Mailing holiday cards to your past and present legal clients is a wise investment of the time and money you have left in your marketing budget. First, gather the contact information. You should be maintaining a data file with contact information for all of your past and present clients. If you are not, setting one up is the first order of business. Next, select a suitable card. A more politically correct card will not focus on Christmas, Hanukkah or have any other religious affiliation. There are plenty of appropriate cards with general holiday themes. Don’t be cheap, this is not a big investment and a quality holiday card will infer that your law practice is prosperous. Having the firm information printed on the card is nice but not necessary. Personally sign each holiday card. This is very important, the client needs to feel that you are taking the time to personally connect to him. If you remember anything about the client that will allow you to add a short note, do it. Again, the client will appreciate the connection. Lastly, send the cards out during the first week of December. Holiday cards have a limited shelf life. Be sure that yours are in your clients’ hands for as long as possible.
2. Referral Sources. Show appreciation to those people who refer you business. They may be clients, former clients, fellow attorneys, business associates, accountants, therapists, judges, your neighbor, your mechanic etc. Having a steady referral source is an extremely valuable asset and one a wise attorney will work to retain. How you acknowledge a referral source will depend on the circumstances of each relationship. Gifts are nice, of course, but the most important factor is making a personal connection.  Face time solidifies the relationship. Take the time to connect with each referral source over coffee, lunch, drinks after work or perhaps stopping by their office with an appropriate gift.
3. Networking opportunities. The holiday season provides more networking  possibilities for lawyers than other times of the year. Make a point of connecting with people as much as possible. Often there are bar association functions, state or federal court functions, government related celebrations, other law firm’s and other professional’s parties. There may also be parties at your church, civic club, fitness club or local non-profits. Read the paper, search online and ask around. If you have the opportunity, attend. Who know who you might meet that needs a good lawyer or knows someone who does. There’s not really any downside and you might even have fun.

Be wise. Use the holiday season to sow your legal marketing seeds and have a good time as well.

Have a great law practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

Thankfulness can be a useful tool in building your law practice. In our efforts to make improvements in ourselves as lawyers, in our law practices and in our personal lives we necessarily focus on what changes need to be made. My coaching work with attorney clients is about helping them make those changes that will make their law practice and their legal careers more satisfying and more rewarding.  In making changes it is necessary to focus on the glass-half-full-what we don’t have. But to concentrate only on the negatives, the lacks, is to deprive oneself of a valuable tool-thankfulness.

To be thankful for what we have and appreciate our blessings is a reliable old maxim and wise advice. It makes us feel good. But there is another advantage to thankfulness. By focusing on what is going well with our law practice and legal career we alter our perception of ourselves. Instead of lack, we see accomplishment. Instead of seeing only what we need, we see what we already have. Our acknowledgement of the positive, our successes, influences our self image. We see ourselves in a better light, more successful, more accomplished, more on track, more in control. This change in our self image can be very powerful.

We human beings are limited by our self perception. If you believe you won’t pass the bar exam, develop a successful law practice or make partner you most likely won’t. By shifting our self image through thinking about what we have accomplished and what is going well we open ourselves to taking on the changes we want to make with increased confidence. We set the bar higher because we feel better about our abilities. We are more confident in making important career and business decisions. We make it easier on ourselves to make the changes that will increase our professional success. Our self confidence is increased and our self image is enhanced allowing us to achieve more. It is a wonderful cycle: success increases self confidence which results in success which increases self confidence which results in success……

In order to achieve more success in your law practice and legal career, take a well balanced approach. Determine what changes are needed, of course, and develop and follow a plan to make those changes. But, in addition, take the time to acknowledge what you have, what you have accomplished and what is going well.

Have a great practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

As discussed in Part 1, “People do business with people they know and they like.”

Therefore, “Prospects hire lawyers they know and they like.”

In addition to getting to know you, a prospective legal client needs to like you. How does this happen? Ask yourself why you like someone. Isn’t it because of the way they treat you? The interest, respect and courtesy they show you? A legal prospect may admire an attorney’s skill and accomplishments but what generally goes further in making the hiring decision is the connection the prospect has with the attorney. In general, clients believe that if you have a law license you can do the job they need done. What matters is how they size you up as a person; whether they like you. Here are some simple tips that will make you more likable to a prospect.

1. Don’t try to sell yourself. We are all pretty good at knowing when someone is trying to sell us something and it’s a real turnoff. If someone senses that you are trying to sell them on your legal services, they’re out of there. I recommend that you do not give out your card until the prospect requests it or it is appropriate within the context of the conversation.
2. Don’t talk too much. A general rule is to pay attention to the number of people in the group. For example, if you are at a networking event and in a crowd of three, don’t talk more than 1/3 rd of the time. Too much talking is also a turn off and it is hard to talk a lot without talking too much about yourself.
3. Listen to what the other person is saying. Haven’t you been at a function where the person you are talking to is scanning the room, looking for the next conversation? He didn’t make a very good impression, did he? As I pointed out in Part 1, your focus should be on deeper conversations with fewer individuals. To have that deeper conversation you need to listen to what the other person is saying in order to ask intelligent questions and keep the conversation going. Also, by asking questions about him, he will feel the need to ask you questions. This is a perfect opportunity to talk a bit about yourself and your work without being pushy.
4. “The more people talk about themselves, the more they like you.” Remember this rule! Give your prospect an opportunity to talk more than you do. To tell you about himself, his business (*his business challenges and problems), hobbies, interests and so forth. The more you get to know about the person, the better you will be able to evaluate whether he is a good prospect for legal work, a referral source or even possibly a friend.
5. Help. From listening and paying attention to what is said you will likely learn of something this person needs or wants. What you do could be as simple as providing a recommendation to a professional or service provider, referring him to a helpful website or perhaps sending him a white paper you have drafted. This is a great way to follow up with the prospect as discussed in Part 1. The point is that you are taking your time to help him. We all appreciate these thoughtful little actions and chances are he will remember and want to help you when he can.

There is a lot to legal marketing and a written marketing plan is very important. But, if all you do is apply this fundamental principle of lawyer marketing to your contacts with prospective clients, you can go a long way toward building the law practice you want.

Have a great practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com

Lawyers hear so much hype about marketing. What’s the latest and greatest way to attract clients? Is it the new flavor of the day: social networking? Or should you start a  law blog,  join another organization or maybe even advertise? A lot is  involved in marketing to attract legal clients and there can be many moving pieces. But one fundamental principle should be the basis for all lawyer marketing:

“People do business with people they know and they like.”

Too simple? Not really, think about it. Who do you do business with? People you know and you like, right?

Therefore, as applied to lawyers, the principle is: “Prospects hire lawyers they know and they like.” It’s universal and it’s human nature. If you want to attract legal clients, first they have to know you (not just who you are) and they have to like you. Let’s talk about the first part this in this blog post: “Prospects hire lawyers they know.”

Do your prospective clients, your prospects, know you? I mean really know you? Not just as that lawyer who handed out his card at the Chamber of Commerce mixer.” Let’s see, what was his name and what did he say he did?  I don’t remember.” For prospects to really know you they must have more than a cursory contact with you.

A well known marketing principle is that prospects must have multiple contacts with a product before they are ready to buy. The same holds true for legal services. Handing out your card to someone without following up is virtually worthless. If you are at a networking event and would like to make some marketing hay, don’t try to see how many cards you can had out. Concentrate on making a deeper contact with fewer people. Then follow up with those contacts repeatedly.

How much follow up? Some sources say seven times. I believe that you should have three follow ups at a minimum.

Over what period of time? The first follow up should be soon after the initial contact; within a few days or a week. Then, depending on the relationship you have developed with the prospect (see part 2), you should schedule regular follow ups over a relatively short period of time. You need to stay within your integrity but, at the same time, be a bit assertive in following up. It is necessary to be organized about your follow up. Put follow up dates on your calendar or to-do list.

How do I follow up? There are numerous methods for following up depending on what was said during the initial contact (see part 2). Regardless of the method used in your follow ups your focus should be:

1. What do I have in common with this person? or
2. How can I help this person (not just as an attorney)?

Have a Great Practice!

Daniel Roberts

Professional Lawyer Coach

www.coachingforlawyers.com