Lawyer’s Life Blog

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, typi...

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 signific...

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 ho...

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 thos...

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 beca...

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 t...

We lawyers often quote a fixed fee for handling a legal case. It is easier for the client to commit to an amount certain than to agree to an hourly rate and the uncertainty of how much the total attorney's fee will be. It helps in getting the legal work but, if care is not exercised, the attorney...

“A lawyer's time is his stock in trade” But… The passing of Steve Jobs has given us all an opportunity to consider what is really important in life. He had money, success and the satisfaction of giving great technological gifts to the world. What he didn't have was enough time. None of us know h...

I recently read a commencement speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005. It was a good speech among other good speeches he has made. One portion in particular struck a cord with me, here it is: “When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like “If you live each day as if it was your last,...

I want to tell you about a great little productivity tool for lawyers (and the rest of the world). A problem most of us have is organization around our to-dos, our tasks. Attorneys especially have so many tasks to juggle, differing priorities, due dates, importance, etc.  that it is difficult to ...

A good work and life balance is critical for a lawyer both professionally and personally. To be successful over the long run you must have the right balance between your law practice and your personal life. Too much work on the law practice at the sacrifice of  you as a person is counter producti...

You get to the the law office on Monday morning and start right to work. Reviewing files, checking email, returning calls, talking to your legal assistant, being busy. But being busy doesn't always mean that you are being productive. Imagine how much more you could accomplish (and how much more m...

When I ask a new lawyer coaching client the question: “What's your marketing budget?” I usually get silence back or a general statement like “Whatever it takes…” Many attorneys haven't given a marketing budget much thought. Of course most of us set budgets in other areas: secretarial expense, law...

Now that you know the law practice you have and the one that you want, the next step is to focus on the difference and how to bridge the gap. Lets take an example; Jim Jones is a partner in a small law firm and is totally in charge of his own law practice. He has evaluated his practice breakdown ...

OK, you should now have a good idea about the law practice you have. The chances are that the data provided some surprises. Now Its time to do some thinking about how you want your law practice to change.  Take some time to envision your practice 5 years from now, 10 years from now. What do you s...

Its the New Year. You have a great opportunity to look at your law practice and decide what changes you want to make in 2011. But first you need to know what the law practice you have looks like. You may think you know but many attorneys are surprised when they do the numbers. Make a list of a...