Brown & Little, P.L.C. » Marketing
Dumb Luck
Jordan Rushie, one of the Fishtown Lawyers who writes the Philly Law Blog, put up a post yesterday about bringing in clients. These were his thoughts about craigslist: Do you really think we would put up a free Craigslist ad? That’s for losers, and it will never ever happen. Period. Why? Because it’s undignified, that’s why. And yes, you are a total loser if you’re putting up free classified ads for legal services on Craigslist. I don’t care if it resulted in a client or two. Rather than hijack his post with a rambling comment, I figured I’d share my experience posting on craigslist. Let me tell you a story. The year was 2007. I had no money, so I was working one weekend and thought I would put up … Read entire article »
Dear Avvo:
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne does not work for Brown & Little, P.L.C. When I complained about you guys linking other lawyers’ profiles to our site, you said you fixed it. I thought that would be the end of the problem, but now, Mr. Horne’s Avvo page directs people to our website. I know that Scott Greenfield made the comment that, “if you’re going to screw up and have links from one attorney go to another, can you at least link Matt’s website to some really good lawyers rather than losers?” If you thought he was serious, I do appreciate that you found us Arizona’s most well-known attorney, a Harvard Law School grad with forty years of experience who has served as a judge, as the state superintendent … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing
Internet Lawyers, Internet Problems
Yesterday, a friend of mine who is a lawyer mentioned to me that a former client had posted a negative review of him online. He was concerned. My friend is about my age, and we’ve been practicing for about the same amount of time. He’s done nothing but criminal defense, just like me, but when Adrian and I were hanging our shingle, he was starting work at the county public defender. He gained some incredible experience, and he’s a great lawyer. He recently started his own firm. I try to send him cases when I can because I trust him to do a good job. He’s proven me right. My friend wasn’t sure how to deal with his online critic, and sadly, I was very little … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing
Time = Money
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon among many lawyers who’ve recently gone out on their own. I suspect it’s a result of the lawyers viewing solo practice as a way to avoid working long hours. These lawyers, never the most financially successful ones, love to complain whenever they’re stuck working more than a few hours a day. They never make the obvious connection between their lack of motivation and their lack of disposable income. I imagine the root of the problem is the way most solos bill. If you don’t keep track of your time, flat fees feel a lot like found money. Someone comes in and pays you, but you haven’t done anything yet. All of a sudden you’re richer, and all you had to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing, Solo Practice
Does He?
I’m bad about checking Google Analytics to find out how people reach this site. I hear that tracking such a thing can make a lawyer rich and famous, but I’ve never had the discipline to look regularly. Luckily, I have a funny friend who may just get me hooked on it. This gem showed up in the search overview a little while back: Adrian Little looks like my lesbian aunt The tough thing is figuring out what’s more awesome: 1) that someone finagling those search terms can end up here (it works on my office computer but not on my home computer…no clue why that is); or 2) that someone came up with those search terms to amuse us. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing
Peaking
Networking events bring out all kinds of lawyers. For the most part, they bring out normal lawyers looking to connect with other normal lawyers. They also bring out great lawyers at every stage of their careers. What’s the fun in writing about those kinds of lawyer though? It’s the outliers who make for the best discussion. Events bring out the young lawyers with no jobs, wandering around like zombies clutching stacks of business cards with “Esq.” after their names but no firm name or physical address anywhere to be found. Some only list a cell phone with an Illinois area code and a Gmail or Yahoo email address consisting of a cutesy name followed by a few odd digits. As smart as some of them … Read entire article »
Refining the Product
Private practice lawyers learn to play many roles. One role that many people seem hesitant to acknowledge is the role of salesman. Like it or not, if you want to make a living in the private sector representing human beings, it is imperative that people want to hire you. To do that, you must occasionally play the role of salesman. I am no salesman. It isn’t in my genes, I haven’t gone to great lengths to develop any sales skills, and quite honestly, the idea of selling things to people, even if it’s something I believe in, makes me feel a tad bit icky. I acknowledge I must sell my services to stay afloat in this profession, but I generally do that by sticking with one … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing, Practice in General
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