Does anyone know a good lawyer . . . for me?
In this marketing column, over the years, we’ve addressed many target audiences for our business development efforts. There are the B2B (business-to-business), B2C (business-to-consumer), other campaigns specifically targeting in-house counsel or L2L (lawyer-to-lawyer) referrals. Recently, it occurred to me that there was another audience often not targeted or discussed—that combination of lawyer as consumer, which comes up more often than most of us would like. For the sake of the column, let’s call it LC2L—the lawyer as consumer to lawyer.
Many of you might be thinking that the idea of LC2L is ridiculous. I mean, we’re lawyers for goodness’ sake. We know numerous attorneys in many fields and jurisdictions. In a larger law firm, we might think of it simply as a mass email to colleagues. For solos and small firms, we might shoot a communication around detailing our needs and asking for recommendations.
What surprises me most when I’m soliciting recommendations for personal counsel is how varied the suggestions are. In so many cases, they are just not on point. I get defense recommendations when I need a plaintiffs’ lawyer. Some attorneys don’t want to weigh in too heavily—so as not to take the blame for a poor outcome. The bottom-line question is this: what is the best way for an attorney to market themselves to other attorneys for personal services? After all, I’m going to assume most of us are not going to look toward traditional consumer advertising or digital marketing.
It occurred to me that, over the years, either myself or a relative has needed an attorney more times than I can count—in my own household, residential real estate for buying a home, proper estate planning when our children were born and the occasional commercial dispute. Extending that circle, there has been a need for employment law, family law, commercial litigation and some other practice areas that I don’t need to specifically name.
As lawyers, we recognize the value of properly protecting ourselves and our assets by retaining competent counsel when necessary. The marketing question then is how do you market to me?
The knee-jerk reaction for many of us is that we can handle many matters ourselves. We’re trained licensed lawyers. Why do I need to pay somebody else? I’ve managed to avoid retaining counsel on several occasions by employing my “lawyer letter sent certified mail” strategy, or simply suing a company in small claims court. But we also know that we know what we know—I’m an ethics lawyer. Can I advise friends and family with some level of credibility on various minor legal matters simply by issue spotting and formulating a response picked from my law school brain and life experience? Sure. But should I be drafting a will, negotiating a real estate contract or representing myself in potentially high-stakes, sensitive matters? Nope.
I was able to recall two times—both at legal association conferences in Washington, D.C.—where cocktail reception chatter led to retaining counsel for a personal matter. The first time turned out great; the second time, not so much. In both instances, I knew nothing more about the actual credentials of counsel outside of their ability to talk a good game over an alcoholic beverage. In both instances, the attorney I ended up retaining simply said, “Hey, I do that. I can handle it for you.” In both cases, neither attorney was specifically out to sell themselves. It was more a case of me commiserating about a legal matter that was impacting either me or a relative.
At an American Bar Association Law Practice Division meeting reception, a New Jersey lawyer listened to my tale of woe and said he had experience handling exactly that type of matter. He would be happy to do so—and offered up a flat fee to take care of things. “Bill” was fantastic. Not only did he handle what turned out to be an extremely time-consuming matter, but when I received that flat-fee invoice at the end, I tacked on an extra thousand dollars. The matter turned out to be far from routine. Instead of rubber stamping some paperwork, there were briefs, appearances and hearings. He never suggested that it was more than for which he bargained. In the years since, I’ve referred everything I can his way.
Not every member of the ABA is an awesome lawyer. I think we all know that. But you expect a certain “good housekeeping” seal from active leaders. And in most cases, nobody wants me going around saying that the experience was less than satisfying.
The second scenario—very recently (it led to the idea for this column)—started out in similar fashion. A drink, a story, chatty banter . . . and the assurance that he could take care of things for a relative. This played out the opposite of my ABA experience. This was a different lawyer association, also in D.C. After doing a great job selling me on his services, and doing an excellent intake of the client, he dished us off to another partner (and what appeared to be an ill-equipped law clerk) who was as unimpressive as the initial lawyer was impressive. It was classic bait-and-switch. Customer service, communication and responsiveness were poor. The attorney’s grasp of the issues was mediocre. The result was a big bill, and something I clearly could’ve handled on my own to get the same outcome. Maybe I would’ve been a fool as a client, but instead I just felt fooled. Two similar stories, two completely different outcomes. And the unwelcome reminder that just because you are active in a bar association does not mean you are a great attorney.
Maybe ABA lawyers are just better. I like to think so. But it is a reminder of two things. First, there is the tremendous value of networking at these events. You are always selling yourself, your practice, and your capabilities. When you do a great job, word spreads among your peers. And when you don’t do a good job, word spreads, too. A LC2L acquired client comes with lots of opportunities for repeat business and referrals. And I’ll be the first to admit that lawyers as clients can be a royal pain too. We all know that. We’ve dealt with ourselves. But remember that when we see bills, documentation, work product and results, we are the “educated consumer.” Don’t tell me something that I know is not true.
Admittedly, some attorneys don’t like getting involved. They are simply too close to you, and the ability to remain objective can get dicey. However, I often get responses back from attorneys of “suggestions” that are so far off base that I wonder how they came up with them in the first place. Just because a lawyer friend recommends someone to you does not mean they are a fit for the matter. Do your due diligence regardless of the referral.
I’ve worked with law firms where partners don’t recommend their own partners—because they know that they are not very good. It happens more than we’d like to think. I’ve referred matters to firms where I say “absolutely not” when told who they intend to put on the file. If you know your colleague at the law firm is not best suited for representation, send me somewhere else. In the end, a poor outcome can come back to you, simply for making the introduction.
What is the best way to market yourself to the “educated consumer attorney” client? Putting on a good show, be it writing an article or teaching a CLE, assuming you can back up your expertise when you put it into practice. Do not take on matters that are ill-fitting, or maybe you just don’t have time to adequately handle or staff now. Always get out there networking—whether it is an ABA reception or a rotary club breakfast. Show up and let the soft sell work for you.
Finally, remember that we know what timely communication looks like. We also know what a credible invoice looks like. You can’t say, “This is how it is in practice,” when you know how it is in practice. The negative experience from retaining counsel was spurred by all those things—poor communication, dishing it off to other associates or law clerks, not listening to the target points and triggers that we’ve set out in telling the story. I could tell that the law clerk failed to issue spot properly. I could also tell when counsel was ill-prepared during a conference call.
Now, I’m sure that the law firm that I’m critical of will give you a different version of events. But I’m the customer, and I’m always right. Or at least make it seem that way. There is nothing more gratifying and powerful than being referred to by a colleague. But with it comes a certain expectation. Because the next time you are looking to retain counsel, it might be for yourself—and successful marketing is going to be measured quite differently. You might not leave a Google review (I won’t and didn’t), but there are far worse consequences to your long-term business development growth to a unique customer base.
