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Surviving as a Solo

Practitioner

November 30, 2016

presented by:

in conjunction with:

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Helping attorneys grow their practice

with the largest legal marketing network

15M visitors + 100K requests for attorneys/month

Increase visibility & credibility – professional profiles/websites

Generate highly-targeted leads – 55+ practice areas nationwide

Convert 2X more website visitors to prospects – Live Chat

Martindale-Nolo Legal Marketing Network

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Before: 7+ years as a solo practitioner

in bankruptcy/tax law

Now: Educate attorneys in marketing

their law practices

Client surveys and input provide insight

and best practices

Today, I’ll cover:

Where consumers are looking for attorneys

Top 3 online marketing strategies

Day in the life of a Solo – Top 5 challenges

Key intake best practices

About Bob

Bob Somal, Esq.

Marketing Specialist

Martindale-Nolo Legal

Marketing Network

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Online Marketing Today

Lots of Opportunity… and Competition

76% Search Online1

CONSUMERS

1.3M Total in US2 500K Small Law Firms

SEO

SEM

Lead Generation

Directories

Social Media/Blogs

Other Advertising

WAYS TO CONNECT ATTORNEYS

3 Source: American Bar Association.

1 Source: Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell study,

“Attorney Selection Research Study,” conducted by

The Research Intelligence Group, 2012. 2 Source: American Bar Association.

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2016 Best Performing Techniques (Survey of 300 Attorneys)

Source: State of Online Marketing | martindalenolo.com

What is your best performing advertising medium?

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No additional staff – worked 70 hours a week

Key focus – Building my business

10% of time spent actually practicing law

Setting up a process for receiving clients

Started with the freebies

Google Voice

Dragon Dictation, Evernote, Fastcase

Did A LOT of networking (outside the legal community)

CPAs, RE Brokers, Auto Dealers

People in the situation of looking at someone’s financials

Considered other practice areas

A Day in the Life of a Solo Attorney

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Start with an action plan every day

You are an ENTREPRENEUR – This means playing

many different roles in addition to being an Attorney (Accountant, Compliance Specialist, Marketing Director, etc.)

Are you really a web designer? Are you wasting time?

Consider outside services for areas you don’t do well

(Example: If you’re unable take calls, hire an answering service)

Solos have FLEXIBILITY. This also means that you are

ALWAYS working.

How much time should be spent on business

development?

Lessons Learned

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Business Development – 60% to 70%

Advertising, Networking Outside of Legal Community

Practice Management – 10%

Accounting (CTA Reconciliation, Fee Structure (Flat, Hourly, or

Contingent)), Human Resources (Staffing)

Professional Development and Compliance – 10%

MCLE Requirements, Malpractice Insurance Requirements,

Networking Inside of Legal Community

Practicing Law – 10% to 15%

Is there even still time for this?

Daily Time Allocation

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Office Space

Physical (Shared or Private), Virtual (Regus), Home Office

Utilize Technology

Cloud Computing (Dragon Dictation, Evernote, Fastcase - FREE)

Google Voice (Convenient, Compliant, and FREE)

Staffing – Putting Your Team Together

Unpaid Interns for “For-Profit” (U.S. Dept. of Labor FLSA)

How Much Should Be In Your “War Chest”?

6 Months if Possible

Keep Your “Life Overhead” Low

Don’t Make Any New Purchases (or Marry Someone Who Will)

Keeping Costs / Overhead Low

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Wait and Pray for Business?

NOT!

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Types of Services:

Lead generation

Directories

You need both

Many lead generation services also

give you a directory listing for free

Why?

Volume

Fast

Capture market share

…you aren’t reaching today

More cost-efficient

Services to Generate New Clients Now!

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Response Time

We live and die by the clock – Respond within 15 Minutes

Return on Investment (ROI)

How and Why did this client retain you?

Repeated Attempts

Persistence is key - don’t be afraid to be a “stalker”

Rapport

Remember that you are NOT special. There are a lot of Attorneys

out there (and some Non-Attorneys too). Why should this client

hire you?

4 Rs of Retaining More Clients

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The most important part of a case is getting one

It’s not enough to be a great lawyer

You need to treat your marketing practices like any other asset

you have Diversify, Diversify, Diversify!

Constantly track results. What works? What doesn’t work?

Don’t try to do it all yourself No one has ever been successful

without a good support team

Getting through your first 6 months is the main goal

We’re looking for progress, not perfection

Do what it takes, but focus on what actually produces

clients

Business Approach

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Q&A We Want to Hear From You…

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New Attorney Series • SEO and SEM: An Introduction

• Waiting for Business? Don’t

• New Solo Maximizes Leads, Minimizes Costs

• Generating New business: Experience-Based Advice from Attorney Reza Torkzadeh

White Papers • 2016 State of Online Marketing in the Legal Industry

• Optimizing New Client Opportunities

Others • The Essential Social Media Collection

• Nurturing Leads into a Thriving Client Base

• Top Factors in Choosing an Attorney - Infographic

• Law Firm Websites: The Importance of Encouraging Interaction

Helpful Resources