Marketing a law firm is already difficult; imagine how much harder it would be if you were a solo lawyer. When you run your own law practice, you have to wear many hats. One of the most important roles is that of being your own marketing team. It is important to emphasize the word “team,” because law firm marketing is a comprehensive job that requires many areas of specialization. But if you cannot afford to hire your own marketing team yet, there are some strategies you need to know on how to get clients as a lawyer in a solo practice.
The Biggest Challenge Facing Newly Established Solo Lawyers
Whether you’ve just started out in the legal practice or you recently left your former law firm to start your own, you will be facing the same set of challenges as a newly established solo lawyer. These challenges can also apply to small law firms that don’t have the same marketing budget as the bigger firms.
According to this survey report, 75% of new solo lawyers and smaller firms cited acquiring new client business as one of the major challenges they face. And it’s not just finding clients that poses the challenge here, it also involves creating a steady pipeline of clients so you can keep the business going. This is a legitimate concern for newly established solo lawyers because you may lack the benefit of a massive referral network available to those law firms that have been operating for a while.
You definitely need to start from scratch in terms of building your network, finding leads, and generating referrals. This won’t happen overnight; but if you do it right, it will only be a matter of time before you start getting calls from prospective clients.
But here’s the tricky part to deal with: most newly established solo lawyers don’t have the budget to market their services. If you don’t have clients, where will you get the budget from? It’s a pickle of a situation to be in. But it is just one of many challenges facing newly established solo lawyers as there is a multitude of other challenges like administrative tasks, handling competition from other firms, and negotiating with clients on rates.
5 Tips on How to Get Clients as a Lawyer
Discover how to get clients as a lawyer as a solo practitioner by incorporating these tips in your marketing strategy.
1. Networking and Referrals
Networking is one of those things that you have to deal with when you are working in a specific industry. It’s something that not a lot of lawyers are thrilled to be a part of, but it is necessary if you want to build your referral network. Focus on building a network of connections among those outside of the legal space but within your target industry.
For example, if you specialize in family law, you can connect with groups and communities specializing in family and divorce support. It’s also a good idea to build connections with lawyers and other law firms in other areas of the legal practice. This will make it easy for them to refer you when they have clients needing assistance in your specific area of legal expertise.
2. Local SEO to Source Clients Organically
If you want to target prospective clients within your local area, then you should integrate local SEO into your overall marketing strategy. People who need to hire an attorney will look within their city or local community for options first. For example, clients looking for a DUI attorney will input searches like “DUI attorney near me” or “DUI attorney [location] in Google.
It’s why you need to optimize your local SEO efforts to build credibility and a solid reputation within the community you are serving.
3. Paid Ads
The use of paid ads is one way to speed up your ability to find clients using SEO. You have many options when using paid ads – you can turn to Google Ads to get your website to show up on Google’s search engine results for a relevant search term. You can also use paid ads on social media sites to target a specific demographic or geographic location.
4. Leverage Social Media to Source Clients
Creating a presence on social media is a must for any business and professional service, including attorneys and solo law firms. Leverage your social channels to build your credibility as an expert in your field. Once you have built brand awareness and you’ve increased your following on social media, it will be easier for you to reach prospective clients. It also allows you to establish a personal connection with those who follow you on social media.
5. Deliver Exceptional Service
Some would put this first on this list, but, for more emphasis, it has been left to last on this list. The only way you can succeed as a solo legal practitioner is if you commit to delivering an exceptional service to your clients. It sounds simple enough, but so much goes into delivering quality service as a solo law firm.
Your ability to keep clients satisfied with your service speaks a lot about how you have made it easy for them to deal with the unique (often unfortunate) situation they are in.
As a solo lawyer, put yourself in your clients’ shoes and look at ways that will make the legal process easier and smoother for them.
Parting Tip
It is essential to invest wisely in your solo law firm. If you have to pay out of your own pocket at first to market and promote your law firm, so be it. As a newly established solo lawyer, you simply have to overcome the hurdle of introducing your law firm to prospective clients. Over time, you will generate enough reach and leads that you will see new clients coming in. Refer to the tips above on how to get clients as a lawyer, especially if you have a solo practice.
