The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

Lots of lawyers remain unsure about what do during mass quarantining.   They’re  uncertain about how to move their businesses forward, so they do . . . nothing.   That’s  the wrong play .     A number of law firms are shutting down intake, reducing advertising spend and limiting marketing efforts.  Now, however, is exactly the time to be ramping up your efforts in marketing online.  Consumers who are looking for lawyers are seeking guidance; and, for those consumers, a lawyer’s guidance has never been needed as much as it is now.     Many attorneys don’t want to market their services right now in light of the coronavirus pandemic, because they don’t want to be seen as profiting from tragedy.  Most law firms have issued a notification about the state of their business during closure: that law firms are essential businesses, and that they remain open.   But, potential and existing law firm clients don’t just want i...

Everytime  you complete a business-facing page -- your website, a social media profile, a review platform page -- you're always asked to provide an opening and closing time for your office.   Don't.   I mean, think about it: Does that jibe with the way modern consumers access businesses, or the way that modern business owners work ?   Do you work 9-5?  Of course not.  You do things after hours, and you're frustrated when consumer service options don't exist after hours, too.  So are your clients.  And, guess what: If you indicate that your office close s  at 5 pm, you're just giving your potential clients an excuse not to call you, and to call someone else  instead .   Of course, this course of action necessitates the need for providing contact options for potential clients who contact you on off hours.  That c ontact option c ould be you.  Or ,  it could be a contact form.  Or, it could be a virtual engagement service or to...

Remember  that scene from the ‘Wizard of Oz’, where the guard at the gates of  the  Emerald City is very reticent to let Dorothy and her friends in, until he realizes who they are, and changes his tune ?  Well, consider yourself the green- moustachioed  guard, and your law firm clients  Dorothy Gale .  The only problem is, by the time you figure out who’s at your gates, and when you’re ready to help them, they’re already long gone.   The point is that most law firms unconsciously set up barriers between themselves and their clients.  Lawyers don’t like to pick up the phone, and talk to existing clients, let alone potential clients, thereby driving a wedge between them and their business.  Clunky contact forms at law firm websites   don’t always work.  Well, that’s another barrier.  Believe it or not, voicemail is a barrier.  Anything that stands between you and engagement with a potential client is a barrier.  And, more than anything else...

Yes, it’s hard to believe; but, it’s 2019, everyone.  DO NOT PANIC.   This is a good thing.  What’s good is that the turning of the calendar is just another opportunity to improve your business management.  Now, what business owner among us would NOT want that opportunity.   So, let me tell you what you need to do in 2019, that you haven’t done yet:   This is the year you turn your law firm into a high performance machine.  You’re currently driving a Chevrolet Chevette; by the end of next year, I want you to be rolling up in a Ford Mustang.  And, Ford is the optimal analogy here; your job one this next year, is to build the law firm version of Ford’s assembly line.  Build systems, save time, do more work, make more money.  Rinse, repeat.   Don’t view the notion of a high-performing practice, as many attorneys do, as a bad thing.  Embrace operational efficiency, and it will pay dividends.  Now, I know that your inclination as a lawy...