The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

More than 60% of law firm do not return voicemails.       It takes an average of 8 emails to schedule an appointment with an attorney.     Legal consumers , like all consumers, prize convenience,  speed  and responsiveness.  Law firms often strike out in trying to meet that three-part requirement.  In fact, most law firms don’t have an intake system  at all .  And, it’s costing them money.   If you want to prevail in the modern, convenience economy  ( which was here before the pandemic, but which has been accelerated by it ) , you may have a lot of work to do.  So, of course it’s tempting to try to course-correct all at once, by launching a ‘ client journey ’ in full.   But, it’s important not to voluntarily overwhelm yourself.  As with any business management reform, you’ll want to take this one step-by-step.     And, this starts out by being thoughtful about your intake process.   ...

Email drives business; yet, it also drives most of us crazy.     If this is the year you want to take control of your email, here are some steps you can take:     -Consider using a non-email program for in-office communications, like  Slack .  This will mean that your  inbox  can become  ‘ mission-critical ’ , where you receive only messages from clients and colleagues, while you r  staff and associate messages filter to another media.  Slack is free.   -Use  ‘ rules ’  to push less important email out of si ght .  Set up email rules that will filter advertisements to a subfolder, that you can look at when you’re ready, so that those message don’t invade your inbox.  Gmail, for example, has a built-in ‘Promotions’ inbox.  You can also utilize your junk email filter to better manage unwanted messages.     -Use a law practice management software, that will integrate with your productivity softwa...

Lawyers are great at bragging on themselves via their websites.  And, a significant number of attorneys supplement that with ‘superlatives’.  You know, those lawyer  a wards, like ‘Super Lawyers’ , that you can apply for and/or purchase .  Those specific awards, and the general superlatives of your own resume ,  go a long way to convince leads to become your clients -- but, those don’t get you the whole way the re.   You see, while  legal consumers  do want to know that you’re a ‘good’ lawyer, generally speaking -- they also want to know that you can help them with their specific case s .  Legal consumers know they have a legal problem, but don’t understand the legal process.  Those consumers who want to hire a lawyer -- they really,  really  want to hire a lawyer.  They need a guide; they need to understand that you, the lawyer, understand (and can walk them through) a legal process they just don’t get.     If y...

Lawyers like to practice law; they don’t like to create content.  Unfortunatel y, that’s a big deal when it comes to marketing.  Because it’s harder for content to resonate with potential clients when lawyers ar en’t  building it themselves, using their expertise.  Lawyers who focus on content, however, can crush their competition,  in part by  reduc ing  marketing overhead  significantly . One place lawyers don’t p ut  enough emphasis , in terms of  content development ,  is  in the design  of  website practice  are a  pages.  Many lawyers draft  super  generic content.  But, realize that potential clients are coming to you because they want your expertise, and because they want to learn more about the legal process.  You can cement that early impression of you -as-the-expert  by improving the practice area pages that your potential clients will gravitate to when they visit you...