Practice Management

I run into poor, pitiful lawyers every day.  Many contact me asking for advice on how to break free from their poor, pitiful ways.  I am always glad to tell them from my experience what has worked for me and what has not.  Namely that they have to get out and pound the pavement.  Call on lawyers in your area or those people that can potentially refer you business.  Just drop in and introduce yourself is the best way.  If they are not there or available for you, just leave them a message on your business card and collect the information to follow up with a call, and email, a fax, or all three.  Put together a blog that operates as your marketing hub, and which makes you appear to be the local authority on your subject.  Go speak to the groups and organizations from whom you need assistance.  It is really not that hard being friendly.  You do not have to be obtuse to sell yourself, but those people, groups, and organizations you need, need to know you are out there, want them to refer you cases, and that you appreciate them.  That is it.  That is the entire secret.

Most often attorneys do not accept this advice or do not follow it because they have internal compass that will not allow them to go this direction, or they have personal apprehensions.  I understand.  Not everybody was meant to be in private practice or to head a small firm.  Some people have to do the grunt work or the heavy lifting.  It might as well be those who cannot bring themselves to let the world know they want the world's business.

I was telling this to a young lawyer, who had very little business beating down the door of her new law firm.  She did not want to do it either.  What I found interesting, however, was her response.  She told me she could not do that because it was not "dignified".

I am still not sure what that statement says about me, but I suppose it means that I am not dignified.  My first thought was just to say, "thanks for calling".  My actual response was, " well, dignity is overrated".

I am still not sure what hype they feed these students in law school.  Somehow it is disgraceful to tell somebody what you do or want to do as a lawyer, or what your aspirations are in life.  I say horse hockey!

Something is overrated when it is not nearly as cool as people think.  It is any term which is given too much hype.  It represents that point when something or some concept is praised too much.  Dignity in the sense that you have to bite your tongue, close the shades, and not let the world in on that you are practicing a particular type of law, and that you need work is overrated.  From my way of thinking and my position, this is just bananas, batty, and irrational.  It is a harebrained concept.

Look, if you cannot, for whatever reason, do what is necessary to get your law practice off the ground, that is fine.  Go do something else.  There is no shame in that.  But, not dignified?  Really?  I do not think so.