Practice Management

I understand that this is SEP (someone else's problem), but I have spoken or communicated with a number of lawyers lately that just cannot seem to get out of their house, out of their office, on the phone, on the net, or anywhere else to get their practice off the ground.

They are, in short, being self helpless.  Maybe it is the summer heat, the fact that, due to vacations, that nobody is around to which you can present yourself, your ideas or your practice area.  But otherwise this is a loathsome condition of somebody that is unable to deal with life.  Like one of my teenage boys on summer break, just sitting around a neglected room with bad hair and a bad attitude.  It is really time to get up there.

So, I get a call, or an email, requesting advice on what to do.  Well, I have a lot of ideas I suppose. Some are good.  Some are not so good.  Some will work in your situation and some will not.  Some will fit your personality and some will not.  I understand that I am a sounding board.  I appreciate the opportunity.  It is just that I do not know what to tell you about self helplessness.

Looky here!  Summer stinks in many ways to open a new practice, unless you are a real estate attorney.  This is especially true if you operate in a consumer related area.  The divorce is not going to happen until they get through fighting through the vaca.  The bankruptcy is not going to happen until the rent money is gone.  Wills?  They can do that anytime, they think.  Personal injury might be good because devastating accidents can happen anytime.  But, this is also the time for you to be priming the pump so when the practice areas pick up come the end of August you are ready.  You do not need to be making contacts for the first time when case referrals are hitting their zenith.  You have got to get your name out there now.

Nobody knows more than me how hard it is to put yourself out there in front of people.  Nobody wants rejection.  Nobody wants to feel like they are spinning their wheels.  Nobody likes to be judged outside of Court by their peers and others.  You feel like you are under prepared, you are undeserving, you have little to offer, you are too fat, you are too skinny, you are too short, you are too small, your only suite has dog hair on it.  I KNOW!  I GET IT!  I HAVE BEEN THERE!  GET OVER IT!  QUIT BEING SO SELF CONSCIOUS!  STOP BEING SO SELF HELPLESS!

The time is now.  That is not a ra ra speech.  That is a fact.  It takes lead time to get clients referred, in the door, retained and paid.  So, do not start when you are out of time.

Here is my last bit of advice.  You need to quit worrying about when, where, why and how, and just be yourself -- whether that is good, bad or indifferent.  You do not have to know everything.  You do not have to have a new suit.  You do not need to know exactly how you will approach a new case.  Ninety percent of success is just showing up they say, and it is true.  Besides, nobody really faces much outright rejection.  You just might not get a referral.  You might have to follow up more often with someone.

I have been at this a long time.  I cannot remember when someone has slammed a door in my face.  I have walked away from some very pleasant conversations knowing all the same that I was not going to get a referral from that person.  That is fine.  I just move on down the road and make a note to follow up with him or her later.  Relationships change.  Besides, if you cannot get a referral, maybe you can get some free advice from the person down the road.

The bottom line is that if people do not know you are out there, they are not going to refer.  If they know you are out there, but you are not top of their mind, they are not going to refer much.  If they know you are out there, but do not have a good feel about what you do, or the type of cases you want, they are likely to pass even though they would like to help.

So, get to brushing that bad hair, put on the best outfit you have and get out there and meet and greet.  And, remember, just be yourself.