The lawyer is increasingly mobile in his career and there are now as many practice methods as there are profiles of lawyers. While some choose to install individually, others prefer to create a structure with colleagues, if not with other regulated professions (as part of an EPS). Finally, other lawyers choose to pursue a career in a firm and, eventually, to claim the association.
If for a very long time the classic scheme was to « do his classes » for a few years in a firm, the new generation of lawyers who arrive on the market seems to want to emancipate themselves and settle down as a lawyer more quickly. However, it is necessary to ask the right questions before installing.
Anticipate your installation as soon as you collaborate
The installation anticipates and often involves a lifestyle change for a lawyer. Leaving a comfortable fee transfer is a risk that many lawyers fear, especially if they have not been able to develop their personal clientele within a firm.
In order to overcome this fear, it is necessary to prepare its installation since its collaboration. The aim must be to gradually detach oneself from the image of his firm and to assert his own identity and skills. Thus, the first step may be to create a clean website with own offers before settling down. This allows:
- take the time to think about its positioning, its offerings and its visual identity before being caught up in economic constraints and the need to quickly generate customers;
- emancipate from the image of his office and be visible on google;
- to test the market and get a first look back at its ability to generate lead.
Build your offer and differentiate yourself
The arrival on the market of other players (legaltech, accounting experts, associations, etc.) requires lawyers to build a solid and differentiated offer before settling down. Indeed, the lawyer can no longer simply « lay down his plate » and put forward a classic legal expertise.
Formalize the needs of your customers and your target and build an offer that meets their expectations.
Instead of highlighting general legal expertise on your website (areas of law), try to package your services and problematize your areas of intervention according to the needs of your clients. Also, don’t hesitate to offer online services and automate low-value-added tasks in order to save time and be price competitive.
Finally, a firm can be as innovative in the ancillary services that the lawyer can offer to his client, for example:
- The ability of the customer to access a personal online space where he can permanently access the elements of his file (History of invoices Document space secure);
- The electronic signature
- Paying bills online.
Mobilize different communication levers
In order to sell its services, it is necessary to be identified and identifiable in the market. A communication strategy involves mobilizing different channels to showcase its expertise.
– First of all, a minimalist approach is to register on a platform for connecting lawyers and clients. There are now about ten linking platforms, each with specific features. Some platforms charge the lawyer, others do not. Registration on a platform allows, at a minimum, to be referenced on the web and generate a few calls. Thus, the analysis of existing solutions on the market seems to be an indispensable first step in preparing its installation (in this sense, see the video « Find a (good) lawyer #1 (battle of legaltech) »).
– Then, it is necessary to have a proactive approach on social networks. These new media allow you to create a community (1), generate a lead base (2) and improve your SEO (3). The goal is to be identified as a specialist around one or more expertises. The first step is to analyze the behavior of its target (individuals, professionals, etc.) and register on the most relevant networks in order to reach them. If LinkedIn is the professional network of choice, we should not underestimate the strength of other networks like YouTube and Instagram. A proactive approach on networks involves publishing content very regularly, whether from the background (articles, infographics, videos) or storytelling (intervention at conferences in particular). Post at « peak times » in each network so that your publications have the most impact and feel free to collaborate with other professionals by tagging each other in each publication. Highlight your ecosystem and it will return it to you!
– Finally, don’t hesitate to offer free content to your community. The time invested in this process will validate your expertise and will be a product of appeal in order to offer your services. In order to have a return on investment, the proposed content must be quality (1), accessible (2) and innovative (3). First of all, your content must be legally supported because it is the basis of your credibility in the market. In addition, the content must be educational in order to be understood by all litigants (avoid « notwithstanding » and other legal legal turns). Finally, offer a format that goes off the beaten track. Many lawyers are exploring new formats such as legal design infographics (Kristina Lazatian), Podcasts (Elise Couintet) or even youtube videos (Arthur Sauzé). These formats will be better referenced than traditional articles. Offer to send your content to your community via a newsletter to build up a lead file.
Organize to work effectively
In the first months of installation, it is rare to have fixed and closed offices. Many lawyers choose to start working in coworking spaces dedicated to lawyers, partly with a colleague and generally multiply the trips. This mobility requires the lawyer to have access to his files and documents all the time while protecting his clients’ data. Thus, a private cloud solution with local replication is ideal for being autonomous, mobile, perfectly secure and non-internet dependent.
In addition, automating a number of low-value-added tasks (for example, billing) saves a considerable amount of time in case management.
Build customers and follow your matters
Generating customers and turnover is often painful a lawyer who settles down because this commercial dimension has not been envisaged at the University and the EFB.
The first step, once defined its positioning and established its business plan, is to rely on its network. Your personal and professional relationships are your first support and know many potential prospects. Help them, inform them, explain to them what you are proposing.
Also, a simple solution to generate customers is to outsource files. In fact, small structures often face an overload of files and are looking for young colleagues to outsource files. Outsourcing is a way to maintain a minimum level of remuneration, while benefiting from the flexibility of the installation. Such a solution limits the tedious phase of prospecting and directly has a few customers.
Above all, have a 360-degree view of your prospects and adopt an organized business strategy. Register all your prospects, communicate your offers and don’t hesitate to relaunch them. Using SaaS business development solutions (e.g., Nomination) helps identify opportunities to connect with prospects that matter to you and engage the relationship. Once your first leads are converted into customers, follow them and catch up frequently to identify new needs.
