Yes, Virginia, You do Need a Business Card

Antique business card 

The business card is one of the most compact business marketing tools in use today. It fits in your pocket, sits in card files, card cases and desk drawers, you can make notes on it and it never needs charging.

Cards first appeared in England and France in the late sixteenth century. Bearer cards, calling cards and trade cards were the three main predecessors of today’s business cards. They were early forms of advertising as well as symbols of status. Present-day cards are also forms of advertising and should be part of your marketing plans.

Three reasons why the business card is a valuable business tool.

1.     Not all clients have digital devices. You can’t rely on a smartphone for transferring contact information; not everyone has a smartphone, and, if they do, it could be incompatible with your phone or the person could not be tech-savvy. An easy exchange of business cards can be followed up with an e-mail to provide digital information.

2.     Exchanging business cards is quicker. The quickest and easiest way to swap information is with the business card. Multiple cards can be handed out at a networking event in a short period of time.

3.     Business cards essential in international business. Business cards are not only essential in some business cultures but they are treated ceremoniously. In Japan exchanging business cards is a ritual and is considered a formal introduction. In India, business cards are also used in social situations and are handed to the person face up with the text facing them. The backside of your card should include your information in the native language.

The design of your business card.

Your business card should be simple and match your other marketing products. Don’t use elaborate fonts; instead use the same font you use on your letter-head. Fit the tone of the design with the nature of your practice. Examples of business cards can be found at the ABA gallery of business cards. 

Keep your business card relevant. Include your name, the firm name, your phone number and your e-mail address. Add your business address if there is room and if you have a logo include it unless it will make the card too cluttered.

How to use the business card.

While we don’t follow the elaborate practices such as those of Bahrain where the card can’t be exchanged using the left hand and must be looked at before putting it carefully away, we still observe the right moment to offer the card. It should naturally follow as a conclusion to a conversation. After the meeting, you can take a moment to write notes on the back of the cards you received to follow up the next day.

While written communication is often paperless, business cards are still an essential part of business communication. Keep yours up to date and fresh in a card holder ready to use when the right moment arrives.

10 Marketing Tips to Build Your Practice

“What type of law are you going to practice? Where? Do you want a partner? Or will you be on your own?” Those were a few of the questions you were asked when you graduated from law school. And if you had an idea of what you wanted your practice to be and to look like, you may have been able to answer.

Or, perhaps your practice simply grew and years passed and now you’ve decided it’s time to set down those goals and objectives. Get out the yellow legal pad or the iPad, make your list and create a strategic plan. Now that you know where you want to go, start working on marketing. The following steps may help:

1. Marketing, it is said, is a contact sport, so walk out of the office and meet new people. Become active in your local community. Join the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary or other service clubs that interest you and where you can meet people who have the types of legal problems you wish to solve. Go to make as many new friends and acquaintances as you can.

10 easy steps to market your firm

2. Make a list of groups, companies, organizations or companies whose members or     employees might have the sort of legal problems you like to solve. Pick one of the groups to concentrate on for the next three months. To narrow your list, think about what they read, what trade organizations they join, who their competitors are or what legal information they might need.

3. Get active in the trade organizations where you will find most of your clients. Join the organization and volunteer to be active on a committee, particularly the program or publication committees where you can interact with members.

4. Write articles for the trade print or e-newsletter, write a column for your local paper—they are always happy to receive well-written informative articles targeted for their readers.
   
5. Offer to speak at conferences or meetings. In-person presentations are an effective   marketing tactic—talk on legal topics of interest to the group and take lots of business cards.

6. Don’t eat lunch alone. Take people who can help you such as your accountant, lawyers at larger firms, bankers or business owners. Also, contact all your law school classmates, simply to say “hi.” Let them know they type of practice you have and discuss mutual referrals.

7. Draft a budget or financial plan so you can measure your success. Your goals might include increasing revenue by $60,000 opening 5 new files worth $1,000 in revenue per month, or launching a new practice area that will generate $50,000 per year.

8. Create an individual marketing plan. Decide how much you’re going to spend out and how you want to spend it—to fund the lunches, materials for your lectures or costs for on-line marketing. This is not an expense, this is an investment in yourself and your future.

9. Reach out to clients. Make them aware of all the services you provide and they haven't tried yet. And, add to your current practice. Ask yourself “What am I good at? What do I like to do?” and, “Which will my clients buy?” Get the training you need to add the new service. 


law firm marketing suggestions

10. Don’t forget your website. Put your Web address on your business cards, e-mail signature, letterhead and brochures to encourage visitors.


Rainmaking is personal. For some, it comes naturally while for others the skills have to studied and practiced. Find and practice the techniques that work for you. Soon you will be an expert, you’ll meet your goals and your practice will grow.

Love Your Lawyer Day - 3rd Nov, 2017

Several years ago I wrote the following essay encouraging recognition for lawyers. I resurrect it today in honor of Love Your Lawyer Day, celebrated on Nov. 3^rd.

National Lawyer Day. Not Law Day celebrated in May and upon which many of us work, but a day to honor lawyers. Establishing a holiday requires considerable thought and planning. Setting up a holiday to honor lawyers would undoubtedly require extraordinary thought and planning.

Most holidays have colors associated with them. What colors can we associate with lawyers? A quick glance around a courtroom revealed gray, navy blue and black with a touch of red. One disgruntled person suggested gold to represent money. Let us use red for cheeriness and black for black letter law and black robes. Red and black are good strong colors.

National Lawyer Day should have special candy. How about candy in the shape of gavels, scales of justice, palm pilots, cellphones and briefcases? That would work. We could have Pez dispensers designed to represent judges, lawyers or clients.

We need T-shirts emblazoned with “National Lawyer Day—take your lawyer to lunch.” Or, “Have you thanked your lawyer recently?”

And flowers; we need flowers. There are plenty of red flowers. It might be harder to find black flowers. There are deep purple, almost black, irises. And this writer has heard of, but never seen, black orchids. There is, I am sure, a clever horticulturist out there who will find a way to create lawyer-like flowers. They will be expensive.

Lastly, we need a parade. What should be its theme? We could celebrate famous cases and their attorneys. The OJ trial, for example, or a tobacco case. Since we are into reality television, we could have a float entitled “When is it all right to eat your neighbor?” How about a Reasonable Doubt or a proximate cause theme? Or one entitled “My Favorite Tort.”

The Capital Steps can march with their briefcases. The attorneys can walk in the parade to receive the adulation of their grateful clients. Bar associations could sponsor floats. A float honoring the judges would be appropriate.

What day of the month should be designated National Lawyer Day? I suggest a Friday, giving the weekend to recover from the celebration. After all, lawyers are an exciting bunch and need the entire week-end to honor the profession. 

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Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly?

Sally Consumer is an active user of the Internet. She uses it to find coffee shops, restaurants, doctors and lawyers. More often than not, her searches take place on her phone or her tablet. If your website or blog loads slowly, doesn’t fit the smaller screen forcing Sally to pinch or zoom in order to read the content, she will move on to a more responsive or mobile friendly website.

Google has long been aware of Sally’s search habits and has decreed that its search robots will include a website’s “mobile-friendliness” as a ranking signal. This means that site pages that can’t fit comfortably on the smaller screens will see a downgrade in ranking.

How do I know if my website is mobile-friendly?Ever efficient Google has created a website where you can enter your webpage URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or web address to test it. Find and click on the Mobile-Friendly Test, enter your web address and you will quickly know the results. If you fail the test, contact your web developer or website host to find out how to make your website responsive or mobile friendly.

What is a mobile-friendly design?


A mobile-friendly website is one that is designed to work the same way across all devices. A website with no usability concerns regardless of whether it’s being viewed on a phone, tablet or laptop is mobile friendly. If your website, like most law firm websites, is basic with few navigation drop-downs and no animation, it may pass the test.  The key features of a mobile-friendly website are:

1. Static content that doesn’t change, 
2. Simplified navigation,
3. Images display smaller, and it’s
4. Not reliant on a particular operating system to work properly.

What about a responsive design?

A responsive website is one that changes based on Sally Consumer’s needs and the device she’s using to conduct her search. With responsive design, text and images change from, for example, a three-column layout to a single column display. Unnecessary images are hidden so they don’t compete with the more important information on the smaller display.

The key features of a responsive website are:

• Content changes, 
• Abbreviated navigation, 
• Improved images, and it’s
• Reliant on a particular operating system to work properly. 

Which do I need? 

A simplified mobile friendly site will give you a consistent website experience across all devices. If you don’t have a large mobile audience (less than 35%), your site is simple with mostly text and images and your picture sizes are small, allowing for quick loading, a mobile-friendly site is for you.

Consider a responsive site if more than 35% of your web traffic is on mobile devices, your website content is complex or has features that are difficult to use on a phone or tablet or you want your website to appear up-to-date longer. Be aware that a responsive design takes expertise, proper planning and a larger budget.

Sally Consumer is in a hurry. She wants to solve her problems now. She will quickly pass by websites that load slowly and are hard to navigate on her phone or tablet. To be sure your website is the one she picks, test it for mobile-friendliness and make any necessary adjustments.

Non-traditional Lawyers Need a Web Presence

Sally is enjoying a quiet evening meal at her favorite restaurant with her law school roommate, Scott. In law school, both studied hard, were on law review and graduated in the top 10% of their class. After graduation, however, they took different paths to the practice of law. Sally is a shareholder in her small law firm practicing Elder Law while Scott, whose family had long been in the Military, is a JAG lawyer.

 

Over coffee, the conversation turns to marketing.

“We spend a lot of time and money on our website, blog and social media,” said Sally. “I need to update my blog tonight.”

“I’m glad I don’t need to do any marketing,” said Scott.

“I’m not sure about that,” said Sally. “What if you decide to leave the Military? No one will know you exist.”

Sally is right. Scott like the many other lawyers who turn from a traditional practice to use their skills in such establishments as the government--federal, state and local, the judiciary--judge, magistrate, clerk, legislature, house counsel for corporations or academia, still need to consider maintaining an Internet presence. 

Why do you or other non-traditional lawyers like Scott need an online presence?

An on-line presence in the form of a profile, a website or a stop on the social media thoroughfare is as necessary for non-traditional lawyers as it is for lawyers working as solos or in a law firm. It isn’t only consumers who search for lawyers on the web; other lawyers also read those profiles.

Scott can establish relationships and connections that would otherwise be unworkable because of distance and time. These are lawyers you can meet only through e-mail or text or, perhaps, a short telephone call. Those associations can be as strong and as important to your career as ones established face-to-face at networking functions.

Lawyers can use the knowledge gained in other fields to make a career change. A lawyer working for a governmental agency today can establish connections and soon be practicing for a law firm in their government relations department. Legal publishing experience, for example, could lead to consulting on copyright and drafting contracts with agents and publishers. Managing an international non-profit would be helpful if you wanted to practice in International Law. Retired judges often turn to mediation and arbitration.

These movements from traditional to non-traditional legal careers and back again will only be successful if the world knows that you’re out there. And the easiest and least costly way to become known is through an on-line presence. Using social media, LinkedIn and developing a website, you can network within the legal field as well as market your practice to potential clients. 

A legal career, whether traditional or non-traditional, can last 20, 30, 40 or more years. It can take many twists and turns as you travel along. Using the Internet to establish relationships with other lawyers can lead to exciting possibilities and help with transitions.