Tips for Marketing Yourself as a Lawyer

Going to law school is a long, stressful journey that one must be dedicated to accomplishing. Ironically, as long as your law school journey is, it equally happens to go by extremely fast. One minute you are an incoming 1L at orientation and the next thing you know you are a 3L studying to take the Bar in the state you want to practice in. Upon graduating with your Juris Doctorate degree there are many options one must decide. Do you go into a fellowship, apply to work at a small or larger firm or go into private practice for yourself? While going into a fellowship is a safe option just as going entry level into a firm is; however, what if you decide to go into private practice for yourself? Where do you begin? How do you get clients? The Skikos Law wildfire attorneys can give you tips on how to market yourself as an attorney when you are just starting out. Create a Marketing Plan Create a business and marketing plan for yourself including creating a five-year plan for goal accomplishments. Make note of your strengths and weaknesses. In the areas that you feel are not your strongest, outsource those responsibilities. For example, you may have to hire someone to coordinate the marketing activities for you. They will create a plan that is used consistently in all external communication collateral marketing materials such as letterhead, business cards, a content-driven website, your powerpoint presentations, brochures, newsletters, press releases, media kits, seminar handouts and so on. This will ensure that you have a cohesive marketing strategy. Brand Yourself As a continuation of your marketing plan, you must brand yourself like any other company does. Look for ways to make yourself stand out from your competitors. Become the go-to attorney known for a specific style or case handling. Offer unique services, to a specialized group of clients with a different service delivery strategy adding your personal flair to it. As in the above marketing plan, you want all of your marketing materials such as letterhead, business cards, websites, brochures, newsletters, press releases, etc. to be synonymous with you. Networking is key We all know the saying, “It is who you know, not what you know.” Well as a lawyer you must know your work, however who you know is equally as important. Knowing certain people can open doors and connect you to individuals you may not normally have had the opportunity to meet. Also, networking can connect you to future clients. Always make a strong first impression as you never know who will come to you in the future for your services. Highlight Your Strengths Lastly, you must make sure as you are marketing yourself you highlight your strengths. People want to know the person that they are entrusting their life, business or finances with can rise to the challenge and make sure their needs are met efficiently and effectively. Often more times than not, people are not comfortable talking about themselves which can make marketing yourself an extremely difficult task. There is that invisible fine line between you wanting to make sure you come off as strong, capable and assertive yet not arrogant. The most important thing in marketing yourself is to make sure you that you are seen as a confident leader so that your future clients trust that you can guide them in the direction that they may not even know they need.