Marketing
Strategies
By Practice Area
By Art Italo
Prerequisite: Before reading this article you should read Leveraged Networking by Art Italo.
This is not really one article but nineteen different articles. For each of nineteen types of practices I have written down specific strategies and contacts that will improve your leveraged networking effectiveness. In the Leveraged Networking article you learned that certain contacts have a higher probability of sending you desirable referrals. After spending thousands of hours working with lawyers, I have created the compendium of strategies by practice. All nineteen descriptions are present on this page. You can scroll through or choose the appropriate link to jump you right to your practice area.
- Bankruptcy/Corporate
- Bankruptcy/Individuals
- Business
Litigation
- Commercial
Real Estate Transactions
- Construction
Litigation
- Corporate
Transactions
- Criminal
Law
- Divorce/Family
Law
- Estate
Litigation
- Estate
Planning
- Immigration
Law
- Insurance
Defense
- International
Law
- Medical
Malpractice
- Plaintiffs'
Personal Injury
- Real
Estate Litigation
- Residential
Real Estate Transactions
- Securities
- Technology
Law/Intellectual Properties
Bankruptcy/Corporate
Overall Strategy
Your largest client segment consists mostly of small to mid-size businesses. Though large corporations create a lot of work when they go belly-up, it happens much less frequently. The best place to find your demographic is by networking with people who have a high level of contact with smaller businesses. If you are a major bankruptcy player with a large firm or a prominent bankruptcy boutique, the contact types will be the same but the focus will be on people who have a great deal of contact with large corporations. This list will focus on where the bulk of the clients are.
Lawyer Contacts
Transactional Business Lawyers (especially those dealing with small
businesses)
Business Litigators
Commercial Real Estate Lawyers
Construction Lawyers
Technology Lawyers
Tax Attorney
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (specializing in small businesses)
Business Brokers
Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants (specializing in small businesses)
Bankruptcy/Individual
Overall Strategy
Your largest client segment consists mostly of mid-level to low wage earners. The best place to find this demographic is by networking with people who have a high level of contact with the general public and particularly with this demographic.
Lawyer Contacts
Criminal Lawyers
Divorce Lawyers
Transactional Business Lawyers (especially those dealing with small businesses)
Personal Injury Lawyers
Civil Litigators
Tax Attorney
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (specializing in individual tax returns or small businesses)
Credit Advisors
Clergymen
Union Leader
Business Litigation
Overall Strategy
I strongly suggest you find yourself a niche in litigation. Most likely, this will revolve around an industry like construction or technology, but it may revolve around a type of matter like securities litigation or contract disputes. The expertise in a certain area will increase your value in the marketplace. This doesn't mean you stop taking matters outside your niche. It means you spend the majority of your time promoting your specialty. When asked about your practice, don't say, "I'm a corporate trial lawyer." Say, "I'm a corporate trial lawyer with expertise in stockholder disputes."
Your largest client segment consists mostly of small to mid-size businesses with mid-size businesses being the best target. When networking, create relationships with people who have frequent contact with business people. The best place to find your demographic is by networking with accountants and transactional business lawyers who do not litigate.
Lawyer Contacts
Transactional Business Lawyers
Commercial Real Estate Lawyers
Technology Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Estate Planners
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's
Commercial Insurance Brokers/Agents
Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Commercial Real Estate Transactions
Overall Strategy
Your largest client segment consists mostly of mid-size to large businesses with mid-size businesses being the best target. Look for people who would know about the need to buy or sell a piece of real estate early in the process. The best place to find your demographic is by networking with real estate brokers, venture capitalists, bankers and accountants.
Lawyer Contacts
Real Estate Litigation Lawyers
Transactional Business Lawyers (non real estate)
Mergers and Acquisition Lawyers
Securities Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Estate Planner
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's
Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants
Venture Capitalists
Commercial Bankers
Business Brokers
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Construction Litigation
Overall Strategy
Getting good leads in the construction industry requires that you become active in the industry. Join industry organizations and get to know the industry leaders personally. Become a leader by joining and chairing committees and becoming an officer. Give lectures to the organization if possible. The best contacts will also be potential clients. Among them are builders, developers, contractors and real estate brokers.
Lawyer Contacts
Transactional Business Lawyers
Commercial and Residential Real Estate Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Developers
Commercial and Residential Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Builders
Contractors and Sub-Contractors
Construction Industry Leaders Bankers
CPA's
Corporate Transactions
Overall Strategy
Consider finding an industry or a type of matter that you enjoy and becoming a specialist in that area. The focused expertise will increase your value in the marketplace. This doesn't mean you stop taking matters outside your niche. It means you spend the majority of your time promoting your specialty. When asked about your practice, don't say, "I'm a corporate lawyer." Say, "I'm a corporate lawyer with expertise in mergers and acquisitions."
The largest client segment consists mostly of small to mid-size businesses with mid-size businesses being the best target. If you are looking for large corporate clients, the contacts will be of the same type but concentrate on people who do business with larger companies. The best place to find your demographic is by networking with accountants, bankers and commercial litigators.
Lawyer Contacts
Commercial Litigators
Benefits Lawyers
Corporate Employment Litigators
Commercial Real Estate Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Estate Planners
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (Big 6 firms if you are hunting big game)
Commercial Bankers
Commercial Insurance Brokers/Agents
Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants
Venture Capitalists
Benefits Consultants
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Criminal Law
Overall Strategy
The criminal defense practice, though glamorized on television, is one of the hardest to build and make successful. The bulk of prospective clients come from a demographic that is in the lowest 20% of income and education. This bodes ill regarding payment of fees. An effective strategy should include positioning yourself as an advocate for middle class juvenile clients. Teenagers tend to get into mischief and sometimes run afoul of the law. Generally, these are comparatively easy cases with parents that will pay reliably. Get involved in the community, church groups, support groups for young adults, etc. to establish your reputation. Network extensively with other lawyers. Most attorneys dislike criminal law and will refer away any criminal cases that come their way.
Lawyer Contacts
Divorce Lawyers
Plaintiffs' Personal Injury Lawyers
Bankruptcy Lawyers
Transactional Business Lawyers (occasional white collar charge)
Securities Lawyers (occasional federal white collar charge)
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Clergymen
Community Leaders
Social Workers
Private Investigators
Bartenders/Tavern Owners
Psychologists
Divorce/Family Law
Overall Strategy
The key to building a good family law practice is to target an upscale demographic. Wealthy clients have more at stake and have the resources to pay your fee. Get active in the arts. Join a board of directors for the symphony or theatre. Join a golf club. Be a leader in the chamber of commerce. Your best contacts will be other lawyers, psychologists and marriage counselors. Create relationships with lawyers and professionals who serve an upscale clientele.
Lawyer Contacts
Corporate Lawyers
Real Estate Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Estate Planners
Securities Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Psychologists
Marriage Counselors
Clergymen
Hairdressers/Salon Owners
Physicians
CPA's
Stockbrokers
Insurance Brokers/Agents
Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Business Brokers
Leaders in the Arts (theatre, symphony, ballet, museums, galleries)
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Estate Litigation
Overall Strategy
The key to building a good estate litigation practice is to network with estate planners. Most estate planners are set up to crank out paper and prefer not to get involved in estate disputes. You should also be active in organizations that attract wealthy people. Get active in the arts. Join a board of directors for the symphony or theatre. Join a golf club. Be a leader in the chamber of commerce. Your best non-lawyer contacts will be insurance professionals, financial planners, and accountants. Create relationships with lawyers and professionals who serve an upscale clientele.
Lawyer Contacts
Estate Planners
Upscale Family Lawyers
Corporate Lawyers
Successful Plaintiffs' Attorneys
Real Estate Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Securities Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (Big 6 firms are best)
Financial Planners
Commercial Bankers
Insurance Brokers/Agents
Venture Capitalists
Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants
Leaders in the Arts (theatre, symphony, ballet, museums, galleries)
Leaders in Charitable Organizations
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Estate Planning
Overall Strategy
The key to building a good estates practice is to target an upscale demographic. Wealthy clients have more complicated estates and have the resources to pay your fee. Get active in the arts. Join a board of directors for the symphony or theatre. Join a golf club. Be a leader in the chamber of commerce. Your best contacts will be insurance professionals, financial planners, and accountants. Create relationships with lawyers and professionals who serve an upscale clientele.
Lawyer Contacts
Upscale Family Lawyers
Corporate Lawyers
Successful Plaintiffs' Attorneys
Real Estate Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Securities Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (Big 6 firms are best)
Financial Planners
Commercial Bankers
Insurance Brokers/Agents
Venture Capitalists
Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants
Leaders in the Arts (theatre, symphony, ballet, museums, galleries)
Leaders in Charitable Organizations
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Immigration Law
Overall Strategy
Immigration law is a very specialized practice that has certain prerequisites. You must be in a place where there is a good flow of immigrants and is a strong financial center. It also helps if you speak at least one foreign language. The best segment of the immigration market is commercial, dealing with immigration matters of companies moving personnel from country to country.
Getting visas for families may be personally gratifying, especially if you are an immigrant or first generation yourself. Unfortunately, most non-commercial immigrants enter the country with little wealth with which they can pay your fee. Multinational corporations, in contrast, have plenty of resources and a steady stream of matters to send you. So your primary target should be corporations and domestic secondary. Network with people with contacts in international business such as importers/exporters, general counsel at major corporations, key players at big six accounting firms, etc. Also, many mid-size law firms in major cities don't have an immigration lawyer despite the fact they do business with some fairly large corporate clients. Network with these lawyers as well.
On the domestic side, speaking the language is a must. It isn't enough to have a staff member who speaks, because your marketing efforts will require you to become visible and active in the ethnic community from which you want to get business. Immigrant communities are very close knit and difficult to penetrate unless you speak the language or share the same ethnicity. Once accepted though, the word of mouth referral stream can be very satisfying.
Lawyer Contacts
International Business Lawyers
Corporate Lawyers
Tax Lawyers
Import/Export Lawyers
Admiralty Lawyers
Ethnic Family Lawyers
Plaintiffs' Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (Big 6 firms are best)
Importers/Exporters
General Counsel With Multinational Corporations
International Bankers
Politicians With Ethnic Constituencies
Leaders in Ethnic Organizations
International Business Leaders (e.g. Ethnic or International Chamber of
Commerce leaders)
Insurance Defense
Overall Strategy
Insurance defense is a very institutional market and requires very focused networking efforts. The key here is penetration rather than casting a wide net. You must be visible and active in the insurance industry, becoming a leader in insurance organizations. Your networking should focus on penetrating deeper into companies that currently give you business, and getting on the approved lists of companies you are currently not serving.
Make sure you entertain and meet with your clients face to face occasionally, even if they are out of town. Ask your contacts in the company to introduce you to others in the company. Since you are probably one of a number of firms on the approved list, you should ask your contact how you can serve the company better and what needs to happen to be a preferred law firm on the list.
One of the keys to penetrating new companies is to follow personnel from company to company. When insurance people change companies, they usually stay in the same industry. If one of your contacts leaves, stay in touch. Chances are he/she will land in some other insurance company you might want as a client. He/she might then be in a position to hire or recommend you.
Don't forget to work the job hoppers back the other way as well. When you get a new claims manager who just joined the company from another insurance company, chances are he/she still has a lot of friends at the previous employer. When you establish a good relationship with the new claims manager, ask for an introduction to someone in his/her old firm.
Treat independent adjusters like kings. These folks have a lot of industry contacts and can introduce you to all sorts of decision makers at firms you would love to have as clients.
Lawyer Contacts
You won't be getting many of these kinds of referrals from lawyers.
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Independent Adjusters
Insurance Contacts Who Change Companies
Insurance Industry Leaders
International Law
Overall Strategy
International law is a very specialized practice that has certain
prerequisites. You must be in a place that is a strong financial center of
international trade. Port cities are traditionally best, although cities like
Your networking efforts should focus on people with contacts in international business. You should be active in organizations that deal in international trade. Importers and exporters generally have a lot of contacts in foreign corporations. Corporate immigration attorneys are also good sources of business.
Lawyer Contacts
Corporate Immigration Lawyers
International Tax Lawyers
Import/Export Lawyers
Admiralty Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's (Big 6 firms are best)
Importers/Exporters
General Counsel With Multinational Corporations
International Bankers
International Business Leaders (e.g. International Chamber of Commerce Leaders)
Medical Malpractice
Overall Strategy
Medical Malpractice is a technical and specialized niche within the Plaintiffs' Personal Injury field. It requires strong trial skills and a good ability to quickly comprehend the technical nature and ramifications of medical procedures. If you like this type of case, and you are good in court, this area can be very lucrative. Remember, however, that these cases are protracted and very expensive to litigate. The client will seldom be able to pay expenses and there will be a myriad of depositions, experts and litigation support that will have to be financed over a period of years. If you don't have the resources, you can go bust very quickly.
Your best source of cases will be other plaintiffs' lawyers. Most plaintiffs' lawyers steer clear of Medical Malpractice. It is too technical, too drawn out, and since the defense wins in court more than half the time, too risky. They will be more than happy to refer them to you for a small percentage or sometimes just outright if you feed them easy car wreck cases. Also, network with other lawyers who do business with the general public such as divorce lawyers.
My clients have found that nurses, medical technicians and physical therapists make good inside contacts for these types of cases. These are people that know things have been botched, and swear their allegiance more to the patients than the doctors.
Lawyer Contacts
Plaintiffs' Personal Injury Lawyers
Bankruptcy Lawyers (medical bills can ruin you)
Divorce Lawyers
Estate Lawyer
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Nurses
Physical Therapists
Medical Technicians
Chiropractors
Plaintiffs' Personal Injury
Overall Strategy
Personal injury is the most frequently advertised and most frequently maligned practiced. There are two ways to approach this type of practice. The most common way is the way I do not recommend.
This method places a giant display ad in the yellow pages and/or an ad on television and/or billboards and then waits for the deluge of calls. These tactics require the clearinghouse approach to litigation. The advertising requires extra help to field and qualify the phone calls (most of which are useless) and since it is so expensive, it also requires quick turnaround on cases to create the cash flow to support the ad and overhead. Usually the cases are small and the cash flow crunch puts the firm under the gun to settle them as fast as possible. This puts the firm in a poor negotiating posture and the adjusters know it. The firm can't afford to have the cases drag out or go to court because a delay in cash flow can be disastrous. They must therefore be far more negotiable and seldom get their clients the best recovery. Savvy insurance companies distribute lists of plaintiffs' lawyers who advertise heavily and don't tend to file. Adjusters are told to lowball these lawyers and hold firm.
You can make money this way if you can generate enough volume, but this keeps getting harder due to the proliferation of display ads. The effect of advertising is being diluted by competition and more plaintiffs' lawyers are finding it hard to scrape by. The worst part is the knowledge that expediency puts you in a poor negotiating posture. More than one bar association has struggled with the question of display ads from both a professional image standpoint and a clients' best interest standpoint.
My advice is to take the high road. It takes longer to build, but it is worth it. To build a strong personal injury practice you will have to be known for being a good trial lawyer and have a strong reputation with the plaintiffs' bar. The most successful plaintiffs' lawyers get the majority of their cases from other PI lawyers.
There is a hierarchy among PI lawyers. At the lowest level are the clearinghouses. Most of them shun litigation, focusing instead on negotiation and throughput. They seldom go to court. They usually hire a trial attorney to file and argue cases for a percentage of the contingency fee. This is your first source of business. Find lawyers who don't go to court and cut a deal to try their cases. This will get you in court to build your reputation.
At the second level of plaintiffs' lawyers are the hybrids. These lawyers will try to negotiate their cases and file the case if it has merit. They are in court frequently and have at least adequate trial skills. These lawyers will look for an attorney to associate on the large wrongful death cases, products liability or medical malpractice cases because they don't feel they have the horsepower or (more frequently) the financial resources to handle the case.
At the top level are the elite trial attorneys. They have huge war chests of money to finance big cases. They have prominent reputations for winning in court. They take only the largest cases and spend most of their time in trial or preparing for trial. They usually have a threshold recovery potential below which they will refer the case to someone else. They get 90% of their work from other PI lawyers.
The most successful lawyers are in the middle and top categories. Neither of these spends much money on advertising. You can improve your reputation by sharpening your trial skills and being active in the American Trial Lawyers' Association or your local trial lawyers' association. This is also a good place to create mentor relationships with the superstars, since they are invariable very high profile in these types of organizations. Remember, these lawyers can help you in many ways, not the least of which is sending you cases they deem too small to bother with (only a $50,000 fee).
Other people to network with include doctors (unless you do medical malpractice), chiropractors, other medical support professionals like nurses, physical therapists and medical technicians, other lawyers who deal with the general public, etc.
Lawyer Contacts
Plaintiffs' Personal Injury Lawyers
Bankruptcy Lawyers (medical bills can ruin you)
Divorce Lawyers
Estate Lawyers
Criminal Lawyer
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Nurses
Physical Therapists
Medical Technicians
Chiropractors
Doctors (especially neurologist, plastic surgeons and orthopedists)
Real Estate Litigation
The best way to promote a Real Estate Litigation practice is to create relationships with people who have constant contact with real estate transactions. This includes residential closing attorneys, commercial real estate attorneys, real estate brokers/agents, developers, bankers, etc.
Lawyer Contacts
Residential Real Estate Lawyers
Commercial Real Estate Lawyers
Corporate Bankruptcy Lawyers
Transactional Business Lawyers
Mergers and Acquisition Lawyers
Securities Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Estate Planners
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's
Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Management Consultants
Venture Capitalists
Commercial Bankers
Business Brokers
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Residential Real Estate Transactions
Promoting a residential real estate closing practice is done by creating relationships with the parties who facilitate the real estate transaction. The most important contacts will be lenders. Make contacts among bank officers and loan originators at lending institutions and mortgage brokers.
Don't neglect the real estate brokers and agents. They often have influence in the closing process and make recommendations to lending institutions. If they are recommending people to the bank that gives you all its closings, they are indirectly referring you business. Real estate investors can sometimes bring you closings that leave the lender out of the loop through private financing or creative deals.
If closings are your only business, I strongly recommend you set up a group that does title searches in-house. Most firms I work with find it is more efficient, less costly and gets the closing done more smoothly when done in-house.
Lawyer Contacts
Real Estate Litigation Lawyers
Transactional Business Lawyers (non real estate)
Non-Lawyer Contacts
Mortgage Bankers
Residential Real Estate Brokers/Agents
Mortgage Brokers
Loan Originators
Real Estate Investors
Title Company Owners
Securities
Overall Strategy
To build a strong securities practice you need to build relationships with the movers and shakers. You seek burgeoning companies for IPO's and established companies with securities issues. Your networking contacts for this type of practice should focus on corporate transactional lawyers, technology lawyers, venture capitalists, commercial bankers since these are people who have the highest likelihood of being aware of the right kind of transactions.
You should also be active in the Chamber of Commerce to maintain contact with business leaders. Be active in organizations that support entrepreneurs. Often, these groups have companies with great ideas that are undercapitalized and might be of interest to one of your venture capitalist contacts. Better yet, you might find another Microsoft or Netscape.
Lawyer Contacts
Corporate Transactional Lawyers
Technology Lawyers
Patent Lawyers
Commercial Real Estate Lawyers
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's
Commercial Bankers
Investment Bankers
Business Brokers
Management Consultants
Venture Capitalists
Entrepreneurs
Business Leaders (e.g. Chamber of Commerce leaders, Kiwanis leaders)
Technology/Intellectual Properties
Overall Strategy
Technology Law is not really an area of law but rather a name applied to the types of matters that technology companies frequently bring to lawyers. The predominant matters revolve around intellectual property issues especially patents, copyrights and trademarks. The technology lawyer must also be a sound transactional lawyer and be ready to deal with growth issues.
With the growth of technology, today's basement operation can turn into tomorrow's Microsoft, so the technology lawyer needs contacts that can help a small company turn into a big company in a hurry. These include securities lawyers, employment lawyers, benefits lawyers, accountants, business brokers, bankers and venture capitalists. Building relationships with these contacts will also bring you referrals.
Don't forget the lowly programmers. In an industry where ideas are capital, "codeheads" are often big winners in the technology sweepstakes. If a nerd with bloodshot eyes, a pocket protector and carpel tunnel syndrome tells you he has a great new idea for some revolutionary software he has been tinkering with on the weekends, be friendly and take good notes.
Having a World Wide Web page is a plus right now, but as the Web grows, it will become increasingly important. Remember, the people you want as clients probably spend a great deal of time surfing the net. Having a Web page may soon be a prerequisite to the selection process for techies. After all, how can they trust you to handle their technology issues if you're not even on the Web?? That may sound fatuous until you consider that most lawyers feel uncomfortable making an out of state referral unless the lawyer is listed in Martindale Hubbell.
It is important that you are active in organizations that cater to the technology industry. Establishing a reputation for leadership in these organizations, and creating personal relationships with important movers and shakers can transform your practice quickly.
Lawyer Contacts
Securities Lawyers
Employment Lawyers
Benefits Lawyers
Tax Attorneys
Patent Lawyers (if you are not one)
Estate Planner
Non-Lawyer Contacts
CPA's
Software Developers
Venture Capitalists
Commercial Bankers
Entrepreneurs
Management Consultants
Benefits Consultants
Technology Business Leaders
Select
this link to see Art Italo’s Practice Profile
Art Italo is a consultant working exclusively with attorneys in the areas
of business development and strategic planning. He speaks internationally on
legal marketing and strategic planning.
He has developed and refined the concept of Leveraged Networking after
over 15,000 hours of individual consultations with attorneys. He has personally consulted with over 250
attorneys in
For on-line help with your marketing questions, e-mail Art Italo at
italco@mindspring.com or contact Art
Italo at:
Italo Consulting®
P.O. Box 680474
Marietta, GA 30068
(770) 859-0600
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Consulting® Home Page
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