72 The Alabama Lawyer 403 (2011). What Tools Are You Missing in Your Marketing Tool Box?.

• Author: By Renee Avery

Alabama Lawyer

2011.

72 The Alabama Lawyer 403 (2011).

What Tools Are You Missing in Your Marketing Tool Box?

What Tools Are You Missing in Your Marketing Tool Box?By Renee AveryYou decided to go to law school. You passed the bar. You are now a lawyer. So, what's next? Sometimes school does not prepare you for the realities of life and business. Like any other profession, being a lawyer means you have to learn a whole barrage of things you didn't pick up in school. Whether you went straight to law school right after college or are older and this is a second career, you have to learn more than just the law. In this struggling economy you have to be adaptive, think outside the box and dig in your heels just to survive.

Young attorneys are facing many adversities. After talking to a couple of new admittees who are also LRS members, though, I believe that if these two are any indication of the future, the legal profession will be fine.

Joseph Fuller hails from Alexander City. He always thought about practicing law, but tried several other jobs before law school. He was a waiter, a bicycle repairman and a sales representative. Fuller added that his retail and service experience have actually proven to be invaluable in his new profession.

His recent hires. Amy Hampton and Michelle Perez, are also just starting out in the law profession after concentrating on other careers, including teaching and social work.

Areas of specialty the firm handles are diverse: Hampton practices consumer bankruptcy law, Perez works in criminal law and plans on adding immigration law and Fuller concentrates on what he likes to call "threshold law" (a case comes through the door and he practices it).

Their common goal, however, is "to treat people like people, not a case number."

Fuller said they are proactive, not reactive, and explains that he joined the LRS to build up his client base. He has even had two LRS clients who referred him to their family and friends. He believes the Lawyer Referral Service is a valuable and underrated tool offered by the state bar. "It's like having an answering service. Not every call turns into a client, but it doesn't take a lot of time to take the call and just listen."

Cooper Ellenberg hung out his shingle in Tuscaloosa with his partner, Brett Hamock. Since then. they have had more than their share of adversity as Ellenberg's home and the office were severely damaged in the deadly April tornados. The two have since regrouped and are doing all they can to grow their practice.

Ellenberg says that his father is an attorney in Georgia, so being a lawyer is in his blood. He worked in claims at a major insurance company and then as a project assistant at King andamp; Spalding in Atlanta. Right now, he is working on cases involving criminal defense, family law, juvenile law, wills, and pre-nuptial agreements. He adds that he will gradually be focusing on representing plaintiffs in civil litigation.

Ellenberg knows that for most people hiring a lawyer means they are in a stressful situation, and he and Hamock "take pride in helping those individuals and families resolve their legal issues." The law partners believed that joining the Lawyer Referral Service would provide a great opportunity to grow their client network, and Ellenberg states that "certainly has been the case."

If you are a recent admittee, you have a great tool at your disposal that you may be underutilizing, the state bar's LRS. If you aren't already a member, you're missing an excellent marketing opportunity. Not only do you have the potential to reach a broader potential client base, but also a chance to do a good service for the public. For the ever-increasing number of fellow citizens who are dealing with the impacts of the current economic crisis, as well as those who live out of state and are simply looking to hire a "local" attorney, often the answer is the LRS. For as little as a $100 a year, you can have a "live" person versus a recording suggesting you as the potential client's attorney. This year, new admittees receive an even bigger break: your first-year membership fee is waived. You are still required to carry liability insurance, but joining the LRS could offset the cost by potentially helping your practice grow. LRS membership runs from October to September so sign up now.

Thanks go to our 2010-2011 LRS members listed below; without them, over 11,000 people would not have found the attorney they needed.

James Griffin Adams, Jr.

Thomas Bynum Albritton

Laura Ghee Alexander

Richard David Allen, Jr.

Rose Marie Allenstein

William Bruce Alverson, Jr.

Virginia Teague Applebaum

Daco Suzette Auffenorde

Michael Evan Auffenorde

William Cain Avant

Thomas Joseph Azar, Jr.

John Michael DeCarlo Barclay

James Murrel Barnes, Jr.

Paul Carver Bartley, Jr.

Roland Hollis Beason

William Brooks Beckum

Howard McGriff Belser, III

Jimmie Clay Benson, Jr.

Kathryn Lila Bettis

Bryan Scott Blackwell

Alan Dwight Blair

George Henry Blake, III

James Harry Blalock

Jerry Michael Blevins

Henry Wallace Blizzard, III

Ronald Edward Boackle

James Knox Boteler, III

Steven Kay Brackin

Michael Cory Bradley

Alexander Fournier Braswell

Samuel Joshua Briskman

Daniel Jason Britt

Michael Barrett Brown

Stephen Parmly Brown

Russell Lee Burdett

Gary Franklin Burns

Stewart Earl Burns

David Anthony Busby

Anthony Brian Bush

Leslie Ann Caldwell

Richard Fletcher Calhoun

Jimmy Spurlock Calton, Jr.

Mark Howard Carlton

Maxwell Douglas Carter

Tracy Wayne Cary

Billy Howard Chandler

David Richard Clark

Thomas Howard Claunch, III

Ralph Mayo Clements, III

Harwell Ellis Coale, Jr.

Christopher Hix Colee

Corrie Leigh Collins

Jeffrey Michael Compton, Sr.

Pamela Gooden Cook

Andrew Dennis Cooper

William Thomas Coplin, Jr.

Robert Douglas Cornelius

Edmund Albert Crackel, III

Mary W. Craig

Jon Sidney Crews

Donna Coon Crooks

Steven Craig Curtis

Alfred Jude Danner

Larry Eugene Darby

Brian Anton Dasinger

Christopher Lamar Davis

Matthew Steven Davis

Thomas Eugene Davis

William Richard Davis

Joel Lee DiLorenzo

Donald Duane Doerr, Jr.

Ginette Allard Dow

Kristi Allen Dowdy

Bennett Ray Driggers, Sr.

Peter Alpha Dumbuya

Russell Turner Duraski

Bingham David Edwards

Winston Whitehead Edwards

Rachel Winford Eidson

Freeman Milton Elam

Henry Cooper Ellenberg, II

Robert Stephen Elliott

Russell Thomas Emrick, III

Robert Charles Epperson

Paul Douglas Esco

Jason Robert Eubanks

James William Ezzell, Jr.

Robert Curry Faircloth

Elizabeth Peyton Faulk

Joseph Erastus Faulk

William Baxter Fite

Jessica Lauren Fleming

Willie Florence, Sr.

Ronald Salvador Flores

Justin Keith Forrester

Vernie Edward Freeman, II

Anne Christine Frieder

Jessica Mara Friedman

James Guy Fullan

Joseph Robert Fuller

Philip Eugene Gable

Forrest Page Gamble

Christopher Richard Garner

Robert Aaron Gartlan

John Marcus Gibbs

Mark Sterling Gober

Stevan Kent Goozee

Charles Edward Grainger, Jr.

Christmas Yvette Green

Jonathan David Green, Sr.

Dana Jo Grimes

Archibald Irwin Grubb, II

Mark Edward Gualano

John Collier Gullahorn

Jack Jordan Hall, Jr.

Timothy Charles Halstrom

Lewis Steiner Hamilton

Orville Lee Hamilton, III

Daniel Gary Hamm

Brett Austin Hamock

Ellis David Hanan

Brian Douglas Hancock

Lisa Milner Hancock

Shelbie Guthery Hankey

Deborah Queen Harding

Thomas William Harmon

James Edward Harris

Richard Augustus Harrison, III

William Thomas Harrison, Sr.

Michael Adrian Hart

Paul Richard Hartley

Joshua Patrick Hayes

Kevin Kenneth Hays

Patrick Lamont Hays, Jr.

Robert Rosson Hembree

Rachel Abigail Herrin

Charles Michael Herrington

Brenda Drendel Hetrick

Olan Scott Hewitt

David Cushing Hilyer

Amanda Craft Hines

Robert Ivan Hinson

Michael Ralph Holberg

Ralph Gans Holberg, III

Timothy Sean Holdefer

Brett Harrison Hollett

James Roy Houts

Meggan Marie Huggins

David Bowen Hughes

Nicholas Cole Hughes

Willie Julius Huntley, III

Whitney Layton Huskey

Jackie O'Neal Isom

James Martin Ivins

Jody Forester Jackson

Lorren Bailey Jackson

Raymond Lewis Jackson, Jr.

Francis Marion James, III

Daniel Foster Johnson

Patsy Lambert Johnson

Mitzi Gabbriella Johnson-Theodoro

Alexander Williamson Jones, III

Allen Charles Jones

Nicholas Alexander Jones

Grover Patterson Keahey, Jr.

Robert David Keahey, Jr.

Robert Clois Keller

Joseph Robert Kemp

Daniel Baker King

Richard Mark Kirkpatrick

Dustin John Kittle

Larry Paul Knopf

Lee Franklin Knowles

Thomas Edward Kondrak

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