There Is No Relationship Between Being Good and Getting Paid

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 12-13

§8. Client Attraction Secrets for Lawyers

12

§8.

THERE IS NO RE LATI ON SH IP BE TW EE N BEI NG

GOOD AND GE TT IN G PAI D

There is an epidemic running through the legal community right now. It is a wave of emotion

the size of a tsunami. It is tall and it is turbulent and it is breaking over the heads of great lawyers

everywhere. Maybe the economy caused it to swell to the point where it cannot be stopped. Maybe

it is just the confusion caused by so many Big Law Firm Associates turned out into the street by

the once nurturing, paternalistic culture that coddled them until they could pimp them out. Maybe

it is the cold meritocracy that the legal profession has become. Whatever it was, the earthquake

that spawned this tsunami of emotion has come and gone and left devastation in the aftermath.

All of this metaphorical crap is intended to say that there are some good lawyers complain-

ing that they have no work. They are complaining louder now than at any time in the past.

They shake their heads at the young punk lawyer who learned to manipulate the Internet to help

him get his message in front of people who hire him. They wag their fingers at the guy who hustles

around from TV station to TV station to give commentary on the latest case in the news. They wring

their hands at the personal injury attorney who sends his clients reprints of his verdict announce-

ments. And they mutter under their breath as the young girl just three years out of law school gets

yet another speaking engagement with the local business association.

In the legal profession there is no relationship between being good and getting paid.

There is a correlation between creating relationships and getting paid. That is what legal mar-

keting is all about. Your website, your newsletter, the speech you give, the article you write, your

video on Youtube, all of those things create a relationship with your prospective client. This rela-

tionship is what leads to new work. In order to create the relationship you need to do four things:

One: Stop Complaining. Yeah, you are a good lawyer. Congratulations. You are probably the

best lawyer nobody knows about. Now what? Do something to change that.

Two: Learn What Your Clients Are Feeling. Hiring a lawyer is an emotional decision. Logic

is used to justify the decision after the fact. Show your client that you understand the position he is

in. Help him feel confident in you by educating him about his situation. Lose the legal speak and

start talking to him like he is a human being. Ask good questions and then LISTEN to the answers.

Three: Structure Your Marketing to Speak to the Client. Nobody cares where you went to

law school if their mother just died in a medical malpractice incident. Nobody cares about your AV

rating if the repo man just took away their car. Nobody cares about your status as treasurer of the