You Should Hear What They Are Saying About You

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 22-23

§13. Client Attraction Secrets for Lawyers

22

§13.

YOU SHO UL D HEA R WHAT TH EY AR E SAYING

ABOUT YO U

Who is the best lawyer in town in your practice area?

The answer depends on education, experience and positioning. Two out of three of these attri-

butes are easily accepted. Education is important because it shows that you have the discipline and

the desire to truly understand the principles behind the action. Experience is important because it

helps you put things into proper perspective. But most people are perplexed when I tell them that

positioning is a determining factor in their career success.

Positioning means creating an identity in the minds of the people in your target market.

It is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor in determining how successful you will be as a

lawyer. You can be the greatest lawyer on the planet but if you are positioned wrong, you will not

be able to attract quality clients or command high fees. It is up to you to influence the perception

your future clients have of you. Here are three ways to position yourself as an expert:

1. Focus on a targeted niche. If you want to be perceived as an expert you must become

known as an authority in at least one focused niche. There is no better way to tilt the landscape in

your favor than to drill deeply into one area of the law and claim it as your own.

I am not talking about practicing law only in one specific area. I am talking about market-

ing your law firm to a focused group of clients for a specific application of the law. Want some

examples?

• Focusing on immigration law is not enough. Focusing on immigration law related to indi-

viduals with extraordinary ability is much better.

• Focusing on intellectual property law is not enough. Focusing on managed service agree-

ments is better.

• Focusing on criminal defense law is not enough. Focusing on defense of computer related

crimes is better.

You can still accept clients outside of those areas of focus. But your marketing should be exclu-

sively dedicated to one niche market at a time.

2. Demand appropriate compensation. Experts get paid better than generalists. Experts

command high fees. Experts can basically charge whatever they want.

My practice is the perfect example of this principle. I focus my marketing efforts exclusively on

attracting lawyers. I make recommendations and the clients who implement them achieve outstand-