Solo Law Firms Archives - Page 2 of 2

A selection of articles related to navigating the unique struggles and rewards of starting and running your solo law firm.

Tag Archive for: Solo Law Firms

The Importance of Being Yourself in a Solo Practice

February 10, 2022

Elisabeth Pickle is the founder of The Mindful Counsel, a boutique estate and trademark law firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona. After starting her career in medicine, Elisabeth realized that her true passion was in advocating for people. When her family lost her beloved grandfather’s farm due to a divorce, Elisabeth found her niche—making sure other families would not have to go through what hers went through.

Recently, Elisabeth realized that she wanted to stop being someone she wasn’t in her professional life. Since then, she has mastered the art of showing up authentically and attracting the right clients with her marketing.

Standing Out From Big Box Firms

Why is it important to show up as your authentic self as an attorney?

For some, this might be scary. Elisabeth realized that once the results started coming in, it was the best business decision she could have made. That’s because it allowed her to show potential clients that she is a lawyer they can confide in.

Like many solo law practitioners during 2020, Elisabeth struggled trying to figure out how to pivot at the beginning of the pandemic. However, during this time, The Mindful Counsel homed in on its mission and its target audience. This growth edge allowed Elisabeth to explore new ways to connect with her ideal client.

Authenticity Leads to Creativity

Elisabeth has managed to go where not many attorneys have gone before: TikTok. Elisabeth will be the first to admit that her TikTok presence was “never supposed to be a thing.” At first, Elisabeth used TikTok to watch other professionals—lawyers, doctors, dentists, and financial advisors—connect with their audiences.

Then she had an epiphany: TikTok could be an amazing channel for marketing her practice.

Connect with potential clients using engaging content. TikTok is a great place to provide information that gets potential clients thinking about estate planning on an engaging platform.
Create and share content inexpensively. A great thing about TikTok is that you can reach a lot of people with just a little bit of time invested.
Generate demand for your services. Get the wheels spinning! Estate planning isn’t top-of-mind for everyone, but creating TikTok videos has helped Elisabeth plant the seed in the minds of her followers.
Make “boring” topics interesting. Estate planning can be very It can be challenging to get people excited about following an estate planning practice. However, Elisabeth has gotten great positive feedback from the public.
Show your audience that their attorney is a human being. Create authentic marketing that goes beyond perfectly-polished websites and ads content.

How to Attract Your Ideal Clients with Authentic Marketing

Despite finding success on TikTok and identifying her authentic voice for The Mindful Counsel, Elisabeth admits she couldn’t have planned it any better on a piece of paper. However, she does have advice for attorneys seeking authentic ways to reach their audience:

Start small! You don’t need to become a TikTok star to show your “real” side. Create an unscripted YouTube video that tells viewers who you are, who you serve, and how you can help them.
Make sure you’re reaching your audience in the right places. Elisabeth’s TikTok marketing works because she is trying to reach young and midlife professionals interested in planning ahead for their families. The message might be the same, but changing up the medium will help you reach new audiences.
Take more risks. Even though lawyers are risk-averse by nature, when you’re running your own practice you have to take risks. It’s okay to try a new way to connect with your audience because it just might work out.

Discover Your Authentic Message

If Elisabeth’s story teaches us anything, it’s that you don’t have to be perfect to sell yourself as knowledgeable legal counsel. Whether through TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or another marketing channel, consider taking a chance to show your human side to attract your ideal client.

Listen to Elisabeth’s episode on Solo de Facto here!

How Busy Attorneys Take Vacations Without Working The Whole Time

May 4, 2021

If you’re anything like the rest of Americans, you could probably use a vacation. As more people get vaccinated and more places across the country (and world) open up, it’s looking like 2021 will be the year to get back out there and enjoy yourself.

“But I can’t leave my firm! I’ll have to work the whole time,” you say.

Not quite.

You’re a busy attorney and you deserve to take a break. Not only that, but it’s possible for you to get this break without working from the beach. You just might not know it yet.

A little work to set up some key components to running your law firm now could save you a whole lotta stress and time in the long run. I’m talking maybe even two work-free vacations this year ????

Busy Attorneys Enjoy Work-Free Vacations Through:

Automation
Systems & Processes
Phone Coverage
Communication With Clients

How Automation Can Help You Enjoy Your Vacay

We’ve talked about it before and surely this won’t be the last time: Automation is one of the greatest tools to have in your belt.

Automation doesn’t have to be computerized – it can simply be a task triggered to someone (preferably someone who is not you) after another task or trigger is completed.

Things you can automate to help you step away from your law firm:

New Client Intakes
Client Follow-up
Payment Agreements
Accepting Payments
Client Scheduling

Replicate Yourself With Systems & Processes

You like things done a specific way so you tend to try and do most of it yourself. Or you outsource a task but find yourself frustrated that they didn’t do it the way you do. Sound about right?

If so, you could benefit from documenting your systems and processes so that anyone who takes on the tasks you’ve been doing will do them exactly as you like them done.

Not only will this help you take a vacation without sacrificing your law firm’s productivity, but it will also save you tons of time and stress in your day-to-day!

Some systems & processes you can document and replicate in your law firm:

Standard client communication practices
Documentation processes
Court filings
Client intake questions
Case research
Communication with the courts
Email organization
& so much more

Communicate With Your Clients & Return Stress-Free

Even if you’ve put all of the above steps into place, there’s still a chance that your clients will demand your attention. Especially if they have no clue as to why you are seemingly dodging their calls.

The best way to get ahead of this is to communicate prior to silencing your phone. Let your clients (at least, the ones most likely to notice your absence) know that you will be out of the office and give them guidance on how to get in contact with someone else who can help them in the meantime.

You can do this through email, by setting an Out Of Office reply message, and also by updating your phone’s voicemail to provide details of whom to contact for assistance in case their call goes unanswered.

Phone Coverage Is A Vacation-Saver

If there’s only one thing you can do to cover yourself for a vacation, it should be getting your phones covered. Nothing can cramp your vacation style quite like your phone ringing off the hook while you’re trying to relax by the pool.

By ensuring your phones are answered while you’re away, you can ensure your client questions are still handled, lead information is still captured, and appointments can still be booked. Things don’t have to go completely on hold just because you’re not working that week. In fact, it’s best that they don’t so that your workload stays steady once you’re back.

If you don’t already have a dedicated receptionist, the easiest way to do this is to hire an answering service. They can keep the status quo with your callers and ensure that all questions are answered and appointments get booked for after you come back.

If you’ve been searching for a way to take a much-needed vacation this year, give us a call at (800) 958-8591 and discover how Back Office Betties can help you get away, stress-free.