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Surviving as a Solo
Practitioner
November 30, 2016
presented by:
in conjunction with:

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Helping attorneys grow their practice
with the largest legal marketing network
 15M visitors + 100K requests for attorneys/month
 Increase visibility & credibility – professional profiles/websites
 Generate highly-targeted leads – 55+ practice areas nationwide
 Convert 2X more website visitors to prospects – Live Chat
Martindale-Nolo Legal Marketing Network

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 Before: 7+ years as a solo practitioner
in bankruptcy/tax law
 Now: Educate attorneys in marketing
their law practices
 Client surveys and input provide insight
and best practices
 Today, I’ll cover:
 Where consumers are looking for attorneys
 Top 3 online marketing strategies
 Day in the life of a Solo – Top 5 challenges
 Key intake best practices
About Bob
Bob Somal, Esq.
Marketing Specialist
Martindale-Nolo Legal
Marketing Network

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Online Marketing Today
Lots of Opportunity… and Competition
76% Search Online1
CONSUMERS
1.3M Total in US2
500K Small Law Firms
 SEO
 SEM
 Lead Generation
 Directories
 Social Media/Blogs
 Other Advertising
WAYS TO CONNECT ATTORNEYS
3 Source: American Bar Association.
1 Source: Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell study,
“Attorney Selection Research Study,” conducted by
The Research Intelligence Group, 2012.
2 Source: American Bar Association.

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2016 Best Performing Techniques
(Survey of 300 Attorneys)
Source: State of Online Marketing | martindalenolo.com
What is your best performing advertising medium?

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 No additional staff – worked 70 hours a week
 Key focus – Building my business
 10% of time spent actually practicing law
 Setting up a process for receiving clients
 Started with the freebies
 Google Voice
 Dragon Dictation, Evernote, Fastcase
 Did A LOT of networking (outside the legal community)
 CPAs, RE Brokers, Auto Dealers
 People in the situation of looking at someone’s financials
 Considered other practice areas
A Day in the Life of a Solo Attorney

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 Start with an action plan every day
 You are an ENTREPRENEUR – This means playing
many different roles in addition to being an Attorney
(Accountant, Compliance Specialist, Marketing Director, etc.)
 Are you really a web designer? Are you wasting time?
 Consider outside services for areas you don’t do well
(Example: If you’re unable take calls, hire an answering service)
 Solos have FLEXIBILITY. This also means that you are
ALWAYS working.
 How much time should be spent on business
development?
Lessons Learned

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 Business Development – 60% to 70%
 Advertising, Networking Outside of Legal Community
 Practice Management – 10%
 Accounting (CTA Reconciliation, Fee Structure (Flat, Hourly, or
Contingent)), Human Resources (Staffing)
 Professional Development and Compliance – 10%
 MCLE Requirements, Malpractice Insurance Requirements,
Networking Inside of Legal Community
 Practicing Law – 10% to 15%
 Is there even still time for this?
Daily Time Allocation

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 Office Space
 Physical (Shared or Private), Virtual (Regus), Home Office
 Utilize Technology
 Cloud Computing (Dragon Dictation, Evernote, Fastcase - FREE)
 Google Voice (Convenient, Compliant, and FREE)
 Staffing – Putting Your Team Together
 Unpaid Interns for “For-Profit” (U.S. Dept. of Labor FLSA)
 How Much Should Be In Your “War Chest”?
 6 Months if Possible
 Keep Your “Life Overhead” Low
 Don’t Make Any New Purchases (or Marry Someone Who Will)
Keeping Costs / Overhead Low

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Wait and Pray for Business?
NOT!

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Types of Services:
 Lead generation
 Directories
 You need both
 Many lead generation services also
give you a directory listing for free
Why?
 Volume
 Fast
 Capture market share
…you aren’t reaching today
 More cost-efficient
Services to Generate New Clients Now!

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 Response Time
 We live and die by the clock – Respond within 15 Minutes
 Return on Investment (ROI)
 How and Why did this client retain you?
 Repeated Attempts
 Persistence is key - don’t be afraid to be a “stalker”
 Rapport
 Remember that you are NOT special. There are a lot of Attorneys
out there (and some Non-Attorneys too). Why should this client
hire you?
4 Rs of Retaining More Clients

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 The most important part of a case is getting one
 It’s not enough to be a great lawyer
 You need to treat your marketing practices like any other asset
you have  Diversify, Diversify, Diversify!
 Constantly track results. What works? What doesn’t work?
 Don’t try to do it all yourself  No one has ever been successful
without a good support team
 Getting through your first 6 months is the main goal
 We’re looking for progress, not perfection
 Do what it takes, but focus on what actually produces
clients
Business Approach

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Q&A
We Want to Hear From You…

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New Attorney Series
• SEO and SEM: An Introduction
• Waiting for Business? Don’t
• New Solo Maximizes Leads, Minimizes Costs
• Generating New business: Experience-Based Advice from Attorney Reza Torkzadeh
White Papers
• 2016 State of Online Marketing in the Legal Industry
• Optimizing New Client Opportunities
Others
• The Essential Social Media Collection
• Nurturing Leads into a Thriving Client Base
• Top Factors in Choosing an Attorney - Infographic
• Law Firm Websites: The Importance of Encouraging Interaction
Helpful Resources