This continuing series of articles are being written to focus the reader on proven tips regarding successful law office marketing, management and economics. Why do I say these tips are proven? The answer is that for thirty-three years I have been doing these very things in my own firm, been teaching these tips in seminars, and writing articles regarding these tips. In my own experience and in comments back from people who have tried these activities, they work!

The first of these articles deal with the concept of marketing. You need a client who is going to pay you a fee if you are to pay your bills and stay in practice. Getting these clients, keeping these clients, and making them happy is the true test of a successful law practice. If you don’t work on your own clients, you’re going to have to work on somebody else’s. In the end, it all comes down to the golden rule: “He who has the gold, rules,” or in this case, “He who has the clients, rules.”

As you can see from the box accompanying this article, there are five things needed for every successful business in the world. Clients are the first thing. Clients are the thresholds, for without them, no law business can be successful.

You should continue scoring yourself at the end of each of these columns as to whether or not you are routinely performing the tasks we discussed in your law firm. If you are, give yourself five points. Continue to add up your score, and at the end of each section, we will give you a recap so you can determine where you are in terms of your day-to-day activities in the law firm, being somewhere between “In the Stone Ages,” or operating “On the Cutting Edge.”

This week’s topic is “The Strong Suggestion Net.” I suggest you prepare and release one press release a year or at least one note in an alumni magazine per year.

Let’s deal with the press release suggestion first. You’re probably saying to yourself: “Are you kidding? Nothing in my law practice could be noteworthy enough to ever be worthy of a press release.” Your initial thought could not be further from the truth when it comes to understanding newspapers, newspaper people and the need to fill column inches.

A recent example from my own life will show you exactly what I mean. My son attends a high school that routinely releases a press release and sends it to the student’s hometown newspaper when the student has done something noteworthy at the school. As a matter of routine they prepare press releases with regard to students making the honor roll. The school prepares the press release, sends a copy of it to the parents of the student and forwards it on to the local newspaper. Believe it or not, our “big city” newspaper actually printed this press release in its Metropolitan section! It must have been a slow news day.

I have heard this suggestion made by multiple other practitioners, and have heard them state that you will be absolutely amazed at how often these press releases actually end up in print. The smaller the circulation of the newspaper, the more likely it is that the news release will end up being printed. If you live in a very large metropolitan area, consider other newspapers that are not so widely circulated, and forward your newsworthy information to them. You will be amazed at how often it will actually get printed.

Settlements of cases, good results achieved through negotiation or mediation, significant verdicts and other information that will tout your legal skills to the public are all potential subjects for a press release. In particular, lawyers that I know in smaller cities routinely prepare such press releases, and it is very common that they will gain additional visibility, name-recognition and actual cases from such news releases.

Turning to the suggestion of putting a note in an alumni publication at least once a year, you can obviously begin to identify some of the very same comments with regard to notes in alumni publications as you can from previous comments regarding press releases.

Maybe I’m just different, but I actually read the list in alumni publications to see what classmates and other individuals from schools that I have attended are doing. Now that I’ve achieved a certain age, I find children of people that I know written up more often than people my own age. In my case, my high school, college, and law school all have fairly significant alumni publications. I always enjoy scanning through the articles, but enjoy the most seeing what people are doing and what they have accomplished. Going back to the very first tip on marketing, writing congratulatory letters to people you know, I never miss an opportunity to write to someone whose name shows up in these alumni publications and congratulate them on their achievements. Of course, I always sincerely tell them that if I may ever be of any help to them, that they should not hesitate to call on me. Over the years, I have received a steady stream of clients based on these communications.

Obviously, one can over-do the information in press releases and notes in alumni publications. Discretion is important. Remember, my suggestion is one press release or note in an alumni publication per year. Clearly, one such press release or note in an alumni publication would not be too much.

I hope that you are beginning to see some “method in the madness” of marketing your legal practice. Even if your marketing strategy is a “patchwork quilt,” instead of a “seamless garment,” any strategy is better than no strategy at all!

When you first put together and implement a marketing strategy, it is best to try and keep track of it by either writing it down or putting it in your computer. As time goes on, the strategy and the implementation simply become part of what you do on a day-to-day basis. Making a checklist regarding the topics of these articles would be a very good place to start. You can check off what marketing strategies you are using and which activities you neglect.

One of the strategies I have developed is to never close out an activity until you have brought temporary closure to the personal relationships that you have developed in the activity. Every activity begins with a planning stage, then proceeds to an implementation stage, then the activity itself, and then a de-briefing or closing out phase. Most of us trained as professional problem-solvers (lawyers), are very adept at the planning, implementation and carrying out of the activity. Most of us, however, don’t seem to be very good at the de-briefing or the closure phase.

Let’s use a trial as an example. We as lawyers are trained to put together outlines of our witnesses, our exhibits, our elements of proof and our arguments. We have been trained to organize this material and to be able to go into a hearing and present this material to a judge or jury. Ask yourself the question: how often after a hearing or a trial is over, have you ever gone and sat down with your staff to talk about what went well and what could used some improvement as to do better next time? Also, ask yourself how often you have tried to think through the people you came in contact with at the proceeding that would be appropriate for you to write a thank you letter to. How many letters have you written to witness, jurors, court personnel and others to simply say to them “thank you” for whatever role they played in your proceeding. How many times have you given some small token of appreciation to the staff members who helped you in your case with a note that says “the client (fill in name) and I thank you!”

You see the concept is to not just go about your life on a day to day basis doing the things that you have been trained to do and doing them successfully without thinking about the various personal relationships that you are involved in during such activities. The secret is to take the time! Take the time to think about the relationships that you have developed in the activity. Take the time to thank people that you have worked with and come in contact with. Take the time to write letters. Take the time to state: “let me know if I can ever be of help to you.” Take the time to go out of your way to give some token of your appreciation to those people who make your life both easier and meaningful.

In fact, probably the most important thing to do in all of your daily activities in the practice of a successful law firm, especially as it becomes more and more hectic, is simply to take the time. I recently heard some words spoken by a lawyer in my metropolitan area who received the “congenial counselor” award at a recent bar meeting. They summed up most of the comments I have been making. His comments were that, in dealing with his cases on a day-to-day basis, he was: “hard on the facts, hard on the law, and soft on the people.” Wow! What a great way to talk about the necessity of having successful human relationships in order to make your law practice more enjoyable. “Soft on the people,” what a great phrase! It speaks volumes about caring for others, communication and the TLC that staff, clients, and others you encounter on a daily basis crave.

Implementing many of the marketing ideas set out in these articles is being “soft on the people.” Simply stated, it tells people you are willing to take the time to care about them as human beings. What better way to increase your visibility, your name recognition, and make it easier for people to approach you when they need someone to deal with a legal matter? The people in your community who read about you in the newspaper and your classmates and friends who read about you in the alumni publications will be given a perception that you are “successful.” Set yourself up so that you are sincerely believed to be “successful,” and you’ll be surprised at how “successful” you become.

You have probably heard the phrase: “If you repeat it enough, people believe it.” Another way I have utilized this concept is in working with not-for- profit organizations. Often times I will state to a board of the not-for profit organization that I am working with that “if we create a myth and work diligently within the parameters of this myth,” it will become reality. In essence, I am saying the exact same thing with regard to you being a marketer as a lawyer. Figuratively speaking, you need to “create the myth,” and if you will work diligently, the “myth” often becomes a reality.

Remember the people I talked about in the products liability area? They set up the “product liability myth,” they work diligently, and, if dollar amounts related to verdicts and settlements are any indication (which they are), the “myth” has certainly become a reality. This same set of concepts can be applied to any practice area in the law: family law, personal injury, criminal defense, insurance defense, corporations, tax, etc. Often times it is as easy as simply “setting your plan and working your plan.”

Prepare your press release now. Send your alumni publication with a note about your accomplishments!

Next week we are going to discuss the benefit of communicating with people who refer you cases when the case is received and when the case is successfully closed. This is another topic where it seems we as busy lawyers never seem to have the time nor take the time.

Talk with you next week!

Jim Wirken is a civil trial attorney and the Chairman of the Board of The Wirken Law Group in Kansas City.