This week’s topic regarding tips of law office marketing, management and economics is “shadow days.” No, we are not talking about when you finally get to stick your head out of your office after digging through a pile of work and realize there is a light bulb burnt out so you cannot see your secretary’s desk and whether or not she has returned from lunch, and that means you are going to have 30 more days of clients not paying their bills on time.

Shadow days can really be one of the bright spots in your practice if you create the opportunities for them to occur naturally. A shadow day is a day where you invite someone who is interested in a legal career to come to your office and to literally spend the day with you through every task and activity that you can jam into that day. I have had shadow day participants partake in every activity that I have done on a given day including meals, conferences with clients, depositions, court appearances and attending classes that I teach at the local law school. It is important of course to get a client’s permission before the shadow day participant sits in, but you would be amazed how willing clients are and how much more the client thinks of you for being willing to take your time to help out a young person who might be interested in a legal career.

I have had shadow day experiences that have lasted as long as a week, and as short as a half day. The very first shadow day that I ever participated in was when I was in the prosecuting attorney’s office in my county and a young lady I knew through previous summer jobs was interested in seeing what the prosecuting attorney’s office was like. I got permission from my supervisor to have her follow me around in the county courthouse as I went about my job as an assistant prosecutor for an entire week. Obviously, I introduced her to everyone I came in contact with, and it was really interesting to see people’s reaction when they saw that I was willing to take the time to have this person go with me and to help them better understand what they were seeing and hearing, as well as their own ideas on how their observations might impact them in a later career. Interestingly enough, I ultimately became the Godfather to one of this young lady’s children and have remained in constant contact with her and her family over the years. I have represented various brothers and sisters of hers and have received referrals of business from this family.

The participants in shadow days that I have been involved with have included a variety of people, from junior high school children to a lawyer from the Ukraine who spent a week sitting in my office watching me practice law and asking some very thought provoking questions about how the practice of law is done in the United States. Shadow day participants have been high school students, people in college and even individuals who have graduated from law school who are looking to see whether or not they want to be in the private practice of law.

One of the great things about shadow days is to be able to talk to people you come in contact with at your children’s school, at church, meetings, cocktail parties and just about anywhere the fact that you are an attorney is a topic of conversation. It seems that sooner or later the conversation turns to a comment from the people you are talking with regarding a child of theirs who has expressed an interest in law. Rather than to just saying “that’s great” or some other such mundane response, imagine their reaction when you say, “I would like to invite your child to come to my office and spend a day with me to see what the private practice of law is like.” Surprise, astonishment and gratitude are only three of the positive reactions you normally get. Such an offer for one of their children to participate in such an activity with a lawyer in his office is usually met with an exclamation such as “Are you serious?” The tone of voice with which this is delivered is usually one of at least incredulity if not total astonishment. Such an offer for one of their children takes the conversation to a whole new level. Whatever relationship you have had with these people before has now taken on a totally different tenor. What a great way to cement a relationship with people you care about.

After the original offer of having someone participate in shadow day is made, it is important to let the offer lie until it is taken up by those to whom you have offered it. The next time you run into these people, if the offer has not been accepted, a gentle reminder that you have offered a shadow day is appropriate.

When the shadow day takes place, it is important to include the participant in everything happening in the law office on a daily basis. The shadow day participant can go with multiple different people to experience what lawyers do on a day-to-day basis. No matter what the activity the lawyer is doing, if the appropriate permission is granted ahead of time, the shadow day participant should be included.

One of the very best things to do is to talk with the shadow day participant about confidentiality and the need to have strict adherence to any information that is received by them on that day to be held in the strictness of confidence. Also, explaining why particular advice is given regarding the state of the law, economics, practicality and business consideration on the particular matter is a great way to explain to the shadow day participant about various aspects of the law that the lawyer participates in daily.

Usually there is an opportunity to take the participant to lunch and talk about their interest in the law and what questions they have that need to be answered. Taking the time to personalize the shadow day experience further develops a great relationship between the lawyer and the participant.

It is truly amazing the number of notes and letters containing positive comments that you will receive from both the shadow day participants and their parents. One of the important things to say to shadow day participants is to have them keep in touch with you if they have any further questions with regard to a potential career in law. Often times you will again be able to discuss a career in law or even have a subsequent shadow day when a particular individual goes on to high school, college and subsequently to law school. Obviously, if you have been reading any of these articles you know that one of the things you need to be sure to say to your shadow day participant is, “Let me know if I can ever be of any help.”

One of the things I always try to discuss with shadow day participants is what is needed in order to go to law school and become involved in a legal career. I discuss with the participant the types of college majors that are good for getting into law school and generally the kinds of grades and LSAT scores that are needed. I also discuss the various tiers of law schools and the difference between the national, regional and state law schools. Generally, I try to give them as much of an overview as possible about what it takes to become an attorney and what it is like once you have passed the bar exam and taken a job. Without fail, I have found all of these shadow day participants to be eager to learn as much as they possibly can about a legal career. Without fail, every one of these shadow day participants have been truly excited by and grateful for their opportunity to spend the day with an attorney in a law firm.

Again, it is very important to remember you are not participating in these activities expecting anything in return. On the contrary, it takes time and effort on your part to set-up the shadow day and to be sure the participant is involved in as many activities as possible and gets a good overview of the kind of things that happen in the lawyer’s life and in the law firm on a day-to-day basis.

If you sincerely take an interest in people you will continually be amazed at the amount of good luck you have. The adage about giving things away and getting things back ten fold has never been truer when it comes to shadow day. The saying “You reap what you sow” also comes to mind with regard to shadow days. When you act like a professional, talk like a professional, invite people to see you being professional in your profession and truly extending yourself in a professional way, you will often find they will call upon you when they are in need of someone in your profession.

Our next topic is to talk about how other lawyers may be your greatest source of business as an attorney. The “tip” is to have lunch at least once a week with an attorney who is in a position to refer you legal business. While we are on that topic, I am going to talk about innovative idea called a “virtual law firm” that takes the idea of having lunch once a week with an attorney as a potential business-getting activity to a brand new level. I think you will be very interested to hear about my “virtual law firm.”

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.