If you have ever wondered how attorneys get their clients, I am going to shed some light on how it is done.
The biggest area in today’s age should be no surprise. We find a good number of our clients online. Two of the main places people look are Google and Yelp. People look there because there are reviews. They want to see your reputation and what other people say about you, what you experience is. How your website looks really makes a difference, as well. People really look at all this stuff online.
Other times it’s word of mouth, what your friends and family say, your reputation in the community.
There are also referrals from other attorneys, too. Maybe another attorney specializes in bankruptcy, but there is also a need for a family law attorney. The bankruptcy attorney would give a good recommendation. In those instances, sometimes you don’t even research the attorney. You just take the word of the person who is recommending them and go with that.
While you are looking for that perfect attorney – and we are looking for good clients – there is something that sometimes gets in the way of making a legal match. And while there are ways attorneys can shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to attracting clients, one of the things we often do wrong is we take on a bad client.
An example of a bad client would be someone who is really needy and in the end doesn’t want to pay the bill. Maybe that client has super high expectations you as an attorney just cannot fulfill.
Usually, my experience now is able to spot that type of client right away and politely say no to taking on their case. It’s difficult sometimes, but it needs to be done for everyone’s well being. It also happens more often than you think.
Red flags for bad clients would include someone who is bad at communicating and not clear at what is needed and what should be expected.
But sometimes attorneys are the ones who can repel good clients. I think something that would turn off a client in the world of family law is someone who is not compassionate. I think in this area attorneys need to be compassionate because the client is most likely going through a really tough time. Some attorneys can be arrogant or pushy.
And some attorneys are a little smug as their thinking they’ve seen so many cases like this one, there’s nothing new, basically. But the attorney needs to remember the client has never been through this. Therefore, he or she needs to be compassionate to their client’s feelings.
Attorneys still need to listen. We are sometimes therapists. We are here to lend an ear and hear out the client’s story. Clients don’t just want legal advice. They want us to listen to them so they can vent. That’s just part of the job.
One final thought: I feel if you’re looking for a divorce attorney you should be seeking out someone who has gone through a divorce personally. It is difficult to go through this process and be there for someone when you have never been through it yourself. You as the attorney needs to know how it feels like. But that’s question prospective clients forget to ask.
