Morphing one into a recognized and established attorney, especially in their specialty of choice, is not always easy. With the prevalence of other legal professionals that also have a focus that is similar, it is important to market your firm and practice in order to get the cases and clients you want and need.
You may not have realized during law school that not only were you studying to have a professional licensed practice, you would need to understand marketing and promotion skills as well. When an attorney becomes established in their field, it is usually fairly simple to find clients, simply from word of mouth and recommendations.
However, if you are newly graduated or have yet to attach a positive reputation to your services, you may have a need to become more recognized and promote yourself. One must remember during this process that it is taboo and mostly forbidden for an attorney to attach a specific "specialization" onto their services.
Therefore, you may have to indicate in different manners that you are specifically skilled in an area of law. Some states do allow lawyers to attach a specialization, but even then they will have to pay a pretty pricey fee each year.
You may find it easier to promote yourself in a manner that shows you have specific talents without naming them as "specialties." Because modern society is so focused on the information that the internet has to offer, an attorney that really wants recognition will receive it best through the use of a personal or firm website.
Thankfully, as a medium, the internet levels the playing field between small and large firms. Search engines are run in such a way that the most relevant authorities nationally and local receive recognition.
This means that your website can be utilized to improve your business locally and help you to become more established in your field. One must remember, however, that there is specific internet etiquette that must be followed in order to appear professional.
As a law firm, your site will not require the use of tons of graphics and flash images. It should be designed in such a way that describes the services that you offer, your location, and credentials in a clear manner.
Make sure that you design the page with your target audience and clientele in mind; would they be able to understand the jargon used? Is the site too complicated or not impressive enough for the type that you hope to attract?
Recognizing these important aspects will help you to design a site that is both attractive and draws in a great deal of potential business. Make sure that the web page is updated with new info over time and that, if need be, you revolve the content sporadically in an intelligent manner.
Publishing ones thoughts and research is another important aspect of becoming recognizable in their form of law. The best way to understand something is to research and study it out, and what could be more beneficial than writing an article about a topic you are interested in?
An informed piece of writing requires a great deal of research and theorizing, so you will most likely be unable to craft an article on a topic without better understanding it when it is finished. You will also be established and recognized as a professional on that topic, which can increase your credibility and the amount of clients that you receive based on that fact.
Those that are extremely ambitious and want to take it a step further can publish a book on their area of practice. This will definitely take more time and research than one article, but can offer huge benefits and pay-offs for credibility.
Once you have researched and improved expertise in a practice area, you may want to conduct a seminar or workshop for other attorneys and students that are interested. Doing so helps you to constitute an image and inform others that you are an expert on the type of law that you prefer to practice.
In similar aspects, you can offer your expertise and advice to news teams and journalists; they are always looking for expert opinions from those who have adequately studied in a certain field. Utilizing these methods in your practice and branding yourself as an expert can help increase the amount of clients you represent and give you more credentials in your line of work.