BarTalk October 2004
Volume 16, Number 5

Students and law firms work to meet the challenge

By Susan Van Dyke

Growing a new practice with healthy habits
Drink lots of water, eat fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, and develop good marketing habits early. It’s simple, really; just activate some basic business development strategies now and you’ll reap the rewards.

Consider first your sources of work. Files can come from down the hall or from across the street (or some claim it can fall from the clear blue sky). And because you’ll share an elevator each morning with a potential “client,” let’s consider your “internal market” first.

Since most work will initially come from within the firm, develop a reputation as a keener: someone who demonstrates reliability, initiative, resourcefulness and independence. Get on committees, attend firm functions, arrive at meetings prepared and on time and always meet (or beat) deadlines.

Get a mentor. Attach yourself to a (willing) partner. Choose someone who has plenty of work, is well-connected and respected throughout the firm. Ask to be included on a non-billable basis in client meetings, lunches, signings, court appearances – as a keener you can add value, but discuss work-related limitations with your mentor.

Get to know all the partners. Lunch, meet, interview. Ask questions and target each as a potential source of work. Ask if they need help and only turn down work if you can’t possibly meet the deadline.

The staff and administration can also propel you to success. The librarian is often on the pulse of active files and is a great person to get on-side.

Now that you’re en route to building a great professional reputation inside the firm, take your marketing to the street. Join an organization of interest; one that can lead to work (for more on this topic see BarTalk, June 2004, Volume 16/Number 3 issue or access it online at www.cba.org/bc). Read this twice: this is a long term endeavor. Now that you have good face-to-face rapport, future mailings, e-mails, and phone calls will have more impact.

Get curious about clients’ industries – skim just one or two of their publications, attend conferences, meetings and talk to the players (even if you have to unglue yourself from a wall to introduce yourself), and you will naturally fall into the fold. Soon you will be a contributor and the firm’s go-to person for industry news.

Write a lot. Distill recent decisions, rework an opinion memorandum, “co-author” an article with a partner and get your publications on your firm’s Web site, into trade publications, or newsletters.

Stash your business cards everywhere so you always have some on hand. Collect cards and value them. Create a database – even Outlook, Maximizer or Excel will do. Use the convenience of a database to keep in touch through events, newsletters, holiday cards, lunch, phone calls, etc.

Before you know it, you’ll need to make note of the transactions, closings and decisions that you’ve worked on. Your work history is akin to your inventory, so to speak – keep a running index so you can trot it out when a client asks if “you’ve worked on this sort of thing before.”

Limit your trans fats, get plenty of sleep and follow these simple rules to be well on your way to building a thriving practice.

Susan Van Dyke, Principal, Van Dyke Marketing & Communications, is a law firm marketing consultant. She can be reached at 604-876-7769 or svandyke@telus.net

Marketing Notes for Newbies: 10 Steps To Creating A Practice

1. Develop a reputation as a keener (join committees and arrive at meetings on time and prepared)

2. Get a (willing) mentor

3. Get to know the partners

4. Get staff and the administration pulling for you

5. Join an organization and get involved

6. Take an interest in the industries your clients work in (read, speak, write)

7. Get published on the web, in industry papers and in newsletters

8. Use and collect business cards

9. Create, update, and use a database

10. Keep a running list of transactions and closings you’ve worked on and decisions you’ve made

This article was published in the October 2004 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2004, all rights reserved.