Whether you’re new to the practice or seasoned with years of experience under your belt, you need to ensure that you’ve established your personal brand. It doesn’t matter if you’re a solo practitioner or an associate at a large firm, you need to establish your own identity. The same goes for attorneys who plan to always practice in small settings and who plan to always practice in large settings.

The legal profession is becoming increasingly more competitive. In order to stand out among attorneys locally, statewide, and nationwide, an effective personal marketing plan must be developed and executed. If you’re thoughtful and strategic in your marketing efforts, they will take your personal brand to new heights.

While marketing in the legal realm is mainly geared toward client development, the benefits of legal marketing extend past securing new clients. Lawyers who are able create value to the practice are also able to reap the countless benefits of marketing.

There are many, many ways an attorney can market himself or herself as a credible, knowledgeable attorney “and their firm as a provider of premium legal services.” Fortunately for your pockets, some of the most efficient methods are either free or inexpensive. Not to mention, basic marketing tactics are easy to execute.

Bar Association Membership

Take advantage of local, state, and national bar associations that align with your personal brand. “These associations provide endless networking opportunities to grow one’s network, CLE programs to keep abreast of legal current events, and programs to develop professional development skills. While membership dues can add up over time, good ol’ face-to-face interactions are invaluable.”

Being active in a bar association takes some work. You’ll have to do more than shake hands and give out your business cards. The development of any solid relationship includes keeping in touch. Following up does not mean selling yourself. You don’t always have to pitch your services or your latest presentation. Great ways to keep in touch are:

  • sending holiday cards
  • coffee or lunch dates
  • interacting with other attorneys and firm’s social media pages
  • sending an email if you did not see them at an event

Website

Attorneys need to have an online presence separate from that of their firm’s website. (Seriously, it’s the 21st century! There’s absolutely no reason for you to not have website.) At the absolute least, a website should include information about your education, professional experience, industries, practice areas, links to social media, and contact information. To make it jazzy, you can include: a blog or recent presentations you’ve conducted.

In creating your website content, make sure that you’re careful to ensure that it abides by your local state bar’s advertising rules. Hiring a professional graphic designer and/or website developer to create a website and secure a domain name can be costly. The good news, you can easily create a website on your own. There are plenty of free one-stop shop website hosting and design sites.

Social Media

Lastly, social media is very important, but it’s not the holy grail. Don’t get caught up in the hype of social media, be strategic about what platforms you use and what content you share on those platforms. Ideal social media platforms for legal professionals are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Again, other platforms may be better for your practice, but these are typically the most effective for attorneys.

Below are just some examples of content to share:

  • Short (2-3 minute) videos about your firm’s recent case or hot takes on legal news

    • You want to stay relevant and seem like you’re keeping up with the profession.

     

  • Graphics of your favorite quotes about the legal profession
  • Pictures of yourself, clients, your office workspace, your colleagues, etc.

    • We’re a visual culture! People just don’t want to read about what you do. Show them!

     

  • Snippets of presentations you’ve given

The Tip of the Iceberg

We’ve only briefly discussed 3 marketing channels out of many, but these 3 channels can lay a solid foundation to enhance any attorney’s brand.

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Brittany Somerville

Law student by day and freelance marketer by night Brittany M. Somerville is a 3L at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. She received her bachelor’s of science degree in Public Relations from Florida A&M University. While working full-time in workforce and community development, Brittany obtained her master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University. After passing the bar exam, she hopes to practice sports and entertainment law.