How to Get Your First 50 Clients When You Start a Law Firm

Starting a Law Firm: Tips and Recommendations 

Starting a Law Firm 

Starting a law firm is an exhilarating journey that demands strategic planning and unwavering dedication. Begin by crafting a robust business and growth plan that outlines your firm’s mission, target market, and financial goals. Leverage technology to streamline operations and enhance client interactions; invest in top-notch legal software for case management and billing. Networking is key—join local bar associations, attend industry events, and connect with mentors who can provide invaluable guidance. Create a strong online presence with a professional website and active social media profiles. Offer free initial consultations to attract potential clients and build your reputation. Remember, your unique value proposition sets you apart—whether it’s your expertise in a niche area of law or your commitment to client service, make it known. Embrace continuous learning to stay ahead of legal trends and enhance your skills. Finally, investing in SEO, content marketing, and online advertising can significantly boost your visibility and client base. 

How to Get Legal Clients 

Attracting legal clients requires a multi-faceted approach that combines online and offline strategies. Start with a strong online presence—a professional website, active social media profiles, and regular blog posts can attract and engage potential clients. Utilize SEO tactics to ensure your firm appears in search results for relevant keywords. Offer free resources like e-books or legal guides to showcase your expertise and capture leads. Engage in local community activities and sponsor events to build your reputation and network. Join referral networks like LegalMatch or Avvo to connect with clients actively seeking legal assistance. Collaborate with other professionals who can refer clients to you. Implement a client referral program to incentivize your current clients to refer new clients. By combining these strategies, you can effectively attract and retain a steady stream of legal clients. 

Owning a law firm has been somewhat glamorized on many movies and television shows. But behind the scenes are many moving parts that must be addressed before you announce your new firm to the world. These tips represent a partial list of what you will want to do before you open your doors: 

Do Your Homework 

Become a student of “How to Start a Law Practice.” There are many resources online to help you, including your State Bar Association. You can find step-by-step checklists on everything from renting space to opening an IOLTA account. 

Create your Plan 

Now is the time to create a business plan for your practice. Take your vision for your firm and write it down into a document that will include a version of your mission statement (focus on WHY you do what you do – not just WHAT you do). Create a clear vision of where you are now and where you plan to be in 1 year and 5 years. Create your realistic financial pro formas, and set specific and measurable objectives under The Four Pillars of Marketing: 

• Retain and grow existing relationships you have. 
• Develop new business. 
• Increase your name recognition in the marketplace. 
• Pursue targeted communications with your contacts. 

 Get a Free Marketing Assessment Using the 4 Pillars of Marketing 

Understanding the economics of running a law firm is important. Consider taking a course on key financial terms and accounting documents like profit and loss, balance sheets, and other critical tools to help you measure your practice’s profitability. 

Remember that each tactic – the things you will do to support your plan – must directly support your primary objectives. 

Your law practice is too important to “go with the flow.” A strategy will allow you to ask important “what if” questions and plan your growth strategically. 

You can read more in our free e-book entitled, Law Firm Marketing Strategy: A Complete Guide to Grow your Practice 

Choosing Your Practice Area(s) 

My first advice is to choose the areas where you want to become known over time and stick to them if you can. Know who you are, and which clients are the best fit for your practice. Don’t be a dabbler – thinking, “I’m a lawyer, I’ll figure it out!” Many times, this behavior can lead to ethics complaints, if you don’t have true mastery over the areas in which you are advising your clients. 

Forming an Entity 

From LLCs to LLPs to B-Corps, you can choose which entity will best serve your interests and protect your assets over time. Work with a lawyer – one well-versed in law firm entities – and choose the entity that will form the foundation for your continued growth. 

Your Financial Practices 

You must open a bank account for your law office. If you will accept retainer payments, you must have an IOLTA (trust) account established and not let your account become overdrawn. If this happens, there will be ethical ramifications. Work with an accountant skilled at working with law firms to set up all your financial statements. Set up a budget based on projected income and expenses, and make sure you set money aside for taxes, your lawyer registration and licensing fees, and other ongoing expenses like practice management software, time and billing solutions, contact relationship manager (CRM), and other business tools you will need for smooth sailing. 

Location, Location, Location 

Move into the selection of your location thoughtfully and strategically. Try to pick a location that you know has staying power. Once you have a website, you will want to fully optimize that website, and having a consistent location (and firm name) that is not changing over time will ensure you build strong Search Engine Optimization for your law firm. Consider one of the many co-working spaces as a cost-effective alternative of buying or leasing space. Here, you can rent a private office with access to all the amenities of a large law firm, including conference rooms. 

Create a Website 

I recently read that over 40% of small law firms do not have websites. Your website will be your most powerful marketing and lead-generation tool. Even if you must secure financing from your bank (or savings account), it is a priority in today’s competitive legal marketplace. The PSM website is chock full of website best practices for lawyers! 

How to Get More Law Firm Clients 

To get more law firm clients, enhance your visibility and credibility in the legal market. Optimize your website for search engines (SEO) so potential clients can easily find you. Publish high-quality content that addresses common legal issues and showcases your expertise. Leverage social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to engage with your audience and share valuable insights. Network extensively—attend industry conferences, join professional associations, and participate in local community events. Offer free workshops or webinars to demonstrate your expertise and attract potential clients. Develop referral partnerships with other professionals, such as accountants or real estate agents, who can direct clients to you. Invest in online advertising, such as Google Ads, to reach a wider audience. Finally, prioritize exceptional client service—happy clients are more likely to refer you to others and leave positive reviews. 

Marketing for your Practice Area: Tips to Bring Clients In 

How to Get Clients as a Lawyer 

Getting clients as a lawyer involves building a strong personal brand and leveraging various marketing tactics. Start by identifying your unique selling proposition (USP)—what sets you apart from other lawyers? Use this USP in all your marketing efforts. Optimize your LinkedIn profile and actively engage in relevant groups and discussions. Network online and offline—attend industry events, join local bar associations, and participate in community activities. Offer free initial consultations to attract potential clients and demonstrate your value. Publish articles and blog posts on legal topics to establish yourself as an expert. Seek media opportunities to share your expertise, such as guest blogging or speaking engagements. Create a referral network by building relationships with other professionals who can refer clients to you. You can attract a steady flow of clients by consistently promoting your expertise and providing excellent service. 

While you have reviewed a list of marketing best practices for law firms to develop new business, special attention must be paid to the practice area(s) you choose to attract clients. While everything above will work for any practice, some things will differentiate your practice based on the type of client you want to attract, who will refer those clients to you, and the services you will perform as a lawyer. The following section will focus on the unique differences when attracting new business into your practice area. 

Personal Injury – Tips to Bring in Clients 

To attract clients in the personal injury area, building relationships with chiropractors and other healthcare practitioners is important. In addition, remember to stay in touch with your past clients. They will remain excellent referral sources for you. In the high-touch area of personal injury, it’s extremely important to be responsive to your clients. Return their phone calls and emails the same day if possible. If not, have someone who can answer client questions in your absence. You know the legal process clients must undergo when they have a personal injury case. But for your clients, it’s likely the first time they have needed to hire an attorney. They are generally hurt and scared and think there will be a big payoff for them. To attract clients to your personal injury practice, you need to educate them on the process. Write blogs, post on social media, and make sure you have descriptive and informative on your website. You can attract clients to your personal injury practice by focusing on these areas. 

Criminal Defense – How to Expand Your Law Practice 

As a criminal defense lawyer, marketing for new clients will be something you do every day. Generally, criminal defense clients need you for a mistake they made. It’s less likely you will have repeat business from them. That means you will always be in marketing mode. Other lawyers are probably the most common referral sources for criminal defense lawyers. Many law firms don’t have a criminal defense practice and rely on firms like yours to assist their friends, family, and clients when they need a criminal defense lawyer. Other referral sources for criminal defense lawyers can also include bail bondsmen. I have heard from multiple attorneys that this profession is in a great position to refer clients needing a good criminal defense lawyer. Friends and family will also be good referral sources. As with every practice it’s also important to have an informative website to attract criminal defense clients, focusing on educational and legal process-oriented content. Network on LinkedIn and ensure you add your blog posts to the Featured Content section on your profile. 

Divorce + Family Law – How to Differentiate Your Law Practice in a Competitive Area 

If you want to attract more clients to your divorce and family law practice, you need to build relationships with therapists and other mental health professionals. Generally, when a marriage is rocky, a couple will begin marriage counseling or couples’ therapy. Oftentimes the therapy works, but many times it does not. That’s why you want to know as many therapists as possible; particularly those focused on working with married couples. Divorce lawyers can also market for new business by focusing on building relationships with other lawyers in firms without a family law practice. While having an excellent website, social media, communications, and blog writing routine, growing your family law practice is all about the contacts you build. LinkedIn can be a great way to build relationships with other professionals by engaging with and posting new content to your connections 

Business + Corporate Legal Services – How to Attract New Clients 

Attracting new clients in the business and corporate realm requires you to build relationships with – you guessed it – business people and other influencers like accountants, bankers, and consultants. Like other consumer-facing practice areas, building relationships with those you like, trust, and respect will help you grow your corporate legal practice. Many areas in corporate law perplex your clients. One way to remedy this is to host educational webinars that provide digestible information business owners will be interested in. Join business groups and associations that attract your clients, and become an active, contributing member of that organization. 

Litigation – How to Market Your Litigation Practice 

Effectively marketing a litigation practice can be a challenge. The truth is, no one wants to have to hire a litigator. To attract clients as a litigator, having a niche where you can become known is important. It may take you a few years to develop a true niche, but when you do, put time and effort into writing about it, speaking on topics related to your niche, create blog posts, post on social media, and communicate with your clients and referral sources. Build relationships with other professionals who serve your niche area. Other lawyers can also be great referral sources. Many corporate law firms do not offer litigation services. Market your practice to other lawyers and you will find you have many advocates who know your work, and will regularly refer litigation cases to you. 

Employment + Discrimination – How to Market Your Plaintiff’s Employment Practice 

Marketing a plaintiff’s employment law practice requires you to spend time building your name recognition. The more you can focus, the easier it is for clients to find you. I worked with a lawyer who happened to have served a lot of physicians. We developed content “for physicians” for his website, including a practice summary, representative cases, articles, and blogs about topics physicians are interested in, made presentations to groups of physicians and residents, and broadly communicated via e-communications and social media that the firm served physicians. Today this firm is the go-to firm for physicians. Marketing your employment law practice will succeed when you target your messages and audiences. 

Real Estate – How to Build Your Law Practice 

You help your clients buy or lease space as a real estate lawyer. Your referrals likely come from brokers, realtors, contractors, and others in the construction industry. When adding clients to your real estate practice, it’s important to be involved in the industry attracting your best referral sources. Set a goal of becoming a known resource for information of interest to buyers, sellers, and those seeking to lease space. You’ll notice in all the practice-specific marketing recommendations I have not yet uttered the word “advertising.” That’s because advertising doesn’t work when you want to grow your real estate law practice. It’s all about your contacts and being able to turn those contacts into clients. 

Estate Planning + Probate – The Art of Marketing Success 

The great news is that every person needs an estate plan, and it’s only a matter of time before families need a probate lawyer. Estate planning can be cross-marketed to every client in your law firm. You can also develop a focus for your estate planning practice, including physicians, business owners, professionals, and young families – you get the idea! As with any area of law, the key to marketing your estate planning practice is to build relationships. With whom, you might ask? Start with financial planners. They are not generally lawyers and must partner with an estate planning attorney to create the binding documents, wills, and trusts to implement a client’s financial plan. Estate planning lawyers also get work from CPAs and accounting firms. If you can, develop a focus or niche for your estate planning and write blogs and website content, give webinars, and post on social media to promote your estate planning practice.