Practice development

One of the things you discover when you leave the cocoon of a law firm is the fact it's up to you to bring in clients. No longer does the firm's representation precede you nor can you continue to rely on that single rainmaking partner to ensure that you have work to do. It's all up to you now, kid.

I have to admit that I had it easy when I first started. I already had a client lined up (an attorney who is my client to this day) and my soon-to-be-former law firm had promised me work as well. This meant that I wasn't desperately scrabbling for work and could afford to be a little discriminating about getting new clients.

Over the years, I've gained clients in several ways, which I list below (in no particular order);

Friends: I'm a very sociable person. I was friends with the lawyers in my old firm and, as I worked with new firms, I made friends with the lawyers there too, and the paralegals and secretaries. At parties, I'd chit-chat and was always delighted to find other lawyers or legal professionals. What this meant was that, when any of these lawyers or paralegals or secretaries realized that a case could use a little extra help, they thought of me. For this reason, two of my best and favorite clients are friends from the law firm in which I once worked; and one of my good clients is a friend I made since she worked as an attorney at a firm for which I did contract work.

Legal newspaper advertisements: I've never actually placed a newspaper advertisement, but I have answered a few. I don't know what the situation is now, but when I was looking at advertisements, there weren't any for contract attorneys. Instead, the legal papers had ads for full-time associate positions. An ad like that instantly clues in you to the fact that the law firm probably has more work than it can handle. I contacted these firms, and explained that, while I was not looking for full-time employment, I could help them until they found the perfect associate -- with no overhead expenses for them. I got several jobs this way, and two of the firms never did hire a permanent associate. Instead, they just kept using me. In the 21st Century of this approach, I've also found clients using Craig's List postings.

Opposing counsel: Believe it or not, several of my clients started out as opposing counsel on a case. I'm a very solid writer and it often happened that, when I signed on to help out one attorney, the opposing counsel noticed that the briefs suddenly become much better. Realizing that I wasn't their opponent's full-time employee, when the case ended, a few of them approached me about doing work for them. If I liked their litigation style -- hard-fighting, but honorable -- I'd take the job.

Co-Counsel: It's not unusual for me to provide contract services for a law firm that has co-counsel on a case. Then, in the same way that opposing counsel noticed my writing style, so too did various co-counsels and, voila!, new clients.

The internet: Truth to tell, since I became a full-time Mom and part-time attorney, I haven't been looking for clients. My current clients provide me with all the work I can handle. Nevertheless, I do pay attention to trends out there, and there's absolutely no doubt that the internet is becoming a major player in the legal job market. It won't replace the personal relationships I've cultivated over the years, but it sure does make it easier for the contract attorney looking for a paying job.

I've already listed Craig's List as a good way to find work. Craig's List, of course, is simply a giant bulletin board, and it has the virtue of being very casual, without any complicated sign-up rituals before you can take advantage of its services. There are sites that are dedicated to connecting employers and employees, but they're a little more complicated. Examples of those sites are HireTrade and Monster.

Finally, the internet offers networking sites that aren't necessarily keyed directly to employment, but that nevertheless can lead to clients. Examples of this are Legal OnRamp, LinkedIn (which is slowly catching up when it comes to lawyers), and the ubiquitous facebook. If you're younger than I am, I bet you know at least 10 other social and professional networking sites I haven't even heard of. Use them all if you're looking for work.

The work is always out there. Once you make contact, you simply have to explain to people the huge economic benefits that go with hiring a contract attorney. (Although I suspect more people know these benefits now than did when I first started.) A contract attorney is not an employee. There is no overhead -- no salary, no benefits, no carrying during the slack time. You use a contract attorney when you need to him, and wave a polite good-bye when you don't. As for prospective client's inevitable concerns about oversight and reliability -- well, it's up to you, probably through your networking, to show that this isn't a real worry at all.

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