Driving Directions

This is one that our firm has had fun with. We have videos on our site showing people how to go from our office to the local courthouse. We sped up the video into a three or four minute video and show some different landmarks and where parking is located. Our clients have loved it. They can see exactly where they are going before they leave their home.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You could also easily do driving direction videos from major roads to your office(s) and post those videos on your “Contact Us” page. If people can’t find you it doesn’t matter how good of an attorney you are. Using videos to show clients how to get to you will help ensure clients are on time and will decrease the number of “no-shows.”

Tour of the Office

You know what it is like being in the dentist’s office. You sit in the waiting room and you dread even having to be there. Unfortunately, a lot of people feel the same way about coming to a lawyer’s office. Whether justified or not, people have anxiety about being in the lawyer’s office. Too often it is because they don’t know what they are going to be doing and don’t know what to expect. One way to help remove that anxiety is to show people exactly what they will be doing when they get to your office.

When someone opens the front door to your law office what will they see? Who is sitting at the front desk? What does the waiting room look like? Are they going to walk down a hall to get to your office? Does your office have a window view? Does your desk have pictures of your family sitting on top of it? Is your diploma hanging on the wall? People always have the most anxiety when they do something for the first time. If you can show them who and what they will be seeing when they walk through the front door for the first time they will have less anxiety and be more willing to show up for their appointment.

Testimonials

If you can get clients to give you a testimonial or review on video then that is gold! It’s one thing for you to tell clients that you are worth their money but it is rises to a whole new level when a client is able to tell others that you were worth every penny.

If you are able to get clients to give you a review on video make sure you get a waiver signed. You want to make sure you get written permission from the client to post it online.

Bio Videos

One of the most popular sections on any lawyer’s website is the “about us” or lawyer bio section. A potential client wants to know who they will be hiring. For the last 20 years attorneys have simply posted a picture of themselves along with a short bio along with a list of different cases they’ve tried. That’s not good enough any more. Upgrade your bio page with a video.

A bio video allows you to have a greater connection with your potential client. They can hear your voice, see your mannerisms and know what it will be like to sit in front of you.

However, I encourage you to make your bio video more than a spoken resume. Instead, tell your potential clients who you are, not just what you’ve done. What makes you different than other lawyers? What allows you to connect to your clients?

In my bio video I tell people about how we are a family run law firm. I practice with my wife and my father. I’m able to tell our potential clients about how my wife and I met in an English class during our junior year in high school. I also explain that I used to be a football player in high school that was a four-year varsity starter and first team All-Charlotte Observer Team. More interestingly, somehow I was talked into being a cheerleader in college. I never in a million years ever thought I would be a cheerleader – but it makes for a good story. I talk about it in my bio video in a somewhat self-degrading way and I can’t tell you how many clients I have come in and bring up the fact that I was a cheerleader. It’s a great icebreaker and it puts what would otherwise be a nervous client at ease.

Also, don’t forget to do bio videos of your staff. Some of your clients will spend more time with your staff than they do with you. Show potential clients who your staff is and what makes them unique. It makes your staff feel good knowing you are willing to take to time to tell people about them and it gives depth and character to your firm as a whole.

A good video needs to have strong video quality, great sound, good lighting and be done in a digestible format. The most successful online videos are usually around three minutes or less. Don’t give a history of the legal field you are doing the video on, instead, just answer the question or get to the bottom line.

With that said and knowing content is king, what are some different topics you can do videos on? Over the next few weeks we will discuss the different types of videos that work well for lawyers and law firms. Let’s go ahead and get started with the first, and in my opinion, the best video content creation idea.

Questions Clients Ask

The absolute best place to go to get ideas for video topics is your clients. It doesn’t matter whether your clients are big businesses or an individual going through a divorce, they have questions that they want answered.

One way our firm thought of ideas for blog posts was from the questions our clients were asking. Each time I would meet with a client and they asked me a question I would jot that question down. I would then compile that list and write a blog post about each question. After writing the blog post I would then be familiar with what the correct answer to the question was and I would be knowledgeable enough to do a video on it.

We also find that these videos are the most popular on our website and on YouTube. The goal is to become the educational source for your client or potential client. The more you educate them the more they will view you as the expert in the field. When that happens, they are more likely to hire you and are willing to pay a premium to have the best legal advice available.

Another benefit of answering clients’ questions using video and posting them online is it means your clients will come into your office better educated. A more educated client means they will ask questions that are more pertinent to their situation and will, most likely, have fewer overall questions. This means that your efficiency for initial consultations or interviews will be greater.

This is just the beginning, over the next several weeks we will discuss other popular and easy ways to use videos as a business development tool!

A year after opening my own office in Greensboro, NC, I’m hoping this series of blog posts will provide some helpful tools for anyone opening their own practice. So here we go…

Google Apps:

Google Apps doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles…but that’s what makes it so nice. Google Apps gives a new practitioner the ability to have a portable calendar and stable email host. For the low price of $50 a year (not a month, a year!) per user you are able to have an incredibly flexible calendar that can be synched to your mobile device. Other companies offer similar services but they can costs hundreds of dollars a month. When you are starting off, it’s important to keep the overhead low. Also, a number of other services will come along with a lot of extras that you will never touch. You’ll be paying for something that , in a few months, you’ll forget is even there.

In addition to being incredibly simplistic, Google is reliable. After using their services for a year now – I can remember only one time, for about 15 minutes, that our calendar was down. Other than that one time, it has been flawless. I can’t understate the importance of having a reliable calendar. There is nothing worse then knowing that you have appointments that will be showing up but you don’t know their name or what time their going to show up because your calendar is down.

Google Apps email hosting also works remarkably well. Google has one of the best spam filters which protects your email from overflowing with offers from some guy in Nigeria with generous offers from Prince Mbutu.

The setup for Google Apps can be done in about 30 minutes, if not sooner. For those less technologically savvy, you an hire people to do it for about $20.00. Something particularly important is to set up your Google Apps with your own domain name. In other words, you don’t want you clients getting emails from you with a JohnDoe@GMail.com. Instead, purchase a domain and have it setup with Google Apps so your email address is JohnDoe@DoeLaw.com. This is important for branding and is also important for your professional appearance to your clients.

I’ll admit it – I’m a Google “fanboy”. Their isn’t much they do that I’m not in love with. What I especially like is Google’s policy of allowing portability of information. In other words, if you don’t like Google – you can take your information with you somewhere else. Google allows you to export your information in a format that allows you to go to competitors. That means Google knows that if they don’t continually offer valuable service that you can easily take your business somewhere.

To learn more about Google Apps and the services it offers visit the Google Apps’ website.

One of the new areas I would like to focus on is law practice management and how to open an office out of law school. There are a ton of great resources out there but I’m hoping I can bring a unique perspective. I’m only a year removed from graduating law school and have seen the trials and tribulations of opening a practice.

Over the past years I’ve talked with a lot of my peers and former classmates and have come to the realization that very few law schools actually prepare you to practice law. I’m lucky, I went to a law school that made sure I knew hot to think like a lawyer and jump the hurdles as they appear in front of me. However, even that hasn’t prepared me for the nuts and bolts of the practice of law. Therefore, I’m hoping to periodically release a post dedicated to helping those looking to open their own practice.

By Damon Duncan

Small Business Administration Business Startup Guide:

Whether it is starting a law firm or any other business, the SBA’s Business Startup Guide is a great first place to start.  From choosing your business structure and paying taxes to closing your business, the SBA has created a guide for the most common questions needing to be answered in starting and running your own business.  It’s free.

Jay Foonberg’s “How to Start and Build a Law Practice”:

A book that truly covers all aspects of starting a successful law practice. A must-read for anyone considering starting their own practice. Costs $40 on Amazon.com but free to borrow or read in the Elon Law.

Carolyn Elefant’s Online Guide to Starting a Practice:

An excellent guide to all things you’d ever want to know about starting your own law practice.  It’s free.

Health Insurance:

Sign up for health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC through the NC Bar and potentially get a discount.  Costs depend upon medical history and situation.

Lawyers Mutual:

The well-known insurance group for lawyers. Inquire about necessary insurance prior to beginning practice.  Priceless for the new lawyer.

Facebook:

Facebook is no longer a social site that is just for college students.  According to Compete.com, Facebook is the second most frequented website only behind Google.  However, be careful as to the types of material you post on Facebook and what your privacy settings are.  If used correctly, Facebook can increase your firm’s visibility and increase the chances of referrals.  It’s free.

Twitter:

Networking through short bursts.  Stay current on up-to-date info by following industry leaders.  Twitter is another way for you to become seen as an expert. (Done within 140 characters.)  It’s free.

LinkedIn:

Seen as the most professional of all of the social networking sites.  Through LinkedIn you can continue to build your brand as well as make others aware of what your firm has to offer.  You can also recommend other people for their work and receive recommendations.  These recommendations establish credibility and trust.  It’s free but you can pay for a business site that allows for enhanced connection options.

Mashable:

Mashable has become one of the most popular technology sites in the world.  Every day the Mashable team will put up news ranging from social media to money and finance.  This is a great way to stay on top of emerging web trends.  It’s free.

“How to Delete Accounts From Any Website”:

Almost everyone has seen, or they themselves have or have had, some type of multimedia that shows them in a less than flattering way.  Without the proper privacy settings set up, these images may be seen my colleagues or potential clients.  This article gives a run down on how to close the accounts on almost every social networking site to ensure that those pictures don’t come back to haunt you when it matters most.  It’s free.

WordPress:

WordPress has quickly become one of the most popular ways to create a website.  Initially founded as a blogging platform, WordPress has developed into a content management system (CMS).  In other words, you can create a website that you can add to and change without using an expensive web developer.  It’s free to start but probably worth paying someone to develop an aesthetically appealing site.

GoDaddy:

Too many people have failed to claim their identity.  Your online identity or brand is becoming increasingly important.  Regardless what your profession is, you should use either GoDaddy or any other web-hosting site to reserve a domain that protects your or your company’s brand.  It can be done for well below $20 a year.

Google Mobilizer:

As stated before, one of the most important marketing tools for your new office is a strong website.  However, it is important to make sure that your website not only can be viewed easily on a personal computer but that it can also be viewed on a cell phone.  With the growing popularity of iPhones, Android phones and other smart phones, having a website that is easily navigable on a cell phone is more important than ever.  Google mobilizer will allow you to see what your website looks like through the eyes of a mobile phone.  It’s free.

Google Analytics:

One of the most important marketing tools early on is a good website.  However, it doesn’t matter how good the website is if you don’t know how people are finding your site and what searches are leading to conversions or sales.  Google Analytics allows you to see what words were typed to find your site, how long they stayed on your site, which city, state and country they are from and whether they found you on Google, Yahoo, Bing, by directly typing in your site, or by a referral from another site.  It’s free.

Pay Per Click:

Those wishing to start a law practice today have a specific marketing advantage to those who opened a practice 20 years ago.  By using Pay Per Click you can advertise online and not wait for your local Yellow Pages directory’s annual signup date.  Instead, you can be advertising your services within 24 hours.  Also, for a fee there are companies such as Yodle and ReachLocal that help you set this up and run your campaign.  You can spend anywhere between $50 and $5,000 each month – it all depends on your budget.

Google Apps:

This is a great way to bundle key services needed for your office.  For $50 a year (per user) you can have a great calendar, word processor and email and email host.  This is kept “in the cloud” so you can access the information from any computer at any time.  It is also a Google product so it is extremely reliable.

Google Voice:

A great way to have a portable telephone number without paying the high prices of other options.  Through Google Voice you can get a free telephone number and have that number tied to your cell phone, home phone, or any other telephone number.  This allows for an official business number while answering calls on a cell or home phone early on.  It’s free.  Watch this video for more information.

VoIP Phone System

An explanation of a type of internet service that uses the internet. There are several providers of this service and it is a great alternative to standard phone service.  Prices range can vary widely depending upon what extras are added.

Skype Business VoIP:

An explanation of how the popular Internet-based communication program Skype can be helpful to a small business owner – Skype can offer phone service, instant messaging, video conferencing, and conference calls.  Free between Skype users and nominal costs between Skype user and non-Skype user.

eFax:

An alternative to standard fax service, eFax provides more ways to receive and send faxes.  There are other similar services that come along with VoIP phone services.  This can allow you to save on the cost of paper and also allow more flexibility on who receives the fax.  About $15 a month but there are other cheaper options.

Printable Postage:

An online program that allows you to purchase and print postage from your computer using the internet.  Monthly cost of $10 plus the cost of postage and special labels.

iGoogle:

This isn’t specific to the legal field but Google’s iGoogle allows you to customize a homepage.  The ability to have the weather, top news headlines, and feeds from your favorite websites all in one place allows for increased efficiency.  It’s free.

LogMeIn:

You can access your computer from any other computer in the world.  More importantly for the new entrepreneur, don’t stress over bringing your computer home from work if you have a computer at home.  In a matter of minutes you can remotely control your computer and have access to all of the programs and files.  It’s free.

Ruby Receptionist

A remote receptionist service that answers your phone calls as though the receptionist is in your office, and can take messages, voicemails, and let clients know whether you are in the office. A good alternative to hiring a full-time receptionist.  Starts at $200 a month.  Watch this video to learn more.

Mint.com:

A website that allows you to link your bank accounts and it will analyze them to help you keep track of your spending for budgeting purposes. Great for both personal and business accounts.  It’s free.

QuickBooks:

A program that helps with keeping track of money – you can write receipts and keep proper records for tax purposes.  Costs about $125 but can save you a lot more.

Free PDF of Federal Rules of Evidence:

Even if you plan to never step foot in the courtroom or plan to only practice on the state level, why would you turn down a free copy of the Federal Rules of Evidence?  This site offers a free PDF download of the rules which allows for quick browsing and keyword searches.  It’s free.

Google Scholar:

Offers free legal opinions, journals, and articles. You can include patent articles in your search and for attorneys who have a focused practice and only do occasional research, this is an excellent free alternative for legal research.  It’s free.

North Carolina Bar Association Listserves:

Sign up for the NC Bar Association Listserve that corresponds to your practice area, and become a part of a supportive group of lawyers who practice in the same area of law who can provide valuable information helpful to both the law and practice management.  Comes along with membership.

NC Lawyer Referral Service:

Sponsored by the NC State Bar, a free service for the public that refers clients to attorneys based on the area of practice that the client needs.  It’s free.

A week ago I was watching the “Hope for Haiti” program that was on every major television network.  They had various artists singing songs and a telethon that was taking place to raise money for the recent earthquake disaster that devastated the people of Haiti.  I tuned in a little late but not long after I started watching, Justin Timberlake and singer-songwriter Matt Morris sang the song “Hallelujah,” originally by Leonard Cohen.  Timberlake played the piano and Morris played the guitar.  It was simply amazing.  (See below)

After the song I thought to myself, “they don’t make songs like this anymore.”  That thought hit me again today when I was driving home and was listening to a top 40 radio station.  I couldn’t believe the low quality of songs that were on the radio.  I know everyone has different taste in music and I respect that.  I in no way expect people to like everything I like.  However, I couldn’t help but think that today’s music has become so digitized and studio produced that it lacks passion and emotion.

Music superstars today are created, not uncovered.  If you have “the look” then you can go inside a studio, record some songs, have them digitally rendered and then go on SNL and lip sync Milli Vanilli style the same songs.  I think that’s a shame.  I’m a big singer-songwriter fan.  I don’t particularly care what someone looks like.  If they have a good voice, good lyrics and sing with emotion then there’s a good chance I’m going to love what they do.

When I look at the Billboard charts I see songs like “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha and “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga I think what has happened to music?  I’m not at all arguing that the songs aren’t catchy…for the first 50 times you hear them on the radio.  However, I want to hear great songs that have something behind them.  I want the lyrics to have meaning and thought behind them and stretch beyond the simple surface.

Some of my favorite artists are Ray LaMontagne, James Morrison, Jason Castro, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Eminem, etc.  Again, I’m not necessarily saying that they are any “better” than some of today’s top 40 artists but I at least feel like they write their songs about something with meaning in their lives…to me, that makes them better.

A little more than three years ago Melissa and I did something that I think we will be proud of for a long time.  We scanned all of our baby / childhood pictures.  Right before law school Melissa and I had some free time as we waited on the school year to start.  We used that time to drive to Elon University every day (about a 40 minute drive) and we went into the School of Communications and used their big flat bed scanners to scan all of our childhood pictures.  The process was long and we left most nights at about 2:00 a.m. when the building started shutting down.

After about 3 weeks of non stop 4 or 5 times a week scanning we finally finished.  I think we scanned something like 5,000 pictures (at least 4,500 of those were Melissa’s!).  We scanned the pictures at about 600 dpi and then put the pictures on about 40 DVDs.  We made copies of the DVDs and gave a set to my parents and Melissa’s parents.  Doing this made sure that if there was ever any kind fire/floods, etc. that we wouldn’t lose the irreplaceable.

It was long and exhausting but I’m still very happy that we did it.  More than anything, the process was a blast.  Melissa and I got to look back at each other and laugh at how we used to look and we were able to share stories and memories that would have probably otherwise gone unmentioned.

So I end with this, take the time and scan your family pictures yourself or pay someone else to do it.  I’m sure it would be a great gift for parents and family members and I’m sure you’ll look back one day and be glad you did it.  Once you scan them, put them “in the cloud” online somewhere.  Since those long weeks a few years ago we have also scanned the pictures of grandparents and family members that had passed long before we were around.  Do it – you protect your family history and learn a lot by doing it as well.

It looks like January 22, 2010 will be Conan’s last night to host The Tonight Show.  That’s a shame.  I’ve watched Conan for probably 10 years now.  I started watching him even more in the last four years – during law school and now after law school.  I along with so many other people don’t understand how Conan is getting the shaft.  He had waited over 5 years after signing a contract to be the host of The Tonight Show to get that opportunity.  He has paid his dues and is truly one of the funniest guys I’ve ever watched.

NBC and the Conan critics talk about how his numbers are down from what Leno’s were.  That’s true.  However, he has only had about half a year to develop a following at that time slot.  I have no doubt that his numbers would grow rapidly within the next year.  In my opinion, NBC is making a big mistake.  Through this all, Conan has become even a bigger name and Jay Leno looks like someone who has failed.  Leno’s 10:00 p.m. show failed and now he has kicked out someone else to get his old spot back.

Conan will now likely move to another TV station (do it Fox!) and will compete head to head against Leno and Letterman.  Letterman will probably keep the lead for a while.  However, as “my generation” grows so will Conan’s numbers.  I think he will safely secure the second spot behind Letterman and should surpass him in the next year and a half.  If anything, his popularity has grown in the last couple weeks.

Through this whole process I think Conan has shown great resolve.  He has spoken out against NBC for how they have treated him and, more importantly, he stood strong for his crew – Conan’s press release shows that.  It’s going to be bad having to go without Conan for the next several months (hopefully not any longer) but I’m already looking forward to where he’ll go next.  Great job Conan!  What are your thoughts?

Here is Jimmy Kimmel ripping Leno on ‘Leno’!