As you probably know, when I started my practice, I took any legal work I could get. I did divorces for two or three hundred dollars. I consulted with pro pers for $75. I took personal injury cases that settled for $750.
Good times.
I did what I had to do because (a) I needed the money; (b) these clients couldn’t afford to pay more; and (c) I often had little or no experience with a particular matter and taking it forced me to learn.
I’d spend hours in the law library. I sought the advice of other lawyers who pointed me in the right direction. I spent hours drafting and revising simple documents, (on legal pads and typewriters) learning how to do them right.
I also did some work for other lawyers. One time, I was hired to write a motion. I got to the lawyer’s office late in the afternoon. He let me use his library and stay late to finish and told me to lock up when I was done. Good thing he did because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.
When I finished, the sun was coming up. I must have worked ten hours on that motion (ten hours!) but I only billed him for two because, well, ten hours! (He was happy with the work, btw.)
The point is that when I was new, I was paid to learn how to practice law. So if you’re new or entering a new practice area, don’t worry about how much (or how little) you’re being paid.
There’s a marketing lesson in this, too.
Sometimes, it pays (long term) to do work for certain clients at a discount or even free. That’s right, I said it. I said the “F” word. F-f-f-ree. As in no charge. Let them see what you can do and when they fall in love with you and want to hire you again, full price, baby!
If there’s a big client you’d love to work with, make them an offer they can’t refuse. If you do unlawful detainers or collection work, for example, you might pitch a prospective client with “first case is free”. If you do estate planning, you might offer a simple Will package at a steep discount.
Get your foot in the door, win them over, and one day you’ll be telling the story about how you took over your market.
Marketing is simple when you know The Formula
