success

How long has it been for you?

May 5, 2026 by David M. Ward

When was the last time you asked a client why they chose you instead of another lawyer or firm? When was the last time you tried a new marketing strategy, billing method, or productivity tool?

How long has it been since you did something new or different in your practice? If it’s been a long time, maybe it’s time to do something about that.

Contact an old client to say hello and ask how they’re doing. Write some content on a subject you usually don’t write about. Interview a new ad agency to see what they think about your existing campaigns.

Any change could make a huge difference in the success of your practice.

Anything.

It might be small compared to what you currently do or have done in the past. It might be only slightly different from what other attorneys in your market do. It could be as seemingly small as adding a new success story or testimonial to the “About” page on your website, or sending hand-written thank you notes instead of doing everything digitally.

It might be as small as updating your forms or editing your form letters. It also might be big as starting a new practice area or opening another office in another part of town.

You might write your first article or blog post or record your first YouTube video. You might talk to other attorneys about a possible partnership or marketing alliance, or interview a new office manager or business coach.

Maybe you’ll do something with ai. Or commit to writing short, daily posts instead of your current once-a-month schedule.

The question isn’t how big or small it is, or even what it is. The question is when was the last time you did something different?

Change is uncomfortable for most people but especially for attorneys. What if it fails and I look bad? What if it costs too much and returns too little? What if it takes up too much time or distracts me from my billeable hours?

I know. I think those things too.

Instead of thinking what if it doesn’t work, we should think about what if it does.

What if ian idea leads to bringing in twice as many new cases this year? What if it allows you to increase revenue by thirty or forty percent? What if it gives you more free time you can use to do something else?

What if it makes you happy?

By definition, most changes won’t work, or won’t work well enough to be worth the effort. But the fact that most ideas flop doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try new things, it means we should try more of them.

Because one good idea could be worth a fortune to you.

I know, you’re skeptical. Don’t have time to think about what you might do, let alone try it. Need to stop reading this and get back to work.

Okay, but I have one more question for you.

When was the last time you thought like a business owner and not like a lawyer?

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development, success

A proven way to build a new law practice or niche

April 23, 2026 by David M. Ward

I didn’t learn how to build my practice in law school (or college). Or by reading books or taking courses. I learned it by observing what other lawyers were doing successfully and doing what they were doing.

I copied them, and you should do the same . Find successful lawyers and firms in your niche or market and do what they’re doing, or did.

Forget originality. You can experiment later. For now, be a copycat.

Target the same market or niche. Use the same keywords. Advertise in the same publications.

If they have a newsletter, you should, too. If they network at a certain organization or meeting, that’s where you should be. If they create videos or podcasts, you should consider doing that, too.

At least for now.

Do what they do not necessarily to compete with them but to learn from them. They’ve made some good decisions, met some of the right people, created content that brings in leads, and conducted themselves in ways that helped them attract clients and referrals.

It worked for them. There’s a good chance it will work for you.

Their success is proof that there is a viable market for the types of services you offer, and the ways you have available for offering them. So, learn from them. Study their websites. What’s on the home page? What other pages do they feature? What forms do they use? What offers do they make?

Read every page and take notes. How do they describe their services? Do they display testimonials or success stories? How many and what do they say? Do they have a slogan or catchphrase? Do they do something that makes them stand out?

Study their content. Read their articles and blog posts. Watch their videos. What topics do they write about? How often do they publish? How long is their average article or audio?

Do they use social media? Which platforms? How often do they post? What do they say, what do they offer? How do they engage with followers?

Watch what they do. Subscribe to their content, go to their seminars, read everything they write or that is written about them.

If you meet one of their former clients or employees, talk to them. See what they can tell you about what that lawyer did well and/or any mistakes they might have made.

Talk to other professionals in the market and see what they think about what that firm does or how they market their services.

You don’t need to do this for every lawyer in your niche. Just a few who are successful and consistent, a few of your so-called competitors.

So-called because you’re not going to go head-to-head against them; you’re going to do what they do, or have done, but better.

A better version of their website, ads, or articles. Make yours simpler or, if the market demands it, more comprehensive. Do the same things but more often. Add more social channels, or concentrate on one or two. Use the keywords they use but increase your bids. Run the same kinds of seminars but promote them to different lists.

What they do has worked for them and will work for you. Especially if you do them better.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, success

We become what we think about

April 9, 2026 by David M. Ward

In the 1950s, motivational speaker Earl Nightingale created The Strangest Secret audio program, which told the world, “We become what we think about.” It said our beliefs and internal dialogue, what we regularly think about and focus on, directly influence our decisions and behaviors, our attitudes and expectations, and in this way, literally shape our reality.

I’ve seen evidence of this being true throughout my life. Haven’t you?

So, a question for you. What do you think about your law practice and career? What do you see for your future?

Do you see your practice as a way to use your skills and knowledge to pay your bills, or do you see it as a way to earn a fortune? Do you see yourself continuing to do what you do now, or do you think about a different future?

One lawyer enjoys being a sole practitioner and doesn’t want or expect that to change. Another lawyer sees a future as the senior partner in a big firm. One lawyer thinks about opening a bigger office and growing his or her income to multiple-six figures. Another lawyer sees opening many offices and earning tens of millions.

Your practice could be a great way to earn a living or it could be a way to change the world.

What do you believe about your future? What do you think about? What do you want?

There is no right or wrong answer, of course. But what you think about is likely to be what you become, so choose wisely.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Increase your income, success

Why some lawyers get big and some don’t

February 24, 2026 by David M. Ward

My wife and I were talking about a lawyer we knew many years ago when he was new and full of piss and vinegar, and I had been practicing for only a few years. We lost touch with him, but recently heard he had been gravely ill for several years.

He recovered and built a very successful practice with dozens of employees and the wherewithal to purchase his own office building in a swanky part of town.

From death’s door to massive success. How did he make it big when so many lawyers don’t?

I don’t know. But I can guess.

Two things, actually.

First, he was clearly a fighter. Building a successful practice was nothing compared to beating the Grim Reaper.

But that’s more “why” than “how”. What did he actually do to build his practice?

Maybe he made a few powerful connections. Ran a series of ads that took off. Or stumbled into that one big case that brought him lots of attention.

Maybe. But my guess is it was none of those things. My guess is he became successful doing things any lawyer can do. He just did them consistently, something many lawyers don’t.

He didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. He didn’t change his tactics or chase after new markets every few years. He didn’t change what he did or who he was. He stuck with the basics but did them over and over again, making small improvements and otherwise sticking to his knitting.

Over time, his efforts compounded and his fortunes grew.

That’s all it takes to keep clients happy, generate positive word of mouth, and bring in a steady stream of repeat business and referrals.

You show up and do the work and your clients and referral sources fall in love with you.

No shortcuts. No hacks. No surprises.

Just the basics.

That’s all any lawyer needs to make it big. With or without surviving a terminal illness.

Filed Under: success

The pros and cons of changing practice areas

February 19, 2026 by David M. Ward

I know a lawyer who, after decades of building a successful practice, started a new (for him) practice area. I don’t know if he wants to replace his current practice area with the new one or he plans to continue doing both, but as someone who has contemplated this question more than once over the years, I know it’s not an easy decision and here are some of my thoughts.

First, the pros:

A new practice gives you the opportunity to bring on new clients and/or cases you might otherwise have never have attracted, and additional revenue you might never have realized
A new/secondary practice area gives you the opportunity to cross-sell your new services to your existing and former clients
You have something new to offer to prospective clients who can’t or won’t hire you for your primary services
You might bundle one service with another service and increase your average “sale’
In certain markets and for certain clients, offering new, additional services might make you the better choice of lawyer or firm for them
You might be able to stop doing, or do less of, something you don’t enjoy, aren’t especially good at, or that’s too competitive. Do less litigation (or eliminate it), for example, and replace it with something less stressful, time-consuming, or expensive.
A new practice area might be “fun”; you get to meet new people, use new marketing strategies, speak or write about different topics

All of which means a new practice area might allow you to increase your income, reduce your expenses, and get more satisfaction in your practice.

But then, there are the cons:

The learning curve; remember what it was like starting your practice? You will have to do a lot of that all over again. Plus, continuing education, certification, risk management, ethical considerations, and other things you have to think about
You need new marketing materials, websites, strategies, testimonials, and new referral sources
You might need to find a new target market; you might lose referrals from lawyers who now see you now as direct competition
You’re the new kid on the block; why should anyone choose you instead of a more established firm?
You might have to use marketing strategies you don’t want to use, e.g., advertising, social media, public speaking, internet marketing, blogging, writing
Your new practice area might be saturated, dying, being crippled by ai, or more difficult than you anticipated. You might have to hire and supervise new staff, rent a bigger office, or otherwise increase your overhead
It could create confusion in your market. They knew you as doing X, now you do Y?
You need a lot of time to learn everything and do everything, new on top of everything you already do

Bottom line, adding a new practice area might be perfect for you, bringing you additional income and professional satisfaction. Or, it might be a colossal mistake.

If you’re considering doing this, test the idea first, in a different market, with a separate website and marketing strategies, and by speaking privately with a few existing clients to see if they would hire you.

Until you know that this is something you could be successful doing and worth the effort, don’t do anything radical or announce anything across the board to your clients and contacts. When you’re ready to do it, however, announce it to everyone.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, success

Do more hard things?

February 3, 2026 by David M. Ward

It sounds like good advice, doesn’t it? Do hard things, take on bigger challenges, put in more hours—that’s how you get ahead today. That’s what the books and videos and blogs repeatedly tell us.

Doing hard things, they say, helps us improve our skills and strengths, increase our confidence and self-discipline, and as we take on greater challenges and achieve them, we gain motivation to continue to achieve even more.

Our efforts compound, and so do our results. The harder we work, the more value we create for ourselves and the people we serve, ultimately leading to greater success and happiness.

But is it true?

Should we train ourselves to make hard work our default?

Not necessarily.

Learning new things, improving our skills, and putting in more effort can all distract us from doing the things we’re already good at and easily do—the types of things we get paid to do every day.

Doing hard things might actually make us less productive and lead to a lower standard of living.

It’s called hard work for a reason.

Don’t discount the value of doing easy things. The kinds of things we’ve been doing for a long time and are good at.

If we’re good at speaking, for example, we usually find ways to do more presentations, and the more we do, the more effective we become at convincing people with our oratory skills. We get more new clients, we win more motions and hearings, and we settle more cases for higher amounts. Without breaking a sweat.

So, which is it? Should we do more hard things or continue doing things we find easy?

Obviously, we need both. The better question is, “How much of each should we do?”

I don’t know the answer. I don’t have a formula or percentage. So here’s what I suggest.

As you plan your week, look at the list of tasks you need to do and make those your priority. Even if they are (relatively) easy. You need to do these to pay the bills.

But don’t ignore the hard things. You need to do these to learn more about yourself and what you could do, and to challenge yourself to do a bit more than you do now.

Do hard things, but make easy things your priority.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, success Tagged With: hard work

Why good lawyers aren’t necessarily successful lawyers

January 15, 2026 by David M. Ward

We all know lawyers who are good at their job but never seem to get ahead. They’re intelligent, work hard, and get good results for their clients, but success (at least financial success) eludes them.

Paradoxically, their lack of success might stem from the very attributes that make them a good lawyer.

Good lawyers are risk averse. They don’t want their clients to take chances and sustain losses and advise them accordingly. Unfortunately, they almost always adopt the same standards for themselves.

They’re careful to a fault. They don’t try new marketing ideas or different ways to manage their practice. They don’t experiment, test out new ideas, or do anything they haven’t done before.

Or that other attorneys are already doing.

They avoid doing things unless they see proof they will work. Failure is not an option.

And that’s the problem.

The only way to be more successful is to increase our rate of failure.

The missing element? Feedback. Failure is feedback, and without it, you don’t know what works or gain insights into what might work better.

If you want feedback, you have to take the chance.

When you do, there are three possible outcomes:

It works. You get a good result, you’re happy and encouraged to do more.
It doesn’t work. But you do it again, make changes, and keep at it until you eventually find the solution.
It never works. You see this and learn from it and can use what you learn with your next idea.

Everything we do gives us feedback, which we miss if we don’t risk failure.

When I started practicing, I volunteered at a legal clinic, speaking with indigent clients. I didn’t get many cases or clients and earned next to nothing.

But the experience was invaluable.

I learned how to diagnose legal problems, how to talk to clients, and how to give them hope, even if I was not able to help them.

I learned things about being a lawyer I didn’t learn in law school and used that experience to build my practice.

Failure leads to feedback, and feedback leads to success. The only way to be more successful is to increase our rate of failure.

Filed Under: success

Growing your practice by doing LESS?

January 13, 2026 by David M. Ward

This might be the year you take your practice to a much higher level. But not in the usual way. Not by doing more, but by doing less.

What do I mean?

I mean that instead of increasing your billable hours, getting more cases or clients, ramping up your ad spend or expanding into new markets, you cut back on what you’ve been doing or planned to do this year.

You don’t hire more employees or open another office. You don’t force yourself to create more content or do more networking. Growth doesn’t always require “addition”. It can also occur through “subtraction”.

Doing less but better.

It might mean putting fewer hours into marketing but getting better clients or bigger cases, or more income and greater profits.

How does that happen?

When you do less or spend less on something, you have more time and energy and cash (and enthusiasm) for doing something else produces better results. Or allow you to accomplish more with less effort.

When we simplify our marketing and management workflow, we get better at what we do. When we spend less on one strategy or in one market, we have more to spend on others.

It’s called leverage. The 80/20 principle. Working smarter. And it’s a beautiful thing.

Start by taking inventory of what you did last year—all of your time, all of your expenses, all the people and processes you managed.

Then, review the list and consider what you could cut or change.

Maybe this is the year to downsize some personnel. Maybe you can do just fine with a smaller office. Maybe one ad or one marketing technique is producing the lion’s share of your income and the rest aren’t contributing much.

Of course, you might also see things that are worth expanding, and others you’ll simply decide to continue.

It’s all good.

Sometimes you subtract, sometimes you add, and sometimes, you appreciate your blessings and look forward to the coming year.

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing Plan, success

Action isn’t (always) the answer

November 4, 2025 by David M. Ward

It’s called having a bias for action and is often said to be a recipe for success. “Don’t wait until you’re ready or you are motivated,” we’re told. “Do something, and when you see something happen, you’ll be motivated to continue”.

I agree. Action is often the answer.

But not always.

Sometimes, it’s a mistake.

You take the wrong action and someone gets hurt. You make an error, and it creates an even bigger problem. Or nothing happens, the problem persists, and you’ve wasted time you could have used doing something else.

Sure, we learn from our mistakes. But mistakes can damage our reputations, our relationships, and our self-esteem.

A bias for action isn’t always the answer.

Maybe that project or idea is a good one, but you get bored or nervous about the cost and abandon it and squander a great opportunity. Maybe It is a bad idea, but you continue working on it because you’ve already invested in it.

A bias for action can work against you.

It may sound old-fashioned, but it really is better to think before we act. Aim before we fire.

Do some research, consider the options, crunch the numbers, talk it over with someone you trust.

Don’t decide right this minute; sleep on it.

That’s what you advise your client’s to do, isn’t it?

On the other hand, after you’ve done some research and thought it through, a bias for action is likely to be your best friend.

Because nothing happens until you do something.

Filed Under: Law office management, success

Marketing is easier today than when I started my law practice

October 14, 2025 by David M. Ward

I’m not going to tell you that marketing is easy. It isn’t. It takes focus and consistency and hard work, and you often have to do things you don’t want to do. So, no, it’s not easy. But. compared to the way it was when I opened my law practice decades ago (cue “old man” rant), it is almost laughingly easier.

When I opened my first office, I had very few clients, very little experience, and very little money. I used what I had available—time and the need to pay my rent—and did everything I could think of to bring in business.

One thing I did was volunteer several hours a week at a legal clinic. I actually got some clients that way, but most of them were as broke as I was, so while this gave me some valuable experience speaking with prospective clients, it generated little income. Eventually, I got a few cases and some paying clients, but I survived mostly on savings.

I knew I needed to focus on marketing, but my options were limited.

As soon as I could afford it, I advertised in the Yellow Pages. I did some networking but hated it and wasn’t very good at it (and I was very young and looked it). That left referrals, which became my favorite strategy.

It took years, and I struggled mightily, but eventually. I made it.

It’s much easier today because the opportunities for building a practice are unlimited.

Social media provides you with free access to prospective clients and people who can refer them, and you can connect with them without getting up from your sofa or going to a single networking event.
YouTube, podcasting channels, and other portals looking for content allow you to get your name and face or voice in front of your target market and show them how you can help them. Medium, Substack, and other platforms not only give you exposure without asking you to pay for it, some of them actually pay you.
You can post articles on a (WordPress) blog, or get exposure by guest posting on others’ blogs, or be interviewed on their channel, allowing prospective clients to find you and get to “know” you before they ever speak to you.
Search engines weren’t a thing back then. Today, that’s how most clients find attorneys.
You can use Amazon KDP to self-publish a book, which can build your reputation and generate targeted leads from prospective clients.
You can build an email list and continually follow-up with everyone who expresses interest in something you said or wrote.
Referrals are more plentiful today because clients and professionals don’t have to actually know you to refer you; they can share your website or blog or article, recommend your book, or tell someone they heard you interviewed and thought you had some good things to say.
And the list goes on.

You don’t need a big budget for advertising or to hire marketing consultants—you can tap into everything that’s available today, at little or no cost, without putting in years building your reputation.

Yes, there is more competition today, but there are so many more opportunities to bring in business, if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort, it almost doesn’t matter how much competition there is.

You have unlimited potential today and can be as successful as you want to be, without breaking the bank—or your back.

Of course, that also means you have no excuse for not being as successful as you want to be.

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