How to grow your law firm through ethical legal marketing Emma - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

How to grow your law firm through ethical legal marketing

Emma Raimi-Zlatic

• Affinity Program

Manager at Clio

• JD from the University
• f Houston Law Center
• Founded an Attorney

Recruiting Company

Agenda

• State of law firm marketing and common mistakes
• Ethics rules related to marketing and client

communication

• How marketing automation tools help law firms
• Tips for creating a revenue-generating marketing

funnel

• Questions

The State of Law Firm Marketing

An industry review of common practices and pitfalls

65%

58% 68%

• f those who faced a

legal problem in the past 2 years hired a lawyer. sought a consult with a lawyer they didn’t hire. communicated with a lawyer they did not hire.

Consumers who don’t hire a lawyer

Source: 2018 Legal Trends Report

Source: Joint Legal Marketing Association and Bloomberg Law research study – April 2018

Where does the time go?

Source: 2017 Legal Trends Report

91% of firms can’t calculate a return

• n their advertising investments, and

94% don’t know how much it costs them to acquire a new client.

Source: 2017 Legal Trends Reports

Tracking Business Development / Marketing

Source: Law Firms in Transition: Marketing, Business Development and the Quest for Growth, 3/2016

Incomplete Tracking of Referrals

Source: 2018 Clio Survey N = 824

How do consumers find a lawyer?

Source: 2017 Legal Trends Reports

Poll: How does your firm collect feedback from clients?

• a. My firm does not regularly collect feedback
• b. Casually or informally
• c. Email survey
• d. Dedicated Phone Call
• e. Formally In-Person

How do lawyers collect feedback from clients?

Source: 2018 Legal Trends Reports

Feedback is sought too late

Source: 2018 Clio Survey, N=1,061

Net Promoter Score

On a scale of 0-10, where ten means “extremely likely” to recommend, five means neutral, and zero means “not at all likely,” how likely is it you would recommend this law firm?

0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10

Formula for Calculating NPS

Better Client Service = Law Firm Growth

Law firms that excel at client service enjoy:

• 37% higher revenue growth
• 48% higher profits per attorney
• 33.1% higher client retention

Source: BTI Client Service A-Team 2018: Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance

Factors Impacting Likelihood to Recommend?

Most factors related to Ease and Responsiveness

Source: 2018 Legal Trends Reports

Responsiveness Expectations

• f clients expect an

immediate response to texts and emails

80%

is how clients define immediate

1-2 hours 4-8 hours

is what lawyers think is appropriate

Source: ‘Why Attorneys Are Never Responsive Enough,’ BTI Consulting, October 25, 2017

How do you choose a lawyer?

Source: 2017 Legal Trends Reports

Source: ‘ABA Benchmark Study on Law Firm Intake Process,’ ABA Law Practice Division, February 2, 2016

Poor Communication

• f the time, law

firms take three or more days to reply to a voicemail or web-generated form fill from a prospective client

42%

Poor Communication

• f callers to a law

firm didn’t get to actually speak to a person

35% 50%

• f messages

weren’t returned within two days, and many weren’t returned at all

Source: ‘ABA Benchmark Study on Law Firm Intake Process,’ ABA Law Practice Division, February 2, 2016

Ethical Rules

MRPC Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services

A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's

• services. A communication is false or misleading if it

contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law,

• r omits a fact necessary to make the statement

considered as a whole not materially misleading.

MRPC Rule 7.2: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules

(a) A lawyer may communicate information regarding the lawyer’s services through any media. (b) A lawyer shall not compensate, give or promise anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services except that a lawyer may: (1) pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this Rule. (2) pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service; (3) pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17; (4) refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional pursuant to an agreement not

• therwise prohibited under these Rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or

customers to the lawyer, if: (i) the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive; and (ii) the client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement; and (5) give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer’s services.

MRPC Rule 7.2, Comment 3

Comment [1] This Rule permits public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer’s or law firm’s name, address, email address, website, and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer’s fees are determined...; a lawyer’s foreign language ability; names of references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented; and

• ther information that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance.

Comment [3] Paragraph (b)(1) allows a lawyer to pay for advertising and communications permitted by this Rule, including the costs of print directory listings, on-line directory listings, newspaper ads, television and radio airtime, domain-name registrations, sponsorship fees, Internet-based advertisements, and group advertising. A lawyer may compensate employees, agents and vendors who are engaged to provide marketing or client development services, such as publicists, public-relations personnel, business-development staff, television and radio station employees or spokespersons and website designers.

MRPC Rule 7.3: Solicitation of Clients

(a) “Solicitation” or “solicit” denotes a communication initiated by or on behalf of a lawyer or law firm that is directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter and that offers to provide, or reasonably can be understood as offering to provide, legal services for that matter. (b) A lawyer shall not solicit professional employment by live person-to-person contact when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s or law firm’s pecuniary gain, unless the contact is with a: (1) lawyer; (2) person who has a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship with the lawyer or law firm; or (3) person who routinely uses for business purposes the type of legal services

• ffered by the lawyer.

MRPC Rule 1.18 : Duties to Prospective Client

(a) A person who consults with a lawyer about the possibility of forming a client-lawyer relationship with respect to a matter is a prospective client. Comment [2] Whether communications....constitute a consultation depends on the circumstances. For example, a consultation is likely to have occurred if a lawyer, either in person or through the lawyer’s advertising...specifically requests

• r invites the submission of information about a potential representation without

clear and reasonably understandable warnings and cautionary statements that limit the lawyer’s obligations, and a person provides information in response. In contrast, a consultation does not occur if a person provides information to a lawyer in response to advertising that merely describes the lawyer’s education, experience, areas of practice, and contact information, or provides legal information of general interest.

Automating Law Firm Marketing

Measuring Marketing KPIs

• Lead Source
• Number of Prospective Clients
• Conversion Rate
• Click-through rates
• Value Per Case
• Matters Reports
• Billable Hours
• NPS

Tools for Automating Marketing & Communication

• CRM & Client Intake Software: ex. Clio Grow
• Email Marketing: ex. MailChimp
• Social media management: ex. Hootsuite
• Virtual Receptionist
• Live Chat
• Appointment Booking
• Surveys / NPS Score
• Reports & Referral Tracking

*Ideally all of these work together

Communication Tools

Virtual Receptionist Tools Automated Email Campaigns Live Chat Services Text Communication Online Contact Forms

Website Contact Form CRM Case Management Software

Streamlined Intake & Forms

E-Signatures & Forms E-Signatures & Forms Online Intake Process Appointment Booking & Scheduling

What Clio Grow does: Streamlines the client intake process

Make the client intake process more efficient—and personal

Use custom intake forms, e-signatures, and document automation to retain new clients with ease.

Automate tasks, so you can focus on what matters most

Streamline day-to-day tasks like email follow-up and eliminate duplicate data entry, so you have more time to grow your firm. Know which matters and clients drive your success Use advanced data reporting to identify your firm’s most valuable referral partners and clients.

Reporting Tools

Website Tracking General Reporting Case Management & CRM Reports Custom Reports Productivity Reports

Referral Tracking

NPS & Reviews

Review Manager Survey Tool Survey Tool Clio’s NPS Tool

Law Firm Marketing Best Practices

• 1. Take a client-centered approach
• 2. Invest in marketing carefully
• 3. Purchase extra support and tools if needed
• 4. Track metrics for success

Poll: Would you like to learn more about Clio?

• a. Yes, please contact me about Clio Grow
• b. Yes, please contact me about Clio Manage
• c. Yes, please contact me about both Clio Grow and

Clio Manage

• d. Yes, I’d also love to learn about the Clio Cloud

Conference

• e. No, not at this time

Questions

Thank You

Emma Raimi-Zlatic emma.raimi@clio.com @emmaraimizlatic; @goclio Linkedin.com/in/emmarz (888) 858-2546

CLE Course Information

Florida Bar Members:

• Course Number: 3545
• CLE Credit: 1.0 hours of General CLE credit

*Florida Bar members are eligible to receive 10% off Clio products with the promo code FLBAR.