November 29, 2006
The Country Lawyer vs. the Modern Law Firm's Market Reach
I recently had the opportunity to discuss with a number of attorneys the difference between the geographic limitations of the traditional country lawyer model as compared to the modern law firm’s potential for national and international reach.
The old model of the country lawyer was simple but limiting. You hung out your shingle, and from then on, your success depended entirely on your ability to build relationships with those in the community. That model is still available, and even in big cities many law firms still operate as country lawyers.
Other than the limiting aspect of jurisdictions, the reach of a law firm no longer has to be confined to community and face-to-face relationship building. Make the right moves and the savvy can become a go-to firm on a national and international level. I live in the small town of Franklin that plays suburbia to Nashville, TN. But even in my small town, there are law firms that represent international corporations regarding matters within the local jurisdiction. Today’s small communities have national and international connections and investors—all are prospects for the technologically savvy law firm. And then there are those segments of law that are not limited to local jurisdictions.
The shingle has been replaced by the firm’s web site. Blogs and RSS feeds provide a boundary-free way to become a go-to firm. Relationships are built by providing value to others; blogs and RSS feeds are an opportunity to do so on a national and international scale. They provide a vehicle for the firm to demonstrate the four top characteristics of a go-to firm:
- Knowledge of the law
- Communication ability
- Confident style
- Industry (or consumer type) knowledge
The caveat is that doing so requires targeting narrowly defined market segments where the law firm is able to acquire and demonstrate its superior knowledge of the issues, needs, opportunities, and problems of the targeted industry or consumer.
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Filed under Marketing, Operations by Tom Collins