Nicole Black, The Daily Record Newswire
If you’re a young attorney and you’re a woman, chances are that rainmaking is a struggle for you. This often rings true for women lawyers in particular, since we network differently and aren’t always included in the events that often lead to new business, such as golf outings or drinks at the country club.
At least, that was my experience when I first started practicing law. Even as I honed my legal skills over time, bringing in cases continued to be a struggle.
Back then, I could have used a guide to help me improve my networking and marketing skills. Because, as we all know, legal skill matters not if you don’t have clients. And in many law firms, rainmaking capabilities become increasingly important over time and play a large role in promotion to partnership.
If you’re in the same boat as I used to be, guess what? You’re in luck! A new book was recently published by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Division that fills in this knowledge gap. “How Did She Do That? Marketing Success” is an informative legal marketing handbook written for women lawyers.
The book was edited by Dee A. Schiavelli, a legal marketing consultant, and Afi S. Johnson-Parris, an attorney, with the end goal of providing women lawyers with business development ideas and implementation tips.
The editors accomplish this goal through interviews with women lawyers who have successfully navigated the marketing maze to the benefit of their careers and their bank accounts. The women interviewed run the gamut from solo and small firm lawyers to partners in large law firms to women who have transitioned from the practice of law to other law-related careers.
By way of disclaimer, I was interviewed and my career path was featured in this book (along with the careers, successes, and marketing strategies of 45 other women lawyers).
As explained in the opening chapter, the editors accomplish their task of providing actionable marketing tips in each chapter by providing “an overview of a measurable marketing tool — to explain what it is and how it is used and then to introduce the reader to stories from women rainmakers on how they used the marketing tool, what they did, how it worked, and how that action lead to new business.”
Topics covered in this guide include ways to market within your law firm, networking outside of your practice, using social media to forward your goals, writing and speaking to enhance your reputation and reach, how to successfully pitch your firm to potential clients, how to use technology to grow your business and more.
So, if you’ve been struggling with business development and are looking for ideas to help expand your practice, this book is for you. Learning how to bring in new business can be a challenge — especially since there are so many online avenues to learn about and navigate. This book isn’t a cure all, but it’s is a great place to start and will help you to develop a rainmaking plan of action. And, at just $44.95, it’s a small investment that has the potential to bring in large returns. You can order your copy here: http://bit.ly/1Nfle3R.
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Nicole Black is a director at MyCase.com, a cloud-based law practice management platform. She is also of counsel to Fiandach & Fiandach in Rochester and is a GigaOM Pro analyst. She is the author of the ABA book “Cloud Computing for Lawyers,” coauthors the ABA book “Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier,” and co-authors “Criminal Law in New York,” a West-Thomson treatise. She speaks regularly at conferences regarding the intersection of law and technology. She publishes three legal blogs and can be reached at niki@mycase.com
