The Communication Challenge In the legal profession, attorneys exist because of one essential factor: their clients. Yet, according to surveys by the International Bar Association, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the California Bar Association, the number one complaint from clients is a lack of communication. This pervasive issue transcends firm size, practice area, and geography, affecting attorneys worldwide. Understanding the client’s perspective is crucial. While procedural justice and therapeutic jurisprudence have explored attorney-client interactions from the attorney’s viewpoint, the client’s experience has been largely overlooked. This article delves into why communication is at the heart of a successful attorney-client relationship and offers practical strategies to exceed client expectations. The Importance of Communication Building a trusting relationship with clients is often the cornerstone of success in any legal matter. Surprisingly, surveys reveal that at least 50% of successful clients report dissatisfaction with their attorneys, not due to incompetence or negligence, but because of poor communication. In a study of 44 successful clients, 60% cited communication issues as their primary concern. A significant report by the International Bar Association involving 219 senior counsels found that poor communication was the leading reason clients terminated their attorney-client relationships. This issue spans all demographics and practice areas, highlighting a systemic problem in the legal industry. The Cost of Poor Communication According to the ABA’s “Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims,” only 10% of malpractice claims stem from the poor application of the law. The remaining 90% result from poor communication with clients. This staggering statistic underscores the critical importance of effective communication—not only to maintain positive relationships with clients but also to protect against malpractice claims. Clients have shared their frustrations in surveys, expressing feelings of being ignored, demeaned, or left in the dark by their attorneys. One client noted, “I went to my attorney because of her reputation and expertise, but she just doesn’t listen. She assumes I don’t understand anything. This is my case, I want to be heard.” Another added, “My attorney never bothered to explain the legal terminology. I felt like I was begging for information about my own case.” These statements reflect a broader sentiment that many clients feel unimportant and undervalued when their attorneys fail to communicate effectively. Understanding and Managing Client Expectations Clients don’t expect constant communication but need to feel secure, informed, and significant to their attorney. They want to hear from their attorney at key moments, whether there is progress, no news, or when there is bad or good news. Even when attorneys are busy, clients still need reassurance that their case matters. Understanding client expectations can be challenging, especially for those who are new to the legal process and may have unrealistic views shaped by popular media. However, attorneys can manage these expectations by educating clients about the legal process, setting clear communication protocols, and maintaining regular updates. Educating clients about the legal process helps them form more realistic expectations and reduces their anxiety. When clients understand the steps involved in a lawsuit and the typical timeline, they are less likely to feel frustrated by perceived delays or lack of communication. Establishing a regular communication schedule that includes both updates on their case and educational insights into the legal process tells clients that their attorney is invested in their case and their well-being. Practical Steps for Better Communication To exceed client expectations, attorneys should focus on two critical areas: listening and regular communication. 1. Listening. Anxious clients need to feel heard. Attorneys should: Listen carefully to their clients’ goals and concerns without interrupting. Consider the emotions driving the conversation and respond empathetically. Validate the client by repeating back what they’ve heard before responding. Clients who feel their attorney is truly listening are more likely to trust and feel satisfied with the legal process. 2. Communicate Regularly. The illusion of communication is a common pitfall. Attorneys may think they are communicating enough, but clients often feel differently. Regular communication should include: Updates on the case’s progress. Explanations of any legal terms or processes the client may not understand. Regularly scheduled check-ins, even if there is nothing new to report. This consistent communication helps clients feel informed, valued, and respected. The Bottom Line Effective communication is not just a courtesy; it is a fundamental aspect of the attorney-client relationship that can significantly impact the outcome of a legal case. By listening carefully, managing expectations, and maintaining regular communication, attorneys can build stronger, more trusting relationships with their clients. In doing so, they not only enhance their professional reputation but also protect themselves from potential malpractice claims.

It is essential to fill an open position at your law firm. Whether it is an attorney, paralegal, legal assistant, or administrative staff member, most law firms cannot afford to have key positions remain open when there is work to do. When positions are not filled, essential work is likely not being done. To the extent it is being done, it might mean that an employee has to do the job of two employees, like an attorney handling a more extensive caseload than they can comfortably manage. Sometimes, it might mean that an employee performs job functions outside their normal job functions and qualifications. Some Candidates Might not Be Local When your firm posts open positions, applications can come in from candidates who are outside the locality. The candidates are in another city or state. Sometimes, the applicant is in another part of the world. Recruiters may even recruit outside the locality where few local candidates are applying. The hope is they can lure somebody to the job location. Thus, it is increasingly likely that when a law firm looks at potential candidates, the pool consists of local candidates, with some that are not. What Concerns Should Law Firms Have About Non-Local Candidates? When candidates are not local and need to relocate for the position, law firm managers and owners need to screen these candidates carefully. Below are some questions a law firm may want to look into: Would the candidate be happy if they uprooted to a new location to take the position? If the candidate relocated for the position, would they stay long-term? Or would they be looking to return home at a later date? How long would it take the candidate to uproot and begin if the position was offered? Consider that many candidates may need to sell a home, uproot their family and kids, etc. Has the candidate ever been to the location where the position is? If they have, what do they think of the city, state, and locality? If they have not, are they sure they want to move somewhere they have never been? Would they return home if a position of equal quality and salary became available in their current location? Or would they stay once they accepted the position? Will the candidate need moving expenses to accept the position? If so, is the law firm willing and able to cover them? In the end, law firms may decide to hire candidates who are relocating. If the answers to the above questions or similar questions in an interview are positive, the relocation may work out. But if the answers are not positive, and the law firm has a candidate who is already local with equal or superior credentials, a law firm may decide to hire the local candidate. A local candidate can usually begin quickly. The reality is that many candidates who accept positions outside their locality back out once they get a job offer in their home state/city. Many candidates who accept positions get homesick and want to return home after some time. If the law firm is fronting moving expenses, it is frustrating if the candidate doesn’t stay a long time. It can also result in disruptive turnover within the law firm.

It’s easy to get caught up in client work and forget about one of the most powerful growth tools right in front of you—other lawyers. Sure, marketing directly to potential clients is important, but have you ever thought about the value of referrals from fellow attorneys? Lawyers who don’t practice in your area can be a great source of new clients, especially when they trust you to handle the matters they can’t. Creating and maintaining a strong network of referral partners is essential to growing your practice. It’s about connecting with other lawyers who are looking for someone they can count on when their clients need help outside their expertise. Here’s how you can start making those connections and turning them into real opportunities to grow your practice. 1. Identify Your Target Audience The first step in marketing to other lawyers is identifying who your ideal referral sources are. Not every lawyer is a potential referral partner, so it’s important to be strategic about where you focus your efforts. Consider the following: Practice Area Compatibility: Target lawyers who do not practice in your area but whose clients might need your services. For example, a family lawyer might find referrals from an estate planning attorney, as family matters often involve estate considerations. Firm Size and Structure: Boutique firms and general practice firms are often good sources of referrals, as they may not have specialists in every area. Even within larger firms, there may be departments that can benefit from your expertise. Industry Focus: Consider the industries your target lawyers serve. If you specialize in insurance defense, for example, lawyers who work in corporate law, real estate or employment law might encounter cases where your expertise is needed. Actionable Tip: Create a list of potential referral sources based on these criteria and prioritize those who are most likely to encounter clients with needs in your practice area. 2. Educate Your Target Audience Once you’ve identified your target audience, the next step is to educate them about your services. The goal here is not to teach them your practice area in detail or go into your elevator pitch, but to help them understand how your expertise can benefit their clients. Tailored Communication: Speak to your audience at their level of understanding. A lawyer specializing in corporate law may not need to know the intricacies of immigration law, but they should understand the basics of how immigration issues might affect their clients’ hiring practices. Thought Leadership: Establish yourself as a thought leader by contributing to newsletters, speaking at relevant bar association meetings, or sponsoring events. For instance, if you specialize in healthcare law, you might write an article for a bar association’s healthcare section on recent trends in hospital mergers. Create Educational Content: Develop alerts, newsletters, seminars, webinars and in-house presentations that are specifically aimed at your target audience. For example, a tax lawyer could offer a “lunch and learn” session for corporate lawyers, providing valuable insights into tax considerations for mergers and acquisitions. Actionable Tip: Develop a series of short, informative presentations or articles that address common issues your target lawyers might encounter. Offer to present these at their firm or contribute them to their client communications. 3. Build Trust Through Networking Networking is a cornerstone of building any successful referral network. However, in the legal field, where referrals are often based on trust, personal relationships are particularly important. One-on-One Meetings: Schedule lunches or coffee meetings with potential referral partners to discuss your practice areas and how you can support their clients. These informal settings provide an opportunity to build rapport and trust. Group Networking: Join bar association sections or committees that are relevant to your target audience. This allows you to network with multiple lawyers at once and position yourself as a knowledgeable and approachable resource. Follow-Up: After initial meetings, follow up with a thank-you note or an offer to provide additional information. Consistent follow-up helps keep you top-of-mind and reinforces your commitment to the relationship. Actionable Tip: Attend at least one networking event per month and make a goal to connect with a specific number of new contacts at each event. Follow up with personalized messages to continue building the relationship. 4. Add Value to Your Relationships To encourage other lawyers to refer clients to you, it’s important to consistently add value to your relationships. By providing tools and resources that help them better serve their clients, you position yourself as a valuable partner. Guest Posts and Speaking Engagements: Offer to write guest posts for the firm’s blog or speak at a client seminar. This not only showcases your expertise but also helps the firm enhance its offerings to clients. Resource Development: Prepare brochures, one-page explanation sheets, or other materials that lawyers can give to their clients when they encounter issues related to your practice area. This can be especially helpful in complex areas of law where clients need clear, concise explanations. Collaborative Opportunities: Offer to collaborate on CLE presentations, white papers, articles, podcasts, social media content or joint client seminars. These partnerships can help strengthen your relationship with the referring lawyer while providing added value to their clients. Actionable Tip: Develop a set of client-facing materials that you can share with referral partners. Make sure these materials are branded with your contact information so that they reinforce your role as the go-to expert. 5. Reframe Your Professional Profile Your professional bio—on your website and on LinkedIn—should reflect your ability to collaborate with other lawyers and support their clients. Highlight Collaboration: Include examples of how you’ve successfully worked with other lawyers to solve complex client issues. For example, “Regularly collaborate with corporate attorneys to address immigration challenges in international business transactions.” Focus on Results: Your bio should emphasize the results you’ve achieved for clients through these collaborations. This demonstrates not only your expertise but also the tangible benefits of working with you. LinkedIn Optimization: Make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimized to highlight your collaborative skills and willingness to work with other lawyers. This can help you stand out to potential referral partners who are searching for experts in your field. Actionable Tip: Review and update your bio and LinkedIn profile to emphasize your experience in working with other lawyers and the positive outcomes you’ve achieved for clients through these collaborations. Expanding Your Influence Through Legal Referrals Marketing to other lawyers requires a thoughtful approach that emphasizes education, trust-building and value creation. By identifying the right referral partners, educating them about how your services benefit their clients and consistently adding value to the relationship, you can build a robust referral network that drives new business opportunities. Remember, successful referral relationships are built on trust and mutual benefit. As you implement these strategies, focus on creating genuine connections and demonstrating your commitment to helping both the referring lawyer and their clients succeed. Over time, this approach will not only generate new referrals but also expand your influence within the legal community, positioning you as a trusted expert in your field. How to Build a Network of Referral Partners To build a network of referral partners, start by getting involved in the legal community. The key is to be proactive—reach out, introduce yourself and find commonalities. Over time, these connections can evolve into valuable referral relationships. Attend industry events, bar association meetings and networking gatherings where you’re likely to meet other lawyers. Engaging in online communities, such as LinkedIn groups or legal forums, can also be a great way to connect with potential referral partners. Volunteering for committees or speaking at conferences can help you showcase your expertise and build relationships with other professionals who might refer clients to you. Key Takeaways to Building a Referral Network From Other Lawyers Identify non-competing lawyers with complementary practice areas as potential referral partners. Educate your target audience on how your expertise can benefit their clients without overwhelming them with details. Build trust through consistent networking and follow up. Add value by offering collaborative opportunities like CLE presentations or joint seminars. Reframe your bio and LinkedIn profile to emphasize your collaborative skills and successes. By following these best practices, you can effectively market yourself to other lawyers, build a strong referral network and grow your practice through mutually beneficial relationships.

If you read our past article on what makes up a modern marketing technology stack, you know that thousands of platforms are available to help with virtually every facet of running your law firm’s day-to-day marketing. Moreover, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing your law firm’s Marketing Technology Stack is not a simple, streamlined process. Unfortunately, too many law firms end up implementing technology they don’t use because vendors over-promised. In general, there are 6 mistakes law firms make when selecting and adopting marketing technology solutions. We’ll cover them here, so your firm can avoid these pitfalls when considering new marketing technology. 1. You Believe That Integration Will Be Easy It’s a vendor’s job to promise that installation will be simple, but that’s rarely the case. Every law firm is different, which means implementing new technology is more complex than what an outside vendor can understand from brief interactions. Make sure you drill down into the process and ask detailed questions on any platform. Ask vendors if they’ve worked with your specific systems before, and let them know if you have any custom code. Be sure to get references and take the time to call and discuss the potential platform. While some technologies are easy to implement, you should know that those are the exception, not the rule. 2. You Get Excited About too Many New Platforms Perhaps you’ve just been at a legal tech conference, and you come back invigorated about new technology options. Maybe you have a new marketing director at your firm eager to make some changes. Whatever the reason, firms often end up biting off more than they can chew when they try to implement multiple new systems simultaneously. Every implementation requires resources from your teams, and those resources aren’t infinite. It’s important to scale into new technologies. We suggest building a long-term roadmap of the technology needs of your team, accounting for how long it will take to integrate each other and how they impact each other. Rank any new technology according to priority and need. When you implement new systems, start slow and keep it simple—scale up to the full capabilities. 3. You Think That Bigger Is Always Better Many law firms are only comfortable buying from the best-known brands or biggest names. Just remember that even the most prominent brands have issues. For one thing, they tend to be more expensive. It can also be tricky to see how integrated each of their solutions are. We suggest also looking at younger or smaller companies, as they often offer better customer service (and you’re bound to have questions in the early adoption phase!), and they may have features better tailored to your firm’s needs. 4. Your Law Firm’s Internal Teams Are Not Aligned It’s crucial to involve key stakeholders in choosing technology that affects them. Beyond the marketing team, consider who might need input on any platforms. The technology could impact business development, client service and secretaries, your CIO or CFO, and others. Anyone who will ultimately be an end user should have some say. Having your technology team on board is also essential, and ensuring proper resources will be allocated to an installation. Make sure the entire team involved is on board and engaged from the beginning, or you could potentially waste months not using the technology you pay monthly for. 5. You Assume the Job Is Finished After the Implementation Most advanced technologies require more than financial investment—they take time. Technology can only go so far. You must provide the right training and tools to help your team make the most of the technology you’ve invested in. Training, onboarding, and ongoing support are critical components of success in any marketing technology that you implement. Otherwise, you’ll have wasted dollars on platforms your team doesn’t know how to use. 6. Overlooking Data Security and Compliance Risks One of the most critical, yet often overlooked aspects of choosing new marketing technology is ensuring it meets data security and compliance standards. As law firms handle sensitive client information, any software you adopt must comply with legal industry regulations, such as data protection and confidentiality standards. Vendors should provide detailed documentation on how their platforms address security, encryption, and compliance issues. Always prioritize solutions that offer robust security features to protect your firm’s and clients’ data and avoid costly breaches or legal risks. Key Takeaway The fact is that there are plenty of marketing technologies out there that can help law firm marketing teams do their jobs more effectively. It’s important to invest the proper time and effort into implementing any new system to see a return on investment (ROI). 

TikTok’s rapid rise in popularity has made it a must-use platform for marketers. However, a recent study reveals that many brands are not effectively leveraging TikTok. For law firms considering TikTok as part of their marketing strategy, understanding these insights is crucial for success. The State of TikTok Content A recent study by DAIVID highlights a significant issue: 84% of branded TikTok videos struggle to capture attention or generate positive emotions, and 24% evoke strong negative reactions such as anxiety or disgust. This data underscores a critical challenge for law firms aiming to build their brand on this platform. Key Findings: Forgettable content: 60% of branded TikTok videos are rated below average in emotional response and brand recall. These videos often fail to engage viewers effectively, leaving them with a sense of confusion or boredom. Negative emotions: Nearly a quarter of branded videos trigger intense negative emotions. For law firms, these reactions can undermine credibility and damage reputations, which is particularly detrimental in the legal field where trust is paramount. Attention and engagement: On average, branded TikTok content generates 9% fewer positive emotions and attracts 2.5% less attention compared to the global average. This highlights the need for more strategic and engaging content to stand out in a crowded feed. Strategies for Law Firms to Succeed on TikTok To turn these challenges into opportunities, law firms need to adopt a strategic approach to their TikTok content: Create positive emotional impact: Focus on content that elicits positive emotions like hope, admiration, and amusement. For example, share success stories, client testimonials, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of your firm’s culture. This helps build trust and humanizes your brand. Avoid negative triggers: Ensure your content is clear, engaging, and free of jargon that could confuse viewers. Avoid complex legal terms and focus on delivering valuable information in an accessible way. This approach minimizes the risk of evoking negative emotions. Capture attention quickly: TikTok is known for its fast-paced content. Make sure your videos are visually appealing and start with a hook that grabs attention within the first few seconds. Use trending audio and hashtags to enhance visibility and relevance. Leverage analytics for improvement: Don’t just rely on basic metrics like views and likes. Use TikTok’s analytics tools to understand how your content impacts emotions and attention. TikTok Analytics: What to Track To measure the effectiveness of your TikTok content, focus on the following analytics: Watch time: Indicates how long viewers are staying on your videos. Higher watch times suggest engaging content. Engagement rate: Includes likes, comments, shares, and saves. High engagement rates typically mean your content resonates with viewers. Audience insights: Provides information about who is watching your videos, including demographics and interests. Tailor your content to match the preferences of your target audience. Completion rate: Shows the percentage of viewers who watch your video to the end. A high completion rate suggests your content is compelling and holds viewers’ attention. Types of Content to Post Law firms can explore various content types on TikTok to engage their audience effectively: Educational videos: Share quick legal tips, explain complex legal concepts, or provide insights into common legal issues. These videos can position your firm as a thought leader. Behind-the-scenes: Offer a glimpse into your firm’s culture, day-to-day operations, or team activities. This helps humanize your brand and build a personal connection with viewers. Client testimonials: Feature satisfied clients sharing their positive experiences. Authentic testimonials can build credibility and trust. Legal trends and news: Comment on recent legal developments or trends. Keeping your audience informed can enhance your firm’s relevance and authority in the field. Interactive content: Create polls, Q&A sessions, or challenges to engage your audience. Key Takeaways TikTok presents a powerful platform for law firms to engage with a broader audience, but success requires a thoughtful approach. By focusing on positive emotional impact, avoiding negative triggers, and leveraging analytics, your law firm can stand out and build a strong presence on TikTok.