With LegalMatch, you have what is a very direct way of getting clients and cases and doing the work that you love.
I thought joining LegalMatch would be worth at least trying for a little while. Then I found it to be very successful. I like the directness of it. For my practice, this really suited me in terms of clientele I can receive. It just seemed like a good idea and I’ve been with LegalMatch for about eight years and it's worked out fine.
I’m happy with the directness of how LegalMatch helps me in terms of marketing and getting clients, rather than putting an ad somewhere and hoping that people come to me. With a membership, you’ve already got prospects in need of an attorney. They have taken the affirmative step of putting their case profile online and they’re more in need of assistance. A lot of times I feel like I’m coming to somebody’s rescue rather than out there soliciting for my services. For me that works really well.
I would recommend LegalMatch to others, particularly people like myself who are solo practitioners and people in smaller firms. It’s a great way of getting a diverse clientele. It’s had a positive effect in terms of the number of cases I’ve gained in the litigation realm.
My practice is basically broken down into thirds. One third is international trade practice. Another third is general corporate work and business work that I do for people I do know. The other third is from LegalMatch, which is the core of my litigation matters.
A LegalMatch membership is worth it. I definitely think it’s worth exploring if you’re like me and you like the practice of law, but maybe don’t love having to go out and market yourself and go to bar association functions. With LegalMatch, you have what is a very direct way of getting clients and cases and doing the work that you love.
In the years that I’ve been a LegalMatch member, I’ve received very positive reviews for the work that I’ve done and I think that helps get new clients. If you’re going to join the system, and in any system obviously, doing good work is the best way to market yourself.
In terms of the process, be as responsive as you can to clients. You receive an email telling you there’s a new case on file. If you’re interested in that case I would recommend being expeditious about it and getting back to them as soon as possible.
I have my own template for use in the LegalMatch site. I have one template that I’ll modify for my responses to the prospective clients. It’s been a little difficult during this coronavirus time, but there are still client prospects popping through on email.
LegalMatch is just a very direct way of obtaining cases rather than putting ads in papers. The process is a very direct way of meeting clients, understanding their problems, and getting right to helping them with their issues.
I tested out Avvo.com for a little bit five years ago. Both their process and the nature of cases weren’t as good as what is available on LegalMatch.
There’s no clutter on the site. It’s like you get an email, “Here’s a case” and you look at it. Is it something I’m interested in? Honestly you’re not always interested in cases, but you’ll often find really interesting cases as well. I just like the no nonsense aspect to somebody needing an attorney rather than some other tenuous method of obtaining clientele.
On a weekly basis, I get four or five leads from LegalMatch. I’m selective in terms of cases I get, so on average I get three referrals a month where the client and I at least discuss the case to see if we’re going to move forward.
It’s probably two out of three who will turn into clients for me once that communications process begins. I’ll generally ask the client if it’s a contract matter or something to do with some document to send over to me as part of the consultation process. I’ll review it and we’ll have some discussions. I let the client be comfortable with me, sharing my knowledge of what the case is all about before retaining the client, moving on with a formal retainer.
The support system of LegalMatch is always great. They’ll check in once a month just to see how things are going. I’m generally busy with law, so I’m like, “Everything’s fine, there’s no need to fix things.” But every now and then there's an issue with things like scheduling appointments with clients. I actually had LegalMatch account managers say to me, “Hey, listen, if you’re really busy, we’re more than happy to get back to the client on your behalf.” For me, that’s fantastic!
I know they’re there when I need them, but the system is so well done that I feel like there’s not really that much that I need from the account manager to assist me in the process.