Attorney Review & Success Story by Ralph M.

LegalMatch Brings More Clients and Revenue to our Law Firm

Martinez Law specializes in real estate and business. I practice in California.

I get enough leads from LegalMatch that it pays for what I spend on my membership. With the time that I take to manage referrals, my membership is profitable.

My account manager reaches out to me and gives me ideas on how to make my response faster. I also like the LegalMatch Attorney mobile app because it notifies me of new cases and I can instantly reply to the ones I’m interested in.

My membership has given me more cases in the area I practice. They are not large cases, but they provide a good cash flow for my business. In fact, LegalMatch has helped increase my regular cash flow.

I would say that in the first two months as a LegalMatch member, I was able to secure clients and active cases where I collected initial retainers of about 60% over the membership cost.

I encourage other attorneys to contact LegalMatch and become a member because the cost of one or two deals in my case would pay well over the membership cost. On top of that, the time you spend to screen and interview prospective clients is not at all overwhelming.

A Strategy for Using LegalMatch Effectively

I think a strategy for using LegalMatch effectively would be to identify the cases you’re interested in and respond quickly with a template. Create enough templates so you can cover a range. You can do that fast and easily. Make it so that it reveals your telephone number and your email address.

I customize my template details. There are certain types of cases that I want so I create templates for their categories. That way, if I see something I can reply to, I can send out the template and get the information very quickly. It doesn't take me a lot of time to fill it out. If the case is unique, then I have to fill it all out. But it's faster if I can use a template.

You can respond quickly with a telephone call. Many times I've been able to reach the client while they're still on their computer, after having just posted their case on the site. So, I can be one of the first attorneys they speak to. If I think I can help them with their case, then I usually get the deal if I want it.

What Sold Me on the Membership

I’ve been a member for three years. What sold me on the membership was that I found enough interesting cases there. The potential of closing a client is higher. Plus the cost of the advertising in comparison to what the revenue generation is had a big enough differential to attract me to it.

I like the idea that LegalMatch provides us with clients who are actually seeking our business. Our business is one where your promotional efforts are to put yourself in the mind of the client. So when they have a need, they remember you. You don't have to have that much of a promotional effort with LegalMatch. The clients already have a need. They post their case in LegalMatch because they have legal issues and are looking for a lawyer who can help them. So the need is already there. On my part, I just need to assess if I can help with their case. If I’m a match to what they are looking for, then I try to close a deal with them. It is easier to get client engagement this way.

With other kinds of lead generation, this doesn’t happen. I've had lead generation done with generic SEO on my website. I’ve been with other providers that do just general advertising. But when LegalMatch basically brings the client to me, that makes a big difference for me.

The best thing about LegalMatch is that it gives me the ability to contact the client quickly when they have a need. The client describes his needs and I can determine fairly quickly if I'm a potential match. Also, I don't have to interview everybody.

LegalMatch Support Has Been Good

Most of the LegalMatch people that I've talked to are in support or in management. Like my account managers, they've been very helpful in giving me ideas on how to be efficient in handling the clients.

I may have had five or six account representatives, but I would say that all of them that I've dealt with have been helpful to me. They usually give me better ideas so I can be more efficient in my practice.

COVID-19 is Fundamentally Changing the Practice of Law

LegalMatch is a helpful tool for lawyers in the COVID-19 crisis. It is helpful in that at least we still have some cases coming in even while working remotely. I don't have to have lunch with everybody now, which means less threat of exposure.

I've had two or three people tell me that they've been doing very well while the virus spread. People need more divorces or they need more family law. They need more legal assistance. I frequently say that the time has gone well and I haven't said this after the last economic meltdown, even though the virus is having the same impact on the economy. Generally, I'd say attorneys are economic or recession-proof because in good times, we build things and we get paid for it. And in bad times, we fight over scarce resources and we get paid for it. So whether things are going up or down, we usually can find the opportunities if we're broad enough in our application.