be that lawyer: niche practice for lawyers

Be That Lawyer!

Make your firm memorable with a niche practice.Carolyn Elefant, MyShingle.com

In a competitive marketplace, how are you going to stand out from the crowd?

Spam?

TV Ads?Billboards?

Cheap Lawyer for

Hire

niche

--a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing

A niche can be…A geographic segment of the market

A demographic segment of the market

A subset of an existing substantive practice

A means of delivering services (e.g., unbundled legal services)

A niche must be…

Unique

Specialized

Memorable!

Some examples found online….

A niche is not…Bargain basement rates!

Reasonable doubt at a reasonable price!

“The lawyer who returns phone calls!”

Bad business model

Slogan

What lawyers should do!

Why a niche?

Niches are delicious….easy roll out, low cost.

(Inc., 5/20/10

Target Your Audienceashington DC

CompetitionNiche

Riches in Niches

If you're the best in the world, the market cares. The secret, if you have limited resources (don't we all) is to make 'world' small enough that you can actually accomplish that.

--Seth Godin, The Dip

Holy purple cow, brother! A store with only cupcakes!

I hear ya, Brother!

I’m drooling!

Niches ignite, excite & delight - both lawyers & clients

Isn’t a niche going to be too limited?

Small % of revenue, but shines a light on your entire practice

Aren’t all of the good niches taken?

Motifake.com

Examples of Niche Practices NOT Found Online….

• Social media in the workplace lawyer

• Single mothers by choice lawyer

• Estate planning for single parents

• “Cloud” law• Outside counsel for solo &

small law firms• Lawyers representing the

[XXX] cultural community• Outsourcing to India• Virtual law practice for the

military

• Lawyer for home based businesses

• Criminal defense of computer based crimes

• Medical malpractice in women’s health

• Negotiation of electronic rights for book authors & freelancers

• Bully law - victims & accused

• Blogger lawyers• Family law for domestic

partners

4 Steps to a Quick Niche

Practice

Step 1:

Which Niche?

Considerations for Choosing a Niche

*Personal interest

*% of time desired to devote to niche

*Existing contacts within niche area

*Substantive capabilities - existing or ability to procure.

*Ability to re-purpose existing capabilities (if adding a niche)

*Geographic capabilities

Step 2:

What’s the Itch for the

Niche?

Resources for Figuring Out the Demand for a Niche

*Google trends, www.google.com/trends

*Census data, www.census.gov

*Chamber of Commerce information

*Twitter.com/search

*Pewresearch.com

*Trendspotting.com/blog

*Slideshare.net

*Speak with colleagues

Step 3:

When To Switch to the

Niche?

Different Approaches….

Will it be a transition to a full niche - or just a partial practice niche?

Do you want to grow into the niche gradually?

Do you want to formally launch the niche? (if so, don’t do it in summer!)

Step 4:

How to Pitch the Niche

Marketing your niche practice

Notify existing clients

Identify tradeshows or trade press

Participate in niche specific listservs and social media communities

Create an ebook for niche specific practice

Online webinars and video

Local cable TV?

Respond to HARO requests or contact the media yourelf

Start a blog & purchase niche-specific names

If local niche, explore Google Local, FourSquare and other local search engines

Collaborate with other lawyers in the niche who don’t compete

Step 5:

Ethics and the Niche

Ethics Issues With Niche Practice

Caution about advertising as a “specialist”

In niche practice of national scope, watch out for UPL issues

In niche that may involve non-lawyers, be attentive to rules on fee-splitting and referral fees

Thank you!

Contact:

Carolyn Elefant

Carolyn@carolynelefant.com

MyShingle.com

LawOfficesofCarolynElefant.com