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Get the best office your finances will permit. If you have money, be sure to set some aside to carry you for at least a year. If you have none, you have little to lose. If you do some careful budget planning, and write up a detailed formal business plan, you may be able to borrow money from a local branch bank to help you get started. If you can convince the banker that you have a future, and are convinced yourself that it really is there, you are a good candidate for a loan. If the bank has invested in you, there is a good chance that it will refer business to you. The busier you are, the more secure the loan is. Every day, bank customers ask their bankers to recommend a good lawyer for some problem they need handled.
Additionally, the bank has a lot of small business which its regular counsel is not set up to take care of properly. For example, there are a number of guardianships under various state and federal programs which require annual accountings to be filed in the local county court. For propriety, the bank prefers to be represented by independent counsel when it asks for a fee out of its ward's guardianship estate. Sometimes the relative of a deceased depositor will ask the bank to act as administrator of the estate when there is no will. In that case, the trust officer of the bank has the discretion to choose the lawyer to handle the case in court.
Be sure to send out announcements to all your relatives, friends and acquaintances. As soon as you pass the bar, you will receive mail solicitations from printing companies offering package deals for announcements, letterheads, cards, bill forms, and so on, which can get you started.
Some lawyers go the organization route. They join every society or group that will take them in. Because of their training and experience, they quickly get on committees and soon become officers. The weekly meeting exposure and status make the members remember that they are lawyers, and it is rare someone does not come up and ask some legal question. Most of this banter is for free; however, quite a bit turns into something which brings in a client to the office.
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An excellent source of business is teaching a "Law for Laymen" course at an evening high school or community college. Although a lot of students are really trying to get advice about their own problems, your answers to their questions, and the very fact that you are the expert giving the lecture, makes you the great oracle. Most will come to you professionally when they have a serious problem and will also tell all their friends and relatives what a great lawyer you are.
At the risk of overindulgence, a lawyer who hits the bars selectively every night on the way home from the office picks up a lot of business. One might go to the same bar and stay for a couple of hours, buying drinks and just being a good guy. Another will go to three or four, staying for a drink at each. Regulars at bars seem to need lawyers more often than most, or have friends and acquaintances who do, and thus are the source of many referrals.
The church lawyers achieve the same end in an entirely different way. They and their wives are heavily into less "profane" activities, and because of the high status and respect they receive, the congregants look to them as the only lawyers to go to when legal problems arise.
Some lawyers get their clients from people they meet jogging; some from playing golf. It does not seem to matter as long as the lawyer is in a place where a number of people over a period of time become used to the idea that "this person is a lawyer, and if I need one, or know someone who does, I will recommend this person to handle the problem."
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Since the Supreme Court has declared that all persons charged with felonies must be provided with lawyers if they cannot afford them, many counties now have public defenders who handle cases for indigents. Frequently, there is a need for additional counsel to represent a codefendant because of possible conflict of interest between them. This means that the court must appoint an outside attorney at county expense. Besides the money you will get from these cases, the experience is invaluable. These people are your clients, just like the others you get in the normal course of business. Along similar lines, check into whether you can be appointed to represent a criminal defendant on appeal. Many states pay appointed counsel to prepare and argue the briefs in those cases.
A number of lawyers prepare income tax returns for their clients. Often this is the first contact many people have with a lawyer. Many will need wills prepared in the future, or will need other legal services during the year.
Do not overlook the word-of-mouth advertising you can get from your present clients. Be aware of the subtle positive effect professional certificates hanging on the walls of your office can have on your clients. Did you ever hear someone say, "My attorney is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States"? Any lawyer who has been admitted to practice in any state for three years or more, and who is in good standing, can become a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court merely by filling out an application obtained from the Clerk of the Court, having the admission proposed by two other lawyers who are members, and sending in the required fee. In the old days, it was necessary to actually go to Washington, attend a session, and take the oath administered by the Chief Justice. Today, it can all be done by mail. When you get your three years in, get your certificate. Even if you have do not have your own office, at the very least your parents will be proud.
To fill up your walls, you can get all kinds of certificates admitting you to practice before various federal administrative agencies. Check them out.
When you do get admitted to the Supreme Court, and you happen to be in Washington, go to the Court library and register as one of the members of the Bar. This gives you access to the privileges of that library, and you can use it for research while you are in town. Check with the librarian for further details and benefits.
Running for some political office gives you terrific name recognition, and whether you win or lose, your supporters usually remain very loyal to you and refer clients for a long time after the election has passed.
If you have the money to spend, paid advertising can be quite rewarding; however, check this out carefully. Many lawyers do not believe it brings results unless you have a big budget for the ads.
Whatever method you adopt for attracting clients, choose one that fits your personality. You should be comfortable with both your methods and the clients you obtain by them. The group you appeal to will be the basis of your law practice. May good fortune follow you as you wend your way through law school and the bar exam into many happy years of practice.
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