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5 Reasons Shingle-Hangers Need a FindLaw Directory Listing

By William Peacock, Esq. on March 19, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Solos, what's the hardest part of running your own practice?

It's not the billing, practice management, local rules, or even opposing counsel. And though you're a recent graduate with little to no experience, you'll pick up the nuances of the law as you go.

No, the hardest part of running your own firm is getting clients in the door. You'll get some referrals, a desperate friend or two, and maybe some court-appointed work, but if you want to thrive, rather than survive, you'll eventually need a bigger client base than friends and family.

If you do one thing, one easy thing, to market your solo practice, it should be to sign up for the FindLaw Directory.

5. Your Momma's Friends Aren't Enough of a Client Base

Referrals are the life blood of a new firm's client base, but where are they coming from? Your mother's friends? Unless she rolls deep with a crew of felons, that source will eventually run dry.

Besides, do you really want to represent your mother's friends? What happens when they don't pay up? I've had clients flee the country, lose their jobs, or simply ignore their bills. Are you going to feel comfortable demanding money from your mother's unemployed and/or felonious friends?

Besides, your mother's friends are going to walk in with every imaginable problem. If you don't want to be a jack-of-all-trades and a malpractice magnet, you probably want to concentrate on a niche. Be the "Bay Area DUI Gal," not the, "Will Litigate For Food Guy." Our directory delivers exactly that: clients searching for your niche, in your geographic area.

4. We've Been Doing This Since You Were a Tween

Quick math: a recent grad, if she went straight from undergraduate to law, is probably in her mid-twenties. Our directory has been the biggest on the block for more than a decade, which pretty much means that while she was at a Backstreet Boys concert, we were helping match clients to local lawyers.

Guess what? We're still the biggest and the best.

3. Three Million Eyes

More numbers: every month, site-wide, we get more than 5 million visitors. Our directory alone sees somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 million visitors per month. That's pretty much 3 million eyeballs, give or take a few pirates, that are looking up local lawyers on FindLaw.

2. Clients Can't Hire What They Can't See

Visibility. You can slap up a website, make it rain business cards from the top of the Empire State Building, and buy billboards. All of those things will help (probably). But unless your efforts go viral, there's no easier way to reach millions of potential paying clients.

1. It Takes Pretty Much No Effort Whatsoever

Did we mention that it's easy to get in the directory?

You can sign up online, and one of our fabulous FindLaw folks will contact you about the directory. Or, if you're feeling especially proactive, you can call 855-281-8859.

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