Differentiating Attorney Advertising and Blogging – The California Bar Thinks People Are Too Stupid to Use the Internet

DISCLAIMER: CLOVER THE CAT THINKS YOU SHOULD HIRE ME FOR ALL YOUR CAT NEEDS. THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

I’m an attorney. I have a blog. What do I write about? Whatever I feel like writing about. Sometimes I write about cats. Sometimes I write about cheesesteaks. Sometimes I write about law stuff. I don’t wake up in the morning and say “I should write an article about such and such topic because it will generate more clients.”

Do I get clients from writing this blog? Indirectly. I get very few calls that go like this:

“Hey, I read that post about cheesesteaks on Philly Law Blog.”
“Oh yeah? Did you like it?”
“Yeah, it was great! By the way, my son got sick from a cheesesteak and we need someone to represent us. Clearly, you are a cheesesteak lawyer and an expert in your field. I also hear you like cats. Can you help us?”

When You Are What Google Says You Are

On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.

Last week I learned that my friend Charlie Thomas was throwing in the towel after 11 years of practice. Charlie was my co-counsel in the Bellwether Trial, and I can say from first hand experience that he is a good lawyer (not just “We chat on Twitter, so I say nice things about him.”) Charlie also has a great sense of humor, and often offers “free legal advice” that include tidbits like “Don’t steal stuff” or “Don’t show up to court high when you’re being brought up on drug charges.” His sardonic anecdotes of criminal law practice always make me laugh.

So why would a good, experienced trial lawyer like Charlie get out of practice? No clients, apparently. Despite what you may have read on Solo Practice University, solo practice is hard. Real hard. Not everyone makes it. There are only so many paying clients, and lawyers to serve them.

But why would someone as good as Charlie not have any clients? He explained:

Most of that reflection was focused on fixing the marketing problem. All my eggs were in a single basket — and not one that I owned myself. When Google changed their algorithm and sent me off the first page and down to page four, my phone stopped ringing.

This is one of the reason bloggers like Greenfield and Tannebaum advise against a “Google-based” reputation, and instead suggest lawyers focus on developing  competence, strong relationships with real people, and a reputation for excellence among your peers.

Despite what you may have heard on the internet, the future of law isn’t manufacturing a Google based reputation, and it never will be. Because if your reputation is based on Google, you are what Google says you are. And if Google says you’re on page four, apparently you’re nobody. Even if you’re a good, experienced trial lawyer.

This May Be The Pinnacle Of Legal Marketing…

Alright, internet. Time to go home. The game is now over.

Day in the Life of the Fishtown Lawyers: A YouTube Series

HA! HA! I’M MAKING MAGIC MOVING PICTURES ON MY PHONE! POWERS LIKE THAT OF A GOD! LAWYER MARKETEERS HAVE NOW FILLED MY PRACTICE WITH AWESOME!

(warning – use of bad words)

 

Search Term of the Day: Legal Marketing Edition (Now, with memes!)

Every once in a while, I peruse what terms people use to find our blog. Occasionally it’s informative. Often, it’s hilarious. Sometimes it’s sad.

Well, today, someone found our blog using a search term that made me feel a way I can express best through a meme:

Kevin Schreiber (kevin@cleanyourname.com) is an idiot.

Thanks, Siri. Now, find me some scummy SEO marketer in New York…

After yesterday’s post, you’d think that sleezy SEO marketers would understand that we don’t want what they’re selling.

Nope.

Your Legal Marketing is Invalid.

Today we received an email from “Jane”, a marketer who claimed she was “doing some research on bloggers in the legal field” and said she “found [our] site while [she] was researching websites that may be looking for guest bloggers.”

Already I know that she is either 1) lying; or 2) really, really bad at research. I think we’ve made our position regarding third party marketing pretty clear before, and we’ve surely never expressed an interest in guest bloggers.

Either way, I’m already not inclined to hire her for anything.