Get Niche Picky: Ethics of Creating Your Own Personal Legal Brand

No longer can an attorney be “all things to all people.”   

The day of the general legal practitioner has long passed. The laws and legal system have become extremely complex; new legislation is constantly being passed which affect specific segments of the law. As a result, when we leave law school, we tend to become involved in specific practice areas:  criminal law, insurance law, taxation, family and matrimonial law just to name a few. While becoming a practice area specialist can result in legal matters, it is becoming harder and harder to obtain clients just because you practice law in a specific area. Competition for clients can be ferocious, and this is why you must create your own niche.   

Jaimie B. Field, Esq., President of The-Rain-Maker, a company designed to assist lawyers grow their companies, has been teaching attorneys how to grow their books of business ethically for almost 15 years. She believes all attorneys have the capabilities to bring in new clients using their unique personalities, tactics that work for their individual practices, and the right mindset.

In this program, Ms. Field will address how using targeted or niche marketing techniques, you can create an amazing law practice. She will discuss how to narrow your focus to a specific group or industry and actually widen your visibility within that group, to become known as the go-to-lawyer in that industry or group.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand why the day of being a “general practitioner” is over and you need to niche
2. How to find your niche
3. Recognize how become an authority in your niche
4. Identify and discuss the ethical rules you must be mindful of when trying to position yourself in your niche including:
   1. RPC 1.6: Confidentiality of Information
   2. RPC 1.18: Duties to Prospective Clients
   3. RPC 1.7: Conflict of Interest
   4. RPC 1.9: Duties to Former Clients
   5. RPC 3.6: Trial Publicity
   6. RPC 5.5 Unauthorized Practice of Law
   7. RPCs 7.1-7.5: Collectively known as the “Information about Legal Practices” rules (or the Marketing and Advertising rules)

This course originally appeared as a part of our December 2016 Bridge the Gap Event.