5 Ways to become a leader and grow your law practice

Give to your community and get more clients!

If you're anything like most lawyers, you are both intellectual and heart-centered by nature. Lawyers are wired to think rationally, solve problems and help others. These qualities not only make for great lawyering they also make for excellent leadership. 

Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, Mandela, Roosevelt, Obama, and Gandhi were all leaders who changed history. And, like you, they were all lawyers.

This is just a small sample of the real-world proof that lawyers are meant to be leaders.

As a lawyer, you have knowledge, skill, and drive that not everyone has. The knowledge you possess is a privilege that gives you the power to improve other people's lives—and in turn, improve your own life.

When you are known for making your community better, people will notice you, remember you, and want to work with you. And this recognition will grow your practice, making life better for you and your family.

Stepping up to become a leader will begin a virtuous cycle of growth because the challenges and rewards of leadership will help you grow as a person. The more you grow as a person, the more you can contribute to your community. And the more you contribute, the more your practice will grow, benefiting everyone exponentially.

That's why today I'm going to show you 5 ways you can become a leader in your community and get more clients.

Why leadership is the best leverage to grow your practice

The only way you'll get clients is if people know you exist. And the only way people will know you exist is if you make yourself visible. You have to put yourself in front of people, so they know who you are and what you offer. But visibility is only the first step. Not only do people need to see you to want to work with you, but they also need to know, like, and trust you.

Becoming a leader in your community will not only put you in front of people, but it will also build goodwill and trust. When you start solving problems for people in your community, they will like you, trust you, and spread the word about you in a way that's more authentic and more effective than any other form of marketing. As a leader, you will be a natural part of your potential clients' lives as someone they respect, admire, and look to for guidance. So, when they need an estate plan, you will be the first person they think of and the first person they recommend when their friend or neighbor needs a plan.

That's why becoming a leader in the community is one of the most effective ways to grow your practice.

Here are 5 ways to become a leader in your community and attract all the clients you need:

1. Host educational events

We teach our lawyers to host an event called Wine and Wills, where you educate your community on the importance of estate planning in a relaxed environment over drinks. Being the host and organizer of an event like this puts you in a leadership position, especially considering that attendees will not only have a great time, but they will also walk away empowered to make better decisions about their future. And they will associate you with the positive experience.

Right now, you may be intimidated by the thought of hosting an in-person event and speaking in front of people. Don't worry, you're not alone. 

Before her first Wine and Wills event, our member lawyer Pam Maass Garrett felt the same way. She wondered how she would fill the room with attendees, and she was nervous about speaking in front of people. And even worse, on the day her event was scheduled, there was a huge snowstorm, and the venue lost its liquor license. Pam was certain she should cancel the event, but her NLBM coach encouraged her to move forward with the event, and it was a huge success. Pam got her first fifteen clients from her Wine and Wills event, and fees from those clients funded investments in resources that allowed her to grow her firm faster.

2. Create videos and webinars

For our member lawyers that want to get more public speaking practice before hosting an in-person event, our coaches recommend making social media videos and hosting webinars. Even if you think you don't like how you look on camera, we teach strategies that can help even the most hesitant lawyers put themselves out there.

Did you know that simply changing where your eye line is in relation to the camera can help you look 10x better on camera? Our coaches help our lawyers with details like that. And we provide done-for-you webinar presentations that are proven to convert, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

Getting in front of people by sharing videos and webinars will not only boost your confidence and skill set as a leader, it will help people get to know and trust you, and as a result, you will grow your practice.

3. Guest speak at affinity groups

Find groups to speak at such as:

• Real estate offices
• Divorce law offices
• CPA firms and banks
• Local daycare, preschools and private schools
• Churches and synagogues
• Families with special needs
• “New mom” stores and kids play spaces in your community 
• Friends of your clients 

When you guest speak at affinity groups, you are helping the host of that group provide value to their audience, and they will remember you for that and reward you with referrals. You will also be sharing helpful information with the group about how to make some of the most important legal and financial decisions of their lives. They will be grateful to you for empowering them with this information, and when they are ready to move forward on what they learned, you will be the first lawyer they think of. 

Not everyone will be ready to convert right away. That's why we teach our member lawyers how to build client attraction systems that nurture relationships with the contacts they meet at affinity groups so the effort you put in by guesting at events today will continue to yield fruits in the months and years to come.

4. Get involved in local and online communities 

You can become a leader by getting involved in BNI groups, rotary clubs, and civic organizations that share your values. When you spend time and energy working with like-minded people to make positive change, you will form meaningful relationships that lead to inquiries and referrals. 

We not only teach our lawyers to get involved in local community organizations, we also share strategies for building a reputation and generating inquiries from online forums and Facebook groups. We teach our lawyers how to start conversations in forums using what we call curiosity questions. These curiosity questions often lead to meaningful conversations, which lead to inquiries and initial meetings.

5. Join a community of like-minded lawyers

Leaders need a community of other leaders to bounce ideas off of and to lean on when things get challenging. Our Personal Family Lawyer program provides opportunities to connect with and learn from your fellow PFL peers. 

Our members are very generous with helping each other by sharing information on what law firm growth tactics worked for them and the best client management strategies for a specific situation. And even more exciting, our members refer clients to each other when their client needs a practitioner in a different state or with different specialty knowledge. 

That's why it's important to join a community of like-minded lawyers so you can be plugged into a network you can swap advice and referrals with.

Now you know five proven ways to step up and become a leader. Becoming a leader will help you grow as a person and make you more visible and improve your know, like, and trust factor. If you start engaging in one or more of the activities I've shared, people will notice you, and you'll attract all the clients you need.

If you would love to build your law practice into a business using Life & Legacy Planning as a Personal Family Lawyer… 

You can apply to speak with a Law Business Advisor (LBA). Please note: since our LBAs are extremely full due to high demand, and we want to make sure you get the most value from your call with them, we're moving to an application system:

• Your first step is to apply for a call with a LBA here

• Then, you'll be given some "required reading" to prepare for the call, and talk with our Intake Coordinator to confirm your readiness. 

As you continue to explore if our program is a good fit, you’re also invited to join our free Facebook community. The Lifestyle Lawyers’ Club is our exclusive, lawyers-only Facebook community of like-minded entrepreneurial lawyers. (It’s literally like having access to thousands of helpful senior lawyers who’ve already been where you are.)