If you were a competitive athlete, you would want to know everything you possibly could about your competitor. Make no mistake about it, legal marketing is as competitive as any sport. A well-prepared prize fighter will know the facts about his opponents' height, weight, reach, wins, losses, training schedule, etc. A well-prepared trial attorney will not only study their case, but also their opponent.
Marketing your law firm consists of quite a bit of information gathering; learning about top competitors is one of the first steps. Below is a list of ideas your firm can use to become acquainted with your competitors and to gain an important edge in law firm marketing.
1.Review and analyze their website. You will be surprised what a law firm will reveal on their website. Studying their website will give you some important clues about their level of professionalism too. Is the website well-written? Is it written in language most prospects will be able to easily understand?
2. Call (or enlist a friend's help to place the call) and interview their associates as a potential client. Be prepared with a list of questions before you place the actual call. Choose questions that will reveal important data about the competition. If you make the call yourself, be careful not to sound too "well-informed" by using technical legal jargon. A simple telephone call may produce a wealth of information about the competitions' law firm marketing techniques.
3.Ask them to mail you some information about their law firm. The type of legal marketing material they send out will speak volumes about who they are and how they conduct business.
4.Sign-up for their online newsletter or e-zine (using your personal email address, of course)
5.Use Google to further bolster your law marketing strategic planning. Type in the keywords and phrases someone would use to find your practice area. For example, LA PI lawyer or a Real Estate Attorney Chicago or a Estate Planning Lawyer in Manhattan. Study the top ten websites that come up. These are your most aggressive online competitors because they didn't get there by mistake.
6.Talk to local recruiters to find out if they are hiring. Recruiters are a great resource; they often talk to clients daily and can give you the inside info.
7.Review local newspapers and trade magazines to see how "visible" they are.
8.Ask fellow attorneys what they know about the competition. If they have had business dealings with them, get as many details as possible.
By all means, do not be afraid to ask questions and to investigate as much as possible. Your successful competitors, no doubt, are learning about you too if they are using the best law firm marketing techniques.
Often the lawyer you hire may not be ethical or squeaky clean, in this case you can protect yourself from legal malpractices by suing your lawyer. Before you file a suit you need to know that you are well within your rights to sue your lawyer.
Lawyers can be sued for malpractice, misrepresentation, inappropriate billing, negligence, breach of fiduciary duties, and breach of contract among many other instances.
To sue a lawyer you need to establish clearly that the lawyer had wronged you. The court needs to know in no uncertain terms that the lawyer let you down on a case you would have otherwise won. Suing a lawyer has to be done quickly, find out from your state bar association or court what the time limit is.
Suing a lawyer is expensive so before you take the final step you should try: meeting your lawyer and laying the cards on the table, try and solve matters; complaint to the local Bar Association; or seek arbitration to resolve the dispute. If nothing works and you are confident of the strength of your case go ahead and sue the lawyer.
To effectively sue your lawyer you must:
1.Keep immaculate records of your case, contract with him, and all meetings, phone calls, and so on. The documentation must be airtight.
2.Prove beyond doubt how much the case has cost you in terms of legal fees and other expenses.
3.Establish clearly that the lawyer did not act properly, dereliction of duty.
4.Prove breach of duty and negligence.
5.Have proof that the lawyer’s lack of interest and misrepresentation hurt you financially.
6.Have documentation showing how the case proceeded and where the lawyer slipped.
7.Keep documentations of unreturned calls, cancelled meetings, and non-appearance at hearings.
8.Show that the lawyer let your case gather dust while he focused on other clients in spite of your many reminders or urgings. That for the lawyer your case held no commitment or interest.
9.Establish that after agreeing to handle your case personally the lawyer left the case work to an assistant or junior.
10.Have proof that the lawyer has misappropriated your funds, over billed you, or settled the case on your behalf with vested interest in the opponent.
Malpractice and law are related and sadly many lawyers forget the wows they took and practice law that is unethical and unlawful Every citizen has the right to justice and so when you have enough evidence to sue the lawyer you must first find a lawyer who will agree to file a suit against your lawyer. Always take a second opinion from a lawyer who is unknown to your lawyer and unrelated to the case that you are fighting. Suing a lawyer means high expenses as even lawyers who handle cases of suing errant lawyers charge exorbitant fees.
Read up extensively on suing a lawyer and refer to different cases to determine how successful you are likely to be. Weigh the pros and cons before you take a final decision.
Article Source :
Aaron Brooks has sinced written about articles on various topics from SEO Search Engine Optimization, Babies and Gadgets. Aaron Brooks is a freelance writer for , the premier website to find Attorney Directory including topics on civil right, litigation, defense,. Aaron Brooks's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.