1. W
hat would
Darwin say
about an
attorney’s ability
to survive in
business today? Which species of
lawyer will evolve and which will
become extinct?
“Survival of the fittest” is a
phrase relating to competition
for survival or predominance.
Currently, there are three
species of attorneys competing
for survival in the marketplace.
The first is the worker bee
attorney. This class of attorney is
a skilled professional who bills a
tremendous number of hours
and primarily assists the busier
attorneys at the firm.
The second type is the
rainmaker attorney. This is the
big hitter who brings in the
whales and drives business into
the firm. Without this type of
attorney, the mid-market and
larger firms wouldn’t exist. They
are also difficult to replace when
exiting the practice of law.
The last type of attorney is
what I refer to as the “dreamer.”
This motivated class of attorney
envisions becoming the
rainmaker someday, but doesn’t
typically have the knowledge,
skills or discipline to make the
conversion.
While the worker bee’s future
is at risk based on the hours
regularly handed off, the
dreamer has the opportunity to
not only survive but also thrive
in growing a successful and pros-
perous practice. He or she sees
the road ahead and understands
that building a book of business
is mission critical to a sustain-
able future.
So, who will survive or become
extinct in a harsher and overly
commoditized industry? The
answers to these questions are
being answered every day in the
news as law firms break apart,
merge and new law school
graduates struggle to find jobs.
It has never been more
obvious that the attorneys
without books of business find
themselves wondering what the
future may hold.
There are a number of
approaches that attorneys can
use to ensure future security and
freedom in their practice. Here
are four solid strategies for any
attorney aiming to thrive in a
competitive marketplace:
Utilize your strongest
relationships for introductions.
They say in business, “It’s all
about who you know.” The truth
today is a little more specific
than that. It’s really about “How
you leverage the people you
know.”
Let’s take a moment to look at
the importance of leveraging
existing clients and strategic
partners to obtain more
business. As I’m sure you
recognize, there are no better
avenues to drive new business
than a referral from a happy
client. That being said, many
attorneys don’t ask for referrals
due to the fear of coming across
pushy or salesy or desperate.
Mainly, this is what I call
“head trash.” The reality is that
your client is probably happy to
refer you, but just hasn’t been
asked. Most attorneys feel
awkward asking for introduc-
tions primarily due to a lack of a
proper process and appropriate
language to get the desired
response. While there may be
some fear in leveraging these
relationships, it is crucial to
developing a bigger book of
business.
The first step is to clearly
identify your best referral
sources and simply ask them to
lunch, coffee or dinner. Be
prepared to discuss ways in
which you can add value for
them to ensure this is not a one-
way street. A few examples of
adding value for a client during
this lunch would be to provide
her or him with a quality intro-
duction to someone that can add
value to his or her business. This
could be a potential client,
vendor or consultant.
Another way to make it easier
is to first help solve a problem
that is unrelated to the law. For
example, ask questions about her
family or other interests she has.
You might find she’s looking to
remodel her home and needs a
good contractor. If you know one,
offer the name. Whether the
contact is a client or a good
strategic partner, invest time
with him. In addition to building
goodwill, you will have a better
opportunity to obtain a referral
or uncover an opportunity to
cross-market. In times like these,
you are always better off utilizing
existing relationships to find the
most qualified new ones.
Work to become a specialist.
Bar rules state that an
attorney cannot call herself a
“specialist.” But when you are a
true specialist, you won’t need to
label yourself as such. The
market around you will handle
that directly for you.
With more than 1.3 million
attorneys in the United States,
competition has never been
fiercer. When survival is a factor
in the marketplace, nothing
compares to being well known
and respected in a niche area of
law. Take a moment and think
about some of the attorneys you
refer. In many cases, it’s because
something came across your
desk and you knew the best
person to hand it off to.
Many attorneys have shared
concerns with me about focusing
their practice and the possibility
of missing opportunities that
don’t fall under their realm. The
reality is that the short-term
gain of staying a generalist will
not outweigh the long-term
benefit of becoming famous in
one specific niche of the law or a
specific industry.
There are two easy ways to
find a niche that might work for
you. First, think about the area
of law that you have become
really talented in. Second, think
about something that you are
very passionate about.
For example, a very talented
estate planning attorney who
also has a passion for charity
could become successful working
with non-profits. Or a health care
attorney who truly cares about
the elderly could focus in the
eldercare law.
Take some time and research
the industries or related niches
where you have an interest. Try
to better understand how many
attorneys have a similar focus in
that niche and how crowded the
space may be in your particular
locale.
Lawyers that are known for
particular areas are memorable
and become highly referable by
their peers. By focusing and
eventually leveraging the
Copyright © 2016 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
Darwinism in the marketplace:
Worker bees and dreamers
Volume 162, No. 29
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016
®
Serving Chicago’s legal community for 161 years
ORIGINATION STATION
Steve Fretzin is the author of “Sales-
Free Selling” and the upcoming “The
Lawyers Networking Handbook,”
which will be released in early 2016.
Fretzin has worked with hundreds of
attorneys who struggle with daily job
responsibilities, while attempting to
keep a well-balanced life. His clients
appreciate his “sales-free” approach to
business development and his overall
commitment to their success.
STEVE
FRETZIN

2. experience of working in a niche,
attorneys can build a little
empire by concentrating in one
area.
Embrace technology.
Take a moment and think
about how far technology has
taken us in the past 20 years. We
have gone from fax machines and
corded phones to memory sticks
and smart phones in what seems
like a blink of an eye. One of the
best and most underutilized tools
from the past 10 years is
LinkedIn. Most attorneys I work
with tell me, “I’m on there, but
not really using it.” While I
understand that social media is
scary and can be seen as a
tremendous waste of time, there
are some silver linings within the
gray cloudy mass.
The truth is that most social
media platforms are not right for
most attorneys. However,
LinkedIn may be the exception as
it is widely known by its
successful users as the best
networking tool ever created.
There are three key elements to
being successful in leveraging this
technology to your advantage.
First, you must develop a solid
profile. People are watching you
and you may not even realize it.
Having a profile that is incom-
plete or inaccurate can hurt your
image. It’s similar to a resume
that is riddled with typos. Invest
20 minutes and look at some
creative and more elaborate
LinkedIn profiles of your peers.
Mimic what they are doing and
update your profile until you
reach 100 percent complete.
Second, develop an appro-
priate strategy for what you are
trying to accomplish. If you
aren’t looking to meet or talk
with anyone, don’t set up a
profile and stay off the site. If you
are looking to get out there and
promote your expertise, connect
with the people who can help you
advance your interests.
If you’re like me and want the
world to see you, be more open
to allowing a variety of new
people to connect with you. That
being said, I don’t want to
connect with total strangers.
Unless they write and tell me
why connecting would be of
value, I will usually not accept
their request to connect.
The third and most important
element of using LinkedIn is to
use it to leverage your best
connections to get quality intro-
ductions. The greatest benefit of
this platform is being able to
actually see who your connec-
tions know.
For example, let’s say I have a
client who has become a friend. I
can go into her profile and pull
up all of her connections. If there
is one that seems like the perfect
introduction for me, I could
simply ask her what she thinks.
Based on his response, I would
follow up and ask her to make a
call on my behalf to his friend
and introduce me. It’s just that
simple. I have been teaching
LinkedIn for years, and it’s been
a proven winner for new lead
generation for attorneys.
Find help.
If you were to take a trip
through Africa, from the bottom
of the continent to the top, would
you do that alone? How many
people are able to become an
expert at playing an instrument
without a teacher? Business
development is a learned skill.
If you fall into the dreamer
category and want to build your
book of business today, it should
be mission critical that you ask
for help. This might be a mentor
internal to your firm or an ally in
your marketing department.
Another option is to try to find
an experienced lawyer outside of
your firm who might be willing to
invest some time in helping you
develop some skills or a special-
ization.
One obvious choice is to
research and select a coach or
consultant that can help you
directly in growing your book.
There are many qualified people
that you can hire to assist you.
My only word of warning is to
thoroughly research and vet the
right person for you. Research
him or her online and review
recommendations on LinkedIn.
Speak with his past clients to
ensure he is driving results to
the clients’ book of business.
While there are many ways to
improve your law practice during
turbulent times, most people are
moving along slowly, as if a car
crash is holding up traffic. The
idea behind Darwinism for the
legal business is simple. The
fittest will survive and the
weakest will die. Try to utilize
your relationships, become
specialized and get whatever help
you might need to ensure success.
Copyright © 2016 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.