6 Characteristics of a Successful Family Law Firm
Nowadays, there's no shortage of well reviewed and highly qualified family law attorneys in just about any city you search for on Google. With so many options available to people searching for a lawyer practicing family law, it's essential for you to make yourself stand apart in a sea of sameness. So, how do you differentiate yourself, and what exactly are people looking for that will convince them to hire you instead of the competition?
Here are 6 characteristics of successful family law firms.
1. They have 5 star reputations
When searching for a lawyer, most people do the first thing that comes naturally to them— they turn to Google to see what other people are saying. While it’s true that not every online review may not be a 100% accurate representation of a law firm as a whole, in the public's eyes they often are. A recent consumer review survey revealed that over 80% of consumers read reviews of companies before calling them, and over half of those people say that they would only hire the company if they have a rating of four stars or higher.
While there are many different review sites available, not all of them are suited for your business. There are a variety of niche sites that may be better suited for certain businesses than others. As a lawyer, the one you should focus on the most is Google. Google is the most used search engine in the world, and nearly half of Google's users are using it to search for businesses.
In other words — you need to make Google your family law firm's best friend.
How the right software can help
One of the most common frustrations that legal clients have about family lawyers is that they feel disconnected from them. With so much going on at a law firm, it's hard to get back to clients as quickly as they might like. After all, staying in touch with clients to give them updates on their cases can feel impossible with so much administrative work that it takes to run a practice paired with multiple cases going on at the same time.
The answer lies in leveraging legal software to your advantage. When you use the right CRM for lawyers and attorney intake software, it’s as if you multiply yourself into five different places at once. You can respond to prospects' inquiries, get back to a client about the status of their case, and attend a consultation all at the same time—thanks to the power of automation.
When a task needs action, automation takes the next steps for you so you don't have to do a thing. From automated follow up emails to sending out consultation reminders, technology takes care of the tedious work for you so you can focus your attention where it matters most— practicing law for your clients. The more of an attentive and thorough experience you can give each client, the more they’ll feel like they are the only client you have. Consequently, you’ll receive more five star ratings on Google—it's really that simple.
2. They consistently delight and retain clients
The most successful family law firms know that their job goes beyond just representing their clients’ often sensitive and charged matters, and getting them the best possible outcome on their case. More and more lawyers are starting to realize the importance of a client-centered approach.
Believe it or not, getting your clients favorable results on their case doesn't necessarily mean that you've provided a five star experience that will delight and retain them. Believe it or not, there are highly successful family lawyers out there that don't even get their clients the best outcome on their case, yet their clients are thrilled with them. How is this possible?
It all comes down to the quality of their client journey
A client journey is a collection of experiences with their lawyer that ideally make them feel valued and connected to their lawyer every step of the way.
How the right software can help
Your clients have put all their trust in you to handle their divorce or child custody matters, so it’s up to you to show them that they made the right choice. Using the right legal automation software can help you automate repeatable tasks for a streamlined and dependable workflow that ensures no client feels forgotten, particularly during the client intake process.
By relying on workflow automation for law firms, you can save time, reduce stress for your clients and yourself, and ultimately deliver consistently excellent client journeys. A CRM for attorneys like Lawmatics can help meticulously track each of your clients, and manage their client journey with modern and polished communication that ensures nothing slips through the cracks. From your client records to all client interactions, your CRM keeps it all in one single location. Features like text messaging for law firms and automated emails will make your clients feel connected to you every step of the way without leaving them wondering when you'll get back to them. When your clients are going through something as emotional as divorce, it helps to know that they have direct access to their family lawyer.
3. They’re efficient
When family lawyers first start their own practice, many of them are surprised to find how much goes into running their law firm beyond just practicing law. From maintaining an office to staying up to date with marketing, to keeping all of their clients' cases organized, getting back to prospects and clients, and showing up to hearings, it’s not long before you realize you can’t possibly do it all on your own.
Unfortunately, because of all that goes into running a practice, it often results in clients feeling abandoned. Lawyers have so much on their plates that they can often seem dismissive, cold, or just plain disorganized. Yet, the most successful family law practices treat their law firm like a business and run their practice efficiently, ensuring no client feels left behind.
When you start looking at your law firm as a business, you realize how important it is to get things right the first time. The most efficient family law firms prioritize what's most important in their practice and value top-notch organization by taking time-saving shortcuts that allow them to focus their energy on their clients.
How the right software can help
Keeping track of everything that needs to get done in your practice takes a considerable amount of manual effort and mental bandwidth. Replying to each client, following up with leads, and drafting up lengthy documents can eat up a significant portion of your sanity when you’re doing it yourself. Turning to a family law firm software to automate these redundant tasks for you can significantly boost your law firm's efficiency, and take the pressure off of your shoulders.
Processes that would normally take hours or even days can be done instantly. Legal software allows you to move things along faster with features like the client e-signature tool and legal document automation. In a few clicks, you can use custom fields to take whatever data you need from your law firm CRM and auto-fill it directly into your important documents instead of laboriously entering it yourself.
Rather than asking your clients to print, scan, sign, and scan back to you, they can easily sign from the palm of their hand with an electronic signature for legal documents to get their case rolling even faster. With so much at stake in a family law case, time is of the essence. Your clients already have enough to worry about — ease their minds by delivering efficient and error-free service with the help of automation.
4. They maximize their inbound marketing strategies
Thriving family law firms know that a mass marketing approach isn't the way to attract clients anymore, and through the right family law firm marketing approach, they attract, engage and delight leads, and ultimately convert them into a client.
Inbound marketing for law firms is all about growing your brand by establishing yourself as a credible law firm, organically. The idea is to attract clients through valuable and tailored content that doesn’t make them feel lumped into the masses or spammed. The most well-known family lawyers in your area are the ones that show up on search results first as a result of smart marketing techniques.
How the right software can help
The right law firm client intake software can take data from your legal crm system database and trigger the next marketing steps. Whether a lead visits your site or signs up for your newsletter, you can turn to data to trigger what happens next. Dynamic automated email workflows for law firms allow you to create a sequence of messages that get sent out based on preset criteria of your choosing and timed triggers. Instead of a generic message going out, leads receive a tailored and personalized message sent out at the right time without you even having to do a thing.
Audience segmentation software breaks your leads up into certain groups and sends them targeted advertising based on their unique circumstances. Smart marketing targets distinct groups of people instead of relying on a one size fits all marketing approach. The end result is a meaningful impression that results in repeat business and client referrals.
5. They’re data driven
The most successful law firms are the ones that turn towards a data-driven approach to the way they run their practice. By using data and goal tracking for law firms, they can look at patterns in their practice to improve their performance, boost their efficiency, and handle any bottlenecks in their practice.
At first, the idea of combining data and law may seem peculiar. However, using data in the business world is hardly anything new. Data can help you identify problem areas that you didn't even know were there and reveal areas for improvement that may be hurting your law firm. Data driven family law firms use law firm reporting software to anticipate and plan for the future, rather than letting things catch them off guard. For example, some times of the year may be slower than others. By observing their data reports, they anticipate these less profitable periods of the year and plan accordingly.
How the right software can help
By using visual legal data analytics like Lawmatics offers, you can make smarter decisions for your law firm. Data allows you to see important metrics like where your firm is losing the most time and how you can make your processes more efficient. Law firm performance management has never been easier. Easily track where your best leads are coming from, to what the factors are resulting in repeat business, law performance management tools make it easy to see where you need to make adjustments.
Visual analytics make it effortless to digest your reports in an easy-to-read format. With greater insights into your firm's processes, you can improve your law firm's performance on a combined and individual level.
6. They minimize errors
When clients come to a family lawyer to handle their delicate family law issues, they're relying on you to solve their problems, not create more for them. Top-notch law firms are the ones that deliver error-free legal services free of unnecessary troubles.
One small error can have a significant impact on the outcome of your client's family law issue, so the most successful lawyers know the importance of relying on technology to automate and error-check their documents.
Using the right tools ensures nothing gets forgotten, no deadlines are missed, and ultimately, everything gets done the way it should be done— the first time.
How the right software can help
The right Legal CRM has built-in law firm document automation that serves as a safety net to ensure that no errors go into your work. All critical information stays organized and in one place to keep everyone on track and on schedule.
Automated appointment scheduling makes certain that no one forgets important dates and even sends out automatic reminders to you and your clients. The end result isn't just exceeding your client's expectations but significantly lowering your stress levels and lightening your workload.
How a CRM Can Drive New and Repeat Business
Scale your family law firm with Lawmatics
If you're a family law firm serious about growth and efficiency, then it's time to introduce Lawmatics legal software to your practice. Taking your law firm to the next level requires a robust platform that can accelerate your processes and boost your efficiency so you can turn your attention where it matters most— your clients. From putting your marketing on autopilot with drip email marketing to capturing leads' information through a legal client intake form and inputting it directly into your database to immediate follow-ups with leads— Lawmatics is the best CRM for law firms looking to take their practice to the next level.
Are you ready to see how Lawmatics can help you scale your family law practice? Sign up for a free demo today!