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By Jared Correia, IndyBar Law Practice Management Consultant, Red Cave Consulting
There are legal consumers out there who don’t want you, you know.
There is a subset of DIY legal consumers that want legal information, advice and services — but they don’t want to pay a lawyer for those items, because they think that lawyers are too expensive and because they think that they can do a passable job on their own. In certain instances, they’re probably right — on both counts.
At the point at which most lawyers understand that, the common reaction is to throw up one’s hands and assert that such clients aren’t wanted by law firms, either. For other attorneys, it’s a reason to gripe about services like LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer, which provide documents to legal consumers, as well as links to lawyerly advice.
Very few attorneys take the middle way and decide to sell products and alternative services to DIY clients. Most attorneys will complain about a service like LegalZoom; but those same attorneys won’t consider the potential for emulating such a service. Though there’s nothing to prevent attorneys from doing the same thing. If your clients want documents because they cost less than legal services . . . then, sell them documents. There are lots of technology products that can produce intake tools for populating template documents. And, if your clients want limited legal advice on documents, you can offer it, too. You see, lawyers can service DIY clients; they just have to do it in a different way. Or they can continue to bury their heads in the sand.
Either way, it looks like those law firms that adopt subscription services and products will win the long game.•
Need help revising your pricing structure, so that you can focus on real value? We can help. The Indy Bar now offers FREE law practice management consulting services through Red Cave Law Firm Consulting. To request a consult, visit the Indy Bar law practice management consulting landing page, and start running your law firm like a business.
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