Client Development Make It Fun

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Client Development: Make It Fun Roman Lifson is a Christian Barton  partner I coached several years ago. When I worked with Roman, I learned of his great passion for motorsports. We talked about taking that passion and creating a motorsports law practice. A few months ago I posted a guest blog by Salene Kraemer:  Can You Use Your Hobby in Client Development?   I knew Roman was also an avid photographer from his posts on Facebook. As a result, I asked Roman to prepare a guest post and share some of his photographs with you. Cordell’s recent post about a Salene Kraemer’s use of her photography skills in client development was thought-provoking for me. I am also an avid photographer. For several years I have regularly shot and posted galleries of my children’s various sports teams. I found that the other parents and coaches greatly appreciate access to high quality images of the kids in action. Since I participate in automobile road racing events, I also have photographed several racing events and provided those images to the participants. Although I am developing an increasingly active motorsports law practice due to my strong interest in motorsports I had not connected the photography with client development. Instead, I had been content with the appreciation I received from fellow racers for providing them quality images which they shared with family, hung on their walls, made their Facebook profile photos, etc. Cordell’s post prompted me to realize that those images also could be useful in further expanding my motorsports practice. A key advantage I believe I have is the fact that I am a participant, not merely a lawyer who gets no closer to the action than the stands, paddock or garage. Clients respond to and have confidence in a lawyer who shares their passion past the point of mere appreciation and to the level of participation (which in motorsports is described fairly as blinding obsession). The challenge, as it always is, is communicating that passion to prospective clients. If a picture can say a thousand words, perhaps a high quality image of a race car in action can do more to attract attention and raise awareness of my practice than a case summary, a statutory update or even a chatty blog rumination about a legal concept. There are various ways I could use photography in this pursuit. Some may prove more effective than others. But the immutable points seem to be that: As Roman’s guest blog suggests, when you create a niche practice in an area of law that you are passionate about, client development is easy and fun. What are you passionate about? Is there a niche practice you can create around it? I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.