Communication at the Lawyer 1/2 – Differentiate yourself

As you know, since 2014, the lawyer has the right to communicate. If this communication is authorized, it is nevertheless strictly regulated by the texts. Fortunately, this will not prevent you from communicating in different ways to make your message known (we will come back to this in a future article).

Today, in the general hubbub, and whatever market you have chosen, it is a safe bet that your prospects will be spoiled for choice. You must therefore develop a message that attracts their attention: the only way to be the one they choose.

Differentiate yourself to to exist 

As explained previously (editor’s note article 2), presenting yourself as “a family law lawyer”, as “an administrative law lawyer” or practicing in “labor law” is a good start. Unfortunately, this will not be enough to allow you to emerge. It is important to construct a distinctive message to be quickly noticed and identified.

A social law lawyer can thus position himself as a defender of employees or, on the contrary, a defender of employers. A family law lawyer can communicate on a particular aspect (international divorces, etc.). The criminal law lawyer can obviously present himself as a lawyer for the defense or the civil party. As for business law, it offers the possibility of presenting a limited offer such as intellectual property, companies in difficulty or, for example, business criminal law. Look carefully, all areas of law lend themselves to this targeting exercise.

Depending on the market you have targeted, it may be relevant to strengthen your skills by adapting them. With a DU in rural law, I was able to practice town planning law more geared towards the agricultural world. On a personal level, although my desire has never been to practice solely in rural law, my move to an area close to the countryside has led me to improve my skills in this area.

Simplify and make accessible his message

To be understood and impactful, make sure to present your message in the interest of those for whom you will act. To simplify your message, ask yourself how you would present your activity to your parents (or your children). Would you say that you are “a lawyer specializing in labor law on the employee side” or “a lawyer who defends employees in their conflicts with their employers”? As a criminal lawyer, you can say that you support the civil parties from the filing of the complaint until the execution of the judgment. Intellectual property practitioner, helping companies protect their brands etc.

Presenting will be all the easier if you have carefully thought about your offer, your skills and your motivations (see articles 1 & 2). This presentation follows from the previous stages presented (summary definition of your offer, comparison with the market, refinement of your offer, which becomes “remarkable”).

If you want to become an expert in remarkable and “disruptive” marketing, I invite you to discover the vision of marketing of Seth Godin, the author of “The Purple Cow” https://www.conseilsmarketing.com/referencement/critique-du-livre-the-purple-cow-de-seth-godin/.

As a lawyer by training, you probably have the impression that my advice is too far removed from your concerns. It is true that Seth Godin has inspired many more start-ups than tenors of the bars. You are probably skeptical or worried. Do not panic ! It couldn't be more normal to be afraid! Don't worry, an offer that misses its target will be easy to change and inexpensive. And if you miss, no problem. Before succeeding, Thomas Edison never failed but “found 10 solutions that didn’t work.” The advantage of our intellectual and intangible profession is that we do not have to invest in a new machine or create a manufactured product which required 000 years of research and development. Test your offer and you will see!

Furthermore, nothing will prevent you, at least initially, from continuing to practice in areas other than those you have highlighted. But this “targeting” will allow you to give your office a dynamic, a color, in a word: a signature. It will then be a matter of using as many communication levers as possible to make this signature known.