Pro Bono Week 2016 is here. You know participating will help others; find out how it can help you too.
This is nothing new: Solo and small practice lawyers’ top concern is getting more clients. This makes sense, because it’s essential to your paycheck and marketing classes are not law school’s wheelhouse. (And marketing campaigns take time and money, and those are scarce resources.)
Our top tip for getting more clients is more networking. And pro bono work is a fantastic way to expand your networking.
Maybe you’ve seen this tip of ours before. Maybe you know it’s a good idea. And maybe you’ve been procrastinating. No excuses, legal champions, Pro Bono Week 2016 is NOW. Maybe you will enjoy this kind of networking a little more because your motivation is a little less self-interested. Try it and see if it makes a difference. (If you still don’t appreciate networking and want to go back to procrastination, our LCL colleague Shawn has written a bunch of blog posts with tips to help you: Use the 2-minute rule; Eat a frog during your power hour; Accept discomfort; and Exercise microcontrol. Yeah. You probably need to read those posts to understand the tips.)
If you already do plenty of networking, maybe it’s time to be more strategic. Our tip there? It’s all about that niche. And for you, Jay Harrington presented a free, on demand webinar on The Expertise Effect: How Getting Narrow Can Grow Your Practice.
Are you wondering where to start if you don’t have a niche or the time to build one before Pro Bono Week 2016 is over? This year, the ABA suggests you help veterans. And you can build extra networking traction by participating in their social media blitz using #ABAServingVeterans: We will be make special efforts to recognize the valuable pro bono contributions of lawyers across the country through a little friendly competition and a social media blitz using the hashtag #ABAServingVeterans.
If you prefer a more local point of entry, check out MassProBono. As we explained in this post a couple years back, MassProBono can match you with a project based on your interests, location, and schedule. MassProBono is developed by the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association (with other partners). If you’re on the fence, read this guest post on our blog that Alexis B. Kaplan wrote about her experiences working with the VLP.
And our friends at the Boston Bar Association do even more to promote pro bono work. In fact, tomorrow (for those of you following this blog real-time – we love you!) October 25th they’re cosponsoring a Pro Bono Recruitment Fair & Open House at Suffolk University Law School. Register here.
That’s all. Go do good.
