Writing for clients and prospects is different than writing for lawyers and judges. I know you know that but are you doing that? Do you write blog posts and articles and books that clients want to read?
I just read several reviews of a lawyer’s book for start-ups and small business owners. I don’t know if the book is any good by legal standards but if the reviews are any indication, the book is a winner. Here’s what one reviewer said:
“I’ve tried to read legal books before, and this is definitely the best. The writing style is crisp and conversational, and the author uses the word “I” and “my clients” to tell stories, so it feels like talking to a very smart and experienced business person rather than plowing through a textbook. The book used a lot of real-life examples, which is the only way I can get my head around legal issues, so I feel like I got more out of this book than the big start-up textbooks I tried before.
. . .really is just like having a two-hour coffee chat with an unusually friendly attorney.”
Another reviewer said
“I suspect this book was written by a real human being, not a conference room full of lawyers. For one thing, it’s not boring. . . .this book talks about business almost as much as it talks about law.”
Readers liked the book and, presumably, the author. For marketing purposes, this lawyer has hit a home run.
She accomplished this by writing to the reader, conversationally, and by using stories about her clients and cases. She also inserted herself into the narrative.
Reviewers also liked that the book “talks about business almost as much as it talks about law”. The author shows that she understands the reader from their point of view in running a business. She understands what it’s like dealing with vendors, for example, and talks about strategy, not just law.
Legal writing for clients and prospects is about connection more than content. Yes, the information is important, but if that connection is absent, the writing will have missed it’s mark.
You want to inform readers about the law. Even more, you want to reach out from the page and speak to them in a way that helps them imagine what it would be like to have you as their lawyer.
For more on legal writing for clients and prospects, get this.
