The punchline: “Their lips are moving.” You know the joke.
But humor is rooted in truth, or at least beliefs about what is true and, right or wrong, many people believe lawyers can’t be trusted.
At the very leasts, they’re skeptical. They don’t understand what we do, we’re expensive, and they have a lot to lose.
This is an opportunity for you because you can leverage that distrust in your marketing.
Bring up the subject. Talk about why people often don’t trust lawyers. And what they can do to protect themselves.
In your next article or ad or presentation, you might use something like this as your headline or opening:
Is your lawyer lying to you? Here’s how to tell.
No, don’t use the punchline from the joke. Okay, use it if you can’t help yourself. But then teach your audience what to look for, questions to ask, and other information they can use to protect themselves from being taken advantage of.
Talk about the Rules of Professional Conduct. Malpractice insurance. Your state bar’s fund to reimburse aggrieved clients.
Talk about fees and billing—what to expect and what to do if something doesn’t add up.
Talk about your personal commitment to openness and fairness. You might share your firm’s pledge or your “Clients’ Bill of Rights”.
Explain the steps you take to in your practice to keep your clients informed about everything, and what your clients can do if they have questions.
Explain that while you handle the day-to-day management of their case, they make the big decisions, why this is so, and why this is better for them.
And provide a fair amount of social proof attesting to your trustworthiness: testimonials, endorsements, and success stories that speak to the subject.
They still might not trust lawyers in general, but they might feel better about you.
But. . . don’t overdo it.
Because if you talk about the subject incessantly, some people will think you have something to hide.
On this subject, a little bit can go a long way.
Because most lawyers don’t talk about it at all.
How to create an invoice clients’ trust
