Law Marketing Bibliography

Reviews of books on client development
for lawyers and law marketing professionals

How to Get and Keep Good Clients, Second Edition
By Jay G. Foonberg
Self-published (Beverly Hills, CA), 1994
Paperback, 582 pages, $99
Reviewed by David M. Freedman

I will comment separately on two aspects of this book: form and substance. In terms of form, it is graceless. In terms of substance, it is bountiful.

More about form
It would be an insult to amateurs to say that the production of this book is the work of an amateur. Everything from the cover design and binding to the page layout, typesetting, graphics, and style was done without regard for convention, quality, or the reader's convenience. At the very least, Foonberg should have hired an aggressive copy editor. I've had the book less than two months and it's already falling apart (I'm the second reader).

More about substance
But can you learn anything from the book? If the answer is yes, then form tends to become trivial. In my opinion, the book contains many gems and pearls, strewn among content that ranges from silly and antiquated to sophisticated and brilliant.

The book is written for small and solo practices. It departs from the style of most books on law marketing in one important respect: Rather than spouting theory, platitudes, and generalizations, it is packed with detailed case studies, examples, anecdotes, success stories, and practical, step-by-step instruction.

In fact, no detail is too minor for Foonberg. He devotes entire chapters to Personal Hygiene and Cleanliness and Wearing Jewelry.

• "I've never personally used the techniques described in this chapter, but I met a few people who told me they did."

• "One lawyer claimed to have made a personal survey of clients, and claims that....I pass this information on to you for what value it may have."

Gems & pearls
Let's focus on the content that I consider brilliant. It ranges from very elementary to very sophisticated. Elementary advice includes this:

People can't use you as their attorney or refer people to you for legal work if they don't know you're an attorney. You have to communicate your profession to them. You somehow have to work the fact that you're a lawyer into your oral or written communications....

Be positive! When people ask you what you do, be enthusiastic when you respond!

You should enthusiastically communicate the following whenever you can:

• I'm a lawyer.

• I help people.

• I like to help people.

• I'm a good lawyer.

Sophisticated
Advanced content abounds. This is the kind of advice that comes from many years of practicing law successfully, and from someone who has thoughtfully articulated it for the benefit of lawyers with much less experience. Here are some examples:

• The two chapters on speaking engagements give great advice on "maximiz[ing] the effectiveness of speaking to groups." That includes how to select the appropriate groups to speak to, contacting those groups to express your interest, generating advance publicity, using handouts, and following up. These two chapters are concise (five pages) but quite valuable. For example: "The size of the audience is totally unrelated to the amount of legal work you might get as a result of the speech or the announcements of the speech. The smallest group I ever addressed was nine people and I got a $40,000 fee from someone who meant to come but didn't."

• In the chapter titled Be Careful About Going to Funerals, Hospitals or Accident Sites, the author states: "Acts that you intend as gestures of friendship and helpfulness can be interpreted as solicitation or ambulance chasing. I personally try to avoid any contact with my potential clients at funerals, hospitals, accident sites, etc."

• The chapter titled How to Handle People Who Hate Lawyers Or the Legal System is priceless. So is the chapter titled How to Explain Defending Criminals to Clients and Potential Clients.

• Among the most sophisticated advice I've ever seen in a book on law marketing is the chapter titled How the Handle a Potential Client With a Good Case Who Already Has a Lawyer. It may sound a bit sleazy on the surface, but the advice is reasonable and honorable, and the author assiduously avoids impropriety.

• In the chapter titled When to be a Mean, Rotten S.O.B. With a Potential Client, Foonberg says: "Recent studies by the American Bar Foundation indicate that when a lawyer projects himself as being a nice guy, a friendly helper, likeable, cooperative, broad-minded, accommodating or fair, then that lawyer may be in danger of losing a potential client because the potential client believes the lawyer will be taken advantage of by other lawyers who are aggressive, competitive, tricky, cold, etc." Foonberg neglects, however, to further cite the ABF study, which leads the reader to wonder if he is interpreting or accurately reporting the study's conclusion. But Foonberg's advice is worth considering: "If the lawyer comes on with the approach that litigation is [too] costly and destructive, then the client may fear that the lawyer doesn't have the skill or resources to fight to protect the client's interests effectively."

• In the chapter titled Cases That Should Be Turned Down, the author presents a list of 11 types of cases of which you should be wary, including: cases in which you are the second or third lawyer, ?hurt feelings? or vengeance cases, and landlord-tenant cases unless you are paid in advance.

This book contains a few chapters that seem to offer advice of dubious propriety, although the author's motives for writing them is unclear. One chapter is titled How to Take Clients with You When You Leave the Firm. For example: "Bad mouth [sic] the firm in such a way that the targeted clients are being set up to make a change." Foonberg suggests these tactics:

• Tell the client that "the firm has gone crazy adding a lot of unnecessary computers, technology and equipment," which has raised costs and therefore fees significantly.

• Tell the client that "the firm is antiquated. We're not completely up to date in the quality of our legal work. Our opponents go to court equipped with national computer searches of the law. We struggle along without these benefits."

• "Take credit for all legal work done by the firm."

• "Slow down or stop working on targeted client's [sic] matters about 60 to 90 days before you make your move. You want to open your doors on a backlog of undone work."

• "Steal the files."

• "I personally disapprove of the tactics and techniques described in this chapter, but you have to be aware that these things do in fact occur in the real world."

The chapter following that one is titled ?How to Prevent Partners and Associates From Taking Good Clients When They Leave the Firm.? Was the previous chapter strictly cautionary?

Another chapter of dubious propriety: How to Lose Clients by Being Too Competent or Too Efficient. This chapter suggests that you may drag a matter out for "a month or two" instead of making a single phone call that can resolve it.

Overall, this is a book worth reading, but you have to be selective about what advice you will take seriously.

About the author
Jay G. Foonberg practices law in Bevery Hills, CA. He is also a CPA. His book How to Start and Build a Law Practice is the best-selling book ever published by the ABA's Practice Management Section. His website: www.foonberglaw.com.

About the reviewer
David M. Freedman is a Chicago-based writer and media relations consultant, specializing in the fields of law and finance. He won a Your Honor Award in 2001 from the Legal Marketing Association for excellence in public relations. Dave is a coauthor of The GET GOOD PRESS Series for Lawyers (www.getgoodpress.com).

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© 2004-2008 David M. Freedman
Posted 11/21/04