Family and Criminal Lawyers: How to Triple New Client Retention and Boost Your Profits Overnight

02/02/22 • 104 min

**Episode 61: Family and Criminal Lawyers: How to Triple New Client Retention and Law Firm Profits Overnight”

In this episode we interview Aaron Harshman and Rachelle Ponist. They are a married couple and Unbundled Attorneys who work out of Indianapolis, and each of them run their own criminal and family law practices respectively. During our interview, we discuss how they structure affordable service options in their practice areas, and how their model can help you substantially improve client retention and overall profitability for your firm. They provide examples of limited scope services they provide for family law, and how their clients and practices benefit. Aaron breaks down a creative payment approach in criminal representation that enables him to triple client retention and bank increased revenues and profits for his firm.

Click here to watch the video version of this podcast interview on our YouTube Channel

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Critical differences between family law and criminal clients, and how to adapt your consultation and enrollment approach for each practice area
Phone vs. Zoom vs. In-Person meetings, and which approach works best for each practice area
Examples of limited scope services you can provide for family law clients
A step-by-step walkthrough of the best practices for enrolling family law clients on the phone and in-person consultation
The advantages of enrolling family law clients initially for a limited scope service only, and then allowing those relationships to evolve over time
The value of implementing document automation software to increase your efficiency and profitability, especially for flat-rate services
How to provide affordable criminal representation outside of providing limited scope service options (40:00)
How payment processors like Lawpay provide automated recurring billing features to enable lawyers to offer more flexible payment terms (45:05-49:50)
Creative payment structures for criminal law that differentiate your firm and substantially improve your client retention rates
Best practices for an initial consultation in criminal cases that maximize client conversion, and why these strategies differ from family law (56:54)
The importance of understanding the urgency and critical nature of criminal case issues, and how this informs the way to approach those consultations
How to determine how much to charge as an initial deposit, and how to structure payment plans
The financial benefits of how creative payment options improve client conversion and increase revenues and profitability for the firm
The gap in the marketplace between high-net-worth individuals, and those who qualify for legal aid, and the financial opportunity this represents for lawyers who can profitably deliver legal services to the middle majority sector of the marketplace

Resources Mentioned:

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave us a review. We love hearing from our listeners and look forward to reading your feedback!

For more information about Unbundled Attorney and how our exclusive, unbundled leads can help grow your practice, visit: https://www.unbundledattorney.com

**Episode 61: Family and Criminal Lawyers: How to Triple New Client Retention and Law Firm Profits Overnight”

Click here to watch the video version of this podcast interview on our YouTube Channel

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Critical differences between family law and criminal clients, and how to adapt your consultation and enrollment approach for each practice area
Phone vs. Zoom vs. In-Person meetings, and which approach works best for each practice area
Examples of limited scope services you can provide for family law clients
A step-by-step walkthrough of the best practices for enrolling family law clients on the phone and in-person consultation
The advantages of enrolling family law clients initially for a limited scope service only, and then allowing those relationships to evolve over time
The value of implementing document automation software to increase your efficiency and profitability, especially for flat-rate services
How to provide affordable criminal representation outside of providing limited scope service options (40:00)
How payment processors like Lawpay provide automated recurring billing features to enable lawyers to offer more flexible payment terms (45:05-49:50)
Creative payment structures for criminal law that differentiate your firm and substantially improve your client retention rates
Best practices for an initial consultation in criminal cases that maximize client conversion, and why these strategies differ from family law (56:54)
The importance of understanding the urgency and critical nature of criminal case issues, and how this informs the way to approach those consultations
How to determine how much to charge as an initial deposit, and how to structure payment plans
The financial benefits of how creative payment options improve client conversion and increase revenues and profitability for the firm
The gap in the marketplace between high-net-worth individuals, and those who qualify for legal aid, and the financial opportunity this represents for lawyers who can profitably deliver legal services to the middle majority sector of the marketplace

Resources Mentioned:

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave us a review. We love hearing from our listeners and look forward to reading your feedback!

For more information about Unbundled Attorney and how our exclusive, unbundled leads can help grow your practice, visit: https://www.unbundledattorney.com

Previous Episode

Scale Up Your Law Practice: Hire Great People, Automate Workflows, and Efficiently Deliver Limited Scope Services

In this episode we interview Robert Buchanan, an Unbundled Attorney in Chicago, IL we have worked with for over 5 years.
During the interview we discuss how Robert has been able to successfully scale up the capacity of his firm. From attracting exceptional team members, to developing streamlined systems and automations, Robert covers the steps he has followed and the tools he has implemented to significantly increase the efficiency of his firm.
We also discuss how providing limited scope services has tripled the hiring rate of his new prospective clients, and has substantially improved the quality of his client relationships as well as the overall profitability of his firm.
Click here watch the video version of this podcast interview on our YouTube Channel
In this episode, you’ll learn:

How having a newborn child has shifted Robert’s perspective and provided additional motivation to increase the capacity and success of his firm
How Robert has been able to attract and retain exceptional contract lawyers and associates
Tips for attracting new team members, both through your network and in the marketplace
The specific processes Robert has put into place to automate and streamline his workflows
The legal technology tools Robert uses that enable a tremendous amount of automation in his firm
How implementing limited scope services has dramatically improved his client conversion rate
A detailed breakdown of the limited scope services he offers and how he offers them during his initial consultations
And much more ...

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave us a review. We love hearing from our listeners and look forward to reading your feedback!

For more information about Unbundled Attorney and how our exclusive, unbundled leads can help grow your practice, visit: https://www.unbundledattorney.com

Next Episode

From $20k to $200k a Month in 12 Months: A Step-by-Step Guide for Rapidly Scaling Up a Law Practice

**Episode 61: From $20k to $200k a Month in 12 Months: A Step-by-Step Guide for Rapidly Scaling Up a Law Practice”

In this episode, we interview Brandon Potter and Robert Foster who are Unbundled Attorneys in Knoxville and Greenville, TN. During our interview, Brandon and Robert share how they were able to successfully scale up their law practice revenue from $20k a month to over $200k a month in a single year. During this period, they opened two new offices, hired 5+ new lawyers, added 2 new administrative staff, and have recently opened their third office in Nashville, TN. This is a step-by-step, in-depth walk-through for how lawyers can take their practice from where it’s at to the next level and beyond.

Click here to watch the video version of this podcast interview on our YouTube Channel

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The four key components that enable their team to effectively enroll clients virtually without having to meet clients in person
The value from thinking of a law practice like a factory, and setting up systems to process “raw materials” through your firm in the most efficient way possible
Who is the first and most important hire that firms should make when they are scaling up their practice?
Importance of creating roles and responsibilities (“lanes”) for each team member in the firm, and why they should stay focused on their key roles
Why having systems in place to process, manage, and track all payments, plus knowing the critical role firm finances play in sustaining the growth of your firm
Why do Brandon or a partner in the firm continue to call and convert each of their Unbundled leads, and why they do NOT delegate this responsibility to anyone else
Who are the three most important people a firm needs to have in place when scaling up from a solo practitioner to a small firm?
How to generate a consistent source of qualified attorneys to bring into your firm
The most important considerations when making hiring decisions for associate attorneys
The value of hiring team members who have complementary skills and personality types to share different types of tasks and responsibilities
How gaining access to financing and capital investment resources significantly increases the speed that your firm can scale and grow
How to structure payment plans to ensure your clients consistently make their payments, and what are the payment processing systems that make this possible
How Brandon and Robert can provide services to 80% of their clients who would otherwise be unable to afford a lawyer
The value of taking time to implement a document automation system that creates legal documents in a faster and more efficient manner
How to cultivate a great company culture that motivates each of your team members to sincerely want to be a key part of your firm
And much more ...

Resources Mentioned:

LawPay (49:00)
Lawyaw (1:00:00)
LawClerk (1:03:30)

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave us a review. We love hearing from our listeners and look forward to reading your feedback!

For more information about Unbundled Attorney and how our exclusive, unbundled leads can help grow your practice, visit:

https://www.unbundledattorney.com