Think of the one place lawyers are guaranteed to hang out – the courthouse. Schedule a trip to your civil courthouse and spend a few minutes or a few hours. It’s free.
As one Certified Legal Nurse Consultant says, “If you hang around the courthouse long enough someone’s going to ask who you are and what you do. You’ll meet so many interesting people, mostly attorneys, and all you have to do is talk to them to go home with cases.”
Attend a medical malpractice or personal injury trial. You’ll enjoy a free educational experience while identifying attorney-prospects. Write down the attorneys’ names – both sides. After the trial concludes, send handwritten notes to each. Include a congratulations to the winning attorney. A few days later, call the attorneys and educate them on ways you can help with future cases.
To identify which trials are right for you:
- Go to the courthouse and pick up a schedule for trials going on that day.
- Read the news with an ear tuned for highly publicized trials in your area.
- Ask your attorney-clients to advise you of trials in which other prominent attorneys are involved.
Stalk (LOL) attorney-prospects. OK, I don’t really mean stalk, but you get the idea. Select an attorney-prospect you really want to work with and attend a trial to watch that attorney in action. You’ll not only learn a lot about courtroom procedure, you’ll come away with plenty of background information on the attorney which you can use to customize your marketing message.
Attend a trial on which you’ve consulted. By watching a trial from start to finish, you can observe what your attorney-client and the opposing attorneys do with the information you provide. You can use what you learn to your advantage in the next case. Seeing the big picture will broaden your vision and help you understand the legal process. The more you know about the attorney’s world the more comfortable and relevant you will be.
Attend a closing argument on one of your attorney-client’s cases that you haven’t consulted on just to show support. The attorney will notice and that’s free promotion.
Ride the courthouse elevators. More than one Certified Legal Nurse Consultant has found attorney-clients this way. Yes, the elevator speech you developed in the NACLNC® Apprenticeship can actually be used in elevators. 🙂
Hang where attorneys hang. It works. It’s free, and you’ll meet dozens of attorney-prospects.
P.S. Comment and share your favorite courthouse experiences.
