Marketing Tips for Personal Injury Attorneys | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

Of all legal fields, personal injury may have the most challenges when it comes to marketing.

Personal injury attorneys have a large competitive field, so they want to stand out while being sensitive to clients’ needs.

What will help a client choose one attorney over another? Here are the marketing tips experts recommend for personal injury attorneys looking to build a solid practice.

From initial contact with a prospective client to final resolution of their case, “always keep the client top of mind,” says Emy Cook, head of operations and marketing for Powers Taylor LLP, a Dallas litigation firm specializing in personal injury cases.

Recognize that personal injury clients are qualitatively different than clients in other practices. They probably have never had any exposure to the courts or had an attorney. They are often frightened, in pain and coming to their attorneys during the worst period of their lives, Cook says.

As large personal injury firms spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on commercials and billboards, small firms will do better by developing a niche practice, rather than competing with large firms head-on.

For example, Powers Taylor handles nursing home abuse claims. While there is no shortage of these cases, in Texas, these claims involve a complicated piece of law, so it’s difficult for large firms to make a profit on them.

Since her firm now has a successful track record with these claims, attorneys at large firms refer these cases to it, Cook says.

Every marketing success comes down to how well you know your clients – how they live, what makes them happy, what scares them and makes them feel at ease, says Reagan Attle, chief marketing officer for Clio, a software and practice management company providing services to small and large law firms.

Do what is best for your potential clients.

For Cook’s firm, with its emphasis on nursing home clients, it focuses on Facebook and doesn’t worry about the newer platform TikTok. That’s because Facebook is where clients are more likely to be.

“Just because you saw someone do something cool and flashy doesn’t mean that it’s going to be right for your firm,” she says.

Just like creating a business plan, you should develop a marketing plan with concrete goals – for example, working with 10 new clients a month or 100 new clients a year. While the plan can change, having benchmarks helps clarify marketing efforts and evaluate their effectiveness, Attle says.

“Picture the most solid rockstar case that you settled. Think about that client, how they found you, what their demographics are, where are they located, then build a plan after that,” Cook says.

Be approachable. Use clear language and avoid legal jargon, Attle says.

Find ways to show the human side of the firm’s lawyers. At Cook’s firm, one of the partners is a cyclist who has had serious accidents. Since he’s been a personal injury client himself, clients know he understands what they’re going through, Cook says.

Everyone at the firm, not just the attorneys, should be able to articulate the firm’s standards and mission because all of them have contacts that can lead to a new case, Cook says.

Make sure clients are happy because happy clients drive referrals, Attle says.

And look for ways to garner referrals from law firms, too. For example, host continuing legal education lectures or networking events.

“We see a lot more return on personal touchpoints than advertising dollars,” Cook says.

Ask clients to write posts for Avvo, Yelp and other platforms, Attle says.

Attorneys may be leery of review sites, but they’re the online reality. Clients want a reason to choose one lawyer over another, so they search for others’ experiences with a firm.

Attorneys should think to themselves, “As a lawyer, I might not like it, but, as a client, I need it,” she says.

When a prospect mentions that a former client referred them, be sure to thank them and ask them to post a rating.

Every firm should have a solid website. Without it, clients will think the firm is not an established business.

Websites should be optimized, in terms of technology and content, so that search engines give sites a higher rating, Attle says.

Follow clients’ lead when deciding what content to provide by answering common questions. If everyone asks about costs, add material about fees. Firms may be reticent to do so, but transparency builds trust, she says.

Trying many things will not work because it’s not sustainable, and attorneys will get overwhelmed, Attle says. So instead, capitalize on your skill set. If you enjoy writing but hate being on camera, write a blog and skip videos.

“Do a few things really well, rather than doing a lot of things not really well,” she says.

There is an epidemic of misspellings and other errors on firm websites and other material, Attle says.

Don’t be cavalier about these small mistakes. When a client decides which attorney to go with, the firm with a more professional appearance wins, she says.

Attorneys often keep running the same billboard or ad without asking if it’s working.

Instead, choose programs such as targeted ads that provide metrics along with the leads, or consider other assessment tools.

If attorneys are not looking at marketing’s impact, “you’ll be wasting money and time, and there’s nothing more destructive for a law firm,” Attle says.

Clio ran an experiment, posing as prospective clients to firms across the country, and Attle was amazed at the results: It was typical for firms not to respond.

Realize that prospective clients may not give attorneys the information they need to assess the case in an email. Call them to learn more about what happened, Attle says.

At Cook’s firm, someone calls back every prospective client, even if it is only to explain why the firm won’t take the case. The prospective clients are grateful, often saying that, of the 10 firms they’d called, Cook’s was the only one to reply.

Taking a few moments to put the customer first, leaves a lasting impression that will carry forward, Cook says.