What sets your law firm apart from other plaintiffs’ firms?

I have spent my 42-year legal career -- so far -- on the defense side of the civil litigation aisle.* This article is dedicated to the civil plaintiffs' bar, who have made my career possible, and have helped me see both sides of a case. Thank you, colleagues.

How does a plaintiffs' law firm stand out from the crowd? We reviewed the websites of 50 California firms of various sizes and locations to learn how they convey their uniqueness to the public. The results may be summarized as: specialized staffing or equipment, and being specific when touting high levels of service. Although defense firms' websites were not reviewed the same criteria could apply to them.

From the sole practitioner to the multi-city megafirm, lawyers emphasize their virtues online. Most say they are experienced, have good track records at trial, and have won large monetary awards for their clients. They also say that they treat their clients with care and respect, empathizing with their hardships. These statements are no doubt true, but they are the baseline. They're expected and generic. How long would a firm that didn't have those attributes stay in business?

There are many excellent law firms out there, just as there are many excellent restaurants. A restaurant isn't likely to gather a following with a menu that reads, "Appetizers, Salads, Entrees, Sides, Desserts, and Drinks." Accurate, but neither specific nor enticing.

The websites that stood out, in my opinion, say something more. Some spotlight unique abilities, others set very high and specific standards of personal service.

Special staffing/equipment

Here are excerpts from plaintiffs' firms' websites (in italics and anonymized) that convey their distinctiveness, along with my observations.

"Having initially worked for years in very large defense firms in California, [we] have a unique insight into how Fortune 500 companies and other organizations operate and have the experience and resources necessary to ... protect the rights of the firm's clients in wrongful termination or employment law matters."

Knowing the other side's strategies is like seeing the opposing team's football playbook. Because this firm knows the defense playbook, it can predict what the defense will do or not do, and exploit that information.

Here's another switched-sides story:

"[He] has a unique perspective on consumer debt collection. He is not only an experienced trial litigator, he is a former debt buying corporation owner and senior executive at a debt collection law firm. Read more to find out how his insider knowledge gives his firm an advantage when taking on debt collectors and creditors."

Sometimes law firms distinguish themselves by providing services that might otherwise be outsourced to independent vendors:

"[We] have access to state-of-the-art resources that other firms do not. [We] can create everything from sophisticated life-size models to engaging multimedia presentations. [Our] in-house experts and investigators can bring critical items right into the courtroom for juries and judges to experience firsthand[.]"

This is one-stop shopping. The firm provides traditional legal assistance, constructs demonstrative evidence, employs experts and has investigators on staff.

"We have connections. Need medical treatment? No insurance? Can't afford it? No problem. We can arrange treatment for you with first-rate healthcare providers who will defer payment until we win your injury claim. Need money to get you through this rough patch? We can arrange that too. Again, the lender will defer repayment until you win your lawsuit. ... That's no task for a junior associate in a big law firm, or for a lawyer who is just out of law school, or for an attorney who just occasionally handles legal malpractice or personal injury cases[.]"

Arranging health care treatment and loans through independent providers is an added service for financially struggling clients. Referrals to nonlawyers to cope with clients' needs is not unusual but note that there could be a risk of negligent referral liability. The extract above makes a valid point about new law grads and bar admittees: They shouldn't bite off more than they can chew.

As an adjunct law professor, I am keen on seeing new lawyers find work, especially in firms that provide training and supervised hands-on experience. In my law classes, students learn the basics of engagement agreements with new clients, developing case strategies, composing pleadings, writing discovery plans and budgets, crafting and arguing motions, and managing clients' expectations. If they choose to become civil litigators, I want them to be acquainted with some common tasks on day one.

Here are three website examples that show firms' uncommon expertise:

"While in law school, he co-founded a nationwide automobile sales and leasing brokerage. [This] gave him first-hand exposure to the innermost nuances of automobile sales and leasing, which help him successfully deal with auto dealer fraud and Lemon Law cases in California."

"An on-staff doctor who is also a lawyer is a unique qualification that very few firms possess. Such a professional can apprise a medical malpractice case and act as a liaison to medical experts in other types of cases."

"[We take] pride in having an in-house Research and Development Department staffed with individuals from the automotive industry."

Lawyers and law firms may have two or more areas of professional expertise. The lawyer/doctor example is rare, though one Philadelphia firm has five M.D./J.D.s on staff. Other combinations include lawyer/accountants, lawyer/nurses, and lawyer/real estate brokers.

Personal service

I tell my classes, "Law is a contact sport and usually a team sport." The most important contacts we have are our clients. We get to know them as people. Though we are only required to perform professional services, most of us do so with personal flair. Some attorney/client personal relationships go on for decades, even if only on a Christmas card basis.

"When you hire [us], you talk to [our] owners. ... We speak your language."

Communicating with senior attorneys reassures clients. Less senior lawyers help to round out the conversation, personifying the legal team. The above firm adds that it doesn't talk in legal jargon -- why build a verbal wall between lawyer and client?

"[She] understands the pain her sexual harassment and sexual assault clients go through because she's felt it herself, and she understands the pain and suffering that victims may experience. ... We only take a limited number of cases so we can fight for you at the highest level to resolve your case through negotiation or trial."

This highly personal and empathetic message establishes an immediate connection -- "she went through what I'm going through" -- and adds a promise to limit the attorney's caseload so each client has her attention.

"Unlike most other personal injury and workers' compensation law firms -- and especially unlike out-of-town lawyers who go through great lengths to appear as local -- our attorneys provide personal care in our clients' cases. ... When you first make an appointment, you will meet with the lawyer who will be handling your case."

Dissing big-city lawyers reminds me of the slur on urban cowboys, "All hat, no cattle." There is such a thing as home field advantage, but it works both ways, Pilgrim. That said, I admire the firm's commitment that the client will be greeted by the handling attorney.

Takeaways

In my view, the best self-promotion for law firms is like the best headline: It grabs the reader's attention in few words and is supported by verifiable information that follows.

For years marketers have urged businesspeople to have and memorize elevator speeches, a few sentences short enough to inform a fellow prisoner in an elevator, before the doors reopen, what he/she or the company does and why it's important. Effective law firm promotion should begin with a concise message that's something that's more than a bumper sticker, less than an appellate brief.

How does your firm differentiate itself? What reasons do your clients give for choosing you? Did they look at your website before making the decision? How could your web presence be more persuasive?

* There were occasional above-the-vs. expeditions in intramural insurance coverage litigation, and one First Amendment civil rights case, which the U.S. Supreme Court decided in our favor on July 1, 2022, after 6+ years of litigation. But I digress.