Practice tips-- Lawyers debate the need to pay for leads

By Jack Zemlicka Dolan Media Newswires MILWAUKEE, WI--In a competitive market for legal services, more attorneys are willing to pay for leads and marketing services than in years past, said Larry Bodine, former Madison attorney and legal consultant. The concept is an emerging trend, Bodine said, and one two Milwaukee entrepreneurs have jumped on with their service, Top Tier Legal Group. Launched in October, the service started by Aaron Gersonde, 25, and Marquette Law School student Josh Turim, 25, charges attorneys $1,000 a month to take part in a niche marketing plan designed to increase their overall visibility. Attorneys who pay to take part are marketed to prospective clients through nine practice areas. Gersonde said the company is not strictly a referral service, but acknowledged landing more clients is the desired outcome for its 14 members. "We're not charging based on referrals," he said. "What attorneys do is pay to be part of the network. Whether they get 100 calls or two calls, it doesn't matter." As some smaller firms and sole practitioners struggle to attract business in a still sluggish economy, Bodine said, investing in such services is becoming a more attractive option. "A lot of firms with one to five lawyers are very interested in buying leads," he said, "which is actually what they are doing." Labor and employment attorney Brad Backer of Albrecht Backer Labor & Employment Law SC, a small firm based in Milwaukee, said the idea of joining such a service makes him uncomfortable, however. "By virtue of the work my partner and I have done over about 30 years, we would certainly welcome referrals," he said. "But I'm not comfortable joining any organization or paying anything to partake in an organization that would be a referral source." Backer questioned the quality of leads for the money and said experienced attorneys tend to build up their own network of external referrals sources over time. In the case of Top Tier, attorney members are screened through 10 criteria including having been in practice at least seven years. "I can imagine how it might be something attorneys out of law school for 10 to 15 years might consider," Backer said. "But I would think that the longer you've been in practice, the less likely this would appeal." Eight-year criminal defense attorney Michael Levine, of the Law Offices of Robert A. Levine, Milwaukee, said he spent two months as a member of Top Tier before opting out because it "wasn't a good fit." Levine, who is in practice with his father, said the marketing was affordable and produced referrals, but he decided to use his limited advertising money to focus more on promoting his firm's brand versus marketing through a broader network. "I'm a third generation lawyer in this city, so I think it's kind of unique situation," he said. "But I think it's tough to be sole practitioner in today's world without these sorts of referral services. "It's a great way for attorneys to create business without having to spend a fortune." Daniel Kattman, of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren SC, Milwaukee, said simply putting an attorney' name on a website isn't effective marketing. "A lot of companies think that's enough," he said. "I think lawyers need to try different types of marketing." One of the draws to legal marketing firms that produce leads is that a handful of lucrative cases can pay for the cost of the investment. Kattman said in his intellectual property practice, one or two clients that come from professional marketing make the investment worthwhile. Bodine said one of the advantages of getting leads direct through marketing, instead of from another lawyer, is that most clients have been screened as paying customers. About one in seven inquires to Top Tier lead to attorney-client relationships, Gersonde said. The company doesn't guarantee business for members, he added. Entire contents copyrighted © 2012 by The Dolan Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is expressly forbidden. Published: Mon, Feb 27, 2012