38 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | FEB 2022 YOUR FIRM HAS A STORY THAT YOUR CLIENTS DON’T KNOW – AND THEY SHOULD There may be a practitioner somewhere who entered law to accumulate case citations and professional certifications. But most lawyers I have worked with over three decades view their career as an opportunity to make a difference for clients. Some of the most engaging conversations I have had with master practitioners trace the tales that led them from taking on dire legal challenges to delivering results for clients. So why do so many lawyers (and law firms) focus their marketing to prospective clients on obscure case citations and professional certifications? The law firm challenge Face it: the people who actually sign the cheques to engage law firms are rarely as excited by case wins or certifications as the firms they hire. In fact, most organisations hiring outside counsel consider requisite experiences and certifications to be table stakes. In other words, if the firm did not have the right credentials, it wouldn’t be considered for the work. In my years working with law firms to propel their growth, a few themes emerge repeatedly in my conversations with firm leaders: • “As a firm, we do not know how to describe what we do.” • “Our prospects say they cannot tell us apart from our competitors.” • “We do not know how to make the firm attractive to new hires.” • “Everybody in the firm seems to have a different idea of what we do.” Your Firm Has a Story That Your Clients Don’t Know Paul Furiga President and Chief Storyteller WordWrite 611 William Penn Pl #501, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States Tel: +1 412 246 0340 E: paul.furiga@wordwritepr.com https://www.wordwritepr.com/ lawyermonthly In the legal profession, regardless of geography or specialty, firms frequently tout credentials that don’t mean much to prospective clients, while ignoring the most important asset they own: their story. Paul Furiga, president at WordWrite, explores the essence of what this story is and how it can be used to empower a firm and its image. Paul Furiga is president and chief storyteller at WordWrite. A former journalist, he wrote and edited over 20,000 stories over a two-decade career before applying his experience to PR. His focus is on identifying and sharing firms’ stories, and he has written a book on the topic: ‘Finding Your Capital S Story, Why your Story Drives your Brand’. - And They Should
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