Want To Become A Go To Lawyer Blog On Cutting Edge Issues

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Want to Become a “Go To” Lawyer? Blog on Cutting Edge Issues A young associate asked me to share an example of an associate who has become a “go to” lawyer. Travis Crabtree is a Looper Reed and McGraw lawyer I coached a few years ago. When I coached him, he was an associate, Now he is a partner in his firm. When we met the first time, he shared with me that while he was doing general commercial litigation, his passion was journalism. We talked about possible niches for him. After several months Travis decided to focus time on eMedia law. He created an eMedia Law blog and an eMedia Law Facebook Fan page. Among other things, Travis’  blog has led to a regular  Visibility Magazine column, a    radio interview and an article “Should You Use Social Media to Hire?” in the March 2010 issue of the Texas Bar Journal. Travis sent me an email last week sharing how he got the opportunity to write for the Texas Bar Journal and how it led to business. Here is what he told me: The State Bar Journal folks called to see if I could write a piece on legal issues involved in using social media to recruit and hire. They had seen, through my blog and other internet sites, that I had done a similar webinar presentation for an H.R. forum. Because I have enjoyed writing on this issue, I gladly obliged. I did not view it as  great marketing opportunity because I thought writing to the business folks would be more productive than writing for other lawyers. I was wrong. I have since gotten a call from two large companies and a non-profit entity all asking for advice on social media issues.  The funny part is only four people attended the original webinar  and I was not overly excited about writing an article that would only be read by other lawyers. This proves you just never know when or how you will reach a potential client. As I mentioned above, when I first met him, Travis was a commercial litigator. His home town Houston has more commercial litigators than there are cases for them to do. Travis created a niche and started blogging on timely, cutting edge issues that potential clients find important. He has raised his visibility and credibility in his niche and is on his way to becoming the “go to” lawyer in his eMedia niche. I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.