The “S-Word” in Criminal Defense: Why Sales Shouldn’t Be Taboo
A version of this article was originally published by For The Defense here, Vol 9 Issue #4.
To criminal defense lawyers, the idea of "sales" might seem unrelated—perhaps even antithetical—to your daily practice. You would not be alone in that thinking. Many lawyers and firm leaders across practice areas are uncomfortable with the idea of proactively selling their services. In fact, this discomfort has deep roots in the legal profession, where law has long been viewed as a noble calling rather than a commercial enterprise. In today’s legal market, however, embracing a mindset that views proactive business development (another way to say sales) as a collaborative process that focuses on client service and trust building—can improve not only your current client relationships, but also your marketing and business development efforts.
The Taboo Around Sales in Law
The practice of law has long been regarded as a noble profession focused on justice and public service, rather than a commercial pursuit. In law school, we’re taught the intricacies of the law itself—both in theory and in limited practice—but rarely do we touch on the business of running a practice or a law firm. In criminal defense, in particular, the idea of selling to clients can feel particularly incongruous. You are advocates for your clients and their rights, not salespeople.
The reluctance of many lawyers and firms to embrace sales as a part of the practice of law has also been reinforced by long-standing restrictions on lawyer advertising and stringent rules surrounding client solicitation imposed by state rules of professional conduct. After all, it was less than 50 years ago that the U.S. Supreme Court in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona held that state rules of professional conduct prohibiting lawyers from advertising violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Court concluded that allowing attorney advertising would not harm the legal profession or the administration of justice, and would give consumers valuable information about the availability and cost of legal services.
It has taken a few decades for that conclusion to percolate through the legal profession. In fact, it has only been in the past 15 to 20 years that lawyers and law firms have recognized the marketing and business development functions as vital to their success in the marketplace. Even now, that acceptance is not universal.
Many lawyers grew up professionally believing that their good work speaks for itself and that clients and referrals will seek them out. The old adage “Do good work and the clients will come” reflects an ingrained belief that proactive business development—actively seeking out clients—is unnecessary, possibly even unsavory.
That may have been true once (perhaps back in the mythical days when barristers were paid by the client slipping their fees into the pocket in the back of the barrister’s robe), but the legal market has changed. It’s more crowded and more competitive, and technology has radically shifted how clients and referrals source, research, vet, hire, and engage with lawyers and firms. All lawyers, even (or perhaps especially) criminal defense and white-collar defense lawyers, must think strategically about how to reach and communicate with client prospects and referral sources, attract new work and distinguish themselves from their competitors.
Understanding the Legal Buyer’s Journey
Regardless of whether the client is a large entity or an individual, and whether the lawyer is from Big Law or is a solo practitioner, legal buying decisions are, at their most basic, based on personal trust relationships. Before they hire a lawyer, clients must feel confident that the lawyer (and by extension their firm) can and should be trusted to handle what are often the client’s most critical needs and challenges. This is even more true in criminal and white-collar defense, where the stakes frequently involve personal rights and freedoms.
For this reason, the legal buyer’s journey moves through phases of trust building:
I Know You: Before they contact you—even if they were referred to you, as most are—prospective clients want to learn about you and your firm, your work and experience, and your reputation. For you, this stage is about visibility—making sure potential clients and referral sources know who you are, what you do, and how you do it.
I Trust You: Once a client knows who you are, the next step in the buyer’s journey is building trust. In criminal and white-collar defense, trust is truly paramount, and clients need to know not only that you have skill and expertise to protect them and their rights, but that you’ll handle their case with the utmost discretion and empathy. For you, this stage is about demonstrating not only your legal skill, but also your approach to working with clients.
I Want to Work With You: The final step in the legal buyer’s journey is converting trust into engagement. By reinforcing that you understand their situation and offering a clear path forward, you can move prospects from considering their options for counsel to choosing you.
The buyer’s journey doesn’t stop when the client hires you. Once they become a client, your primary goal, of course, is to provide excellent representation. But client service is more than your skill and expertise. It also requires nurturing the relationship in a way that converts satisfied clients into your best advocates for you and your practice with others.
Reframing Sales as Collaborative Client Service
For many lawyers—and perhaps criminal defense lawyers in particular—embracing a sales mindset can feel like a philosophical shift. The term sales tends to conjure images of hard sell, pressure-filled pitches, and one-sided conversations. But in legal services, sales can and should be seen as a collaborative process of communicating with clients, prospects, and referral sources across the buyer’s journey. In this way, sales are about understanding and addressing the challenges and concerns of clients and gaining their trust and confidence that you can and will handle their case with skill, empathy, and discretion. In today’s digitally driven marketplace, much of this relationship-building engagement may be done even before the first personal contact with potential clients. Focusing your marketing and business development on building trust by providing valuable, informational content to your audience of clients, prospects and referral sources, transforms sales into collaborative client service.
In this way, embracing a sales mindset is not about changing the way you practice law—it’s about being deliberate in how you position yourself (and your firm) in the marketplace by being client-focused—and demonstrating client-focused expertise.
Here are some ways to integrate proactive business development—in other words, sales—into your practice:
Build trust with clients, prospects and referral sources through thought leadership: Highlight your legal acumen, experience and approach to defending clients through articles, speaking at conferences or offering insights to the media on high-profile cases.
Engage with your network: Referrals, whether from previous clients, colleagues or other lawyers, are the primary source of business in criminal defense. Stay connected and engaged with your network. The more you nurture your relationships, the more your network will remember you when opportunities arise.
Emphasize your approach: The decision to hire a defense attorney is both extremely personal and frequently urgent. Taking the time to show clients not only that you have the legal skills and experience, but also that you understand their personal concerns, whether they’re worried about loss of freedom, reputational harm or professional consequences,
Developing a Sales Mindset
Developing a sales mindset is not about abandoning either the ethical principles that guide the legal profession or your focus on protecting your clients’ rights. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s about understanding the trust and confidence your clients need to have in order to feel comfortable hiring you, and about taking proactive steps to communicate, provide valuable information and nurture relationships with clients, prospects and referral sources.
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