A good reputation is better than a golden girdle. Reputation is basically the belief or perception people in society hold about you. It’s mostly influenced by your character, personality, and how you handle things. As a lawyer, your personal and professional reputation means everything. While it may take your entire career to establish a positive reputation, it can also be tarnished by the turn of events within a particular period and this is one of the hardest pills to swallow in the legal world!
When clients are looking for legal services, most of them will consult reviews and experiences from some of your previous and existing clients. As you can relate, this means that if your reputation is tainted, finding new clients can be an uphill adventure. This is why as a lawyer, it is important to always engage your clients and request feedback on their thoughts regarding the services you offered.
If there’s a problem, it’s best to show care and concern to your clients and reassure them of correcting the issues where possible. This will create more confidence and trust from your side as opposed to dismissing their concerns. Also, building a good reputation may involve working on your personality, always maintaining client confidentiality, providing exceptional customer service, observing honesty, and sticking to professional ethics. The bottom line is that your reputation can have a huge impact on your legal profession, whether you’re employed or have your own firm.
Below are a few reasons why having a good reputation is important in the legal profession.
1. It Gains You Trust
Trust, as we all know, can be hard to gain but easy to lose. It takes even more work to regain lost trust if at all it’s possible. In the legal world, consumers work with professionals they can trust to represent, protect, and defend their rights. The best thing about it is that clients will always trust you as long as you don’t give them a reason to doubt your integrity. In most instances, people will hire you as their lawyer based on your experience and track record. This is especially true for persons facing criminal charges whose freedom or jail-term may largely rest in the arms of the criminal attorney’s ability to present a strong defense. Criminal defense attorney Hal M. Garfinkel at this URL says that to maximize the chances of a good outcome, individuals charged with a criminal offense should have a trusted and experienced attorney on their side. The criminal defense attorney should also understand how the prosecution team intends to present the case so they can have a counter strategy for the evidence that will be presented.
This is why as a lawyer, it’s always important to aim at winning your clients’ trust as well as their cases. Once people develop trust for you or your firm, others will most likely follow the same suit with the same sentiments. On the other hand, if people don’t trust you or your firm, you can have a hard time selling your attorney services.
2. Increased Profit Margins
As much as it is a profession, providing legal services also has its business side. It’s an income-generating practice and profits matter. While maintaining a good reputation helps increase your client base, it also helps increase your law firm’s revenue. People normally depend on the opinions and views of others, so if your services are satisfactory to your clients, the numbers can automatically grow. In today’s competitive world, your reputation as a lawyer will greatly impact your revenues. Additionally, lawyers and law firms with a good reputation often spend less on PR, marketing, and advertising.
Read More: 5 Factors of Your Online Reputation
3. Talent Retention for Law Firms
Every job seeker in the legal employment market desires to work at a law firm with a 1st – star rating. Your employees want to be identified with an employer who has a good reputation. You also do not want to hire employees with a polluted reputation. As a law firm, building a good reputation can help win you the most qualified individuals in the industry while also helping you to retain the finest talent in the legal job market.
4. Your Credentials Depend On It
Law is one of those professions that are
heavily regulated by governments, public bodies, and societies. Attorneys are
required to observe a high degree of ethics and moral standards at all times. In
many countries and states, you could easily lose your practicing license and
get disbarred if you conduct yourself in a way that defies the code of conduct
or regulations put in place. In this case, you may find it difficult to acquire
clients or even secure employment as your reputation will be tarnished.
As an attorney, your reputation is almost as important
as the many years you spent in your studies for the career. As a matter of
fact, it becomes even more important when you start practicing. It also
involves being true to your word and what you commit to, which is why
agreements are called legally binding! It can make or break your success in the
legal field, and the above few pointers can help avoid the latter.
