Clienting #33: Justie Nicol on Tech Tools for Client Development

Gyi Tsakalakis and Kelly Street were joined by Justie Nicol, owner of Nicol Law Offices, a Criminal Defense Attorney in Fort Collins, Colorado. She is a savvier than average solo attorney who used technology tools to make her practice run smoother and create better work/life balance. 

Justie has even taught a CLE on tech tools as a solo to boost client experience! When you look at the list of tools below and listen, keep in mind that Justie is a regular lawyer who implemented these tools over time, as she saw a need. She starts with a low-cost or free solution

What Justie uses to streamline her firm and client experience:

• Wisestamp for email signature (appt scheduler, tweets, etc)

• Copper CRM
  • Connects with Zapier to her email and more
• Typeform for intake/conflict check
  • Prior to client consultations, have them fill this out.
  • Send a post-consultation form to see why a potential client didn't choose your law firm
  • Send a post-case form to get client feedback for reviews
• Zapier, to connect apps and services
• Acuity for appointments
  • Set expectations with clients so they know when and how appointments should go; filling out a conflict check prior, etc.
  • Consult with everyone who wants one or send them referral sources; just don't let them feel ignored
• Square for payments
  • Easily end to collect payment at the time of engagement
  • Justie includes a credit card charge policy in her engagement letter, so clients know how payments work
• Docusign for document signing
  • Engagement letters, etc.
  • AttorneySync uses PandaDoc for document sharing and signing
• Buffer for social media
• Trello for content management
• Outsourcing marketing efforts
  • Content creation
    • Schedule posts, draft one month at a time
    • Use an attorney or an agency who understands legal ethics
    • Posts for referrals and posts for clients
  • Digital marketing
    • Pay-per-click
      • Cost per click, and customer acquisition cost
    • SEO
      • Monitor ad copy to make sure it complies with your state's ethics rules
  • Website updates and buildout
  • Make sure to track Return On Investment for all marketing efforts; Justie likes to try one new method at a time
• Smith.ai for after-hours receptionist and chatbots for website communication
  • Receptionist service for inbound and outbound calls, filling out the intake form and helping schedule appointments or court reminders for clients.
  • Using a chatbot as an option for communication, even if it isn't something you would want to use.
• Non-tech: Engagement Letters to set client expectations
  • How you will communicate with them and when it is appropriate to contact you
  • Your lawyer-style; aggressive or not?
• Quickbooks for firm accounting methods
  • Manually reimbursing credit card charge fees
  • Square & Quickbooks connections
• Ethics Issues:
  • Engagement letter includes a section about the technology used for information and document security

Contact Justie at [e-mail] or find her on social media: #officedogs

Contact Kelly for more information on Clienting at [e-mail]