Hard Up For Clients? Try Small Talk

Lawyers looking to sign new clients err too much on the side of talking business, says attorney instructor Randall Ryder. “By far the most common mistake is a complete and utter lack of small talk skills,” Ryder writes for Lawyerist. “Law students just treat the fake client like a piece of meat and start chomping away.” He also suggests adding personality to your office space (“Nobody is going to ask you about your law school diploma”) and avoid talking mostly, or only, about fees. “[L]awyers aren’t robots,” he says, “so don’t act like one.”