How lawyers can market themselves for divorce cases
Indianapolis is the 14th largest city in the United States. It has a population of 829,718 according to the 2010 census. For the past 10 years ending December 31, 2010, Indianapolis had an average of 4,705 new residents per year. Indianapolis reported 4,844 divorce petitions filed in 2010, representing an above-average filing year, and 2009 reported 5,504, which was a significant increase above average. However, it is not listed among the top 50 divorce cities in the United States. The dubious distinction of being the divorce capital of the world belongs to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Many of the divorce petitions filed in Indianapolis are pro-se, which means that the person filing the petition represents themselves. For the other litigants who present or are named as defendants in these judicial processes, they will be represented by a lawyer. Indianapolis divorce attorneys compete for the approximately 800 potential clients that apply each month through print and electronic advertising. As the Internet becomes a more popular place to do business, more and more lawyers and law firms are finding the Internet to be a very dynamic place in which to advertise their services. They employ a number of strategies to get to the top of the heap, including paying major search engines for the right to appear prominently at the top of search pages. Since Google has the largest share of the Internet market, this is the place where lawyers compete for the position. At least those who know and understand how the Internet works.
Despite this competition between divorce attorneys and all other attorneys, referrals from other clients and other attorneys remain the most common means of bringing new clients into the office. This may be due to the fact that legal matters in general and divorce in particular tend to deal with very personal and sensitive matters, and clients need to feel safe with the people representing them. Finding attorneys that your friends know goes a long way in overcoming any fears you may have about sharing your innermost thoughts with a complete stranger.
Many attorneys do not practice in this field, but virtually all full-service law firms and even boutique law firms have at least one attorney on staff who handles divorce and family law matters. There are very few lawyers who claim to practice exclusively in the field of family law, but there are a few. While this area of law is not highly technical or difficult, it does require a wide range of knowledge and is not something a novice should tackle alone. There are simply too many traps waiting for the inexperienced attorney to stumble upon as the case unfolds.