Most law firms share similar goals, processes, and expertise. But, if that were all that went into making a great law firm, a prospective client might as well choose their lawyer by throwing darts at names on a board.
In fact, like families, no two law firms are exactly alike. Every law firm, like every other business, is defined by its principles. What do you believe in? What does your law firm stand for? Why does your firm exist? How do you provide value to your clients?
In other words, what’s your ‘why’?
Interrogating your why and linking it to the value you provide to clients allows you a unique opportunity to engage with those looking for a law firm. In this article, we’ll explore how finding and leveraging your law firm’s purpose can be one of your best content marketing decisions.
Finding value in your law firm’s values
Establishing your ‘why’ is two-fold: there is the “why you do what you do” and the “why someone should choose you.” Understanding how these two questions are really one is the first step towards making your why work for you.
What is your law firm’s “why”?
Start by exploring your values. Not only does it lay the groundwork for your mission, but it also helps connect what you do with the value you provide your clients.
First, reflect on your beliefs. Maybe you stand for justice and look out for the little guy facing huge corporations. You might value being an active member of your community or continuing a family legacy of service. Or you might believe in serving others by achieving results that make a tangible difference in your clients’ lives.
Survey your staff. Many staff members, particularly those who have been with your firm for years, can provide valuable insight into your firm’s values. Ask them about your law firm’s culture, client service, guiding principles, positive client feedback, and other ways your firm lives its values.
Examine your client reviews. Your previous clients can provide insight into your firm’s positive attributes that prompted them to leave you a favorable review. Read the reviews clients have posted on Google and Yelp to start.
Take inventory of your actions: It’s one thing to state your beliefs; it’s another to live them actively. Are you walking the walk? Think about all the ways you contribute to your community, for example. Or explore the values reflected in how you serve your clients.
Create a list of values based on these exercises, including your core beliefs (e.g., justice, service) and crucial behaviors (e.g., integrity, communication). Narrow them down to the values you believe best define your law firm. Then, craft a mission statement based on those values.
Your law firm’s values inform its mission statement
Your mission statement is the North Star for everything you do. Make your statement clear and direct so it provides that guidance to potential clients as well.
It may be that your mission is to help people in unfortunate circumstances. For example, if your firm primarily takes workers’ compensation cases, your mission may be to help hard-working Americans injured on the job pick themselves back up.
Our mission is to advocate for injured workers in our community, delivering justice, dignity, and the means to secure their family’s future.
Or you may have a mission statement involving giving survivors agency after trauma. For example, you may work on abuse cases and want survivors to feel supported and safe. Your mission statement may be to ensure survivors’ voices are heard while they get the justice they deserve.
Our mission is to listen to and stand beside survivors of abuse. We advocate for survivors with compassion and conviction, pursue justice, and make their voices heard.
Many firms consider themselves “mission-driven,” but you stand out when a clear connection exists between your mission and your client’s purpose.
Going beyond the generic: Creating your law firm’s value proposition
Why should readers care about your values and mission? In other words, how does your law firm live its values, and how does your mission solve your clients’ problems?
Your value proposition is the direct benefit you bring your clients. But where some law firms fall short is by creating a generic value proposition – we fight for you, we get you compensation.
Here’s your opportunity to make your case for hiring your firm. Your law firm’s value proposition speaks directly to your target audience and briefly explains how you help them overcome pain points and achieve a goal (i.e., the benefit you offer them). Your value proposition can also differentiate your firm from similar competitors in the market.
To create your unique value proposition, refer back to your values and mission, and don’t forget to consider your features and benefits.
Express features and benefits in terms of your client’s goals
Features are things you do or key details about your services. Benefits are the positive outcomes your clients experience because of those features.
| Features | Benefits |
| Niche DUI practice only handles DUI cases. | Knows the ins and outs of the DUI process to create customized legal strategies to keep you out of jail and minimize penalties. |
| 20 years of experience and have won 5,201 cases. | Uses experience to negotiate for maximum compensation so you can pay medical bills, account for lost wages, and secure long-term care needs after an injury has reshaped your life. |
| Attorneys previously worked at some of the biggest insurance companies in the country. | Insider knowledge to recognize and fight aggressive insurer tactics, protecting your settlement so you can pay your bills and get medical care. |
So much of making your firm stand out comes from making explicit connections between your benefits and your client’s goals or pain points.
Your features and benefits are unique to your firm, and they help the reader know why your firm is the firm to choose for their case. When you know what makes you stand out, you can use it to connect your values with your value proposition.
Your value proposition tells the reader why they should choose your law firm in light of your features and benefits.
| Features | Benefits | Value Proposition |
| Niche DUI practice only handles DUI cases. | Knows the ins and outs of the DUI process to create customized legal strategies to keep you out of jail and minimize penalties. | Jane Doe Law ONLY practices DUI law. We know the processes and strategies that work, and we leverage our unique insights to keep you out of jail and minimize the turmoil a DUI can bring to your life. |
| 20 years of experience and have won 5,201 cases. | Uses experience to negotiate for the maximum compensation you need to pay medical bills, account for lost wages, and secure long-term care needs after an injury has reshaped your life. | With 20 years of dedicated service to injury victims in our community and over 5,000 cases won, John Smith Law secures the financial justice you need to overcome all the challenges your injury has caused. |
| Attorneys previously worked at some of the biggest insurance companies in the country. | Insider knowledge to recognize and fight aggressive insurer tactics, protecting your settlement so you can pay your bills and get medical care. | Our lawyers have worked for some of the biggest insurance companies in the country, and we use that insider knowledge to fight against delays and other aggressive tactics so you can secure the settlement you need to pay for medical care and rebuild your life. |
By addressing your features and benefits while making a clear connection to the reader’s pain points, your value proposition sells your law firm to the reader when they have a hundred firms to choose from.
Add social proof to support your value proposition
You know that presenting a successful argument in court requires clear evidence to back it up. The same holds true for your marketing. Clear social proof on your website and other marketing goes a long way to support your stated value proposition.
As you create new content or update outdated content on your website, use social proof like client reviews, case results, and community recognition to support your stated value proposition. Prove you walk the walk.
Share client reviews
Highlight client testimonials that reflect the benefits you emphasize in your value proposition, especially on practice area pages written for highly transactional traffic that’s ready to hire a lawyer. For example:
- If you highlight your firm’s empathy towards victims, feature client reviews that speak to kindness and support from you and your staff.
- If your value proposition says you “maximize settlements,” highlight reviews where clients speak about the negative experience they had with lowball offers from insurers and how you got them a settlement that accounted for all their losses.
Highlight your case results
If your firm has a history of impressive case results, highlight those results on your home page and practice area pages to support your value proposition of getting results for your clients.
- Share details about how a higher settlement helped the client navigate their post-injury life, such as affording the assistance they need to accomplish daily tasks after paralysis or a parent securing a settlement that covers their child’s ongoing physical therapy needs.
- If your value proposition is about leveraging your niche DUI experience to win a positive outcome for clients facing drunk driving charges, highlight stories of past clients who received minimal penalties, had their cases dropped, or achieved an acquittal.
Community efforts connecting you to clients
Community efforts and recognitions can also give credibility to your value proposition. Write blogs, social media posts, and other content highlighting your efforts in the community or new recognitions your law firm earns. For example:
- A history of volunteering or giving back lends credence to a value proposition about trust and service to the local community.
- High ratings from distinguished sites like AVVO or recognition from Super Lawyers lends accolades to support claims of success and ability.
Elevate your content with purpose
At We Do Web, we deliver custom law firm SEO strategies that generate traffic and leads, including content that reflects your unique benefits to convert site visitors into new cases. Contact us today to get started. Schedule a free 30-minute site audit.
Chloe Clark is an associate editor at We Do Web. With nearly two decades of experience in content, she has written extensively about legal topics, senior health and living, publishing, finance, and technology.
