Copywriting for Legal Practices

All businesses can benefit from great copy and law firms are no different in this respect. However, the nature of legal services means that copy requires a unique approach.

I am ideally suited to providing thoroughly researched and engaging written work for legal practices.

My background in law has given me the legal knowledge, research skills, and experience to write compelling pieces for legal businesses. Very few copywriters can draw upon similar insight.

Understanding Legal Services

I am aware of the unique challenges legal practitioners face when trying to sell their services. Challenges such as:

  • Legal services are highly technical
  • Some legal services may not be desirable but are necessary
  • You are selling your knowledge, skill and experience
  • A professional impression is critical

Essentially, these are all linked to trust. A potential client must be willing to place trust in your firm before they will even enquire about your services. The copy in your firm’s marketing materials must therefore be of superb quality to create and maintain a good first impression.

Informing your Potential Clients

Legal services also face a difficult challenge due to their technical nature. People with a strong legal case may not even know you could help them.

If someone experiences a legal problem, research has shown that only 30% will seek any kind of professional advice.
Source – legal services board

Illustrating the problems your business can solve, in clear, well-written and interesting copy, could be the difference between a new client and yet another person joining that ‘70%’.

From Legalese to Easily Understood

You may wonder why you would even use a copywriter. After all, being able to write goes with the territory of being a lawyer; it’s a vital skill for anyone in the profession. But connecting with your clients through writing is something else entirely.

The majority of legal content on the web, even that which is aimed at the public, is written in the style of an essay. A law professor may sit through it but a potential client is unlikely to.

Most people have no legal training so technical terms which go unexplained should have no place in your copy. It must speak directly to your audience in understandable terms, must engage their attention, and must inform without lecturing them.

To do this successfully requires a set of skills different from those used when writing legal advice.

Client Stories

“I was delighted with the copy Andy produced for me. He really understood the nature of my business and captured the message I wanted to get across to my clients and contacts.”

Claire Murphy, Solicitor and Managing Director, Claire Murphy Legal

Saving You Time and Money

If there is one thing I learned from working in law, it’s that there were never enough hours in the day. Each hour of your time is one which could be billed, or used to bring a matter that bit closer to completion.

So, how much time are you willing to spend away from your work to write a web-page or an in-depth blog post? There would always be the temptation to get any such writing over as quickly as possible so you can get back to your task list.

However, something so vital should not be rushed; it is an opportunity to attract new clients and to portray your business as you would want it to be seen.

What’s more, it doesn’t make good economic sense. How much is your hourly rate? Or if a staff member were to write it, what’s their hourly rate?

To offer some perspective, the hourly rate of a Grade B fee earner could be anywhere between £218 and £348 according to the (updated) Guideline Hourly Rates. How many hours would it take such a fee earner to write an engaging, informative article for your potential clients? Will it be of the same quality as if you hired a professional copywriter?

My rates are much lower than those Guideline Hourly Rates. Yet by engaging ARP Writing, you would receive top-quality written work with the insight of a legal background. At the same time, you, or your fee earner, would not lose those valuable billable hours.

Start working with a copywriter – one with experience of legal services

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