Key Questions to Ask During Your First Meeting with an Attorney Client

Welcome back. So we've gone into some detail about trust and we've also done some deep diving into certain practice areas, but I'm gonna really dial it back here to what are the questions you ask when you first meet your first attorney client? And this is one that I can tell you, I, I love doing this, this particular topic because I can remember the first time I got a call from an attorney. I think I originally got like a message that was a ProAdvisor lead. And then from there I made the appointment. I remember being how nervous I was. This is going back quite a few years. I was nervous because I wasn't familiar with the practice area. And even though I was a generalist bookkeeper and I had met people all the time, for some reason I was intimidated because they're professional, they're highly educated. And I was just a little nervous because, you know, you don't know what you don't know. So this is going to help you if you've got that appointment with your first attorney-client, like, what do I say? What do I do? So really, congratulations on landing your first interview or a first call with an attorney client. This is a fantastic niche to go into, especially with AI and technology. I don't think we'll ever be completely wiped out. I think we're really going to need to be very active in working with attorneys because so much can go wrong with their bookkeeping. And so having that knowledge right now is a great time to be diving in, in deeply with attorneys. So even if you're a seasoned bookkeeper, especially if you've been a bookkeeper that's been working with construction, A lot of this is very similar because that's pretty detailed as well. You'll know retainers or deposits and all of that. So those are kind of similarities. But when you get to meet the attorney for the first time, you want to handle it in a certain way. So your first meeting has to be more than just an introduction. It's really a chance to gather that vital information that you're going to need to be able to understand their business and their financial practices and also what their expectations are of you. So this is gonna set the tone for a very collaborative and productive relationship. I always say I partner, we partner with our firms. We are part of the firm, no matter what law firm we're working with, we feel like we're, we're an extension of that. Yeah. Like we're in the office even though we're not. So you want to lay the groundwork, you wanna build trust with your client. Let them know how long you've been doing the work. I was really honest with my first attorney client. I let 'em know like, this is a new practice area to me. I'm more than willing to learn and, and take your advice. Um, and in that respect, I lowered my rate because I knew that this was going to be part of me needing to know, learn from the client. Basically, that's how it started out when I worked with my first attorney client. So let them know you're going to tailor their services specific to their needs. Obviously, one of their biggest needs is trust accounting. You're going to set up the time when you talk to them to identify their potential challenges. Let them talk. That's one of the things that I was very guilty of in the beginning is I wanted to talk. I want to talk about myself and they want to talk about themselves. So let them do that. Be quiet. There's a reason God gave you two ears and one mouth. I love that saying. I think I heard it from Seth for the first time. Kind of funny, but it definitely is true. Let them talk. Let them talk about themselves. Attorneys love to talk about themselves. Let them talk about themselves. Let them talk about their practice. Listen. Really, really clear. Really key to having a successful appointment with them. And then set some clear expectations and avoid any misunderstandings right off the bat. Get very clear. Turn your meeting, meeting recorder on so you've got that, and you'll share the outline with them. And first thing I'll ask them is, what kind of a— how is your firm structured? Is it a partnership? Is it a corporation? Is it a professional corporation? These are things you want to ask the client. Uh, understand and ask what the firm size is, how many attorneys work there, how many paralegals, how big is the firm, how many people are on payroll. If they use contractors, find out about that. Really understand their practice areas. And this is stuff you'll gather right from— you get that first email, just take that end of that email address and look up website? That's going to give you some insight. Ask if there's trust accounting. Not all attorneys use trust accounting, so that's another piece that you want to look at. You know, are they doing contingency? Ask about their billing. So find out how they bill. Are they hourly billing? Are they flat fee billing? Are they, you know, doing like real estate where they're doing, you know, they're doing escrow accounts? Are they a contingency fee kind of a firm? Are they a personal injury firm? You need to know those things as well. How are they paid? Are they working with insurance companies? They get paid with checks. Are they paid with— are they using Clio payments? Or are they using Confido Legal? Those are important things to know. And then ask them to describe their current bookkeeping processes and then let them tell you what's not going right and what the problem is and when did the last bookkeeper leave or is going to leave. Use— understand their— try to find out what their existing systems are and if there's any inefficiencies in that system. Are there any pain points that they face? Ask them what software they're using, what case management software they're using, what other software they're using in their own law firm that may not be applicable to you, but you want to know all the pieces that may be connected to QuickBooks. And then also find out what their financial management challenges are. Understand their priorities and highlight how your services can help them. And help them— talk to them maybe about their cash flow. How is their cash flow working in their firm? And then ask them more things about how often they expect to get their financial reporting. Sometimes financial reporting has to be done on a certain day, and then you might need to know that that might be an expedited client that you want to charge more for. So those are the most important things that you wanna look into. We do have a link in another article that kind of steps it out and gives you like a little list of the questions. You have it in front of you and you can ask them on the fly when you have your meeting. So I'm, I think we'll put that link back in this article as well, and maybe a link to the old article so you can reach out and take a look at it. Um, but make sure as you conclude your meeting with your client, summarize your discussion with them, give them the outline. Recap the main points. You know, as you reverb it, re— as you say it back to them, that'll let them know that you're having a complete understanding of their needs and there's no misunderstanding. Sometimes you hear one thing but they meant another, so it's good to do that. Maybe if you talked about their business goals, definitely talk to them about their business goals and what they are looking to do in the future. Find out what their challenges are and any additional financial documents, and then gather those documents and that invite from your client to QuickBooks and any of the other software that's critical. And then once the quote's prepared, you might wanna have another meeting with them to explain it. I like to use Loom and create a video for them so they can see on their records where things have gone wrong, and then talk about the tasks that you're gonna provide and the services. Really what they wanna know, and you wanna paint that picture for them, is what they're gonna get when they hire you. So that's really important to get that information to them. Yeah. Be enthusiastic, be excited to work together with them, and tell them how dedicated you are and how they're hiring somebody that has a deep financial knowledge of their industry. And that's really setting the stage for a very strong financial partnership with them. And if you demonstrate professionalism, dress for success, sit up nice and tall, and then project yourself in that way with your conversation, that's gonna set the foundation for a great client relationship. Hope that's helpful, and we'll see you all next week. Bye now.