What Can Law Firms Do to Attract and Retain More Clients

The legal landscape is changing.  Attorneys and law firms will have to change their way of thinking to attract and retain clients as online services such as LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer, Trademarkia and other legal services companies are actively marketing to and competing with traditional law firms.  Additionally, corporations are closely monitoring their legal spend by using sophisticated software and tools to keep a watchful eye on billing and results.

In the past, law firms have been opposed to looking at creative ways to bring on new clients in fear of ethical violations and other concerns.  The unneeded liability and risk that is associated with creating partnerships with other service providers or setting up tools to help clients track and monitor their brands and other risks, was not something that law firms wanted to take on.

If law firms want to compete and retain business, they need to change their mindset and diversify their offerings.  This means they must come up with new and creative ways to show their clients that they are looking out for them proactively and going the extra mile when it comes to counseling and litigation.

Here are some examples that we have seen work well for some of our clients:

IP & Brand Protection Attorneys

As an example, Intellectual Property (IP) attorneys handling trademark registrations/prosecutions should offer monitoring of their clients’ IP portfolios as an added benefit for working with their firm. There are numerous software offerings that law firms can utilize to handle this service in an automated and economical fashion. This type of service gives the client a sense of safety and it can lead to the need for more legal work that arises from the monitoring.  As an example, if you detect a possible infringement of a trademark you might need to research the infringement and draft a cease and desist notice.  If not resolved these matters can end up in litigation as well.

Management of Intellectual Property would include, but is not limited to the following:

  • Copyrights
  • Trademarks
  • Patents
  • Domain Name (Registrar Lock and Automatic Renewal)

Insurance Defense Firms:

Insurance companies are always looking for ways to minimize costs, especially when it comes to litigated claims in the Workers’ Comp and Premises Liability areas.  Law firms could use an investigator or paralegal to offer complimentary background profiles on all new litigated claims in an effort to look at the following;

  • Driving Record (Non-industrial accidents that occurred before the date of injury/date of loss)
  • Workers’ Comp Claims Search
  • Civil & Criminal Background Check
  • Social Media Profile & Preservation

Plaintiff / Personal Injury Attorneys:

People that have been injured as a result of an accident caused by a third party are looking to be made whole.  They can have staggering medical bills; loss of income and their families can be severely impacted.  Offering a complimentary asset search performed by a paralegal or private investigator on the negligent third parties in the accident can be an added benefit and become the deciding factor in selecting one firm over another.  The injured party should understand if the person or company that harmed them has the ability to pay should a settlement be agreed upon.

Business Litigation Attorneys:

In heated business disputes emotions often run high and if you can give your clients some “dirt” or expose “skeletons in the closet” about the adverse parties, you can really get your client to understand that you are on their side and are in the trenches with them.

The law firm could utilize a research paralegal or private investigator to conduct an asset and liability investigation on the parties involved at the time of filing and/or prior to depositions.  This type of research will often give the client a lay of the land in terms of any tangible real estate/property owned by the defendant.  This is important because it can tell you if there is equity in any real estate owned to satisfy a judgment.  It also allows you to file fraudulent conveyance claims in the event that the real estate is deeded or transferred to “family” members as the litigation heats up or after a judgment is awarded.

These are just a few examples of how lawyers can look to create better relationships and drive better results with their clients.  After all, many of the services we have referenced are available to your clients, so even if they decline the additional services they should be made aware of them because it elevates you from the competition and shows clients that you understand their business and potential risk exposures.

 

Trace-X Press Release

Santoni Acquires Trace-X 

Irvine, CA –  Santoni expands its suite of risk mitigation services with the acquisition of Trace-X.  Trace-X is a leading provider in online data removal of personal identifying information from people finder websites.  “With the addition of the Trace-X service we now have the ability to protect clients in a variety of industries who are concerned about their private information being available and accessible to fraudsters and criminals. 

“We can also give peace of mind to victims of identity theft,” said Tim Santoni, President at Santoni.  In today’s information age where your personal identifying information is being bought and sold it is important to regularly monitor and remove your name, address, phone number, and email addresses from people finder sites.  The increased number of threats and unwanted contacts makes it ever more important to control where and how your information is available. 

Santoni is a leader in background screening, investigations and risk mitigation for individuals, businesses, insurance companies and brand owners across the country. Santoni staffs a team of highly trained, licensed, professional investigators and certified background screening consultants who consistently produce timely and accurate information to help our clients make crucial business decisions. Santoni  is nationally known with a global reach. 

For more information please visit santoniservices.com or call 949-900-3400

Trends 2019 From Tim Santoni

Trends 2019 – From Tim Santoni

In our business we work with businesses and their trusted advisors (Lawyers, CPA’s, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Business Brokers, Human Resources Consultants, Brand Managers, Marketing Teams & Consultants).  Our investigation and background checks are really just a tool to help mitigate risk in the hiring process or develop evidence and information to make an informed legal or business decision. As we enter the 4th quarter, I wanted to point out some trends that I have observed as a result of our work and interactions with our clients.

Investigations

In the information age that we live there are vast amount of data and information available online through free and paid providers.  The parsing through and verifying of this information is now the challenge.  Online research tools and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) are becoming the standard to conduct background research on litigants and people injured at work and in automobile accidents.  The open source tools offering by OSINT and other providers have been maliciously hacked and were forced to be taken down. Many of the free tools available are now protected behind paid sites or software offerings.  As far as new searches go, the Vehicle Sighting Reports is an amazing tool to track down where someone is living, working and who they might be associating with.  If at all possible insurance carriers would forego the expense related with surveillance/subrosa and activity checks if they can get more cost effective information obtained through databases.

Background Screening Trends

Industries with forced compliance such as, Finance/Banking, Information/Technology (IT), Construction & Healthcare are consistently in need of custom background screening programs to meet the requirements of their contracts with state and government agencies.  Employers are also looking into continuous monitoring of criminal activity so they are alerted when current employees have runs in with the law.  Proper authorizations and disclosures are a key focus of plaintiff attorneys looking to files cases against employers and  background screening companies which are often referred to as CRA’s.  Electronic Authorizations and Disclosures are emerging as a great solution to decrease turnaround time on background checks while maintaining compliance.  

IP & Brand Protection

Trademark clearance and registration related investigations are on the rise with increased Trademark Applications being filed.  Trademark applications from Chinese based applicants have really spiked. There is an increasing need to identify rogue sellers of infringing and counterfeit products on sites like Amazon that often give counterfeiters an identity shield. We are seeing an increased need for evidentiary “undercover” buys from sellers that are not having their sales fulfilled by Amazon and other e-Commerce providers in an effort to identify and enforce. The removal of domain name ownership records, commonly referred to as “WHOIS” data is making it more and more difficult for brand owners and their attorneys to identify the operators of rogue sites that are selling counterfeit/infringing products.  The lack of WHOIS information is also impacting the ability for online brand protection providers to send automated C&D letters as the first step in the enforcement process.

Risk Mitigation

Open Workers’ Comp Claims are still an ongoing concern for many California employers.  Businesses are frustrated with the lingering claims that are costing them time and money.  They are also fighting back to show their employees that they do not pay out on exaggerated and fraudulent claims.  Trade Secret & IP theft is now a concern for all types of employers. We are seeing an overwhelming need to upgrade and update IT policies so that when internal theft of IP occurs it can be investigated and tied to the perpetrator.  If employers are hit with Trade Secret, IP Theft and Employment Practices lawsuits they need to look at having an on-demand computer forensics partner to forensically preserve the data in a timely manner to avoid spoliation and overwriting.