Case studyCharles Hartley is a 5Marketing is about meeting client needs profitably.

In Mr Hartley's case (see case study) there is little external focus on what clients need now and in the future and no mention of profitability.

Mr Hartley appears to have three objectives: he wants to expand his practice; he needs to know what sort of work to generate and how to go about generating it; and he would like someone to take over the practice when he retires.

Let us assume that he wishes to increase fee income by £50,000 -- to cover the salary and overhead costs and generate a little profit -- within two years.Mr Hartley should first explore whether he can achieve this fee income growth without necessarily recruiting an assistant.

For example, he could introduce computer systems to increase efficiency, recruit paralegals, increase his fee rates and turn away some of the less lucrative work.A careful analysis of existing clients provides useful clues as to where growth might arise.

Mr Hartley should ask himself how the work is generated at the moment; by advertisements, long-term client relationships or referrals.

What is the typical fee income and profitability for each client.

Which are most profitable and why? What are the main services used? Are clients requesting assistance that cannot currently be provided? What potential is there for generating more work from existing referral sources? It might be useful to talk informally to some clients to obtain their views or to test assumptions.

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the firm should be analysed in the light of the local market.

Once there is a clear picture of existing clients, attention can be turned towards potential clients and similar questions should be asked.

A review of how other firms are marketing themselves, which services they promote and how they promote them might short cut a lengthy research process, assuming that the competitors have researched the market.

Considering what additional and new needs potential clients might have will help ensure that Mr Hartley does not recruit an assistant with experience that duplicates that already available in the market.

Mr Hartley should prepare a business development plan pulling all of these analyses together.

An outline plan should contain the aims, the market's needs, how these needs will be met and an action list of what must happen to achieve his aims.

The plan must also address pricing issues and promotional issues such as how the practice will communicate its services to its market, for example by advertisements, direct mail, events, media relations and publications.If the planning process indicates that demand exists and that the practice can develop the new work with a degree of confidence, then Mr Hartley can focus on the type of assistant he needs.

He must consider the sort of legal expertise required in the light of the needs of current and future clients.

Other important questions include: What sort of general working experience is required? How will the candidate adapt to working in a small office with limited facilities and support services? What sort of personal and interpersonal skills does the assistant need? Will the candidate need to be able to develop new business, network within the local community or prepare presentations? What sort of personality is required? In a small practice a personality or style that does not fit with the other staff would be disastrous.

What is the candidate's attitude towards risk? At this stage Mr Hartley should be able to develop a detailed candidate profile and a job description to help in the search for the new recruit.Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules on the fastest way to generate £50,000.

It will depend on the type of client, the type of legal service, the local market and the marketing approach adopted.

Some types of legal advice are quicker to complete than others so the delay between extra money on the work in progress and in the bank can be considerable.

Interim bills will be quicker and more likely to generate cash than conditional fee arrangements or those dependent on legal aid.Many firms neglect the potential of existing clients who are a quicker and more cost-effective source of further work than new ones.

Commercial clients can take a long time to decide to use a different solicitor, so it is quicker to win business from private clients but the plan will indicate where to focus effort.

For commercial clients use direct and personal selling techniques such as direct mail, networking and meetings, though this can take up a lot of valuable time.

Private clients need more broadcast oriented approaches such as advertisements, media coverage and leaflets in the places they are likely to go.BEFORE RECRUITING AN ADDITIONAL SOLICITOR:-- Develop a plan: set objectives, analyse the firm's client base, identify current and emerging needs.-- Consider the firm's strengths and weaknesses: analyse the local market, assess the work, fee and profit potential and prepare an action plan.

-- Consider the sort of assistant required: legal expertise, office management and computing skills, ability to work unsupervised, ability to generate new work, long-term potential to run the business, personality and attitude towards risk.