3 Ways to Help Veterans With Legal Issues

Veterans Day is a good day to remember that in every community, there are veterans who need legal assistance. It doesn't matter what your area of practice is, there are ways you can help.

When it comes to getting new clients, often the focus is on expanding into a new area of practice. But another option is to target specific groups of people who need the legal services you already provide.

You don't have to alter your areas of practice to pick up veterans as clients. But in some cases it helps to widen your view of the area of law in which you already work.

For some practices, like family, business and commercial, or personal injury, the only hard part is going to be showing veterans you want to help. For example:

• The most basic way is to just add it to your marketing strategy. Find a way to incorporate your focus on veterans into your website and include it in your SEO strategy. That will make it easier for veterans to find your website and know you're interesting in helping them.


• If it's financially feasible, offer a discount to past and present members of our armed services. Being a soldier doesn't pay much, so cutting your hourly rate slightly may make it possible for those clients to hire you when they couldn't have otherwise.


• Veterans deal with all sort of legal issues just like civilians, but they also have some specific legal needs. If your practice area is Social Security or employment, you can offer veterans an important service by making yourself aware of the relevant laws regarding veterans. Researching the protections for veterans in employment (reemployment and anti-discrimination) or learning how the Veterans Affairs system differs from Social Security probably won't take much time. But with that extra knowledge, you can effectively assist veterans who need your help in those areas.

Even if you aren't planning to try attract veterans as clients, Veterans Day is a good time to use your website to thank our veterans for their service. Doing a kind thing is never bad for business.

Related Resources:

• Branding 101: Attracting the Right Clients (FindLaw's Strategist)
• Improve Your Lawyer Bedside Manner: 5 Tips for Keeping Clients Happy (FindLaw's Strategist)
• 3 Potential Clients an Attorney Should Walk Away From (FindLaw's Strategist)