How to Make Money from Pro-Bono Cases

Interested in how to transition your practice from non-paying to paying clients?

Pro-bono panels are where many ADR trainers suggest we go for our first mediations or arbitrations after we get certified.  They’re right to do that.  We need that real world experience to become the great neutrals we know we can be.  But unless you’re on the panel for purely philanthropic goals, building a business off that panel work may not be what you thought it would be.

Westernized consumer minds say ‘you get what you pay for’.  If mediators have an assigned monetary value of nothing – then the assumption is that we have no worth.  And that’s just wrong. Most consumers of free mediation or arbitration panels know otherwise too.  They know and understand the tremendous value we offer.  And they love the fact that we’re free.  Do we love that same fact?  Well that’s complicated.  Some of us love it because it’s our philanthropic choice.  Some of us love it because it’s where we hone our skills. Some of us love it because we THINK it will help us grow our private practices. Which are you?  If you’re in the philanthropic category read no further. This article is about building a practice. 

Let me use one of my clients, Phyllis, as the example.  She is an experienced attorney in downtown LA with a practice specialty that easily transfers into the world of ADR. After she received her certification as a mediator she received the same advice that most of us do.  Volunteer on the local court panel they said.  You’ll get lots of experience they said.  You’ll build your practice they said.  So Phyllis volunteered.  A lot.  And her trainer was right about the first two of those three things.  But not the last one. 

In a first consultation with her I asked for her volunteer stats.  Here they are:

5 cases per month for two years or 120 cases

3 hours free for each case or 360 hours mediating

2 hours admin for each case or 240 hours of admin

2 hours of commute / parking for each case or 240 hours

            Total of 840 hours

Phyllis charges $300 per hour in her private practice.

Her ‘practice development’ through the court panel has cost her $252,000 over two years!!!

How many paying cases has she directly received for her ‘volunteer’ efforts?  The answer is 5.  FIVE!!!  Is it worth it?  To me that’s not tough math.  The answer is a resounding no.  Spending the equivalent of a quarter of a million dollars over the course of two years to get 5 paying clients?

Nope.  No way.  Not worth it.

Of course she did have the opportunity to gain experience and give back to her community but that’s some extraordinarily expensive experience and I can think of lots of ways that I’d rather donate a quarter of a million dollars to deserving individuals. The truly painful aspect of all her efforts on the panel … she still paid good marketing money to promote her private practice.  She invested in a website, business cards, membership dues etc.  She writes, speaks, and trains her primary target market contacts. In those same two years of promoting her practice she spent $11,800 on more traditional marketing methods.  For that very reasonable investment she obtained 172 new and fully paying clients. Now that’s good math.  

If we did the same cost analysis for your practice what would it look like?

So the big question is what should you do?  I’m not suggesting that you forego volunteering on a panel if that’s where your heart’s at.  But let’s get real.  Volunteer for a predetermined period of time. Get the experience you need.  Make the most of the contacts you get from the panel, then move on.  And what if you don’t have $11,800 to invest in your marketing and have no other choice but parlay those pro-bono cases into paying clients?  Read on.

ð       Keep a separate calendar for pay vs. non-pay cases giving paying clients priority status for your time. Lack of preparation on your clients’ part does not constitute an emergency on your part. Limit the number of cases or hours you volunteer each month.  Don’t allow non-paying clients to bully your schedule.

ð       Determine in advance how many pro-bono cases you need to hear to elevate your skills. When you reach that magical number – stop.  Leave the panel and spend your valuable time, money, and brain power on promoting your private practice.  

ð    Dealing with the repeat ‘offenders’ or abusers of your and the courts generosity? Just mediate them.  Let them know that you’re sincerely flattered by their confidence in your skills. However, you mediate for a living and would appreciate them hiring you privately.  If they really want you – they’ll pay for you.  If they don’t want to pay – refer them back to the panel list and let them chose another pro-bono neutral.  Be sure that you check with the panel about this practice. You don’t want to find yourself in conflict with the panel rules or administrators.

ð    Selling before you mediate.

o   Be professional, considerate, be consumer oriented.

o   Offer something the other neutrals in your region or specialty don’t offer

ð    Selling while you’re mediating.

o   Remember that everyone in the room is your client.  

o   Wait until after the mediation is completed (settled or not) to give your business card and promote your private practice.

o   Whether the hearing is held in private office spaces or a court annex, be sure you make potential clients as comfortable as is possible.  It’s the little things that matter.  High quality coffees, snacks that keep dietary needs in mind, plenty of Kleenex, the ability to order in food or a list of local restaurants within walking distance, clean bathrooms, etc.  Pamper them where possible.

ð   Selling after the mediation.

o   Follow up after a settlement with a thank you letter (yes a real card)

o   Follow up after a settlement with a client survey

o   Follow up after a non-settlement with continued communication and support – offering mediation continuation (for pay)

o   Follow up with primary marketing tools like networking, writing, speaking, and training. Essentially – keep in touch with them until you’ve said the right thing at the right time to the right person.

Phyllis' choice to stay on the court panel regardless of how much she got from it or how much it cost her was a subsequent question. Her answer .... it's just what neutrals do.   Let's change that and volunteer wisely.

Volunteering can be a great way to gain experience, lighten the load on your local court docket, help people who really need help, and meet turn potential clients into prospective clients and then into paying clients.  But don’t let volunteering distract you from doing what you know you need to do – build your practice. Be a businessperson first.  Be a business person who happens to specialize in ADR, but be a smart businessperson.  For as much time as you network inside ADR associations, double that time networking with your primary target market.  Keep up on what’s happening in the ADR industry, but primarily keep up with what’s happening in your target market’s industry. Read about communication and ADR, but most importantly read business and marketing books. 

And as always, if you have any questions or concerns about building your ADR practice, contact me and together we’ll find the solution that helps you reach and surpass your goals and endeavors.