Small Law Firms

How Hunting Clients Is Like Being Addicted To Tinder

Stop swiping and start doing the much harder task of building relationships.

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conflict check client conflicts checkThe thrill of the hunt. Running through the forest, or the desert, or the city, or wherever, in pursuit of your prey. Eyes on the prize, moving quickly, deftly, avoiding whatever it is victims in horror movies are always tripping on. Speaking of movies, there’s nothing like a good chase movie to take you on a ride. Ever see Apocalypto? Great movie, in spite what one may think of Mel Gibson (though I hear he’s back in Hollywood’s good graces). That was a hunt.

This is why Tinder is so addictive. While perhaps not as exciting as Apocalypto, it’s a hunt. Swipe right for a like, if it’s a match write a witty opening line, see if you can entice the person to respond. If you can’t, keep swiping and keep refining your strategy. If you do actually get someone to respond and agree to go out with you, then…

Blow the person off and keep swiping? No, of course you don’t do that. Or at least, you don’t intend to do that. But if you match and get the person to write you, it already kind of counts as one in the “win” column, so why not keep swiping and go for another win? And another one? It’s easy to get caught up in the thrill of the hunt. Once someone has been reeled in, they’re not as interesting.

The hunt for clients is a lot like the above. Many, many attorneys have told me that they hate actually having to do the work. They get the client and figure out what needs to be done, and then they look around for someone to actually do it. A lot of people say law firm life is “eat what you kill,” but in SmallLaw “hunter-gatherer” also fits. You have to hunt, and then you have to gather. Get the client, and then go back to the office and do the work.

But who wants to be the gatherer? I love the challenge of drafting the perfect contract as much as the next nerd-lawyer, but still, it’s much more fun to hunt new clients. Who wouldn’t rather be at a baseball game or a bar mitzvah trying to get clients, instead of back in the office looking up arcane legal doctrines, or pouring over a contract provision trying to get the wording just right? (Okay, that last one sounds like something I’d enjoy. Though perhaps not as much as trying to land clients at a bar mitzvah.) The addictive part of Tinder is swiping through the profiles, not composing the messages. Some people stay so busy swiping that by the time they manage to go back and start messaging people, the folks they want to meet have already unmatched them! (Or at least, that’s what people have told me happens…)

If you don’t have a “grinder” back in the office, then you have to stay disciplined and figure out a way to every so often stop hunting and start gathering. Or, to put it another way, stop swiping and start doing the much harder task of building relationships. Ain’t nobody got time for that? Well, you have to make time. Otherwise, you’ll eventually lose the clients you get, and you’ll be like the Tinder addict, never in a stable relationship and always looking for the next match. It eventually gets old, so I hear.

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Gary J. Ross founded Jackson Ross PLLC in 2013 after several years in Biglaw and the federal government. Gary handles corporate and securities law matters for venture capital funds, startups, and other large and small businesses, as well as investors in each. You can reach Gary by email at Gary.Ross@JacksonRossLaw.com.

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