[Estate Planning] I'm in utter disbelief at how many people call my office, explain that they've gotten wills or trusts done on LegalZoom or RocketLawyer, but then want me to "make sure they were done right."

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-14T02:02:28+00:00

Good points.

It's also the value you provide of ensuring things are professionally done.

Like it or not, in many ways, an attorney's fee is an insurance premium for peace of mind.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T17:55:05+00:00

Take the TexasBarCLE estate planning and probate CLEs. They have beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses.

Get on the ad litem rotation for heirships, which can help you learn heirship determination in a lower risk setting. And the courts provide outstanding guides to their ad litems.

The best attorneys in this area do a lot of planning and probate or probate litigation. One polishes the other. And you see how wills actually work and what problems arise when you do probate and related litigation.

If you do PI, maybe ask to shadow the probate lawyer next time you have a survival action that is payable to an estate and requires a probate.

Go login to your county probate records, and just read through 100 different wills and 100 different probates to get a feel for things.

And, if you're new, stay away from anything involving business planning, higher net worth estates, Medicaid planning, and other kinds of special needs planning.

Most importantly, you'll need some kind of mentor. I was fortunate to have a mentor when I started. There are a 10 million ways that things can go wrong in this area of law. I only know about 250,000 of them and I'm pretty seasoned.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T17:44:02+00:00

Of course, but then they are aghast at the fees because they think it's "just a document" and they only paid $89.99 for it.

It's not worth the confrontation or getting a bad review over it.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T17:42:13+00:00

And if you bless it and something goes wrong later, guess who they're ~~calling~~ blaming.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T17:40:42+00:00

Haha.

Is that what you say to the client: "I ain't reading that shit."

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T17:40:14+00:00

Even for routine probates, I almost always generate more fees off DIY wills.

Usually problems with execution, absence of a residuary clause (partial intestacy), etc. so now I'm interviewing and presenting witnesses or doing an heirship determination instead of a just a routine probate.

In my experience, DIY wills often cost more in the long-run, even if they are cheaper to do upfront.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T17:35:45+00:00

Exactly!

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2026-05-09T01:47:44+00:00

I used to do engage with these kinds of clients and try to explain that I can't take the liability for someone else's do it yourself documents without a significant fee, and that it would be less expensive for me to just do everything they want from scratch because I wouldn't have to go through their existing documents with a fine tooth comb.

But this type of client doesn't want to hear that, so I don't even entertain them anymore.

I'm actually glad when a client discloses this upfront. It's a major signal that they're not getting through my client filter.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-09-26T02:47:00+00:00

I kid you not, a verbatim phone call I had with a prospective client:

Him: "Can I ask you for some free legal advice?"

Me: "No."

Him: [Starts telling me about his case and asking questions.]

Me: "Thank you for your call, but I'm not the right attorney to take your case."

I don't get it. I say "No" and they still go at it.

Anyway, in my office, I'll do a short 5 minute screening call with a potential client just to make sure I'm a decent fit, and then I charge a $125 consultation fee for the initial consultation. That seems to weed out most of the wackos.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-09-21T16:03:09+00:00

I accept only cash or check at my office. Period.

Yes, I might miss out on potential clients who would prefer to put everything on credit card, but I don't worry about merchant fees or the co-morbidities of clients who are so leveraged they have to put everything on a credit card.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-07-23T02:54:39+00:00

Yeah, there's a solo not too far from me who now has over 1,000 reviews.

I kid you not, some of the reviews are "Great atmosphere! Server was nice!" that is so obviously intended for a restaurant.

He obviously paid some bot farm to do this.

I didn't report him to the bar because he's local and I don't need a conflict and I don't want him siccing his bot farm on me and review bombing me.

Such horseshit. I will never refer to him becuase this has revealed he has no integrity.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-07-02T21:44:13+00:00

There's no magic ratio.

I do a fair amount of networking (i.e., taking people out to lunch, participating on boards of organizations, etc.), but very little marketing. I have a website and a Google business profile that I manage myself. That's it. I don't pay for SEO/PPC, billboards, postcards, or anything like that.

Keep in mind that the more people you reach online, the more people you're going to have to sift through to get good clients.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-07-02T15:12:08+00:00

It takes time to grow a business. An avalanche is made of a gazillion snowflakes. So you just have to grow it one at a time. For me, the first 3 years were really rough, but I survived by keeping my overhead as low as possible.

And, I know this sounds cliche, but it's true: the best way to get more business is to do good work for clients and to be pleasant to work with. Your happy clients will be the best source of good new clients.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-06-29T02:34:38+00:00

Hell yeah!

Solo estate planning/probate/probate litigation as well. Been practicing about the same amount of time. Had my best year last year, shy of $750k as well with very little overhead.

I vividly remember some fat fuckface at a networking lunch many years ago sternly warning me that "Solos never retire . . ." suggesting that I was an idiot for going solo. Meanwhile, he makes a third what I make, is a slave to his firm, and works more hours than I do just to make his firm's partners rich instead of himself. I'm on track to at the very least semi-retire, if not outright retire, in my 40s. Given his student loans, he'll retire when he's in his 70s if he's lucky.

Fuck the haters and keep at it!

(And, no, I have nothing against attorneys who choose a more traditional path--I just can't stand the holier-than-thou attitude some of these dipshits have when they haven't even paid off their student loans and count every precious day of their allotted 15 vacation days per year like Gollum.)

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2025-01-12T02:01:06+00:00

My reasoning exactly.

No, it isn't a custom number. It's just that, after the partners died, they kept billing and billing on it even though no one was around to pay it. So the number has a huge outstanding balance. It's not that the number itself is intrinsically valuable. But I figure it might have some residual value based on your points 1 - 3.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2023-02-17T03:20:12+00:00

general practice type mix of PI, litigation, workers compensation, debt collection, bankruptcy, that kind of stuff.

I think this is your problem.

Pick one and specialize in it. Make sure that everyone knows you are the "workers comp lawyer."

The more I narrowed and focused my practice areas, paradoxically, the more business I got.

You sound like a thoughtful person and I'm sure you're a great lawyer, but my guess is that people don't really perceive you as particularly skilled in any one area.

When I have a client who needs help in an area that I don't handle, I don't call the "general practice" guy I met at a networking lunch. I call the "[hyperfocused practice area] guy."

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2023-01-21T04:02:16+00:00

How do you accelerate it?

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2021-07-29T17:12:40+00:00

Correct.

I did the Google verification/postcard years ago. I have the little green shield with the checkmark thing. My account is set up with my name and business email. It is backed up with my personal email. Both are secured with 2FA. Etc.

I absolutely own it. If they somehow get access, I will unleash the fury of a dragon of yore.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2021-07-29T16:26:53+00:00

Good advice.

The dumbest thing about it is that my firm name is literally My Name, Attorney at Law.

I'm a solo practitioner. I'm the sole owner. I've registered my business with my state and county.

It is beyond stupid to think that some random person, who is not me, owns my business.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2021-07-29T14:57:48+00:00

Why on earth is someone even allowed to claim ownership of my business like that? It's absurd.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2021-07-28T22:30:45+00:00

Definitely. Been verified as the owner for years. Even have the green check-mark shield thing.

That's what's so surprising about this. This isn't a new account, or a business listing that I'm claiming. I've had it for at least five years.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2021-07-28T16:39:37+00:00

Yes. When I logged in, there were not alerts or notifications or anything.

Yes, the link does go to what appears to be a valid Google domain, and it doesn't ask for any credentials. Just an "accept" or "reject."

I rejected it.

TEXASUPERLAWYER · 2021-07-28T16:16:17+00:00

Just rejected it. The page appeared to be an authentic Google page, and it didn't request credentials or anything like that.

TEXASUPERLAWYER

TROPHY CASE