Are you "newsworthy?

Most all of us have interests and hobbies that make us interesting and unique.

One attorney I know is a mountain climber. Another has a hobby farm and is a beekeeper. Others are martial arts Black Belts, semi-professional ballroom dancers or race car drivers, volunteer at homeless shelters, have award-winning home gardens, open offices in renovated historic buildings or collect rare books.

An attorney I know was shocked one day to have a potential client walk in the door and announce that he wanted to sue the US government because the government had tortured him. The attorney was as skeptical as you might expect until he started following up and learned more about the newly-emerging abuses of prisoners at a place called Guantanamo Bay where his new client had previously been held. That attorney now has a unique practice that includes frequent flights to Iraq.

A good friend of mine overcame debilitating physical handicaps, went to law school at the precocious age of 45 and now has a major three-office practice spanning two states.

Each of these hobbies, events and personal achievements resulted in news stories featuring that attorney and their firm.

What is it about you that is different? Have you overcome adversary? Do you have an interest that most people don't share? Is there some aspect of your practice that is noteworthy? Are your clients interesting? Is your firm's building unique?

You don't need to have a story more evocative than these to be interesting. Most people carry a stereotype of attorneys that ranges between "boring" and "slick." All briefcases, pant suits and neckties but no personality.

If there is some aspect of your professional or personal life that contradicts this stereotype, you can turn it into some earned media that will help get your firm's name into the community.

Do you brew beer in your basement? Compete in scrapbooking? Collect vintage Studebakers? Do pro bono work for local Boy Scout Troop? Win awards for your special chili? Or maybe you are a competitive swimmer or horseback rider?

All of us have a story worth telling. You don't have to have Guantanamo clients or hold a Black Belt to create interest in you and your practice.