Santa Barbara Lawyer - Santa Barbara County Bar Association

The Buck starts
Here
By li d a sideris
To the general public, the Lawyer Referral Service is
the face of the County Bar. This same general public
often harbors, at a minimum, a casual prejudice
toward lawyers. According to a 2006 Harris poll, in a review
of twenty-three professions, Americans found the top three
most trustworthy to be doctors, teachers and scientists.
Actors, lawyers and stockbrokers sat squarely at the bottom.
Of all possible criteria, a lawyer is perhaps
most critically judged by what others
say about him or her. According to How
to Build Your Reputation – The Secrets of Becoming
the ‘Go To’ Professional in a Crowded
Marketplace by Rob Brown, reputation is
an important silent partner and necessary
asset in any profession. It’s not enough to
be the best; a professional must be viewed
by others as being the best.
A reputation may be developed by accident,
by doing a great job on a consistent
basis, or by hiring a public relations team
to strategically and systematically decide
what the professional should be known
for and to create that perception accordingly.
Why go to all the trouble of developing an exemplary
reputation? Because it’s worth it.
There are numerous positive outcomes of a favorable
reputation in business. For one, it helps a professional
stand out from the crowd. This is, after all, the age of a
“surplus society” where many individuals exist with similar
qualifications and experience. When someone needs what
you do, you want to be thought of first. You want to be
the number one professional choice. A strong reputation
safeguards this.
To influence the public perception of the Lawyer Referral
Service and to build a favorable reputation, we do our best
to personify the following:
Courtesy: This often overlooked, underestimated at-
Courtesy immediately
elevates a professional to
the status of a thoughtful,
conscientious, intelligent
person, all of which are
necessary partners of a
positive reputation....
February 2010 31
Lawyer Referral Service Spotlight
tribute is so simple it’s
forgotten more than followed.
Dr. Gary Wood,
social psychologist and author,
says manners provide
an easy way to get along
with others, especially
during tough economic
times. He states: “There is
great power to be found in
the fine detail. Good manners
and social courtesy
cost nothing and can have
a profound effect on other
Lida Sideris
people. We can literally
make someone’s day and
help to reduce their stress by paying attention to these
little things, which then has a knock-on effect in our own
lives. A smile or a kind word can actually set us up for the
day, making it more likely that we focus
on the good things rather than the doom
and gloom.”
Courtesy immediately elevates a professional
to the status of a thoughtful,
conscientious, intelligent person, all of
which are necessary partners of a positive
reputation;
Communication: No one likes to be
ignored. LRS calls are promptly returned
and callers receive periodic updates after
the initial call so that they can rest assured
the LRS is working to find them the right
attorney. The LRS also follows up with
callers after they’ve been matched with an
attorney to insure satisfaction;
Competence: We do our best to understand and meet
our callers’ and our attorneys’ needs. The Lawyer Referral
Service is not a sales organization, yet we do not underestimate
the value of customer service.
The Santa Barbara County Bar Association Lawyer Referral
Service is State Bar certified and sponsored by the Santa
Barbara County Bar Association. For more information,
please call (805) 569-9400 or e-mail director@sblawyerreferralservice.org.
Lida Sideris is the new Executive Director of the Santa Barbara
County Bar Association. Previously, she served as Director of Business
Affairs for Lorimar-Telepictures and attorney for the Alliance
of Motion Picture & Television Producers.