Meet Nicole Wipp, an elder law attorney who is passionate not only about helping seniors and their families, but also about building an elder law practice that is robust and profitable. ElderCounsel wanted to understand more about Nicole’s background, her journey into elder law, and her tips and strategies for finding success as an elder law attorney for those looking to grow their practices.

Nicole originally practiced law as a litigator, operating a successful practice. Despite that success, she found the litigation area of law to be stressful and unrewarding. “Although I had achieved a level of success, I was miserable in this practice area,” she says.

A serial entrepreneur, Nicole had previously started and run a number of other successful businesses. It’s no surprise, then, that when deciding to become an elder law attorney, she jumped in with both feet. She built her practice using the same business and marketing tools that led her to success in her past endeavors.

In October 2012, Nicole left her litigation practice behind, and established the Family & Aging Law Center, and she hasn’t looked back. Her firm has expanded from a single location to a main office with two satellite offices serving three counties in Michigan. Through her marketing and business development strategies, Nicole has been able to grow the firm exponentially, and is seeing double-digit growth every quarter. She says she’s been very fortunate in building her practice, adding, “Not only do I get to do work that I enjoy, but I get to make a great living doing it.”

Tools of the trade

When asked what tools she would recommend to other attorneys who are looking to build their practices rapidly, Nicole says she recommends developing and implementing systems and processes into the practice immediately to add efficiency, and therefore profitability. She also encourages elder law attorneys to avoid reinventing the wheel. “There are many great systems that can be applied to your practice that have already been developed, so take advantage of the expertise available from people and companies that you trust and that have a proven track record of success.”

She also mentions that when it comes to marketing for lawyers, it is very important not to rely on generic strategies when building an elder law practice. As this is a niche practice area, it is crucial to establish personalized marketing strategies to effectively reach your target market.

Nicole has implemented outside-the-box marketing including a widely viewed podcast series, “Smart Planning 101,” which is available on iTunes. The podcast is intended to educate adult children of aging parents, and the parents themselves, on aging-related issues from legal, financial, and health perspectives.

No ‘one-size-fits all’

While Nicole has been a member of ElderCounsel for some time, she has more recently integrated ElderCounsel’s Office Management tools into her practice. She appreciates that Office Management could be personalized to her elder law practice’s unique needs. “This is not a one-size-fits-all program. I am glad that Audrey [Ehrhardt, Director of the Office Management Division] works with my needs and helps me develop tools to effectively market my practice. She has helped me design presentations that were a hit and led directly to increased revenue. Her help has truly, positively impacted my bottom line.”

If you have any questions on how ElderCounsel can partner with you to increase your practice efficiencies, and your bottom line, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more about the resources and tools we offer — from education to document drafting software and practice development systems — call us at (888) 789-9908, or email us at info@eldercounsel.com for a free consultation.