Notaries Needed: The Rise of the Virtual Law Firm

You can listen to the audio of this blog on YouTube Here

Taking my own advice, I started diversifying my own mobile notary work back in Phoenix (before the move to Washington). In the Valley of the Sun, we’ve been insulated from the economic shift (until very recently), as most of my clients are home builders, or specialize in commercial transactions, but I wanted to get ahead of what’s to come. 

I asked myself which appointments I’ve enjoyed most through the years, and which I thought could also be the most lucrative, considering the legislative bindings in the state of Arizona. 

The answer: Living Trust Presentations.

These living trust presentations fall under the more general category of estate planning, but similar to loan signings, you can command a higher, bundled fee because you actually present documents, gather signatures, and perform notarization (if required). 

If you need some training on living trusts, last wills and testaments, powers of attorney, etc (all estate planning documents and usually part of a living trust presentation), you must get “Laura Biewer Presents…” training and replay library here. As per usual, Laura shows you how to do it in knitty-gritty detail and it will boost your competence as well as your confidence. 

It wasn’t enough to just say, “I want more living trust presentations.” One thing I’ve learned is that when you ask the Universe for something, be specific. I wanted living trust presentations that were fun & enjoyable, didn’t require hours of travel, and paid well. Really well. 

So I got specific. 

I created my ideal client avatar. Here’s who I wanted to work with:

• Family or Estate Attorneys (or their financial planning partners) that service decamillionaire clients (net worth over ten million) and beyond.
• These attorneys have beautiful offices at or near the Biltmore Financial District in Phoenix, OR they're actively building their own virtual law firm, designing their own dream life. 
• They’re willing to pay premium fees, set and agreed to from the beginning, and I am included as part of the attorney value proposition to their clients. 
• The staff and attorneys in these offices are also warm, friendly, and respectful, committed to a win-win for their clients, and for their vendor partners like me. 
• They have significant volume to support me, and do not hesitate to refer me to their colleagues at every opportunity. 
• The documents are clean, accurate, and orderly, and the appointments run smoothly and efficiently. 
• I meet interesting people at each and every appointment and are encouraged to stay in touch and cultivate longer relationships. 
• Payment is prompt, usually within hours or days. 

Once I knew who I wanted to talk to, I talked to them. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn on social media and Google. Once I saw an entry to connect, I took it. 

The clear stand out winners for positive connection and feedback are the attorneys who are building virtual law firms. 

Yeah, it’s a thing. 

A big thing. 

There are now entire industries and technology being created to service virtual law firms and help them stay compliant and secure. Check out Clio and Dialpad. The American Bar Association even had laid out it's own best practices for eLawerying. 

The rise of the virtual law firm is based in three major points: 

• Lower overhead for attorneys
• More flexibility for attorneys (life-work balance)
• Better for the environment (less printing and paper usage, etc)

And here’s the cool thing for us notaries: The attorneys that are building these virtual law firms still need boots on the ground help for gathering signatures, making presentations, and performing notarizations. 

There is opportunity for all of this both in-person AND via Remote Online Notarization (RON).

The attorneys that ended up hiring me, three of them by the time I moved, were either virtual already, or trying to get there. 

They didn’t want to live their remaining days in a suit and tie. Two didn’t even want to live in Arizona anymore. They sent me signings from their cabin in Idaho and their beach house in California. 

I was helping them get what they want, and they were helping me get what I want (fun signings with a minimum $250 fee with no BS). 

That’s a true win-win, and yes, they do exist. 

Zig Ziglar nailed it when he said, “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

The key is to speak their language. If you can figure out what they want and how you can support that dream, you’ll have clients for life. Three steps to get it done:

1. Learn how to do the work amazingly well. This will help you represent your attorney clients at the table, without question.
2. Get in the orbit of your ideal clients. Once there, you can find opportunities to connect. 
3. Reach out so you can support each other.

In the comments below, please share your own experiences and preferences with estate planning appointments. What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked?

Bill Soroka is the founder of Notary Business Builder, an elite community of professional Notary entrepreneurs that are committed to building a successful business in any economy by leveraging authentic sharing technology and cultivating deeper relationships.