Presents Building Your Special Needs Practice By Michele Fuller, Kevin Urbatsch , and Sharon Pope

1. Presents Building Your Special Needs Practice By Michele Fuller, Kevin Urbatsch, and Sharon Pope 8th Annual ASNP National ConferenceMarch 27, 2014

2. Afternoon Agenda • Building and Maintaining Your Special Needs Practice • Developing an Estate Planning Special Needs Practice • Developing an Ancillary Business • Developing a First Party Special Needs/Settlement Planning Practice

3. Goals of the Workshop • What are your top three goals for this afternoon’s program • 1. • 2. • 3.

4. Thanks for the Assistance Steve Riley Attorney and Certified Practice Advisor
Atticus, Inc.
steve@atticusonline.com (813) 263-8700 www.greatlawpractices.com/blog/

6. Building and Maintaining a Special Needs Practice

7. What Type of Practice Do You Want? • Estate planning/special needs planning practice • Third party special needs planning • Doing Ancillary Businesses • Attorney serving as SNT trustee • Running an MSA, QSF, or structured settlement business • Representing SNT trustee during administration • First party special needs planning • Settlement planning • Poor inheritance planning • Later adult onset disability • Transition from child to adult

8. Most Likely Referral Sources • Estate Planning Special Needs Planning Practice • Families that have children with disabilities • Non-profits – www.Guidestar.com (list of all charities by area) • Estate planning lawyers • Financial planners and banks • Tax advisors • Settlement Planning Practice • Personal injury/medical malpractice lawyers • Estate planning lawyers • Ancillary Business

10. Tools For Building Your Referral Network • Using ASNP’s E-Newsletter • Using ASNP’s Marketing Materials • Using ASNP’s Consumer Seminar Power Point • Becoming the Expert - Writing Articles, Blogs, and Books • Joining Not-for-Profit Boards • Using Social Media • Other tidbits and options

11. Most EffectiveMarketing Tools • Personal networking/ relationship building • Solicit and respond to client feedback • Seminars and speeches • Marketing through client trade associations (non-profits) • Newsletters, brochures, branding, website • By-line articles • Olmstead & Associates, Legal Management Consultants

12. Tracking Referral Sources • Tracking software – (e.g., www.LessAnnoyingCRM.com) • Keep track of who sends you business and quality of referrals • Start by reviewing your most recent 10 clients, or top 10 • Who sent them? • Does referral source want to stay informed? • Did referral become a client? • Dollar value • Type of case • Thank Referral Source – Often forgotten

13. Processing Referrals • Best to set policies up early (before the rush) • Create a procedure that will provide the best possible client experience • Intake procedure • Set up checklists (Checklist Manifesto by AtulGawande) • Prepare intake forms to obtain needed information • Work flow process • Staffing acountability • Who will do drafting you or staff person • Once the work is done, set up procedure to thank client and then ask for referrals (hopefully they will do this anyway because of the excellent service they received from you and your staff)

14. Using Marketing Tools To Build Your Practice

15. Networking, Personal Relationships, and Client Referrals • The number one most effective marketing tool • It oftentimes is not what you know, it is who you know • Never be afraid to ask for a referral or business • A good tip is finding a mentor in your field • Positive word of mouth from your clients is the best tool: • They can describe how great it was to work with you • Parents of children with special needs often support one another so they know each other

20. Using ASNP’s Marketing Materials • New Member Brochures • 10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Planning for a Loved One with Special Needs • Planning for a Loved One with Special Needs • New Guidelines to Draft a Memorandum of Intent • Other Planned Brochures • Your Loved One with Special Needs Turns 18, Now What? • Housing Your Loved One with Special Needs • Others (?) Let us know.

21. Joining Boards of Not-for-Profits

22. SEO and Paid Website Ads • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • Yodel – pay per click • Paid website referrals • Yelp – one attorney pays about $850/month but is listed first in every search involving estate planning in his city • Avvo • Lawyer.com • Superlawyers • MarindaleHubbel • Nolo • Hot Frog

23. Writing Blogs, Articles, and Books • Become the Recognized “Expert” in an Area of Law • PUBLISH • NAELA Journal • NAELA News • Non-profits (ARC, NAMI, Centers for Independent Living…) • State Bar/Elder Law Associations • Local Bar Associations

24. Join Associations/List Serve • Join trial lawyer, estate planning, family law associations • Join list serves • Respond to questions on special needs and settlement planning on list serves • Not only answers the one question but advertises your knowledge to the lurkers • Big commitment in time to monitor list serves

25. Social Media • Complete your LinkedIn profile, add contacts to referral data base and ask if they want to receive your newsletter • Manage your on-line reputation review Yelp, Google • Claim your AVVO profile, move it up to a 10 rating

26. Create Facebook Presence

27. Market Your Programs On Social Media

28. ASNP New Consumer Website

29. Putting on Consumer Seminars • ASNP Power Points – Customizable For Your State • Planning for a Loved One With Special Needs • 1-hour seminar • 3-hour seminar • Will need projector, screen, and computer • Advertising • Monthly E-Newsletter • Local newspaper • Non-profits • Local bar associations • Exhibit/sponsor

30. Your First Time – Some Hints • You will know more than your audience • Make it educational/not overt marketing – e.g., “Planning for a Loved One with Special Needs” “Public Benefit Basics” • Keep a loose structure that allows for lots of questions • You are selling not only your knowledge but yourself • Don’t answer a question you do not know for sure, there is nothing wrong with saying, “I do not know that off the top of my head, let me look that up and get back to you” • Be prepared to discuss your fees • Do bring a sign-up sheets to obtain more information or to sign up clients on the spot (should have assistant with you)

31. Dinner and a Seminar? • Some practitioners have had great success with these programs • Downside • Expensive • People more interested in food than program • Upside • Usually well attended • Reduces time during intakes due to education provided at seminar • People know your fees, hard referral

32. Seminars – After the Party • Follow through, follow through, follow through • If you or your staff does not make immediate calls within day or two of seminar, you lose prospects

33. Putting on Seminars for Professionals • Goal is to become your area’s go-to special needs person • Professional Organizations Need Presenters • National – ASNP, NAELA, Eldercounsel, ABA, AAJ • State – Bar Association, Trial Lawyer Association, Non-profits, State NAELA programs • Local – Local Bars, Estate Planning Councils, local non-profits, Lunch and Learn, Places of Worship • Usually low-cost, someone else puts on the program

35. Developing a Special Needs Practice

36. Special Needs Practice • What makes this practice unique? • Public benefits • Person with a disability • Dealing with the family and person and their unique challenges • Understand the diagnosis and prognosis of a person’s disability • Ability to assist with referrals for assistance – e.g., not-for-profits, therapies, support services • Educating successor caregivers, advocates, and financial managers

37. Attorney Serving as SNT TrusteeBySharon L. Pope 15 Massirio Drive, Berlin ∞ 151 New Park Avenue, Hartford237 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury ∞ 281 Hartford Tpke, Vernon(860) 236-7673

38. Advantages For The Beneficiary • You know special needs planning, public benefits, and distribution rules. • You are a neutral party; family members do not have to stand between the money and another family member. • You have resources available to you that most family members and financial institutions lack, e.g. variety of investment options, access to home improvement contractors and the like.

39. Advantages For Your Practice • Keeps you up to date on special needs planning; you must stay current with the law. • Gives you a consistent source of revenue. • Expands the scope of your practice; it’s not just an advising practice any more. • Creates stronger connections with financial and investment advisors who may refer additional clients to your practice.

40. Any Disadvantages? • The annoyed beneficiary: often not very happy to have someone else managing his or her money. Just give me all of the money- • You are not practicing law; you are a • trustee and cannot charge attorney fees • for your trustee work.

41. Building the Professional Referral Network

42. Developing an Attorney Referral Network • Number one referral source are often attorneys • Estate planning/probate attorneys • Elder law attorneys • Family law attorneys • Personal injury attorneys/medical malpractice attorneys

44. Developing a Professional Referral Network • Who should be on the team? • Financial advisors • Tax advisors • Public benefit advisors • Care managers • Professional trustees • Non profit service providers (ARC, Public Guardians…..) • Collaboration is the key • Cross referrals • Joint marketing efforts • Builds third party credibility

45. Developing a Settlement Planning Practice

46. Building a Settlement Planning Practice • Settlement Planning consists of some or all of the following: • Special Needs Planning Funded by Litigation Proceeds • Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF) • Setting up trust to hold funds to allow time to plan • Medicare Set Aside for Medicare • Dealing with Medicare’s future interest • Financial Planning • Comprehensive financial plan and possible structured settlement • Tax Planning • Plan to minimize income and estate taxes • Lien and Repayment Resolution • Medicare, Medicaid, hospital, doctor etc.

47. Settlement Planning – Practice Envy

48. Join ASNP’s Settlement Planning Committee • ASNP Settlement Planning Committee • Kevin Urbatsch, Chair • Michele Fuller, Michigan • Jason Lazarus, Florida • Josh Brothers, Washington • Vince Casiano, California • Donna Meyer, Oregon • Meeting in this room from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. after the seminar

49. Working with Personal Injury/Medical Malpractice Attorney • MOST IMPORTANT - Do not be the reason payment for the settlement is being delayed • Be responsive, call or write back immediately • Acknowledge the trial attorney’s accomplishment • Recognize the trial attorney’s emotional involvement in helping the client • Be willing to meet the plaintiff in the trial attorney’s office • Be open to SNT alternatives • Prepare the trust immediately • Offer to appear at any hearings where the SNT may come up

50. Ancillary Business - QSF • Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF)- IRC § 468B • Used for settlements of lawsuit • Business opportunities: • Requires a court order • Usually is part of a trust document that you can draft • Attorney can serve as Administrator