Some lawyers have spent the past 30 years building a stellar reputation for handling the complicated cases. Those lawyers are set. They’re getting all the calls they need. They can pick and choose among prospective clients and charge premium fees. There are only a few of them in each jurisdiction. They get the best cases.

Then there are other lawyers who have spent 30 years doing a good job for clients. They’ve been working hard and representing ordinary people. They’re committed to the practice of law, but they also have other interests. They’ve been busy with raising kids and other priorities. The practice they’ve built, while it has always clothed and fed them, hasn’t set any records. The income has been enough, but no more.

That second group is writing to me now. They’re struggling.

The first group has little competition. When prospective clients ask “Who’s the best?” their names come up in nearly every response.

The second group is worried. They’ve never marketed much. Sure, they’ve run a newspaper ad or paid someone to slap up a website. Back in the day, they might have run an ad in the phone book.

Now, however, they’re in competition with a new group of lawyers. The new group is running pay-per-click ads, creating tons of website content, conducting seminars and webinars, and otherwise spreading the word aggressively online and off.

What’s the 55-year-old lawyer to do as business starts to dry up? These were supposed to be the golden years. This lawyer was planning to coast through the next decade and then wrap it up (and hopefully sell the practice to someone for a few extra bucks). What’s this lawyer supposed to do as revenues decline year after year?

How Can We Compete?

Let’s face it; it’s too late to compete with the few at the top. That ship sailed long ago. There’s no going back on a 30-year reputation.

What’s left?

• Coasting isn’t an option. Revenues are dropping, and that’s not going to stop. Revenues can go to zero. Yes, zero.
• It’s not the economy. Things aren’t bouncing back: that’s not going to happen. What’s happening now economically is what you can expect for the duration.
• Denial won’t help. The numbers are the numbers. The sooner you accept what’s happening, the sooner you can correct the situation.
• Hope is not a strategy. Things won’t turn around because you’d like that to happen. Hope just doesn’t work.

Now it’s time to kick yourself in the ass. Yep, you’re about to step out of your comfort zone. Yep, you’re about to do something you haven’t done before.

But here’s the good news: the stuff you’re going to do is going to work. You’re going to have a good decade. You’re going to ride this thing out on top. There’s no reason for you to sit around being depressed and worried. You’ve got options.

You’ve also got assets. Take note:

• The competition is younger than you. That gives you a competitive advantage.
• The competition is less experienced. That gives you a competitive advantage.
• The competition is less connected to the local bar and judiciary. That gives you a competitive advantage.
• The competition is less comfortable in the community. That gives you a competitive advantage.
• You’ve got stories—lots of them—and the competition doesn’t. Guess what? That gives you a competitive advantage.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You’ve got a host of advantages as a result of your long service.

It’s time—now—to put your advantages to work.

How to Revitalize Your Practice

I suggest you take a two-pronged approach. Here’s the path to more revenues:

First, do it the old-fashioned way. Get back to your network. Reconnect with old law school and college classmates. Get aggressive about your lunch schedule.

Don’t stop with classmates. Reconnect with old expert witnesses (mental health professionals, accountants, business valuation experts, vocational experts) and ask for referrals. Go further and ask these contacts for the names of others you should meet. Reach out to real estate agents, hairdressers, other lawyers, and the folks working at the courthouse.

Explain to these folks that the kids are grown and you’re finding yourself newly passionate about the work. Tell them you want more of it. Let them know that you’ve got renewed energy for helping clients. Don’t just tell them you’re excited: actually be excited. This can be fun.

It’s time to network until you drop. Don’t let me find you at lunch alone. Don’t let me check your calendar and see any empty time slots—-fill them up with networking meetings.

Next, do it the new way. Pick something you haven’t done before—just one thing—and get ready to learn it.

Find something that interests you in the marketing/technology area. It can be your website, Facebook or Twitter, or pay-per-click advertising. It can be a blog or building an iPhone app. It can be podcasting or YouTube video. It doesn’t matter what you pick. Just pick something you find a tiny bit interesting.

Then dig in and learn it. It may be foreign to you now, but a few hours after you get started, you’ll be off and running. Force yourself to get started and you’ll get interested.

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Quickly you’ll find that interest creates energy. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself energized about whatever you selected.

As you learn it, do it. Jump in with both feet and take on your chosen activity. Odds are that it’ll work—whatever it is—and it will generate some interest in your practice. At a minimum, it gives you something to talk about at all of those lunches.

So What If It’s Not Easy?

Look, I understand that this isn’t going to be easy for you. But what’s the alternative? What else are you going to do?

You’ve spent enough time wallowing around. It’s time to get moving. It’s time to act. You’re going to get moving, and you’re going to have some small wins.

• Someone is going to be thrilled when you call about lunch. That’s going to feel good.
• Then someone new is going to refer a client who quickly retains. That’s going to feel good.
• Then your YouTube video or your pay-per-click ad is going to make the phone ring. That’s going to feel good.

Then a couple of those things are going to happen in the same day. Wow. The next thing you know, you’ll realize that you’re excited about coming to work. You’ll find yourself jazzed that you’re winning. It’s going to happen if you take the first step right now.

Get to work. You’ve got 10 busy years ahead, and there’s no time like the present to get started.