If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself. Sure, it’s an old adage—but for Kansas City entrepreneur and attorney Chris Brown, that way of thinking sparked a new career path.
Brown is the brains behind b.Legal Marketing, a full-service marketing firm that works specifically with law firms. And as most entrepreneurs are wont to do, Brown also pursues a side business, Venture Legal, through which he offers legal counsel to startups.
Before he started both businesses at the beginning of the year, Brown worked as an attorney at local law firm Van Osdol & Magruder. And though he loves practicing law, he realized he wanted to pursue a different (and, in his opinion, much-needed) opportunity.
“I wanted to sit at the entrepreneur side of the table,” he told Silicon Prairie News. “Because I’ve worked in the legal field, I know legal marketing is a strange place. No one’s really doing it right and I can do it better.”
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Brown sat through a number of marketing pitches during his time at the firm—and though the strategies differed, they all had one thing in common.
“They didn’t get it,” he said. “Law firms are different—we have a lot of ethical guidelines we have to comply with. Content marketing isn’t revolutionary, but in the legal field, it is. I saw that was happening and figured someone needed to jump in the space, and the best person to do that is a lawyer.”
Throughout his career, Brown’s developed a knack for spotting (and seizing) those sorts of opportunities. He started his career as a recording engineer in New York City, but after quickly realizing the importance of intellectual property, opted to go to law school.
On the surface, law and music appear to be at opposite ends of the professional spectrum. Yet just as the music industry was permanently altered by the Internet—including peer-to-peer file sharing, streaming music services and other digital tools—the legal industry is poised for that same sort of dramatic evolution, and Brown is ready to help.
“I don’t want the legal industry to see the same problems as the music industry,” he said. “We need to be proactive about finding solutions. I’m hoping I’m somewhat helpful in causing the industry to change.”
Not only does Brown work with law firms to create strategic marketing plans and campaigns that accommodate the industry’s nuances; he also works with startups to help them avoid the legal pitfalls that can so commonly consume a new business.
“Entrepreneurs need a different type of lawyer,” he said. “They don’t want an attorney to tell them a million things. I give them the issues and what they need to immediately take action on. I also tell them the risks and let them make the decisions. If I can give them ways to mitigate risks, even better.”
Brown typically works with early-stage startups less than a year old. He helps them form companies, protect intellectual property, get documents in line and handle employment matters like contractor agreements. By correctly handling those crucial elements from the beginning, he believes he can save them a world of trouble (and money) down the road.
Because he’s working with his own startups, Brown also understands the independent streak that’s so inherent to most entrepreneurs.
“I loved my firm, but I knew I had to move on and do something else,” he said. “And now that I’m on my own, I can do things my way. A lot of law firms are terrified of technology, and I love it—I’m basically paperless.”
Using Dropbox instead of a fax machine may not seem like an earth-shattering adjustment, but continued widespread change on a higher level is what’s going to have a larger ripple effect on an entire industry. And through the combined approach of b.Legal Marketing and Venture Legal, Brown is poised to leave his professional mark.
“I really do enjoy the legal industry,” he said. “It’s ready to be disrupted and I’m hoping I can play a part in that.”
Credits: Photos courtesy Brown.
