The province's redemption: customers everywhere thanks to social media

A firm specialising in a single practice is not common in the provinces where lawyers are generally required to be multi-disciplinary in order to meet the needs of clients. If the lawyer is a woman, especially the beginnings are even more difficult. But once the first few years have passed, thanks to good work, word of mouth and in some cases the use of digital technologies to make oneself known, it is possible to grow and extend one's clientele far beyond one's own territory.

Lawyer Silvia Pettineo opened her specialised labour law firm in Caserta in 2010 with an uphill start. "Dealing only with labour law," she explains, "initially deprived me of many opportunities, but little by little I started to collaborate with firms that did not have experts in this field and then client referrals did the rest. Even the fact that she is a woman is still penalising: most of those who contact her call her doctor, but not lawyer or advocate. Thanks to her presence on Instagram and TikTok, where she talks about labour law, she has expanded her reach by doing numerous online consultations throughout Italy. Studio Legale Ciarrocchi in Porto San Giorgio (Marche) also specialises in family law. Founded in 1995, its sole proprietor is lawyer Sabrina Ciarrocchi. "It was a challenge," she comments, "to follow a single subject and be a single woman. The beginnings were difficult, but then I acquired a certain reputation and word of mouth did the rest. Now my name gets around and I get clients from outside the region. So the firm has grown and soon her daughter will also be part of it. For lawyer Elisa Caggiari, opening in Sassari was a choice linked to motherhood. 'Reconciling life as a mother,' she explains, 'with that of a firm collaborator was complicated. As owner, I could dictate my times and find the spaces I needed. The profession is irreconcilable with the family, but you have to persevere'. Lawyer Caggiari also chose the path of specialisation because 'I don't believe in everything, I believe in the principle of competence and above all I love labour law'.

It is not just word of mouth, however, for the Ricci & Partners law firm in Fiuggi Terme (Frosinone) that has expanded its client base with careful online activity. Founded by lawyer Monica Ricci in 2004, it has become an associated firm with the entry of lawyer Gianmarco Cecconi and is multi-practice. While clients in the area still arrive thanks to referrals, online visibility thanks to the website, the use of social media to promote in-depth information, and above all the creation of legal service packages to provide advice to businesses well explained in the different articulations (silver, gold and platinum) has extended the area of action. "The legal package," adds Ricci, "was created to prevent crisis situations and litigation. In the three types there is everything that a company may need, which in any case prefers full service. It is a system that builds loyalty over time because it reassures them of the firm's presence in all circumstances with a defined cost".

The Cacciola - Carpentieri law firm in Salerno, owner of the Debitobancario brand and specialised in over-indebtedness, also owes much of its success to digital activity. "Our strength," explains lawyer Francesco Cacciola, "is being a recognised brand with videos on YouTube to help people in debt, and with posts on Tiktok and Facebook. Thanks to this there was the possibility of expanding the firm'. A different example of the ability to go beyond the narrow territorial scope also comes from Studio Legale Genchi in Noicattaro (Bari) founded by lawyer Alessandro Genchi in 2004, which has an office in Molfettta, another in Turin, a base in Rome and an office in Brussels because in addition to legal work they deal with lobbing. "We deal with everything,' he explains, 'except criminal law. But we don't think like a provincial firm and in fact there are very few local clients. The profession has changed a lot and the professional has to behave like an entrepreneur, participate in sponsorship activities and events, forge relationships and network'.