Growing a computer forensic investigation business

March 29, 2006 6:53 AM

How can I grow my DC area computer forensic investigation business?

I am a computer science professor at a well-known and reasonably prestigious university in the Washington DC area. By contract, I am allowed to do consulting work one day a week during the school year, and my time is completely my own over the summer and during other breaks.

A couple of years ago, I was approached to help with some computer investigations by a family friend. It was fun to get out and do some work in the real world, and the cases I worked on led me to new areas of research, as well as providing good relevant stories to tell in class. Now I have started my own LLC, purchased equpiment and software and appropriate professional insurance, and have become certified as a computer forensic investigator. The people I have worked for in the past still turn to me when they needme, but I would like to expand my clientele and get more work in the area. I should say that I am focused on civil cases.

Any suggestions how to do this? I have some ads posted through Google, but that hasn't brought in any work, despite costing a fair amount of money. I would think that perhaps advertising in local legal publications might be good, but I don't know what those are. I was also thinking that a good mechanism might be to teach some basic forensics to lawyers, if there is a market for such instruction. Of course, the hive mind will hopefully have other suggestions.

posted by procrastination to work & money (10 comments total)

gee, I'm a lawyer in the D.C. area who may have need for these services in a case. I'm putting my email into my profile now. Drop me a line.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:04 AM on March 29, 2006

You could see if the Bread for the City charitable organization could use your services for some of its pro bono legal services. You would be working closely with quite a few lawyers from various firms around the city and demonstrating your skills to them, plus helping folks in need at the same time. Volunteering your time may not be considered "working" so it wouldn't cut into your one day a week restrictions.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:06 AM on March 29, 2006

I'm a forensic scientist working in NYC (with some forensic computer training) and REALLY like the idea of teaching lawyers more forensics. Having to testify in court on cases sadly most lawyers and jurors get a majority of their forensics knowledge from CSI, which is really just sad! So anyone who can help get more of the legal system brought up to speed on the science behind what we do would be a great help to us all.
posted by Captain_Science at 9:13 AM on March 29, 2006

Lawyers are often way behind the curve of technology -- doesn't suprise me at all that Google text-ads aren't terribly effective.

You might consider calling up American Lawyer Media and seeing what kind of package of on-line and print advertising they could put together for you. ALM controls a huge swath of the print and specialized internet advertising seen by lawyers.

Your notion of teaching lawyers is a terrific one. Call up the Practising Law Institute and the DC Bar Association -- between the two of them they probably present a very percentage of continuing legal education in DC. I'd bet they have a way to get you onto the faculty.

There are also a variety of on-line and off-line experts directories. I have no idea which ones are particularly better thought of than others -- you need to ask lawyers in practice in the area which ones they like.
posted by MattD at 9:33 AM on March 29, 2006

(1) Develop a CLE (continuing legal education) class. This usually consists of preparing written materials, submitting them to the local bar, and having them approved. (2) Talk to existing lawyer-clients about your plans, ask you can present your CLE class at their firms--many large firms have periodic in-house CLE classes (usually brown-bag lunches) (2a) Have your current clients ask if they know of any colleagues in other firms that are seeking such CLE instruction. (3) Profit!

A caveat: The associate:partner ratio at these CLE meetings is pretty high. That mean you are presenting to the folks who usually don't hire the experts. On the upside, e-discovery is a "hot topic" so you might draw more partners than than a typical I-am-an-expert-and-here-is-what-I-do talk.

Advice: The KISS principle is key. Also, lawyers want to hear war stories. Theory and technology are much less interesting than the story about how you were able to find out that the CEO of XYZ Corp. was engaged in insider trading because his wife thought he was cheating on her.
posted by GarageWine at 10:07 AM on March 29, 2006

What about placing a classified ad in Washington Lawyer magazine (the DC Bar newsletter)?
posted by Pollomacho at 12:14 PM on March 29, 2006

Thanks for the great ideas. I had the class idea before I knew where to teach, and was looking for local lawyer-related publications. I will definitely follow up on the ideas presented here.

I was wondering, though, does anyone have contact information for similar organizations to the DC bar in Maryland and Virginia?

Thanks!
posted by procrastination at 1:14 PM on March 29, 2006

procrastination: Drop me a line. I'd like to talk about your business - I'm in the Minneapolis area and wouldn't be a competitor... :)
posted by unixrat at 8:31 PM on March 29, 2006

Before you spend the money on expensive advertising. Here are few ideas for kick starting your small business. Why not offer a free 1-2 hour seminar to law firms that may be interested in you services. Host it a public library. I can use the media room at my library for free. A) This will get you an audience of people that may need your services in the future, and lets them know who you are. B) This sets yourself up as an "expert" in their eyes. You'll get a great contact list from the sign up sheet. D) Offer a referral or finders fee to anyone that brings you business from these contacts. E) Attend free law related functions in your area. Have a website and great business card combo and pass them out as you meet people there. F) Volunteer your time to one of these online predator/Child watch groups. They have contacts with law enforcement. G) Start a newsletter/blog/ezine or write some articles for local smaller news papers. Network, Network, Network. I could go on and on, but it's really about self promotion getting seen and out in front of the right people. Good Luck!
posted by johnd101 at 8:45 AM on March 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

Ditto johnd101. His suggestions are excellent.

I'm a writer-designer who specializes in exactly this kind of "information marketing." It is far more effective, more professional, less sales-y and much less costly. Holding a seminar to demonstrate your expertise is a great idea, but get them interested and establish your expertise by writing some articles first. Post copies on your website and blog. Mail a photocopy to a few targeted individuals at the law firms you'd like as clients, along with a note (or perhaps your seminar invitation).

As a professor you have the advantage of already being an established expert. Plus, I suspect you don't have much competition in this field.

Here's an article I wrote on the basics of information marketing, and there are frequent tips and suggestions on my blog. Good luck!
posted by wordwhiz at 7:03 PM on April 2, 2006