Attorney: Alex McClure
Firm: The Law Office of Alex McClure
Site: www.amcclurelaw.com
Location: Lake Mary, Florida
Practice Areas: Bankruptcy, Wage/Bank Garnishment, Consumer Protection, Debt Defense
“My website is literally what’s been growing my practice in the background. It’s been my number-one business tool and marketing tool, by far.”
Attorney Alex McClure in the Spotlight…
As soon as he saw the first episode of The X Files as a kid in 1993, Alex McClure developed an interest in law enforcement. Before deciding to make the transition to law school from his undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice, he seriously considered pursuing a career as an FBI agent. But, while in school, McClure says he found that he really enjoyed academic pursuits, as well as the type of work and research the student life entailed.
Though McClure says he was “never one of those kids who knew they wanted to be an attorney when they were five,” he did have at least one attorney in the family. McClure says that his aunt, whose practice focuses on collaborative family law, was able to offer him some insight as to what it would take to begin a career in law, and that she ultimately helped him make the decision to go to law school.
Cutting His Teeth on Debt Litigation
Soon after graduating law school, McClure was contacted by a recruiter for a large law firm that focused on plaintiffs litigation for one of the largest debt buyers in the nation. He says that he was attracted to the position because he got along and shared a value system with the other attorneys and staff there. It was that connection with his peers that McClure says helped him get through tough days at the fast-paced, high-volume firm.
He stayed in that first big-firm job for nearly a decade and, in the process, McClure says he had the opportunity to litigate thousands of contracts, debt, and judgment cases from the perspective of those looking to collect by utilizing every mechanism available under Florida and federal law. As a result of his professional success, he became a named shareholding partner at the firm, and the company went on to open offices in Georgia, New York, and Puerto Rico during his tenure.
But, after ten years of working on what he described as a litigation “assembly line,” McClure says that his work on that side of the table began to feel “routine” and that the position no longer offered the type of professional challenges and growth prospects that kept him engaged for so long.
Setting Out on His Own
In 2016, McClure resigned his post and decided that he was no longer interested in the creditor’s side of the practice. After evaluating his skills and knowledge base, he decided to open a solo-practice working in the same field of consumer law, but from the other side of the table. He now says he’s practicing in an area of law that is essentially self-created, which he calls “Consumer Credit and Finance Law with a Consumer Protection Element.” He defends consumers who are facing legal financial troubles, from the early collections stages, all the way through the legal process and judgment proceedings. As a natural consequence of the practice, he also offers bankruptcy services as one of his main practice areas.
After spending thousands of hours in the courtroom negotiating and litigating cases, McClure says that he “knows the rules of procedure cold.” This, he says, provides him with a background and knowledge base that few others possess, as well as a unique blend of practical skills that allow him to provide comprehensive representation for clients in an area of law that he says is seriously underserved in his community.
“Florida law provides powerful protections for consumers who have been wronged by unlawful, unethical, and illegal business practices,” McClure says. And providing competent, local, affordable legal representation in these areas helps him serve his immediate community by offering consumer protection options that community members might not otherwise know are available to them.
McClure says that his competitors in the field of central Florida bankruptcy law often seem to be focused solely on the bankruptcy option of resolving debt. But McClure says he likes to “offer a complete evaluation of a client’s situation from the top down, looking at everything involving consumer credit” before making recommendations to his clients. He credits his experience working on the debt-collection side of the equation for his thorough and intimate knowledge of the subject, saying, “I don’t know of any other way to get that particular kind of experience.” And it is that experience, he says, that gives his clients a distinct advantage in the courtroom.
Today, the philosophy of McClure’s practice revolves around providing his clients with a complete understanding of the options available to them, rather than directing them blindly toward a bankruptcy “solution.” “It’s vitally important to me to make sure that my clients understand what’s going on (with their situation),” says McClure. He says that the information surrounding debt — both online and that offered by other attorneys — can make it seem like bankruptcy is the only option for individuals facing a debt crisis, but this is not always the case.
Seeking Solutions Based on Client Goals
“I’ve seen situations where a client can’t get an attorney to talk about anything other than bankruptcy when they mention that they are having a debt problem,” McClure says. “But just because somebody is struggling doesn’t actually mean they need to be filing for bankruptcy.” For this reason, McClure says he likes to approach his clients’ cases by focusing on their short-term and long-term goals.
If a client hopes to start a small business, for example, or to take out a loan for a car or home in the next few years, McClure might suggest working out a creatively-structured settlement with a creditor in order to preserve the client’s credit and accommodate those goals. Filing for bankruptcy, however, could significantly hinder those short term options. This is the meaning behind his tagline, “Solutions for a Sustainable Future,” which McClure uses in all of his marketing material, including on his website.
McClure says that the service element of his practice further distinguishes him from the competition. He says that many clients of big-name firms wind up feeling frustrated by the screening and intake process at those firms, which can make people feel as if they are being treated like a number, rather than an individual with unique needs. McClure says that he enjoys providing his clients with personal, professional service and that his clients tend to quickly find themselves on a first-name basis with him. And that, he says, is what discerning clients want and deserve from an attorney.
Due to the unique insight he is able to provide his clients about financial litigation proceedings, and the specific nature of the services offered by his practice, McClure says that he knew his solo practice was not going to be able to rely on traditional word-of-mouth promotion and referrals that drive clients to other types of law firms. He says that, while many people are familiar with the names of larger Central Florida firms, few are aware that they have an experienced consumer attorney working in their community.
Organic Search as a Driving Force for Client Acquisition
McClure says that many of his potential clients have never had contact with an attorney before and therefore don’t know where to go for referrals other than to search online.
“I didn’t even think twice about whether or not I would need a website,” McClure says, “and a real one.” He says that some attorneys can get by on a barebones site offering little more than their contact information and office address, but that his practice was going to need a much stronger web presence. “I knew I needed something more specific, more impactful than that,” he says, and that knowledge is what drew him to LawLytics.
Today, McClure adds content to his site multiple times a week. As a result, he says that about eighty percent of his clients find him online through organic search. “My website is literally what’s been growing my practice in the background,” McClure says, “it’s been my number-one business tool and marketing tool, by far.”
McClure says that he appreciates that the LawLytics system makes it easy for him to add or update content on his site, and that using LawLytics’ tools, including access to online submission forms, makes the online client acquisition process straightforward and simple.
He says he spends a lot of time working on his site’s content, and that his web presence and his practice continue to grow as a result. “I consider that time spent an investment in my future,” says McClure, and it appears that investment is paying off.