As an immigration lawyer, whether you’re a solo practitioner or an associate at a large firm, having a personal brand is a must. Because as an attorney, your personal brand is also your immigration lawyer brand – the one that follows you around professionally.

So, do you feel like you have a personal brand or do you know how to create a personal brand for yourself? This can be a hard question to answer, or frustrating when the answer is “no.”

The good thing is that a personal brand is something that can be quire easy to build, and it’s absolutely something you need as an immigration attorney. A unique personal brand will help you grow your immigration law business and network, get attention, and establish yourself as a leading immigration lawyer, whether just in your firm or across the entire industry.

Four tips to help you create an immigration lawyer brand

I gave a talk in 2019 at a GlobalHR conference in NYC on building a personal brand while focusing on your practice. Here are my tips for building an immigration lawyer brand that helps you stand out without having to take time away from the work you need to do in your daily work life. 

Immigration lawyer brand tip #1: Remember that there is only ONE you

There is no one else exactly like you. It may sound cheesy but there is truth in cliches here! Our first tip is really more of a mindset shift before you can continue on the branding journey. Take the time to recognize that you are UNIQUE and that uniqueness is your secret weapon.

Immigration lawyer brand tip #2: Determine what that unique thing is about you that can make up your brand

In ice breakers, what is your personal ‘fun fact?’ What are your passions and your go-to activities in life? These are all great points for creating your personal brand! Do you love rock climbing? Are you a great baker? Do you speak 3 languages? Do you love cars? Let your interests be part of your brand. People can tell when people are authentic about their interests and guess what? They love seeing it online!

Because let’s be honest – your ability to file a successful H-1B petition is a minimum requirement of being a lawyer, and just saying you do a “better job than the others” isn’t a way to be memorable. But if you’re known for being a competent immigration lawyer and baking a mean apple pie, now THAT’S memorable.

Immigration lawyer brand tip #3: Start creating and sharing

Ok, now using the first two tips: you know what makes you truly unique amongst your peers. Now it’s time to start creating and sharing!

And don’t be shy. An immigration professional that rock climbs is going to get more attention on LinkedIn than another immigration lawyer who simply blends in with the rest. Share content about it on LinkedIn, etc., and tie it to your practice. Need some help getting started? Here’s an example of me doing just that. 

Immigration lawyer brand tip #4: Stay consistent on LinkedIn and across social media

Now that you’ve started creating and posting content, stay consistent. Whether it’s once a week, every other day or even every single day, by consistently branding yourself as the immigration lawyer who also rock climbs / bakes / sings / etc., you’ll stand out amongst your peers.

Creating and posting consistent content that ties in both your personal uniqueness and your expertise is what will make your unique immigration lawyer brand and will get you attention on LinkedIn and beyond. After all, who would you be more interested in learning about? An immigration lawyer with the same old advertisements or the lawyer who speaks French and bakes?

Are you still struggling to create a personal brand?

With these four tips in mind, you’re ready to really start building your immigration lawyer brand!

And if you’re feeling a bit nervous about it, fear not – the GMI Rocket Slack community is a free resource for immigration and global mobility professionals who are interested in building up their presence on social media. And GMI Rocket more generally is here to help you get better at marketing, branding, content creation, and using LinkedIn to your benefit.

Interested in learning more? What helped you figure out your personal brand? Check out my talk with Global HR here, leave a comment, or reach out to us!