It
can
sometimes
be
difficult
for
lawyers
to
distinguish themselves
in
the
legal
marketplace,
especially
if
lawyers
have
a
common
name. Because
there
is
a
finite
number
of
names
lawyers
can
call
their
law
offices,
and
due
to
other
mistakes,
clients
and
prospective
clients
commonly
mistake
one
lawyer
for
another. Lawyers
can
handle
such
mistaken
identifications
in
a
certain
way
to
minimize
confusion
about
the
identity
of
counsel.
In
my
own
experience,
the
most
common
example
of
mistaken
identity
is
when
people
mistake
me
for
my
partner
and
brother,
who
has
a
name
that
begins
with
the
same
letter
as
mine. I
am
usually
flattered
by
such
a
mistake,
since
my
partner/brother
is
an
excellent
lawyer
I
look
up
to.
However,
about
a
third
of
all
the
calls
I
answer
involve
people
looking
for
lawyers
who
are
not
part
of
my
law
practice. Sometimes,
clients
could
do
the
bare
minimum of
due
diligence
to
discover
that
I
am
not
the
appropriate
lawyer
they
are
trying
to
contact. For
instance,
I
only
practice
law
in
the
northeast,
but
I
often
get
phone
calls
from
people
across the
country
looking
for
lawyers
with
the
same
last
name
as
me.
I
usually
handle
such
situations
by
asking
the
person
where
they
are
calling
from. If
they
are
calling
outside
of
the
few
states
in
which
I
practice
law,
I
tell
them
that
there
must
be
an
identification
issue
since
I
could
not
be
the
lawyer
they
are
looking
for
in
whatever
part
of
the
country
they
are
calling
from. Usually,
I
know
from
the
caller
ID
that
someone
is
calling
me
from
outside
my
area,
and
I
am
immediately alerted
that
there
may
be
a
mistaken
identity
issue.
An
interesting
problem
occurs
when
a
prospective
client
calls
me
looking
for
another
lawyer
with
a
similar
name,
and
I
am
actually
interested
in
taking
the
work. This
has
only
happened
a
few
times,
and
in
one
instance,
the
person
said
that
she
saw
my
name
on
advertisements
even
though
my
practice
does
not
pay
for
advertising. In
these
types
of
instances,
it
often
pays
to
be
honest,
and
I
always
tell
the
person
that
they
might
be
confused
about
my
identity.
However,
sometimes
I
will
try
to
build
rapport
with
the
prospective
client
and
inform
them
of
the
offerings
of
my
law
firm.
So
long
as
truthful
statements
were
made,
I
do
not
think
there
is
anything
wrong
with
a
client
using
my
firm
even
though
they
initially
inquired
into
another
practice.
In
some
instances,
we
have
even
received
mail
that
seems
like
it
was
intended
for
another
lawyer
of
the
same
last
name. In
such
rare
instances,
we
usually
reach
out
to
the
lawyer
for
whom
the
mail
was
intended
to
see
what
they
want
us
to
do
with
it. I
would
like
to
hope
that
someone
would
do
this
for
me
if
my
mail
was
delivered
to
another
lawyer
with
a
similar
name,
as
this
just
seems
like
basic
professional
courtesy.
Some
lawyers
must
have
more
issues
with
mistaken
identity
than
others
since
some
names
are
more
common
than
other
kinds
of
names.
I’d
love
to
hear
stories
from
readers
about
mistaken
identity
and
how
this
was
handled
in
your
own
lives.
However,
with
some
strategies
in
mind,
mistaken
identities
among
lawyers
can
be
an
easy
issue
to
resolve.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at jordan@rothman.law.