Cloning himself
by Glenn RittCraig J. Martin has created a business model that lets him practice on both sides of the canal.
By relying on modern telecommunications, savvy marketing and strong business instincts, he has managed to virtually clone himself. While located here on the Cape, he also practices in Taunton.
In doing so, he has built a practice that effortlessly cross the canal, without sacrificing his love of the Cape and a commitment to live here.
At the same time, Martin has expanded his professional network, which in turn hones a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded field.
Said Martin: “There are so many attorneys in Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. There are 125 lawyers alone in Taunton for a population of 60,000.”
Martin grew up in Taunton, but summered on Cape Cod as a child. “My best memories are of the Cape,” he said. After graduating from Suffolk Law School, he joined his father’s real estate practice in Taunton and eventually opened his own practice there in 1991.
Four years later, he got married and bought a seasonal home in North Falmouth. That triggered immediate ambitions to open a second office on the Cape.
“I said to myself, ‘Let’s see if I can do some business here,’” he recalled. Fortunately, he met a mortgage broker and a Realtor and through them began to acquire clients. Five years later, he and his wife decided to make Falmouth their primary home. Today, the Cape accounts for nearly 70 percent of his entire business.
“We were coming down here every weekend almost year-round,” said Martin. “I was here as well midweek for business. We thought this would be the best place to raise our family.”
That includes community involvement. Martin helped found Wings for Falmouth Families Inc., which helps families pay expenses for emergency needs, as well as the Sandwich-based Cape Cod Challenger Club, which supports special needs children.
His East Falmouth office on Route 28 appears to be a modest solo practice, but in Taunton, there are four paralegals, a title examiner and bookkeeper busily at work five days a week. He also has an independent CPA on call. When the phone rings and he’s there, Martin will pick it up. If not, a staffer in Taunton identifies herself as the Cape office.
“Having two sets of staff would be unwieldy and expensive,” said Martin. “The key is to centralize the infrastructure. With the Internet and modern phone systems, it is transparent.”
At the same time, Martin had cultivated a highly skilled and loyal staff while practicing for so many years in Taunton. Even though he may spend more time on the Cape, he did not want to lose his support team, including his key paralegal, who has been with him since 1991.
Implicit is the reality that there is a larger pool of qualified professional help in the Taunton area.
“Twenty years ago, this would have been nuts,” he said, “impossible even with faxes. But today, with e-mail, PDFs and telecommunications, you can be working anywhere. An office is for meeting clients wherever it is most convenient for them; and I can schedule those meetings to minimize commuting back and forth.
“And, of course, it is more efficient and profitable. I don’t have to waste two hours a day commuting.”
Martin marvels at the efficiency. “I am a guy who 10 years ago never touched a computer. But with the Internet, it is a completely different situation. When clients need to talk, I am accessible. But voice mail is rapidly being replaced by e-mail. And for the most part, clients like that. You can be more efficient, specific and responsive.”
For a real estate attorney, the Internet plays an even more profound role. He can instantly access almost all records at the registry of deeds, and he can collaborate online in preparing and transmitting documents to other attorneys, Realtors and brokers.
And by becoming increasingly “paperless,” Martin has discovered another advantage – greater security and less shredding.
“Law school doesn’t teach you how to run a business,” Martin said, echoing sentiments Cape Business heard during more than two dozen interviews with law firms across the Cape. “Learning that side has not been easy – cash flow, overhead, payroll. The days of getting out of law school and hanging out a shingle without a business background are virtually over.”
Published in Cape Business March/April 2008
Glenn Ritt Glenn Ritt is editor and co-publisher of Cape Business Publishing LLC. He is the former publisher of Cape Cod Community Newspapers and editor of The Bergen Record in New Jersey. 
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