Tidewater Traffic Defense is the Brainchild of Ed Railey
When Ed Railey started his new venture, Tidewater Traffic Defense, he turned to CAMS for help with direct mail marketing. It’s been an interesting ride.
Tidewater Traffic Defense is a subsidiary of Railey and Railey, PC, based in Courtland, VA. (The other Railey is Ed’s dad, Richard E. Railey Jr.) The group also includes attorney Justin T. Bush, of Suffolk. The mission of the new group is to keep the cash flowing while reducing the number of hours spent driving to and from court. How many times have you driven 90 minutes to a courthouse only to spend 10 minutes there—for one traffic case?
Our Docket Search Is a Powerful Tool
Ed’s idea was to partner with attorneys already headed to court in the jurisdictions Railey
and Railey serves—Greensville, Emporia, Brunswick, and Sussex. First, he had to find them. Did you know we have an app for that? Our Docket Search is a powerful component of our Case Management System. The Docket Search allows you to choose a jurisdiction and hearing date and instantly receive a list of all attorneys appearing in court that day. For Tidewater Traffic Defense, “The goal is to have everything electronic—from sending the file to paying the attorney the same day,” Ed explains.
Tidewater Traffic Defense sends hundreds of letters each week through CAMS. We provide the data (names and addresses of defendants charged with reckless driving), as well as printing and fulfillment services. With the help of CAMS, Ed’s dedicated cell phone continues to ring. “When you have a separate line, you know it’s a client, as opposed to your personal cell phone ringing,” Ed says. (Using a dedicated phone is also a great way to track your marketing. If the phone is ringing, the letter is working.)
CAMS Account Manager Teresa Blakley recalls a recent phone call from Ed. “He called me on a Saturday afternoon and asked me, ‘Are your phones ringing off the hook like mine?’ ”
But Ed’s Letters Weren’t Always Working
“I first met Edward at the Greensville District Court, one of Virginia’s reckless driving hotspots,” Van Hardenbergh recalls. “We were discussing direct mail marketing, and I told him how it had changed my practice. He was instantly engaged, asking questions about how he could start his own campaign. We worked with Ed to develop a good list and help him get his letter out to drivers in need of help.” After about a year of working with CAMS, Ed was concerned, because he wasn’t getting as much response. “I told him he should revamp his letter, but he was busy running his office,” Van explains. “He took a break from sending direct mail, and in the interim tried using addresses provided by one of our lesser competitors. Like others who have tried the slower manual data-gathering options, he found the results were not even comparable.”
Another bump in the road: Sending postcards. They just didn’t work, compared with letters. When Ed came back to CAMS we revamped his letter to increase response and customized it for each jurisdiction. We are proud to help Ed and Company win the race to the mailbox every day.
“I am so lucky to work with professional, smart, and gracious attorneys like Ed Railey,” says Teresa. “But between you and me, he is one of my favorites. Sometimes he just calls to say hi. I wish him all the success he can handle and maybe a little more.”