I spoke with a law firm management expert about how to hire new employees in a challenging environment.

Episode Highlights 05:10 Why it’s very hard to find lawyers and law assistants 11:28 Insights on managing remote workers and the benefits of a globally distributed team 16:17 Firing staff members and the importance of having documented reasons 18:50 Keeping a min 30-day probationary period with ideal being 90-days 19:20 Advice to let go of unsuccessful candidates during the probationary period without any sunk cost fallacy 19:56 Why hiring a recruiter could be beneficial for law firms 21:40 Three red flags for candidates 26:17 Three things every law firm manager should know before hiring 29:19 Personal story shared about a job interview experience where the interviewee’s pants split which exemplified the importance of empathy in interview situations.

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]  
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Joyce Brafford
• https://www.profitsolv.com/
• https://www.rocketmatter.com/  

I spoke with a tech advisor about everything there is to know about building websites.

Episode Highlights 02:11 Bruce’s choice for the winning team in the ongoing tournament 03:16 What the Tab3 is about 05:27 Developing and selling websites 07:13 The cost structure of building out websites 09:07 Website content, SEO, and how to meet client expectations via a law firm's website 13:24 The process of launching a website 16:56 Navigation and how important website responsiveness is   20:05 The importance of being the first firm to respond to a client in winning their service 20:45 How the payment processing on website works 21:36 Preference of clients to pay online creating credibility for the firm

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Bruce Policky
• https://info.tabs3.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-policky-648b34131 

I talked to an elder law attorney about how leverages tech with his clients, and when he doesn't.

Episode Highlights 03:59 Transition to discussing elder law practice and Jamie's move from Haroutunian Law Office to Priority Law 07:42 Separating the younger group from the more senior staff 09:54 Their process of assessing clients 12:07 Push to automation as an important part of incorporating AI 16:45 The challenges of getting millennial staff to meet senior clients midway in terms of technology use 18:53 Managing scheduling and payments with elder law clients 21:34 How they manage payments, acknowledging that a majority of their elder clients still prefer paying by check 23:01 What it’s like having consultations with different kinds of clients 24:20 The visualization tools they use during meetings 25:42 How older generations tend to be more respectful of appointments and traditional consulting methods compared to younger generations

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Jamie Haroutunian
• [email protected]
• https://prioritylaw.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-haroutunian-1331ba6 

Jennifer Sherman from Caret Legal came onto the podcast, to talk over some of the hot legal tech trends in the mid-market for law firms - including leveraging technology, upskilling staff and working remotely.

Episode Highlights 04:17 What Caret Legal is 08:49 How legal practice management solutions like Caret can help automate repetitive tasks, letting lawyers focus more on helping their clients and doing tasks they love 10:54 Talking to lawyers on how they can get started in automation 19:29 The importance of using technology to avoid burnout and upscale all employees, enhancing their productivity and efficiency 17:07 Transitioning from vendor-customer relationships to true partnerships 25:28 Ease of use for the client as a primary consideration and how this can have a significant impact on a firm's reputation, growth, and client-first approach

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Jennifer Sherman
• [email protected]  
• https://caretlegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-sherman-7318641 

I talked to a digital marketing agency owner, who gave me the real story about shady behavior from legal marketers that you should watch out for.

Episode Highlights 06:01 The issue of getting locked into technologies without ownership or control over data 09:02 Defining what a viable lead is and how a good process integrates several systems 16:24 What law firms should do if you’re forwarding leads to them 18:30 The implication of reselling leads, emphasizing that those are assets of the law firms not the vendors 19:12 Bidding on the law firm's brand in a pay-per-click campaign 21:18 The economics of branded and non-branded queries, raising concern over agencies conflating these two different concepts 29:13 The issue of sharing data with competitors, even indirectly, through digital marketing agencies that work with similarly situated firms in the same locality

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia  
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Conrad Saam
• [email protected]
• https://mockingbird.marketing/
• https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lunch-hour-legal-marketing/  

I talked with a data management consultant about how to leverage law firm intake management technology, while keeping clean data sets.

Episode Highlights 03:49 The importance of good and reliable data for lawyers, its role in law practice, and common mistakes around data management 04:32 How law firms are dealing with data handling 12:20 CRM and Enterprise Relationship Management and the need for automation in contact capture 17:04 The involvement of AI 19:24 Successful data management in a top law firm, utilizing multiple data stewards 21:34 Various types of data and their roles maintained by data stewards 23:40 The difficulties in getting law firms to utilize technology effectively

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Chris Fritsch
• https://clientsfirstconsulting.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisfritsch 

For the third episode of our special series with ProfitSolv, we discuss the primary building blocks for a technology forward law firm with ProfitSolv’s Joyce Brafford and Law Ruler's Matt Defrain.

[SPONSORED by TimeSolv]

Episode Highlights 05:44 Perspectives on conspiracy theories 12:12 What Law Ruler is 14:04 The concept of a client journey and how it applies to law firms 16:22 How to build a killer client journey 20:31 The drawbacks of not responding quickly to client inquiries and the benefits of using lawruler for instantaneous responses 27:53 The value of integrating Law Ruler with other law firm software 29:11 How Law Ruler can automate case management and intake automation, as well as after outreach marketing 34:16 Practice-specific data like the average time to open and close a matter and marketing expenditure for each practice area

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Joyce Brafford
• https://www.profitsolv.com/
• https://www.timesolv.com/
• https://www.rocketmatter.com/
• https://www.cosmolex.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-brafford
• Connect with Matt Defrain
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-defrain
• https://www.lawruler.com/ 

I spoke with a small law firm owner about how she uses technology to maintain a positive work-life balance, for her and her staff.

Episode Highlights 05:29 Erin’s journey of becoming a lawyer and starting her own law-practice for flexibility 09:18 What it’s like setting up a law practice twice 14:25 Technology used in Erin's practice and her sharing her experiences starting with basic Microsoft technology and eventually upgrading and becoming more robust over time 16:25  Adopting drafting software for her legal practice and her concerns about the security of her clients' information 16:43 How she started to use drafting software 18:26 Her struggles with bookkeeping and accounting for her firm 21:24 The benefits of Lawmatics including document sharing, client intake data, and delivering more affordable legal services 22:20 Staff flexibility in her firm and how she wants her team to maintain a work-life balance 25:06 How she maintains running her business, volunteering in community activities, and having a family 28:28 Using her Apple watch to manage and monitor her stress levels 29:51 The challenges and frustrations that can come with using technology in her practice

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Erin McBee
• www.lawofficeoferinmcbee.com
• https://www.facebook.com/McBeeLaw/ 

I talked with a public relations expert about how lawyers should prepare for, engage at and follow up after a conference.

Episode Highlights 02:16 The premise of Janet’s company and how it works with attorneys on their public profiles and relations 04:27 Some of Janet’s favorite conferences to attend to 06:38 Steps to get ready when attending a conference 10:30 Tips for engaging with speakers 13:53 What happens once you’re at the conference? 16:41 The importance of business cards and making the most use of them 21:36 Janet’s bonus tip: BYON 25:21 The importance of publishing views and articles

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Janet Falk
• [email protected]
• https://janetlfalk.com/
• https://www.womenownedlaw.org/  

I spoke with a law firm consultant about how to select the best hardware and software for law firms.

Episode Highlights 03:42 How the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund provides legal malpractice insurance and their range of services 07:11 What firms should be looking at when getting a legal software 12:21 The checklist when doing assessments of your legal software 15:28 Software that law firms should have 17:39 Some of the challenges that come with the integration of various software types 19:32 How lawyers should be managing their tech budget 21:24 Best practices for optimizing software utilization 24:34 How lawyers could benefit from general business platforms not specifically built for law firms like Adobe Acrobat, email systems, and task management software

Episode Resources

• Connect with Jared Correia
• [email protected]
• https://redcavelegal.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia
• https://twitter.com/RedCaveLegal
• www.linkedin.com/in/jaredcorreia/
• Connect with Rachel Edwards
• [email protected]
• https://osbplf.org/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-edwards-15a4162a