Daily Matters: The changing face of the legal industry

Gyi Tsakalakis is a law firm marketing expert. As a former lawyer who now runs an SEO and digital marketing agency, he’s watched the legal technology landscape evolve over the past 15 years—and accelerate dramatically since the start of COVID-19. In this interview, Gyi and Jack Newton discuss important aspects of legal marketing in the pandemic era.

Specifically, this episode covers:

• How the legal industry has changed since Gyi started AttorneySync, and how those changes have sped up during COVID-19
• Why it’s a competitive advantage for firms to embrace technology
• The importance of designing a great experience for potential new clients
• How law firms can generate new business by marketing themselves better online
• What lawyers need to know about SEO

Gyi Tsakalakis is a former lawyer and President and Co-founder of AttorneySync, which uses digital marketing practices to help lawyers get found and hired online. Gyi’s core focus is search engine optimization (SEO), with which he helps law firms and other businesses improve their core metrics with the web.

Gyi also assists other businesses with online marketing at EPL Digital, and he is an advisor to the legal tech companies Lawmatics and Gideon Software, Inc.

To learn more about AttorneySync or EPL Digital, visit www.attorneysync.com or https://epldigital.com/, respectively. And follow Gyi on Twitter at @gyitsakalakis 

As an award-winning digital media scholar, author, and journalist, Alfred Hermida is one of Canada’s foremost experts on social media and digital journalism. In the current media climate, Alfred’s perspective offers fresh insight into why things are the way they are.

In this episode, Alfred and Jack Newton discuss the implications of the ways we communicate and share information in the present—and how this is shaping our future. Specifically, they discuss:

• Two of Alfred’s books, Data Journalism and the Regeneration of News and Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why It Matters
• Why people behave the way they do on social media, and what this means for our society
• How Albert’s work with The Conversation Canada is fostering a new type of journalism
• How we can begin to rebuild public trust in the media
• How the legal and journalistic professions are similar, and what lawyers can learn from journalists’ example

You can follow Alfred on Twitter at @Hermida

Bio:
Alfred Hermida is an award-winning online news pioneer, digital media scholar, and journalism educator with two decades of experience in digital journalism. Director and professor at the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, he is at the forefront of research into the digital transformation of media, social media, and data journalism. 

In 2017, Alfred co-founded and launched The Conversation Canada with his UBC Journalism colleague, Mary Lynn Young, bringing academics and experienced journalists together to share timely analysis and commentary drawing from research, evidence and insights.

His most recent book, co-authored with Mary Lynn Young, is called Data Journalism and the Regeneration of News. It reveals how the growth of data journalism has been cultivated and sustained by professional identities, tools and technologies, and new forms of collaboration and computational thinking. 

His previous book, Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why It Matters, charts how our enhanced capacity to share information via social media is shaping our notions of an informed and engaged public, a media ecology of competing ideas, and a responsive political establishment. It won the 2015 National Business Book Award. 

Diversity & Inclusion keynote speaker, founder, consultant, and author Risha Grant has been advocating for a more diverse and inclusive workplace for over 25 years—and now, she is witnessing changes in corporate America which indicate that the business community is starting to get the message. 

In this interview with Jack Newton, Risha discusses some of the most important aspects of D&I practices companies need to think about and implement—including what law firm leaders and legal professionals can do.

The conversation between Jack and Risha touches on:

• How D&I discussions have evolved since Risha first entered the space
• The business benefits of fostering diverse and inclusive working environments
• The best and worst ways Risha has seen companies handle D&I with their employees
• Some of the main things companies and law firms must change

On Wednesday, August 19, Risha is leading a special virtual seminar with Clio, focusing on how law firms can address diversity, inclusion, and bias. You can register for the event, entitled Get Rid of the BS: How Bias Synapse is Holding Back Your Law Firm, here. (If you can’t make it on Wednesday, don’t worry—we’ll send a free recording to everyone who registers.) 

Risha Grant is a top diversity and inclusion keynote speaker, Founder & CEO of Risha Grant LLC, an award-winning diversity consulting and communications firm, and author of That’s BS! How Bias Synapse Disrupts Inclusive Cultures. Through her interactive keynotes and deep-dive training sessions, Risha teaches and empowers attendees with D&I tools to increase their bottom line.

Risha has motivated and educated numerous corporations, associations, and universities and led them to a new place of respect and understanding. These audiences have included Discover Card Financial Services, Samsung Electronics America, Cox Communications, Wells Fargo, USAA Diversified Financial Group, Boy Scouts of America, the U.S. Airforce, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, the University of Oklahoma, and Roger Williams University, to name a few.

Risha has been awarded numerous honors such as the 2019 Top 100 HR Influencers, 2018 Inclusive Leadership Award, Entrepreneur of the Year 2017, One of Four to Watch by the Tulsa World, one of the Most Influential African-Americans, and one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs by Engage Magazine. She has also won the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Top Inclusive Award three years and been nominated for the Journal Record Woman of the Year Award several times.

You can follow Risha on Twitter at @RishaGrant and visit her website at https://rishagrant.com/

First Amendment litigator, criminal defense attorney, writer, and podcast host Ken White has a wealth of knowledge and perspective about some of today’s most pressing issues, including freedom of speech, the justice system, and American historical precedent.

In this timely and topical episode, Ken and Jack Newton discuss:

• Whether social media platforms have a responsibility to crack down on misinformation and hate speech
• Ken’s thoughts on high levels of public distrust towards news media outlets
• Ken’s take on the protests and law enforcement response in Portland
• Why the Justice Department’s recent actions are alarming from a legal perspective
• How to reconcile a love for America with frank recognition of longstanding issues in American society

Ken White is a First Amendment litigator and criminal defense attorney at Brown White & Osborn LLP in Los Angeles, California. He began his career as a federal prosecutor. Since joining private practice in 2001, he’s maintained a white collar criminal defense practice and built a First Amendment practice defending defamation cases and advising clients about free speech issues. 

Ken also writes at Popehat.com, a blog devoted to law, politics, and culture, and has written on free speech and criminal justice issues for the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Journal, Salon, Reason Magazine, National Review Online, and other publications. He is the host of Make No Law: The First Amendment Podcast, and co-host of the All the President’s Lawyers Podcast.

You can follow Ken (via Popehat) on Twitter at @popehat, read his writing at https://www.popehat.com/, and learn more about Brown White & Osborn LLP at https://brownwhitelaw.com/. To listen to the Make No Law podcast, visit https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/make-no-law/.

Since joining Clio 10 years ago, Chief Operating Officer George Psiharis has had a front-row seat for the massive technological and cultural shifts that have swept the legal industry in the past decade—shifts which have accelerated due to COVID-19.

In today’s Daily Matters conversation, George chats with Jack Newton about how legal has evolved, and where it’s headed. Specifically, they discuss:

• What Clio and the legal industry were like 10 years ago, and how both have changed over time
• The importance of data literacy to law firms, and how firms can leverage data more successfully
• George’s insights into major ways that COVID-19 has affected the legal industry
• What the legal industry might look like 10 years from now
• Key things firms can do to position themselves for the future

To learn more about COVID-19’s impact on legal, read Clio’s data-driven research analysis here: https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/covid-impact/

To learn more about data literacy for law firms, listen to the prior Matters podcast episode “Why Data Literacy Matters” here: https://www.clio.com/podcast/why-data-literacy-matters/

And to read the 2019 Legal Trends Report, visit https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/2019-report/

George Psiharis is the Chief Operating Officer at Clio, the leader in cloud-based legal technology. Specializing in customer success, business development, and data operations, George has worked extensively with law schools, bar associations, and other legal professionals to help make information on cloud computing and law firm economics increasingly accessible. George is also fluent in Greek, a skill he’d love to use as Clio expands its global offerings.

To connect with George, you can find him on LinkedIn. To learn more about Clio, visit www.clio.com 

When Ross Albers was still relatively new to legal practice, he got fired from his small law firm job just weeks before his wedding—and he decided to start his own firm. Now, Albers & Associates is a successful and growing business, and Ross is leading his employees through the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis while raising a family of young children at home.

In this episode, Ross talks to Clio CEO Jack Newton about:

• What Ross has learned about being a law firm owner, and leadership
• The difference between working “on” your business as opposed to “in” it
• How Albers & Associates responded assertively to the COVID-19 crisis—and actually expanded its business during the pandemic
• The ways legal technology helps Ross and his team gain a thorough understanding of how to be more efficient and strategic

Bio
Attorney Ross W. Albers is CEO of Albers & Associates, a personal and professional development company that supports its employees to improve their lives, provide them with happiness and love them like family. Albers & Associates has offices located throughout Maryland, representing clients with DUI/DWI, personal injury, and criminal matters.

A former insurance adjuster and Baltimore City prosecutor, Ross decided to form his own firm after getting fired from his job at a small firm two weeks before his wedding. Today, Albers & Associates succeeds by taking a personal interest in each client. 

Ross has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Bucknell University, and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. You can follow him on Twitter at @rossalbersesq

It’s a crazy time in the sports world—and Sports Law expert Darren Heitner has a behind-the-scenes vantage point into how America’s professional sports leagues, organizations, and athletes are handling the coronavirus pandemic.

In this episode, Darren joins Jack Newton for a discussion about:

• Pro sports’ efforts to resume play during COVID-19
• The difficult considerations pro athletes must take into account
• Darren’s personal experiences with the controversy around renaming the “Washington Football Team”
• Updates on the national debate about compensating collegiate athletes
• How attorneys can cultivate a strong personal brand and social media presence—and get their clients saying, “I love my lawyer.”

Bio
Darren Heitner is Founder and Chief Vision Officer at Heitner Legal P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Darren has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel, including well-known names like Antonio Brown, Brandon Marshall, Johnny Manziel, Terrell Owens, Anna Kournikova, Andrew Wiggins, De’Aaron Fox, Jose Bautista, Manny Ramirez, Drew Rosenhaus, and many others.

An attorney and Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator focusing on sports, entertainment, intellectual property, litigation and transactional work, Darren is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know. He also was a Contributor to Forbes for over six years, wrote for three years at Inc. Magazine, taught at Indiana University Bloomington, and founded the Sports Agent Blog. He currently writes at Above the Law.

In 2019, Darren was named to the University of Florida's 40 Under 40 list. In 2020, he was honored with UF Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus award.

You can follow Darren on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner

When she was young, Nicole Abboud-Shayan knew she wanted to become a lawyer—until she actually became one, and she realized she had a different calling. Now, Nicole—best known as the producer and host of the Gen Y Lawyer Podcast—is a legal industry expert who handles business development at WordRake and blogs, speaks, and creates content to help build a better future for legal professionals and their clients.

In this episode, Nicole talks to Jack Newton about:

• Nicole’s journey from lawyer to legal industry entrepreneur
• Nicole’s takeaways from her years hosting the Gen Y Lawyer Podcast
• Advice for law firms who have Millennials on staff or work with Millennial clients
• How the coronavirus crisis compares to the Great Recession in 2008, and what that means
• Why Nicole feels lawyers are “exceptionally qualified to help change society for the better”

You can watch Nicole’s past presentation from the Clio Cloud Conference, “Millennials: Understanding Your New Clients and Colleagues,” here. (To learn about the 2020 Clio Cloud Conference, visit www.cliocloudconference.com.)

Nicole Abboud-Shayan is a Business Development Associate at Wordrake, a national speaker, and award-winning content creator who is guiding a new generation of leaders in the legal field.

As a WordRake team member, Nicole helps demonstrate the value of clear and concise writing in helping lawyers and other professionals communicate effectively. Through her insightful blog posts, podcasts, and resources, she’s here to show lawyers and law firm owners that effective leadership—the kind that works in today’s world—is agile, minimalistic, and social.

Nicole’s advice has been featured on numerous legal podcasts as well as online legal publications and web portals like the ABA Journal, GP Solo, Attorney at Work, Ms. JD, and Forbes. Nicole has spoken at leading industry conferences like the Clio Cloud Conference, Avvo’s Lawyernomics, and various bar association conferences.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleabboud

As the founder of both a successful, 40-lawyer law firm and a thriving digital marketing business, Seth Price has helped his own firm and many others grow effectively thanks to strong marketing techniques. In this episode, Seth and Jack Newton engage in a thorough discussion of law firm marketing practices, including valuable advice for digital marketing and SEO in the legal context.

Specific discussion points include:

• How COVID-19 has affected law firms—and law firm marketing
• The importance of digital marketing, specifically related to client intake
• Helping lawyers understand the value and key components of digital marketing and SEO practices
• Advice for firms to consider when planning marketing strategies

To learn more about Seth’s law firm or marketing business, visit Price Benowitz LLP at https://pricebenowitz.com, and BluShark Digital LLC at https://blusharkdigital.com

Bio
Seth Price is a founding partner of Price Benowitz LLP and the firm's business backbone. Seth is committed to a firm that provides excellent representation and exceptional customer service, a business formula that has seen Price Benowitz grow from two attorneys to more than forty. A transformational leader, Seth is often asked to speak on law firm development and legal marketing strategy.

Seth is an accomplished attorney in the DC area, with a focus on personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and workers’ compensation law. He has received countless awards and accolades for his dedication and ability to stand out as an exemplar for his peers.

Seth is also the Founder of BluShark Digital LLC, which helps businesses use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and other marketing techniques to stand out online.

You can follow Price Benowitz LLP on Twitter at @PriceBenowitz

Among the many ways in which COVID-19 has affected the legal profession, the pandemic’s impact on graduating law school students has been particularly severe. In terms of the bar exam, COVID-19 has brought the need for immediate changes to a test that already has come under fire as a potentially outdated measure of students’ aptitude for legal practice.

In today’s episode, Donna Saadati-Soto and Efrain Hudnell join the podcast. As co-founders of United for Diploma Privilege, Donna and Efrain are advocating for a more thorough understanding of the bar exam’s purpose and efficacy in the modern legal world, and alternative pathways to legal practice—including diploma privilege.

During their discussion with Jack Newton, Donna and Efrain talk about:

• What diploma privilege is, and the work that United for Diploma Privilege does
• Why the bar exam is both loved and hated within the legal community
• How the COVID-19 pandemic has caused different challenges for the Class of 2020, especially regarding the bar exam
• Why the bar exam’s racial disparities are alarming—and problematic
• How the legal industry can create more equitable pathways to legal practice in the future

To learn more about United for Diploma Privilege or to get involved, visit www.unitedfordiplomaprivilege.org  

Donna Saadati-Soto is a recent graduate of Harvard Law School. During her time at Harvard, she served as a student attorney with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, heading the immigration practice group.  As a member of the Bureau, she represented an appellant before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in an international child custody dispute. Donna also served as the Executive Editor of the Harvard Latinx Law Review. She is immensely interested in the intersection of immigration, family, and criminal law, viewed through a racial justice lens. Donna holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Stanford University.

Efrain is a 2020 graduate from Seattle University School of Law in Seattle Washington. Originally from “the other Washington” (Washington DC), Efrain graduated from New Mexico State University with his bachelor’s degree in Political Science. After graduation Efrain commissioned as an active Army Officer initially in the Infantry but later in the Military Intelligence field where he served until his discharge to attend law school. While in Law School Efrain sought out multiple opportunities in the public sector such as the Washington Attorney General’s Office, Washington State Senate, and Seattle City Attorney’s Office. Thanks to diploma privilege, Efrain is now a sworn attorney, but is lending his efforts primarily to the United for Diploma Privilege Movement until the fall where he anticipates beginning his legal career as a prosecutor.