Great Practice. Great Life. by Atticus

Many people don't want to hear that you can't have it all: a thriving law practice, a great family life, time with friends, and more. The truth is that you'll have to sacrifice in one area of your life to give more to another area. Life has seasons, and it's up to you to decide which sector deserves more attention in those seasons.

It's no secret that learning to balance a family with a successful law practice requires boundaries. But when you're working with your mom and your husband as your law partners, is that even possible?

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Cary Moss, Managing Partner at Sawyer & Sawyer in Orlando, Florida, talks to Steve about the shifts she made in her practice to make time for her family. Desperate for a change in the rat race she was running, Cary attended an Atticus workshop, which led her to change her hiring practices and invest in her team members' growth opportunities.

Cary didn't always have the balance in her life she enjoys today, but when it came to raising her young boys, she devoted her Fridays to them instead of her work. She recognized that putting her personal priorities on her calendar ahead of professional obligations meant she could put family first. Hear Cary's three strategies for creating more time with your family, how her hiring methods have changed since she began her law career, and the challenges she faced as she went into partnership with her mom and her husband.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What led Cary to law school, how she ended up as a law partner to her mom, and why her husband joined the firm as well
• The challenges Cary, her mom, and her husband faced as they learned to run the practice together with Cary as the managing partner
• The boundaries she set surrounding time with her kids and her advice for someone who's trying to build a successful practice and balance it with parenting
• What her turning point was, and how it changed her perspective on work
• Three strategies she'd give to others to create more time with their families
• Why she recently brought two team members with her to an Atticus workshop and wants to nurture their growth
• What she looks for in new team members today and how her hiring process has changed
• How putting what's important to you on your calendar first shifts your priorities
• Cary's advice to her younger self and how she'd encourage someone else to take the first step

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Cary Moss: Adjunct Practice Advisor & Attorney - https://atticusadvantage.com/team/cary-moss/

Dominate Your Market - https://atticusadvantage.com/coaching/

Sawyer & Sawyer Professional Association - https://sawyerandsawyerpa.com/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Team leaders and operations directors can be invaluable to law firms, and they can take your practice from zero to hero. With the proper tools and training, they can reduce the tasks on an attorney's plate and keep the office running smoothly. When a lawyer develops a good working relationship with their team lead, they can trust that the work is still getting done while they're occupied with other tasks in the firm or out of the office.

Becoming a team leader or director of operations for a law firm isn't always a linear path. Instead, a current employee often steps up and shows passion for the work that leads an attorney to recognize their potential. Discovering who it is in your practice could completely transform how you do business.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Steve interviews Marie Tricarico, Director of Operations for Safe Harbor Wills and Trusts in New York. After suffering a personal tragedy and a death in her family, Marie discovered a longing to help others work through the grieving and bereavement process. After working for a funeral home for a while, she was offered an opportunity to work for a law firm, where she remains today and oversees several team members in the practice.

Marie loves her job, and her passion is evident. She shares her challenges as a team leader, how she chooses new hires for the firm, and why you need an authentic team lead in your practice.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Marie's background as a software engineer and how a brush with death along with a death in her family inspired her to help families prepare for death and bereavement
• The story behind why her law firm hired her and how that eventually evolved into a Director of Operations role
• Why it's so challenging to be the team leader in a law firm, and the reason she won't hire someone who isn't willing to maintain the firm's reputation and keep it on an upward trajectory
• The hardest part of finding and managing people
• Why a team leader should come along with you on the firm's growth journey
• The three criteria to look for in an up-and-coming team leader
• What Marie would tell her younger self and her advice for someone who wants to become a Director of Operations in a law firm
• Her excitement for the future and what that may look like

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Law Firm Team Leader Certification atticusadvantage.com/law-firm-team-leader-certification/

Safe Harbor Wills & Trusts - https://safeharborwillsandtrusts.com/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Finding a niche for your law practice can be lucrative for your firm. But law schools don't focus on many topics that could transform into these specialized law subjects. Instead, it may be up to you to self-educate on what you find yourself drawn to.

How do you decide on a niche? The first place to start is figuring out where your interests lie. Did you want to be a doctor in high school but couldn't make the grades? Maybe medical malpractice is an area of study for you. If the Constitution and history are compelling, possibly specializing in the Second Amendment is where you'll land.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Steve talks to John Tucker, Managing Partner at Tucker Disability Law, located in St. Petersburg, Florida. John wanted to become a doctor early in life, but a couple of high school classes deterred him. Some teachers encouraged him to consider law school, and he pursued that avenue, and became an attorney. Six months into his brand-new career, someone referred a disability insurance case to him, and the rest was history.

With a newfound interest in disability and no prior exposure to it in law school, John spent a lot of time self-educating himself. Today, his successful practice allows him to pursue a love of travel, coach others on finding their law niche, and continue to develop his team members.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How John chose his law niche, where his practice is located, and what they do
• What disability insurance is, and why someone might require a lawyer to help them navigate obtaining their benefits
• Why the lack of classes and continuing education courses caused John to self-educate on disability law
• His advice to someone looking to niche their practice
• Where most of his referrals come from and how he developed relationships with injury attorneys
• The reason outsourcing was important to John's practice and why going global was a key element in its growth
• The one action that caused him to think about how he manages his team and modify it
• John's "happiness scale" and the feedback he receives from employees about it
• The benefits of working with a practice advisor and why he values accountability
• Why he still utilizes group programs, the value he gets from them, and the importance of a growth mindset
• The importance of grace and compassion in John's practice
• What led him to start taking time off, his hobbies, and his greatest vacation
• The encouragement he'd give to a lawyer who wants to create a greater practice and life

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

John Tucker: Adjunct Practice Advisor and Attorney - https://atticusadvantage.com/team/john-tucker/

One-On-One-Coaching - https://atticusadvantage.com/coaching/

Tucker Disability Law - https://tuckerdisability.com/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

As I'm sure you are well aware, we are in a tough economic spot here in America. Many of my colleagues are feeling the pressure from the current economy. You might be feeling it too.

Because of this, I wanted to take a few episodes of the podcast to talk about and help you think about your practice in the context of protecting profitability and income.

In this episode, I'm going to tell the story of an attorney named Reggie today. Reggie was a bright young lawyer, idealistic and passionate about the law and about bringing justice to the poor. His story provides an amazing example of prioritizing efficiency, overcoming pushback, and implementing specific strategies to make more money as a lawyer.

Tune in and we'll dive right into Reggie's story. I'll also give you nine amazing takeaways that you can apply to your law firm to continue building a great practice and great life.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Reggie improved the management of the first firm he worked for and the results of his efforts after just two years.
• Three key strategies he put in place with the help of a coach.
• How he carried those strategies onto the next firm he worked at.
• Why Reggie encouraged his partners to time track.
• How the billable hour model developed.
• Nine takeaways from Reggie's story.

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

My Great Life Focus - https://atticusadvantage.com/books/my-great-life-focus/

Slice of History: Reginald Heber Smith and the Birth of the Billable Hour | WilmerHale - https://www.wilmerhale.com/insights/publications/slice-of-history-reginald-heber-smith-and-the-birth-of-the-billable-hour-august-9-2010

Reginald Heber Smith and Justice and the Poor in the 21st Century | John M.A. DiPippa - https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/232785514.pdf

Justice and the Poor - https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Poor-Present-Agencies-Position/dp/116490440X

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Non-lawyers who conduct initial meetings with prospective clients can be a secret weapon for law firms. They save the attorneys time, money, and hassle. And they don't give out legal advice for free.

Empowering team members to take over initial meetings with prospects is something many lawyers need help embracing. However, transitioning a trusted team member into someone who can take initial meetings off your plate can be a game-changer for a busy firm. With training and knowledge, they can determine whether or not new prospects will be a good fit as a client, what their needs are, and offer an in-depth consultation without providing free legal advice.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Elizabeth Clark, Client Services Director of The Legacy Elder Law Center in Leesburg, Virginia, joins Steve to discuss her success with the firm and how she accidentally entered the role. She enjoys a great deal of trust from the attorney, who has her conduct 95% of the initial consultations.

Elizabeth shares some of the processes she uses to meet with and vet clients. She also explains how some clients become more personal and why the people working in the firm have so much empathy and sympathy for their clients. She's excited to explain why she loves her role, how she developed the skill it takes, and why her attorney places so much trust in her.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What the Legacy Elder Law Center is, how it helps its clients, and Elizabeth Clark's role there
• How she accidentally landed at the Legacy Elder Law Center as an assistant and eventually moved into conducting initial client meetings
• The process inside of the initial consultation and how Elizabeth's firm determines if the potential client is a good fit
• How Elizabeth having the discretion to adjust the process and the service offered provides a distinct advantage to her firm
• Why her personal journey plays a role in how she speaks with clients and how they impact her
• Why she is so careful with the authority the firm has given her
• How having firm price points and not hiding them helps remind the client that they're in charge
• Elizabeth's advice to law firms who want to go through the process of empowering non-lawyer team members to qualify prospects and onboard clients
• Why she likes her role as Client Services Director

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Build My Great Team - https://buildmygreatteam.com/

https://atticusadvantage.com/what-we-do/our-great-life-couples

https://legacyelderlaw.com/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Having a trustworthy team around you and your business is invaluable. If you've grown your practice, you probably have an office manager on staff who handles putting out the fires around your firm. But a great office manager may also be someone you can transform into a team leader.

A team leader is a proactive member of your team who can be a part of solving problems rather than putting out fires in a reactive way. Instead of managing tasks, they lead people, which is often more rewarding than managing a task list.

In this episode, Steve speaks with guest Patti Paz about becoming a great team leader in a law firm. Patti began her career as a receptionist in a law firm, eventually transitioned from legal assistant to office manager, and finally became a talented team lead. She is a speaker, created the Team Leader Certification Program for Atticus, is an adjunct practice advisor, and will teach a workshop alongside Steve soon.

Patti shares some secrets to creating a great team leader and why you want someone like her in your practice. You'll also hear how having a team lead in your firm can be a life upgrade when it comes to running your own practice.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Patti Paz"s background as a legal assistant, her transition into an office manager, then paralegal, and what she's doing today as a team leader
• Why team leaders and office managers integrate the cultural habits and processes inside a law firm
• What span of management is and how it can cap growth inside a firm
• What makes a team leader different from an office manager
• Why the attorney needs to empower the team lead and have a united front
• How culture is developed inside of a firm according to the core values and mission statement
• The reason you need to be uncomfortable to grow
• A fixed mindset versus a growth mindset
• Why you should empower your team lead to enforce a minimum price rule in your firm and manage your calendar
• Why the attorney needs to be willing to move things off of the paralegal's desk to become the team lead
• How to accelerate the growth of a team lead
• Why you have to invest money and time to get the change you want
• The biggest payoff attorneys will see by investing in developing a team leader

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

• Patti Paz: Practice Advisor & Attorney
• DISC Assessment
• Build My Great Team: Law Firm Staffing with Atticus
• Law Firm Team Leader Certifications
• Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Dealing with high-conflict individuals is part and parcel of the legal world. Having the skills to deal with them effectively without escalating the conflict can be invaluable.

Practice is the best way to get experience managing conversations with high-conflict people. But how do you get that practice when your brain's response moves into fight or flight? Getting the proper training is where it all begins.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Megan Hunter, co-founder of the High Conflict Institute, returns to her conversation with Steve on dealing with high-conflict people in your life. As a conflict expert, she coaches and speaks about de-escalating conflict.

You'll hear Megan's three strategies to handle conflict, her personal experience with a high-conflict attorney, and some acronyms to remember to help you stay on track in an emotional moment. She also explains why setting limits with high-conflict individuals is crucial to managing disagreements.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why dealing with high-conflict people requires having a lot of structure, policies, and clear expectations
• Megan Hunter's personal experience with a high-conflict person and how she dealt with it
• How to use an EAR statement (Empathy, Attention, and Respect) in a moment of conflict
• Why the interaction with a high-conflict person has to be about them at that moment
• What to understand about high-conflict individuals to have more empathy for them
• What a BIFF (brief, informative, friendly, and firm) statement is and how to use it when dealing with high-conflict people in writing
• The importance of setting limits with high-conflict individuals

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

017: It's All Your Fault with Megan Hunter - Part 1 https://atticusadvantage.com/podcast/its-all-your-fault-with-megan-hunter-part-1/

​​https://www.highconflictinstitute.com/

https://www.highconflictinstitute.com/podcast

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

We've all met them, and most of us have worked with one of them. It's not uncommon to quit a job because of them. Who are these people who are so difficult to work with that we'd rather quit a job we otherwise like than deal with them?

They're high-conflict people, and they can be impossible to please. They tend to point the finger at others for their problems, and those who have to deal with them regularly are often left exhausted by the mental gymnastics they perform to try to keep this person happy.

Megan Hunter is an expert in dealing with conflict. She is the co-founder of the High Conflict Institute and a coach and speaker who teaches people how to deal with conflict. Megan and her co-founder Bill Eddy teamed up to provide training in the legal arena on conflict, which has expanded to other professions.

This episode is part one of Megan's interview with Steve, and you'll hear her outline the four traits of a high-conflict person and why they aren't always "yellers." She also explains why people aren't leaving firms because of their jobs. Instead, they're often leaving due to these high-conflict individuals.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Megan Hunter became a coach and advisor on managing conflict and the co-founder of the High Conflict Institute
• How she approaches training people to deal with conflict if they're in a relationship, like partners at a law firm
• Four characteristics to identify what a high-conflict person looks and sounds like
• Why high-conflict individuals don't always yell
• What creates a high-conflict individual, and why someone else is always to blame for the problem
• Why high-conflict individuals may not feel the same exhaustion that those around them feel
• People leave firms because of high-conflict people but don't relay that to anyone when they leave

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

017: It's All Your Fault with Megan Hunter - Part 2 https://atticusadvantage.com/podcast/its-all-your-fault-with-megan-hunter-part-2/

https://www.highconflictinstitute.com/

https://www.highconflictinstitute.com/podcast

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

When attorneys embark on their legal careers, they typically struggle to identify a specific area of expertise where they can excel. Instead, they accept any available work that comes their way, even if it means settling for more minor cases because they have financial obligations such as bills and student loans to pay. Consequently, they end up fighting for scraps.

But what if you could discover the winning strategy to transform into a big fish in a small pond? By becoming the go-to person in your niche, your name will be the one that comes to mind first. Particularly in a small community, you can achieve a significant impact with strategic planning and be the prominent figure.

This episode is part two of Steve's discussion with attorney Ronnie Morton. Ronnie's practice, specializing in elder law, is based in the small town of Clinton, Mississippi. Although many lawyers assert that carving out a niche in a small market like his is impossible, Ronnie managed to dominate the market for elder law in his town and is now considered the authority in Clinton. However, this wasn't always the case. He had to undergo a process of experimentation and learn from his mistakes to uncover the winning formula.

Initially, Ronnie set his sights on a career as a plaintiff's attorney, where he would handle high-value cases. However, despite his efforts, he didn't experience the desired outcomes. He switched gears, transitioned to a role as a general counsel, and by age 35, he realized that he needed to make a more significant change. Then, Ronnie began acquiring knowledge about utilizing technology to expand his business.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why he created the Automated Attorney, what his automation process looks like, and how he uses it to follow up with potential leads
• How using high touch causes Ronnie's clients to refer him to others by improving their experience and educating them
• The other steps he took to become the dominant market player in his rural community
• The new product Ronnie is launching that will be turnkey for attorneys
• Why you have to change your processes because what works evolves over time
• What trifecta referrals are and how Ronnie attracts them
• His shock-and-awe box for potential clients and why it's such a great marketing device
• Why Ronnie's favorite type of marketing is SEO and why you should have more than one marketing tactic to remain relevant
• His favorite part of owning his practice
• The advice he would give to his younger self

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Part 1: https://atticusadvantage.com/podcast/becoming-the-big-fish-how-ronnie-morton-cornered-the-elder-law-market-part-1/

Morton Elder Law

Ronnie Morton

Law Firm Coaching Programs

The Automated Attorney

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

When most attorneys begin their law careers, they fail to find a specialty where they can thrive. Instead, they take on any work thrown their way, which sometimes equates to scraps, because they have bills and student loans to pay. The thought process is some income is better than no income. They're small fish in a big pond.

What if you could find the formula to become the big fish in a small pond? When someone thinks of your niche, you would be the first name to come to mind. And especially in a small town, you can be the big fish with some strategic planning.

In this episode of the podcast, Steve welcomes guest Ronnie Morton to the show. Ronnie's practice, specializing in elder law, is based in the small town of Clinton, Mississippi. While many lawyers claim that it isn't possible to create a niche in a market like his, Ronnie cornered the market on elder law in his town and is the go-to resource in Clinton. That wasn't always the case, though; it took some trial and error to figure out the secret formula.

Before landing on elder law, Ronnie was looking forward to becoming a plaintiff's lawyer, trying multimillion-dollar cases but not seeing the fruits of his labor. He switched directions, became a general counsel, and by age 35, he knew things had to change. That's when Ronnie began learning how to leverage technology to grow his business.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Ronnie Morton became an attorney and when he decided that his business model wasn't working for him
• How he discovered his law niche of estate planning, what he did to position himself as an expert in that field, and how he self-educated
• Why you'll have to pivot when laws change
• What Ronnie's strategy was for shifting his practice into a niche and how he began to market it using boot camps
• Why his marketing strategy can work for every lawyer--even if they believe it won't
• The types of advertising he's used over the years, what works best for him, and why Facebook hasn't been a good source of revenue
• What he's done to refine his SEO strategy to bring in leads

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

• Morton Elder Law
• Ronnie Morton
• Law Firm Coaching Programs
• The Automated Attorney

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.