Lawyers Gone Ethical

We're all trying to do too much. From having too many commitments, to too many activities, and too many work projects - we're all doing way too much. As a result, we don't do anything half as well as we could. It's time to reduce and let go of certain tasks. But how do we make that decision? What needs to go? That's what I answer in this episode.

I'm currently reading a wonderful book called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown and it got me thinking about lawyers and how they operate their law practices. Specifically, how lawyers (especially sole practitioners) fill their plates a bit too much. There are many lessons that lawyers can take away from this book to begin eliminating the unnecessary "things" from their lives and focusing on what truly matters.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• When you try to do all the things, you end up doing them poorly
• Begin by evaluating your practice area(s). How many are you covering? Are you spreading yourself thin when it comes to the areas of law that you practice
• Try focusing on a practice area that 1) is niched down and 2) makes up the majority of your client work
• Why the fear of missing out on work by niching down is an unsupported fear
• From an administrative and law practice management perspective, being a solo makes it difficult to juggle all of the tasks you must get through. All the more reason to either hire help or reduce the amount of tasks
• What ethical concerns exist when you're trying to make every aspect of your business and law practice run on your own
• How essentialism can help with lawyer burn out by forcing you to ask, "How does this all fit together?"

Resources Mentioned:

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Jess Birken Episode 14

Erin Gerstenzang Episode 18

Jeena Cho Episode 6

Melissa Hall Episode 8

Jared Correia Episode 12

My Twitter: @zaviehlaw – How do you see the essentialism ideas applying to your life and law practice

Thank you for listening!

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, and Tunein and be sure to share this podcast with a friend.

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Email me at megan[at]zaviehlaw[dot]com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matters, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

Completing your CLE's might not be the most exciting part of practicing law but it is mandatory.

If you don't take them seriously and complete them, then you can find yourself in a lot of trouble with your State Bar if audited for compliance. Use the tips I provide in this episode to help complete your CLE requirements with more ease.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Why you don't have to resort to using random, last minute cd's to complete your credits
• How to find free or cheap events offering CLE's throughout the year
• Check with your malpractice insurance carrier – they often offer CLE events
• Find conferences that resonate with you. That helps with completing your requirements and with meeting new people
• If you're more of a street lawyer, where you can find local gatherings and events where CLE might be provided
• Great ways to keep track of your completed credits in case of an audit by the State bar

Resources Mentioned:

Avvo's Lawyernomics

Clio Cloud conference

ABA Techshow

CLA Summit

CEB Basics Conference

Thank you for listening!

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, and Tunein and be sure to share this podcast with a friend.

Be sure to connect with me and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

LinkedIn

Website

Email me at megan[at]zaviehlaw[dot]com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matters, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

For many solo practitioners, they believe they need to be the CEO's and the experts of their law practices. After all, more often than not, it's just them running the show. But is that necessarily the best way to grow your business? My guest today is Mike Whelan, operator of the Lawyer Forward conference, soon-to-be author, and legal consultant. Mike believes lawyers need to choose one or the other and he supports his claims in this fascinating conversation.

What We Discuss in This Episode:

• Why Clio's Legal Trends Report, which reported the dismal amount of hours lawyers were billing, is not as worrisome as it might seem
• Lawyers' inability to choose between being the CEO of the firm or the expert is creating great impact on the profession
• Can a solo practitioner be both the CEO and the expert?
• Access and expertise are not compatible and yet clients expect both from solo practitioners
• Why human brains are trying hard to shorten the pathways and create routines
• Studies show that doctors tend to get worse at tasks with age. Can that be analogized to lawyers?
• Can you find ways to provide value, solutions, and innovation for your law firm without being the practitioner and administrator?
• Are experienced practitioners not using their brains the way they should be used to maximize potential?
• It's important to eliminate unimportant work by following the 80/20 rule
• There's greater demand for legal experts than there is for lawyers

Resources:

Dina Eisenberg – Outsource Easier

Peak by Anders Ericsson

The Power of Habit by Carl Duhigg

Patrick Palace – workers compensation in Washington

The Business of Expertise by David Baker

Sam Glover – The Lawyerist

Contact Information:

www.lawyerforward.com/bookupdates - follow along Mike's journey as he writes his book

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikewhelanjr

Facebook: Lawyer Forward group

Thank you for listening!

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, and Google Play, and be sure to share this podcast with a friend.

Be sure to connect with me and reach out with any questions/concerns:

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Email me at megan[at]zaviehlaw[dot]com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matters, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

Content marketing presents a great opportunity for lawyers who wish to increase their visibility online and grow their practices. Through blogging and video creation, lawyers can begin to establish genuine relationships with potential clients online. But, of course, there's always that fear of crossing ethical rules. That's what my guest and I discuss in this episode.

I'm joined by Nick Rishwain, Vice President of Client Relations and Business Development for Experts.com, an online marketing platform for expert witnesses and consultants, and we're tackling the topic of creating compelling content ethically.

What We Discuss in This Episode:

• Lawyers have to create content – it's no longer merely a "consideration," it has to be done
• Your customers/clients are not reading law journals or academic journals so make sure you're creating content on platforms where your audience and clients are
• Common objections that lawyers have when it comes to creating content
• Why it's not necessarily the best strategy to load your blog posts with law firm-specific SEO keywords if you actually want them to be readable
• What is newsjacking and how can you use it to generate ideas for content you can create?
• When creating content about current events, you want to make sure you don't appear to be ambulance-chasing
• Is there room for more educational-type of content as opposed to more marketing-driven type of content
• What type of Call-To-Action can go along with your content?
• Why you shouldn't worry about "giving away all of your secrets" when you're creating content
• How you can be using videos to reach out to potential clients
• Why any type of videos, including Facebook Live and Instagram Stories, are helpful in familiarizing potential clients with you
• For how long should you retain copies of your communications?

Resources Mentioned:

Mitch Jackson – Southern California personal injury lawyer

Morris Lilienthal – Tips from Mo show

Jim Hacking – Hacking Law Practice

Allyson Kacmarski – Instagram videos

Nicole Abboud – 3 Tips for Creating Effective, Ethical Videos

Contact Information:

www.experts.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/expertsdotcomvp

www.experts-blog.com

Thank you for listening!

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, and Google Play, and be sure to share this podcast with a friend.

Be sure to connect with me and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

LinkedIn

Website

Email me at megan[at]zaviehlaw[dot]com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matters, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

Whether you're a new lawyer or you've been practicing for many years, this is a great episode that will serve as advice (or as a reminder) for how to make the most of being a lawyer and be the best you can be.

The Top Ten Things Every New Lawyer Needs to Know:

1. Have a realistic perspective of your importance. That includes neither underestimating nor overestimating how much you matter.
2. Don't bend your principles. You graduated from law school with a backbone so be sure to stand up for what you believe in, even if it's against your much more experienced employer.
3. Never stop learning. You're going to learn something new everyday in your law career and the sources from which you learning are varied.
4. You know more than you think you know. In the legal community, your voice needs to be heard so be sure to share what you know.
5. Get used to being wrong. Let go of the idea of being perfect and learn to accept the fact that you are going to be wrong at some point. Take it like a champ and learn from it.
6. Don't be afraid to ask for help. You'll be surprised how helpful other lawyers are and how willing they are to offer some advice
7. Start to establish a "real" network. By "real" I mean on a genuine level; don't just be a LinkedIn connection. Introduce yourself to actual people, online or in person. Have personal conversations.
8. Appreciate the extensive scope of what it means to be a lawyer. Your degree is super flexible and you can create any type of life and career you want with your degree.
9. Look for tools to help when you feel like you need the help. A tool can be any resource (a person, technology, etc.) that helps you run your practice more smoothly.
10. Take care of yourself. This is self-explanatory but many lawyers (experienced and new) need to hear this.

What advice do you have for brand new lawyers? Tweet me @zaviehlaw or email me at megan[at]zaviehlaw[dot]com with your advice.

Thank you for listening!

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player every Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, and Google Play, and be sure to share this podcast with a friend.

Be sure to connect with me and reach out with any questions/concerns:

Facebook

LinkedIn

Website

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matters, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.