Leadership In Law: Growth & Leadership for Law Firm Owners

Divorce is already painful. Turning it into a courtroom fight often makes it worse and it can hand your family’s future to a judge who doesn’t know your kids, your finances, or what you actually need to move on. That’s why I sat down with Manisha P. Patel, a collaborative family law attorney, certified mediator, and founder of a boutique family law firm in Greensboro, North Carolina, to talk about a different path: collaborative divorce and mediation designed to reduce conflict and protect what matters most.

We get practical about how collaborative family law works, including the collaborative pledge to stay out of court, the expectation of full disclosure, and the way a true “team” approach changes the tone from positional arguing to interest-based problem solving. Manisha also shares how collaborative teams use tools like nonviolent communication, careful reframing, and private caucuses to manage high-emotion moments and keep negotiations productive. We also draw a clear line on safety, including why collaborative law may not be appropriate when domestic violence, coercive control, or manipulation are present.

Then we zoom out to leadership. Manisha opens up about struggling with test anxiety and passing the bar exam on her third try, and how that experience fuels her mentoring and bar association work. If you’re a lawyer or law student looking for a real way into professional leadership, you’ll hear simple, actionable advice on showing up, starting conversations, and letting consistent work build trust over time. We also talk about her upcoming book, End Your Marriage Peacefully, and why educating yourself is the first step if you’re facing separation or divorce. 

Reach Manisha here:
https://www.lawofficeofmpp.com
https://www.instagram.com/lompp18/
https://www.facebook.com/lawofficeofmpp
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishappatel
https://www.linkedin.com/company/law-office-of-manisha-p-patel-pllc

Season 4 Episode 155

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

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#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

You can love the law and still miss yourself. That tension is where my conversation with public defender and author-illustrator Andrea Diaz begins, and it quickly turns into a practical guide for any attorney trying to protect their energy, creativity, and mental health while the work keeps coming. Andrea shares how she drifted away from the artsy part of her identity during the long push of training, commuting, and early-career pressure, then found her way back when a small window of time finally appeared. 

We dig into the surprisingly powerful habit that makes everything feel possible again: starting with five minutes. Andrea explains why “five minutes” is a gentle trick that gets you past resistance, how a tiny creative break can replace doom-scrolling, and why that reset often makes you more effective when you return to client work. We also talk candidly about lawyer burnout, especially in public service, and the guilt that shows up when you care deeply about clients or you’re balancing motherhood and career. Her reframe is clear: if you don’t take care of yourself, you eventually become unable to help anyone. 

Then we go behind the scenes of Jury Trial ABC, the children’s book she wrote and illustrated to fill a gap in kid-friendly legal education. Andrea walks through self-publishing, learning new software, building a product line, and the moment every creator fears: ordering 2,000 copies with a missing line of text. Her sticker-sheet solution is a masterclass in resilience and trust, and it highlights a theme I hear from strong leaders again and again: you don’t need perfection, you need follow-through. 

We close with what’s next, including Andrea’s upcoming children’s book about grief, inspired by helping her son understand loss in a non-religious and comforting way, plus where to connect and purchase her work. 

Reach Andrea here:
https://www.afternoon-recess.com/
@afternoon_recess on Instagram and TikTok

Season 4 Episode 154

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

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#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

Rainmaking doesn’t fail in law firms because lawyers are lazy or “not salespeople.” It fails because most firms treat business development like an event instead of a system. We talk with David Freeman, a National Law Journal Hall of Fame coach and bestselling author, about how to turn client development into an everyday habit that survives the pressure of billable hours and the chaos of real life.

David shares why the future of law firm growth depends on relationship skills that AI can’t replace: building trust, staying visible, and nurturing networks over time. We dig into what’s broken with the classic retreat model, how cross-messaging kills momentum, and why tracking the right behaviors matters more than waiting for annual numbers. You’ll hear how cohort-based learning creates accountability and even strengthens internal trust, which unlocks cross-selling and a true culture of business development.

We also get practical about execution: carving out protected calendar time, using “watchers” and buddy systems, habit stacking, and creating simple outreach that keeps you top of mind with high-value contacts. David explains how automation and segmentation can help when the message is genuinely useful, plus smart tactics like leveraging associations to get in front of the right audience quickly. If you want a bigger book of business without relying on motivation, this gives you a clear framework to build the machine behind the results. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a better BD system, and leave a review so more law firm owners can find the show.

Reach David here:
https://www.lawyerbookbuilder.com
https://www.bdbuddy.ai
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfreemanconsulting

Season 4 Episode 153

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

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#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

A lot of lawyers are trained to grind through discomfort and call it professionalism, until the body taps out or the mind does. We sit down with Stanley Bronstein, an attorney, CPA, life coach, and author who rebuilt his health after reaching 367 pounds, ultimately losing more than 220 pounds and keeping it off for nearly 17 years without drugs or surgery. His story is raw, practical, and surprisingly relevant to anyone running a law firm under constant pressure.

We dig into the real mechanics of sustainable change: quitting alcohol and soda, choosing walking because it is repeatable, and treating nutrition as more than calories. Stanley expands “diet” into all your inputs, including the thoughts you feed yourself every day, and he explains how environment design can make good choices easier at home and at the office. If you care about lawyer wellness, attorney burnout prevention, and high performance habits that fit real schedules, you’ll hear concrete strategies you can apply immediately.

Then we go deeper on mindset and leadership. Stanley makes a sharp distinction between perfection and excellence, and he shares the question that cuts through excuses fast: “Are you willing?” He also walks us through The Way of Excellence, his free personal development system built for long-term thinkers who want to improve without waiting for a crisis.

Reach Stanley: 
https://thewayofexcellence.com/
http://millionpoundweightloss.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@millionpoundweightloss
https://www.youtube.com/@thewayofexcellence

Season 4 Episode 152

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

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#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

Your online reputation is either closing cases for you right now, or quietly sending clients to your competition.

Most attorneys don't know which one it is. This webinar changes that.

Marilyn Jenkins, Founder & CEO of Law Marketing Zone® and host of the top 2.5% globally ranked Leadership In Law™ podcast, is walking law firm owners, partners, and solo attorneys through exactly how to take control of their digital reputation in 2026.

This is not a theory session. This is a 25-minute, no-fluff masterclass built for busy attorneys who want results.

Here is what you will walk away with:

✅ Why 96% of legal consumers start on Google, and what they find when they search your name

✅ The 5-step framework for generating consistent 5-star reviews without chasing clients

✅ How to use email, SMS, and physical channels together to multiply your review count

✅ The exact formula for responding to negative reviews (without making things worse)

✅ Why reviews are a team sport, and how to build a review culture in your firm

✅ How to find out if your firm is showing up in AI tools like ChatGPT when people search for attorneys

Plus, stay until the end for two free gifts:

→ The Reputation Control Checklist (4-step guide)

→ A free Reputation & AI Visibility Audit specific to your market

Whether you are running a solo practice or a multi-attorney firm, your reputation is your most powerful marketing asset. This webinar shows you how to use it.

Don't have time to implement this yourself? That's exactly why we exist. Law Marketing Zone® handles your entire online reputation, review generation, profile management, response strategy, and more, completely done for you. Book a free 15-minute strategy call at LawMarketingZone.com/BookACall and we'll show you what's possible for your firm.

Watch it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMdoHAgu2kk

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

A lawsuit can swallow years of your life, millions in reserves, and months of leadership attention, and still end with an outcome no one really likes. That’s why we sat down with Felicia Harris Hoss, a full-time independent commercial mediator and arbitrator and former trial partner, to talk about early dispute resolution and what changes when you stop treating mediation like a last-minute “settlement conference” and start using it as a structured process.

We dig into why so many cases still default to late-stage mediation, even as court backlogs push trial timelines from 18 to 24 months into the 3 to 5 year range. Felicia explains how her courtroom experience shapes her approach as a neutral, blending facilitative and evaluative techniques, asking the questions a mock juror might ask, and helping lawyers practice “quiet confidence” instead of reactive lawyering. We also talk about confidentiality in mediation and how a neutral can reduce the emotional friction and reactive devaluation that keep good ideas from landing.

Then we break down ABA Resolution 500 and why it’s a big moment for alternative dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration. Felicia walks through the emerging EDR guidelines, including targeted information exchange, focused discovery planning, and decision-tree risk analysis that lets clients evaluate best case, worst case, and likely outcomes sooner. We also explore the business side: reputation, referrals, and creative fee structures that reward smart early resolution.

Reach Felicia here:
https://www.harrishosspllc.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-harris-hoss-52712a11/
https://www.facebook.com/HarrisHossPLLC
https://www.youtube.com/@harrishossmediationsarbitr5357

Season 4 Episode 151

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

Most law firms are built on a financial assumption that’s about to get stress-tested: charge premium rates, stack teams, and bill junior time for work that clients increasingly question. We sit down with Kevin Broyles, co-founder and managing partner of FisherBroyles, to unpack a different blueprint, one that’s been running for more than two decades and still looks ahead of the curve: the distributed law firm model.

Kevin shares the origin story behind launching a firm during the post-9/11 tech collapse, then walks through what “distributed” really means in practice. The firm keeps a strong technology backbone but drops the heaviest overhead drivers: big offices, bloated staffing, and a leverage model that pushes associate hours onto client invoices. Instead, the focus is on seasoned attorneys, transparent formula-based compensation, and a culture built around autonomy, entrepreneurship, and trust. We also talk about the real human cost of traditional systems, from “Sunday stomach” to burnout, and why treating lawyers like responsible adults can actually improve performance and client service.

Then we get into the next wave: AI in legal services. Kevin explains why AI may hit associate-driven billing the hardest, how clients will respond, and why lawyers must treat AI like a powerful tool that still requires supervision and judgment. If you care about law firm leadership, alternative legal services, remote legal work, and building a modern legal business model that clients actually value, this conversation delivers practical clarity.

Reach Kevin here:
https://fisherbroyles.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fisherbroyles-llp/posts/?feedView=all
https://www.facebook.com/fisherbroyles/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-broyles-a1b1a63/

Season 3 Episode 150

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

Most law firms don’t stall because they lack talent, they stall because they hesitate. Colleen Joyce, founder of Lawyer.com and the Lawyer Growth Summit, shares how she grew a simple idea into an eight-figure legal platform by validating market demand, moving fast, and treating every “wrong” decision as data you can pivot from. If you’ve ever felt stuck in analysis paralysis, this conversation is a reset button for your leadership mindset. 

We dig into what decisive leadership looks like inside a law firm and why more firms are hiring true operations leaders to run the business side. Colleen explains the shift from office management to COO-level ownership of hiring, culture, metrics, and systems so attorneys can stay focused on practicing law. We also unpack her belief that community is the new competition, and why collaboration, co-counsel relationships, and sharing what works across markets can create better outcomes for clients and stronger referral networks for firms. 

Then we get intensely practical about law firm intake and client experience. Intake is the first voice of your brand, and the most common “silent killer” is simple: not answering the phone. You’ll hear how compassion, tone, and clear next steps build trust before an attorney ever speaks to a lead, plus why speed-to-lead matters more than ever with Google Local Services Ads and today’s instant-expectation client journey. We close with a grounded take on legal AI and legal tech, including how to pick tools that improve efficiency without losing the human connection. 

Reach Colleen here: 
https://www.lawyer.com/
https://[email protected]/
https://www.instagram.com/lawyerdotcom/
https://www.instagram.com/colleenjoyce1/

Season 3 Episode 149

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

A cyber attack isn’t just an IT fire to put out. It’s a business moment that tests leadership, communication, and trust. We sit down with Josh Cook, partner at Prince Lobel and former global cyber counsel for a Fortune Global 500, to unpack how organizations of any size can move from panic to playbook, and why small firms face the highest stakes.

Josh retraces his path from securities litigation to launching a global cybersecurity legal function, centralizing fragmented responses across regions and building institutional memory where none existed. He explains why the most dangerous myth is treating breaches as “specialty” problems for vendors to fix, and shows how real resilience comes from policies you follow, role‑based playbooks people can run under pressure, and leaders who keep IT and the C‑suite speaking the same language. We explore the communication fault lines that derail response, the surprising ways attackers target smaller vendors to reach big clients, and how even a breach can become a credibility moment when you protect customers first.

We also dig into AI’s double edge. Criminals use generative tools to craft convincing lures and shortcut technical know‑how, while defenders harness anomaly detection to spot intrusions faster. Josh shares practical steps you can take now: line up your forensic and legal partners before trouble hits, build relationships with law enforcement, and run a frank tabletop to expose gaps in ownership, scripts, and escalation. 

Reach Josh here:
https://princelobel.com/professional/joshua-n-cook/
Josh's Book: https://amzn.to/48up38k

Season 3 Episode 148

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

We bring on CPA and legal industry CFO John Scott to show how owners move from reactive bookkeeping to proactive leadership using four simple pillars: cash, financials, production, and pipeline. This is a practical, jargon-free tour of the systems that keep cash healthy, teams focused, and growth intentional.

John shares why setting a cash target tied to risk (10 to 30 percent of expected revenue) changes everything, and how current reconciliations and trust accounting discipline prevent ugly surprises. We dig into dynamic forecasting that functions like a GPS, helping you adjust pricing, staffing, and marketing in real time. You’ll hear how “hiring ahead” can safely create capacity, why hourly firms should track charge hour expectations, average billing rate, and realization, and how contingency and subscription models need different KPIs to move the right work faster.

We also get candid about leadership: training the next generation, delegating with trust, and building a practice that runs well when you’re out for two weeks or more. John explains how to use an accountability rhythm (think EOS-style) to translate big goals into monthly course corrections, and how to specialize your marketing based on actual intake and case performance, not guesses. Plus, we touch on AI as ethical leverage for repeatable work, with guardrails that protect quality and client value.

Reach John here: 
https://anderscpa.com/industries/legal-professional/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-c-scott-cpa/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/anders-cpa/ 
https://www.facebook.com/AndersCPA
Tiktok @jdc.vcfo
IG @jdc.vcfo

Season 3 Episode 147 

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins