According to the National Association of Legal Professions, when I graduated from Law School in 1988 only 2.7% of graduating attorneys made the choice to go solo.

Looking at those same numbers, it’s easy to track the strength of the economy with the number of new attorneys going solo increasing during economic downturns.

But now that so much of the work we do can be done virtually, what used to be one of the largest challenges for any attorney deciding to hang out their own shingle – finding physical office space – has all but been eliminated. 

As my guest today points out, with the ability to work remotely no longer in question, the stigma of being what was once called “post-office attorney” is fading.

Nikita Lamar is an attorney specializing in Family Law, Trademarks, and Probate & Estate Planning. 

After graduating from Law School in the wake of the Great Recession, Nikita would found The Lamar Legal Group and, as she herself has written, her commitment to preserving what clients have worked tirelessly to build is the cornerstone of her practice. 

We talk about her unlikely journey to law school, practical and philosophical tips for attorneys thinking of starting their own practice, and how vulnerability and empathy can coexist with zealousness. 

Enjoy the show! 

With some very rare exceptions, all of us have to have a ‘first job’. 

This also means we all remember the nervousness that comes with that first day. First month. Even the first year. 

While it hopefully wanes over time, those feelings of general uncertainty combined with a vague sense of having to prove one’s self can easily lead to imposter-syndrome and burnout. 

But you throw a bad leader into the mix, and – as my guest today had to experience – you have a recipe for disaster. 

Early in her legal career, a then-boss told her she’d never be a trial attorney. No qualifications. No ‘constructive’ criticism. Just a blunt, “you’re too meek.”

Now as Managing Partner at Duane Morris’s L.A. offices, Cyndie Chang often handles litigation involving mergers & acquisitions, asset or stock sales, frauds, and securities, all while ensuring her team has the resources to thrive. 

Cyndie and I talk about her journey into big-law, and how the resources and the community they provide helped her to feel not just empowered, but included. 

We also discuss the dangers of looking at your people as commodities and not investments, and why new lawyers need to consider WHERE they want to practice just as much as WHAT they want to focus their practice on. 

Enjoy the show! 

As my producer wrote in the margins of this week’s material, the phrase ‘Collaborative Divorce’ can seem, on its face, like an oxymoron. 

After all, whether it’s a marriage, partnership, or friendship, the act of separating one’s self from another person usually stems from an inability to collaborate in the first place. 

But over the last four decades, Dr. Honey Sheff has designed many of the systems to help shepherd families through the separation process in a way that serves everyone. 

After working the Family Courts for 30 years, she decided there had to be a better way to help families separate while still honoring the wishes of everyone involved. 

Among her many professional achievements, Dr. Sheff is responsible for helping create the parenting plan summary form that is now used statewide by mental health professionals and attorneys with divorcing couples. 

She and Mike discuss why more and more attorneys are choosing A.D.R. to help couples separate with civility, why she believes the worst place for any family is inside a courtroom, and why boundaries are not only necessary to protect your emotional wellbeing, but vital in preserving your ability to serve your clients.

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SHOWNOTES:

Dr. Sheff on LinkedIn

We talk plenty on this program about how frustrating it can be to try and function under poor leadership. Even if the team is strong, if they don’t know (or worse, understand) their direction, then it will always be an uphill battle. 

But my guest this week faced a situation I don’t know if we’ve ever covered on the show:

What do you do when the Leader you THOUGHT you wanted to be collides with who you want to be as a Person?

After serving four years in the Army, Ryan Crittenden left with mixed emotions but a passion for leadership. 

He would go on to earn his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology, stepping out into the professional world, eager to take on a mentor. And while the journey that followed was far from smooth, it would become the inspiration for his latest book, “Becoming the Compass”. 

Ryan and I unpack the benefits of Strengths-Based Coaching, how building your talents shouldn’t start at the bottom of your skill-set, and the unbreakable link between Trust and Time. 

Enjoy the show.

There are few areas of the practice that I think are quite as “client-facing” as Family Law.

This is not to say that clients take a back-seat when it comes to other kinds of legal matters, but it should come as no surprise to anyone - regardless of legal acumen - that when you’re dealing with people's money AND family, communication can make or break a case. 

My guest this week knows this better than most.

Larry Praeger is board certified as a Family Law Specialist, and has been a practicing attorney for nearly four and a half decades. 

His Dallas based practice focuses on family law, with a specialty in mediation, and professional licensing issues. 

For the past 30 years Larry has gained extensive experience in all aspects of Family Law, as well as preparing and defending mental health professionals in family law matters and helping them prepare for the litigation process. 

Having started his career as Assistant County Attorney in Bell Texas, he has been an author, speaker, and as of last year, Larry has added Professor to the growing list of titles.

We discuss his tips for effective client communication, how the legal landscape has changed, and the many nuances of Family Law. 

Enjoy the show. 

It always feels like an easy out to say a podcast conversation is “wide-ranging”, but when the guest has written best selling books for attorneys on everything from Introversion to Fear, it seems like the only descriptor broad enough to fit. 

Heidi K Brown is the Associate Dean of Upper Level Writing at the New York School of Law. 

Inspired by her own experiences untangling a fear of public speaking during her litigation career, Heidi is passionate about helping lawyers at every level find their authentic legal-voices through her teaching and her writing. 

Her books include, The Introverted Lawyer: A Seven-Step Journey Toward Authentically Empowered Advocacy,  Untangling Fear in Lawyering: A Four-Step Journey Toward Powerful Advocacy, and The Flourishing Lawyer: A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Performance and Well-Being, and the recently released travel memoir - The Map I Draw

We discuss the importance of writer-identity and how she’s helping her students to find their voices so that they can advocate from a place of authenticity. Of course, with the rise of Generative A.I., Heidi has had to pivot HOW she teaches - and the story of the first encounter with Chat GPT is worth the listen alone. 

We also talk about her own journey into the law, how she learned to leverage her introversion to her advantage, and how attorneys can benefit from embodying the mentality of professional athletes 

Growing up, I knew I wanted to be an attorney since I was a sophomore in high school; my guest this week had me beat by 8 years. 

All of my peers thought I was crazy to have a kid right as I was about to finish law school; my guest this week earned her JD at night while working a full-time job. 

I could do more of these comparisons, but the point is that hurdles take on a lot of different forms, sometimes obvious but sometimes not. 

As lawyers we want the necessary facts, and while that’s great for understanding a case, people are often a lot more nuanced. My conversation this week was one of the best reminders I’ve had in a while to slow down and get to know someone else's story. 

So with that in mind, my guest this week is Breeana Somers, a litigation associate with Ballad Spahr whose practice focuses on consumer financial services matters.

Earning a place in 2024’s “Ones to Watch” by Best Lawyers in America, her journey has been anything but traditional, but nothing short of extraordinary.

Enjoy the show. 

My guest this week is Suraj Vyas, an attorney specializing in patent law with a focus on construction and contracts. 

Having spent the past 6 years on the Super Lawyer’s Rising Star list, Suraj began his legal career as in-house counsel for Rising Sun Engineering before founding his own firm in 2018. 

Suraj developed an interest in construction work at a young age, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Water Resources Management & Policy, but his interdisciplinary interests would lead him to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, combining a love of engineering with the law. 

Now with nearly a decade of practice beneath his belt, Suraj is as committed to helping his communities as he is his clients. We sit down to discuss how curiosity is the catalyst behind everything he does, the people that shaped his journey, and why engineers and lawyers are more alike than you may think. 

Enjoy the show! 

The first time I ever made a billing entry on a personal computer, I remember thinking to myself, “this is so efficient, I’m never going to miss an entry!”

10 years later I got my first laptop, and as I entered some time while FLYING ON A PLANE, I also remember thinking, “this is so convenient, I’m never going to miss an entry!”

10 years later I got an iPhone and made a similar claim. 

And while all of these technological advancements certainly did make it easier for me to capture my time as an attorney, as my guest and I today discuss, all the systems and technology in the world can’t help you if you don't stay consistent. 

Joining the show this week is Molly Kremer, a former litigator and certified life coach who is on a mission to help attorneys capture their time so they can recapture their love of practicing law. 

Now known simply as The Billing Coach, Molly has worked with hundreds of attorneys at every level and stage of their careers so they can free themselves from the billing traps they’ve unwittingly created. 

For any attorney who wishes they had a better relationship with the billable hour, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. 

Enjoy the show!