New Modern Lawyer Podcast

I think it is safe to say that, if you have a law practice, one of your goals is to be “successful.” What that means to you will be different than what it means to me or what it means to another lawyer, but we all want success in our practices. Sometimes that drive for success can actually have the opposite effect, though. It can lead us to a way of thinking based on fear, distrust, and selfishness.

For many years I was afraid I would never have enough clients, or that the ones I did have would leave me. You may feel the same way, especially after having gone through 2020. And I ran my law practice out of that fear – but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I realized it. Are you running your practice out of the fear of not enough clients? Could you tell if you were?

TAKEAWAY: we often get caught up in scarcity mindset without realizing it.

There are a lot of ways to market you law firm today: video, social media, podcasts. But what if I told you that there is a huge opportunity for you and your firm that most law firms completely miss out on? Something you already have that, with a few changes, could be the difference between a prospective client calling you or calling the lawyer down the street?

You probably have a website – and if you don’t, then you need to stop get one right now. But are you utilizing it to its greatest potential? Probably a good 70% of law firms aren’t. In this episode I will help you join the 30%.

TAKEAWAY: your About page is one of the most valuable pieces of marketing real estate you have. It is about you, but not FOR you. If done well, can be the difference between a prospective client scrolling away to another site or contacting your firm.

One of the things we often hear from others in the legal profession is that, to be a successful lawyer, you have to fully devote yourself to it. That clients and your work must come before everything else. That if you want a robust personal life, if you want a family, that your law practice won’t be as successful as it could be. You have a choice: law practice, or personal life.

But this is a false choice. Because you don’t have to choose one or the other. You can choose both.

TAKEAWAY: if you want it, you can create a law practice that is successful and also allows you to have a successful personal life.

In this episode I want to help you re-write some of the stories in your head that are keeping you from being a successful law firm owner. Stories, specifically here, around paying yourself.

Now you may be saying, “But Brad, I pay myself every month. What are you talking about?” And you may take money out of your firm every month for your personal expenses. But, do you really pay yourself, or are you just taking profits from the firm? And why does it matter?

TAKEAWAY: successful law firm owners pay themselves.

Links

Profit First: https://mikemichalowicz.com/profit-first/

I know that a lot of lawyers out there struggle with marketing. Maybe you do too. You can be the best lawyer in the world, but marketing is a whole other story. And unfortunately, marketing is a big part of running a successful law practice. After all, you need clients, and marketing is a way to get them.

One of my wife’s favorite movies is the Wizard of Oz. You know who would be a good marketer? The cowardly lion. Why? Because he has courage. And courage is very important when it comes to marketing your law practice.

TAKEAWAY: to be successful at marketing your law practice takes courage.

Links

Mike Morse Law Firm commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JaiDZ6N7uY

Alex Su, TikTok lawyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-su/

Have you ever stood at the top of the diving board, looking down at the water, with a line of people behind you waiting for their turn…and you just can’t jump? All it takes is a few steps and you’d be off the edge, heading towards the cool water below.

It can be the same thing with your law practice. You know what you need to do, but for some reason you just can’t do it. So instead you wait…and keep waiting…and never take the jump towards a better law practice, one that makes you happy and satisfied.

TAKEAWAY: changing your life – being happy, satisfied, fulfilled – requires action. The longer you keep waiting, the longer you will stay unhappy, depressed, and unsatisfied with your life.

If you do criminal defense, estate planning, represent businesses, or any other practice area where you charge flat fees that the client agrees to up front, you are going to find a lot of value in this episode.

Because I am talking about what to do when you tell your client your fee and they tell you it is too high. Spoiler alert: it is probably something you did or didn’t do. Which means you may be able to salvage things and still get the work – if you hurry.

TAKEAWAY: the key to a successful flat fee or subscription fee is to first understand the potential client and their problem, and then discover the value they place on finding a solution. Once you understand those things, your proposal must directly address the problem and pain it is causing the potential client, and you fee must be aligned with the value they place on solving that problem.

You’ve probably heard the stories: of parents working long nights, missing out on their kid’s sports or piano recitals; of not being there for dinner, or not being there for their kids’ entire childhood. This might even be your story.

As lawyers, many of us think that we have to always put the client first. That we get to go home – and focus other things – only once the work for the client is done. That long hours, nights, and weekends are just part of being a lawyer. But they are not. You don’t have to miss out on family movie night. You have a choice.

TAKEAWAY: life is choice, and your life reflects the choices you make. If you are not happy with your life, then you can make different choices. If you are missing out on time with your family because of work, then that is a choice. And you can make a different choice to get a different outcome.

I know a lot of lawyers who are obsessed with their competition. Who are always worried about what the firm down the street is doing, and how they compare to their own practice. Concerned with what kind of marketing the competition is doing, how much money they are making.

And it is all a huge waste of energy. Because what the competition is doing is irrelevant to your firm. And in fact, there is no need for you to have competition at all. You can completely eliminate your competition, so that you are the only game in town for your clients.

TAKEAWAY: putting your clients first, before everything and everyone else, is actually one of the worst things you can do for your firm and yourself. It means that vital firm tasks like billing, marketing, and implementing firm procedures get deferred and neglected. And it means you are putting your work before your own well-being, which is one the main causes of depression, burnout, substance abuse, and suicide for lawyers.

Links

I want to do a thought experiment. Over the weekend I saw a billboard for a medical primary care practice. And as I drove further down the road, I started to wonder: what would a primary practice law firm look like?

In this episode we are going to do a thought experiment together. We are going to design what a primary practice law firm might look like, how is would be different than a general practice, and whether it would it be a viable business model.

Would a primary practice law firm make sense for you as a solo or small firm lawyer? Should I do more thought experiments like this? Let me know at [email protected].