The 80/20 Principle

The Coronavirus pandemic is obviously a disaster, but it's also an opportunity if you know how to capitalize on it. I faced a similar situation when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 and I seized an important opportunity (not without a lot of trepidation, mind you).

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Conrad Saam is one of very few legal marketing experts that Ernie trusts. In this episode, Conrad explains what lawyers should and shouldn't do in this current pandemic crisis. He talks about which practice areas are seeing a boost in activity, and why.

• Conrad's company website: Mockingbird Marketing
• Ernie's LawFirm Autopilot Slack Group
• Signup for the (now) 100% Virtual Small Firm Bootcamp
• Get Ernie's free Tech Resource Guide for solo and small firm lawyers, which includes recommendations about working remotely.

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Mike Whelan was a family law practitioner who realized that many old ways of practicing law don't work anymore, which makes lawyers more stressed today than they've ever been. He identifies the problem as something called "the churn" in his excellent book: Lawyer Forward.

In this episode Ernie asks him about how lawyers can overcome the churn to create profitable and enjoyable practices.

• Mike Whelan's Twitter feed.
• Ernie's LawFirm Autopilot Slack Group
• Ernie's free *Tech Resource Guide* for solo and small firm lawyers, which includes recommendations about working remotely.

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Family law practitioner Elise Buie has built a paperless practice that is super streamlined and optimized for remote work. She and Ernie share thoughts about how Hurricane Katrina helped motivate lawyers to adopt technology that improved their practices.

Listen in and find out why she says that learning to practice virtually not only helps your firm run smoother but also dramatically improves your quality of life.

For example, she observed that "it's so much easier to file a difficult brief from a beach in New Zealand than from your office." She knows this from direct personal experience, and you can learn from her experiences by listening closely to this episode. And it would probably help to take careful notes as you listen.

• Elise Buie's firm website.
• Check out Ernie's course on paperless lawyering that Elise mentioned that she took.
• Check out Ernie's LawFirm Autopilot Slack Group
• Read Ernie's article about why Slack is valuable as a form of group chat.
• Sign up for a Zoom account and learn how to do virtual meetings with video.
• Get Ernie's free Tech Resource Guide for solo and small firm lawyers, which includes recommendations about working remotely.

Want to take your practice to the next level?

If you want to make big changes and massively improve your law practice check out my upcoming Small Firm Bootcamp conference - a 3-day online conference for attorneys who want to learn how to better leverage tech (i.e. automation, paperless practice, mobile/virtual practice) to transform their practices.

Thanks to The Sponsor

Smith.ai is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

BTW, I'd love to get your feedback or hear about your questions (which I'll answer in upcoming episodes).

And when you get a chance, download my free Guide to Working Smarter in the Digital Age (which will help you streamline & optimize your practice —so you start working less and relaxing more). Oh, and if you're interested in making changes sooner, check out my new Working Smarter course.

Here are helpful lessons I learned during the massive social disruption of Hurricane Katrina that are relevant and helpful to you during the Covid-19 situation.

The current pandemic is forcing many of us to work from home in isolation. We need to become adept at working remotely and collaborating virtually. Here are 3 vital things that will help you do that better.

• Twitter; - sign up for an account and use it to follow high-value information sources like Tim Ferriss' Twitter list of Covid-19 sources.
• Follow me on Twitter if you want to get my quick takes and short advice.
• Join my private Facebook group if you're like to use Facebook to gather and share information.
• Read my article about why Slack is valuable as a form of group chat.
• Sign up for a Zoom account and learn how to do virtual meetings with video.
• Get my free Tech Resource Guide for solo and small firm lawyers.
• Signup for the (now) 100% Virtual Small Firm Bootcamp

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

David Sparks is a solo business lawyer in Orange County, California. He's been a frequent speaker at bar association conferences around the country, including the ABA TECHSHOW, where he helps lawyers learn to better harness the power of technology to make their practices run more smoothly, with less effort.

David is a well-known speaker, author, and podcaster (i.e. Mac Power Users, Automators;, and Focussed; podcasts). He loves jazz and is looking forward to participating in the Small Firm Bootcamp where he will be a featured speaker.

• Omnifocus; - Project & Task management software used and recommended by David
• Sanebox; - Intelligent email filtering and automation used and recommended by David
• Basecamp; - cloud-based project management software that David uses to share data with clients and his team
• Dragon Dictation software - used by David even though the company says it will no longer support the Mac version.
• Signup for the (now) 100% Virtual Small Firm Bootcamp

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

How would your best accountant friend recommend you streamline your law firm's management of bookkeeping, accounting, and general finances? Listen & find out...

Amanda Aguillard has been a Certified Public Accountant since 2001. She holds a Masters Degree in Taxation from the University of Denver, and loves helping small law firms (and other small businesses) improve their financial data handling and accounting (especially by harnessing useful technologies).

• Aguillard Accounting - Amanda's main business website
• Amanda's Training Service for accountants and bookkeepers
• Xero; - online accounting service recommended by Amanda
• Quickbooks online - online accounting service by Intuit
• Zapier; - connect cloud services and create mind-blowing automations
• MileIQ; - automated vehicle mileage tracking app
• HubDoc; - automatically imports financial data to Quickbooks, Xero and Box (now owned by Xero)

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Ernie interviews Mark Homer about effective marketing for small law firms, and how he helps his lawyer clients get better noticed and found, online and offline.

Mark Homer's GNGF website (GNGF stands for "get noticed, get found")

Online Law Practice Strategies: How to Turn Clicks Into Clients, by Mark Homer (the book we discussed in the episode)

GNGF.tv; - Live interviews, updates, and Q&A on everything law firm marketing or the business side of running a law firm. Airs every other Wednesday at 11:30am Eastern time. Join live and ask questions and get answers from Mark and law firm marketing experts.

BEDLAM conference put on by Mark and some friendly marketing agency competitors (the name BEDLAM stands for "best damm legal marketing" marketing conference)

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

What is a "personal brand?" You are a personal brand, so you should understand what it means and how to strengthen your brand in powerful and tasteful ways.

Mike Kim's website

Brand You podcast (Mike shares weekly insights about personal branding here)

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Getting clients by sending a monthly email is effective and much easier than attending networking lunches. That's what business attorney Erica Pero discovered.

Erica Pero's website

Erica Pero's sample January Email Newsletter (compiled in Mailchimp)

LFA Podcast #81 with John Rafferty

Private Facebook group for Email Referral Marketing

General Resources

• Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/
• Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice.
• Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai; is a superior receptionist service for law firms that also helps you convert first-time callers or website visitors into paying clients.

They also offer a free AI Chatbot that provides 24/7 service on your website. Ernie appreciates the superior service they provide to his callers and web visitors, and you will too.

And if you're curious about how a virtual receptionist service can help you take your practice to the next level, check out this ebook.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com