The 80/20 Principle

To create a better practice you should leverage technology. Here are my top tech recommendations for simplifying, automating and outsourcing your way to freedom.

Here's my a link to download my top tech recommendations, and here's my best overall advice:

After having worked for over a decade with hundreds of lawyers in all kinds of practices, I've zeroed in on three essential elements for making any kind of law practice run a LOT smoother.

The simpler your practice is, the better. But how do you create simplicity?

You start by creating systems; for doing common workflows. But you also have to eliminate unnecessary complexity . When you do these two things, your practice will become exponentially easier to run.

This is where technology will make the biggest difference. And when you get enough solid automation going, some key parts of your practice will start to run more by themselves—without you having to be involved.

There's a lot that you can theoretically automate, but I recommend starting with text-based automation , online scheduling services , and email-based referral marketing . That's where you'll get the biggest payoff the most quickly.

Once you've locked in solid automation in those areas you'll start feeling a lot more relaxed and in control.

When you get adept at working remotely , using cloud services , and virtual assistance , well…

Then you'll finally start to enjoy massive freedom.

You'll spend zero time doing drudgery and more time away from work, having fun.

Technology, by itself, is not going to make your practice better.

But using it haphazardly (as many lawyers do) will almost certainly make things worse, not better.

Look, technology needs to be used sensibly to fully harness its power.

And if you want to know how to use it sensibly, and effectively —in a way that leads to radical improvement…

…here are two ways that I can help you do that sooner rather than later.

This is my signature program for learning to simplify, automate and outsource key aspects of your law practice. You can learn more about it here .

Lot's of lawyers have used it to make big changes, even some who call themselves "dinosaur lawyers."

Here are some of the things people have said about this program…

• "I can honestly say that I'm years ahead of where I would be if had not done this…" —Keith Magness
• "My practice has grown exponentially because of Ernie."—Stephanie Quigley
• "Ernie is the man to know if you're trying to build your practice and take it to the next level."—Charles Irvin

The Autopilot program is self-directed so you can go through it at your own pace.

But some folks want more hands on guidance, and want to get results faster. And for them, I offer my 2-Day Live Conference

The Small Firm Bootcamp will be the fastest way to improve your practice, and it includes the Autopilot course as a FREE BONUS.

There will be 18 nationally recognized speakers/consultants that I can personally guarantee will be among the best you've ever seen.

They'll be covering important topics like

• Creating & refining systems to make your practice run smoother
• Identifying best options for practice management software
• Keeping your data secure against hacking or inadvertent loss
• How to attract better clients by using tasteful, but powerful marketing tactics & tools
• How to automate the creation of documents using macros and voice-to-text software and apps
• How to leverage virtual assistance effectively, including how to get part-time lawyer assistance

You can read more about the speakers here , and we'll be revealing the final agenda in a few days.

The most important thing to bear in mind is this: the agenda for the live event is optimized for learning things that can best be learned in a live event.

Whatever can be better explained or taught in an online webinar or lesson has been placed in the online materials that you get access to immediately upon registration. The idea being that you can start working on your practice right away, and do so at your own pace.

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

There are tech companies that take advantage of lawyers by first cleverly gaining their trust. I'll explain how they do this and reveal one of the scoundrels.

• Blog post: Problems with Findlaw?
• ReadWise; - app for reviewing Kindle highlights and other articles
• Link to register for free webinar series

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

The key to avoiding "seemingly good options" that are not actually useful is understanding the tradeoffs in every decision involving technology choice you face.

• Link to register for free webinar series

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

Figuring out how to effectively create systems can be tricky. Ernie addresses a solo lawyer's question why she might be having trouble creating systems.

Podcast Episode Show notes:

• Atomic Habits, by James Clear
• The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron
• Brian Koppleman's podcast (the episode where he talks about doing the 3 daily pages practice that he learned from reading The Artist's Way)

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

Referral marketing is powerful. And done by email it's also ridiculously easy as business attorney John Rafferty discovered. Learn how he cracked the code.

Episode Show notes:

• John Rafferty's biography;
• John's simple template for sending a monthly referral marketing email that gets astonishing results.
• MailerLite; - free email for 2,000 or fewer recipients (this is the service that John uses).
• ConvertKit; - the email service that Ernie uses and recommends (pricing starts at $29/month for 1,000 recipients)
• Dean Jackson's Email Mastery course.
• Dean Jackson's More Cheese, Less Whiskers podcast
• Vets Get Jobs - John's website to help veterans under 40 find a great job after their military service
• Join Ernie's private Facebook Group for Referral Marketing by Email.

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

In this episode I talk with Maddy Martin of Smith.ai about why their services are especially beneficial to solo and small firm lawyers.

For many attorneys affordability is the primary motivation for signing up. (i.e. plans start at $70/month). But the more you research Smith.ai the more reasons you'll discover for giving it a try. For example, they can make outbound calls for you— everything from routine appointment reminders to bill payment calls when your invoices have gone unpaid.

• Click here to sign up for Smith.ai (and use the code 'ERNIE100' to get $100 off your first month of a paid plan)
• They also offer a free AI Chatbot for 24/7 responsiveness on your website. Ernie uses them and appreciates their superior service, and you will too.

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.

Follow and Review:

We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Smith.ai

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai, you're hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls, and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans, including add-ons (up to $1000).

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

Working on your business requires focus, and I recommend you focus on simple text automation and basic outsourcing using these tools/services:

• TextExpander; - subscription service provides the ability to trigger text macros in any text input field, email or word processing area. If you can't leverage TextExpander it's because you aren't working on your business enough.
• FancyHands; - subscription service provides 5 tasks per month at the entry level. If you can't figure out how to outsource 5 basic tasks per month then you can't leverage outsourcing.

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.

Follow and Review:

We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Ruby Receptionists Ruby is a virtual receptionist service that provides all of your law firm's callers with first-class service. I used them for my solo practice and they were phenomenal in helping me surprise and delight my callers. I've been enthusiastically recommending Ruby to hundreds of lawyers and they also have been amazed by the quality of service and its affordability. To learn more about Ruby Receptionists' exceptional services (and get a special discount for podcast listeners only) click here.

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

There are 3 levels of automation. You need to progress through these levels to fully harness the power of the 12 most essential tools that will transform your practice.

Episode Show notes:

There are 12 Automation Essentials (see my YouTube video if you want a visual refresher), and here are links to the topics discussed in the episode

• Styles; in Word Processing - Training by LawTech Partners (Adriana Linares)
• [Templates in Word Processing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_(word_processing)); - Typography for Lawyers, by Matthew Butterick
• Email Filtering - Sanebox; software
• Email Templates - Spark Email iPhone app (There is a Google version)
• Password Managers - 1Password; or Lastpass; are both good
• Text Macros - TextExpander; software
• Appointment Scheduling - Acuity; is Ernie's top recommendation
• Email Broadcasting - ConvertKit; is Ernie's top recommendation
• Watched Folders - Hazel; is a Mac-based tool and David Sparks' online course is incredibly helpful for learning how to leverage it (and check out MacPower Users podcast if you are a Mac user)
• Online API connections - Zapier; is the best service. Check out this event for lawyers who want to use Zapier better. It's organized by the folks who do the Maximum Lawyer podcast (which I highly recommend)
• Keyboard scripting - Ernie is learning to use Keyboard Maestro by taking David Sparks' online course (well worth the $29).

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.

Follow and Review:

We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Ruby Receptionists Ruby is a virtual receptionist service that provides all of your law firm's callers with first-class service. I used them for my solo practice and they were phenomenal in helping me surprise and delight my callers. I've been enthusiastically recommending Ruby to hundreds of lawyers and they also have been amazed by the quality of service and its affordability. To learn more about Ruby Receptionists' exceptional services (and get a special discount for podcast listeners only) click here.

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 do grifters, con-artists and magicians know about persuasion that lawyers don't know, but should? Listen and find out.

Here are show notes for this episode:

• Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion , by Robert Cialdini
• This 5-star Amazon review gives a nice summary of the six principles in the book.
• The One Sentence Persuasion Course - 27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding, by Blair Warren
  • Forbidden Keys to Persuasion, by Blair Warren

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.

Follow and Review:

We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Ruby Receptionists Ruby is a virtual receptionist service that provides all of your law firm's callers with first-class service. I used them for my solo practice and they were phenomenal in helping me surprise and delight my callers. I've been enthusiastically recommending Ruby to hundreds of lawyers and they also have been amazed by the quality of service and its affordability. To learn more about Ruby Receptionists' exceptional services (and get a special discount for podcast listeners only) click here.

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

The fundamentals of running any kind of business apply to running a law practice, but where can you learn those fundamentals most easily and conveniently?

Here are show notes for this episode:

• The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business, by Josh Kaufman

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.

Follow and Review:

We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Thanks to My Sponsor

Ruby Receptionists Ruby is a virtual receptionist service that provides all of your law firm's callers with first-class service. I used them for my solo practice and they were phenomenal in helping me surprise and delight my callers. I've been enthusiastically recommending Ruby to hundreds of lawyers and they also have been amazed by the quality of service and its affordability. To learn more about Ruby Receptionists' exceptional services (and get a special discount for podcast listeners only) click here.

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