Your Law Firm - from Rosen Institute

By Ned Daze

Ned Daze and Lee Rosen speak to aspiring entrepreneurial and tenured law professionals on law practice management, marketing, technology and finance, increasing your revenues and helping you implement... more

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FAQs about Your Law Firm - from Rosen Institute:

How many episodes does Your Law Firm - from Rosen Institute have?

The podcast currently has 687 episodes available.

Your Law Firm - from Rosen Institute episodes:

June 16, 2017 How Tight Constraints Stimulate Practice Growth
Most everything I own fits in a carry-on bag.
I gave the rest of my stuff away two years ago when I embarked on a nomadic lifestyle. Limiting myself to what I can easily carry onboard a plane makes life simpler. It’s easy to move quickly, skip the baggage carousel line, and I don’t stress about lost luggage.
Of course, sometimes not having much stuff is inconvenient. As I mentioned in a recent post, I’m annoyed when my shoes get wet. Owning only a single pair of shoes is a problem when I accidentally step into a puddle.
For the most part, confining myself to a carry-on bag has worked well. The limitation forces me to buy the right items. I’ve got to be certain that the items I stick in the bag get the job done. I can’t afford to waste space on luxuries or rarely-used items.
A Change in Perspective
Most of us view constraints negatively. We perceive limitations as an external forces keeping us from having it all. We push back when we’re constrained.
Originally, that’s how I felt too. I viewed the carry-on bag constraint as a burden. But I see it differently now. I’ve come to view the limitation as a positive in my life.
My luggage constraint forces me to…
Thoughtfully consider what I carry. Each item (down to the spare ear buds) is carefully considered.
Choose only the highest quality items. I need my stuff to work well. I buy high end pants and underwear because I need them to last. I’ve picked out exceptional socks. I’ve got one highly functional, wrinkle-free shirt for dress occasions. I only buy the best items.
Creatively explore new options. I’m forced use each item for multiple purposes. I’ve got to figure out which items match with others. I have to determine, in advance, how to layer items for warmth or cut things back when it’s hot. The constraint keeps me thinking about ever more creative approaches.
Constraints aren’t all bad. They drive us to do better. They encourage us to think. They require us to measure cost against benefit and to optimize each decision so that we act within the limitations of the situation.
We whine about our business constraints as well. We push back. We get annoyed. We argue with others about why we can’t do what we’re required to do within the limitations we feel closing around us.
But constraints are present whether we like them or not. We can allow them to negatively impact our performance, or we can view them as opportunities to do our best work.
Constraints are Everywhere
Constraints come in all shapes and sizes. They eliminate our options, but we can choose to rise to the occasion.
When the judge limits us to two hours of evidence, we can be frustrated by the seemingly arbitrary rule. Or we can put on the best two hours of evidence ever presented. We might use the most efficient witnesses, create amazing graphics, or produce a powerfully emotional video.
When the court limits us to a 15-minute closing argument, we can be upset, or we can deliver an impactful summation that brings our client to tears and moves the court.
When a client is unable to pay as much as we’d like to spend, we can find a more creative way to prepare the case, conduct the discovery, present the evidence, and frugally master the circumstances.
When our marketing budget is limited by our profitability, we can explore new technologies and ideas, and try something different, less expensive, and more creative.
When our time is limited by a deadline, we can find ways to do it faster, employ different types of assistance, and get it done more efficiently.
When our client won’t follow our advice no matter how hard we push, we can find alternative ways to achieve the same result. Human relationships impose the most difficult constraints, but have the most potential for revealing alternatives.
Don’t Give Up – Get Busy
Constrai…
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21min
June 15, 2017 Podcast: 10 Tips for Getting More Great-Quality Clients
I didn't leave law school a solo practitioner, but it wasn't long before I had packed my box and printed new business cards.

Under pressure to succeed, I took garbage cases. In my naïveté, something seemed better than nothing. I quickly learned that being busy with junk is no good for business, and my bank account proved it.

Over the next few decades, I employed the old methods, tested a few crazy ideas, and mastered a method for filling my calendar with profitable clients.

I've pulled together the top 10 tips for packing your days with the good stuff. I use them today and teach these tips to my associates.

Regardless of whether you're a solo, in a massive firm, or anywhere in between, these are the best ways to find and retain high-quality clients.

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...more
23min
June 09, 2017Are You Building on a Weak Foundation?
Learning about the basics is boring. We prefer to hear about the new. We like the hot and sexy---the latest innovations.
Our attention drifts to new concepts. (“Artificial intelligence will replace lawyers!”)
Our ears perk up when we learn about a new, revenue-boosting technology. (“Speak with prospects right through your website!”)
We get giddy when we hear about a new, exploding practice area. (“The real money is in cybersecurity law!”)
But Is the New Worthy of Our Attention?
Our focus on the new distracts us from the basics. We prefer new things to the routine. But is that how you build a business?
We wonder whether we should revamp our website, but we’re still using an aol.com or gmail.com address.

We wonder whether we should advertise on Facebook, but we leave calls unreturned for days.

We wonder whether we should add a new practice area, but there’s no one waiting at the front desk for clients.

We wonder whether we should add that instant chat feature to our website, but we have 1,500 unread emails in our inbox.

We wonder whether we should have a logo designed for our business cards, but we haven’t handed out a business card in months.

We wonder whether we should add an associate, but we can’t retain a paralegal for more than 10 weeks.
The basics matter. They come first. They take time to master because many of them are foreign to us. For most of us, the basics of running a business don’t come naturally because they aren’t interesting.
It’s tough to add layers of complexity when the foundation is shaky. When we add new layers too quickly without the necessary care, the foundation becomes stressed and inevitably crumbles.
Focus, My Friend
Focus on the foundation. Build it strong. Spend too much time getting it right.
Figure out client service. Master managing your people. Build financial systems. Implement good technology. Grow your reputation with steady effort.
The basics matter. The new thing can wait until your business is ready.
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8min
June 08, 2017 Podcast: What Do Your Clients Really Think?
The longer we wait for feedback, the more slowly we grow, and the more difficult it becomes for us to improve.

As lawyers, we rarely receive immediate feedback from our clients. We often don't have a clear sense of how things are going until the case is closed.

That said, our inherent feedback delay doesn't mean that we're doomed to snail-pace improvement. It means that we've got to work harder to close the feedback loop.

Seeking timely feedback is essential to our success. While the strategies I share in this episode aren't as instant as the tips waitstaff receive, they will put you one step ahead of the competition.

Feedback improves our practices and our team, and it helps our bank account grow.

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...more
14min
June 01, 2017 Podcast: Shifting From IN to ON
Like every lawyer, I did the service work. I enjoyed making a difference in my clients' lives; it's one of the reasons why I took the bar exam.

But, for all the great clients, some drove me nuts. Some lawyers have the superpower to channel the aggravating moments into energy. Others---myself included---reach a point of wanting out. We discover new fulfillment in creating a business greater than ourselves.

For a long time, I did both. Eventually, I learned I was happier being the back-office guy.

However, as much as I wanted out, my transition from working IN to ON the business was rough. Someone was always looking for guidance. Clients demanded my representation. The sticky situations seemed to catch me like a flytrap.

It wasn't until I'd gone through my overextended, uneven transition that I learned what could have done better.

It should not have been difficult, and it certainly doesn't need to be for you. Press play and learn how to make a smarter transition than I endured.

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...more
23min
May 26, 2017 Will New Software Grow Your Business?
When I was 10 years old, I learned that technology isn’t the answer.
My father had a practice-management system in the early '70s. He had manila folders, big metal filing cabinets, and index cards that were actually used to index files. When the cases got big, he broke out the Redweld expandable folders. Complex litigation sometimes warranted a banker's box.
He also had Thelma, armed with her typewriter, white-out, and carbon paper. I have no idea why they used carbon paper since they also had a copier.
They had tiny paper slips for recording time and managing billing. They had a metal contraption that organized the carbon paper time slips so they could write entries without misalignment.
At the center of it all were two big Rolodexes. Thelma typed on little stickers and pasted them onto Rolodex cards. It was a huge database of information, spinning around a spindle. I would spin it when no one was watching.
It was all fascinating to 10-year old me.
Systems Are Just Tools
In retrospect, my dad had a realistic understanding of his practice-management system: he knew the capabilities and the limitations of his process.
He had no illusions that his system was more than a tool to do work. He knew it was useful for handling the paper, sorting the mail, getting the phone answered, passing along messages, and cranking out documents.
Instead of watching a computer-screen popup for incoming calls, he heard “George on 2” from Thelma down the hall. He pushed the blinking red button, picked up his phone, and got George. He didn’t have Clio integrate with Vonage to pull client data and social media profiles. He had a yellow legal pad with scribbled notes.
His system was easy to see, understand, and comprehend. It was simple and clear, and nothing happened outside of his control. He knew what it could do and what it couldn’t.
That’s not always the case for us today.
Many of us suffer from the delusion that software will solve all of our problems. Software does solve some problems, but most of us aren’t suffering from those specific problems. Our problems are bigger.
Practice-management systems only help a lawyer manage a practice if there’s a practice to manage.
We imagine (especially when we’re listening to the sales rep) that software is the key to a successful practice. We want to believe that software will make us profitable. We want to believe that software will bring in more clients, make us smarter, and grow our revenue.
There Is No Magic
Software doesn’t grow your business. Marketing grows your business. Software is nice, but it’s a luxury. It’s not the key to growth. Often, it’s a distraction. Buying software feels like progress, but it’s not.
Software is invisible. There are no folders. There’s no Thelma with her typewriter. It lives in a mysterious box.
We rarely understand what software does, so we accord it magical powers. The vendors, of course, are happy to let us maintain these beliefs so we’ll buy more software. (I’m exhibit A here. I buy lots of technology.)
It’s easy to be lulled into the fantasy that purchasing software will grow your business. We want to believe that because it makes us feel better.
It’s easy to project our hopes and dreams into the cloud where software lives. But software doesn’t make the phone ring. Software doesn’t bring us the best clients. Software doesn’t remove wrinkles from our faces, brighten our teeth, or make us taller.
There’s no magic.
Are you suffering from a belief in magical software? Do you believe you need a practice-management system to get started? Do you believe that things will be better if you switch systems? Do you believe that you need to build a customsystem because none of the existing systems will solve your problems?
Snap out of it!
Software is not magical. It’s file folders, i…
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14min
May 25, 2017 Podcast: Finding Business-Generating Associates
Finding reliable associates is tough. Hiring lawyers who can do great work and generate new business is even tougher.

Sometimes we find young, ambitious lawyers and think we can mold them into loyal, revenue-generating associates. We train them, encourage them, and support them. Eventually, they become perfect.

Life is good for a moment, until they realize their value and stab you in the heart. They remorselessly pack up and leave.

Some law firm owners think the next trainee will be better. “This one will stick around,” they say. Foolishly, those owners burn themselves out in the same vicious cycle: hire, support, abandon.

The reality is that there are very few lawyers driven to generate new business. The key to success is finding the ones with a proven track record and holding on to them tightly.

Finding these business-generating unicorns is tough, but it's not impossible. Press play to learn more about how to find and keep these great associates.

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17min
May 11, 2017 Podcast: Google AdWords is Crushing Your Law Firm
Firms that own their reputation long outlive those that "rent" their revenue.

Renters survive by throwing money into advertising. AdWords brings in new clients and Google takes their cut. The advertising works, so they spend more, signaling Google to increase the rent. Costs increase and profit margins shrink. Eventually, the renters who are gobbling up clients are consumed by advertising expenses.

The renters fail because they don't own their reputations. They go for the easy money and invest nothing into their brands. They're forced to close shop and another renter moves in to repeat the cycle.

You want to own your reputation. You want to create a brand that people gravitate toward without the need (or crushing control) of advertising.

This is how you own your brand and succeed without the shackles of AdWords.

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...more
17min
May 05, 2017 11 Tips to Get More Clients from Your Website
Small things can make a big difference on your website.
There are changes you can make in minutes to impact your website's performance, which will make a significant difference in how likely it is that you’ll get hired.
For the prospective client, your website is your law firm. They don't know you yet. They are looking for reasons to trust you, but all they have is your website to make that judgment. It’s a pass/fail test with revenue on the line.
In the absence of a personal referral, your website becomes a significant part of your firm’s identity. Prospective clients will use it to decide whether to act and how to proceed. In today’s legal services market, your site isn’t just pixels and code. It’s you.
Think of how much time you spend making sure your shoes are polished, your hair is trimmed, and your body odors are suppressed. Sadly, you can’t show off your shiny, neat, pleasant-smelling lawyer body if your website fails to convince visitors to call.
The changes I'm suggesting today are easy, simple, and likely implementable without the need to call your website guru. These are things you may be able to do yourself.
1. Update the copyright date.
The copyright date is a tiny piece of your website, but it makes a powerful subconscious impression. Is this website alive and kicking? Is the website current?
The copyright date is like a pulse. You grab the wrist of the dead prostitute you find under your hotel room bed. Is she alive? There's no pulse. Nope, she’s gone. That's exactly what visitors think when the copyright date is 2015.
2. Say something personal.
I understand that you want to appear formal and professional. You want to brag about where you went to law school and how you served as a judicial clerk (maybe with a witty anecdote about how the judge ruined good pastrami with mayonnaise).
But prospective clients - even those big-league, powerful, successful clients - make their hiring decisions based on emotion, not facts. They'll read your credentials AFTER they decide to hire you. Your experience only becomes pertinent when they need to justify to themselves or others that they're making a good decision.
You've got to hook them with something emotional or your prior experiences won't matter.
Tell them about your dog, your cat, or the dead hamster you keep in the freezer. Tell them how your kids keep setting the garage on fire. Tell them how your spouse ran off to Mexico with your law partner and your money.
There needs to be an emotional connection before prospects decide that you're actually qualified to do the work. Once there's an emotional connection, nearly any qualification will be sufficient.
Once they want you, they'll find reasons to ignore any shortcomings.
3. Tell them you know them.
You may be interesting, but your clients would rather hear about themselves. Sure, they enjoyed the story about your law partner and your spouse in Mexico, but they really like it when you talk about their problems.
The more they feel understood and heard, the more likely they are to hire you. Empathy matters in your website copy. Show your would-be clients that you understand them and their problems. Demonstrate that you have a complete understanding of what it’s like to be them.
Give the reader that “fly on the wall” experience. Make them wonder how you understand what it’s like to have their problem. Have you been spying on them? Make them feel it.
4. Show me your face.
You may not be the sex symbol people hope to see when they visit your website, but you look normal enough. That’s all prospective clients need.
Show your picture. It builds trust and creates a connection. In fact, more pictures are even better. Give us a small behind-the-scenes tour of your life with a photo album.
Oh, and make sure your pictures were taken thi…
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17min
May 04, 2017 Podcast: Are You Tired of Answering Questions?
"Am I doing this correctly?"

"Should I refer him to someone else or is this something we can handle?"

"Who is this payment for?"

"How does this look?"

As the leaders of our businesses, we inherit a daily (seemingly unending) barrage of questions. Our team relies on our guidance to progress.

Our role as the answer provider keeps employees moving forward but it also slows us down. Our long-term goals are distracted by immediate interruptions.

We subconsciously believe that our role as the answer provider is essential, but what would happen if you stopped answering those questions?

Would your firm crumble? Would your team pack up and leave?

No. In fact, removing yourself as the answer provider will actually do good. I was where you are now, needing to provide answers because I didn't have a system or culture in place that allowed otherwise.

Reaching the point where I was no longer distracted by questions happened abruptly. I didn't have a plan in place when my heart-attack took me out. You, on the other hand, can establish a smooth transition away from the questions.

Hit play and learn how to setup your firm for an independent work culture that lets you focus on growth.

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...more
19min

FAQs about Your Law Firm - from Rosen Institute:

How many episodes does Your Law Firm - from Rosen Institute have?

The podcast currently has 687 episodes available.

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