Successful Barrister Ep. 1 - The Successful Barrister
In the inaugural episode of The Successful Barrister Podcast, Marc Whitehead and Diana Berry discuss law firms as a business that requires an entrepreneurial outlook. They delve into the Atticus Practice Growth Map to examine the three phases of building a practice in detail. Learn how to avoid burnout, grow like a business, and build teams that can function without you. Explore the concept of the “entrepreneurial seizure” – and learn its cure. Lastly, gain valuable insights from an analysis of Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited and The E-Myth Attorney.
For detailed show notes, read below and use the timestamps to navigate the episode:
[0:52] Marc Whitehead introduces cohost chief operating officer Diana Berry. Diana explains her role as chief operating officer and how it interacts with sales and marketing.
[2:28] The EOS is the entrepreneurial operating system from the book Traction by Gino Wickman. The book introduces the concept of the visionary and the integrator. The visionary is responsible for big solutions and ideas while the integrator focuses on the details and operation. Within Marc Whitehead & Associates, Marc is the visionary and Diana is the integrator
[4:10] The Successful Barrister podcast is for law firm owners, people who want to own their own law firm, or those who run parts of a law firm. It is intended for individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit and vision. This podcast will help entrepreneurs to build a sustainable practice, not a prison.
[6:26] Marc and Diana discuss a U.S. News article about lawyer burnout that put stats behind it: 77% of attorneys interviewed report some form of burnout. Lawyers feel burned out more than half the time. Diana notes that the nature of legal work is very reactionary, which can take a toll on your mental health. Merc notes that many lawyers wrap their identities up in their careers.
[9:32] Marc explains his history in law. He used to take on much of the available work in his firm, which led to burnout. He began to follow Mark Powers and his advice, including Atticus Coaching, to better delegate his work.
[12:26] Marc’s main focuses are the “three Ms:” management, marketing, and mentorship. This allows him to have a sustainable work-life balance.
[15:52] Diana speaks to Atticus Coaching’s tools and benefits, which she has taken advantage of herself. The Atticus Practice Growth Map is a tool firm owners can use to map their career trajectories. Marc explains that some people feel that their understanding of the technical side of the law will allow them to run a successful practice. However, running a practice is a business, and running one without a business skillset will be an uphill battle.
[18:46] Marc talks about scaling. Importantly, scaling the size of your business also involves scaling up the complexity. Legal services are starting to put business professionals behind their firms.
[21:15] After shifting your mindset to an entrepreneurial outlook, the first phase is the technician stage of the Atticus Growth Map. In this stage, everything involves improving your technical skills as a lawyer. Many lawyers never leave that stage and aren’t able to build a firm that can function without them.
[22:25] The second stage in the Atticus Growth Map is the practice leader stage. In this stage, you go beyond the technical side and learn how to lead people who can do the technical work for you. This involves developing profit centers that revolve around other people; usually other lawyers. Those lawyers become sources of revenue. Other roles like paralegals contribute to profit generation less directly.
[25:23] From an operations perspective, this transition involves getting foundational systems into place. This involves the development of training modules, technology, procedures, and systems of accountability.
[27:01] After the practice leader stage, firm owners move on to the final stage: the market leader mindset stage. In this phase, you no longer directly generate revenue. Instead, you gain the freedom to manage the firm, market your services, and mentor lawyers.
[28:02] Removing yourself from the day-to-day process of your firm requires a mindset shift. A firm is practically more valuable the less dependent it is on the revenue production of the owner and the day-to-day participation of the owner.
[31:11] Now Marc’s job is to manage his firm. Diana says that transitioning to management requires building a team that you can rely on. Inherent to this step is ensuring that you are leading an effective team.
[33:02] If everything you’ve built relies upon you, your business is not sellable because it cannot exist without you.
[35:17] Marc and Diana discuss The E-Myth Revisited by Micheal Gerber. In his first book E-Myth, Gerber writes chapters as fables about struggling entrepreneurs, followed by chapters commenting on their actions. In The E-Myth Attorney, Gerber uses the same format and applies it to the legal profession. In this section, Marc and Diana will be discussing both The E-Myth Revisited and The E-Myth for Attorney in combination.
[37:32] The first premise Gerber discusses is the “entrepreneurial seizure” – a mindset shift where a legal professional decides that they understand the technical side of being a lawyer but do not want to work for someone else, and want to run their own profession.
[40:10] When you start your own practice, you become both the technician and the manager. Many people find managing themselves to be difficult.
[41:28] The solution to the entrepreneurial seizure is learning to develop the processes and systems to run the business. Once a system is created, you must build a team that will make that system work. This is the main idea of The E-Myth: entrepreneurship involves creating systems that will run your business, and hiring people who will run those systems.
[46:46] The Successful Barrister will be a regular weekly podcast that covers a variety of topics. It will provide listeners with valuable advice on owning and running a successful law firm.
Listen to The E-Myth Revisited by Micheal Gerber on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-E-Myth-Revisited-Audiobook/B002V1LGZE?source_code=GPAGBSH0508140001&ipRedirectOverride=true&gclid=CjwKCAjwko21BhAPEiwAwfaQCIPn_jlFo6wTat0qI9K03FA8tC9TcMWS6UDcdIfMBy-MWnzTrW_UBRoCKUgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.dsm
Listen to The E-Myth Attorney on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-E-Myth-Attorney-Audiobook/B003M5F7PI