Always Learning To Maintain A Culture Of Excellence and Grow   Welcome to episode 130 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Mike Bottaro and they talk about how to maintain your culture of excellence and continue to grow. As a college student, Mike Bottaro knew he wanted to become a lawyer. There, Mike read a New England lawyer’s book about standing up to large corporations on behalf of sick children.  Mike met that lawyer who inspired him to learn about personal injury law as a calling to help people and make our communities safer. Later in life, Mike suffered his own injuries and obstacles that grew his spiritual faith and gave empathy for the injured. It is these life experiences that Mike brings with him every day in helping his clients recover and achieve justice after a personal injury.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Always continuing to learn to maintain a culture of excellence Striving to differentiate yourself with authenticity Keeping core values front and center to strengthen a team Learning from those who have done it Fostering the bonds with team members Practicing law as an honorable endeavor   Resources:  Website: https://bottarolaw.com/ Mike Bottaro’s Website: https://bottarolaw.com/about-us/meet-our-attorneys/mike-bottaro/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-bottaro-law-firm-llc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandPersonalInjury Twitter: https://twitter.com/rilawyer   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Law Firm Marketing And Management Tips From An Expert   Welcome to episode 128 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Micki Love and she shares her expertise on marketing and management for law firms. Micki Love is the President and Chief Brand Strategist of cj Advertising. She oversees all agency accounts and launched cj Consulting. Her insight on marketing, strategy, management, and leadership helps guide the agency and their family of clients toward a bright and successful future. Micki began her career as a runner for Hughes & Coleman, a small personal injury law firm in Kentucky where she was involved in all aspects of marketing and managing at the firm. Over the course of her tenure with Hughes & Coleman, the firm grew to over 175 team members with nine offices in four states. Throughout that time, she helped organize the M&L Legal Marketing and Management seminars, conducted financial comparison groups, and helped implement a cutting-edge intake department and operational efficiency system. She eventually came to lead the firm as their Chief Operating Officer.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Combining a law firm operational background with a marketing background Starting with intakes and converting them to build an efficient firm Your medical records process and how to streamline it Looking at your negotiation process and optimizing it Average fees and how to increase them Case-grading to know what you have in the works and that they get to the right attorneys Why it’s best to have an in-house medical records department The difficult labor market After-hour call centers that deliver   Resources:  Website: https://www.cjadvertising.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjAdvertising/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milove/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cjadvertising?lang=en   Contact Info: Company: cj Advertising Email: Micki Love mlove@cjadvertising.com   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Benefitting From What You Have Built: Buying or Selling Your Law Firm   Welcome to episode 127 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Tom Lenfestey and they talk about buying or selling a law firm. Tom Lenfestey is the Founder of The Law Practice Exchange, LLC as well as a practicing North Carolina attorney, licensed CPA and Accredited Business Intermediary. Tom’s years in private practice focused on transition and succession planning for other professions including creating, advising and implementing strategic business and estate plans for those clients. In doing so, he came to recognize the lack of knowledge, attention and options that were available in the legal profession to attorneys and their own practices, specifically in the realm of succession planning and other transition or exit opportunities. As a result, Tom founded The Law Practice Exchange in 2013 to provide education, options and brokerage and consulting services to the legal profession on selling, buying and overall law firm succession strategies. Tom has served on the Transitioning Lawyers Commission and Professional Vitality Committee with the North Carolina Bar Association and provides numerous educational events to attorneys hosted by state and local bar associations, legal insurers and law related professional organizations on the topics of succession planning, selling your law practice, valuing a law practice and others related to lawyer transitions. In addition, Tom has been interviewed or published in a number of legal publications in regard to transition planning for lawyers and law firms. Tom is an author of the book Designing a Succession Plan for Your Law Practice and numerous other articles and resources about selling, buying and valuation of law firms.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Helping transact business deals for other professionals and seeing a need to help Lawyers complete deals The effects of COVID on the sales of law firms A remote world and its effects on what a buyer looks for when buying a law firm Structuring the sale of your law firm to minimize tax hits Not signing a deal until you know it is tax advantageous How to value your law firm Lawyers as risk-adverse buyers The ease at which deals are getting done because of the influx of funds in the space Non-attorney ownership as a wild card possibility in the future Private Equity’s role in the market for law firms in the future The lowering age and demographic shift of those selling, and what it means The importance of knowing your potential options when ready to sell   Resources:  Website: https://thelawpracticeexchange.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-law-practice-exchange/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawpracticeexchange/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawPracticeExch   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

The New Landscape of Legal Marketing With Social Media Welcome to episode 125 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Ali Awad and they talk about why social media is the way you should be marketing your law firm. Ali Awad is the owner of CEOLawyer, a multi-million dollar law firm servicing personal injury victims nationwide. Before becoming an attorney, Ali had seven different companies where he went from making $10,000 a week in middle school doing online sales to running a 7-figure car audio business. By age 24, he earned his doctorate in law and masters in business, making him one of the youngest JD/MBA graduates in the entire state of Georgia. One of his main strategies for client acquisition has been social media marketing. Because he provides free legal advice on Instagram (@ceolawyer) and many other social media channels, he has amassed a following of over 1.5 million followers. Engaging with followers through giveaways, polls, trivia and replying to every comment has allowed the CEOLawyer community to grow greatly in size. Ali is dedicated to content creation and has developed a unique content strategy for developing ‘blastable’ videos in bulk. He has monthly content shoots with his media team where he creates 60+ videos in a single day. Whether it’s a video post, a meme, a car crash video, or a graphic post, any content can be run as an ad. This is his main marketing strategy. Ali also runs a media company, CEO Media, that is dedicated to teaching attorneys and other professionals how to brand and market themselves through social media. He believes most professionals need help with understanding and leveraging platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and Ali is now on a mission to change the way professionals use social media.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Social Media can give you a lower cost per case Finding yourself with the problem of signing on too many cases Becoming the big fish in the small pond of your market Free engagement and awareness with social media Social media as a brand building platform as opposed to a lead generating platform Why you don’t have to spend money on TV, radio, and billboards Educating the public with social media, creating relationships, and building trust Waiting to convert until after you build awareness and engagement Why you don’t want every available client, only the right ones Creating content that people want to share and creating a snowball effect 1000 followers on social media as enough to take over a market Knowing when you need to become a better leader   Resources:  Website: www.ceolawyer.com Facebook: @ceolawyer Instagram: @ceolawyer   Contact Info: Company: CEOLawyer Email: Ali Awad:  aliawadlaw@gmail.com   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Being Proactive To Take Advantage of Business Incentives In The Tax Code Welcome to episode 125 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Boris Musheyev and they talk about why you should be proactive with your tax planning. Boris Musheyev, CPA is a tax and accounting firm specializing in tax planning and strategy for entrepreneurs and business owners. We use proven tax strategies to save our clients tens of thousands of dollars on taxes every year when implemented correctly. We personalize each and every strategy to ensure that our client's family and business situation is thoroughly examined to maximize tax savings. Our team is made of high-performing professionals who take diligence and care in every step of the process when handling clients taxes.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Being proactive and using tax strategies to contribute to business growth Income shifting from a higher tax bracket to a lower tax bracket The difference between C corporations and S corporations Understanding how the tax code is incentivized to help business owners save money Self-rental strategies to acrue depreciable assets Creating different business entities to shift income The changes to the tax code with the changes in political control   Resources:  Website: www.taxplanningcall.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/borismusheyevcpa Contact Info: Company: BORISMTAX INC Email: Boris Musheyev accounting@Borismtax.com   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/

Finding The Perfect Marketing Recipe Welcome to episode 124 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Eric Morgan and they talk about finding the right marketing recipe. Eric Morgan has a rich background of over 27 years of strategy, media planning and buying, and analytics experience in offline, online, non-traditional and promotional advertising campaigns. His insight and approach have helped design media strategies and campaigns for brands including Morris Bart, LLC, Frank D. Azar & Associates, Wayne Wright Injury Lawyers, Shelly Leeke, Harrahs Casino, Louisiana Office of Tourism, Hotel Monteleone, and Visit Baton Rouge.   Eric earned an M.B.A. at Tulane University and a B.A. from Loyola University in Advertising Communications with a minor in Marketing. Having over 27 years of strategy and media buying experience, Eric regularly speaks on the topics at conferences. In 2009, he was named Top Executive of the Year by the Advertising Club of New Orleans. He has taught Advertising Media Planning in Loyola University’s Communications Department, and is a fellow of Loyola’s Institute for Environmental Communications and the Institute of Politics. Eric sits on the Board of Directors of the Go.Be., supporting entrepreneurial minority small business owners, and is a past board member of Louisiana Chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization and the Tulane Association of Business Alumni.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: The difficulty in discerning where your leads come from when marketing with several mediums How marketing is like a gumbo where different ratios and mixtures will give you different returns Tinkering with your marketing to find the recipe that gives you the conversion rate that you want Finding your niche in your market and capitalizing on the right cost per case for you Reaching frequency and how it’s more nuanced than you think Do ads on live TV pay off? Is there a real benefit to the QR code? Knowing your brand and your strategy as the answer to everything else   Resources:  Website: www.morganandco.com Contact Info: Company: Morgan & Co. Email: Eric Morgan eric@morganandco.com   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Creating True Wealth and a Life That You Love As a Woman Lawyer Welcome to episode 121 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Davina Frederick and they talk about how woman lawyers can create true wealth and the life that they want. Davina Frederick is a Florida-licensed attorney, law firm growth strategist, and business coach for women law firm owners. Prior to starting her own law firm in 2007 and growing it successfully during the 2008 recession and its aftermath, she enjoyed a career as a professional services marketer. In 2013, she founded D. Frederick Media and Marketing, LLC, with the goal of helping professional service business owners implement their marketing strategies. Since most of Davina’s clients were women law firm owners who wanted the inside-scoop on how Davina had successfully created and scaled her own law firm, she began to focus on serving just women law firm owner clients. In 2020, Davina rebranded her company to reflect this shift, creating Wealthy Woman Lawyer.® Wealthy Woman Lawyer® assists women law firm owners in scaling their law firms into $1M+ wealth-generating businesses, without overwork or overwhelm.   Davina is the author of two books: The Wealthy Woman Lawyers Guide to Law Firm Marketing in the Virtual Age: 10 Bold Actions to Take Now to Attract Your Ideal Clients with Total Ease; and The Wealthy Woman Lawyers Guide to a Systems-Driven Law Firm Business: 7 Essential Systems You Need to Take Back Your Time, Avoid Burnout, and Create Lasting Wealth. She’s also the founder and host of the Wealthy Woman Lawyer podcast.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Changing the mindset of thinking you have to do everything as a business owner Why law partnership is seemingly male dominated Societal shifts that are empowering women and encouraging their rise in the professional world Continuing your learning process to find higher levels of success Knowing you are not the best person for every job in your business Not asking how when looking to get something done, but asking who instead Getting over the hurdle of finally hiring that associate True wealth as being in a place where you are be able to decide how you spend your time Creating a community of women lawyers who are working towards the same thing   Resources:  Website: www.wealthywomanlawyer.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davinafrederick/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wealthywomanlawyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/dbfrederick1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wealthywomanlawyer/    Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Adapting To Changes In The World With Your Web Presence Welcome to episode 122 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Tanner Jones and they talk about how to adapt to changes in the world with your web presence. As Vice President of Business Development, Tanner Jones oversees all business development opportunities for Consultwebs and their clients. He has the privilege of speaking with virtually every law firm that contacts Consultwebs and working with them to determine how they may accomplish their digital marketing goals. Tanner earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Management, from Berea College in 2008. His journey with Consultwebs began in 2009, and he now has over a decade of experience consulting with law firms on case-driving online marketing strategies.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: The evolution of how customers are expecting to be served Keeping a virtual presence to conform to a new normal Establishing a virtual case management system The difficulties of managing employees across several locations Growing your firm through acquisition Competing with the 800-pound gorillas in your market Marketing yourself in a true authentic way Marketing through education and providing helpful information The benefits of working in person with on-air radio personalities Giving back to your community and creating social impact   Resources: Website: https://www.consultwebs.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tannerjonescw/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consultwebs/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/consultwebs?lang=en Contact Info: Company: Consultwebs Email: Tanner Jones tjones@consultwebs-email.com Assistant Info: Maren Hudson - mhudson@consultwebs-email.com   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Networking and Learning From Others to Grow Your Law Firm Welcome to episode 121 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Christopher Early and they talk about how networking can help grow your law firm. Christopher Earley started his own firm, The Law Office of Christopher Earley, nearly 20 years ago, straight out of Law School because of a tough job market. Beginning as a one-man band, Chris has grown his firm into a thriving business with a large team. His firm’s core principle is to help the community, and Chris dedicates his career to advancing the rights of injury victims against powerful insurance companies. Chris has authored several book part of a series called, The Truth Series, writes a monthly column for the American Bar Association, as well as for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and writes three different newsletters each month. Chris gives back to the community by aligning his office with the Greater Boston Food Bank and the Chelsea Collaborative, grassroots organizations that help those in need. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Betting on yourself and going out on your own to start your own practice Deciding to scale your firm and networking to learn what you need to make it happen Putting an emphasis on service to your clients to achieve growth Knowing you don’t have to be the best trial lawyer to have a successful business Building a culture-oriented business Finding the right team members to drive success and growth Christopher’s Attorney Newsletter and how it can help your law firm Your list as your most important asset for growing your firm How authoring a book can be an amazing lead generator and maybe even get you out of a traffic ticket Resources:  Website: www.chrisearley.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bostonpersonalinjurylawyer/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawofficeofchristopherearley/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawyersInjuries Additional Resources:  PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/  

Crafting The Story That Will Make You Stand Out Welcome to episode 120 of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode Ken sits down with Paul Furiga and they talk about crafting the story that will make you stand out. Paul Furiga is president and chief storyteller of WordWrite. Since its founding in 2002, WordWrite has grown into the Pittsburgh region’s largest independent public relations agency.  WordWrite has become the region’s go-to crisis agency. In any given year, the firm handles 12 major crises, two that make the news and 10 that do not. Recent engagements have included labor negotiations, COVID-19 health crises and rare book thefts. In 2013, Paul was honored by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) with The Renaissance Hall of Fame Award. WordWrite has received numerous awards for its work, from PRSA, IABC and other professional organizations. Its work has also appeared in PR News books as case studies of excellence. Paul’s passion for storytelling inspired him to form WordWrite and to write a book on the importance of storytelling in business, Finding Your Capital S Story, available on Amazon. Before founding WordWrite, Paul was a vice president at Ketchum Public Relations, where he served clients including Alcoa, Bridgestone/Firestone and Rutgers University.  Previously, Paul spent two decades as a journalist. He edited the Pittsburgh Business Times from 1994 to 1998. Paul was an editor and correspondent for the Thomson Washington, D.C. bureau from 1988-1993, where he covered Congress, the White House and four presidential nominating conventions. He also was senior editor of OhioWeek and a reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer.    What you’ll learn about in this episode: The power of storytelling to convey a message Indentifying your “capital S, story” Telling a story that tells a prospect why they should hire you as opposed to the other firm The five burning questions you need to answer to improve your marketing Law as a game-changer for society Getting all of your team members to share the same story How easy it is to spend on strategies that don’t produce a return Your unique mix of paid, earned, shared, and owned content How to get people to ask you to tell them more   Websites: www.capitalsstory.com                   www.wordwritepr.com/storycrafting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulfuriga/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wordwritepr Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulfuriga   Additional Resources: PILMMA’s Super Summit: https://www.pilmma.org/summit/ The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s Free Resources: https://www.pilmma.org/resources/ PILMMA Join Page: https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind/