Grow Your Law Firm

Allison Williams is the owner of not one, but two companies. Not only does she own Williams Law Group, a multi-million dollar law firm focused in matrimonial and family law, with an emphasis on complex Child Welfare matters which she scaled by 856% in four years, but she went on to take the skills that she learned in that journey to start a second business, Law Firm Mentor, where she provides business coaching services for Solo and Small Law Firm attorneys helping them grow their revenues, crush chaos in business and make more money. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Allison shares her background story and how she transitioned her work in child abuse cases into starting her own firm How working 18 hour days and having a near-death auto collision taught Allison that she needed to make changes and bring in help Why lawyers often have trouble letting go of responsibility and delegating to other members of the law firm team, and why doing so is the key to freeing time for yourself How the global pandemic has impacted various practice areas differently, with personal injury and criminal law being the hardest-hit areas How family law is booming under the global pandemic due to the surging increase in domestic problems and issues Why lowering your rates is never the correct solution, and why learning how to effectively sell your services is crucial for growth Why marketing shouldn’t be one-and-done but instead everything you do should be repurposed and repackaged into other content Which books have made the most impact on Allison, her career, and the way she conducts her business Why the best way to move the needle in your business is to start where there is the most friction How to get access to Allison’s free “Crushing Chaos Quiz” to help you identify where you can make improvements in your firm Resources: Website: https://lawfirmmentor.net The Crushing Chaos with Law Firm Mentor Podcast: https://lawfirmmentor.net/podcast Crushing Chaos Quiz: https://bit.ly/LFM-chaosquiz LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/allisoncwilliams LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/law-firm-mentor-llc/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/paragano-&-williams-llc/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/LawFirmMentor Twitter: www.twitter.com/Law_Firm_Mentor @Law_Firm_Mentor Additional Resources: The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Brian F. LaBovick was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1990 and started his career as an Honor Graduate Program inductee at the United States Department of Justice as a Federal Prosecutor. Since that time Mr. LaBovick has maintained an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and been a Super Lawyer® in 2007 and a Florida Trend Legal Elite attorney in 2010 both in the Personal Injury field. He has been involved in multiple charities and community service projects over the past 30 years, and served on numerous charity boards. He is a past Director of the Palm Beach County Justice Association and a Past President of the North Palm Beach County Bar Association. Mr. LaBovick has created multiple businesses outside his law firm, including Media Maven Marketing, Legal Assist, LLC, and a national specialized medical billing company, GO-SB. Mr. LaBovick moved to Palm Beach County, Florida where he started a solo practice in 1994. The firm now has 8 attorneys and 40 office staff, and offices in Florida and Massachusetts. The firm handles serious personal injury concentrating in Maritime, travel, and Cruise boat injuries as well as workers compensation across Florida, and Social Security Disability and pip collections across the nation. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How the coming wave of non-lawyer ownership of law firms will affect the legal industry, and what pros and cons exist Why Brian doesn’t feel “doom and gloom” over the coming wave, and why looking at the precedent set in countries like England and Australia can offer guidance How the coming wave of corporation-owned firms can be compared to the birth and growth of Walmart, and why it is important to compete on more than price to survive Why consumer-based law isn’t nearly as in danger of being taken over or pushed out of business as big corporate firms What steps to take to better prepare your law firm for potential merger and acquisition opportunities What concerns Brian has about the way the state of Arizona may be implementing non-lawyer ownership of firms Why one of the key things to watch out for is the “gaming of the system” and the establishment of unethical relationships between firms and their owners What a “para-lawyer” is, and how North Carolina set the standard to allow people to exist halfway between paralegal and lawyer and still have ownership in a firm Why setting up and running your law firm like a business is going to be instrumental in navigating the future Resources: Website: www.labovick.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brian-labovick-40032a9/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/labovick-law-group/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/Florida.Lawyers/ Twitter: @LaBovickLaw Additional Resources: The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Ken Hardison has fought for people’s rights as a trusted personal injury lawyer for over 35 years. His ethics, integrity, and passion for his clients helped to build one of North Carolina’s most successful firms, Hardison & Cochran, and a successful Social Security disability firm, Carolina Disability Lawyers, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Now, as owner and publisher of the law firm management website, Law Practice Advisor, and founder and president of PILMMA, Ken devotes his time to helping attorneys build their own preeminent law practices with proven marketing strategies and management resources. Ken has been recognized as one of the top 100 Trial Lawyers in North Carolina and is a member of the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Systematic Marketing is his tenth book. Ken has authored 5 books on marketing and managing law firms. He is a sought-after speaker throughout the country on marketing and managing law firms. Ken is known as the “Millionaire Maker” due to his coaching clients doubling and quadrupling their law practices and income following Ken’s practice growing advice and insights. Ken lives in North Myrtle Beach, SC where he enjoys playing golf and fishing when he is not helping lawyers grow their practices. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why Ken believes masterminds have been the biggest thing to help take his law firm to the next level What a mastermind group is, how they are structured, and how participating in one can benefit your firm What important topics to cover in the mastermind, like discussing what has and hasn’t been working for your firm and what strategies others are finding success with Why a mastermind can be worked into a getaway vacation, allowing you to spend time thinking about growing your practice without having to deal with the day-to-day How masterminds have shown proven growth for firms who participate, and how to start your own or join someone else’s mastermind What frequency to meet together as a mastermind group for maximum effectiveness, and what resources are available to help you set up a mastermind Why a great facilitator is an important part of a mastermind, keeping everyone focused and productive Why a mastermind serves as a powerful connector, allowing you to access the skills and expertise of people with many different skill sets and experiences Why a mastermind that costs money to become a member can often prove more useful and effective than a free mastermind, and why participating is an investment Resources: Email: Ken@PILMMA.org Phone: 1-800-497-1890 The Mastermind Effect: https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect/ PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Ben Amos is a passionate online video strategist, video producer, international speaker and consultant working with savvy brands across the world to connect them to their ideal audiences through effective online video marketing. As host of the Engage Video Marketing Podcast, and creator of the Online Video Strategy Blueprint, Ben’s mission is to help other creatives, marketers, entrepreneurs and video producers better understand how to attract, engage and convert audiences online with video. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why video content is the ideal vehicle to get your message out and overcome prospects’ internal objections to get more conversions How to create “Frequently Asked Questions” videos that are specific to your firm and how you do business Why it is important to use video to improve your client experience and delight your prospects and existing clients What tools and software are available to help you create personal video content and even record your screen as you walk viewers through important documents Why it is important to decide on your platform first (such as LinkedIn or YouTube) and then create content tailored to that platform Why focusing on benefiting your audience is the key to beating the platform’s content algorithm, and why YouTube’s tags don’t make much of a difference anymore How YouTube’s ranking algorithm works, and why watch time is a much more important metric than the overall length of your video How to make sense of video analytics results and metrics, and why you should align the metrics you pay attention to with your goals for the video When it is best to pay a video production company to make highly polished content for you, and when filming your own content is more appropriate Why a smartphone camera, an inexpensive lighting kit, and a decent-quality microphone are all you need to create good video content Resources: Website: www.engagevideomarketing.com Website: www.innovatemedia.com.au Engage Video Marketing Podcast: www.engagevideomarketing.com/podcast Program: www.onlinevideostrategyblueprint.com Program: www.engagevideomarketingacademy.com Instagram: @engage_ben Twitter: @engage_ben LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/beninnovate/ Facebook: www.fb.com/engagevideomarketing YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/engagevideomarketing Additional Resources: PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Ben Amos is a passionate online video strategist, video producer, international speaker and consultant working with savvy brands across the world to connect them to their ideal audiences through effective online video marketing. As host of the Engage Video Marketing Podcast, and creator of the Online Video Strategy Blueprint, Ben’s mission is to help other creatives, marketers, entrepreneurs and video producers better understand how to attract, engage and convert audiences online with video. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why Ben believes video offers the “one-two punch” of allowing you to give your audience relevant information but in a humanizing way What the seven elements necessary for optimizing your video strategy are, and why each of the elements matters Why it is important to create an “ideal customer avatar” to help you create ideal marketing and communication that speaks to that person Why understanding your target clients beyond just basic demographics is crucial for pursuing the right prospects Why everyone goes through an emotional and rational journey when deciding what firm to hire, and how to align your video content to that journey How the secret to creating engaging video content is to offer resources and information that is focused on your audience, not your law firm Why market analysis and a review of your current strategy is the first step to planning out a video campaign Why emotional triggers like trust, experience and care are the keys to achieving audience buy-in to your content Why providing value to your audience creates a sense of reciprocity and makes them more likely to choose you over your competitor Resources: Website: www.engagevideomarketing.com Website: www.innovatemedia.com.au Engage Video Marketing Podcast: www.engagevideomarketing.com/podcast Program: www.onlinevideostrategyblueprint.com Program: www.engagevideomarketingacademy.com Instagram: @engage_ben Twitter: @engage_ben LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/beninnovate/ Facebook: www.fb.com/engagevideomarketing YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/engagevideomarketing Additional Resources: PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Chris Brewer is the co-founder of OMG Commerce. Chris is a frequent speaker and guest at industry events and digital marketing podcasts. He currently manages inbound leads and acts as an account strategist for OMG Commerce. In addition to the incredible growth and success with “OMG,” his entrepreneurial accomplishments have included building and selling an outdoor advertising marketing company and direct mail company. He is the author of the book, Does Your Marketing Make You Money: 7 Quick & Easy Secrets to Create A Booming Business Now and resides just outside Springfield, Missouri with his wife of 23 years. What you’ll learn about in this episode: What recommendations Chris has for lawyers who would like to take advantage of the massive reach of YouTube, and why it’s important to get onto YouTube now Why YouTube blurs the lines between advertising and marketing, and how law firms can use YouTube to market their firms at no financial cost Why worrying about your first video being amazing content shouldn’t hold you back from exploring the platform, and why you should give away your best info on YouTube How to get started on YouTube by answering frequently asked questions, and how your team can be a valuable source of inspiration How to ensure that your videos get noticed in people’s search results, and how to create staggered content that is engaging and effective How a basic video lighting kit and a simple phone tripod can help you create high quality video for YouTube How you can use Canva art software to quickly and easily create professional-quality YouTube video thumbnails How embedding your YouTube video content in your website can dramatically improve your SEO value and search rankings Why shorter, more digestible videos are a better choice than long content, and what coming trends and changes you should be aware of Why you should develop specific goals for your YouTube content and then build that content with those goals in mind Resources: Canva simple custom thumbnail tool: www.canva.com Email: chris@omgcommerce.com Website: www.omgcommerce.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/momarketer/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/omgcommerce/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/omgcommerce/ Twitter: @momarketer Twitter: @OMGCommerce Additional Resources: Law Firm Growth Maximizer Event: https://bit.ly/PILMMAlfgm2 PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Ken Hardison has fought for people’s rights as a trusted personal injury lawyer for over 35 years. His ethics, integrity, and passion for his clients helped to build one of North Carolina’s most successful firms, Hardison & Cochran, and a successful Social Security disability firm, Carolina Disability Lawyers, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Now, as owner and publisher of the law firm management website, Law Practice Advisor, and founder and president of PILMMA, Ken devotes his time to helping attorneys build their own preeminent law practices with proven marketing strategies and management resources. Ken has been recognized as one of the top 100 Trial Lawyers in North Carolina and is a member of the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Systematic Marketing is his tenth book. Ken has authored 5 books on marketing and managing law firms. He is a sought-after speaker throughout the country on marketing and managing law firms. Ken is known as the “Millionaire Maker” due to his coaching clients doubling and quadrupling their law practices and income following Ken’s practice growing advice and insights. Ken lives in North Myrtle Beach, SC where he enjoys playing golf and fishing when he is not helping lawyers grow their practices. What you’ll learn about in this episode: In this unique episode of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, Ken shares recorded audio from his “The A to Z Blueprint for a Killer Law Firm Newsletter” webinar, recorded September 24, 2020. How, in just five years, TV ad spend by lawyers has increased from $500 million to more than $1 billion and is becoming increasingly competitive by the day Why referrals are a better investment of your time and resources and a better source of new work than up-front marketing How a newsletter can help you stay top-of-mind with your clients in an easy, inexpensive way, and how a newsletter can help your audience know, like and trust you What the five characteristics of a great law firm newsletter are, and why it should cover topics outside of law too Why it is important to keep your writing at the 5th to 7th grade level, and how to use the Hemingway Editor to determine the grade level of your newsletter content Why creating and sending your newsletter consistently and regularly is crucial, and why you should release a new newsletter at least quarterly if not every other month What components should go into a killer newsletter, and why you should send out your newsletter as bulk mail rather than first class mail Why your mailing list is your most valuable and important asset with a real financial value for your firm, and whether it is better to do the work yourself or to outsource it Why it takes around twelve months of effort to see results from your newsletter, and why you have to stick with it and remain consistent to get there How including notes of thanks to your referral sources in your newsletter can be a powerful way to get people to think of you as their trusted legal advisor Resources: Ragan’s First Draft newsletter content: www.FirstDraft.biz Hemingway Editor: www.hemingwayapp.com Additional Resources: Law Firm Growth Maximizer Event: https://bit.ly/PILMMAlfgm2 PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

As the Vice President of Business Development at Consultwebs, 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 frequently shares his insights on online marketing with the legal community, including speaking at PILMMA conferences held throughout the country. He has spoken at M&L Seminars and co-hosted webinars with Google, Avvo, LawMarketing.com Editor-in-Chief Cindy Greenway and Raleigh attorney / PILMMA founder Ken Hardison. In 2019, the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys invited Tanner to speak at its Annual Symposium in Nashville. Additionally, Lawyers Weekly newspapers and Attorney at Law Magazine have interviewed Tanner numerous times. Tanner is a regular contributor to the Consultwebs online legal marketing blog. He has also appeared on the award-winning LAWsome podcast, discussing how law firms can measure their marketing ROI. A native of Waynesville, North Carolina, Tanner earned a degree in Business Management (with a minor in Economics) from Berea College in 2008. He has now returned to Waynesville, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and son and enjoys camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, golfing and playing “any other competitive sport available” in his free time. However, he admits that his goal for sports has gone from “win” to “don’t get injured.” What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Consultwebs helps law firms in all aspects of digital marketing and online messaging including web design, social media and SEO How Google’s new Google Screened Local Service ad program works to verify a business and show that a business has developed a trusted reputation How getting approved for Google Screened allows you to run Local Service ads in your market and appear at the very top of search results What qualities Google evaluates in how they rank your ads, and why it is important to respond to as close to 100% of the leads Google sends you as possible Whether to list your office hours as open 24/7 or not, and why Google can pull your ad if they receive enough complaints about your business How an agency like Consultwebs can be a powerful partner to help you identify what marketing efforts are working and where to best spend your money and resources Why it is important to avoid getting caught up in “recency bias”, and why getting started quickly is the key to getting the best returns Why continuing to invest in pay-per-click and allocating new budget to Local Service ads is critical to evaluate Local Service ads’ effectiveness for your firm Why your firm needs to have a clear business strategy to best determine if pay-per-click is cost effective How some law firms are using location, proximity and local search to determine where to open new office locations Resources: Website: www.consultwebs.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tannerjonescw/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/consultwebs/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/consultwebs/ Twitter: @TannerJones_CW Twitter: @Consultwebs Additional Resources: Law Firm Growth Maximizer Event: https://bit.ly/PILMMAlfgm2 PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Ken Hardison has fought for people’s rights as a trusted personal injury lawyer for over 35 years. His ethics, integrity, and passion for his clients helped to build one of North Carolina’s most successful firms, Hardison & Cochran, and a successful Social Security disability firm, Carolina Disability Lawyers, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Now, as owner and publisher of the law firm management website, Law Practice Advisor, and founder and president of PILMMA, Ken devotes his time to helping attorneys build their own preeminent law practices with proven marketing strategies and management resources. Ken has been recognized as one of the top 100 Trial Lawyers in North Carolina and is a member of the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Systematic Marketing is his tenth book. Ken has authored 5 books on marketing and managing law firms. He is a sought-after speaker throughout the country on marketing and managing law firms. Ken is known as the “Millionaire Maker” due to his coaching clients doubling and quadrupling their law practices and income following Ken’s practice growing advice and insights. Ken lives in North Myrtle Beach, SC where he enjoys playing golf and fishing when he is not helping lawyers grow their practices. What you’ll learn about in this episode: In this unique episode of the Grow Your Law Firm podcast, Ken shares recorded audio from his recent “3 Barriers to Law Firm Growth and How to Overcome Them” webinar. Ken introduces himself and shares a brief bio, then discusses how the global pandemic outbreak is impacting law firms of all kinds Why ineffective leadership, no scalable infrastructure, and ineffective marketing are the three barriers that can stunt your law firm’s growth Why firm leaders need to be frequently interacting with your clients, employees and your competitors to recognize what you’re doing right and what you could do better What steps you need to take to successfully delegate work to the members of your team and support them in their efforts Why a scalable infrastructure makes the work easier and ensures consistent, repeatable results for every client Why your marketing and messaging needs to differentiate you from your competitor firms, and why you need to identify who your ideal client is and how best to target them Why social proof like case studies and testimonials can help establish your law firm’s credibility and reputation Why past clients can be a fantastic referral source, but only if you provide them with an easy-to-use, low-effort system to refer you Why you need to continue to experiment and use multiple messaging platforms to keep up with your audience and their evolving tastes and interests Why the four areas of people, strategy, execution and cash are the keys to addressing the three barriers to your firm’s growth What information you’ll be able to learn to supercharge your growth at PILMMA’S Law Firm Growth Maximizer event Additional Resources: Law Firm Growth Maximizer Event: https://bit.ly/PILMMAlfgm2 PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma

Erik Pickering has over 25 years of experience in running and growing businesses. As President of the Consumer Division of First Advantage Corporation, he ran two data business units: US Search and the Home Owners Club. At Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, his responsibilities included research data operations, trading desk oversight, and company-wide security. Prior to that he also worked at Amazon.com, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Procter & Gamble. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Erik’s journey into entrepreneurship in the data space How Erik broke Tracers into the legal market and grew it by 50% in 18 months Major hurdles Erik encountered while growing his business, and what legal practices can take away from his experiences How to build a practice that aligns with your vision The importance of core values and the role they play as you build your law firm How the global pandemic impacted Erik’s business, and the resulting trends he sees today What to look for in top talent as the rehiring process slowly begins Resources: Website: https://www.tracers.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-pickering-321288/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/tracers-information-specialists-inc./ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracersdata/ Twitter: @tracersdata Additional Resources: 3 Barriers to Law Firm Growth and How to Overcome Them: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/3-barriers-on-demand-registration PILMMA’s free Coronavirus Survival Kit: www.pilmma.org/free-resources/ Strategic Attorney Coach: https://www.pilmma.org/strategic-attorney-coach/ PILMMA Join Page: https://pilmma.kartra.com/page/join-pilmma