The Law Entrepreneur

Today my guest is Wendy Meadows. And Wendy is, as I like to call her, a reformed family law litigator. That is to say, she practiced family law for quite some time at a medium sized law firm before going out on her own, and then decided that litigation was something that she needed to move away from. She's still doing family law, but focusing on the non-litigation aspects such as mediation, and helping develop parenting plans, and the like. At the same time, she's also a wellness and life coach, helping to move them from difficult positions that they've arrived at as a result of life circumstances and the legal practice, and helps get them unstuck and moving forward. We talk about how those two things, life coaching and wellness coaching and her family law practice, are integrated together and starting to see some synergy between the two. Join us for a really fascinating discussion, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In this episode, Neil and Wendy discuss:The language you use with your client can change the resolution. Building a solo firm. Managing expectations from both the lawyer and the support staff. Time management tools for success.  Key Takeaways:Nobody knows what kind of work you are looking for if you never talk about it. Be willing to take a chance on your dreams and where your heart lies. It will often tie in with your firm even if it doesn’t seem to at first. If you don’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of others? Self-care looks different for everyone (and is more than just bubble baths). With time management, look at where you are struggling and look to see where others can help take tasks off of your plate to free up more of your time.  "The best work I can do in a case is really listening to my client and seeing them have their own transformation through the divorce process. So they actually come out of the divorce process, stronger, better healed, more powerful, and have a positive outlook on life." —  Wendy Meadows Get in touch with Wendy MeadowsWebsite: https://wendysmeadows.com/ Email: wendy@wendysmeadows.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendy_s_meadows/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wendy-S-Meadows-Life-Coach-100523765698021 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-sare-meadows-ba80285/  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Coach Rockwell - Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Today, my guest is Ryan Kimler. Ryan owns an accounting and finance firm, called Financial Clarity LLC, and they principally support attorneys. Ryan and I got together to discuss what are the important financial analysis functions that solo and small firm practitioners need to get into place in order to grow their law firms. If you’re like most people, you might have a bookkeeper that helps you get the data into your accounting package, but in many cases,  that is the extent to which your financial support extends. Ryan's company, Financial Clarity, LLC, takes it to the next step by adding accounting functions, as well as fractional CFOs. It's an interesting concept to consider. So if you're like me, this is going to be an important episode to pay attention to. In this episode, Neil and Ryan discuss:Finding someone you can trust to help with your firm’s numbers. Getting a good bookkeeper and accountant as a lawyer (and what the difference between them is). The dangers behind bank-balance accounting. Lesser-known values you can get from your financial services.  Key Takeaways:Any hours you spend doing the books are hours you could have used on billable hours.Building your firm with your accountant from the beginning will allow them to scale with you rather than your books becoming a costly expense down the road. If you don’t know what your numbers are, you don’t know if you are winning or losing as a company. A CFO’s job is to do the analysis of the reports from the accountant for you.  "Having a specialist can really pay off and give you peace of mind that things are getting done correctly, and they're handled properly. And they're going to keep you out of trouble with the IRS or other regulatory agencies as well." —  Ryan Kimler Get in touch with Ryan Kimler:Website: https://www.financialclarityllc.com Email: ryan@financialclarityllc.com Call for Free Financial Assessment: https://go.oncehub.com/rightfit  Free Financial Clarity Dashboard: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RmVWV-gXUJNJGNbAYqeHfFrAfPsZE8op/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102338040678523759655&rtpof=true&sd=true Blog: https://financialclarityllc.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rkimler LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankfinancialclarityllc/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiLyqCOvxvnnlr3_6BOGqww?view_as=subscriber  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Coach Rockwell - Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Today, my guest is Kirk Simoneau. Kirk is an attorney up in New Hampshire, and is this fascinating story of how he went from law school to a fairly sizable firm and within a very short period of time, became the managing partner at a very young age for a venerable firm that had been around for a long time. And it's a really interesting story that then segues to the creation of his own solo practice, Red Sneaker Law. And there's some really interesting stories about how Red Sneaker Law came to be about and how he has positioned himself and branded himself in a very unique way. In this episode, Neil and Kirk discuss:Making yourself invaluable (without being asked). Creating your firm to serve the people and connect with the average person. Taking a different approach to branding your law practice. Standing out and holding firm to your brand and succeeding in your solo firm.  Key Takeaways:The reality of the law and the books of the law are two entirely separate things, especially if you have a trial practice. Your story is unique to you and to your practice. Own it. Find the efficiencies in your day by figuring out your ebb and flow and making it work to the best of your ability. If you want to be successful, you don’t chase - you hunt.  "The number one key to what makes my practice work is the way I schedule my day. I'm super, super regimented about what I do, when I do it, how I batch activities and things like that." —  Kirk SimoneauGet in touch with Kirk SimoneauWebsite: https://redsneakerlaw.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-simoneau-a19a0912/  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Coach Rockwell - Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Today, my guest is Eric Pines. Eric is an attorney who now operates a medium-sized law firm of about 30 employees and they're spread across multiple locations, as is often the standard these days. I wanted to have Eric on board because he could speak to the growth from a solo practice, that he started in his garage, hiring a few friends to help him run his business and has now moved on to have this medium-sized practice We talked about all the lessons learned, things he did right, things he did wrong, things he wish he had done differently, and he's got great insight into a lot of that.  In this episode, Neil and Eric discuss:Starting a small firm in your home and growing to a 20+ employee firm. The evolution of marketing and lead generation. When and how to staff your law firm. Dealing, objectively, with people’s personalities and your business.  Key Takeaways:Read a lot. Read about more than just being a lawyer.As an entrepreneur, you need to understand where your weaknesses lie and when it is better to hand something off to someone else. Being able to select the right people and the right technology can make a big difference in the growth of your firm (and where you are able to grow). By pairing the right employee with the right client you can make a difference in your client’s lives and best support your internal employees.  "As a solo, and as a small firm, you always want to control things yourself, but the reality is, there are certain things you have to hand to other people because you don't have the time or the expertise. What makes for a good law firm attorney entrepreneur is to be able to find the correct experts who can assist you and know when to trust them." —  Eric PinesGet in touch with Eric PinesWebsite: https://www.pinesfederal.com/ & https://toughinjurylawyers.com/  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Coach Rockwell - Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Today I have two guests - Lauren Lester and Jessica Bednarz. Lauren is an attorney operating outside of Denver, Colorado, and has a client based law firm focusing on Family Law principally. It's really interesting how she structured her law firm to be client centered and to take full advantage of the limited scope opportunities and productize the packaging of legal services to meet her client needs. Jessica has formerly worked  with the Chicago Bar Association, and then went on to work for the Chicago Bar Foundation.  She now works in the incubation program leading that program for CBF and helps to turn out new law firms that get away from the billable hour model and are doing a similar thing to what Lauren was doing with her practice in Colorado. Now they've teamed up, and amongst other things, are offering some services and resources known as on purpose legal services. I think it's a fascinating mixture of the two. And I hope you enjoy hearing about it as much as I did learning. In this episode, Neil, Lauren, and Jessica discuss:Reasons you may decide to go into your own law firm.  Looking outside of the law field to see what you like when designing your business or pricing structure. Client-centered communication and guides. Creating modern, profitable law firms.  Key Takeaways:Build a business that you would want to be a client of. Have open dialogue with clear language when communicating with your clients regarding payment and expectations. Be open to opportunities as they come up, taking care of clients is not a risk. D "What we're trying to do is create resources for lawyers, so that they can create modern practices that are client-centric, profitable, and, at the same time, also support their well being. At the end of the day, we want the legal profession to remain healthy and relevant as the legal profession plays a really important part in society." —  Jessica BednarzGet in touch with Lauren & JessicaOn Purpose Legal: https://adifferentpractice.com/ Chicago Bar Foundation: https://chicagobarfoundation.org/ Lester Law: https://www.mylifelawyer.com/ Law Guides: https://colawguides.com/ The Pricing Toolkit: https://thepricingtoolkit.com/ Lauren’s Email: LaurenLester@MyLifeLawyer.com Jessica’s Email: JBednarz@ChicagoBarFoundation.org Lauren’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mslaurenlester/ Jessica’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicabednarzlawyerchicago/  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Coach Rockwell - Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Today, my guest is Sue West. Sue is a personal injury attorney outside of Houston, Texas, and we're going to talk about how she has gone from a law office, essentially in her spare bedroom, to a freestanding physical location in the suburbs and serving clients with a emphasis on client relations and coaching them through, and helping them through, the process of recovering from difficult times catastrophic, in some cases, accident.In this episode, Neil and Sue discuss:Sue’s journey from being the junior attorney in a law office to creating her own law firm.Preparing to start your own firm. Documenting your processes and procedures. Appreciating your clients and going above and beyond for them. Key Takeaways:Referrals are your least expensive marketing. Take care of your clients and stay top of mind with them. Make sure your marketing partners are actually producing for your firm. Find partners you can trust and whose work you like to see. If you have started your own firm, you have done every position. You know what you want to see from your employees. Start documenting those processes as you go.Continue to read and learn about marketing and business development. Whether you go out on your own or not, it will help you to grow your own book of business.  "My clients appreciate me and I appreciate them. My clients have been very important in my continuing to grow." —  Sue West Get in touch with Sue: Website: https://www.houstonpersonalinjury.law/ Email: swest@westlawoffice.net LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-west-law  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur  or call 844.895.7829Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Today my guest is Steve Fretzin. Steve is one of the giants in the legal marketing and business development space. I wanted to have Steve on today for a couple of different reasons, principally because he's got a new book called Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science. And isn't that the truth? It summarizes some of the things written in the earlier books and adds some new material. It's very broad in terms of his treatment of the things that a budding law entrepreneur would want to know in terms of legal business development. We also talk about the whole process of writing a book and why that is useful, and how one might go about doing that if you're an attorney. So if you're an attorney, with a blog post and had a whole bunch of articles already written, and you want to reuse that content, how would you go about formatting that into a book or creating a book out of it? What are some of the important concepts with respect to publishing a book? This will be a great topic to start off the new year. In this episode, Neil and Steve discuss:Being a resource to attorneys interested in growth. Getting in front of people and directing them back to your website. Putting your toe in the water and being consistent in content production. Creating your book out of your previous content.  Key Takeaways:It is pointless to create content for one thing then begin with something new. You can repurpose content 3, 4, 5+ times in order to get everything out of your strategic content. You cannot do everything on all social media channels. Look at your audience and see where you want to be. Repurposing content, especially older content, involves looking at what you have and understanding what you want to put out. It is all about efficiency and time in your business. Whatever you can do right the first or second time, will save you time on the back end.  "There is process, there's methodology, there's language, there are things that need to be learned, but none of it is anywhere near as complicated as building a rocket ship." —  Steve FretzinGet in touch with Steve FretzinWebsite: https://fretzin.com/ Podcast: https://fretzin.com/podcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin/ Books: https://fretzin.com/about/books/ Previous Episode: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/episodes/266-master-the-art-of-business-development-with-steve-fretzin/  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Every year this at this time of year, December, Stacey Brown Randall devotes the month to goal setting. And what you're going to hear on this episode is me admitting that I'm an utterly terrible person at setting goals. I'm the poster boy for why goal setting is important, and I have demonstrated ample ability to foil my own progress by not setting the goals in a way that they're achievable, or sustainable, or maintaining the momentum to realize them. So I thought, hey, let's get Stacey on. We'll summarize her approach to goal setting, reverse goal setting. And we will do that for episode 300. It's a great way to kick off January, and I couldn't be happier to have my friend Stacy Brown Randall on with us again today.  In this episode, Neil and Stacey discuss:Setting, and finishing, your goals. Reversing yourself into this year’s goal by thinking further out (such as using the 5-3-1 method). Being specific and SMART about setting your goals, and tools for helping you achieve them. Categories of goals and how to accomplish each type.  Key Takeaways:The worst thing you can do when setting goals, is ask yourself what goals you want to set for this year (in the singular). Understanding where you want to be in 5 years, will allow you to figure out what you need to do now to get to those desires.There are three categories of goals: habit based, activity based, and project based. All are tracked differently. Don’t allow past failures to hold you back. Bless it, release it, and be willing to move forward with a clean slate.  "The setting of your goals is typically the easy part. Actually finishing your goals, that's the hard part. We romanticize this idea of our goals and our vision board and how amazing our life will be when we've completed it or crushed those goals, and we don't pay attention to actually what goes into making those goals a reality." —  Stacey Brown Randall Get in touch with Stacey:Website: https://www.staceybrownrandall.com/ Podcast: https://www.staceybrownrandall.com/podcast/ Quiz: https://www.staceybrownrandall.com/quiz Further Resources: https://staceybrownrandall.com/goalsBook: https://www.amazon.com/Generating-Business-Referrals-Without-Asking/dp/1683509269 Previous Episodes with Stacey: Ep. 66 – 3 Principles to Drive Business Growth Through Trust & Referrals – with Stacey Brown Randall Ep. 205 – How to Generate Referrals Without Asking – with Stacey Brown RandallEp. 285 - Referrals Revisited: How to Grow Your Business Using Strategic Referrals with Stacey Brown Randall  Thank you to our sponsors!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Starting your own practice isn’t something they teach in law school. Join me as I sit down with legal professionals to hear firsthand accounts of just how they did it.  Today, my guest is Laurie Gilbertson. Laurie has a very interesting career. She started off as a district attorney in the Queens County, New York office. From there she transitioned to being a fixture on Court TV along with other New York media outlets commenting on cases in the news and developing her communication skills and honing that skill set to the point where she was able to provide counseling and training to help attorneys develop those skills. Now she's started her own practice, called Tribeca Blue Consulting, that provides training and education to attorneys and other professional services on the nuances and importance of communication, particularly as a form of leadership. In this episode, Neil and Laurie discuss:The theater of communication. Honing your public speaking and other communication skills. Refining your skill sets in places other than the courtroom. Communication in building your solo firm.  Key Takeaways:Preparation and self awareness is what really makes communication shine.Lawyers, overall, are often resistant to change. We need to open ourselves up to learn.Learning is a mindset change. The best lawyers are those who are open to it. When giving any presentation, you’ve got to know what's going to come out of your mouth in the first 30 seconds.Be more interested than interesting. "Communication is really all about connection. It's about getting out of your own head and getting into the perspective of your audience, whether it's your client, a colleague, a jury, judge, television audience, or a podcast audience, it's all about that." —  Laurie GilbertsonGet in touch with Laurie:Website: https://www.tribecablueconsulting.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriegilbertson/  Thank you to our sponsor!Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy InstagramIf you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Starting your own practice isn’t something they teach in law school. Join me as I sit down with legal professionals to hear firsthand accounts of just how they did it.   In this episode, Neil and John discuss:Transferring the lessons from The Four Seasons and Disney to your business. Focusing in on what most of your clients want. Hiring for your firm before individuals have graduated law school and passed the bar. Answering your clients questions, and training your employees.  Key Takeaways:You don’t need chicken soup and cold meds on stand by. Optimize for what your clients are dealing with and train recognition by the staff, that is free. Do what you can do that is reasonable and available. Allowing an apprenticeship style training program in your firm can help to give your firm great team members, but also help to teach in the moment. Recognize the importance of your referral partners, and let them know that you are thinking of them.  "Focus in on what most of your clients want. It's not some overwhelming experience, just take care of them and make it easy." —  John Strohmeyer Get in touch with John Website: https://www.strohmeyerlaw.com/ Podcast: https://strohmeyerlaw.libsyn.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDaKULB-A6Ru4tKfpZl8ozg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strohmeyerlawpllc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strohmeyerlaw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnthelawyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnthelawyer Join Lawyer Club FREE, where lawyers and law firm owners come to reclaim control of their firms and their lives! Plus, get the full list of Best AI Tools For Lawyers inside!Get in touch with Sam:MLA WebsiteLawyerClubPurchase Sam’s bookThe Law Entrepreneur websiteMy Legal Academy YoutubeMy Legal Academy LinkedInMy Legal Academy Facebook PageMy Legal Academy Instagram Thank you to our sponsors!Spotlight Branding - A legal marketing company that works with solo and small law firms to increase referrals. Go to https://confirm.spotlightbranding.com/tle/ for a better way to market your law practice. Ruby Receptionist - Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time - to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829Daylite - The all-in-one contact relationship manager. If you feel like it’s time to upgrade from spreadsheets to a CRM, visit https://www.marketcircle.com/ and get your first month free when you mention Law Entrepreneur.Get in touch with Neil:Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneurFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hlLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.