The Free Lawyer

Robert Hanna based in the UK, is the Founder & Managing Director of KC Partners, an innovative and world leading legal talent solutions and content creation firm focused on community. He specializes in helping aspiring and qualified legal professionals with their careers and to secure dream jobs with law firms & corporations across the UK, Europe, Middle East, Far East & US.  He brings his amazing insights to The Free Lawyer today, discussing: -The importance of placing just the right attorney with the perfect law firm -How to build lasting relationships in the legal profession -The challenges of stress and burnout and how to defeat them -The benefits of community in the new legal arena -How to maintain balance in today's world, to be successful, fulfilled and happy -The importance of wellness and mental health in our challenging profession Rob has been featured in numerous publications including the CIO TIMES as a Most Inspiring Leader and a Multi Award nominated Community-Maker. Through his entrepreneurial journey he has built and scaled multi-million-pound revenue generating sales teams and sits as a strategic advisor & investor to Recruitment & Legal Tech startups.  Rob is a super networker & active content creator. He the most followed legal recruiter and talent solutions expert across social media. Rob has advised LinkedIn on various new product roll outs and been ranked as a Top 100 Rising Star & Influencer. He regularly features in LinkedIn News & Hosts the LinkedIn Creators Audio Townhall. He is a Mentor, Speaker and Host of the world renowned Legally Speaking Podcast.  He is passionate about normalizing the conversation around mental health and promoting more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Rob’s mission is to emulate the success of his grandfather who ran one of the most prominent law firms of his generation in the 1950s. He is actively disrupting the global recruitment industry, through embracing the digital and content fueled world we live in today to do good for the legal profession building a worldwide collaborative kind community!  Aside from all of that, Rob is proud first-time father to his daughter & parent to his miniature dachshund, Otto!  Contact Information: Mobile: +44 (0) 7843 233 525 Email: rhanna@kcpartners.co.uk Join Legally Speaking Discord Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Do you ever do this? You see someone who is really proficient, better than you, at something you want to achieve; and you begin comparing yourself to them. We want to be better in our profession, so it makes sense to compare ourselves to those who are the best, doesn’t it? How does that work out for you? In Episode 35 of The Free Lawyer, I will describe in detail the trouble with comparison and make tangible suggestions about how to avoid playing the comparison game. When we look inside of ourselves, understand our strengths and weaknesses, and plan for the future, we can achieve the success and personal freedom we want. Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Our guest today is the incredible Jennifer Aternino, a family mediator and divorce coach. If you are a family law attorney, a person encountering a family separation or custody matter, or a professional involved in the field, you will not want to miss this episode. Jennifer shares her insights about: -The biggest hurdles in the divorce process and how to manage them -Tools for helping clients manage the emotional roller-coaster -How to make the divorce process less contentious and more child-focused -How she can help lawyers with their client's emotional needs.  Jennifer is passionate about helping couples (with children) who are separating do so in an amicable and respectful way. She has obtained her Certification as a Professional Mediator. She is extremely child focused through all negotiations. Being a Divorce Coach, she is empathetic and determined to help her clients through this difficult process. She specializes in emotional support and putting things into perspective. She guides her clients through the difficulties. She helps manage the emotions and focuses her clients  on the practical issues of divorce - reducing the negative impact on you and your family. As a Parent Coach, and a divorced mother of two, she has worked very hard to research and establish the tools to help maintain and create a strong bond for single parents and their children. She has also received her Certification as a Youth Self Esteem Coach and as a Positive Discipline Parent and Teacher Educator. You can contact Jennifer through her website: http://www.mychildrenandme.com/ Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Do you ever feel that your fear of failing at something professionally hampers your success? Or causes you stress? Despite our confidence, many of us struggle with internal fears. Overwhelmingly, the most challenging and frequent fear is that of failure. We are so talented, so accomplished, yet often we have a mental thought that we will fail. That hampers our success. How do we manage that fear of failure? In Episode 33 of The Free Lawyer, I discuss four tangible tools for overcoming your fear of failure and achieving the success you deserve. Let me know what you think! Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Do you ever feel you work hard, have a great salary but can never get ahead financially? If so, this episode is for you.  Rho Thomas joins us today to share with us her wisdom about how to build financial freedom as a lawyer. Rho  is an attorney and financial coach who believes that true wealth is having control of your time. She helps lawyers master their personal finances to create freedom and choice in their lives. She also hosts the Wealthyesque podcast where she shares strategies each week for lawyers to improve their money mindset and manage their money to achieve true wealth. Rho shares her insights on; -The biggest financial hurdles attorneys' face today. -How to create a winning money mindset -How to eliminate our debt and build our net worth -Best tips for managing our money and our expenses -How to prioritize our finances and make our best personal choices -How to enjoy true financial freedom You can contact Rho here: https://www.rhothomas.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamrhothomas Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Last week we chatted about people pleasing, the signs of it, and how it can cause resentment, stress, anxiety, and the loss of authenticity.  Would you like to break free of that tendency to people please? If so, in Episode 31, I give you 10 tangible tips to overcome people pleasing. Let me know what you think! Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Laura Frederick is our guest today. Laura has a background in Big Law and as in house general counsel, but courageously opened her own firm and has created a How To Contract Platform to help other legal professionals learn how to effectively navigate the contract world. Laura addresses so many important topics: -How we learn from the challenges in our life -How we can manage fear in our life -How to choose our own path in the legal profession -How to use LinkedIn to grow your network and your business -How to create personal freedom in your own life Laura Frederick is the Founder and CEO of How to Contract, which helps lawyers and professionals learn how we draft and negotiate contracts in the real world, and Managing Attorney at Laura Frederick Law, PLLC, a boutique law firm based in Austin, Texas that helps companies buy, sell, and license technology products. Laura worked on commercial contracts throughout her career, including 11 years in law firms including Big Law firms like Morrison & Foerster, and 14 years as in-house counsel at cutting-edge technology and energy companies like Tesla. After working for others her whole career, she decided in 2019 to work for herself and opened her solo law practice. Then in August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Laura started sharing what she knew about contracts in daily contracting tips on LinkedIn. The idea to post every day started as a 30-day challenge. She started adding to each post a self-made funny cartoon that quickly become her trademark. With the success of her tips on LinkedIn, Laura published a collection of 91 tips in November 2020 in the Amazon bestseller, “​​Practical Tips on How to Contract: Techniques and Tactics from an Ex-BigLaw and Ex-Tesla Commercial Contracts.”  Several law schools use Laura’s book to teach practical contract skills to their students. She also launched the How to Contract training business. Thousands of lawyers and professionals have signed up for her training membership or events. Then in January 2022, Laura hosted a first-of-its-kind virtual conference called the How to Contract Conference featuring 14 practicing lawyers, each sharing their contract insights and techniques. Laura continues posting daily contract tips and cartoons on LinkedIn. She shared recently that in the two years since she started posting daily contract tips, her posts had been seen 9,200,000 times. She continues to find other ways to share her expertise. She’s publishing an expanded edition of her book in September 2022 featuring over 300 tips, each with one of her signature silly cartoons. She also is planning the next big practical contract training event for February 2023. Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Have you ever been asked to do something for someone, said yes, and then resented that you had to do it? Has someone ever complained to you about something, and you said "I'm sorry," when you did not actually think you did anything wrong? If so, you may encounter what is commonly called "people pleasing." In itself, it is not a bad thing, but it can lead to frustration, resentment, and losing connection with who we really are. Many of us have suffered from people-pleasing. I know I have. In episode 29 of The Free Lawyer, I will explain what people pleasing is, describe 9 symptoms of people pleasing, and discuss the 9 negative effects of it, Next week, we will chat about how to break out of the prison of people pleasing.  Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Do any of you encounter someone who is always blaming, has to win at all costs, has to get his way?  And if crossed, lashes out, or gives the silent treatment? Do any of you work in a toxic workplace? Ever have problem clients who are never happy and always attacking? If so you may be encountering someone with narcissistic personality disorder or who exhibits low emotional intelligence, and you will greatly benefit from this episode.  We are joined today by Lynn Catalano who literally has written the book on this topic, Wrecking Ball Relationships, which is incredibly helpful to any of us who encounter narcissism. Lynn discusses in depth: -What is narcissism and how does it present itself -What are the primary characteristics of narcissism -How the narcissist responds when he does not get his way -How to respond to the narcissist best -How to identify and manage the narcissists we encounter in the legal profession -What is a toxic workplace and how to survive in it Lynn is an author, speaker, coach, attorney and survivor of narcissistic abuse, who helps people reframe their thinking in every aspect of their lives; from the workplace to their personal life, becoming an agent of change. One of the greatest skills a person can develop is the ability to navigate difficult people. Lynn helps people learn to identify toxic relationships and gives them the tools to overcome these relationships. Your emotional intelligence is the key to building better, healthier relationships. Lynn will explore how to make emotional intelligence part of your everyday practice and learn how it benefits all of our relationships, teamwork, and collaboration. Lynn also teaches groups how to read the room, how to build rapport and acclimate quickly in any situation. Lynn is the author of the book “Wrecking Ball Relationships: How to Identify, Live With or Leave the Narcissist in Your Life,” available now on Amazon. Lynn lives in Western New York along the Canadian border with her husband, 2 daughters, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a 16-year-old turtle. Lynn loves to travel, hunt for antiques, watch movies and play word games. Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Mistakes happen, right? Deadlines get missed, papers get filed wrong, an important call is not returned. Those can of course be problems, but the bigger problem is how we respond to it. Do we play the blame game? Or do we take productive steps to understand what happened and to correct it? One of the major problems facing law firms and other offices today is the toxic workplace. A major factor is a culture of blame in those firms. That can be remdied! In Episode 27 of The Free Lawyer podcast, I will explain what the blame game is; why no one wins; why we play the blame game, and give tangible steps to avoiding blame and handling the situation responsibly. Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout