New Modern Lawyer Podcast

In this episode, it is spring cleaning time. After a long winter of accumulating clutter, is it time to open up the windows of our law practice and see what we actually need and what we might get rid of; what is vital to our practices, and what is no longer serving us. If you have stacks of paper on your desk, or if you spend precious minutes each day looking for particular files on your computer, your practice could use a good cleaning. Grab a broom, a trash bag, and your client list, and let’s get cleaning.

I have noticed more and more solo and small firm lawyers starting to use scheduling programs. You know, the link they send you that takes you to a webpage with their calendar, where you can pick a day and time to meet with them or have a phone call or whatever you are trying to connect with them about. My barber uses a scheduling program, and it works great for him. While I think that using a scheduling program in your law practice can have benefits, it’s just not for me. Having a practice that works for me is important, and part of that is being able to control my calendar. In this episode I talk about some of these benefits and explain why I won’t use a scheduling program myself. I would love to hear from you whether you use a scheduling program in your law practice and why or why not. You can send an email to brad@newmodernlawyer.com and let me know.

This episode is titled “Lessons from a broken website” because I want to talk about some of the things I am learning about myself right now, and things I personally need to work on internally. As I record this episode the website for my New Modern Lawyer is down. If you type in the address in your browser, you get some sort of ominous-looking error message. And while it is not a situation I would have chosen, I am actually very grateful it has happened, because of the lessons I am learning from it. I am a believer that what is most personal is most general, meaning that if one person has a particular problem, then there are many others out there experiencing the same problem. So my hope with this episode is that the lessons I am learning from this experience are lessons that you will be able to take apply to your own life.

In this episode I want to talk about what it means for you to have a successful law practice. Because I think the term “success” and “successful” get banded about a lot, but we often don’t take a moment to consider just what that means, for our law practices to be successful. The first thing that probably pops into your mind when you think of your practice being successful is making lots of money; maybe having a steady stream of clients, or closing a certain number of cases a month. And those things do go into and are part of a law practice being successful. But they are only one part of a truly successful law practice. TAKEAWAY: there are three components to a successful law practice: business success, happy clients, and happy you. Unless you have all three in place, you will never feel that your law practice is successful.

When I started my law practice, I made a lot of mistakes. I mean, a LOT of mistakes. Things that I look back on now and wonder, what the hell was I thinking back then? Cases that I took on, clients I worked with, other lawyers I partnered with. And money that I spent. Many mistakes I made involved money. This episode is centered around 3 mistakes I made involving money; things I spent money on and ultimately got little benefit out of.

Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Apple Computers introduced the slogan: “Think different.” This slogan became iconic of Apple, inviting people to look beyond the beige Windows PC that most everyone associated with computers at the time. If you look at most of the law firms out there today, a large majority of them all look the same. They have the same internal pyramid structure of partners, associates, and staff. They bill their clients the same way: by the hour. Pre-pandemic, they all had formal offices with conference tables and in-person meetings. Their lawyers work long hours, including evenings and weekends. They all make the same claims about being client-focused and doing things differently. But realistically, most law firms are the same. In this episode I am going to talk about my law practice, which has been described by some lawyers as “different” than most. TAKEAWAY: you can design your law practice however you want – the only thing holding you back is you and your imagination for what is possible

In this episode I want to talk about ways of thinking. And these are probably not terms you think of in relation to your law practice. You are more likely to find two of them in the context of computers or electronics. These terms are inputs and outputs, and benefits. If one of your goals is for clients to enjoy working with you – in otherwards, for your practice to be client-centric, then how you think about your law practice is very important. Because your way of thinking impacts the decisions you make in important aspects of your practice such as pricing and marketing. In this episode I am going to go through these three ways of thinking and help you decide which is going to make your clients happier and ultimately your practice more successful. TAKEAWAY: to attract the clients you want and make them enjoy working with you, focus on benefits vs. inputs or outputs/deliverables

As lawyers, we never seem to have enough time. There is always something else that needs to be done. We are always busy. And typically, we think of being busy as a good thing. Having work to do is usually equated with making money and being successful. But what if that’s not the case? What if being “busy” is actually preventing your practice from growing and thriving? What if being “busy” is keeping you from being successful? This episode is all about what it means to be “busy” and how being “busy” is actually being lazy. If you are constantly finding yourself “busy” and wondering why your firm isn’t as successful as you’d like it to be, I think you will find a lot of value in this short but powerful episode. TAKEAWAY: stop being “busy”

What is the difference between a typical chain restaurant and a 5-star restaurant? One that you go to when you want something cheap, and one that you rave about to your friends and can’t wait to eat at again? Both serve food and can satisfy your hunger. But one focuses on serving food while the other focuses on the dining experience. Most law firms are like the chain restaurant, focusing on solving their clients’ legal issues. And these firms can be fairly successful. But it is the 5-star firms that have raving fans, that get repeat clients and client referrals, and that are able to really grow and thrive. TAKEAWAY: the little things matter when it comes having happy clients

This is part 2, talking about ditching hourly billing, and in this episode I am going to address some of the concerns that solo and small firm lawyers have about pricing that might cause them to hesitate to do so and switch to flat fees. All these concerns are built around one thing though: fear. The fear of pricing too low. The fear of pricing too high and scaring away prospective clients. The fear of unforeseen things coming up after the fee has been quoted and agreed to. If you want to ditch hourly billing but are afraid of pricing your services, this episode is for you. TAKEAWAY: the only way to get past the fear of pricing your legal services is to do it

This is part 1 on why some firms struggle when trying to ditch hourly billing. There can be various issues that can make changing difficult, but this episode focuses on one issue in particular that I see firms run into, and when they do it can completely derail their conversion program. This is also something that has kept many firms from even trying to ditch hourly billing for another method because they aren’t able to get past the issue within the firm. If you are thinking about ditching hourly billing in your firm, stay tuned because this episode is definitely one you want to listen to. TAKEAWAY: ditching hourly billing requires not just a change in how you bill your clients, it requires a business model shift to evaluate and compensate the lawyers in your firm based on something other than hours worked on a matter

Do you want to make more money in your law practice? There is a 99.9% chance that your answer to that question is “yes.” I mean, who wouldn’t want to make more money, right? If you are part of the 99.9% of solo and small firm lawyers looking to increase the money you make in your practice, I can help. Because in this episode I am going to share with you not only an insanely simple way to make more money, but the two additional ways that every successful law firm out there increases their revenues. TAKEAWAY: if you want to make more money in your law practice, simply raise your rates

If I asked you what criteria you use to determine which lawyer you would select from a list of lawyers to hire for a legal problem you had, you’d probably say that you would make your decision based on which lawyer was the best at solving that problem. That makes logical sense, right? You’d want to choose the best. And that how most lawyers market their practices too, as being the “best” in a particular practice area or “better” than the lawyer down the street. The problem with this is that when people actually make decisions – such as which lawyer to hire – they don’t base their decision on which option is objectively best. Because decision-making isn’t driven by logic, it is driven by emotion. And being the “best” is a logical argument. TAKEAWAY: will you keep marketing yourself as “better” or as different?

My 6-year old daughter experiences emotions very easily. One minute she will be happy playing, and then the next minute she will be angry and pouting. The next minute she will be crying about something, followed quickly by laughing. My wife and I are very careful to let her know that having these feelings is not a bad thing, and of the importance of allowing the emotions to happen. Ironically, as lawyers we are typically pretty terrible at dealing with our own emotions. Rather than feeling and processing our emotions – whether they be anger, fear, frustration, anxiety, shame, or yes, even happiness and joy – we push them down, often with the help of alcohol. And when all those emotions finally erupt, and they will erupt, the result can be spectacular. TAKEAWAY: it is important to feel your emotions.

You may have seen the title of this episode and are scratching your head. What in the world is Brad talking about? I need more feminine energy in my law practice? What is that? Well, life is all about balance. For example, you can’t just eat candy and salty snacks and expect to be healthy. You need vegetables and fruits and protein. You can still have some of the candy and snacks, but you need the other things as well. Most lawyers are focused on the “doing.” On taking action, getting things done. On logic and critical thinking. On achievement. But without feminine energy – the planning, the emotional connection with others, the boundaries and self-care – your law practice will only go so far. And if you are finding that you have hit a wall with your practice or are becoming burnt out or dissatisfied, the issue may be that you are focusing too much on the masculine energy and not enough on the feminine. TAKEAWAY: to maximize the success of your law practice, you need to incorporate feminine energy into your life and your law practice.

The one thing that most every lawyer out there has in common– at least in the U.S. and Canada, which a few exceptions – is that you went through law school on your way to becoming a lawyer. For at least the past 50 years, that is the path to the practice of law. But if you ask most lawyers and law school grads, they will tell you that law school did not prepare them to enter the legal profession. That they had no idea how to actually practice law once they left the law school classroom. What is a law student or new law grad to do? TAKEAWAY: law school doesn’t teach you how to practice law. Learning how is up to you.

For some people, the holidays are the best time of the year. For others, the holidays are the WORST time of year, filled with stress from your practice, family, and friends. In this episode I want to share some things that I use to deal with stress. Most can be used regardless of the situation. And I’ll talk a bit about how to handle particular situations that can arise during the holidays and at the end of the year. TAKEAWAY: be kind to yourself.

I saw the results of a survey or some research lately that said that lawyers as a whole tend to be more unhappy or negative than the general population. Being a lawyer myself, I can confirm that that is the case. By and large, lawyers tend to be unhappy. For the longest time, I was unhappy with myself and with my law practice. But that has changed. I am no longer a pessimist (masquerading as a “realist”). I am now an optimist and have positive thoughts and emotions throughout the day. Because I discovered the secret to being happy. And in this episode, I am going to share with you the secret I discovered that you can immediately implement in your life so that you too can be happier. TAKEAWAY: the way to be happy, is to be happy.

I was listening to a lawyer I greatly admire speak about how to be a good lawyer. And one statement he made really stuck out to me. He was talking about his background prior to becoming a lawyer and how his experience made him a better lawyer today. Now I thought he would focus on his time as a sports broadcaster, or maybe his time in sales, as the reason he is consistently rated as one of the best lawyers in the area. But he didn’t. Instead, he said that some of the most important skills for a lawyer are those he honed being a teacher. TAKEAWAY: one of the best ways to become a better lawyer is to improve your teaching skills.

As a lawyer, you’ve probably heard the saying that you should always put your clients first. That your clients are the reason you are a lawyer and have a law practice, and so you do what you have to do to help them – even if that means making some sacrifices in other areas of your life. You may even believe that to be true. But, is putting the needs (and wants) of your client before your own always best? Is sacrificing your physical, mental, and emotional well-being for your clients going to provide them with the best legal services? Or maybe, is there another way – a better way – to provide great service to your clients that doesn’t require making those sacrifices? In this episode I am going to talk about what it means to make your law practice more client-centric, rather than client-first, and the steps you can take to improve the experience your clients have working with you. TAKEAWAY: making small improvements to the client experience can have a huge impact on the quality of services you provide, and are better for both you (and your staff) and your clients than always putting their needs before your own.