Counsel to Counsel - Career Advice for Lawyers artwork

Counsel to Counsel - Career Advice for Lawyers

134 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 days ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratings

Counsel to Counsel is a periodic podcast produced by Stephen Seckler of Seckler Attorney Coaching (www.counseltocounsel.com). It addresses important career, marketing, and leadership issues facing attorneys. The target audience is associates, counsel and partners at law firms of all sizes; but the podcast also addresses issues that are relevant to in-house counsel, law students or any lawyer who is looking for career insights inside or outside of the law.

Counsel to Counsel is aimed at individual lawyers who are looking to increase their own career satisfaction and build their marketing and leadership skills. The podcast features interviews with leading consultants, career professionals and marketing experts who advise attorneys on careers, marketing, law firm management and related issues. The guests are also a roster of successful attorneys who have found career satisfaction inside and outside the law.

Counsel to Counsel is a direct outgrowth of the blog Counsel to Counsel which Stephen Seckler has been publishing since 2005.

Since graduating from law school in the late 1980s, Stephen Seckler has been advising lawyers on career and marketing issues and working with a broad mix of law firms and corporate law departments. He began blogging when legal blogging was in its infancy and his blog Counsel to Counsel was named to the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 in 2007 and 2008 (the first two years that list was in existence).

Steve has written extensively on career and marketing issues and he has spoken at many law school, law firm and bar association events. He served on the Boston Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Work Life Balance and was Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association. He is active in the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, the ProVisors business network, and has been quoted frequently in the legal and business press.

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Episodes

Episode 131-Becoming Memorable with Merry Neitlich

April 19, 2024 22:14 - 37 minutes - 37.5 MB

We’ve talked a lot on this show about sales and marketing and how selling legal services is different than selling a product.  That’s good news for those of us in the legal industry because many of us don’t like the thought of being a salesperson. Selling legal services is about relationships building. The challenge, however, is that clients generally don’t need your services all the time. You don’t know when a client, potential client, or referral source will have a need or hear of a...

Episode 130-Emotional Intelligence and EQ i-2.0 With Susan Schwartz

April 11, 2024 13:32 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MB

I've had a number of guests on this show speaking about leadership. A large part of this is that I'm very interested in the subject. But I also feel that this is a skill set that is often neglected in the legal profession. As lawyers, we learn a lot about our craft in law school and even more once we are in practice.  As professionals, we are taught to analyze the law and help our clients to identify legal risks. Our job is to be skeptical and to apply dispassionate reasoning to the s...

Episode 129-Law Firm Leadership with Kristi Royse

March 23, 2024 13:47 - 40 minutes - 49.1 MB

The practice of law has evolved a lot in the three decades since I graduated from law school. Technology has replace many monotonous functions and computers have replaced paper.  The internet has revolutionized how legal research is done and how law firms market themselves.  It has enabled remote work and interaction in a way that was unimaginable in the 1980s. At the same time, there are some fundamental things that have not changed.  The practice of law is still a service business that...

Episode 128-Here Comes the Judge- the Honorable Paul Wilson (ret.)

March 09, 2024 21:00 - 48 minutes - 40.6 MB

For a long time, I’ve been meaning to invite a judge onto Counsel to Counsel to talk about judicial careers.  Going on the bench is a logical next step for many litigators and I wanted to speak to a judge who could offer some practical wisdom on the subject. When I met Paul Wilson at an ABA conference in late 2022, I realized right away that I had a great prospect.  At the time, Paul was still sitting on the bench, so we decided to wait until he reached mandatory retirement. Paul i...

Episode 127-Law Firm Operations and Launching Your Own Firm-With Diane Camacho

February 24, 2024 22:57 - 38 minutes - 39.3 MB

In the legal press and even in popular media, larger law firms tend to get a most of the attention.  In truth, a high percentage of lawyers in the United States practice in firms that are under 20 attorneys.  And many of those are solo practitioners or very small firms that have broken away from larger firms. While I know that there are many lawyers who are satisfied with practicing in a large or mid-sized firm, as technology has continued to improve over the last two decades, I have see...

Episode 126-Embracing Legal Technology with Colin Levy

February 05, 2024 21:51 - 33 minutes - 37 MB

When I graduated from law school in the late 1980s, there was no internet, no email, and fax machines were widely in use.  I used a Dictaphone to generate correspondence and had an assistant to transcribe the tapes.  While working remotely was possible because of the telephone, going into an office was the norm. In the intervening years, the rate of technological change has been truly astounding.  And while the internet, email, and social media have continued that evolution, in my opini...

Episode 125-James Grace on Financial Planning After the Bar

January 20, 2024 22:47 - 47 minutes - 48.9 MB

We talk a lot on this program about finding ways to build a more satisfying legal career.  While many attorneys are drawn to the profession because they care about justice, they like the idea of becoming a trusted advisor, or they just enjoy the intellectual rigor of being an attorney, status and money are important too.  But if you are like me, one of the reasons you chose law school rather than business school is because math is not your jam. If you are a lawyer who has been practic...

Episode 124-Lauren Rikleen on Social Justice and Defending American Democracy

January 07, 2024 03:07 - 40 minutes - 38.3 MB

In this episode, I speak with my first “threepeat” guest, Lauren Rikleen.  This is Lauren’s third appearance on Counsel to Counsel. She was actually one of my first guests when I launched the show in 2018.  In that episode, we spoke about success strategies for women and the work she has done on that issue.    In the Spring of 2022,I invited Lauren back to talk more about her legal career including working in the field of environmental law as it was just taking off. We also spoke about...

Episode 123-Setting Your 2024 Goals and Creating Your “To Don't" List with Jennifer Forester and Wendy Merrill

December 09, 2023 01:52 - 45 minutes - 42.5 MB

December is a great time to take stock, hit the reset button, and do some planning.   With 2024 around the corner, I’ve been speaking with my clients about setting goals for the new year.    I’m not talking about making New Year’s resolutions.  It's important to understand that resolutions and goals are not the same. Resolutions often lack specificity and a plan of action, making them easy to abandon. On the other hand, setting clear, well-defined goals lays a foundation for measurable...

Episode 122-For the Sake of Your Mental Health, Stop Thinking (and Acting) Like a Lawyer

November 30, 2023 13:03 - 6 minutes - 8.48 MB

As attorneys, we share many qualities that make us effective in representing our clients.  Our skepticism, aversion to risk, sense of urgency, competitiveness, and pessimism, can all be good for out clients. But when it comes to building a practice, advancing our careers, or taking on leadership roles, we are more effective when we remove our lawyering hats. As it turns out, these qualities can also have a pernicious effect on our mental health. In this episode of Counsel to Counsel, I...

Episode 121-John Buckley on Building Your Executive Presence

November 05, 2023 13:04 - 51 minutes - 45.6 MB

It is axiomatic that if you want to have a successful legal career, you need to learn your craft. Most areas of legal practice require highly refined analytical abilities coupled with good judgment. For the most part, the first developmental task of any new lawyer is to learn how to practice law. But if you want to advance in your career, you need to be more than a good technician.  Demonstrating executive presence is also key. In this episode, I am pleased to introduce John Buckley, Boa...

Episode 120-Scaling Your Law Firm with AI

October 21, 2023 18:12 - 39 minutes - 33 MB

Artificial Intelligence continues to be a big unknown in the legal space.  It holds tremendous promise for streamlining the delivery of legal services and is already being deployed to expedite discovery, to help draft contracts, to assist with client intake, and to streamline many other functions that once required a lot more human labor.  AI is now being used by some lawyers to help assess the strength of their cases, to expedite legal research, and to draft pleadings. I know that I mys...

Episode 119-From Law Firm Associate to In-House Operations-With Shawn Hoyt

October 07, 2023 22:39 - 37 minutes - 42.7 MB

In the past year, I’ve done a number of interviews with lawyers who have transitioned from the traditional practice of law into other corporate or consulting roles. In this episode, I speak with Shawn Hoyt about how to transition into an operations role in a corporate environment. Shawn is someone who has thought a lot about managing his own career and he has a unique perspective on career advancement. Shawn Hoyt is a Vice President at OutSystems.  He began his legal career as a corpora...

Episode 118-Paths to Partnership in 2023 and Beyond-With Laura Terrell

September 16, 2023 16:00 - 40 minutes - 43 MB

Achieving partnership was once the goal of most  law firm associates.  The rules were relatively simple.  Work hard, do a good job, and after several years, get rewarded by being elevated. Today the law firms are more complex.  Many associates entering the practice of law do not aspire to become partners, at least not at the first firm they join. And at many firms, there are different paths to success which don’t include equity partnership. So, how should a young associate navigate the...

Episode 117-Nailing the Job Interview-A View From Both Sides of the Table with Amy Katz and Nancy Reiner

September 02, 2023 02:17 - 38 minutes - 37.7 MB

Job interviews can cause a lot of stress.  Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate that this is true whether you are the candidate or the interviewer. The stakes can feel high.  Both sides are trying to assess whether they are right for each other.  The candidate may be imagining that they are interviewing for their dream job. They may be worried about the competition. The interviewer may have a desperate need to fill a role and there are few candidates with the right mix of skills an...

Episode 116-Why Do Rankings and Awards Matter? It’s Not What You Think!

August 28, 2023 00:32 - 6 minutes - 6.59 MB

 The Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Reader Rankings Awards are out, and I’m pleased to report that once again, I did very well. This year I came in first for Lawyer Outplacement and for Business Development Coach.  I also came in second for Executive Coaching.  So the subject of awards is top of mind for me this week. I’m happy to be in the winner’s circle and very thankful for the great clients and colleagues who took the time to support me. But do awards really matter?  Listen in t...

Episode 115-Legal Hiring in 2023-A View From the Recruiters Desk with Emily Witt

July 28, 2023 21:59 - 41 minutes - 42.1 MB

It has been over a year since I finally left the legal recruiting business to focus exclusively on coaching.  Since the market has changed a lot since early 2022, I thought this would be a good time to invite someone who is still in the business to talk about the state of legal hiring.  I also thought this would be a good time to revisit the topic of legal recruiting in general and who can benefit from working with a recruiter. Emily Witt is a legal recruiter with over 20 years of experie...

Episode 114-From Biglaw to In-house to Business Role and Back Again with Carl Berglind

July 23, 2023 21:03 - 34 minutes - 36.5 MB

In the last two episodes of Counsel to Counsel, I spoke with a lawyer who left corporate practice for management consulting and a trial lawyer who has built a trial consulting business but continues to try cases. In this episode, I speak with a corporate lawyer who cut his teeth at international law firms, went in-house, moved into a business role, and is back again at an international law firm. Carl Berglind is a Shareholder with Greenberg Traurig’s Health Care & FDA group. He is bas...

Episode 113-From Litigation to Trial Consulting with Marc Diller

July 07, 2023 21:10 - 37 minutes - 32.5 MB

In Episode 112 of Counsel to Counsel, I spoke with David Lesser, a corporate lawyer who transitioned into management consulting and quit his day job as a corporate lawyer.  In this episode, I speak with a litigator who has transitioned into jury and trial consulting while keeping his day job as a litigator. Marc Diller is the managing partner of Diller Law, LLP. He concentrates his practice on plaintiff side wrongful death and catastrophic bodily injury cases. As a partner with Total ...

Episode 112-From Corporate Counsel to Management Consultant-Leveraging Your Legal Career with David Lesser

June 27, 2023 13:20 - 38 minutes - 32.3 MB

When lawyers approach me to speak about their careers, one question they often ask is “what else can I do with my law degree”. The answer to that question is of course complex.  As lawyers, we are trained to spot legal issues, evaluate risk, document deals, and litigate disputes.  Most employers are not actively recruiting lawyers to do anything other than practice law. But that is not to say that lawyers are destined to be lawyers for eternity.  As a lawyer, you do develop transferab...

Episode 111-Finding C.H.I.L.L. Referral Partners to Grow your Network and Your Business

June 06, 2023 16:28 - 9 minutes - 8.51 MB

Relationship building is the key to growing your practice. But who should you be focusing on when it comes to relationship building?  In this episode, Steve Seckler explains how the acronym C.H.I.L.L. can help you to make smart choices in finding the "right" professional relationships to cultivate. Additional Resources Episode 100-Word of Mouth Marketing with Michael Katz Episode 85-Peristence, Follow-Up, and Avoiding Fatal Attraction-Tips for Building Your Business Relationships Ine...

Episode 110-Dominic Grew on “Getting to No”-Turning Leads into Business and Other Ways to Succeed in Private Practice

May 17, 2023 01:37 - 36 minutes - 32.4 MB

Like most lawyers, I went to law school because I wanted to enter an honorable profession.  I wanted to have a career where the emphasis is on intellect and not on business.  Not long after graduation, I realized that law IS a business and if you want to be successful, being a great lawyer is not enough.  You need to learn how to run your practice efficiently.  You need to learn how to manage people. And you need to learn how to sell your services.  If you can master those skills, your c...

Episode 109-Sarah Tetlow on Delegating and Dealing with Distraction

May 02, 2023 14:32 - 39 minutes - 33.9 MB

This episode was recorded during Well-Being Week in Law 2023.  In Massachusetts and around the country, there are a lot of programs being offered to get lawyers thinking about the many mental health challenges that are widespread in the legal community.  This particular week was designated to align with Mental Health Awareness Month which is May, and many organizations ran workshops and gatherings to talk about depression, substance abuse, anxiety, stress and a host of other topics. Unde...

Episode 108-Steve Seckler: Coaching Superstar Lawyers (from the Be That Lawyer Podcast)

April 20, 2023 01:22 - 42 minutes - 39 MB

In this Episode of Counsel to Counsel, I'm bringing you the feed from Steve Fretzin's great podcast, Be That Lawyer. Steve is an outstanding business development coach for attorneys. He is an author and friend who has taught me a lot about BD coaching. In this episode, Steve interviews me about why coaching can be a great tool to help lawyers achieve higher levels of career satisfaction and marketing success.  I talk about one of my favorite topics: why lawyers need to wear a different h...

Episode 107-ChatGPT and Trends in Legal Marketing Technology-with Jared Correia

April 01, 2023 20:14 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MB

 I don’t spend a lot of time talking about technology on this podcast. But I use technology all the time to manage my business and to increase my marketing efficiency. In fact technology is a critical reason why I am able to operate as a solo and while I don’t have to outsource much of my own marketing. While I haven’t focused on technology on Counsel to Counsel, my interest in technology is actually high. And when the next shiny object comes into my consciousness, I’m often intrigued. ...

Episode 106-Coaching for Lawyers with Seven Levels of Energy Management

March 20, 2023 02:02 - 29 minutes - 28.3 MB

Coaching is a field that has exploded since I graduated from law school in the late 1980s.  There are now life coaches, business coaches, executive coaches, marketing coaches, career coaches, and coaches like me who borrow a little from each.  Coaching is about achieving your goals and moving past roadblocks that are getting in the way of your success. A good coach is a sounding board and holds you accountable to your stated goals.  But not every coach uses the same tools or focuses on th...

Episode 105-Career Services at Latham & Watkins-How One Law Firm is Creating New Models for Success (Part 2)

March 08, 2023 01:17 - 47 minutes - 41.6 MB

In this episode, I'm very pleased to welcome back Kevin Agnew.  I spoke with Kevin just about a year ago about his career path.  We talked about the career services program he runs at one of the largest firms in the world, and he shared many pearls of wisdom for lawyers who are navigating their careers in private practice. If you haven’t heard it, you may want to go back and listen to Episode 83 first. Kevin Agnew is Director of Attorney Career Services at Latham and Watkins, an intern...

Episode 104-Freelance Lawyering and Returning to Work with Montage Legal

February 22, 2023 03:07 - 43 minutes - 37.5 MB

I really enjoy stories about lawyers who have taken their careers on a less traditional path. I especially enjoy speaking with lawyers who have done some very unlawyerly and more entrepreneurial things. At the same time, I’m always looking for guests who can speak to my audience about alternative ways to practice, particularly when it involves better work life balance. My guest in this episode, Erin Giglia,  has deep knowledge about both subjects.   Erin practiced at several major fi...

Episode 103-Ben Sachs on Building High-Performance Legal Teams

February 04, 2023 20:50 - 52 minutes - 46.7 MB

In this episode, I speak with Ben Sachs of the Landing Group.    Ben is the author of a terrific new book entitled: All Rise-Practical Tools for Building High-performance Legal Teams. In the conclusion of the book Ben writes:  For many attorneys, the legal work is their comfort zone.  They would rather be consumed by case law, deal papers, policy memos, or other traditional billable tasks then have to navigate a tricky issue of team dynamics or dysfunction. In this episode, Ben addresses...

Episode 102-Multichannel Marketing- À Chacun Son Goût

January 23, 2023 01:32 - 8 minutes - 9.13 MB

In this episode, I'm coming off of a string of marketing successes. Therefore, instead of interviewing someone else, I've decided to share my experiences. The Reader's Digest version is that most lawyers who achieve marketing success do so through a variety of channels. The important thing is to choose the channels where you'll find your clients and referral sources. But it is equally important to choose activities that you like. In the end, you won't be able to predict which ones will...

Episode 101-Career Wisdom from a Former Federal Prosecutor

January 08, 2023 21:08 - 42 minutes - 42 MB

When I work with lawyers who are doing career exploration, I always encourage them to have informational interviews with attorneys who can give them some perspective.  The lawyers who have the best career perspective are attorneys who have varied work experience.  My guest, Linda Ricci, is an attorney who has A LOT of that perspective. Linda Ricci is a partner with the law firm Greenberg Traurig which she joined in the Spring of 2021.  Prior to that, she spent 15 years as an Assistant Unit...

Episode 100-Word of Mouth Marketing with Michael Katz

December 18, 2022 19:34 - 42 minutes - 36.1 MB

In this episode, Michael Katz, returns to Counsel to Counsel after a 3 year hiatus. In 2019, Michael and I spoke about how to use newsletters as an effective marketing tool. Check out Episode 29 of this podcast. Newsletters have only grown in value, especially during the pandemic when in-person marketing went away. As many of us have resumed in-person activities, however, live relationship building is moving back to center stage. Of course it never truly went away and Zoom made sure of ...

Episode 99-A Conversation With Rudy Rivera

December 08, 2022 02:52 - 41 minutes - 42.8 MB

The pandemic was a mixed bag for me. As some of my listeners know, both of my parents died of COVID in April 2020. While that was very sad, it wasn’t tragic. My dad was 95, my mom was 94, neither suffered, and neither knew the other one was gone. At the same time, the lockdown created some great new opportunities to expand my network both here in New England and throughout the country. Zoom existed long before COVID. But going on-line in March of 2020 dramatically expanded my professiona...

Episode 98-Saying Thank You and Overcoming Inertia in 2023

November 22, 2022 16:45 - 6 minutes - 7.25 MB

IMHO, the two most important words in the English language are "Thank You". As lawyers, we can be stingy in offering thanks to our colleagues and the people who support our work.  In addition, as we enter the holiday season and are thinking about showing more gratitude, now is a great time to start thinking about the changes we'd like to make in the coming year. In this special addition of Counsel to Counsel, I share my thoughts for Thanksgiving in the run up to 2023.

Episode 97-What Law Firms Can Learn From Corporate America About Well-Being

November 06, 2022 18:07 - 42 minutes - 43.8 MB

The subject of attorney well-being is a topic of conversation at most major law firms today.  Several years ago, the Report of the Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being was issued by the American Bar Association, Conference of Chief Judges, and other legal organizations.  It called well-being an essential element of a lawyer’s duty of competence. More recently, Law.com and ALM Intelligence  conducted a survey of lawyers and staff members, mostly from large firms, has found that anxiety, depress...

Episode 96-David Abromowitz-Practicing Law in the Public Interest at an AmLaw200 Firm

October 22, 2022 16:14 - 51 minutes - 57.2 MB

Is it possible to practice in the public interest at a major law firm?  How can you build a legal career working on complex commercial real estate deals while serving a higher purpose?  David Abromowitz has been doing that for almost 40 years. David Abromowitz is a real estate attorney who is nationally known for his work on complex development and finance deals.  A major focus of his practice has been on affordable housing and economic development.  He also has significant experience in...

Episode 95-Misty Leon on Going In-house With a Specialty

October 05, 2022 01:01 - 44 minutes - 38.2 MB

In the 25 years that I’ve been coaching attorneys, one of the common themes I hear is the desire to go in-house. We have spoken a number of times on this podcast about that. Conventional wisdom says that going in-house means becoming more of a generalist and many of the in-house counsel I have interviewed have found that their work broadened a lot once they left private practice. My guest in this episode, Misty Leon, took a different path. She has parlayed a niche practice into a great ...

Episode 94-Susan Ibitz-The Human Behavior Hacker

September 24, 2022 02:12 - 53 minutes - 51.2 MB

One of the things I love most about doing this podcast is that I get to meet really interesting people and interview them. My guest in this episode takes the meaning of “interesting” to a whole new level. Susan Ibitz is a face reading profiler who  describes herself as a Human Behavior Hacker.  Through her company, Human Behavior Lab, Susan has trained, consulted, and worked with lawyers, politicians, law enforcement, managers, sales teams, and literally anyone who wants to be more effect...

Episode 93-Planning for Retirement with Julie Jason, The Discerning Investment Advisor

September 08, 2022 16:05 - 42 minutes - 43.8 MB

Retirement today is very different than it was 50 years ago. People are living longer, and lawyers, like many other knowledge workers, have the ability to work well into their 60s, 70s and beyond. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was productive well into her late 80s. But for many lawyers, continuing to work is a default option rather than something that has been carefully planned out. Part of the reason is that lawyers have very strong professional identities. Part of the reason...

Episode 92-An Expat Lawyer and Podcast Host Reflects on Her Career in Japan

August 17, 2022 01:39 - 58 minutes - 58.1 MB

The pandemic put a damper on international travel.  It also reduced the opportunities for American lawyers to practice law overseas.  But as travel has returned, the demand for legal talent trained in the United States has never been stronger in the Far East. One country where the need is particularly strong is Japan. So what does it mean to practice in Japan? How do you find opportunities? What are some of the cultural differences and what do lawyers who are thinking about an internatio...

Episode 91-Transitioning Your Legal Career to In-house and Beyond With Amy Katz

August 06, 2022 13:52 - 48 minutes - 45.3 MB

Over the last 25 years, I’ve spoken to many lawyers who have expressed interest in going in-house.  When I graduated from law school in the late 1980s, opportunities to work in a corporate environment were more limited.  Today, there are many more lawyers working in-house. So what has changed?  And more importantly, what does it mean to leave behind a law firm job.  Since most in-house jobs are no guarantee of lifetime employment, how should lawyers position themselves for future career su...

Episode 90-Scaling Your Law Practice with Coach Rockwell

July 24, 2022 16:43 - 53 minutes - 57 MB

In the legal profession, AmLaw100 law firms get most of the attention.  With eye popping salaries now being given to first year associates, it is easy to conclude that getting one of these jobs means you are at the pinnacle of the legal profession. While starting your career at a major firm has a lot advantages salary, and otherwise, the open secret is that many lawyers who work at these firms will end up leaving by the time they are midlevel associates. Some will go in-house, some will go...

Episode 89-Carol Marzouk-The Executive Lion Tamer

July 10, 2022 15:07 - 44 minutes - 42.2 MB

In law school, we learn how to think like a lawyer.  We develop the analytical skills we need to analyze a case, draft documents, research legal issues and provide sound legal advice to our clients.  But like many  professionals,  we don't spend a lot of time studying the human  component of the practice of law. While some of us come to the practice with strong interpersonal skills,  many of us  have not been in a position to lead prior to entering the profession.  As lawyers move up the r...

Episode 88-Frank Rudewicz-The Investigator

June 21, 2022 02:25 - 42 minutes - 33.5 MB

If you listen to this podcast or spend any time around me, you know that I am an enthusiastic member of ProVisors, a nationwide business networking group that is home to some great lawyers, accountants, financial planners, bankers, and many other trusted advisors. The thing I love most about the group is that I get to meet great professionals from all over the country.  One of those individuals who I met early on was Frank Rudewicz.  If you meet Frank, it won’t take you long to like him. H...

Episode 87-The Advancement of Women in Law with Elise Holtzman

June 06, 2022 10:39 - 59 minutes - 59.4 MB

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a big consumer of podcasts.  For me, podcasts are a significant part of my own ongoing professional development.  As someone who is not a big reader, I have also found podcasting an entertaining way to keep up on law, politics, marketing, and a host of other subjects that interest me including behavioral economics, psychology, mindfulness, true crime, health, and pop culture. And so I was very excited to stumble upon The Lawyer's Edge Podcast a few year...

Episode 86-Career and Life Lessons from Jim Durham-A Pioneer in Legal Marketing

May 17, 2022 11:24 - 53 minutes - 62.8 MB

I met Jim Durham in the early 1990s when legal marketing was just taking off in law firms.  For decades before, law was thought of more as a profession. And while it is still very much  profession, there has been a dramatic shift in the way law firms think about marketing.  While there a few remaining firms that rely on longstanding institutional relationships to keep associates and partners busy, most firms today are actively looking for ways to promote their reputations. The most success...

Episode 85-Peristence, Follow-Up, and Avoiding Fatal Attraction-Tips for Building Your Business Relationships

May 06, 2022 01:06 - 9 minutes - 9.84 MB

If I had to name one thing I work on with almost every client, it would be FOLLOW UP! Follow up and persistence are critical if you want to build your business relationships, generate referrals, find that great in-house job, or get alignment from the partners you are trying to lead. The explosion of email and the added proliferation of spam filters, has made this all the more challenging. If you add in the fact that many lawyers don't like "sales", follow up is challenging....but criti...

Episode 84-How Lawyers Can Think LIke Their Best Clients and Grow Their Practice

April 24, 2022 17:53 - 32 minutes - 32.9 MB

Bruce La Fetra calls himself The Client Whisperer. He works with the leaders of law, finance and other professional services firms who can't scale or can't exit because they depend on a single rainmaker. His tag line is “Think Like Your Best Clients”. According to Bruce, the ability to consistently attract great clients sets the best lawyers far above their peers.  Your best clients are: 💲 Easier to manage 💲 More profitable 💲 Quicker to buy 💲 Provide more referrals 💲 More fun to work...

Episode 84-How Lawyers Can Think Like Their Best Clients and Grow Their Practice

April 24, 2022 17:53 - 32 minutes - 32.9 MB

Bruce La Fetra calls himself The Client Whisperer. He works with the leaders of law, finance and other professional services firms who can't scale or can't exit because they depend on a single rainmaker. His tag line is “Think Like Your Best Clients”. According to Bruce, the ability to consistently attract great clients sets the best lawyers far above their peers.  Your best clients are: 💲 Easier to manage 💲 More profitable 💲 Quicker to buy 💲 Provide more referrals 💲 More fun to work w...

Episode 83-Career Services at Latham & Watkins-How One Law Firm is Creating New Models for Success

April 10, 2022 17:45 - 47 minutes - 50.4 MB

We speak all the time on this podcast about the many ways, lawyers can advance their careers and find more satisfaction in an out of the law. If you at a law firm that emphasizes professional development, chances are, you are learning how to be successful in your practice area. If you are fortunate to have a good mentor, perhaps you are also learning how to succeed at your firm and maybe how to begin to build your own practice.  But if you are like most law firm associates, it is on you t...