jsterlinghughes

So much about leading a law firm is paradoxical. On their face, the concepts don't seem to make much sense. Yet they often make the difference between success and failure in a family law firm. These are my favorite law leadership incongruities I have learned through the pain of failure. 1 - Unless the decision can kill you, make it fast 2 - Leadership vulnerability is a show of strength 3 - The law firm leader is the CFO - Chief Focus Officer 4 - In hiring, if you're not repelling most candidates, you’re not attracting the right ones 5 - The law firm leader is also the CMO - Chief Monotony Officer 6 - Self-awareness is a Super Power

This episode is all about how to execute a podcast for a law firm. My guest is podcasting expert, Robert Ingalls, owner of LawPods. Robert is a lawyer and "gets" what it takes for lawyers to use podcasts to grow their firm. We delve into all the salient questions that need answers for attorneys to start and grow their podcast. Enjoy!

Hiring great family lawyers is the leaders' most important task if the firm is to grow. Nothing is more important. At Sterling, our success formula for hiring Family Lawyers is: 1 - Must share our core values 2 - Don’t mind being measured 3 - Has drive and ambition 4 - Has high level of empathy and people skills 5 - Coachable to adopt proactive practice habits What is not important and has little to no correlation to client success: 1 - Grades 2 - Law school 3 - Family law experience If you catch even a passing whiff of an entitlement attitude during any stage of the hiring process, immediately end the interview and thank the candidate for their time. Entitlement attitude looks like: 1 - A lawyer who feels they are above or better than non-lawyers in any way 2 - Can’t get their hands dirty helping other lawyers 3 - Expects to make great money without working for it

The most famous client satisfaction number in the world is Net Promoter Score (NPS). The survey question is: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?" Responses of "9 or 10" equal a promoter. "7 or 8" is a neutral. 6 or less is a detractor. Blend all the responses and get your NPS. We have made this single question the cornerstone of the Sterling Family Law client strategy. In this show, my partner, Tony Karls, and I break down everything we have learned over the past decade implementing NPS into our family law practice.

The law practice is all about clients. And clients operate on the same psychological operating system as we all do. There are hacks and shortcuts to connecting, building trust, and having fun with others. Our success as lawyers always depends on how we work with people—clients, other lawyers, referral sources, and co-workers. Like most things, you can use these techniques to excess, for evil, and to manipulate others. That is shortsighted at best. However, if you love and want to add value to people, then these tactics will deepen your relationships, improve your effectiveness as a leader, and enhance your self-confidence. Here are the psychological hacks that the most effective lawyers use: 1: Get genuinely excited when you see your client--smile big time 😊 2 - Say the client's name three times in first five minutes 3 - Dress for emotions 4 - Expose your flaws 5 - Use pauses and silence to build credibility 6 - Play games with your own mind 7 - Ask small favors to win clients over 8 - Serve food during key meetings 9 - Warm your hands before a handshake Do these things, and you will definitely enjoy more rewarding end effective relationships!

When I sat down beside business titan Bobby Martin at a New York restaurant in 2005, I never imagined it would mark the beginning of a mentorship that would alter my law leadership career. In the years that followed, Bobby taught me many lessons. Three, in particular, stand out: 1. "Never milk the mouse" 2. "When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box" 3. "Can't never could" This is a short show but long on career value. I return to these lessons often. Thank you, Bobby. Enjoy!

Corey Quinn drops pure gold for lawyers looking to grow their family law firm through digital marketing. In this show, he reveals: - The three step digital marketing strategy for lawyers seeking to break into a market - How to use targeted marketing strategies to support specialization - Law firm digital marketing best practices - The importance of clarifying a firm's go-to-market strategy - How to transition a law firm from founder led sales to a more sustainable model If there is anyone qualified to advise lawyers on how to initially optimize their digital marketing, it is Corey Quinn. He is the former Chief Marketing Officer at the largest digital marketing agency focused on law firms. He was there through the major growth years before the agency sold to a private equity company. Corey also wrote "Anyone, Not Everyone," the definitive book on helping digital agencies focus and scale their practice.

Imagine transforming a vision into a 25 lawyer family law firm reality—Tony Karls and I did just that with Sterling Law Offices. In this episode, we pull back the curtain and describe how a lawyer and a non-lawyer worked together to build and scale our family law firm. We discuss the following: 1 - bringing complimentary skills to our business relationship 2 - our initial thesis to be dominant on one area -- digital marketing 3 - focusing on business process once we reached a modest scale 4 - challenges Tony has worked through not being a lawyer or a subject matter expert 5 - our partnership communication challenges 6 - structuring the law firm without violating the rules against non-lawyer ownership 7 - how Tony grew past me (Jeff) in some key areas

My guest this week is Jeff Morrell, Senior Partner at Sterling Law. Jeff is a brilliant lawyer and a constant legal innovator. And, he is our firm's resident AI expert and tool builder. In this podcast, Jeff shares a number of tactics on how he has used AI tools to enhance his family law practice. His applications are practical. Anyone can implement them. Jeff has discovered ways to streamline his client communication, which is one of the largest time investments in family law. In particular, he has built a terrific tool to automate emails with clients. If you are a lawyer and want to better understand use cases for AI in your practice, this discussion will offer valuable insights.

As we have grown our law firm from zero to 25 attorneys, I have seen how our firm matched up with other very successful law firms. And, I have noticed that top performing law firms have some common characteristics: 1 - Leaders have a growth mindset. They listen to feedback and ideas from others. They welcome criticism and have people around them who disagree with them. 2 - There is a simple, easy to understand plan in place. Effective leaders make business plans simple to understand and, thus, easier to execute. 3 - There is high decision velocity. Decisions are made quickly when enough information becomes available, maybe 65-70%. Flat organizations are better at this. Making great decisions quicker than your opponent gives you an advantage. 4 - The firm measures and uses teammate engagement regularly. The key is to use the information. It is not enough to simply measure. 5 - Leaders are transparent. They are not afraid to say: “I don’t know but I can find out.” And then they follow through. There is no hiding the ball. 6 - Teammates know why they are winning. There is a clear picture of the understanding of the winning factors. It is never enough to know that you are winning. You must know why. 7 - Pace of the practice is healthy and balanced. There is a good balance of support and challenge by the leaders. Change is purposeful and planned. 8 - The strongest teammates are the biggest supporters. Top performers love to be challenged. They want to be around other top performers. And, they are the biggest cheerleaders to get others to come.

Jennifer Gore-Cuthbert's journey is wildly inspiring. Our conversation is loaded with valuable insights on how to build a firm from nothing to a flourishing practice. Jennifer's path wasn't smooth. She faced the daunting challenge of failing the bar exam while pregnant and then managing a startup firm with a newborn. Immediately after passing the bar exam, Jennifer started her law firm from her spare bedroom. The firm has grown exponentially over the years and is an Atlanta powerhouse today--led by an absolute force in the legal community! In this conversation, Jennifer shares her insights on how she: - Started the firm with a tenacious mindset - Used her networking skills to get her first clients - Managed cash flow with contingency cases in the early days - Focuses on personal growth leveraging coaching and mastermind groups - Deals with the complexities of hiring and managing a team - Transitioned the firm away from her personal brand to one more scalable - Optimizes her time by only doing tasks in her sweet spot and outsourcing the rest and so much more . . . Enjoy!

Dennis Yu is a world-renowned marketing expert and the CEO of Blitz Metrics. Dennis shares his journey from a math-focused child who didn't speak English until age six or seven to becoming a key figure in internet analytics and digital marketing. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Dennis was recognized for his web development skills by the CEO of American Airlines, which led to early career opportunities. Driven to empower the "underdog," Dennis focuses on training young adults and students in digital marketing. He has established programs in over 700 universities, where students start micro-agencies and learn practical business skills. We discuss his favorite strategies for helping Law Firms get started and beat the larger competitors in their marketplace. Dennis shares his philosophy on leadership, which revolves around learning from direct sources, implementing knowledge, and teaching others. We conclude with Dennis offering his personal contact info for anyone who wants to reach out.

The vast majority of Family Law firms do not grow beyond two attorneys. There are three primary barriers that stifle growth: 1 - Ineffective leadership by the lawyer leader 2 - Poor marketing 3 - Lack of scalable business process systems Each of these obstacles can be overcome. At Sterling Law, we’ve bumped into each of these roadblocks at least once. We pushed through, and so can you. This episode isn’t just about identifying the problems; it's a guide to understanding why these are the top three impediments to law firm growth and how to navigate through them. Join me for a practical framework to break through these barriers, drawing from real-life experiences, failures, and successes.

In this episode, we explore an emotionally tough topic --- handling criticism. In any given firm, the leader is the person criticized the most. This goes with the territory. The reality is that accepting leadership puts you first in line to be criticized. The higher you are in the organization, the more exposed you are to criticism. And the less likely you are to hear about it. There are two kinds of criticism: (1) Unfair and (2) Fair. How you deal with either of these has a direct correlation to the effectiveness of your leadership. I offer up three time-tested strategies for using criticism as a stepping stone to increase your leadership and win more influence.

The Sterling Chronicles series presents a month-by-month account of the victories, setbacks, and lessons encountered while building a rapidly growing family law practice. My objective is to record and share our firm's successes and challenges, with the aspiration that you can take from our experiences and shorten your success curve. In this installment, we delve into the events of September 2023. 1 - For the first time in seven years we are back to Free Consults. Why does this make business sense for us? What are the show rates for paid v. free consults? When to never do free consults? When does it make sense? 2 - Our journey to non-lawyer consults has been bumpy. We are still pushing forward with the project. 3 - Congratulations to four attorneys promoted this month! 4 - Still learning and relearning the lesson of staying in my lane and trusting my teammates. 5 - September numbers are mostly disappointing. Enjoy. :-) I encourage you to watch what we are doing and do it better!

Do you hesitate when it comes to seeking a mentor? You're not alone. Many stumble at the thought of reaching out to potential mentors. Yet, mentors are the single biggest missed advantage for lawyers to grow their law practice. In this episode I share how a mentor dramatically boosted my career when I was young and clueless. I also explore the: 1. Five big reasons why people don't ask 2. Who to ask to mentor you 3. How to ask 4. What to do when you start a mentor/mentee relationship 5. The things you must never do

My guest is Jonathan Hawkins. He had the guts to not take the safe route and the courage to stay focused on his niche. Jonathan has built a highly specialized practice serving lawyers and law firms, from firm formation to dissolution and all stages in between. Jonathan's intriguing journey took him from learning Spanish in Costa Rica to hitting the ski slopes of Colorado, before setting his sights on law. Listen as he takes you through his struggles, his father's initial concerns and eventual enthusiastic support, and the triumphs that led him to where he is now. In our conversation, Jonathan shares the complexities and challenges of focusing on one niche and a few of the sacrifices he made along the way. He provides invaluable insights into the common reasons behind law firm breakups, highlighting the pivotal role of tailor-made agreements in ensuring smooth operations. Jonathan explores the lessons he picked up along the way, and how he is transforming his firm from a local/regional practice to one with national aspirations. Finally, you don't want to miss out on his effective content creation strategy that not only builds his brand but also drives social media engagement. To connect with Jonathan, you can find him on LinkedIn. His firm website is: yourlawfirmgc.com

The Sterling Chronicles series presents a month-by-month account of the victories, setbacks, and lessons encountered while building a rapidly growing family law practice. My objective is to record and share our firm's successes and challenges, with the aspiration that you can take from our experiences and shorten your success curve. In this installment, we delve into the events of August 2023. 1 - Our team continues to work toward implementing non-lawyer consults across the firm. We are seeing very positive results paired with some kicks in the mouth and losses. Nevertheless, our team is experiencing incremental progress. 2 - Our financial and performance numbers are mostly up over July. That is somewhat of a relief as August can be spotty due to it being summer vacation season. 3 - We conclude this month's Chronicles episode with the State of Sterling talk we had in our weekly, all-team Summons Meeting. The topic was Client Experience. This is our first step to a firm-wide initiative to overhaul, measure and deploy an incredible client experience. We are transforming how family law is practiced with our fresh, modern billing approach. The next natural evolution is to do this with the Family Law Client Experience. Enjoy. :-) I encourage you to watch what we are doing and do it better!

Roma Khan is an incredibly accomplished businesswoman and legal innovator. Her breakthroughs in the delivery of contract legal services are revolutionary. From the outside, she appears to be an overnight success. However, as you peel back the layers, you will find a lifelong drive to succeed and add value to the world as she has fought through adversity every step of her journey. Roma arrived in the US at the age of 16. Intense family expectations were for her to pursue a specific career path. She intuitively understood, however, that her future lay in a different direction. So, she chose law and found her calling along the way. Roma's story is a case study in personal focus and law firm positioning. Her business is Crush Contracts. She is changing the way small and medium sized businesses work with lawyers for their unique contract needs. I addition to the many business lessons, Roma shares how she serves her business clients with a balanced strategy of getting a deal done - and - protecting her client's legal interests. You will also enjoy Roma's magnetic personality and her thoughtful strategy for building her personal brand. There is so much to learn from her in this conversation. Her story is certain to inspire your entrepreneurial journey, regardless of the field you are in. You can connect with Roma at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/contractsqueen/ Her website is https://www.crushcontracts.com/

Do you ever feel like you're operating in the dark when it comes to managing your law practice? This episode describes a simple by extremely effective tool that identifies almost every operational problem in a law firm. Our law firm marketing waterfall, often referred to as a funnel, tracks our clients' journey from their initial visit to our website through closing their case as a client. This tool acts like an early warning radar system for operational challenges. For example, this tool tells us our sales will decline -- well before it happens. If our attorneys get too busy, we will know it's coming before it happens. Every law firm will benefit from building their own marketing waterfall. Start simple with just a few metrics. As time goes on and as you get better at measuring, tracking and reporting, add more components to your waterfall to get even better at understanding your firm. #lawfirm #legalmarketing #lawfirmmanagement #lawpractice #lawmarketing

This video is part three of four on converting a law firm from hourly to fixed fee billing. The most difficult part of the process is articulating the fixed fee value and selling it. If you try to do it the same as hourly, you will get killed and lose big time. With hourly billing, the client bears the risk. This is one of the main reasons why lawyers use it and like it. But, with fixed fee, the risk shifts to the firm. This can be scary. But, it also opens the door for way happier clients and for the lawyer to find new ways to create value. The lawyer needs to make the shift from selling hours to selling value. Our firm has found that fixed fee (1) aligns the client and the attorney to the same goal, (2) improves communication in a meaningful way, and (3) gives the client certainty. The info in this podcast will help you figure out how to articulate the value of fixed fee in a compelling way.

Working with the right business partner can generate massive success. Conversely, working with the wrong partner is a study in frustration, loss, and heartache. In this episode, I share my three-part formula for highly functional business partnerships. I take you through my personal journey of forming successful partnerships, and share the lessons I learned along the way. We'll discuss everything from the importance of self-awareness, trust and shared values to the need for clear goal setting in creating a solid foundation for any partnership. There are only four reasons to ever form a partnership. And friendship is not one of them. There are some simple, cheap ways to structure the relationship. It primarily depends on the resources you have at the beginning and your plans for the future. I conclude with the most important considerations and cautions to never overlook. #lawfirm #law #partners #partnership

This video describes how we at Sterling Lawyers structure our Fixed Fee agreements for clients in our family law firm.

Ever wonder how a thriving law firm is truly built? The Sterling Chronicles series is a monthly, candid peak behind the scenes of our law firm. This is a great way to shorten your law firm success curve by avoiding our mistakes and copying our best moves? Join me as I reveal: 1 - how we are overhauling our client intake process, 2 - one huge takeaway from an AI conference 3 - the #1 value we get from our Advisory Board 4 - the top two things we need to work on as a culture 5 - our financial numbers and performance metrics

In this thought-provoking video, we explore the arguments for two billing models in the legal world: Hourly Billing and Fixed Fee. Arguments for Hourly Billing: 1. Lawyer Preference: hourly has the support from law firm partners who prefer the traditional billing method. 2. Massive Inertia for Hourly: The deep-rooted prevalence of hourly billing in the legal industry. 3. Predictability for Forecasting: Hourly billing provides a more predictable revenue stream from a business perspective. 4. Protection Against Time-Draining Clients: Lawyers can safeguard themselves from clients who demand constant attention and communication. 5. Unpredictable Nature of Cases: Hourly billing accounts for the uncertainty that comes with dealing with various elements in legal cases. Arguments for Fixed Fee Billing: 1. Client Preference: The vast majority of clients prefer the transparency and certainty of fixed fee billing. 2. Aligned Incentives: Both lawyers and clients have aligned interests, fostering a more productive and fruitful relationship. 3. Enhanced Communication: Fixed fee billing encourages open and effective communication between lawyers and clients. 4. Efficiency Incentive: Lawyers are rewarded for efficiency and results rather than just billing hours. 5. Value-Centric Approach: Fixed fee billing emphasizes delivering tangible results, not just counting billable hours. 6. Division of Labor Opportunities: Lawyers can optimize their teams and resources to deliver higher value services. 7. Ease of Tracking and Collections: Fixed fee billing simplifies time tracking and makes collections smoother. 8. Opportunity to Create More Value: Fixed fee opens the door for lawyers to make more by rewarding them for creating more value for the client. Join us as we explore the merits of each billing model and shed light on which one can enhance client satisfaction, improve lawyer-client relationships, and ultimately lead to a more successful legal practice.