BE THAT LAWYER

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Mark Hunter discuss: Why lawyers are bad at planning for business development.  Putting the work in to get ahead as early as you can.  How the pandemic has affected business development.  What lawyers can do for their clients and their strategic partners.    Key Takeaways: There are a lot of tools out there to help you plan so you run your day, not let your day r...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Robert Hanna discuss: Why firms are struggling to retain talent.  Firm and personal branding for lawyers.  How to start a story (hint, it’s not your name).  Reflecting on your why.    Key Takeaways: Give trust to your employees - they do not need to be (or want to be) micromanaged.  If you build a personal brand, more revenue-generating opportunities will come yo...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Lindsey Corbin discuss: What lawyers struggle with when delegating.  Why writing processes will change your firm.  The challenge of letting go.  The top 5 things lawyers need to delegate.    Key Takeaways: If you are a lawyer and are doing work that someone can be doing at a fraction of the cost, you should not be doing those things.  You need to track a day (or...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Larry Fretzin discuss: Growing up in the slums to running a successful solo law firm.  How the field of law has evolved over the last few decades.  Relationships and referrals.  Knowing when you’re ready to retire.    Key Takeaways: If you can’t make a sale, make a friend.  Getting referrals from other lawyers is a great way to get business. Build those relations...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Kory Kelly discuss: Talent as a capitalist market.  What culture really means and what talented employees are truly looking for.  Selling legal services online as the future of the law industry.  Automation and productization of legal services within the next five years.    Key Takeaways: If you want to retain quality talent, you have to create a place that peopl...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Jeremy Streten discuss: The business lifecycle of every business.  Building relationships with your clients.  Thinking about what is in it for the other person.  Multiway wins with cross marketing.    Key Takeaways: It is cheaper to get work from existing clients than from new clients.  Even if it is not your area, you can serve your clients by building networks...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Eric Moch discuss: Becoming self-sufficient and creating your own future.  Leadership as a learned skill.  Culture is king.  Serving in leadership to develop a lasting team.    Key Takeaways: Just because you have an aptitude and skill for your business does not mean you are going to be qualified to lead and mentor people.  As the business owner, your employees w...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Larry Stybel discuss: Determining if your career is a success.  Enjoying what you do while you’re doing it.  Redefining your title of yourself from within.  Understanding what comes during Chapter Three.   Key Takeaways: Everyone has a different definition of success and has a different level of what they are comfortable with in their own life.  You need to do wh...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Ryan Kimler discuss: The numbers side of your law firm practice.  The KPIs firms should be looking into.  Why you need to understand your firm’s numbers.  Utilizing an expert to look at your numbers to set your firm up for success.    Key Takeaways: A lot of built in reports in financial software are for compliance, not for understanding what is happening with yo...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Jaclyn Foster discuss: Changes in virtual law firm assistance.  Understanding where hires need to be made.  Keep it simple with roll clarity.  Preventing bottlenecks in your law firm.    Key Takeaways: Hiring virtual gives you a broader hiring pool and gives more flexibility to your employees.  You need to understand where time is being spent before you can under...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Jason Levin discuss: Always be chipping away as you are waiting with hope.  Self-selecting our next opportunities.  Developing relationships to develop business.  Using your memory to your advantage in relationship building.    Key Takeaways: Every lawyer has the capacity to do business development, it just isn’t often on their radar as it isn’t something that wa...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Barbara Kaplan discuss: Relationships as the key to success.  Why lawyers may struggle with branding.  Defining your own brand and narrative.  Understanding how to define your brand and what you do.    Key Takeaways: Your why lives at the intersection of what you love, what you're great at, what you want to be known for, what sets you apart, and what your ideal c...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Molly McGrath discuss: The greatest employment tools you have as a business owner.  Attracting players and keeping key employees.  Reinventing the hiring process to catch the rockstar candidates.  What lawyers want more than money and perks.   Key Takeaways: It’s not just about the money. It is about the time, the attention, the resources, the communication, and...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Marc Hankin discuss: Relationships first, middle, and last.  Listen first and tune your hearing to hear what others are saying is the problem.  The little things to pull together the networking connection.  Remembering social rules as we move back to in person meetings.    Key Takeaways: Regular communication with those friends you want to maintain connections wi...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Lindsey Markus discuss: Putting yourself out there to build your brand, network, and show yourself as an authority in your space.  Adding value through connections.  Why Lindsey created a publication house to publish her book.  Overcoming challenges of business development as a woman.    Key Takeaways: Just say yes. Be willing to meet with people who have powerfu...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Amy Gardner discuss: Mistakes lawyers make with their time. Taking the initiative to learn the things that you did not learn in law school. Solutions to getting your time under control. Track your time and see if you’re actually spending the time where you want to be. Key Takeaways: Building relationships is not something that can happen when you try and do it fa...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Justin Weinrich discuss: Justin’s journey of building his own firm in a city where he knew nobody.  Scheduling your networking without burning out.  Creativity in your networking connections (not everyone wants more business). Niching down to perfect your craft and be known for that among your network.    Key Takeaways: Strategically plan who you are going to net...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Paul Porvaznik discuss: Thinking about business development (even when things are going well).  Taking action on taking control of your career.  Meeting with the right people and asking the right questions.  Start developing your book of business now.    Key Takeaways: Having your own clients is one of the best ways to create job security, regardless of where you...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Clare Fanner discuss: Making an impression with purpose.  Similarities and differences in the US and UK legal sectors.  Changing the focus to the client and aligning it to the business while managing expectations.  The enabling power of technology (without taking away from lawyer skills).   Key Takeaways: Every little part of what we do matters. We can and do mak...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Charlie Uniman discuss: The relationship between time and value.  The evolution of practicing law.  Adopting good legal tech.  Utilizing tech to allow you to do the best job possible for your client.    Key Takeaways: There are many websites that review legal tech. Check them out and see what can help you to become more productive and more efficient in your firm....

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Amy Mariani discuss: Transitioning to mediation from another role.  Getting efficient with networking.  Providing value in networking and in connecting.  Calendering in your business development tasks, not just your law related tasks.    Key Takeaways: Even if you have a large network, it takes time to grow and cultivate the relationships needed to grow your book...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Michele Wucker discuss: What the gray rhino is and what it means. Why people are hesitant to take risks. Risk tolerances, risk adversity, and individual risk relationships. Evaluating risks and understanding the risk of not taking a risk.   Key Takeaways: We should not assume that because something is ever present and talked about means that it is being handled p...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Keith Sbiral discuss: Saying yes to the right things, and no to the less important things.  Why lawyers do and do not delegate.  Delegation authority and framework.  The 5 levels of authority.    Key Takeaways: You don’t have to delegate everything right away - prioritize what you need to do and delegate the things that are below your pay grade.  Delegation is al...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Manny Griffiths discuss: The importance of understanding the client experience. How Milestones can help you to bridge the gap and provide a better client experience. Setting expectations for both the client and the lawyer. Relationships and communication.   Key Takeaways: If the end result is good, the client could still be happy. But if they are referring you to...

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Marko Evans discuss: Developing remote culture.  Specialization versus generalization.   What a good recruiter needs to know.  Transparency and compensation.    Key Takeaways: Law firms should have an internal recruiter to keep the pipeline of great talent coming.  Recruiting is an ongoing process. Retention times are shorter than ever and you want to make sure t...