Solo Practice University® Guest Lectures

We welcome back Cynthia Sharp, ABA/GP Solo Rock Star for her third and final podcast on The 6 Steps to Client Mastery which now walks us through the processes (and soft skills) necessary to handle difficult clients, get your fees, conclude the matter and turn your happy clients into lifetime referral sources. This is not to be missed. Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Our series of guest lectures with ABA/GP Solo Rockstars continues and the inimitable Cynthia Sharp continues sharing her brilliant 6 steps to client mastery. And she is THE master in combining those intangible soft skills with the critical processes needed for guaranteeing a uniform and successful relationship with your clients. Attorney Sharp details how this relationship starts from before your...

While not too much in the main stream media, there is a grass roots movement of on line lawyer communities unaffiliated with traditional legal organizations. I bet you belong to one and don't even realize you are part of a movement! Why is this happening and where are they congregating online? Should you belong to one? Listen and learn. Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

And so begins our series of guest lectures with ABA/GP Solo Rockstars. First up is the inimitable Cynthia Sharp sharing her brilliant 6 steps to client mastery. And she is THE master in combining those intangible soft skills with the critical processes needed for guaranteeing a uniform and successful relationship with your clients. Attorney Sharp details how this relationship starts from before yo...

What is so different in starting a law firm in 2018 vs 2008? There are so many differences: not just in technology but the economy, marketing and financial management. Join us in this very interesting discussion. Listen and learn. Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

How do you onboard modern clients in the 21st Century? In today's podcast you will learn about what clients value. Do they want speed, responsiveness, mobile access? Do they want intake options such as online forms, chatbots, text messaging? How do you create and respond to the client's journey from finding you through resolution? You'll learn all this more today. Listen and learn. Written by Susa...

We ask the single most important question - can lawyers fail and survive and go on to thrive? Our position, failure is not a bad thing. What matters is what you do after your failure. Listen and learn. Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

While recorded over the summer, the sentiment remains the same over any stretch of downtime. It is great to plan soft relaunches of your firm during slow periods. Soft relaunches can include the announcement of a new employee, new website design, rebranding, any number of changes in your firm that give you a new marketing opportunity. So, listen and learn. (Oh, and enjoy Jared's heavy breathing. H...

In an ever-expanding pool of Legal Technology Solutions, how do you pick the right technology for your solo/small firm? How do you address the mandatory need for cybersecurity to prevent hacking and protect your clients' data? How do you protect your livelihood in a catastrophe? Chelsey's knowledge will leave you a little breathless. Listen to this jam-packed podcast before you download her incred...

If you've wanted to create a virtual law practice, or 'virtualize' your law practice incrementally, this is the guest lecture for you. Learn how to get started (and the rationale why) in this nearly hour long podcast filled with invaluable information. Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

You know you need to transition over to more automation in your practice. You read the benefits. Lawyers you know can't say enough about the time-savings. You watch them accessing their entire office from their smartphone with a tinge of jealousy but you can't seem to move off the mark. Now you've got the added pressure of the clients demanding it, plus asking for lower costs for your services and...

What if you had to market your law firm without using any money? Literally: no money, at all. It turns out that you can develop a vibrant marketing plan without spending one cent. This guest lecture you will learn practical marketing tactics that you’ll be able to employ. Join us as we lay out specific networking and content marketing strategies to apply to your no-cost legal marketing. Learn how...

In the late 90's and definitely into the 21st century, the law firm fee structure is morphing and changing under tremendous pressure from clients and the economy. But where do new solos (and some not-so-new) lawyers go to learn about the what fee structures are out there? Jared and I discuss the pressures and those very fee structures. Join us! Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Have you ever been grieved? The odds are you will. You've planned for the actual process of addressing the grievance, maybe. But odds are you've not planned for the emotions of being grieved and how it will impact you moving forward. Join us as we talk more in depth about the root of the emotions surrounding a grievance, how it can negatively impact you and what you can do to work through them in...

How important is content marketing? It's actually incredibly important in today's marketing environment for new (and seasoned lawyers). Join us as we discuss what content marketing is, why it's important, what are the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to get good quality content into the universe, and what you should be writing about. As always, it's highly informative. Join us! Written by Susan...

How do we stop worrying about money? In this guest lecture we focus on the particular emotional issues of solos and their relationship to money, those who are out on their own without a steady paycheck. There is also a psychology about money which is fascinating, how we live in judgment of others and how it impacts our actions and emotions day-to-day. Why do we worry when we are somewhat comfortab...

When are you most vulnerable to a malpractice claim, when are you least? What are the ugly malpractice monsters are rearing their heads going forward? Are you safer as a a newbie or a more seasoned professional? The answers may surprise you. But most importantly, they'll inform you to help you with your practice going forward. Join Jared and I as we discuss these surprising landmines from our uniq...

Today, psychotherapist and JD, Karen Caffrey and I take a deeper dive into understanding the psychological ramifications of not taking a vacation (meaning rest) and our own inability to even recognize we need it which compounds the harm. Join us for this highly informative adventure and maybe you'll come out resolving to take some much needed time to rest and repair. We'll explain why and then sho...

Nearly 40% of all high-achieving people experience an observable phenomenon called ‘Imposter Syndrome’ - that feeling that you are a fraud, that you’ve fooled the world into believing you are capable and knowledgeable. And most people have experienced moments of this. This lecture is a more in-depth, companion piece to the blog post: Are You Suffering From Imposter Syndrome?. Learn more as we do a...

Nicole Black is the tech evangelist for MyCase. But long before she enjoyed her new position, she was a tech geek and advocate for tech in the legal space. The 21st legal consumer is different and their client service expectations are very different. If you don't know how to reach them, they are going to move on to the lawyer who does. Today, Nicole and I discuss reaching the 21st century client t...

Society as a whole encourages suppression of feelings.  The legal profession, as a micro-culture, further encourages lawyers to suppress their feelings.  What happens when feelings are suppressed to such a degree? This is a very powerful 32 minutes.  We discuss lawyers and how they deal with (and don’t deal with) feelings in the practice of law. […] Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Isolation will literally kill you. Yet many lawyers don't even realize they are isolated. They also don't realize there are many forms of isolation that are insidious and destructive. There is professional, personal and social isolation and you may not even understand you are isolated. Isolation is a mental health risk. Today we dig in to raise awareness in the legal community. These are very real...

There is so much technology out there which can improve your practice.  However, what are the major technologies you should be investing in and why?  Jared and I talk about two types of technologies in this podcast: document automation and assembly software and case management software, not just a recitation of how they can improve […] Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Amazon transformed the retail industry by networking small businesses together. It eventually replaced the individuality of each small business with it's own 'brand', Amazon. Eventually, small businesses were able to reduce their overhead further by cutting out their physical real estate, cutting employees and simply marketing and selling their goods through Amazon. This on-demand online company i...

Do you think a signed retainer agreement is the beginning or end of your marketing to gain a client? The beginning or end of the 'sale'? Today we talk about the reality that once a client retains you it is just the beginning of the sales 're-cycle' - the continuing process of re-affirmations that the client made the right choice in selecting you as their attorney. Listen and learn. Written by Susa...