The Thought Leadership Project

Jamie Jackson Spannhake is a lawyer, writer and work-life integration coach. Her new book, "The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry: Three Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos," examines successful mindset shifts and methodologies for lawyers to consider in order to get what they truly want out of their lives and careers. Listen to the end to receive a 20%-off discount code to purchase the book! We...

Becoming a lawyer is a journey not a destination. To achieve success and satisfaction, and thrive in your career, you must continually learn, improve your mindset, and develop positive new habits. Joining Tom and Jay in this episode to discuss these and other issues is Elise Buie of the Elise Buie Family Law Group. Topics include: - The importance of being a lifelong learner - What “keystone habit...

Tom asks Jay to describe a newly discovered approach to LinkedIn that attorneys who aspire to become thought leaders should explore: the value of writing daily posts on LinkedIn. Jay shares his methodology and the impact its having on his engagement and reach on LinkedIn, specifically: How this differs from strategies used by marketers in the past How this will make you a better writer and more th...

There are myriad ways you can market a legal practice. We believe, perhaps not surprisingly, that thought-leadership marketing is one of the best ways. But thought-marketing is not a silver bullet. It’s not magic. And it’s not to be confused with other short-term, in-your-face marketing tactics. In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss some common misconceptions about thought-leadership marketing, des...

Scott Love is a legal recruiter who focuses on national partner placement for Amlaw100 and Amlaw200 law firms. He is an expert on the topic of business development strategy, and uses this skill to help partners reach their full potential in joining a new firm. Listen in as Jay and Tom discover what's behind what Scott has identified as the five key attributes of successful partners, and how you ca...

A limiting belief is something you believe about yourself that prevents you from realizing your full potential. In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss three common limiting beliefs that get in the way of lawyers producing content and becoming thought leaders, including: - Imposter syndrome - The pursuit of perfection - The need to produce truly “original” ideas Tune in to learn how to recognize and...

Laura Frederick is the Managing Attorney at Laura Frederick Law, a boutique law firm in Austin, Texas that helps businesses with vendor contracts. Having just recently launched an aggressive and committed thought leadership program on LinkedIn, Laura joins Jay and Tom to discuss her recipe for success, including: —How focusing on a narrower niche actually generated more inbound opportunities —What...

It’s that time of year: personal marketing plan season. When it comes to creating a personal marketing plan, make it strategic and also keep it simple. In this episode, Tom and Jay discuss the different components of a personal marketing plan, and how lawyers can make theirs effective and actionable. They expound upon: 1. Goal setting 2. The importance of differentiation 3. Identifying your audien...

If you’re an attorney or legal marketer who has recently launched a legal podcast, you should be working actively and ongoing to grow your audience within the niche you’re targeting. Jay and Tom take a look at some of the more tried and true tactics, from basic to advanced, including: -The low-hanging fruit of the channels you can control -Optimizing your podcast for search -How guest strategy can...

We're now more than six months since attorneys were forced to forgo traditional forms of business development and marketing and turn their attention to content and thought leadership marketing. How's it going so far? Now is the time to evaluate what's working, what's not, and to respond by adjusting your content strategy for the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of the new year. He...

There are different phases lawyers will go through as they build a significant book of business. There’s no guarantee you’ll progress through each phase, but if you do it’s likely that you’ll follow a particular path. In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss what it takes to build a $100,000, $500,000, and $1,000,000-plus practice. Topics include: - Why lawyers in Phase One must typically rely on “fri...

Positioning yourself and your practice is all about narrowing your focus to the point where you can say “I do x practice for y market.” In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss the challenges lawyers have in narrowing their focus, the benefits they’re missing out on, and how thought leadership fits into the equation. Issues addressed include: 1. The problem positioning helps solve. 2. The benefits of...

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in unprecedented demand for legal thought-leadership content. As we head toward the fourth quarter, the content onslaught has subsided, so we thought it was a good opportunity to see what lessons we could derive from the content onslaught. In this episode, Jay and Tom look back with an eye toward optimizing content marketing moving forward, and discuss: - The renewed...

If you’re tired of getting the same old results with your thought-leadership marketing efforts, try implementing some fresh new ideas. In this episode, Tom and Jay discuss some ways to change up your approach to content in order to create more engagement with your readers, listeners, and viewers. They address: - Various writing formats outside of the typical “intro, background, analysis, conclusio...

Jared D. Correia, Esq. is the CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, working with law firms around the world to improve their business management practice. Jared is also the COO of Gideon Software, Inc.. which delivers chatbots built exclusively for law firms. Listen to his discussion with Jay and Tom about the past, present and future of legal and marketing technology. -But first, a James Taylor st...

As the old saying goes, what you measure you can manage, and that’s especially true when it comes to thought-leadership marketing. In this episode, Tom and Jay discuss why it’s important to keep an eye on content analytics in order to improve the ROI on your efforts. They discuss: - The different types of analytics available on different platforms - What data matter and what don’t matter all that...

Exciting news! Jay Harrington announces the release of his third book, The Productivity Pivot. Listen in as Tom interviews Jay to share the inspiration, the process and the intended outcomes for the release of this book for lawyers looking to build a successful practice and achieve career satisfaction. Tom asked Jay: Why this book, and why now? If it's true that "too many lawyers are unhappy," how...

In anticipation of Jay's forthcoming book, The Productivity Pivot, Jay and fellow author Tom discuss the pros and cons of writing a book as a component of a broader thought leadership program. As a former attorney who will soon publish his second book (and has already started his third!), Jay provides his own experiences about the rewards and rigors of authoring a book to delve more deeply into a...

How do you position a practice? How does narrow positioning tip the power dynamic in an attorney/client relationship in your favor? To answer these questions and more, Jay and Tom welcome David C. Baker to the show, who the New York Times called the “expert’s expert.” You will learn a ton in this insight-packed episode, including: - The power of narrow positioning to generate clients and higher fe...

Can the practice of meditation and mindfulness help an attorney excel in the practice of law? And how is mindfulness and body/mind well-being correlative to thought leadership? Our guest Jeffrey Bunn is a retired attorney of 40 years, and founder of The Mindful Law Coaching & Consulting Group, which advocates for the incorporation of mindfulness and meditation practices as well-being tools for ind...

One of the marks of a thought leader is that the media takes notice. Lawyers who are thought leaders are often quoted as sources in stories. Their opinions and insights are used to make sense of the news. As a consequence of being featured in the media, a lawyer is perceived as more credible and authoritative, further burnishing his or her thought-leader credentials. In this episode, Jay and Tom d...

If you want to become a thought leader, you can't rely upon your opinion alone. Thought leaders curate the best data and information, and use it to inform their writing, and thereby their audience. Greg Lambert, Chief Knowledge Services Officer at Jackson Walker LLP, joins Jay and Tom discuss how a law firm's library and knowledge management teams can play an integral role in its thought-leadershi...

What happens when an English major and a former attorney get together to discuss writing techniques for legal thought leadership? Episode 41 of the Thought Leadership Project podcast! Listen in as Jay and Tom cite and examine various techniques for authors to employ in order to capture a reader's attention and keep it all the way to the ultimate call-to-action. Devices discussed include metaphors...

Social media activity, content creation, and content consumption have all gone through the roof during the COVID-19 crisis. Adrian Dayton, founder and CEO of Clearview Social, joins Jay and Tom to make sense of what is happening with thought-leadership marketing at this moment, and why it matters. Issues addressed include: - The massive amount of activity happening on social networks - How thought...

We've spent a lot of time discussing the importance of content creation for lawyers who want to become and remain thought leaders. But what about content curation? Jay and Tom deconstruct a tried and true—and highly recommended—component of thought-leadership marketing to help fortify your position as industry expert. What is content curation, and what are some specific examples? Why is curation a...