This week Oscar and Scott speak to Tom Bolt, the Chair of the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association. Tom discusses the the mission of his committee and how they can be helpful to attorneys in the four core areas of marketing, management, technology and finance. We touch upon the “uberization" of law and how to have a client centered practice.
We also discuss the issues surrounding the recently passed resolution 105 by the ABA which is meant to guide states in their regulation of nontraditional legal services.
Scott and Oscar have long advised listeners that law firms and solo lawyers can learn a lot about business development by listening to experts outside the legal field. In this episode they discuss The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth. The author talks about the need for people to go after what they want and realize that they are in control of their own lives and businesses. The book admonishes its readers to “Stop Wishing, Start Doing and Take Command of Your Life.”
The hosts talk about how to implement the advice Roth gives in his book to a law practice. The attitude in which you take something on is as important as deciding what to take on. The hosts talk about how they had to adjust their attitudes to give their law practices the boost they needed to be successful. The first step is self-contemplation and analysis to determine what kind of person you are and what kind of lawyer you wanted to be. While we are all lawyers we are all not the same lawyer and you need to apply yourself in the manner that best suits your personality and style.
This week Oscar and Scott talk about two different aspects of “Access to Justice”. First, they discuss Access to Justice in Law Schools. While giving law students much needed real life legal experience, the hosts wonder if serving this population will actually allow a student to make a living after graduation.
They also discuss a Law Firm that is marketing to this underserved population by offering free documents and information on their site and a unique pricing plan for clients.
The hosts discuss these different initiatives and believe this kind of out of the box thinking is needed for the future of law but are still a work in progress.
The key to a successful networking opportunity is being able to create a conversation that holds the interest of the others at the event. Scott and Oscar relate stories they were recently involved in around meeting lawyers and law students at events that offered great opportunities to make connections and maybe even develop some business. They offer suggestions and some “do’s and don’ts,” to help guide the listener through these opportunities. Step 1 is to be engaged – listen to what the other person has to say and build off of that; Step 2 is to personalize your story to match the event’s focus or at least the focus of the conversation you are having; and Step 3 is to be yourself and recognize that the others at the event are likely there for the same reason as you are – to meet people, make connections and try to get business in the future.