Info

Reboot Your Law Practice

Scott Limmer and Oscar Michelen, lawyers who watched their once thriving solo (Scott) and small firm (Oscar) law practices lose direction, discuss how based on the principals of being authentic, giving value and building business relationships & networking they were able to analyze, reboot, and grow their law practices and offer practical advice on how you can grow your solo or small law practice too. Join them each week to discuss topics such as legal marketing, personal & professional growth, networking, technology and helping mold and grow your personal self and your online persona.
RSS Feed
Reboot Your Law Practice
2020
June
May
April
March


2019
January


2018
December
October
July
May
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: August, 2016
Aug 30, 2016

A recent NY times article about Howard Stern discussed how he used a life coach to change the focus of his show and kind of “reboot” his format to make him more open to a larger audience. Jumping off that as a talking point Scott and Oscar discuss how they used David Allen’s time management book “Getting Things Done” to help organize their practices. Whether you use “GTD” or a life coach or any other system, the important thing is to plan your practice. You have to make choices daily as to what action you are going to take; how much time do you have to do it; how much energy do you have to do it; and what are the priorities. You have to find a way to get yourself motivated to change the course of your practice and sometimes having a third party getting involved can provide that motivation. The practice of law does not let you sit idly by: you have to take charge of the various tasks required by the practice and the opportunities available to grow the practice. Do whatever it is that you think will help you get there and stick with it.

Aug 23, 2016

Coming off last week’s discussion about work-life balance, the hosts talk about finding “joy” or “enjoyment” in the practice of law. One of the principles that Reboot Your Law Practice has focused on is trying to find a niche area of practice that you love or which greatly interests you, and targeting your reboot in that area. The hosts discuss an article written by Linda K. Robertson for Slaw, an online magazine which was entitled “Practicing Law with Joy.” Ms. Robertson notes that the top five criteria for happiness at work (not just for lawyers but for workers generally) are autonomy, respect, the belief that your work is important, opportunities for growth and appreciation. Money does not appear in the top criteria. Scott and Oscar then discuss how to focus your efforts into those five categories and you will find that the money will come. Not only that, but if you move your practice into an area that you are deeply interested in and love to do, the benefits to your personal motivation and – yes “Joy” will be enormous. Through personal anecdotes and examples, the hosts offer ways to think about your practice and move in a joyful and meaningful direction.

Aug 16, 2016

Having a small firm or solo practice means that you have to take extra steps to make sure you have proper work life balance. However, in such practices, your options are limited when an emergency or a critical new matter comes up during a planned vacation or break. Scott talks about how a new matter arose during his vacation that required him to leave his family to travel back to NY to handle the matter. The hosts discuss the importance of understanding that some situations cannot be controlled for and your personal life needs to adjust to the realities of the practice. Running your own law practice is not for the faint of heart – it will challenge your time, energy and persona life. That being said, it is important to schedule vacation and time off in order not to resent your practice and in order to avoid burn-out. The key is to be organized and try your best to free up your schedule at least twice a year for some time off. If the practice intrudes upon that time, then re-schedule and

Aug 9, 2016

When practicing law you often interact with other attorneys who are drawing from the same client pool that you are, which may lead to awkward interactions. Scott and Oscar discuss dealing with that issue with each other and other office sharing and networking situations between attorneys. The hosts feel that it is human nature to be territorial but feel there are more positives in working together then pushing other attorneys away. They recommend always go into situations like this with your eyes open and try to ward off issues before they begin.

Aug 2, 2016

Scott and Oscar continue their discussion about lawyers having to adjust to the new paradigm. Oscar mentions a friend who needed to refer a family member to a lawyer and who was flabbergasted that their family member had chosen lawyer they found over the internet. It raised a discussion about how lawyers need to be aware that some folks still frown upon using the Web to locate counsel. So we need to make sure our websites are professional and explain why we may be the right choice regardless of how our clients found us. The hosts also discuss personal experiences with networking and “talking about themselves” in different situations. While we highly recommend you follow the advice on our previous episodes about how to set up a great website and how to take advantage of networking opportunities, listeners need to remember that some people will not be open to this new method of building a law practice. The hosts provide some tips on how to best use your web presence and your networking opportunities to build real relationships with people who will become clients or referral partners.

1