Episodes

In this episode, Alay and Chris discuss: Differentiating one digital marketing firm from another. Tracking leads, pay-per-click, and SEO. Why SEO takes more time than you initially think. Key Takeaways: Ask your digital marketing company who is going to be working on your account, how many people, how many firms, how frequent communication will be, etc. Search engine results are always changing as the algorithm changes. You can utilize a landing page to understand which leads are coming in fr...

In this episode, Alay and Luis discuss: Why you should aspire to have an 8-figure firm. Things that get in the way of growing an 8-figure firm. The mindset of a CEO. The phases on your way to 8 figures. Key Takeaways: If your firm depends solely on you, it can never become passive income. The biggest barrier is transitioning from doing all the work to becoming a leader and trusting others to do the work. Establish an employee avatar to understand who you are looking for to make your hiring pr...

In this episode, Alay and Sasha discuss: Why marketing is key to your business success. Your firm’s five major systems. How to get good leads. How much time it takes for successful digital marketing. Key Takeaways: The riches are in the niches, you cannot do everything and expect to find success. To build a large, successful law firm, you need to have systems that run your firm successfully. You cannot do it all yourself. For different pains, you need different answers. When looking for a con...

In this episode, Alay and Daleele discuss: How to save time and money with automation and technology. Implementing processes and systems before new technology. Common time wasters for attorneys. Key Takeaways: You can use technology to automate many of your tasks if you set it up correctly. Process first, technology second. You may already have the technology that you aren’t utilizing in full. Understand your challenges and pain points. Without knowing those, you won’t know how technology cou...

In this episode, Alay and Laney discuss: Mistakes attorneys make with SEO companies and how to choose the right online marketing company. What SEO practically means (and what it doesn’t). Metrics that show SEO success. The long-term game of SEO. Key Takeaways: Be wary of a digital marketing company that does everything, because it’s probably not being done well. SEO should be explained in a way you can understand so you know what you’re getting for your money. Make your website a resource for...

In this episode, Alay and Scott discuss: Why rainmakers may be looking to leave their current firm. What firms are actually looking for when bringing on a partner or rainmaker. Finding connection points between the firm and the recruited partner. Using story to define your culture and show who you are, not adjectives. Key Takeaways: Lateral partner recruiting is the most effective form of client development. The fit of your clients at the new firm is an important and key element to deciding t...

In this episode, Alay and Kristi discuss: Definition of leadership and how it appears in a law firm. Six key areas of leadership. Resetting the idea of effective leadership. Improving retention through professional development. Key Takeaways: “Leadership is not accidentally bestowed or inherited. Leadership is a deliberate, thoughtful process that is about lifting the people around you.” – Mark Harry Modern law firms require leaders that can facilitate open communication and foster collaborat...

In this episode, Alay and Jodie discuss: Advice for small law firms looking to hire. Qualities of candidates that are often overlooked Jodie’s unique “re-tingent” recruiter model (and how it differs from both a classic retainer or contingency model). Getting the most out of your recruiter experience. Key Takeaways: Have a clear understanding of what your practice needs when you are looking to hire. Keep in contact and clear communication with your recruiter – not everyone can be hired or is t...

In this episode, Alay and Margeaux discuss: Margeaux’s journey to starting her own law firm, even before she had her own book of business. The first steps to building your book of business from scratch. Getting connected with associations of like-minded individuals. Making the decision to hire another attorney and pushing through the mental barriers around that step. Key Takeaways: Be willing to bet on yourself. You will succeed if you put your mind to it. You don’t have to be a “people perso...

In this episode, Alay and Stephanie discuss: How a virtual answering service can help your law firm. Building a customer experience that stands out. The most popular channels of communication. Key Takeaways: Hiring a virtual answering service can help your solo or small firm with better business continuity for your answering services. Live chat is growing and evolving and should be part of your website. It offers a direct line of communication to a human to answer questions in real time. Eval...

In this episode, Alay and Randa discuss: Delegating and hiring appropriate legal support. Why attorneys need to be better about tracking their time. Marketing, caseload, and workflow. Key Takeaways: Most of the time, attorneys overthink the billing more than the client does. Bill for anything that is pushing the case forward. Just because someone has work for you in your practice area does not mean that they are the right client for you. Tweetable Moments: “Let someone else handle your bill...

In this episode, Alay and Sebastian discuss: Democratizing access to justice. Generating clients and marketing for law firms. Disrupting the status quo. Practical tips for successful hiring. Key Takeaways: You need to know where your cases are generated from. Look at what marketing tactics are working for you and your firm. Scaling from 3 people to 50+ people requires defining a clear, overall goal in the company. When hiring, every week, give feedback and allow them to give you feedback, to ...

In this episode, Alay and Joe discuss: Joe’s passion to be an advocate for his clients. Business development to better advocate for your clients. Future retrospection for success. Business development for introverts. Key Takeaways: Take what you learn in business books and apply it to your career. To master something, you have to practice it and do it a lot. As you do this, you will become more confident. Nothing great comes easy. There is a commitment required to your business development ef...

In this episode, Alay and Jim discuss: Why attorneys need their own books of business. Business development ideas Balancing different types of business development, both virtual and in person. Key Takeaways: While related, marketing and business development are different. Attorneys are great referral sources for other attorneys. Put together a group of your peers (who are also rising stars), meet monthly, and you will find ways to refer to one another and support one another. The best way to ...

In this episode, Alay and Laura discuss: The #1 thing lawyers need to know when exploring virtual services. Energy management and time management. When a virtual assistant is a good fit, and when it isn’t. Levels of delegation to find freedom for yourself. Key Takeaways: You need to know what gives you strength and what gives you energy, and that will help guide you to what you should be delegating first. If you’re not ready to hire at your solo firm but need additional help, consider a virtu...

In this episode, Alay and James discuss: Lessons learned while growing your firm. Growing into your entrepreneurial mindset. Changing your mindset from lawyer to business owner. How business coaching can help change the mindset and grow the firm. Key Takeaways: Working excessive hours is worn as a badge of honor for many in the legal profession. You should not be doing that – don’t start a business to become a slave the business. Law school teaches you how to think like a lawyer, but that doe...

In this episode, Alay and Ilya discuss: Building relationships in your community to strengthen relationships and make a greater difference in the lives of others. Authentic, ethical marketing to build your law firm. How a trial firm is different from a settlement firm or a volume practice. Handling cash flow in a contingency model firm. Key Takeaways: When you have a reputation of being a firm that is willing to go the distance on a case, it often results in larger recoveries. Keep the values...

In this episode, Alay and Ken discuss: Making the decision to grow and hire. Strategic hiring and strategic opportunities. Reasons lawyers tend to leave their firms. Building a great firm. Key Takeaways: One avenue to growth could be merging with like-minded attorneys to whom you all refer business. Having complementary practice areas under the same roof can help better provide services to your clients. When merging and growing your law firm, the culture, and values of those you bring into th...

In this episode, Alay discusses: Growing your firm while still living your life and taking time off. Collecting fees that you’re owed. Why this is the best time in years to raise your rates. Push through mental resistance to bill more hours. Various options for adding a team member to your firm. Key Takeaways: Small incremental improvements in a few areas are easier and can have a powerful impact on growth. Collect your accounts receivable – it is money that is owed to you and can help grow y...

In this episode, Alay and Joe discuss: Understanding the numbers to understand the performance of your firm. Getting the numbers from your bookkeeper or accountant. Looking at your financials regularly. Accounting software for your law firm. Key Takeaways: You can absolutely ask your accountant for comparable reports on a monthly or quarterly basis. That is expected. You need to look at your AR aging and make sure you are collecting on that. When you’re looking to hire, delegate from the bott...

In this episode, Alay discusses: Bonuses and raises for yourself and your team. Setting goals for employees and vendors. Taking the time to create your strategic plan for next year. Identifying key actions to create an action plan to achieve your strategic plan. Key Takeaways: The application of goals can help you better know what to do with raises, bonuses, and overall understanding of performance. Make sure your goals are as clear as possible. Consider using the SMART acronym for writing yo...

In this episode, Alay and Mark discuss: Why you need to focus and pick your area of expertise. Understanding your why and your real purpose. Unique strengths and how they make you different in your market. Niching in an area with enduring value. Key Takeaways: Make your area of expertise narrower, and narrower, and narrower. It is to your benefit to focus on and not try to be everything to everyone. Understanding your true, deep purpose is not a 15-minute process. It will take time and drilli...

In this episode, Alay and Gary discuss: The #1 reason attorneys should use LinkedIn to build their business. The evolution of LinkedIn as a business development platform. Building relationships to get sales opportunities. Creating a plan for your LinkedIn. Key Takeaways: While the Premium and Sales Navigator upgrades for LinkedIn can be useful, 98% of attorneys don’t need them and can do what they need to do with the free version. Build potential clients and referral sources into your LinkedI...

Get Staffed Up offers virtual assistant services exclusively for law firms. Get $500 off your setup fee at https://getstaffedup.com/lawyerbusinessadvantage/ In this episode, Alay, Amanda, and Rob discuss: Taking the plunge to start your own firm and working with a new partner. Working with a coach as you start your own firm. Running a firm with multiple practice areas. Key Takeaways: Be open and honest with your current firm about your transition to a solo firm. In order to scale, you have t...