I have noticed more and more solo and small firm lawyers starting to use scheduling programs. You know, the link they send you that takes you to a webpage with their calendar, where you can pick a day and time to meet with them or have a phone call or whatever you are trying to connect with them about. My barber uses a scheduling program, and it works great for him. While I think that using a scheduling program in your law practice can have benefits, it’s just not for me. Having a practice that works for me is important, and part of that is being able to control my calendar. In this episode I ..read more

In this episode I want to talk about what it means for you to have a successful law practice. Because I think the term “success” and “successful” get banded about a lot, but we often don’t take a moment to consider just what that means, for our law practices to be successful. The first thing that probably pops into your mind when you think of your practice being successful is making lots of money; maybe having a steady stream of clients, or closing a certain number of cases a month. And those things do go into and are part of a law practice being successful. But they are only one part of a tru ..read more

When I started my law practice, I made a lot of mistakes. I mean, a LOT of mistakes. Things that I look back on now and wonder, what the hell was I thinking back then? Cases that I took on, clients I worked with, other lawyers I partnered with. And money that I spent. Many mistakes I made involved money. This episode is centered around 3 mistakes I made involving money; things I spent money on and ultimately got little benefit out of ..read more

Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Apple Computers introduced the slogan: “Think different.” This slogan became iconic of Apple, inviting people to look beyond the beige Windows PC that most everyone associated with computers at the time. If you look at most of the law firms out there today, a large majority of them all look the same. They have the same internal pyramid structure of partners, associates, and staff. They bill their clients the same way: by the hour. Pre-pandemic, they all had formal offices with conference tables and in-person meetings. Their lawyers work long hours, inclu ..read more

If I asked you what criteria you use to determine which lawyer you would select from a list of lawyers to hire for a legal problem you had, you’d probably say that you would make your decision based on which lawyer was the best at solving that problem. That makes logical sense, right? You’d want to choose the best. And that how most lawyers market their practices too, as being the “best” in a particular practice area or “better” than the lawyer down the street. The problem with this is that when people actually make decisions – such as which lawyer to hire – they don’t base their decision on w ..read more

You may have seen the title of this episode and are scratching your head. What in the world is Brad talking about? I need more feminine energy in my law practice? What is that? Well, life is all about balance. For example, you can’t just eat candy and salty snacks and expect to be healthy. You need vegetables and fruits and protein. You can still have some of the candy and snacks, but you need the other things as well. Most lawyers are focused on the “doing.” On taking action, getting things done. On logic and critical thinking. On achievement. But without feminine energy – the planning, the e ..read more

The one thing that most every lawyer out there has in common– at least in the U.S. and Canada, which a few exceptions – is that you went through law school on your way to becoming a lawyer. For at least the past 50 years, that is the path to the practice of law. But if you ask most lawyers and law school grads, they will tell you that law school did not prepare them to enter the legal profession. That they had no idea how to actually practice law once they left the law school classroom. What is a law student or new law grad to do? TAKEAWAY: law school doesn’t teach you how to practice law. Lea ..read more

For some people, the holidays are the best time of the year. For others, the holidays are the WORST time of year, filled with stress from your practice, family, and friends. In this episode I want to share some things that I use to deal with stress. Most can be used regardless of the situation. And I’ll talk a bit about how to handle particular situations that can arise during the holidays and at the end of the year. TAKEAWAY: be kind to yourself ..read more

I saw the results of a survey or some research lately that said that lawyers as a whole tend to be more unhappy or negative than the general population. Being a lawyer myself, I can confirm that that is the case. By and large, lawyers tend to be unhappy. For the longest time, I was unhappy with myself and with my law practice. But that has changed. I am no longer a pessimist (masquerading as a “realist”). I am now an optimist and have positive thoughts and emotions throughout the day. Because I discovered the secret to being happy. And in this episode, I am going to share with you the secret I ..read more

I was listening to a lawyer I greatly admire speak about how to be a good lawyer. And one statement he made really stuck out to me. He was talking about his background prior to becoming a lawyer and how his experience made him a better lawyer today. Now I thought he would focus on his time as a sports broadcaster, or maybe his time in sales, as the reason he is consistently rated as one of the best lawyers in the area. But he didn’t. Instead, he said that some of the most important skills for a lawyer are those he honed being a teacher. TAKEAWAY: one of the best ways to become a better lawyer ..read more