Attorney Journals, Orange County, Volume 158

ORANGE COUNTY

Volume 158, 2019 $6.95

Adapting to Survive

Roger Hayse The Three Cons: High-Pressure Selling vs. Dignified Marketing

Trey Ryder

8 Key Law Firm Strategy Takeaways from #LMA19

Rich Bracken

Five Ways to Normalize Your Damages

Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm

Law Firm of the Month

Woods Williford, P.C.

Network Now for Success Later

Nathan Peart Silence Your Inner Critic, Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone, and Achieve Greater Success

Stefanie Marrone Lawyers, Protect Client Confidentiality When Using Social Media

Nancy Myrland

California Case Summaries: Freetm

Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.

Irvine Personalized Injury Law Firm – Battling to Relieve Clients’ Burdens

2019 EDITION—NO.158

TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Network Now for Success Later

by Nathan Peart

8 Eight Key Law Firm Strategy Takeaways

by Rich Bracken

10 Adapting to Survive

by Roger Hayse

12 Five Ways to Normalize Your Damages

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor EDITOR Wendy Price

by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm LAW FIRM OF THE MONTH

CREATIVE SERVICES Penn Creative

16 Woods Williford, P.C, Irvine Personalized Injury Law Firm – Battling to Relieve Clients’ Burdens

CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths

by Dan Baldwin

STAFF WRITERS Dan Baldwin Jennifer Hadley CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Rich Bracken Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm Roger Hayse Trey Ryder Nathan Peart Stefanie Marrone Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. Nancy Myrland WEBMASTER Mariusz Opalka ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Info@AttorneyJournal.us SUBMIT AN ARTICLE Editorial@AttorneyJournal.us OFFICE 30211 Avenida De Las Banderas Suite 200 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 www.AttorneyJournal.us ADDRESS CHANGES Address corrections can be made via fax, email or postal mail.

8

16

22 Lawyers, Protect Client Confidentiality When Using Social Media

by Nancy Myrland

24 California Case Summaries: Freetm

by Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.

26 How to Silence Your Inner Critic, Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone, and Achieve Greater Success

by Stefanie Marrone

28 High-Pressure Selling vs.

Dignified Marketing

by Trey Ryder

24

Editorial material appears in Attorney Journals as an informational service for readers. Article contents are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Attorney Journals.

Attorney Journals makes every effort to publish credible, responsible advertisements. Inclusion of product advertisements or announcements does not imply endorsement.

Attorney Journals is a trademark of Sticky Media, LLC. Not affiliated with any other trade publication or association. Copyright 2019 by Sticky Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from Sticky Media, LLC. Printed in the USA

WITH US, BUSINESS IS PERSONAL Always Get The Red Carpet Treatment At Jilio-Ryan DEPOSITION SERVICES

VIDEO SERVICES

ONLINE & MOBILE SERVICES

•Certified Court Reporters

•Certified Legal Videographers

•Online Deposition Scheduling

•Court-Appointed Official Reporters

•Video Conferencing

•Online Document Repository

•Certified Legal Interpreters

•Video Deposition Streaming

•Jilio-Ryan Mobile App

•24/7, Last Minute Scheduling

•Video Transcript Synchronization

•Mobile Transcripts

•Nationwide Deposition Coverage

•Digital Deposition Streaming

•Productivity Enhancing

•Deposition Suites, Conference Centers

•Video Editing Tools

Transcript Tools

•Realtime Depositions •Electronic Transcripts •Electronic Transcript CD •Litigation Support Software Integration

Over 100 Years Combined Court Reporting Experience

•Complete Case Management

W W W. J I L I O R YA N . C O M

800.454.1230

Network Now for Success Later T

oday, the art of conversation has changed with the use of technology and our ability to text, instant message, or upload a story to Instagram. The idea of going to an event that requires some level of face-to-face networking is daunting—and a bit of a foreign concept to those of us who interact through our phones more than in person (i.e., us Millennials). It’s truly awkward and uncomfortable to walk up to a stranger and say hi, but to engage in a full conversation with someone more senior than you is scary and pushes us way outside our comfort zone.

Young associates, however, need to embrace the act of networking because the connections you make are the ones that will help you in your career in the long run. While you may feel like you have nothing to add to a conversation so early in your career, consider that the people you are meeting were once where you are now and have a plethora of knowledge they are more than willing to share with you. These new connections you will make are likely to become your mentors and sponsors, future clients or coworkers, and potential collaborators for writing and speaking engagements.

Make New Friends To start networking, begin with baby steps and work within your comfort zone: • Look within your firm first. Chances are there are partners you don’t regularly interact with or members of other teams that you only smile at in passing. Attend firm functions where you have the opportunity to mingle with people outside of your team and immediate office. Because you work at the same firm, you will have common ground to talk about, which will make starting a conversation easier and ease you into the practice of networking.

• Attend client events. Showing up to events hosted by your clients is a smart business decision. The more you interact with your clients, the more they get to know you and trust you, which will ideally lead to continued work in the future. Take the time to introduce yourself to the other employees and the other guests your client has invited. You are again starting with a bit of common ground that you can talk about since “how long have you worked with XYZ” can be a good icebreaker. If showing up alone to a client event feels too risky, take a buddy with you so you can work the room together.

• Go back to law school for alumni events. Having gone to the same law school or even university for your undergraduate degree is always an easy topic of conversation. You can reminisce about past experiences from your time at that institution. You have shared an experience and that connection will make people more willing to help down the line—as long as you nurture that new contact.

The next step is to branch out and join associations and diversity groups. You don’t have to be in a specific diverse category to go to a diversity event, allies are often welcomed, too. Yes, it will be scary but you just have to go. It’s an interesting way to 6

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

by Nathan Peart

meet people, and people will want to talk to you because they are curious about your interest in the group or cause and your (possible) connection to that.

How to Navigate a Networking Event Go into any networking situation with a rough game plan. There is no need to stay the entire time, but plan on staying at least an hour and talking to a set number of people—set yourself a goal. What do you want to get out of this event? Prepare your elevator pitch and have a few questions ready to ask that will start a conversation, whether about work or personal interests, so that you feel fully prepared. Follow these pointers when you arrive: • Arrive 10–15 minutes after registration time, not too early so people will be there already and you aren’t awkwardly standing around waiting.

• Drop your bag, coat, etc., if possible, so that your hands are free and you can greet people appropriately when you meet them.

• Keep some business cards with you at all times to hand out.

• Dive in. Grab a drink and find somebody else who is on their own and approach them. There will always be people (who are probably as nervous as you) interested in starting a conversation.

You have your questions ready, so just ask them! Remember you are all there for the same reason.

After the event, connect with the people you met on LinkedIn and start building a rapport with them. Send them a small note and initiate next steps with them, whether that’s simply staying in touch or engaging them on a project you want to work with them on in the future.

An Eye Toward the Future At any stage of your career, you never know the direction your career path will take you, so building your connections will be paramount to your success. Having an internal champion in your firm will help you make internal moves into that sexy practice you are dying to join or act as your advocate when partnership comes up. If you decide to go in-house, often your first move will be at mid-level and through people you know or lawyers you have worked with on the other side.

Or in the event you choose to leave law practice to explore teaching, banking, consulting, or recruiting, a network of people who know you and your work product will be helpful for you in making these types of moves and industry introductions.

Business is all about interacting with people no matter the business you are in. Push out of your comfort zone and start getting to know others in and out of the industry. The benefits will be endless. n Nathan Peart is a Managing Director at Major, Lindsey & Africa in the Associate Practice Group based in New York. An expert in cross-border relocation, Nathan works closely with associates to help them make lateral moves into law firms whether in New York City, on the East Coast or internationally.

REFERRAL & CO-COUNSEL RELATIONSHIPS

Your

NEVADA

PER SON AL IN JU RY PA RTNE R

NEVADA’S LARGEST & HIGHEST RATED INJURY LAW FIRM Your

NEVADA

“Rick is one of the best lawyers in the country. I call him every time I have any issue in Nevada and would not hesitate to refer N AL IN JU RY PA RTNE R him any type of case ofPER anySO size.” ~ C. Michael Alder, Esq., Alder Law, Los Angeles, California CAALA Past President and Former Trial Lawyer of the Year

“I recently co-counseled a serious Las Vegas injury case with Rick Harris and his law firm. Rick’s advocacy and skills are extraordinary, and were instrumental in resolving and maximizing our client’s sizable recovery.” ~ Carl Wolf, Esq., Callaway & Wolf Northern California Super Lawyers San Francisco, California

© 2016 RHLF

8 Key Law Firm Strategy Takeaways From the #LMA19 National Conference

by Rich Bracken

T

he Legal Marketing Association’s National Conference was held in Atlanta recently; over 1,500 professionals gathered to learn from industry experts, take pointers from key outside consultants and, most importantly, hear from clients.

Several key themes continued to arise in conversations and presentations: 1. Client service and experience is more critical than it’s ever been.

2. Law firms need to take a cue from the Big 4 by focusing more on operating like a business through a new approach to sales and client service.

3. Firms and attorneys need to focus on differentiation in the marketplace through expertise, branding, and thought leadership.

Below is a list of some of the key takeaways that legal marketers and consultants should be implementing ASAP at their firms. These are key strategies and tactics to be aware of as we approach the halfway point of 2019.

8

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

1. Clients Are Talking, Are You Listening?

As the voice of the client should always be the priority, there were several key takeaways from the in-house counsel panel discussion, which included Mark Smolik of DHL, Alexia Mass of Volvo Financial Services and Will Barnette of The Home Depot.

• Mark Smolik, general counsel and chief compliance officer at DHL Supply Chain Americas, says the average cost of a senior member of his in-house legal team is $174 an hour.

He had a very direct message for the packed room of legal marketing professionals to take back to their firms: “I can’t afford to pay you $800 an hour.”

• “With the incredible amount of innovation and change we’re seeing in our industry, this is resulting in fundamental business model changes for us, which should be impacting you,” said Alexia Maas, senior vice president and GC at Volvo Financial Services. When referring to compliance, “it is no longer good enough for us and thus for you to be just a support function. We are changing so you have to find ways to change with us.”

• “We will continue to look for [alternatives] in discrete areas like technology or document review, but the real threat for firms are other firms that become better partners with their clients than your firms,” said Will Barnette, associate general counsel at The Home Depot.

• “You’re failing to recognize that the company behind us is run by entrepreneurs, and they’re expecting us to act that way, and we’re expecting you to act that way,” Smolik said. “The law firm that speaks as a businessperson first and lawyer second is going to get more and more of our business.”

2. Create a Dedicated Client Service Culture • A 2% increase in customer retention through a dedicated client experience and elevated client service provides the same profits as cutting costs by 10%.

• Raising the satisfaction of happy clients vs. putting out the fires of negative clients provides up to 9x more revenue.1

5. Let Technology Help You Make Revenue Partner with technology to create products and services that can work while you sleep. “69% of people would use online legal services over attorneys.” – Harris Poll, Legal Tech News Dec. 20186 6. Outsourcing Is a Great Resource The largest firms outsource 11.6% more non-lawyer functions (e.g. marketing, CRM, presentations, etc.). There was an increase of around 10% of survey respondents who felt that outsourcing legal work and non-lawyer functions have made positive impacts on their firm.7 7. Be Ready for Your Closeup Video and podcasts are becoming the main tactics in thought leadership/brand creation. Instead of stressing over posting on all channels, meet the clients where they view content (LinkedIn, Twitter, JD Supra, YouTube). Types of videos to create: • Blog

Client service leaders:

• FAQ

• 37% higher revenue growth

• Testimonial

• 48% higher profits

• Breaking news

• 33.1% higher client retention2 How to enhance client service:

8. Fine Tune Your Sales Skills from the Big 4

• Put a business professional at the table with clients.

Numerous client conversations yielded the same sentiment that a business focused professional needs to be present in conversations who has a larger view of the client, and firm’s business alignment.

• Training is most effective when done early and often.

• Coaching can change work habits that stick!

• Third-party coaches/trainers can add scalability and validation to internal programs. Leveraging client-facing sales professionals can have a huge impact on growth!

• Create client teams to interact with, and serve the needs of, the various members of your client’s team.3 3. Focus Your Expertise to Align with Your Clients Industry/sector marketing is key to differentiation moving forward for firms. By identifying your top client industry trends and dissecting the services provided, you can identify gap opportunities for additional services.4 4. Be Open to Change The industry is changing whether you like it or not. By adapting to change and creating efficiencies on delivery, you can differentiate yourself in the market. However, “69% of partners in law firms resist most change efforts.” – Altman Weil Flash Survey5

• Cultural pushback to sales professionals is common yet can be overcome.8 n Rich Bracken, Director of Coaching for Society 54, advises attorneys and professional services firms on revenue generation initiatives by leveraging data analytics, client service strategies and differentiated branding. He is also the Chair of the Legal Marketing Association of Kansas City, a frequent conference speaker and a regular contributor on Fox 4 News in Kansas City. Connect with Rich on LinkedIn and www.Society54.com.

Rich Bracken & Heather McCullough, Society 54 Deborah McMurray, Content Pilot, LLC 3 Doug Tumminello, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP 4 Elizabeth Duffy, Acritas & Gillian Ward, Baker Botts 5 Brenda Plowman, Fasken & Deborah McMurray, Content Pilot 6 Liz Patrick, Patrick Law Group/Kevin Miller, Legal Sifter 7 Panel presentation; Altman Weil Flash Survey Statistics 8 Tom Lutz, Deloitte & Doug Ott, Doug Ott Consulting

1

2

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

9

Adapting to Survive

by Roger Hayse

Charles Darwin said so profoundly, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

O

ur practice is seeing an increasing number of firms tested by their ability to adapt. The news reflects a growing number of firms in obvious transition. From high-profile names to lesser-known partnerships, the leaders of each firm face pivotal decisions. Some of these firms will restructure or otherwise embark on a turnaround strategy. Others opt for merging with another group or offering themselves as an acquisition target in an effort to avoid dissolution. History has shown far too many ends in a messy liquidation.

Identifying the Path that Leads to Decline The decline of a once vibrant partnership rarely has much to do with the quality of lawyers engaged in the practice. And though the marketplace is certainly tumultuous, what is at the heart of survival and success for some, and the dire straits of a struggle to survive for others?

In his book Corporate Turnaround, Dan Bibeault identifies four key mistakes that lead to organizational decline. These mistakes, paraphrased to the legal profession are: • Failure to respond effectively to a changing competitive environment • Poor control over operations • Overexpansion • Operating with excessive financial leverage Let’s look at each one a bit more closely.

Failure to Respond to Change Effectively Every leader knows that the only constant in business is change.

And no one need tell the leader of a law firm that our industry is changing at breakneck speed. Specifics of the changes virtually every firm leader must contend with include: • Increasing mobility and declining loyalty of attorneys

10

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

• Client imposed pressure on pricing • Non-traditional competitors and alternative service providers • Technology’s role in driving certain lines of service to commodity status • Consolidation Counsel/Advice—Effective law firm leadership establishes a formal mechanism through which change is routinely addressed.

These mechanisms identify emerging changes to the business of law, and collaboratively craft appropriate responses.

Control Over Operations Operational challenges are varied and abound. If the leaders of a firm are continually surprised to find threats to profitability and stability, the firm is well on its way to a potentially painful transition process. On the other hand, keeping an eye out for these early warning signs can result in averting crisis: • Loss of a significant client relationship resulting from continued service delivery issues, or the departure of a key partner • Firm-threatening malpractice claims resulting from failure to engage in client problem management • Shortage of working capital resulting from continuing cash flow deficits.

• Excess capacity in terms of space and people resulting from failure to manage attrition of clients and or lawyers Counsel/Advice—Leadership must establish control mechanisms that spot these (and any evolving) early warning signs. These mechanisms may include: • Operating and capital budgets • Client feedback systems • Attorney and non-attorney review systems such as 360 reviews that register building frustration

Over-Expansion Imprudent growth may be the number one mistake law firm leaders make. There is a tremendous bias for numerical growth in our industry. Unfortunately, the growth in which we engage is often far from strategic, and about little more than becoming bigger. As a result, most lateral expansion is not—in the long run—beneficial to the partners of the expanding firm. Most growth changes the numbers but adds little value. Growth is expensive, tests culture, strains the limits of the management and leadership infrastructure and is just plain risky.

too far, organizational failure. Edwin Reese has an excellent article here on law firm capital.

Counsel/Advice—Better to be safe than sorry. We recommend that firms maintain a balance of contributed capital that is equal to 25-45% of annual owner compensation and that monthly distributions to owners be based on a distribution of 60-70% of projected annual income with the balance distributed at year-end.

Follow Basic Guidelines and Avoid Crisis

Excessive Leverage

Serious law firm decline can almost always be avoided if leadership understands the trajectory of its current path. To improve your firm’s odds of avoiding deterioration, monitor and proactively address change, tightly control legal and administrative operations, expand cautiously and maintain a healthy level of financial leverage.

In a statement often associated with leadership and innovation, Wayne Gretsky said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

What might law firm leaders be doing today, to better predict where firms end up in the coming months and years? n

The general inclination in most law firms is to maximize immediate cash flow to owners while minimizing the amount of owner cash tied up in contributed capital. The combination of these two often leads to operational stress, and—if extended

Roger Hayse has spent more than 30 years closely advising law firm management and legal industry service providers. His career is highlighted by consistently providing the counsel and leadership critical to successful law firm transitions. Learn more at HayseLLC.com.

Counsel/Advice—Add institutional capacity only when existing capacity has been significantly and consistently utilized.

Until that threshold has been achieved, learn to use contract, temporary and outsourced solutions.

Restrict lateral growth to individuals or groups that meet strategic criteria and have been documented to be accretive through objective analysis. Increasingly, business that is thought to be “portable” is actually far from it. Vet relationships. Add laterals in a manner consistent with strategic direction of the firm.

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

11

Five Ways to Normalize Your Damages

by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm

W

hen civil litigation is being discussed by those outside the courtroom and outside the legal field, what stands out is often the perception, at least, of very high damages. The high-dollar figure being awarded, based on a questionable claim, is the poster child for the abuses of litigation. But for some reason, inside the courtroom and specifically inside the jury room, juries are often able to get to those high numbers—numbers that some of those same individuals would have scoffed at had they heard about it in the news instead of having been part of it in the deliberation room. Part of that, of course, is because as jurors they have heard the evidence. But part of it is also that, over the course of the trial, the high numbers have started to seem less shocking and more normal. Both plaintiffs and defendants care about this numbers effect, with plaintiffs wanting to place the figure as high as possible, and defendants—often, but not always—wanting to offer and to normalize a counter number of their own.

In our own experience running mock trials, we don’t often get the chance to see mock jurors really dig into the details

12

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

of the damages case. Generally, they will spend minutes and not hours or days talking about the damage figures. But within those minutes, I do think we often get to see the most important parts of damages deliberation: The parts where jurors develop an orientation, talk about an approach, and decide if they want the numbers to be high or low. A lot goes into how a jury will view the numbers offered by both parties, and how they determine what is typical, what is credible, and what is valid. In this post, I am going to share the top five factors gleaned from practical experience for making damages numbers acceptable and normal to a jury.

One: Make It a Number I have talked with attorneys on both sides who are afraid to offer a number on damages. For one category, or even for the case as a whole, they will want to leave it as a blank that the jury fills in based on an open-ended, “Give what you think is fair” message. For plaintiffs, the fear is, “What if they would have given more and my number lowers it?” And for defendants,

the fear is, “What if they would have given less, or what if mentioning the number makes me look guilty?” It isn’t always an easy call in the context of a given case. But in the context of the social science research, there is a clear answer: Giving a number that jurors can “anchor” on helps. A high anchor from a plaintiff helps push damages higher than they would have otherwise been, and a low anchor from a defendant does the opposite. It is a delicate matter to decide on a number, but if you do your homework and offer one, you will have more influence on the final result. And what advocate doesn’t want more influence?

Two: Address the ‘Gist’ More recent research on damages shows that jurors don’t decide on a number in a single step or just calculate their way to a final damages number. Instead, they will first decide on what the ‘gist’ of damages should be, and then they work their way to a number that fits that gist. By ‘gist,’ I mean the subjective sense that the number ought to be “Low,” or “Average,” or “High,” or “Stop the presses and send a message high.” Before they get into specific numbers, individuals and groups will want to ground their decision in one of those subjective categories, and often the arguments during deliberations are not about numbers but about which of those categories is the right one in this particular case. So when it comes to plaintiff’s requested damages or defense’s counter, don’t just talk about the numbers, talk about whether this is a case that jurors might think of as typical, or as a case that has some special circumstances that should push damages in a higher or lower direction.

Three: Talk About It Early When the plaintiff is offering an amount, it is nearly inevitable that there will be some initial “sticker shock” over the amount. They will compare it to what they earn in a year, or to what they are paying for their house, and for most cases in most venues, that comparison is not going to help a plaintiff. However, the more jurors hear the number, the more they start to become desensitized to it. It starts to sound normal. So as early as possible in the trial, start mentioning the number. That often means during voir dire.

Plaintiffs might be able to strike people who would have trouble with that number. But even without that, it is a good idea to get them used to the numbers. For defendants, it is a trickier matter to decide when to bring up a counter number. In some cases, you want to build that solid “no liability” case first so it is very clear that the damages number is an “even if … ” argument. But if your strategy centers on reducing damages, it will make sense to start normalizing those low anchors as early as possible as well.

Four: Contrast It With the Extremes Jurors want to compromise. They don’t want to listen to one side and say, “Okay, I agree,” and implement that preferred verdict. Instead, they want to reach their own decision, and that means adjusting based on the anchors that the parties have given. Offering a contrast to your own numbers can serve as one check on that adjustment. That is, if you can give the message that the compromising has already been done, then that can limit the adjustments that jurors are motivated to make. For a plaintiff, that means that it is often a good idea to focus on some categories and some amounts that you are not asking for. A damages expert might say, for example, that it would be reasonable to budget for full-time life care starting now, but that the injured plaintiff doesn’t feel she needs it right now. In contrast to the higher figure, the amount you are asking for now doesn’t feel as high.

Defendants can do the same in the opposite direction. The defense expert, for example, could say that it is uncertain whether a second surgery is needed or not—if we excluded it, here is what our amount would be—but we are including it just to make sure we are being fair. Now, in contrast to the lower figure, the defense’s amount seems more generous.

Five: Show Your Work How did you arrive at a number? What does the number mean? How would a jury unpack it to decide whether it is reasonable or not? How you got to the number matters as much as the number itself. To the jury, it matters more.

So, use an expert who is able to explain the process in an understandable and engaging way. The message isn’t, “Trust me, I’m an expert,” it is, “Let me show you how to arrive at a good number … ” Ideally, the damages expert is telling a story and helping jurors solve the mystery of how one puts a reasonable value on this case. Ultimately, they may not end up with your preferred number, but if you have influenced the road they take to arrive at a number, you have influenced a lot. n Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm has provided research and strategic advice on several hundred cases across the country for the past 21 years, applying a doctorate in communication emphasizing the areas of legal persuasion and rhetoric. As a tenured Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Dr. Broda-Bahm has taught courses including legal communication, argumentation, persuasion, and research methods. He has trained and consulted in 19 countries around the world and is Past President of the American Society of Trial Consultants.

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

13

“Big Law” to Boutique Plaintiffs Firm - Backgrounds from Morrison & Foerster, DLA, Cooley, Luce Forward and U.S. Dept. of Justice Our attorneys have tried over 35 cases and have recovered over $100 million dollars in verdicts and settlements

Court Appointed to Plaintiffs’ Leadership for Several Ongoing Mass Tort/JCCP Cases

We pay generous attorney referral fees on all cases consistent with ethical guidelines

Fox Law, APC | 858-256-7616 | info@foxlawapc.com The Plaza Building | 225 West Plaza Street, Suite 102 | Solana Beach, CA 92075

IRVINE’S PREMIER FAMILY LAW FIRM

CONSTRUCTION CASE TO REFER? WE WELCOME AND APPRECIATE YOUR CONSTRUCTION REFERRALS CONSTRUCTION LAW • CONSTRUCTION INJURY CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS • CIVIL LITIGATION

Shawn D. Morris • 30 years of experience • Over 250 construction-related claims • Appeared in almost every jurisdiction in California

California Office

9915 Mira Mesa Blvd, Suite 300 San Diego, CA 92131 Telephone: (858) 566-7600 Fax: (858) 566-6602

• Successfully completed over thirty jury trials • Member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA®)

Nevada Office

(New address!)

3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 420 Las Vegas, NV 89169 Telephone: (702) 405-8100 Fax: (702) 405-8101

www.morrissullivanlaw.com

Personalized Injury Law Firm – Battling to Relieve Clients’ Burdens

by Dan Baldwin

C

layton Williford, Partner in Woods Williford, P.C., relates a story that well defines the approach and the reason for that approach to personal injury law. When he was in the first grade a “punk kid” tripped and kicked a young female classmate. “It just ticked me off and I just went over and beat him up. Afterward my teacher said, ‘Good work.’ Everyone knew he was a bully. It bugged me. I knew what it felt like to be bullied, and I hated it. I still hate it when large insurance companies try to bully people. I’ve had that since I was a kid—the awareness of injustice and a drive to do something about it.”

Partner Briny Wood tells a similar story of how he was moved to become an attorney. He was in his twenties and although attending law school planned a career in the entertainment industry. After graduating from law school, he was employed with an entertainment agency representing writers, producers and directors. “I worked for this guy who was the biggest bully in the entire building. One day I decided I wasn’t going to take this guy’s bullying anymore and I just walked out. I walked away from a job where I had the potential to earn significant money. A month later I passed the bar and never looked back,” Woods says.

Woods says, “We represent all types of people who were injured in accidents, including many children, college professors, blue and white collar workers, police officers, Hollywood agents and producers, doctors, students, and we even represent attorneys and insurance adjusters’ family members. Our clients all have one thing in common; they’re the little guy fighting a giant. They often feel like they’re David taking on a fight with Goliath. To borrow a term from literature, we like to think of ourselves as giant killers.”

A Change in Direction Leads to Changing Lives Neither partner planned on forming their own personal injury law firm. In fact, Woods says he “just fell in to it.” Williford echoes that with, “I never wanted to be an attorney.” Each man found himself in situations that dramatically reversed those thoughts and career paths.

Williford says, “Briny and I changed our professions and directions because we both hated seeing the little guy getting screwed, so we changed to fight for the little guy (person being taken advantage of by the insurance company).”

Woods’ change of heart came after working for several years as a defense attorney at a large insurance company where he also trained insurance adjusters. He grew to disdain being forced 16

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

JOURNALS

LAW FIRM

OF THE MONTH

© christopher TODD studios

2019

© christopher TODD studios

Briny Woods

to fight against people who were genuinely injured. He realized that many of the individual people and families he fought against really needed the money that the insurance companies were delaying and in many cases denying. He formed Woods Law Group in 2007 to focus on helping injured people receive compensation against the insurance companies.

“Initially insurance defense fell into my lap. After years of doing defense work, I just didn’t feel it was gratifying working for large companies that were taking advantage of innocent victims. That led to the switch to ‘the good side’ where we can help people and feel like we are making a positive impact,” Woods says.

Williford says of his partner, “Briny has his insurance defense experience. He knows how the adjusters speak because he’s trained them.

He knows how the other side thinks. You can’t imagine just how valuable that knowledge can be in a legal environment.”

Williford’s undergraduate degree was in pre-medicine and he had planned on a career in the medical field. After earning his undergraduate 18

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

degree from BYU he worked for five years in multiple hospitals and outpatient physical therapy centers in North Carolina, Utah, and California. The experiences he had led to a mid-course correction in career choices. He says, “I saw how the insurance companies controlled the medical industry and that frustrated me. I decided not to become a doctor or physical therapist because I saw that the insurance companies were unreasonably limiting the much needed care of brain injury and stroke patients.”

“I realized what I enjoyed the most about working with patients was actually just talking to people.

I enjoyed hearing their war stories and helping them forget about whatever pain they were in at the time. I realized I could do the same thing as a counselor, as an attorney. That’s what we do. We listen to our clients’ problems and we counsel them, and help them find a positive resolution to their situation. That’s a big part of our practice—being counselors at law and not just attorneys at law,” he says.

That powerful feeling of injustice felt by each attorney, and the equally powerful need to do something about it, drew Clayton Williford and Briny Woods together to form Woods Williford, P.C. in 2007.

“We have recovered about $45,000,000 on behalf of nearly 1000 clients. In order to do our best job for those clients that we represent, we often decline to represent people who call us. Yet, we still take the time to speak to people daily to give advice and make sure they are pointed in the right direction.” Williford says, “Not knowing how to handle a situation gives people a lot of anxiety. By just taking the time to stop and impart knowledge and explain the process, people’s minds are set at ease. We do our best to take the time to help ease that anxiety.” Woods says, “We want to remain small so that we never lose sight of what is really important and we don’t want to become too busy to connect with our individual clients and provide them with the personalized attention they deserve. If we take good care of the clients we have, success will naturally follow.”

Getting Personal to Get Results Personal touch and one-on-one communication between the client and the attorney who actually works the case is a core principle of Woods Williford.

“We show our clients that they’re not just a number and we show that care through open and regular communication. Of course we have legal staff that

© christopher TODD studios

Clayton Williford

speak to the clients frequently, but the attorney is available to speak to the client when they need advice and guidance. Unfortunately, there are many TV, radio, and billboard law firms that started out small, but have grown into Goliath firms, filled with bureaucracy, and call mazes that they once vowed to fight.” You will never get stuck in a call maze with our firm. The attorneys actually speak to the clients at Woods Williford. We just want to make sure that each one of our clients gets that individualized attention,” Woods says.

Williford adds, “We work to see that our client’s net proceeds are larger than our fees. Unfortunately there are many attorneys who spend outrageous amounts in costs, take their fees, and leave little for their clients. We care about what our clients get.”

An example of that approach involved a client with serious injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. In many similar cases there is just not enough insurance to cover the needs of the client. In this case the health insurance wanted $900,000 back out of the $1.5 million insurance policy

limits. Instead of just taking legal fees and leaving the man with only $100,000 in his pocket, Woods Williford found that the insurance company was trying to take money that they were not legally entitled to under their contract. Woods Williford was able to get the insurance company to take only $10,000, which left the client with a million dollars instead of $100,000 in his pocket. “In some cases an attorney will just take his fee and move on and not worry about those things. We really fight hard on those cases where there isn’t enough insurance money to make sure that the client gets money in his pocket. We want to make sure people are better off by hiring us than without hiring an attorney at all.” Williford says.

In many cases the goal for the client is to get a reduction in liens so that health insurance doesn’t take all the money, Woods says. “We often have cases that are worth millions of dollars. Unfortunately, if there aren’t millions of dollars in insurance coverage available, then most of the time the cases are stuck with whatever the policy limits may be. A Goliath firm only wants to handle the case where the millions of dollars insurance policy matches the millions of dollar injuries. We are equipped to handle those cases, but the majority of the time, the millions of dollar injuries are stuck with a smaller policy limit. Oftentimes these cases need more attention because it is our job to make sure that our client walks away with the most money possible.”

With Woods being the father of two, and Williford being the father of five children, the attorneys have a soft spot in their hearts for children’s cases. Williford says, “It’s very difficult to see your child go through pain and trauma. I love being able to help those families secure settlements which are often placed in annuities for the child to have access to when they reach certain stages of adulthood. These structured settlements allow children, who are often disadvantaged due to someone else injuring them, to pay for college or get a jumpstart to the harsh financial adult life.

Woods and Williford agree that they find the personal relationships and reactions to their work wonderful compensation for their efforts. Woods says, “For me it’s client satisfaction. When we have a client, even in a small case, when a client sends us a good testimonial or a thank you letter at the end of a case, we feel all the effort is worth it. It makes us happy that we did a good job for them. That’s especially true when they refer someone else to us. That’s always a compliment.” Williford adds, “What’s most satisfying for me is the personal response, the human reaction. I handed over a check to a client recently and she gave me a big hug. She was in tears. It wasn’t a big case, but Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

19

Š christopher TODD studios

for her it was totally overwhelming. She had no idea how to deal with it. We tell our clients not to worry. We take whatever situation they have and handle the legal details so they can focus on their healing. We can take care of the rest.�

While Woods and Williford are proud to treat clients and staff as members of the family, they also have families and interests outside the office.

Woods, a self-described outdoor junkie, enjoys many forms of exercise, including hot yoga, running, camping and 4-Wheel Drive off-roading. He is an active member in a non-profit organization that commemorates California history, primarily in the regions of Death Valley, Mojave Desert, and historic mining regions. He grew up in Los Angeles, and moved to Orange County after living in Northern California for 12 years.

He and his wife have two children.

Williford also enjoys the outdoors with his family, particularly surfing with the kids. He grew up in North Carolina, met his 20

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

wife who is an Orange County native and moved here to be close to family. He and his wife have five children. He is active in his church helping those in the need. He has also been a volunteer in coaching soccer and youth scouting leader.

But back in the office and in working with those in a David vs. Goliath situation, the focus remains the same as it was when they were young: stand up to and defeat the bullies.

Contact Briny Woods Clayton Williford Woods Williford, P.C. 16520 Bake Parkway, Suite 260 Irvine, CA 92618 949-582-2440 Briny@wwInjuryLaw.com Clayton@wwInjuryLaw.com www.wwInjuryLaw.com

Orange County’s Premier

REAL ESTATE, BUSINESS, TRUST & ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEYS

5.0

Average Rating

200 North Tustin Avenue, Suite 110 | Santa Ana, California 92705 | 714-941-8122 | www.Burris-Law.net

Lawyers, Protect Client Confidentiality When Using Social Media

by Nancy Myrland

I

hear this concern often. Lawyers, legal marketing professionals, and others in law firms tell me that lawyers remain very concerned about how to stay out of trouble when posting in social media. They don’t want to jeopardize client relationships.

I Don’t Want to Get in Trouble When conducting social media training, a common concern I run across has to do with attorneys and staff being afraid they will post something that will get them in trouble. Consequently, they hold back from using these tools because they don’t want to say something that will jeopardize an attorney-client relationship or say something they’ll regret later.

I get it and I appreciate and respect those concerns. These are powerful tools we have at our disposal. They aren’t going away, so we need to make sure we use them appropriately and with the right approach and attitude.

Amazing Connections These tools have the ability to form amazing connections with those we want to be connected to, but with the wrong attitude or approach, they have the ability to damage or end relationships, and even stop relationships before they ever start.

How to Protect Client Confidentiality Let’s talk for a moment about client confidentiality and attorney-client relationships. In order to protect your attorneyclient relationships, don’t post anything that has to do with: • Results

• Matters

• Mindset

• Fees

• Location

• Other case details

• People involved

22

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

Even When Your Clients Agree, Be Very Careful Even if your clients want you to, you also have to be very careful not to establish any expectations of future results. This can easily happen should you use language that implies that this is the type of result you can achieve for your clients in the future.

Always, always review legal and ethical restrictions that exist in every jurisdiction in which you and your firm practice. I want you to become familiar with every model rule pertaining to communication and what is and isn’t allowed.

My rule of thumb is that if you can’t say or do it in person, you definitely can’t say or do it online. It’s that easy.

Is It Okay to React When I Have Strong Feelings?

Every now and then, I get a question about whether lawyers should control emotional reactions on social media. A while back, someone posted this question, saying, “How can we achieve the balance between rational and emotional thoughts?” My interpretation of that question is “How do I control my urge to react emotionally to a topic or comment posted on social media that I feel strongly about when I know it could be controversial?”

My answer? It boils down to inner strength, which you should already have in the profession that you are practicing.

You must have inner strength and common sense and a good grasp of what is and isn’t ethical based on what we talked about a moment ago … This includes understanding the model rules of professional conduct in every jurisdiction in which you practice.

This is really no different than your obligation to already have an understanding of those principles for ALL of your actions, whether in-person or online, so don’t shy away from these tools because you’re worried about saying or doing something that will harm your attorney-client relationship, or that you think will get emotional.

If you just go by these very, very simple common-sense rules, you should be just fine: • Don’t violate ethical rules.

relationship-building tools we have been given in decades.

Don’t do the things we talked about at the beginning, and those are: • Don’t share your results, mindset, location, people involved, matters, fees, or other details about the cases unless your clients want you to.

• Don’t fly off the handle like Frank Aquila did when he attacked Sara Huckabee Sanders on Twitter.

• Use Common Sense.

• Do what you know is smart and act like a professional.

• If you follow these rules, trust me, you won’t get into trouble.

You don’t have to violate ethical rules or your own high standards to be interesting, controversial, or thought-provoking on social media. You need to find the right balance that doesn’t go against the rules you have at your fingertips, but that also has your personality built in. People want to get to know you, even if that means you are a little quirky, funny, sarcastic, happy, motivational, inquisitive, conversational, or a deep-thinker. These are the attributes that set you apart from others.

The Bottom Line Social media are amazing tools you should spend time getting to know. If not, you are missing out on some of the most powerful

• Even when clients say they want you to share their details because there’s some strategy involved, make sure it is ethical, then get it in writing.

• Don’t ever trust you have the permission to use their words on an indefinite basis, and that it’s okay to post all over social media.

• Make sure you get in writing specifically what they’ve given you permission to talk about. n Nancy Myrland is the founder of Myrland Marketing & Social Media. She specializes in Marketing, Business Development, Content, Social and Digital Media Speaker, Trainer and Advisor to lawyers, legal marketers and law firms, specializing in helping you grow your firm and your practice through the understanding, creation, and integration of marketing and strategic plans with content, social and digital media. To learn more, please visit www.MyrlandMarketing.com.

California Offices: Irvine, Los Angeles and San Francisco 949.660.8200 | ankura.com

Solving challenges with the right combination of expertise.

Ankura Consulting Group (Ankura) is a specialized independent consulting firm that provides litigation, financial, restructuring, strategic and operational consulting services. Our clients are corporations, legal counsel and government agencies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change. We focus on industries undergoing substantial regulatory or structural change and on the issues driving these transformations.

Ankura is comprised of more than 1,500 professionals, including highly experienced eDiscovery experts; financial analysts; economists; certified public accountants; certified business appraisers; merger and acquisition specialists; professional engineers; and information management analysts. We have offices in over 38 cities worldwide.

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

23

California Case Summaries: Free™ New California Civil Cases

by Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. These recent cases summarized by Monty A. McIntyre are from his publication California Case Summaries™. Monty prepares short summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new published California civil and family law case that California lawyers can subscribe to on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

For more information go to https://californiacasesummaries.mykajabi.com. A California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995, Monty serves as a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. handling cases in the areas of business, elder abuse, employment/wage & hour, insurance bad faith, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death. To schedule a matter, contact Monty’s case manager Christopher Schuster at ADR Services, Inc. at (619) 233-1323 or christopher@adrservices.com.

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT Civil Procedure Sweetwater Union High School Dist. v. Gilbane Bldg. Co. (2019) _ Cal.5th _ , 2019 WL 962324: The California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision that affirmed the trial court’s denial of defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion to strike under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16. In the second stage of an anti-SLAPP hearing, when determining a plaintiff’s probability of success, a court may consider statements that are the equivalent of affidavits and declarations because they were made under oath or penalty of perjury in California. In this case, change of plea forms, factual narratives, and excerpts from grand jury testimony satisfied this requirement. A court may consider affidavits, declarations, and their equivalents only if it is reasonably possible the proffered evidence set out in those statements will be admissible at trial. Conversely, if the evidence relied upon cannot be admitted at trial, because it is categorically barred or undisputed factual circumstances show inadmissibility, the court may not consider it in the face of an objection. If an evidentiary objection is made, the plaintiff may attempt to cure the asserted defect or demonstrate the defect is curable. (February 28, 2019.)

Employment Cal Fire Local 2881 v. Cal. Pub. Employees’ Retirement System (2019) _ Cal.5th _ , 2019 WL 1008413: The California Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the trial court that concluded that the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013’s (PEPRA; Stats. 2012, ch. 296, §

24

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

15; see Government Code, sections 7222 et seq.) elimination of the opportunity to purchase additional retirement service (ARS) credit did not violate the Constitution. The California Supreme Court ruled that the opportunity to purchase ARS credit was not a right protected by the contract clause. There was no indication in the statute conferring the opportunity to purchase ARS credit that the Legislature intended to create contractual rights. Unlike core pension rights, the opportunity to purchase ARS credit was not granted to public employees as deferred compensation for their work, and the Court found no other basis for concluding that the opportunity to purchase ARS credit was protected by the contract clause. In the absence of constitutional protection, the opportunity to purchase ARS credit could be altered or eliminated at the discretion of the Legislature. (March 4, 2019.)

Goonewardene v. ADP, LLC (2019) _ Cal.5th _ , 2019 WL 470963: The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal decision that had allowed an employee to bring causes of action for unpaid wages against a payroll company for the employer for breach of the payroll company’s contract with the employer under the third party beneficiary doctrine, negligence, and negligent misrepresentation. The California Supreme Court ruled that an employee may not be viewed as a third party beneficiary who may maintain an action against the payroll company for an alleged breach of the contract between the employer and the payroll company with regard to the payment of wages. Moreover, an employee who alleges that he or she has not been paid wages that are due cannot maintain tort causes of action for negligence and negligent misrepresentation against a payroll company. (February 7, 2019.)

CALIFORNIA COURTS OF APPEAL Arbitration Bravo v. RADC Enterprises, Inc. (2019) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2019 WL 1417852: The Court of Appeal affirmed in part and reversed in part the trial court’s order regarding defendants motion to compel arbitration. The trial court properly severed and stayed the PAGA claims. The trial court properly compelled arbitration on three of plaintiff’s individual claims.

The Court of Appeal reversed the portion of the trial court order denying the motion to compel as to plaintiff’s remaining six individual claims by plaintiff on the basis that California Labor Code section 229 prohibited arbitration of those wage claims. The Court of Appeal ruled that the California choice of law provision in the arbitration agreement required that all of plaintiff’s individual claims be arbitrated. (C.A. 2nd, March 29, 2019.)

Correia v. NB Baker Electric, Inc. (2019) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2019 WL 910979: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order granting a petition to compel arbitration of all causes of action in a wage and hour case, except the Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (PAGA; Labor Code, section 2699 et seq.) claim, and staying the PAGA claim until the conclusion of the arbitration. The trial court acted within its discretion in considering plaintiffs’ response to the arbitration petition even though plaintiffs filed the response after the statutory deadline. The California Supreme Court decision of Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348 (Iskanian), which held unenforceable agreements to waive the right to bring PAGA representative actions in any forum, remains binding on California courts. The recent decision of the United States Supreme Court, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (2018) __ U.S. __ [138 S.Ct. 1612] (Epic), does not change this result. While Epic reaffirmed the broad preemptive scope of the Federal Arbitration Act, it did not address the specific issues before the Iskanian court involving a claim for civil penalties brought on behalf of the government and the enforceability of an agreement barring a PAGA representative action in any forum. The trial court also properly declined to compel arbitration of the PAGA claim and stayed that issue until after the arbitration. (C.A. 4th, February 25, 2019.)

Civil Procedure Sunrise Financial, LLC v. Super. Ct. (2019) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2019 WL 476095: The Court of Appeal denied a writ petition challenging the trial court’s denial of a Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 challenge by several defendants to the trial judge on the basis that it was untimely filed. The Court of Appeal ruled that the trial court properly found defendants’ section 170.6 challenge was untimely because it was filed more than 15 days after they made an appearance in the action by filing an

opposition to a Code of Civil Procedure section 403 transfer/ consolidation motion in the judge’s department. While the section 170.6 time deadlines were not written with section 403 transfer motions in mind, this conclusion best effectuates the legislative intent when viewing the specific words of the statute and the statutory purpose and objectives. (C.A. 4th, February 7, 2019.)

Elder Abuse Darrin v. Miller (2019) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2019 WL 337088: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order denying a petition for a restraining order under Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Elder Abuse Act; Welfare & Institutions Code, section 15600 et seq.). The trial court erred in denying the petition because the restraining order was requested against a neighbor. The Court of Appeal ruled that the plain language of the Elder Abuse Act authorizes a trial court to issue a restraining order against any individual who has engaged in abusive conduct, as defined by statute, toward a person age 65 or older regardless of the relationship between the alleged abuser and victim. (Welfare & Institutions Code, sections 15610.07(a)(1) and 15657.03.) (C.A. 1st, filed January 28, 2019, published February 21, 2019.)

Employment Su v. Stephen S. Wise Temple (2019) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2019 WL 1091112: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the basis that plaintiff’s action for wage and hour law violations regarding preschool teachers employed by defendant was barred by the “ministerial exception.” The Court of Appeal ruled that while defendant’s preschool curriculum had both secular and religious content, its teachers were not required to have any formal Jewish education, to be knowledgeable about Jewish belief and practice, or to adhere to defendant’s theology. Moreover, defendant did not refer to its teachers as “ministers” or the equivalent, nor did the teachers refer to themselves as such. Accordingly, the teachers were not “ministers” for purposes of the ministerial exception.

(C.A. 2nd, March 8, 2019.)

Partnerships Jarvis v. Jarvis (2019) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2019 WL 1254013: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order granting a motion to disqualify lawyer William Roscoe, III, who had been hired by one partner to represent the partnership in an action brought by the other partner for partition by sale of a two-acre parcel owned by the partnership. Each partner owned a 50 percent interest in the partnership, and they could not agree on what to do about the two-acre parcel. The trial court properly granted the motion to disqualify because there was not a majority of partners in this two-partner business that agreed on hiring an attorney for the partnership. (C.A. 6th, March 19, 2019.) n

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

25

How to Silence Your Inner Critic, Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone, and Achieve Greater Success

by Stefanie Marrone

“Yes, you can … ” Many professionals want to step outside of their comfort zones and try different types of branding activities such as public speaking, article writing, taking a leadership role on a committee, joining a nonprofit board, or starting a blog, but something inside holds them back from doing so.

Here’s what I say to those feelings of self-doubt and negativity (and what you should say too), “Yes, you can, and you will!”

It’s not easy to tame our inner critic, but nothing in life that’s worth it ever is easy, right?

We all have tons of self-doubts in our head that wreak havoc on our self-confidence. It’s so important to believe in yourself; in fact, your career depends on it. A positive mindset goes a long way in determining whether your endeavors fail or succeed. Harsh self-reflections can be very damaging to your psyche and your career. To succeed, you must consciously silence these negative thoughts, replace them with proactive thoughts and actions and generally just be kinder to yourself.

I used to be in this category of people who just didn’t believe in themselves and who were overly critical of themselves—let’s just say that I was not the most charismatic public speaker (in fact, I was terrible!) and I beat myself up over it watching videos of myself, critiquing my performance and asking others for feedback where I obsessed over the negative comments. But I kept at it, I strove to improve what I could, I didn’t give up and I didn’t say no to future speaking engagements just because I had a few so-so experiences. And neither should you.

So, what if your speaking engagement is only good, not great, or if your article just receives a lukewarm reception?

You’ll learn from each of these and do better next time. After all, practice really does make perfect.

If you work hard for the things you want, they will happen.

The next time you hear that negative voice in your head, I want you to promise to do the following:

26

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

1. Stop overthinking and driving yourself (and likely others around you) crazy You aren’t perfect, but guess what, no one is! And that’s ok. If you can take constructive feedback, admit when you fail or are wrong, and learn from your mistakes, you’re in good shape.

2. Silence your inner negative voice by being your own best friend Every time you hear that voice that says “you can’t do this” or “you are a major screw up,” instead talk to yourself as you would a good friend. You’d likely reframe that same sentence to your friend as, “If you put hard work into this, you can do it” or, “Okay, so you made a mistake, but it will be okay.”

It’s amazing how mean we can be to ourselves, and how easy it is to talk ourselves down from a very negative place.

3. Remind yourself that you can handle the toughest of situations Is the worst situation that could arise from putting yourself out there really something that could actually happen? Probably not. So, envision it and then move on. What you will often realize is that you are stronger than you think, and your anxiety has no basis in reality.

4. Accept that not everyone is going to like you or think that you know your stuff and that’s okay I recently learned a hard lesson—not everyone is going to like you, and it’s okay.

There are a lot of people out there who will just not get you or who will not think you know your stuff, and that’s also okay. Different strokes for different folks, or so they say. The important lesson here is to never feel like you have to keep a low profile just because you’re afraid of what some mean girls

(or guys) may say about you. Oftentimes they are too chicken to have a public voice like you do and that’s why they are being mean—because you being in the public eye makes them feel bad about themselves that they wish they could do. It is good old-fashioned jealousy rearing its ugly head.

My mentor and good friend Wendy once told me that we only have control over our own actions, so take the high road, do good things for people and pay no mind to those who don’t like you. Another wise industry friend, Tim, told me that if you have people who say negative things about you for no reason, it means you made it in the industry, which is a very positive way of thinking about things!

My point here is to never let the fear of others squash your drive and excitement to write, speak and to be yourself— there’s more than enough room for all of us in the professional world. Ignore your haters.

5. Believe that you can do it A funny thing happened when I started believing that I could speak publicly and become a published author … I started to public speak and become a published author. Go figure! Here’s the thing—if you believe in yourself, you often will be able to find the confidence to achieve what you want.

6. Change what you can but accept yourself for you Recognize those areas in which you can genuinely improve and enhance your skills and do something about them. But

sometimes no matter how much we try to improve ourselves there are just certain things that we can’t change. Some of us are self-enlightened enough to know what those things are, and others of us must learn about them the hard way. Either way, you can only twist yourself into a pretzel and change so much. So consciously make the positive enhancements about yourself that you can—and then learn to live with the imperfectly perfect you. Again reference #1 on this list—no one is perfect. I repeat no one, so don’t feel too badly about the fact that you strive toward perfection is not perfect.

Each of us is a work in progress with valuable attributes and skills, and that’s what makes us so complicated, unique and interesting. Sure, we all have areas of improvement and we all wish that we had talents in certain areas that we don’t, but I know if you’re like me, you’re trying every day to be a better version of yourself and that counts for a lot. So, keep up the good work—and don’t forget to be yourself! n Stefanie Marrone helps law firms effectively tell their stories and find their unique voices. Over the last 17 years, she has worked with some of the most prominent and innovative law firms in the world, developing and executing global revenue generating business development and communications strategies, including media relations, branding, and multi-channel content marketing and social media campaigns.

She is very passionate about using social media for lead generation and brand building. She has a diverse range of experience in both Big Law and mid-size/small-law firms. To Learn more, please visit www.TarterKrinsky.com.

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

27

High-Pressure Selling vs. Dignified Marketing Depends on How You Use the Three Cons

by Trey Ryder

L

awyers often ask me to explain how selling-based marketing differs from Education-Based Marketing.

I point out the standard differences about giving prospects what they want, information and advice—and removing what they don’t want, a sales pitch.

But the fine points of Education-Based Marketing go much deeper.

You and I, as consumers, want people to respect the fact that we have a brain—and that we can make our own decisions without someone else (the salesperson) telling us what to do.

This important point clearly defines how the respected authority (you) differs from the pushy salesperson (everyone else).

The difference is in the three cons: Convince. Control.

Conclude. The salesperson tries to “convince” you that you need what he’s selling and take “control” of your decision.

(We refer to this as sales pressure.) On the other hand, the authority offers facts and advice that allow you to “conclude” that you need what he offers—and you need it right now. He never tries to control your decision.

Here are two typical examples:

Example #1 Salesperson: “This service will save you time and money.

Sign here and I’ll finish the paperwork in two minutes.” (He tells you what will happen and tells you what to do.)

Authority: “From the facts I have provided, I think you’ll agree that you’ll save considerable time and money by choosing option A over option B.” (The authority respects the person’s ability to listen to the information, draw his own conclusions, and make his own decision.)

28

Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

Example #2 Salesperson: “You must sign up for this service now.

Otherwise, I can’t be held responsible.”

Authority: “From the case history I’ve just presented, I hope you see how important it is that you act now, without delay.”

My Advice: When you talk with prospects, make sure you provide facts, case histories, information and advice that allow prospects to conclude they need what you offer—and soon.

The moment you turn the tables and tell them what they need, they see you as a salesperson. This undermines your credibility and they lose all respect for you.

In summary …

Selling-based marketing creates these problems: 1. Prospects go out of their way to avoid you because they are tired of selling and sales pressure. They don’t like to be approached by salespeople who have something to sell. Prospects don’t think they can trust you because all of us have been burned by salespeople who gave us “inaccurate” and even false information in their eagerness to earn a commission.

2. Prospects are defensive and protective because they expect you to try to pressure them into buying something they don’t want or need.

Education-Based Marketing provides these solutions: 1. You give prospective clients what they want, information and advice—and you remove what they don’t want, a sales pitch.

2. You maintain your dignity because you never make any effort to sell.

3. You establish yourself as an authority because prospective clients see you as a reliable source of information.

4. You don’t seek out prospects; instead, they contact you.

5. You reach prospects during the first stage of the decisionmaking process, often before they call your competitors.

6. You identify even marginal prospects who are not yet ready to speak with you, but who won’t hesitate to ask for your free information.

We Know Marketing Like You Know The Law

7. You prove that calling your office is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it’s a positive experience.

8. You save money because you don’t need expensive brochures.

9. You receive calls from qualified prospects who are genuinely interested in your services and you screen out people who are not your prospects.

10. You establish your credibility and make a positive first impression by offering helpful information and advice rather than a sales pitch.

11. You save time by answering common questions in your marketing materials, ads and seminars, rather than answering the same questions over and over in person.

12. You begin to earn your prospect’s loyalty because you’ve made an effort to help him, even if he doesn’t hire your services.

13. You know precisely how well your marketing works because you can count the number of prospects who respond—and the number who go on to become clients.

14. You gain a competitive advantage simply by using this innovative method because few, if any, of your competitors use it.

Let us “do the time” to get your project right!

• Writing for the layperson • Putting together a presentation • Developing a marketing strategy • Sprucing up your website

15. You benefit from the synergy of several educational methods reinforcing each other.

• Designing an ad, booklet, flyer or brochure

16. You earn a true profit, rather than just creating more work and more overhead.

• Establishing a better logo, mission statement or tagline

Now you understand why the American Marketing Association featured this innovative approach on the front page of its national publication, Marketing News. Now you’re invited to profit from this unique method. n Trey Ryder shares his marketing method with lawyers through a wide range of publications. In addition, he writes and publishes his free e-zine, The Ryder Method™ of Education-Based Marketing. And he maintains the Lawyer Marketing Advisor at www.treyryder.com. He can be reached at: trey@treyryder.com

215-550-1435 • penn-creative.com Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 158, 2019

29

We Do What’s Right for Our and Your Referred Clients IRVINE’S PREMIER FAMILY LAW FIRM • DIVORCE • SEPARATION • CHILD CUSTODY • CHILD SUPPORT • CHILD VISITATION • DOMESTIC VIOLENCE • RELOCATION

• RESTRAINING ORDERS • PATERNITY • POST JUDGEMENT MODIFICATIONS • ASSET & DEBT DIVISION • SPOUSAL SUPPORT & ALIMONY

GENEROUS REFERRAL FEES PAID At Sullivan Law & Associates, we are dedicated to doing the right thing and taking care of our clients, first and foremost. We understand what your referred clients are going through and strive to use our experience in this complex field to provide the best possible representation.

Our Irvine attorneys are committed to excellence in every case we take on. Led by Richard Sullivan, a family lawyer with 40 years of legal experience, our team is here to deliver effective solutions by addressing every need and concern.

1920 Main Street, Suite 250 | Irvine, CA 92614 | (949) 590-8100 | Sullivan-Law.com

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Post Falls, ID PERMIT NO. 32