w
SAN DIEGO
Volume 192, 2019 $6.95
5 Ways Law Firms Can Improve Their Job Interviews
Jennifer Henderson When a Lawyer Gets Overwhelmed with Fear, Anxiety and Depression in Their Life
Stan Popovich
5 Essential Attributes for Law Firm Differentiation
Cover
The Principles of Good Cyber Risk Management
Ankur Sheth & Jano Bermudes
Ongoing Follow-up Is the Key to Turning Prospects into Clients
Trey Ryder
Andrew Jillson
Action Steps to Ensure the Future of Your Law Firm
Jeff Wolf
Can Your Marketing Pitch Pass This Challenge?
Tom Trush
Attorney of the Month
Cole Casey Nothing to Prove
The Law Offices of G. Cole Casey, San Diego
The University of San Diego School of Law Congratulates the 2018-19 Law Firm Challenge Winners! Firms with 10+ Alumni
Firms with 6-9 Alumni
Firms with 2-5 Alumni
100% Alumni Participation Blanchard Krasner & French, PC* Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP* Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP* Mintz
100% Alumni Participation Gomez Trial Attorneys* RJS Law—A Tax Law Firm*
100% Alumni Participation Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC CaseyGerry Attorneys* Dallo Law Group, APC Delphi Law Group LLP* Kalfayan Merjanian LLP Wingert Grebing Brubaker & Juskie LLP Witham Mahoney & Abbott LLP
Greatest Number of Alumni Participating Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP* Most Dollars Raised Procopio Cory Hargreaves and Savitch LLP* Qualcomm*
Greatest Number of Alumni Participating Gomez Trial Attorneys* Most Dollars Raised Gomez Trial Attorneys* RJS Law—A Tax Law Firm*
*Special thanks to firms that have funded private student scholarships.
To see the complete list of all 56 participating firms and to join the Law Firm Challenge, visit law.sandiego.edu/lawfirmchallenge.
Greatest Number of Alumni Participating Delphi Law Group LLC* Wingert Grebing Brubaker & Juskie LLP Most Dollars Raised Casey Gerry Attorneys*
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2019 EDITION—NO.192
TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Ongoing Follow-up Is the Key to Turning Prospects into Clients by Trey Ryder
8 The Principles of Good Cyber Risk Management by Ankur Sheth & Jano Bermudes
10 Law Firm Differentiation— Five Essential Attributes
EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor
by Andrew Jillson
EDITOR Wendy Price
12 Community News
CREATIVE SERVICES Penn Creative
ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH
16 Cole Casey, The Law Offices of G. Cole Casey Nothing to Prove
CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths STAFF WRITERS Dan Baldwin Jennifer Hadley CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Andrew Jillson Ankur Sheth Jano Bermudes Jeff Wolf Jennifer Henderson Karen Gorden Stan Popovich Tom Trush Trey Ryder 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.
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by Karen Gorden
16
22 Eight Critical Action Steps to Ensure the Future of Your Law Firm by Jeff Wolf
24 Five Ways Law Firms Can Improve Their Job Interviews by Jennifer Henderson
26 Can Your Marketing Pitch Pass This Challenge? by Tom Trush
28 When a Lawyer Gets Overwhelmed with Fear, Anxiety and Depression in Their Life
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by Stan Popovich 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
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Ongoing Follow-Up Is the Key to Turning Prospects into Clients by Trey Ryder
F
ollow-up is critical to good marketing. Why? Because prospects may not be ready to hire you the moment they discover you. Prospects may need time to get to know you. They may need time to evaluate whether they can trust you. They may need more facts to make their decision. Or they may not want to hire you until their circumstances change. Whatever the reason, prospects may need time. And with time comes the opportunity for your prospect to contact other lawyers—and for other lawyers’ marketing efforts to get in your way. To remain in the strongest competitive position, you need to stay in touch with prospects—in an education-based way—so when they decide to hire legal services, the lawyer they choose is you. Therefore, it’s important that you identify your prospects and capture their names and addresses for your mailing list. (If your prospect does not want his partners, coworkers or spouse to know he has contacted you, ask him to get a post office box or email address that is not known to the other parties.) You want your first communication with a new prospect to be neutral and non-threatening. This is one reason your offer to mail an information packet can be so attractive. In addition, when you offer your packet by mail, you (obviously) ask for your prospect’s name and mailing address. And your prospect (naturally) gives it to you, without raising his defenses as he would if he thought he would soon become the target of a sales pitch. During the follow-up process, you strive for the highest level of personal interaction with your prospect—hopefully, a personal conversation. When you speak with your prospect, you help your prospect feel at ease, you respond to your prospect’s questions, and you help move the process forward so your prospect hires your services. Make sure you build your follow-up efforts on answering questions and providing information. When your follow-ups focus on offering facts and advice, every time your prospect interacts with you, you reinforce the depth of your knowledge, skill and experience. To stimulate a second contact from your prospect: • Invite your prospect to a seminar or roundtable. This gives him the opportunity to talk with you and ask questions in a non-threatening setting.
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Attorney Journals San Diego | Volume 192, 2019
• Offer to speak with your prospect over the telephone to answer questions or provide further information and advice. • Offer to meet with your prospect in your office or his, so you can discuss his situation in more detail. • In your information packet, and on your website, provide a form on which your prospect can list his objectives. Ask him to fill out the form and send it to you—or bring it to his first appointment with you. • In your information packet, provide an intake or evaluation form. Ask your prospect to provide basic facts and then return the form for your review, in advance of your first conversation. Or he can bring it to your first meeting. • Offer additional articles and educational handouts. While sending an article is not as personal as speaking with your prospect, if your prospect isn’t ready to talk with you, his requesting an article is at least a cordial and educational contact. Plus, it keeps the flow of information going from you to your prospect. You can extend all of these offers by mail or email (through letters and newsletters)—and on your website. I caution you NOT to conduct your follow-up effort by calling your prospect on the phone. An unwanted phone call labels you as a telephone solicitor and could cause your prospect to respond to you the same way he responds to other telemarketers. In a few seconds, an uninvited phone call can destroy the credibility you’ve worked weeks or months to build. How often should you follow up? Frequency is more important than the amount of information you provide. For maximum impact, send your prospect something by mail (or email) every week for the first three weeks. Make sure whatever you send is designed to educate your prospect and help him make an informed decision. After the first three weeks, follow up at least monthly. If you can send something twice monthly or weekly, that’s even better. You work hard to identify new prospects and add them to your mailing list. Now make sure you provide ongoing follow-up and take good care of your prospects. If you don’t, hundreds of other lawyers will. 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
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The Principles of Good Cyber Risk Management by Ankur Sheth and Jano Bermudes
I
n the world of cyber risk, we are dealing with unprecedented events. Apart from headline-grabbing attacks such as the global malware incident that impacted Mondelēz’s business and the Russian military-run global cyber-attack, NotPetya, we are now seeing an epidemic of cyber-attacks. Concern has shifted from dealing with data being stolen and sold on the dark Web to handling serious ransomware and destructive attacks, where attackers are looking for immediate monetary output. This is the new threat. Malware such as TrickBot can infect an entire corporate network allowing hackers to surreptitiously gain access to systems, embed nefarious files and clean themselves, leaving no trace. The source of the attack is not, however, dealt with—allowing hackers time to monitor what is valuable to an organization and prepare a more sinister attack. At a later date, entire networks are encrypted, and companies are brought to their knees, unable to access email, payment systems, and operational systems. Everything goes down, including email, calendars, Skype and VOIP, leaving a company unable to operate or communicate. What remains is a ransom note demanding payment, usually in cryptocurrency, to regain keys to unlock the systems. These attacks can cost companies from $100,000 to over $1 million and specialist services are required to negotiate with the hackers. We have seen companies with their entire information technology infrastructure brought down over multiple countries, leaving them completely crippled. Added to that, companies face fines for data breaches, breached contracts with their customers due to an inability to perform services, the consequences of being unable to pay invoices, and of course their overall reputation is damaged.
Protection methodologies have also gone out of date, including the “air gapping” of environments designed to isolate systems from each other and protect sensitive data. The old “people and process” security model has evolved, and we now rely on “people, process, and technology.” Before the technology boom, security was a manual process—people had to monitor systems or processes looking for threats. Technology is now able to help automate threat monitoring.
Why Are Companies Getting It Wrong?
• Understanding the degree of control you exercise over that technology, for example is it a legacy system with out-of-date security or is it controlled by a third party;
It has become much harder to protect a company’s digital assets because the digital landscape is shifting rapidly under our feet, catching many mature businesses off guard. Businesses need to determine which components of their business rely on technology and digital assets, exactly where those assets are (being less tangible than hard assets like real estate or cash), and how to protect them and the data flowing through them. Often new systems are deployed, and the data being processed is not fully understood, classified or safeguarded appropriately. The old “protecting the center” model of the last decade is no longer enough to keep companies secure. The old model involved protecting your network and protecting a company at its perimeter. Now with data being commonly housed in cloud applications with third parties and mobile devices, a new approach is needed. Many companies now have legacy systems that cannot simply be replaced given the associated cost. These systems are not “safe by design” like some of the newer systems, and many lack even basic security mechanisms and still rely on non-complex passwords, which an attacker can easily overcome. 8
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What Does Good Security Today Look Like? Firstly, it’s important to note that “good” is not a static state and what is needed for security should be dynamic and agile. Second, one can never totally eradicate risk, but can only reduce it to a level that any organization finds to be commercially acceptable. “Good” is no longer having the highest walls or the deepest moats to stop the bad guys getting into a company’s systems. In a controlled environment “good” means: • Having increased visibility of potential threats which will tell you how and where to protect your systems; • Understanding how current threats could impact your organization and its information; • Understanding your key business processes and data; • Knowing how your data is regulated in each region and appreciating other risks relating to your business data, such as commercial risk • Understanding where your business is underpinned by technology;
• Understanding the skill of your workforce and the effectiveness of your governance structure; and • Quantifying the cost spent on cybersecurity versus the value that protected technology brings to the business. This means having visibility of the people and processes in your business that interact with your technology and data so that you can identify risks, having visibility of attacks through advanced threat detection and containment technology, and being aware of when there is heightened risk of a cyber-attack—for example, when a patent is being granted.
How Do You Develop Controls That Respond to Your Business Environment? What is needed now are dynamic controls—controls that respond to your business environment or to the threats around you. Businesses often have on-premise security tools to protect
their businesses and then realize they have purchased cloud-based platforms that are entirely unprotected. Big banks in the UK, for example, have invested heavily in security over the years. After the Financial Conduct Authority clarified its stance on the use of public cloud services through the publication of FG 16/5, none of this capability was effective in any of the public cloud offerings they developed. This has given challenger banks a clear advantage. In other situations, major companies in the energy sector have made exorbitant investments on advanced threat intelligence but have an inability to change their controls to respond to the intelligence gleaned. For one company, the threat increased or decreased weekto-week, but the control landscape could not respond or adapt to the changing landscape, rendering the investment ineffective. The result was that the control bore no resemblance to the threat level.
Why Is Agility in Cyber Risk Management so Important? Agility is crucial when it comes to reducing cyber risk and requires companies to understand their business and model their security strategy on current and future business strategy. Referring again to the big banks and oil and gas companies, many have offshored all their IT and processing centers, but not kept enough internal knowledge or skilled staff to manage third-party suppliers. This means they do not understand their environment and therefore cannot respond quickly to changing threats. Agility in a control environment also means adapting to security threats. This could be allowing users greater degrees of functionality and freedom through the deployment of advanced threat detection tools instead of locking users down. We have seen small organizations save themselves from significant impact by pulling the cables on the Internet during an active cyberattack. This approach is now being used in critical infrastructure organizations. By designing red button type processes, they can shut down an entire gas compressor or segment of the control network, for example, if it poses a risk to the entire grid. In the old world, a plant operator would simply not be able to obtain the required executive authority to shut a plant down (given that it would cause millions in damages) within the time required to defend against an active cyber-attack. Crisis plans need updating to consider and imbed rapid responses to cyber specific threats.
What Does Best Practice Look Like When it Comes to Cyber Risk Management? The approach to security that we advocate is risk-based. In this context that means evaluating the business desires and goals and underpinning and assuring elements that are the most reliant on technology. It also means that the level of investment in security should be linked to the value of the asset being protected within the specific commercial landscape. A company can examine the types of threats it is exposed to and select where to deploy controls that reduce the risk to an acceptable level, but not at an untenable cost to the business. This might involve deployment of some enhanced
detection controls, network segregation, and system recovery controls to a manufacturing environment to detect and contain threats and, if needed, rebuild parts of the environment. Contrast this to a full redesign of the factory before it naturally becomes obsolete, bearing in mind a typical 30-year lifecycle of such assets. Integrating controls and layering defenses to make sure they fit into one another is also important. Buying all the latest tools will not protect your business. Coherent security is an end-to-end integrated system of people, processes and technologies coming together to protect business value. We often see customers deploy Office 365 because they have been told that it is secure, but then they neglect to deploy multifactor authentication (MFA) and other advanced controls available to protect it, due to the perceived impact it has on users and usability. This is akin to refusing to wear a seatbelt and then claiming that a car is unsafe. In 2017 and 2018, Ankura dealt with approximately 1,000 data breaches—over half of which were due to business email being compromised, and 90% of which were due to a lack of MFA or other basic Office 365 security controls.
How Do You Weigh Risk and Cost? Risk-based security is inherently business focused. If IT and security departments are not business focused, they will be viewed as cost centers rather than business partners. When practiced correctly, security should understand and advise the business but not seek to block it. As such, security also needs to be cost appropriate. A security investment plan should always consider the value at risk and underpin that value with appropriate controls up to a percentage of the value and should never seek to deploy security for security’s or compliance’s sake. Being able to articulate the business proposition of security is essential. Failure to do so is currently resulting in an underinvestment in technology evidenced by the significant number of breaches being reported in the media daily. On the positive side, efficient cybersecurity can be a huge differentiator when used to pursue opportunities in heavily regulated markets. Cybersecurity strategies can be leveraged to derisk technology during mergers and acquisitions, investments in emerging technology such as the cloud, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence to give a business the competitive edge. n Ankur Sheth is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura, based in New York. Ankur has been focused on cybersecurity for more than 14 years across a variety of competencies and industries and continues to serve his clients in successfully mitigating potential cyber threats. Jano Bermudes is a Managing Director at Ankura, based in London. Prior to joining Ankura, he was in Navigant’s information security investigations and assessment practice, acquired by Ankura in 2018, and lead the proactive and reactive incident response team outside of the America’s region. Reprinted with permission from the “April 2019” edition of the “Cybersecurity Law & Strategy”© 2019 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved.
Attorney Journals San Diego | Volume 192, 2019
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Law Firm Differentiation— 5 Essential Attributes by Andrew Jillson
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he concentration of law firm financial strength narrows as fewer AmLaw 200 law firms can be counted among the fortunate. As Mark A. Cohen argues in The AmLaw 200 Is Down to 50—Maybe 20. What does It Mean? a fiscal separation among bigger firms has occurred and continues. Cohen concludes that the separation presents challenges for all but the elite firms of the world and that smart firms not among the elite must confront this industry upset through differentiation. If history is any guide, for many firms it won’t be easy. Greater competition, higher client expectations (and lower client loyalty), and the stratification of legal matters highlight some of the reasons law firm success today, especially for the nonelites, is far more uncertain than ever before. If business as usual is not sustainable and differentiation essential, firms must consider not being all things to all clients, must bring greater focus to their clients’ needs, become more efficient, cost-effective and value conscious. Firms also must consider advanced technology solutions, master project management, and “think outside the box.” As Mr. Cohen suggests, these measures “will require serious soul searching, reorganization, and a fresh perspective on what it means to be a law firm in today’s marketplace.” Firms seeking to differentiate face their old nemesis: change. To conquer the change necessary in this quest, firms must have and/or use the following five things:
Courage Differentiation means moving away from comfort zones. It means changing the way business is done with the possibility that there is no turning back. And it likely means narrowing service offerings and investing in specialization not invested in before. Differentiation can mean saying good-bye to practice areas and personnel that for years have been a part of the firm. Pivotal change like that takes courage. Without it, recasting a firm through differentiation is difficult.
Knowledge The idea behind differentiation is not change for change’s sake. It is focusing on a new direction that offers more promise. No new direction can be pursued without knowledge about the firm’s existing strengths, the opportunities in its markets, and the cost/ benefits from pursuing a new direction. Mere hunches are not enough. Without a factually based and analytically tested plan, knowing whether the current state should be replaced by a future state amounts to guesswork. 10
Attorney Journals San Diego | Volume 192, 2019
Judgment When moving from the status quo to something else, forks in the road will be confronted. At those forks, critical decisions will need to be made. The exercise of sound judgment is essential if the path towards differentiation is to succeed. A firm embarking on a new and more focused way forward must be blessed with decision makers that have exhibited wisdom in the past. If leadership’s judgment is suspect or untested, outside advice should be sought to supplement in-house mind power.
Resolve It goes without saying that a firm seeking to differentiate must believe in its strategy. When possessed with that belief, it is essential that the firm have the resolve to follow through on its plan. Because it will be moving away from the comfort of the status quo, and bumps in the road could be felt, the firm must remain confident in its new direction. As challenges are confronted, the firm’s commitment to the plan must be demonstrated by forging ahead. If resolve is lacking, for a whole host of reasons failure is more likely.
Leadership A strong leader or leadership group must be in place before differentiation is possible. People being asked to invest in the new way, many less courageous or simply uncertain, will gain strength from leadership that believes in the path forward and acts in ways consistent with that belief. Strong persuasive attributes will be needed constantly as doubters, opponents, and uninformed overreact to challenges along the way. Even though disruption observed in the AmLaw 200 suggests that the “good old days are gone,” a nimble firm prepared to operate within light of new market realities can still thrive. That means taking steps to differentiate to avoid languishing in the past. All it takes is courage, knowledge, judgment, resolve and leadership. Does your firm have those attributes? n Andrew Jillson is a Director at Hayse, LLC and a veteran when it comes to the challenges and opportunities faced by an enterprise in transition. In his more than 30-year career as a lawyer, Andy has provided strategic counsel across every industry. He brings deep experience wherever personnel, operational, strategic and/ or legal issues converge to necessitate organizational change.
COMMUNITY news n Johnson Fistel is pleased to announce that Brett M. Middleton has joined the firm in its San Diego office. “We are very fortunate that Brett accepted our offer to join the team,” said Frank J. Johnson, one of the firm’s founding partners. “He has nearly two decades of significant securities, corporate, and business litigation experience which will help us continue to provide BRETT M. MIDDLETON excellent service to our clients as our firm continues to grow.” Mr. Middleton has received multiple industry and national recognitions, including “San Diego Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers, “Best of the Bar” by the San Diego Business Journal, and “Recommended Lawyer in M&A Related Shareholder Litigation” by Legal 500 USA Guide. Mr. Middleton was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1998 after graduating from the University of San Diego School of Law. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1993. n To provide wider access to justice, The San Diego County Bar Foundation is now accepting applications for its annual grant program. For 40 years, the Bar Foundation has awarded grants to local organizations that promote an understanding of the legal system and support victims of poverty, abuse and discrimination. Funding is also used to support programs that educate children and adults about the legal process and individuals’ rights and responsibilities. The Bar Foundation is currently accepting applications for: General Grant Fund. Funding will go toward facilitating and expanding the availability of legal services, improving the administration of justice and the San Diego court system, and promoting public understanding of the law. Applications are due September 1, 2019. SDCBF encourages organizations and projects to apply at https:// sdcbf.org/grant-programs. n San Diego litigation attorneys Suzanne Emge and Derek Emge are pleased to announce the launch of Emge Mediation. Focusing on employment law and class actions, the Emges pull from their own litigation experience over the past three decades where they are known SUZANNE EMGE AND DEREK EMGE for achieving class action settlements totaling more than $100,000,000 for employees and consumers. Emge Mediation places an emphasis on pre-mediation conferences to more adequately set the stage for mediation. Uniquely, the duo will be co-mediating all cases, a proven concept for better efficiency and results. 12
Attorney Journals San Diego | Volume 192, 2019
n Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, a leading nationwide specialty litigation law firm with offices in Orange County and San Diego, is pleased to announce the opening of its New Haven, Connecticut office. FMG’s newest office expands the firm to over 160 attorneys nationally in 18 offices in nine states. The New Haven office will be led by Fred Knopf, who brings three decades of experience trying complex financial and commercial matters across the country. Mr. Knopf serves as primary general and trial counsel for one of the nation’s premier publicly traded investment banking and asset management firms. Mr. Knopf represents a wide array of clients including retail brokerage and advisory businesses, investment banks, securities broker dealers, registered representatives, investment advisors and insurance agents. His experience includes all aspects of the securities industry including cases before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, advising clients on regulatory and compliance issues and acting as a mediator. n Kristin Rizzo, employment mediator, has joined West Coast Resolution Group’s panel of experienced neutrals. With years of experience representing both employees and companies, Kristin’s unique background informs a deep understanding of the nuances of employment disputes. “We are KRISTIN RIZZO proud to have Kristin as part of our team,” says Steven Dinkin, President of the National Conflict Resolution Center the parent company to West Coast Resolution Group. “She brings an expert perspective to an area of law that is becoming more complex and multifaceted.” Kristin is Past President of the San Diego County Bar Association and has received recognition in the San Diego Daily Transcript and San Diego Super Lawyers. Regarding her mediation style, Kristin says, “I believe parties deserve a mediator who is a patient, attentive listener and has a command of the details of the case, the needs of the parties, and the underlying complexity of the law involved.”
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n CaseyGerry partner David S. Casey Jr. has been recognized as among California’s “Top 30 Plaintiff’s Lawyers” for 2019 by The Daily Journal—California’s leading legal publication. He is the only San Diego attorney to be featured. In this annual list of the state’s top plaintiff lawyers, The Journal honors leading lawyers bringing single cases and multi-party actions—acknowledging their involvement in key cases making an DAVID S. CASEY JR. important difference in California and beyond. Casey Jr., known for taking on high-profile, complex cases, was lauded by The Journal for his recent Witkin Award for Excellence in the Practice of Law, bestowed for his work related to raising awareness about football head injuries and concussion safety. These issues arose while he represented the family of deceased NFL hero Junior Seau, a case in which he achieved a confidential settlement. n Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. (www.shufirm.com) announces it won a $1.8 million arbitration award on behalf of two financial advisors who were terminated from USAA Financial Advisors, Inc. in May 2017. Notably, of the $1.8 million, $700,000 was for punitive damages based on USAA’s egregious conduct and $250,000 was for attorneys’ fees. Following their termination in 2017, the advisors, both of whom hold Certified Financial Planner™ designations in addition to several FINRA securities licenses, struggled to reenter the securities industry due to the inaccurate and defamatory disclosures USAA made on their Central Registration Depository (CRD) records concerning their “alleged” financial planning practices while licensed with USAA. In addition to the $1.8 million award, the Arbitration Panel recommended full expungement and removal of those false disclosures and a change to “voluntary resignation” from “involuntary termination.” “The award represents a complete victory and total vindication for our clients,” said Toleno. n Jon H. Epsten, Esq., Susan Hawks McClintic, Esq. and the Shareholders of Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC are pleased to announce the promotion of Dea C. Franck, Esq. to Shareholder, effective July 1, 2019. Dea joined the firm in July of 2013, and her contributions to the firm and leadership in our Indian Wells office are unprecedented. In the six years since Dea has been a part of our team, she has maintained and established numerous key relationships and clients throughout the Coachella Valley and is well-known throughout the community association industry. Dea plays an active role in producing the firm’s annual Community Association Law Resource Book, speaks at the firm’s annual Legal Symposia and has developed and taught countless educational programs for community association board members and managers. As a Shareholder, Dea will lead the firm’s Indian Wells office, with plans for continued growth in the Coachella Valley, while providing the quality legal services for which our firm is known.
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T
Cover Feature
he cliché that there is “no substitute for experience” certainly applies to the practice of law. If true, it follows that it would behoove attorneys to take as many cases as possible. After all, with each case, a lawyer has the opportunity to learn—either from victories, or losses—ostensibly helping them become a better lawyer. And Cole Casey won’t contest the value of experience—he’s got it in spades. As San Diego’s most sought after DUI defense attorney for the past two decades, suffice it to say, Casey has handled many, many cases. Thousands of them. In fact, he was known for years as the DUI lawyer who fearlessly took DUI cases to trial, week after week. He has handled cases for a literal “Who’s Who” of prominent San Diegans, from politicians to athletes to celebrities. He’s also handled some of the most heartbreaking DUI fatality cases San Diego has ever seen. His reputation has placed his services in high demand, and for over 15 years, he tried to help everyone he could. But today, he has an entirely different perspective on the practice of law. “I handle 1/10 of the cases I used to handle. I don’t stress, I make more money and I usually work a fraction of the hours I used to,” he says. “I changed everything. Now, I only represent clients who truly need my help, and if I know I can actually help them. Practicing law is more of a hobby than a job, as it should be,” he says. “It’s fun again and rewarding.” While that all sounds great, the road to Casey’s renaissance wasn’t painless by any metric, or even close to what could be called a smooth ride. “From 2000-2014, I had a thriving firm, always with 10 or more employees. We had so many clients, and I needed so many employees to help manage the cases that I was no longer much of a lawyer. I was a businessman, something I
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never really aspired to be. I was responsible for marketing and advertising and business development and payroll, benefits, and personnel management. That left little time for me to get to know my clients, and less time for me to work on their cases, even though it was my name alone that brought them in the door,” Casey recalls.
Life-Altering Catastrophe Leads to Catharsis Things were on cruise control up until early 2015. At that time, the FBI had launched an investigation into corruption at the DMV, and the rumors were that a handful of top DUI attorneys in San Diego were implicated. “My name appeared on the list of lawyers they were looking into. I knew I had done nothing wrong, but being part of a federal investigation is scary, no matter who you are. And at my lowest point, while I was trying to salvage my good name from all the gossip, the people in my own firm got spooked by that same gossip, and the firm imploded in 2015. Everyone left,” he says. “They ran for the hills, worried about being associated with me.” “That hurt,” he admits. “I lost lots of sleep throughout the years making sure my staff were all well taken care of and happy, but when the going got a little bit tough, and I needed them the most, they bailed. Right out the door. And, I could see some of my competitors, many of whom had posed as my friends throughout the years, at least when they needed my help in fixing DUI cases they had clearly fucked-up, now acting like sharks in the water smelling blood. Apparently they reasoned that if I was out of the game, they would make more money,” Casey laughs, rolling his eyes.
JOURNALS
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But Casey doesn’t harbor resentment today, because from his vantage point, the experience “was an absolute blessing in disguise.” Indeed, it forced Casey to take stock of his career, and of his life. Suddenly, the dozens of plaques and awards on the wall meant nothing to him. (They currently sit in a box in a storage unit). The round-the-clock hours at work, the stress, chasing every dollar and most importantly, missing out on life simply was not worth it. He had a 16-year-old son from his first marriage, Hunter, and now had a baby boy, Lachlan, with his new wife Chelsea. He wanted to spend his time with them, not in court or at the office. So, he restructured his life, beginning with his practice. “I closed the firm and decided that after years of partners, associates and staff, I just wanted my firm to be small and exclusive. I would only take the cases I wanted, and I wasn’t going to be constantly exhausted and stressed, worrying about making everyone else happy. It was the best professional move I have ever made. Finally.” But sadly, the joy was short-lived. Casey’s career renaissance was barely underway when out of nowhere, his 35-year-old wife Chelsea was diagnosed with terminal cancer. “We had this beautiful 16-month-old little boy, and she was given a death sentence. Suddenly, I had to face the reality that I was going to be a 50-plus-year-old single father raising a young son alone. Honestly, I was in a trance for about a year. Maybe more. It was incomprehensible. The fear, the pain, the despair. It’s still hard for me to talk about. I will carry the sadness forever,” he says. “I spent my entire career helping people, solving problems for them, and the one person that I wanted to help the most, I had to just sit there and helplessly watch deteriorate. It was just awful.” Devastated, Casey devoted all his energy to caring for his two sons and to taking care of Chelsea. A former model, she had now lost all her hair. Her brain radiation resulted in frequent seizures. Paramedics arriving in the middle of the night and taking her away was common, while Casey and Hunter tried to shield little Lachlan from that terrifying scenario. “It wasn’t easy,” Casey says simply, “she fought so damn hard and refused to give up. We all did. Chelsea was like a mother to Hunter since he was 7, and he became a man during those years, whether he wanted to or not.” Then it got worse. As Casey stared down the barrel of life without Chelsea, and as she was in the middle of yet another round of chemotherapy, in 2016 Casey himself was diagnosed with cancer. (He received the news one hour before having to give a closing argument.) “Chelsea and I had the dubious honor of sharing oncologists and going through cancer treatment simultaneously, while trying to provide a ‘normal’ life for Hunter and Lachlan,” he says. “Fortunately, in my case, the cancer was caught very early but going through treatment was absolutely brutal. But, with my sons and a very sick wife, as well as a law practice, I did not have the luxury of weakness,
or of feeling sorry for myself. I was in so much pain but there was no way in hell I was going to take the opioids they tried to push on me. They said, ‘we’ll get you addicted to Fentanyl, then wean you off it later.’ Screw that. No thanks. I just had to keep my head down and push through treatment. Seven weeks of it. Those were some very dark days.” Ultimately, Casey received the good news that his treatments had been a success, and his cancer was cured completely. But Chelsea wasn’t as fortunate. She passed away three months later, 5 days after her 37th birthday. “She spent her last birthday in a coma”, Casey recalls. Lachlan, Chelsea’s only son, had just turned 3. Casey’s life, and his perspective on virtually everything changed. “I was a mess, trying to hold it together. I needed something, anything,” he recalls. “I contemplated suicide, just to end the agony, but I would never orphan my sons. Honestly, without them, I probably would not be alive today. Yeah, it was that bad.” A practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), Casey reflects, “I threw myself into BJJ like never before. BJJ is hard, humbling, bloody and brutal, like life. You fight like hell. Every day you hurt. You’re always bruised, frustrated and want to quit. And I wanted to quit. Both BJJ and life. I wouldn’t take the ‘happy pills’ despite everyone trying to prescribe them for me. I would just try to exhaust myself in BJJ so I could sleep at night, training daily, four hours a day sometimes. It actually helped.” To this day, Casey’s fitness and BJJ training are paramount to him. He trains twice a day, 6 days a week, doing BJJ along with a mix of strength training, kettlebells, running, boxing, yoga and cycling. “Perfect diet, no sugar, no more hard alcohol, and just an occasional beer and a cigar for vices. I have to stay healthy and strong for Lachlan – he’s 5 now. We go to Europe twice a year to watch soccer, and I carry him around on my shoulders. I know those days are numbered and I figure the stronger I am, the more I can prolong them. I will still carry him around London when he’s 10 if I can,” Casey jokes. And, along with doing BJJ with his dad, little Lachlan also plays soccer, so Casey says, “I have to be able to run with him and coach him. He deserves my best and he gets it. I’ll never be an old, lazy-ass dad sitting on the sidelines, in soccer or in life for that matter.” Professionally, things changed too. “I stopped caring what anyone thinks. Haters are going to hate. There will always be those jealous of what I have from the work they never did. So many wanted to see my downfall. I’ve never forgotten that, and I’ve never forgotten who,” Casey recalls. “I took a hard look at the court system, and decided I wasn’t going to play that silly game of suck-up anymore either. It’s drilled into us how much we have to ‘respect the courts.’ Well that’s a two-way street in my book, pal. If I have to earn your respect, then you need to earn mine. Colleague, client, opponent or judge. At the end of the day we are all just humans doing a job. All equal. No pedestals. No bullshit. Nobody needs their ring kissed.” Casey says.
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Casey trains with world renowned Jiu Jitsu coach Rafael Dallinha from Brazil, at Dallinha's Academy, RADA, in La Jolla.
Cover Feature Friendships, The Future, and Fatherhood Casey admits that he seriously considered retiring after Chelsea’s passing. But thanks in part to his lasting friendship and many conversations with his former law partner Matt Terry, he realized that he could still enjoy the practice, as long as it was on his terms. To this day, Casey and Terry spend a great deal of time talking about “everything but the law, thankfully,” Casey laughs. Frequently, they discuss single fatherhood, and their philosophies on life. “I will never forget that when everyone else ran scared out the door during the hardest times, Matt came running in, ready to help.” Casey said. “To this day, we talk for hours on the phone, or by trading emails. We both have young sons and want to be the best dads we can. We challenge each other, we support each other, and we look out for each other. Matt’s been a loyal friend through all of it. One in ten million.” Today, Casey is extremely selective about the cases he takes. “I’m brutally honest from the beginning. If a client is in deep shit, I tell them they are in deep shit. But if they don’t need me, I tell them that too. If someone needs a lawyer, really needs one, then they need a good lawyer. What they don’t need is the cheapest, the nicest or the well-intentioned but impotent do-gooder. They need a legitimate defense lawyer. When I meet 20
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clients, no punches are pulled, and no sales pitches are given. My clients are smart people, they can decide for themselves. I tell 9 out of 10 misdemeanor clients that they don’t need a lawyer at all and to save their money. The truth is that the Public Defenders can handle most of these matters and are far better lawyers than some bargain-basement buffoon. The PD are some of the best lawyers in town and never get the credit they deserve,” Casey states. When Casey does meet prospective clients, he tries to keep it informal, relaxed. “Most of my meetings are at coffeeshops. I’m usually in sweatpants, on my way to or from BJJ, and I don’t bother trying to hide my full sleeves [of tattoos]. I also tell them from the very start, ‘I’m not Harry Potter, I don’t magically make everything just disappear.’” The clients he chooses to represent appreciate the direct, and very honest approach Casey brings to the table. One of Casey’s clients, a very prominent San Diegan, said, “When I first met (Casey), he scared the shit out of me. I thought I was an alpha male, but whoa, he took it to a whole new level. He’s smart as hell and can be intimidating but he also listened. It was clear he knew his stuff, and he coached me along to quit feeling like such a failure. Man, I felt so safe knowing that in the courts, the media, or anywhere else for that matter, he was the guy in my corner.”
Casey explains, “Most of my clients are professionals. They usually have something bigger to lose beyond the DUI punishment. To them it’s not about avoiding community service or a DUI class. Doctors, lawyers, cops, military officers, those with immigration issues—there are a lot of people who are at risk of losing everything from even a misdemeanor charge. Those are the cases I take—serious misdemeanors and felonies only,” he says. “And now, I spend a lot more time with the clients, and usually build friendships with them over coffee. They all have my cell phone number and are free to call whenever they want. I’m fortunate. I mainly represent the cream of the crop. Good people that may have made a mistake.” Casey acknowledges that he has been able to reshape his career, thanks in part to the years he spent working hard. “Of course, I’ve had young attorneys say that it was easy for me to restructure my career because I’m established. Fair enough. That’s true. I don’t need to work if I don’t want to work. But I didn’t win any of this on a quiz show either. I worked my butt off for years, and I invested money wisely. I saved and I invested, and I constantly tell young attorneys to make smart decisions with their money early in their careers. The Ferrari, the Aston Martin, and the Maserati will come in time.” (Casey has all 3 today, but for most of his early years, drove a used Ford pick-up.). As to whether such a shift in priorities would have been possible without the tragic personal loss, and his own health scare, Casey doesn’t know. “Can you manufacture a complete change in thinking, or does something have to cause it? For me, watching someone I loved take their last breath at 37 and leaving a little boy without a mother, made me realize what is important. Time is the most valuable commodity we have, and we only have so much of it. We never know when time is up. Choose what you do with that time wisely and stop worrying so damn much. Remember, being a lawyer is just a job, it’s not your life. Nobody ever died wishing they’d spent more time in court or the office.”
“It’s just my two sons and me, trying to make every day amazing.” Casey says.
Cover Feature Casey and his 5-year-old son Lachlan.
“Nowadays, my focus is on raising my little boy. I’ve introduced him to BJJ, and it’s something we both do now. My oldest son is now 20, in college, and we have always had a great relationship. I keep a small client list, I know my clients well, and I’m in a very good place. I don’t care what anyone else is doing. I don’t need or seek anyone’s approval, or care whether they like me or not. I’m not compromising what is important to me, and what is right for me.” Casey, who was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Cupertino (the birthplace of Apple), counts Steve Jobs as his hero. “He had it right. Do it your way, without compromise. Trust your vision. Jobs said, ‘Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice.’ “So, it’s my life on my terms. Not yours. You got a problem with that?” ■ Contact The Law Offices of G. Cole Casey 2305 Historic Decatur Rd, #100 San Diego, CA 92106 (619) 930-5490 info@duisandiego.com www.DUISanDiego.com
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8 Critical Action Steps to Ensure the Future of Your Law Firm by Jeff Wolf
W
hen it comes to the future of your firm, the following action steps are critical for long-term success.
We are living in a VUCA world…volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The firm of tomorrow will have to be agile, innovative, adaptable and flexible to compete.
Succession planning is imperative. Most firms are currently led by baby boomers. Without appropriate preparation, some firms will find themselves with a leadership void after boomers are gone. In a 2014 survey of 85 managing partners, only 5% of respondents said they have a documented Succession Plan. Your firm’s survival may very well depend upon coming to terms with succession and transition issues—and doing so right now.
Technology will cause law firms to become more efficient and improve internal processes and procedures as clients force fees down. In addition, lawyers will have to become effective business people, as the new world of lawyering will require the successful lawyer to have a firm grasp of business management. To effectively provide legal services to clients, it is essential that lawyers understand the business problems and challenges that clients face—and then recognize how to link their services to help meet those problems and challenges.
Lawyers will have to spend more time on business development and it will become a critical component to the long-term success of firms as client loyalty declines and competition increases. Additionally, other professional service firms will take a share of the business (An Altman Weil survey noted that, in 2015, 16% of respondents reported using alternative providers, a jump of 12 percentage points from 2012). Firms will have to continually monitor and assess client satisfaction and one-on-one coaching programs will be needed to develop a crucial set of business development skills that every effective lawyer must have.
Millennials: by 2025 they will make up 75% of the workforce. Recent surveys of Millennials highlight differences between the boomers’ views on work and their view on work. As a firm, one of your primary responsibilities is attracting and retaining lawyers, especially talented ones. Every firm will have to learn to make adjustments to get the most from—and give the most to—the vast population of younger associates.
Mentoring programs will become a priority. The better the mentoring program the more profitable the firm. While firms understand the importance of a mentoring program, the biggest 22
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problem they face is that many senior lawyers don’t have the skill sets or time to be an effective mentor. Without a successful program, firms will run the risk of losing the millennials they are trying to attract, which is the future of the firm. Research studies have clearly indicated the number one reason associates (millennials) leave a law firm is the absence of a mentoring program. A good mentoring program fosters loyalty, improves retention and reduces recruiting costs. Firms will be able to attract better talent and that talent will stay. Mentoring programs also help ensure that new associates have a well-rounded training that reflects what is valued in the firm, because those associates are the firm’s future.
People: competition will be fierce and law firms will have to become a firm of choice by attracting, developing and engaging their people to build a firm that meets ever changing business needs. The Wall Street Journal reports that, by 2020, there is likely to be a shortage of approximately 40 million high-skilled workers around the world. Which means you will need to rely on developing and promoting current employees instead of finding outside talent to meet the needs of your firm. Your current employees are your biggest asset and you need to better understand the full range of skills they possess. So how do you assess the skill sets of current employees and who owns the development of your workforce starting now so you’re ready by the end of the decade?
Strategic planning will pave the way for the future success of law firms. If you want to be more profitable and survive in the VUCA world, firms need to create and execute good strategy, for it is strategy more than anything else which gives you sustainable success. It helps firms and individuals stay ahead of change and profit from it. It will become a necessity for any firm wanting to maximize opportunities, minimize risk and see good returns on investments of people, time and money. In some situations, it may even be the key to survival. n Jeff Wolf, known as one of the country’s top business development coaches, is a highly sought-after consultant and has worked with hundreds of attorneys to become successful rainmakers. He has been featured on NBC, CBS, CNBC and FOX. As founder and president of Wolf Management Consultants, LLC, he has built a valued practice that addresses the critical problems confronting lawyers and law firms today in the areas of business development, career development, skill development and firm development. He may be reached at jeff@wolfmotivation.com or in his San Diego office 858-638-8260.
5 Ways
Law Firms Can Improve Their Job Interviews by Jennifer Henderson
I
n a recent article published in The New York Times, Jason Dana, a professor at the Yale School of Management, argued that job interviews are “utterly useless” in identifying the best candidates for a job. He had students interview other students and then predict their grade point averages for the following semester. The prediction was to be based on the interview, the student’s course schedule and his or her past GPA (they explained to interviewers that the past GPA was historically the best predictor of future grades at their school). In addition to predicting the GPA of the interviewee, the subjects also predicted the performance of a student they did not meet, based only on that student’s course schedule and past GPA. In the end, the GPA predictions were significantly more accurate for the students they did not meet. The interviews had actually been counterproductive. While it is provocative to suggest that law firms should do away with interviews, that isn’t the correct conclusion: Research is clear that poorly planned, unstructured interviews are poor predictors of on-the-job success. It is proven that objective candidate evaluation methods work much better than the typical interview to establish competence. 24
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While efforts have been made to train lawyers to interview and create a process that yields better candidates, the process has remained relatively unstructured for most firms. Unstructured interviews are just that — they are free-flowing questions with no consistency between different candidates and no rating scale. While firms might favor these interviews because they are easier (due to the fact that interviewers can “wing it”) and they allow interviewers to “get to know” candidates better, these same features make this type of interview subjective, less accurate, open to legal challenges and less effective for analyzing skills and competencies. In a structured interview, all candidates are asked the same questions in the same order, all candidates are evaluated using a common rating scale and all interviewers agree beforehand on acceptable answers. Structured interviews vastly improve the odds that candidates have equal opportunities to provide information and are assessed in a consistent manner. Research also shows that law firms that hired recent law school grads with high scores on their structured interview were 11% more likely to stay with the hiring firm for more than four years. When it came to lateral hires, that difference was 14%.
Of course, all of this sounds great in theory, but how do you actually create an effective structured interview process?
1. Determine Core Competencies to Be Assessed During the Interview Firms first need to understand what they are looking for in candidates and develop a list of characteristics or capabilities that differentiate them strategically from others — these are your firm’s core competencies. Successful performers will exhibit behaviors in line with those core competencies. You can identify these competencies by reviewing your mission statement, looking at attorney reviews and thinking through what your business does. Some sample core competencies include innovation, quality, efficiency, client service and teamwork. Start with what your firm does and what capabilities clients value.
2. Choose the Interview Format and Develop Questions Once you’ve determined your core competencies, the next step is to develop questions and an interview process that will determine whether the candidate’s attributes align with your core competencies. Behavioral-based interviewing is the most effective way to do this. Behavioral interviews use past employmentrelated situations to predict future performance. So, instead of asking candidates how they would behave, ask candidates how they did behave. In this case, interviewers look for information on how a candidate handled a situation, instead of learning what a candidate might do in the future. With this in mind, develop behavioral-based questions to determine whether a candidate possesses the competencies you’re looking for. It is very easy to fall back on the tried and true questions that are typically asked, like “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths?” and “Where do you see yourself in five years?” These questions, unfortunately, are largely ineffective. Again, the ideal questions are designed to elicit whether a candidate exhibits your firms’ core competencies.
3. Develop Rating Scales to Evaluate Candidates The evaluation and feedback step in the process is where the “structure” part generally falls apart. It doesn’t help to develop core competencies and corresponding behavior-based interview questions if you haven’t developed a structure for how feedback is delivered after the interview. Creating a defined rating scale and objective evaluation process is integral to an effective structured interview; not having one allows too much room for bias and judgment. While upfront work is required to develop effective rating scales and agreed-upon good and bad responses to interview questions, these additional steps are essential to sustaining
an effective interview process. When developing a rating scale, law firms should identify positive and negative traits that demonstrate whether a candidate is proficient in a core competency, then come up with example behaviors that do or don’t exemplify the competency and, finally, evaluate each candidate based on that rating scale. This will create a standard evaluation process across all interviewers.
4. Create a Method to Solicit Feedback—A Candidate Evaluation Once you have created your scale, then develop a candidate evaluation form that allows interviewers to give their feedback. The interviewer should immediately rate each candidate after their interview based on the rating scale you constructed and then make a recommendation as to whether they approve an offer. This can be as simple or detailed as fits the culture of your firm, but the important thing is that interviewers are evaluating candidates on core competencies and in accordance with what you have predetermined are acceptable answers.
5. Create an Interviewer’s Guide and Train Interviewers Interviewing isn’t an easy process, and interviewers need guidance for how to do it correctly. You will need to train your interviewers on your new interview process. It’s best to create a detailed interviewer’s guide so that attorneys have a roadmap to use during the process. The interviewer’s guide should provide general instructions about the interview process, a summary of common rating biases and rating mistakes to avoid, and general tips for good interviewing. The guide should also provide information specific to the interview, including definitions and proficiency levels of each competency being assessed, interview questions to ask and a sample of the rating scale. Training will standardize the process and make sure everyone is following the new protocol you’ve established. Identifying qualified candidates that align with your firm’s core competencies is essential to the growth and success of your business. While the competitive candidate market can make anyone eager to relax their interview process in favor of easing the experience for candidates, firms should think about the long-term benefits of choosing the right attorneys. Structured interviews will ultimately provide a consistent and value-aligned rating system that best positions firms for hiring success. n Jennifer Henderson is a Partner for MLA in their Southern California office. Her focus is on placing associates and partners into law firms and corporations and assisting attorneys with all stages of their career development. She has counseled, coached, recruited and placed top talent within the legal and business sectors for over 10 years and is regularly called upon by lawyers at all levels for advice on their career paths and opportunities.
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Can Your Marketing Pitch Pass This Challenge? by Tom Trush Are you up for a challenge? I promise you it’s nothing too difficult. Take a piece of paper and write down 5 reasons for contacting your prospects and current clients ... but your purpose can’t involve pitching your services. Ready ... go! Did you hear that little voice inside your head? I bet it questioned the logic of this exercise. After all, isn’t the goal of being in business to generate business? Isn’t that the reason you contact prospects and clients? I’d argue no—not always. Of course, contacting prospects and clients only to pitch services might bring some work into the office. But it does little to develop a relationship—an essential factor when it comes to repeat clients and referrals. At least once a week, I get the following inquiry through my website: Get leads and sales from your website. We would like to get your website on first page of Google. All of our processes use the most ethical “white hat” Search Engine Optimization techniques that will not get your website banned or penalized. Please reply and I would be happy to send you a proposal. In order for us to respond to your request for information, please include your company’s website address (mandatory) and or phone number. 26
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This is typical of the communication many companies use to bring in business, especially via email. You’ve probably received something similar. In addition to sounding desperate, not one word was written to establish credibility, proof or authority. Most importantly, however, this communication doesn’t deliver VALUE. Is there an article, book or website your contacts could read to make their lives easier? Are you aware of any tools that would benefit them? Is a competitor (gasp!) doing something noteworthy that could help the people you know? When you deliver value, you trigger the Law of Reciprocity. Basically, by doing something for someone else (especially when it’s unexpected), they feel compelled to give back to you. Many years ago, I was at a seminar and heard Zig Ziglar, a renowned authority on success and sales, give a tip I won’t soon forget—“You can have anything in the world you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want.” What great advice. n Tom Trush is a Phoenix, Ariz.-based direct-response copywriter who helps entrepreneurs and executives craft lead-generating marketing materials. Pick up his latest book, Escape the Expected: The Secret Psychology of Selling to Today’s Skeptical Consumers, for free (just cover shipping) at: www.writewaysolutions.com/blog/free-book-offer.
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When a Lawyer Gets Overwhelmed with Fear, Anxiety and Depression in Their Life by Stan Popovich
A
re you a lawyer who privately struggles with stress, anxiety, depression, addiction and you don’t know where to turn? Do you know a fellow lawyer or anyone else who struggles with fear and various mental health issues and do not know how to help relieve their suffering? If so, there is hope for your situation. Many lawyers are unaware of how to overcome their mental health issues; however, help is available if you take the time to address these issues in your life.
Here is a short list of techniques that a lawyer can use to help manage their depression and fears and get their life back on track once and for all.
1. Make the Choice to Get Better The first step on your recovery from your mental health situation is admitting you have a problem. The second step is to set some time out of your busy schedule to get assistance on how to overcome fear, anxiety, and depression in your life. Many lawyers work long hours and sacrifice their mental health over their careers. This can be a fatal mistake. Ignoring your depression and anxieties can ruin your career and your personal life. Learn the mistakes from other lawyers who neglected their mental health and ended up ruining their lives. You cannot have a successful law career or family life if your mental health issues overwhelm you on a daily basis.
2. Drugs and Alcohol Will Only Make Things Worse Avoiding your mental health problems using drugs and alcohol is not the answer. Eventually, you will have to confront your fears and depression. Save yourself the time and heartache and confront your problems now rather than later. Many professionals and former addicts have said 28
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that drugs and alcohol will only add more misery to your situation. Be smart and learn how to cope with your mental health issues the right way.
3. Learn to Take it One Day at a Time Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your problems. You never know when the answers you are looking for will come to your doorstep. We may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.
4. Learn How to Manage Your Fearful Thoughts When encountering thoughts that make you fearful or depressed, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. Always focus on the facts of your current situation rather than on what your fearful thoughts are telling you. In addition, a person should think of a red stop sign that serves as a reminder to stop focusing on that thought and to think of something else. A person can then try to think of something positive to replace the negative thought.
5. There Are Other Options Rather Than Suicide Regardless of your situation, things do not stay the same. You may feel lousy today, but it won’t last forever. This includes your current situation. Nothing remains the same over time. There are many people and organizations that are willing to
help you, but you must be willing to take advantage of this help. Every problem has a solution. You just have to find it. If things are so bad that you are unable to function, drop everything and go to your local hospital or crisis center immediately. The people there will take care of your situation right away.
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6. Read Something That Will Uplift Your Spirits A technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Whenever you feel depressed, open your small notebook and read those statements.
7. Take a Small Break to Unwind Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off the problem. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. Taking a small break can help prevent you from getting anxious and overwhelmed throughout the day.
8. Learn From Your Past Experiences In every anxiety-related situation you experience, begin to learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what you need to improve on in managing your fears and anxieties. For instance, you have a lot of anxiety and you decide to take a walk to help you feel better. The next time you feel anxious you can remind yourself that you got through it the last time by taking a walk. This will give you the confidence to manage your anxiety the next time around.
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If possible, talk to a mental health professional who can help you manage your fears, anxieties, and depression. Many law associations offer support groups and lawyer mental health assistant programs that can offer immediate assistance. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. A counselor can also provide additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current issues. n Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear”. For more free and valuable mental health advice for lawyers and anyone else who struggles, please visit the Article and Blog Section of Stan’s website at http://www.managingfear.com/
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