Here are some resource links for things mentioned in the podcast Download the 10-part LawFirm Autopilot framework Check out the LawFirm Autopilot course . General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice. Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses. Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow u...
Oct 29, 2019•37 min•Ep. 70
If you’re a solo or small firm lawyer struggling to get quality legal research and writing done on short notice (without needing to hire an associate) you should check out a service called Lawclerk . In this episode I talk with one Lawclerk’s co-founder, Kristin Tyler, about how their service works, and why so many attorneys are enthralled when they discover what it can do for them. If you want to see an example of the work product done by one of Lawclerk’s freelance contractors, check out this ...
Oct 22, 2019•32 min•Ep. 69
Aaron Krigelski is the co-founder of StrutLegal ;, a company that helps lawyers created hyperlinked ebriefs. Increasingly, judges want lawyers to create such briefs . But doing so is beyond the technical skill of most lawyers. In this episode, Ernie and Aaron discuss advanced PDF skills generally. But they also highlight the reasons why judges and their clerks are so enamored of hyperlinked briefs. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource...
Oct 15, 2019•30 min•Ep. 68
Amanda is the founder of Aguillard Accounting, a small business accounting firm based in New Orleans with clients across the country. Her focus is solo and small law firms and real estate brokerages. She is also the co-founder of Elefant, a training company for accountants and bookkeepers. Amanda’s #1 passion is helping small business owners build the practices of their dreams using technology. Resources discussed in this episode Xero ; - cloud-based accounting software for small businesses (whi...
Oct 08, 2019•32 min•Ep. 67
If you want great clients you need to talk to them in an authentic, personal way. If people can’t figure out who you really are, or where you’re coming from (i.e. your values) they will deal with you at arms length. They won’t trust you very much. But if you put your real self “out there” you’ll be amazed at how many wonderful people will be drawn to you. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on t...
Oct 01, 2019•19 min•Ep. 66
In this episode, Knoxville attorney Patrick Slaughter returns to discuss the importance of crafting (or discovering) your law firm’s vision. Patrick and Ernie explain why they think that these two books are helpful in crafting a meaningful vision of success (in life, and in your law practice): The Alchemist , by Paolo Coelho Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business , by Gino Wickman General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8...
Sep 24, 2019•42 min•Ep. 65
Through his company Optiable , Craig Bayer has helped hundreds of solo and small firm attorneys better manage their digital documents. So he’s in a great position to discuss the best way to backup those documents, along with other crucial data. … Want my personal help? And if you want ongoing guidance improving and growing your practice consider joining my ; Co-Pilot coaching program ...which is exclusively for solo and small firm lawyers that want to better manage and market their practices ( s...
Sep 17, 2019•37 min•Ep. 64
The main reason people aren’t able to effectively manage their important tasks and projects is they don’t have a good system for capturing tasks and ideas as they come up. In this episode I’ll share with you the three keys to effective task capture and management. The Magic Number 7, Plus or Minus 2: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information , by George Miller Eisenhower Matrix , ETA blog post David Allen interview by Tim Ferriss Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productiv...
Sep 10, 2019•28 min•Ep. 63
Literally every person who thinks has flaws in the way they think. It’s not their fault; it’s factory-installed in their cognitive engine. That’s true for me, for you, and for any human born with a brain. You can ignore the preset cognitive flaws and live at their mercy. Or you can improve your thinking. Step one is understanding some of the basic flaws that are most insidious and most debilitating. In this episode I touch on three books that are quite helpful in getting a better sense of what k...
Sep 03, 2019•24 min•Ep. 62
Podcasting is not as hard as most people think. After having doing this podcast for over a year I am ready to share some “behind the scenes” observations. The main takeaway is that you can create a podcast more easily than you’d imagine. And the impact that a podcast will have on your marketing efforts are huge. The ROI of podcasting surpasses every other form of marketing or advertising. Listen to my interview with Danny Ozment and find out how. Danny's podcast: Podcast Strategies for Growing Y...
Aug 27, 2019•35 min•Ep. 61
Meet the best legal technology consultant for solo and small firms. I call her the Tech Whisperer because of her rare wisdom & deft advice. Adriana Linares founded LawTech Partners twenty years ago. Her unwavering mission has been to help lawyers get more done, more easily. Her focus is on helping lawyers use tech to better manage their practices and work smarter, not harder. She offers refreshing advice on the four essential components of a modern law practice. As well as recommendations fo...
Aug 20, 2019•25 min•Ep. 60
Tom Lambotte spent years helping small law firms improve the way they use Mac-related technology but has broadened his consulting to help more types of lawyers. Tom runs a firm called GlobalMac IT that provides remote support tech management for small law firms that use Macs. His clients love working with him, which doesn’t surprise me. Tom is one of the few legal tech consultants that I completely trust and enthusiastically recommend. This is evidenced by the fact that he’s one of the few consu...
Aug 13, 2019•33 min•Ep. 59
Technology can help you improve your practice if you use it well. For most lawyers, it’s more like picking up a cat by the tail. Listen, and I’ll explain. The best way to learn is to study other people’s mistakes and successes. This is not common practice, but it’s a good idea. With technology, though, it’s tricky (as I explained in this blog post . In this episode, I’ll explain in more detail how you can make technology work for you, rather than against you. General Resources Learn to use techn...
Aug 06, 2019•12 min•Ep. 58
Automating the commonly used text phrases and paragraphs is a powerful way to streamline your law practice. But what's the best way to do this? Let's find out. Brett Burney is a consultant who can help in several ways, including E-discovery and Mac-based workflows. But he’s most passionate about teaching lawyers how to use an amazing text automation tool called TextExpander. In this session, Brett and Ernie discuss the many benefits of using TextExpander, mostly the power of efficiency and accur...
Jul 30, 2019•49 min•Ep. 57
Chelsey Lambert knows what software works best for solo & small firm lawyers, and she shares insights that will help you find more success and less heartache. Chelsey Lambert is an author, speaker and tech consultant whose mission is to help lawyers better understand their best tech options. Her career has given her a truly unique perspective on how solo and small firm attorneys can best leverage technology in their day-to-day operations. In this episode, we’ll focus on the challenges of sel...
Jul 23, 2019•35 min•Ep. 56
How can you leverage the power of virtual assistance? The best advice comes from someone who runs a successful VA company, namely my good friend Trivinia Barber. Trivinia Barber runs a virtual staffing company called Priority VA, which helps entrepreneurs and small business owners find quality assistants to help handle the workload. We talk about what makes a virtual assistant relationship successful, and what kind of challenges business owners typically have when using VA’s. Show Notes Priority...
Jul 16, 2019•27 min•Ep. 55
Why do some lawyers get business coaches? And how can having a coach help you improve your law firm? That’s what this episode is about. Show Notes Patrick Slaughter is a practicing lawyer in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has improved his law practice so much that other lawyers are now asking him to coach them, so we’ll talk about why coaching helps solo and small firm lawyers. Acuity Calendering software First episode with Patrick Slaughter (#48) Episode with Patrick re: Law Practice Management (#50)...
Jul 09, 2019•37 min•Ep. 54
Practice management advisor Jared Correia is back again to discuss how solo & small firm lawyers can meet the common challenges of growing their practices. Show Notes Prior episode with Jared Correia (#47) Red Cave Consulting (Jared’s website) The Trillion Dollar Coach , by Eric Schmidt Ernie’s blog posts on Systems General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these essential tech tools for maximu...
Jul 02, 2019•43 min•Ep. 53
In this episode Ernie talks with Diana Stepleton about chat services. Ruby Receptionists now offers web chat services that are similar to their phone receptionists. If you want higher conversion rates from your website visitors then you should consider using chat services. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice. Take this short law...
Jun 25, 2019•26 min•Ep. 52
If you have a website then you should understand some basics about what Google and other search engine companies need your website to convey. If you get the basics right then Google will treat you well. And if you are really savvy Google might even love your site in a way that gets you more business. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your p...
Jun 18, 2019•29 min•Ep. 51
For your practice to run smoothly you need systems. But why is creating & documenting systems so difficult for lawyers? Listen and discover the “magic” process. Below are links to resources or services that were discussed in this episode: The Power of a System , by John Fisher (downloadable PDF) Systems Brainstorming Worksheet (Based on Patrick Slaughter’s process) Dropbox Paper (collaborative document creation used by Patrick) Lawclerk.legal ; (virtual assistance from lawyers) Hire an Esqui...
Jun 11, 2019•36 min•Ep. 50
Managing documents is vital for lawyers, but today the documents are mostly digital. So you need a good system for doing this well. Craig Bayer has helped hundreds of solo and small firm attorneys boost their efficiency by better managing their documents. In the past he also helped lawyers with practice management software. So he’s in a unique position to offer insight into how you should use practice management technology to streamline your law practice. To learn more about Craig’s work visit h...
Jun 04, 2019•42 min•Ep. 49
Patrick Slaughter runs a small firm in Knoxville, Tennessee that does mostly family law work and some immigration law. He built his practice quickly relying on marketing skills he gained working as a magician (before law school). He also makes sensible use of technology. We talked about how he grew his practice, and how he manages it today. We talked about the challenges he’s faced and how he addressed them—including the challenge of harnessing technology to create a practice that’s almost compl...
May 28, 2019•47 min•Ep. 48
Theoretically using practice management software will make your practice easier to manage. In practice, it’s not as effective for some lawyers as they thought when they initially decided to use it. In this episode we find out why, as Ernie interviews someone in a unique position to help solo and small firm lawyers figure out the best option for their practice type and overall situation: i.e. Jared Correia of Red Cave Consulting . General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction &...
May 21, 2019•29 min•Ep. 47
I studied high performing business leaders who are amazingly proficient at managing email. Then I identified common tactics and strategies they used and then adopted those tactics as my own email processing system. My new system is radically more efficient, simpler and less stressful. Best of all: I can run it easily from my smartphone. Show notes for Email Effectiveness podcast (#46) Resources Mentioned in Show Followup.cc ; - tool for deferring emails Ari Meisel - Less Doing website Ari Meisel...
May 14, 2019•29 min•Ep. 46
Figuring out how to harness [80/20 efficiencies]( https://ernietheattorney.net/strategic-prioritization/ ) takes thought and experimentation. But the payoff of exponential efficiency is always worth the effort. Sometimes you just need someone to point out a new more effective way of doing things. I feel like that’s my role here in this podcast, and in my online programs. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer...
May 07, 2019•10 min•Ep. 45
The kid played by Ralph Macchio didn't understand that in life you can have what you want if you're willing to work for it. And if you aren't fixated on how you'll get it. Oh, and it helps to have a good guide to help you stay on track. This was good advice for the kid in the movie, but it also relates to building the law practice of your dreams. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these esse...
Apr 30, 2019•17 min•Ep. 44
There are several ways to gather client feedback and testimonials. In this episode, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each way. We’ll talk about the best tools to use, and the optimal form questions for getting great feedback answers AND testimonials in a single survey. Links to resources mentioned Book: The Ultimate Question 2.0 , by Fred Reichheld: Outline of Discussion ( PDF ) Survey Monkey form I discussed Birdeye ( online review service ) Podium ( online review service ) General Resources ...
Apr 23, 2019•37 min•Ep. 43
To grow your practice you need more than just information. You need timely insight from folks who've been where you are now. Folks who've attained success and have helped others succeed too. The best resource is something called a mastermind group. To learn more about how they can help you listen to this episode. And check out a book called Mastermind Group Blueprint , by Tobe Brockner. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://w...
Apr 16, 2019•15 min•Ep. 42
Your ideal clients are looking for you, their ideal lawyer. But they don't know how to find you, so you have to find them. And strategic marketing is the way you can do that. Unfortunately, too many lawyers have no idea how to market strategically. And copying other folks who aren't properly informed about marketing isn't a good strategy. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource : https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these essential te...
Apr 09, 2019•17 min•Ep. 41
