Small Firm Forum Podcast

DYI lawyer websites and "lawyer in the can" options are sweeping change into the legal market. For better or worse people are turning to sites like LegalZoom to get law work done. The odds are that this will only expand in many areas of law practice. Indiana attorney Andrew Thompson shares how he embraced the internet early on and leveraged his website to build a thriving law practice remotely. He looks into the future and shares his insights as to the future of legal marketing and strategic thinking lawyers need to embrace to exist in the changing market place.

Dan Barli opens up about lessons learned and how if he knew then what he knows now, he would have ramped up marketing even faster. He shares how he capitalizes on law firm marketing trend of client experience and growing referrals through networking and client communication.

Attorney, activist, freedom fighter Gerald Griggs openly talks about his journey and how he was able to leverage his passion for justice and human rights to create a dominant brand in this episode of a small firm forum. How he has capitalized on the fascination with superheroes to developing a law marketing strategy creating a law firm brand that stands out in a saturated Atlanta market.

From barrister to legal marketing expert, Rachel Tombs of Orion Legal Marketing joins us from the U.K. to discuss the biggest legal marketing mistakes she sees small law firms make and the importance of understanding internet psychology to get potential clients to contact you and how to structure the conversation to convert them into a client.

How do you get your law firm to standout when among the hundreds of other attorneys? In today's barrage of noise and relentless marketing messaging getting notice is only getting more challenging. Long Island attorney Ary Rosenbaum gives a behind the scenes look as to how his firm stands out in a crowded ERISA/401K market and gets financial advisers to pay him to attend his events.

Purposely choosing to go to work for a boutique firm out of law school, attorney Dan Baylard got a lot of hands-on experience in practicing law. However, when he started his own firm he soon learned that he knew nothing about marketing coming from a firm who's marketing was little more supporting local organizations and schools. Dan openly shares his journey from going from coffee mug marketing to digital marketing and sophisticated technology.

Houston attorney McDonald (Don) Worley unapologetically uses social media as aggressively as he goes after pharmaceutical companies in mass tort action and gives insight as to the core tactics he used to build a national law firm.

From working for the state attorney general checking cemeteries for registered voters to building a team and profitable law firm in Chesterfield, MO, Matt Nagle shares the secret of his success and the fundamental marketing and management tactics he used to cultivate and grow his firm. 

Slugging it out with the "Big Law" personal injury firms, attorney Peter Porcaro opens up about how he learned guerilla lawyer marketing tactics from a boutique firm and how he leverages his marketing dollars in everything he does as well as looking to capitalize on future trends and grow his practice in the cannabis law market.

Attorney Adam Carr opens up and shares his experience and insights on defining your market, understanding your and niche and the importance of using the correct marketing strategies to build a successful and profitable law firm in this episode of small firm forum. Having worked for a municipal judge, in house counsel for a medical company, working for a law firm as well as opening and growing his own law firm, Adam has seen it all. He draws on experience and lessons learned to build a flourishing and profitable law firm in Hudson Ohio.

Taking the bar at nine months pregnant, Jennifer Gore-Cuthbert went straight from law school to opening her own firm and first-time mother. Jennifer has a very defined brand and vision of her law firm. Every day she evaluates her firm's current status against her vision and uses that as motivation to build and grow a powerhouse firm. In this podcast episode, Jennifer gives an insiders look at the philosophy and ideologies she uses to be one of the fastest growing law firms.

Attorney Martha Burkhardt has a frank and open discussion on how she opened up her own law practice without ever having practiced law or worked at a law firm. She shares the strategies and tactics she used to self-educated herself on how to practice law and the specific tactics she used to quickly build a strong book of business and a thriving law firm.

Building a successful law firm in a saturated market like Columbus OH takes grit, determination, and focus. The son of Greek immigrants, Dimitri Makridis, talks about playing under legendary Ohio State Football coach Jim Tressel and how he leverages the lesson learned from coach “Tress” in carving out his niche and growing his firm. A one-person operation, Dimitri gives a behind the scenes look at how does it all, from lawyer marketing to SEO to practicing law. He shares how coach Tressel instilled in him that the morning is the rudder that steers the ship and how he sets himself up for success every day.

"... my story is a story of failure." Tulsa attorney Shane Henry openly discusses his failures in practicing law and growing a law firm. He discusses his journey from not being able to get hired out of law school, opening up his own practice because he had no other options, to taking any case just keep the doors open. He gives a completely open and honest insiders look at how built a thriving and growing law firm on a foundation of failures. He Shares his epiphany and how he turned his practice around by self-education, reading, and persistence. Shane tells about the book that turned his practice around and how he was able to partner with the noted author of the book that saved his practice.

Savvy online marketing and social media lead generation attorney J. Clark Baird of Louisville, holds nothing back as he shares how he has tapped into alternative markets to build a thriving law practice as a solo practitioner. Leveraging assistants, paralegals, and outsourcing to maximum growth by focusing his efforts on money making activities.

Baltimore attorney Randolph Rice tells all about his fundamental branding and SEO marketing of his law firm to generate hundreds of phone calls a day building a thriving law firm. After Hurricane Katrina forced his law school to close, Randolph scrambled to get accepted to a new law school, packed up and relocated from New Orleans to Baltimore in about a two week span to finish his last year and get his J.D. In this podcast he gives you a behind the scenes look at his lesson learned and the marketing strategies he used to build a thriving practice in a hyper-competitive market.

Your law firm is either growing or shrinking. Founder and lead attorney for Eskew Law, Chris Eskew opens up and gives you an insiders look at how he rapidly built his law firm to five practicing attorneys.

Is your law firm showing up in the Google three pack? What is the Google three pack? Why is it the most valuable internet real estate for law firms? Three packs only show up when Google thinks someone is searching for a local business. Since the three pack comes above the website listings it has more value than an organic web listing. Also the three packs will show the number of Google reviews you have and your average review score. This is really powerful if you have a lot of reviews and a good average score. A high average score with a lot of reviews can be a game changer for your business.  

Noted former Orange County D.A. Michael Molfetta, opens up about his blunt, straight talk style and policy of not sugar coating or spinning the truth. He shares his evolution from playing European Football for the Helsinki Roosters to going from prosecutor to criminal defense to sports agent. How he has leverage networking to build a successful law practice and two sports agent companies. Micheal talks about how his compassion for his clients and his honest, transparent approach during trial usually results in at least one member of the jury asking him for his card when the trial is over.

Brad Tengler shares how he initially funded his law firm by working for UPS at night. Brad talks about how he put together a fundamentally sound marketing strategy that he could afford when he first opened up his own firm. He shares how he started with low-cost marketing methods, stuck to his fundamental strategy and through consistency was able to scale it to a very successful firm in Rockford, IL. He also shares how he learned the hard way about keeping good people and what he does now to attract and keep the best of the best in his industry.