Miranda McCroskey

081: Erin Giglia discusses Solutions for Small Law Firms – Competing with the Big Guys at a Lower Cost.

Erin Giglia is co-owner and founder of Montage Legal Group, the premier California freelance attorney network. Erin and her business partner, Laurie Rowen, left Snell & Wilmer in 2009 for family reasons, but wanted to remain actively engaged in the legal community. Erin and Laurie decided to use their training and skills to help law firms with high-level, substantive legal projects when firms needed an extra hand. Then friends started asking to join them. They decided to form Montage Legal Group as a way to better organize the system – coordinating projects, invoicing, and serving as a resource for law firms. Erin is an Orange County native. She graduated from Wellesley College and the University of San Diego School of Law.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Erin tells us that just because someone looks amazing on paper, it doesn’t mean that they are amazing in real life. We solved that problem by doing “recon,” asking the real questions about the attorneys that came to their group.
Listen as Erin reminds us that even though others in the market place are doing something, it doesn’t mean you should do it too.

Tell us something good

Erin speaks with pride of the excellent press coverage they have received. She says its mostly to being nice to people as they have provided their services.
Hear how Erin experiences day to day successes when her clients and attorneys thank and acknowledge her.
One recent applicant from Florida is also a freelance writer for Forbes.

What’s on your desk?

Currently they have two firms looking for employment attorneys, one in San Francisco and one out of state.
They have one large firm who is looking for ongoing corporate help
A boutique firm look that is currently looking for general lit(?) experience.
Sweekpstakes Law

Favorite Resource

OCBA Solo and Small Firm section Mastermind Group
The Show Shark Tank
NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) – is a tremendous resource for business support

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Miranda McCroskey – host of Lawpreneur Radio

080: Darlynn Morgan of Morgan Law Group discusses Family Estate Planning and Having a Successful Law Business

Morgan Law Group is a family-focused estate planning law firm dedicated to helping Orange County residents place a fortress of legal and financial protection around their children and the people they love the most. The firm was started in 2005 by attorney Darlynn Morgan shortly after losing her husband to cancer while in his 30’s. Falsely believing she was “too young to plan,” Darlynn learned the hard way why every adult should have some form of estate planning in place so that their family is properly protected should the unthinkable happen. You may also recognize Darlynn’s straight-forward and easy to understand legal advice from her appearances in Forbes.com, and the OC Register, as she strives to help families understand complicated legal issues in “plain English” so they can make the very best decisions for themselves and their loved ones. Her mission is to make it easier for families to talk about and plan for tough subjects like money, death and taxes.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Listen as Darlynn discusses learning that there are many hats that you wear as a Lawpreneur and her early forays in to marketing.
Darlynn tells about hosting a seminar at a restaurant and after spending a good amount of money on the event she came away with no appointments that day. She did ultimately win four years later with an appointment from someone who attended that seminar.
If you do something and fail, you can make adjustments and evolve.

Tell us something good

She recently had a 93 year old grand mother come in who was referred by her children, who were in turn referred by their daughter. Three generations of one family making the choices that will make a difference in the future.

What’s on your desk?

Darlynn points out that her business is not necessarily big estates, normal people need estate plans too.

Favorite Resource

ProVisors
Her team at Morgan Law Group

Favorite Books:

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results People are using this simple, powerful concept to avoid overwhelming distractions in their personal and work lives so they can focus on what matters most. YOU WANT LESS. You want fewer distractions and less on your plate. AND YOU WANT MORE. You want more productivity from your work. More income for a better lifestyle. You want more satisfaction from life, and more time. NOW YOU CAN HAVE BOTH—LESS AND MORE.

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079: Christine Wilton of Law Office of Christine Wilton discusses consumer advocacy.

Christine Wilton is truly a consumer advocate. She has discharged student loans in bankruptcy and defended against private student loans in state court, recently settling one matter at 75% off! Christine Wilton has been blogging since 2009 and she’s just written a book for consumers that she hopes will help potential clients find the best way to get themselves out of debt.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Christine discovered that sometimes it was better to return the funds of a client if they were upset or weren’t a good fit for her practice.
Listen as Christine discusses learning to say “No.”
Hear how Christine initially learned to define the kind of clients she wanted to serve and how that has changed over time.

Tell us something good

After landing on student loans as her niche, she took on a case that she took to trial and won. That victory saw $55,000 in debt discharged. The press release lauded her saying “Student Loan Lawyer Wins one for Consumer.”

What’s on your desk?

Christine is primarily focused on helping consumers rehabilitate debt.
Working as a consumer advocate.
Fair Credit Reporting Act claims.

Favorite Resource

Lexblog
NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) – is a tremendous resource for business support

Favorite Books:

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World New York Times bestselling author and social media expert Gary Vaynerchuk shares hard-won advice on how to connect with customers and beat the competition. A mash-up of the best elements of Crush It! and The Thank You Economy with a fresh spin, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a blueprint to social media marketing strategies that really works.
5 Steps To Freedom From Debt: A System That Works A system that works from a consumer protection and debt elimination bankruptcy lawyer who has helped hundreds of clients achieve freedom from debt. Eliminate tax debt and student loans too! Christine A. Wilton, Esq. (@AttyChristine) explains both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy alternative approaches to debt elimination based upon the goals of her clients. She understands that bankruptcy is not right for everyone and making a well informed decision is key to success.
California Bar Performance Exam [MPT] Prep California Bar Exam Prep for the Performance Exam with this Proven Technique for a thorough, complete, organized passing answer Every Time!

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078: Diana Perna, Real Estate Broker and Owner of PK Real Estate discusses Real Estate Market Conditions.

Diana has 25+ years of professional experience in Sales & Marketing. She worked in the Insurance Industry for over 10 years and then transitioned into Real Estate and now owns her own Boutique Real Estate Brokerage firm in Huntington Beach. MBA and Minor in Marketing, Real Estate Broker. She is affiliated with National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Orange County Association of Realtors and a Certified Short Sale & Foreclosure Specialist. Diana is also a Board Member of Kiwanis of Huntington Beach.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Diana discusses growing by trial and error after leaving the corporate world.
Listen as Diana talks about discovering how as she moved in to real estate she had no control in what was a completely different model and everything halted
Hear how Diana recognized that she would need to diversify by looking in to her current business model and creating a different block of buyers.

Tell us something good

Connections to Lawpreneurs have been extremely important for supporting her clients in Trust resolution matters and investment support through creating investment vehicles such as LLC’s.
Creating a block of buyers as investors in both long term and short term investing for Residential Real Estate and Long term commercial property.

What’s on your desk?

Constantly helping our residential buyers.
Managing property for long term investors and helping to sell and resell residential property

Favorite Resource

WiseAgent is our CRM tool. It helps us keep up excellent relations with our clients
The MLS is vital to our business to support both residential and commercial customers
NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) – is a tremendous resource for business support

Favorite Books:

Your Road Map for Success: You Can Get There from Here Defining success is a difficult task. Most people equate it with wealth, power, and happiness. However, true success is not a thing you acquire or achieve. Rather, it is a journey you take your whole life long. In a refreshingly straightforward style, John Maxwell shares unique insights into what it means to be successful. And he reveals a definition that puts genuine success within your reach yet motivates you to keep striving for your dreams.

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077: Kristen Marquis, Attorney at Law, Founder of WebPresence, Esq. discusses digital media marketing

Kristen Marquis is an attorney and digital media expert with a background in marketing. Through her company, WebPresence, Esq., she works with attorneys to enhance reputations, establish thought leaders, and develop new business through customized social media campaigns, ethically-sound legally blogging, website design, video marketing, online reputation and public relations management. Kristen sits on the board of the Santa Monica Bar Association and the Executive Committee of the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Personal Injury Section, and volunteers at the Santa Monica Animal Shelter. Kristen is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she was an NCAA springboard and platform diver and All- American athlete, and the Pepperdine University School of Law.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Kristen learned that she had to be able to shift, realizing that her business didn’t have to look a certain way to be successful.
Hear how Kristen learned that lawyers are sometimes slow to adopt and how she learned from that.
Kristen initially had a vision of what WebPresence, Esq. would look like and she discovered that the needs of her clients were different from that vision.

Tell us something good

Listen as Kristen tells us about her commitment to high quality content rather than cheap quantity content.
Kristen talks about being active on social networks.
Kristen discusses writing an article for California Lawyer on social media ethics.

What’s on your desk?

Kristen shares how she help to increase both online and offline presence for her client firms.
Listen as Kristen explains how she works with clients of all levels including firms that are just starting out with everything from choosing a firm name and web domain to crafting a branding strategy.
Hear how Kristen helps with building a website and creating content favored by Google that is both mobile and tablet friendly and responsive.
Kristen discusses the importance of regular monthly updates including connection to social media.
Kristen explains the importance of online reputation management.

Favorite Resource

LinkedIn
Read Above the Law daily to get the legal scoop.

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076: Jonathan Dunn of Salamirad Morrow Timpane & Dunn LLP discusses creating a new firm

JONATHAN J. DUNN is a partner in Salamirad Morrow Timpane & Dunn LLP’s Irvine, California office. Jonathan focuses his practice in construction practices, creditor’s rights and remedies, including bankruptcy and work-outs, and transactions in construction, debtor/creditor and commercial matters. Prior to joining Sedgwick, Jonathan was an in-house attorney with two national bonding companies and handled construction defaults in the Western United States, as well as being active in his family’s construction business. Jonathan is a member of the ABA’s Forum on Construction Law and Public Contract Law sections, a prior Vice Chair, Subcommittee of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, as well as other construction and surety associations and legal bar organizations, including the Legal Advisory Committee of the Associated General Contractors of America. Jonathan obtained his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law (formerly Univ. of Puget Sound L.S.) in 1992, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from UCLA in 1989. Jonathan is licensed to practice in the states of Washington and California, as well as various federal courts.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Listen as John describes the challenge of joining a group of former colleagues who ran a Professional Corporation (PC). They thought they could just change the name however, they quickly discovered that it wasn’t that easy and they would need to structure as an Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).

Tell us something good

John talks about the great client support that he received as he moved to the new firm. All of his clients moved with him which was overwhelming and encouraging.
Listen as John discusses the great support that they received from vendors as the created their new practice.

What’s on your desk?

Commercial Law cases, mostly in very large construction contracts where there is a question around the scope of the project. Also working on cases involving delays, contractor bankruptcy and creditor matters.

Favorite Resource

The firm’s bank, City National Bank, has been terrific. They provide very personal service.
Copi Net is an excellent litigation support provider.

Favorite Books:

The Reluctant Rainmaker: A Guide For Lawyers Who Hate Selling It’s no longer enough to just be a good lawyer. To thrive in this new economy you must also understand the business of law. You must learn how to “make it rain.” You must become a rainmaker. What is a rainmaker? Rainmakers are the ones who help bring the money into your firm. The ones who help bring in the new clients. The ones who keep your potential client pipeline full. Rainmakers help practices succeed. If you aren’t a rainmaker now, it’s time to get moving.

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075: John Juroe of ExecuTech Advisors discusses business technologies

John is the President of ExecuTech Advisors. He advises business owners and other executives on a wide variety of technologies. He will assess his clients’ needs and then customize and design a fully comprehensive, impartial solution. You can think of him as a general contractor for IT services. The core verticals focused on are law firms, healthcare, and non-profits.

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My Case is a web-based legal practice management software built for the modern law firm. Start your free 30 days with My Case today. Tell them Lawpreneur Radio sent you! Ruby Receptionist is the smart and cheerful team of virtual receptionists trained to make a difference in your day. From their offices in Portland, Oregon, they handle your calls with care. They deliver the perfect mix of friendliness, charm, can-do attitude, and professionalism. Best of all, your callers will think they work in your office. Meet them!

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Hear how early on John spent too much time getting ready to get ready.
John describes that the successes that he was generating were not enough to keep the doors of his business open.

Tell us something good

Recently, John put a firm in the cloud – highly secured – and that improved the efficiency of the business.
John describes how he recently took a client’s business out of the cloud and saved that client over $4,000 per month.

What’s on your desk?

Setting clients up with cloud based businesses. This allows start ups to be more efficient more quickly and at lower costs.
John explains that for a start up practice Executech is great for advising. They act as a broker to bring in the products and then help to provide both day to day support and long term proactive preventative help

Favorite Resource

Zoho – is a great CRM tool that John uses for his business.
TickTick is a fantastic Project management tool that John uses for both business and family.
TuneIn Radio – App for keeping current on emerging technologies and news.
Provisors for Networking and client development.

Favorite Books:

The Law of Success: The Master Wealth-Builder’s Complete and Original Lesson Plan forAchieving Your Dreams The Law of Success is the golden key to Hill’s thought–his complete and unabridged mind-power method for achieving your goals. After interviewing dozens of industrialists, diplomats, thought leaders, and successful people from all walks of life, the young Hill distilled what he learned into these fifteen core lessons, organized with an introductory chapter, ‘The Master Mind,’ that serves as a primer to Hill’s overall philosophy.
How to Win Friends & Influence People For more than sixty years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Now this previously revised and updated bestseller is available in trade paperback for the first time to help you achieve your maximum potential throughout the next century!

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074: Richard James of Automated Business Results discusses automating your business

Richard James, Founder and President of Automated Business Results, has earned a reputation as a national “Legal Systems Expert.” His legacy includes a career of building businesses in five different industries bringing his secret to each to achieve success. His success ingredient is simple: systems. Author of two books, The DNA of the Autonomous Attorney and Discover The Acres Of Diamonds In Your Law Firm, Richard has devised a twelve step system for designing and implementing automated marketing systems that grow your business FAST. Applying his creative energies on a helping key law firms manage their direct marketing initiatives and achieving extraordinary results. Richard put his systems and marketing tools to the test in building one of the most successful consumer bankruptcy firms in Phoenix from Zero to surpass $3.5 million in sales in just over two years. Richard believes that attorneys can truly create a practice that will support their dreams and aspirations rather than undermine their very core values. More information about Richard James, his services (that can develop a law practice that supports its owner’s lifestyle rather than completely undermining it) and more of his story may be found at www.TheRichardJames.com.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Listen as Richard describes how early on he confused activity with accomplishment.
Hear how he discovered that when he ran the business using systems things went smoother.
Richard tells us to “eat the frog first”

Tell us something good

Richard explains that he measures his success by his client’s success. He provides the example of an attorney client who couldn’t go on vacation without being attached to her cell phone. She had no freedom. Three and a half years later, she has 45 employees and spent three weeks in Greece without her cell phone. Now, she runs the business by inspecting the systems that have been put in place.

What’s on your desk?

Hear how Richard describes the perfect client lifecycle: a common thread runs through client development and relations. At core, all business are the same.
1. Lead
2. Show Up
3. Hire
4. Pay
5. Serve with excellence
Richard tells us that the secret to success is measuring the conversion between each step. With a system in place, it becomes easier to identify and improve things that work and fix or get rid of the things that do not work.

Favorite Resource

Infusionsoft is the one resource that Richard couldn’t live without
Desire and Discipline, while not downloadable, are what allow us to run the systems we create.
The free resources that are available on their website: therichardjames.com

Favorite Books:

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It In this first new and totally revised edition of the bestseller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed. He then shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business whether or not it is a franchise. Finally, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between
E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company The bestselling author of phenomenally successful and continually vital The E-Myth Revisited presents the next big step in entrepreneurial management and leadership with E-Myth Mastery. A practical, real-world program that is implemented real-time into your business, Gerber begins by engaging the reader in understanding why the entrepreneur is so critical to the success of any enterprise, no matter how small or large it may be.
Think and Grow Rich Think and grow rich is the most important financial book ever written. Napoleon Hill researched more than forty millionaires to find out what made them the men that they were. By following the advice laid out clearly in this book you’ll be the one with an edge. It’s time to stop wondering what it’s like to be rich and start knowing. This book will change your life!
Atlas Shrugged With this acclaimed work and its immortal query, “Who is John Galt?”, Ayn Rand found the perfect artistic form to express her vision of existence. Atlas Shrugged made Rand not only one of the most popular novelists of the century, but one of its most influential thinkers. Atlas Shrugged is the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world–and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged stretches the boundaries further than any book you have ever read. It is a mystery, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder–and rebirth–of man’s spirit.
Books by Richard: THE DNA OF THE AUTONOMOUS ATTORNEY and DISCOVER THE ACRES OF DIAMONDS IN YOUR LAW FIRM

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073: Mary Wenzel of Write Law discusses marketing copy-writing for law firms

Mary Wenzel, J.D. is the founder and co-owner of Write Law (www.write-law.com), a legal copywriting company. Through Write Law, Ms. Wenzel provides educational seminars for attorneys looking to learn how to write their own website content and blogs. She also provides ghostwriting services for firms who would prefer to outsource the task of writing their own marketing copy. Outside of the office, Ms. Wenzel is an avid runner, an advocate for women owned businesses and a fan of chardonnay.

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Fail fast to succeed faster

Listen as Mary tells us when she realized that she couldn’t do everything herself. A forced “time out” caused her to grow a team.
Mary discusses that as part of the creation of the team and business, she discovered that her skill set wasn’t “that” unique – an attitude that allows her more freedom.

Tell us something good

Hear how Mary was invited to teach copy-writing to a group of attorneys and that she was proud to offer value to them and to have them leave with action items.

What’s on your desk?

Creating online educational courses for legal marketing; including Legal Marketing 101, Legal Blogging Bad Ass, and Website Content.
Assisting clients with website redesign and website copy.
Providing a monthly ghost writing service for blogging.
Email marketing campaigns.

Favorite Resource

Hera Hub is the perfect coworking space in San Diego.
Solve360 for CRM & Project management.
Samsung Galaxy Note II.
Write-Law’s DYI Legal Marketing Courses.

Favorite Books:

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.

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072: Carolyn Rosenblatt of AgingParents.com discusses aging parents and aging clients

Carolyn Rosenblatt of AgingParents.com spent 10 years as an RN, 27 years as a personal injury litigator and then retired to start her 3rd career as a consultant. She uses her nursing, legal and mediation skills to assist families who are struggling with seniors who have difficulties related to aging. She also provides webinars for financial professionals to educate them about preventing elder abuse of their aging investor clients. She is a mother of two, married for 32 years to her psychologist husband and business partner, and she’s a triathlete. Healthy aging is one of her passions.

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Show Highlights

Carolyn discusses the importance of using what you have, capitalizing on it and making yourself unique.
Carolyn had support of her husband when she wanted to leave a big firm and hang out her own shingle.
Having a mentor whom she emulated drove Carolyn forward.
Focusing on work life balance helped Carolyn make it through the stressful times.
Narrowing your field of focus, or your niche, creates you as an expert in the field. Carolyn carved out a unique spot where her she could lead with her strengths.
Ultimately, Carolyn left litigation and now uses her nursing background and law to focus on aging. She has a consulting practice where she helps navigate families through the journey.

Favorite Books:

The Boomer’s Guide to Aging Parents: The Complete Guide Carolyn L. Rosenblatt is a registered nurse and an attorney with over 40 years of combined experience. She has compiled her 9 volume series into this Complete Guide. It touches on dangerous older drivers, choosing home care workers and nursing homes, understanding assisted living, the specifics of handling money for aging parents, ways to manage sibling conflicts about elders, advice from a lawyer about how to choose a lawyer when your parent needs one, and knowing how a care manager can help you.
Carolyn’s Blog at Forbes.com

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