law firm podcast

What do you do when something that feels like an emergency happens in your firm? Whether it’s a key member of your team resigning, receiving a terrible review, or anything else that catches you off guard, Melissa is offering you a guide this week for what to do when you feel blindsided.

In this episode, you’ll learn how handling emotionally charged situations differs from other challenges in your firm, questions to ask yourself to produce the most productive outcomes, and how to embody business-owner maturity in even the toughest situations. 

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/248

While you might believe shooting for high growth rates year after year will help you find the success you’re seeking as a business owner, Melissa is here this week to show you why a constant commitment to growth might actually be creating problems in your business that are hard to recover from. 

Tune in to hear the four byproducts that come from chasing high growth rates year after year, and how they can become untenable for you, your team, your clients, and your overall business. You’ll learn how to play the long game instead, and Melissa’s tips for handling a high-growth year with grace and intention.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/247

As a law firm owner, it's easy to fall into the trap of complaining in times of frustration, but expending energy wallowing in problems can have direct, long-lasting negative impacts on your firm. If you’re focused on complaining, you aren’t focused on effective problem-solving. 

Tune in this week as Melissa outlines exactly how complaining is negatively impacting your firm's culture, morale, and productivity, and a couple of exercises to snap yourself out of the negativity cycle the next time you catch yourself in it.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/246

Do you take time to investigate the problems that crop up in your law firm? To dig under the surface-level symptoms? Or do you do what's necessary to keep moving forward and stick a pin in them for a later date?

Unlike surface-level problem-solving, root cause analysis aims to uncover the root cause of a problem and prevent it from recurring, and it’s the secret to saving you, your team, and your clients a ton of heartache and pain. Listen in this week to hear why root cause analysis is the most responsible way of dealing with problems in your firm, and Melissa’s favorite tool for uncovering the deeper reasons something isn’t working. 

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/245

When owners find Melissa, they're often struggling to find enough time for the things that are most important to them. Close relationships, health and wellbeing, the growth of the firm — it's a lot to juggle. How can you begin to use Monday Map/Friday Wrap if you don’t know how to prioritize what’s most important? 

In this episode, Melissa exposes a common pain point for law firm owners who want to take control of their time. She shares how to create Zones in your calendar to dedicate to your priorities, how to uncover what your top priorities are, and how she helps the firm owners inside Mastery do this progressively better each week.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/244

Any time you set out to achieve a goal, it requires deliberate focus. Unfortunately, it is human nature to get distracted, which is where frequent, regular course correction comes in. If you want to make real progress, you need to course correct often, and Melissa is sharing the best ways to do it this week.

Listen in to learn how to course correct so effectively that each time you fall off track (and you will), the time it takes to regain focus becomes even faster and smoother. Melissa shares why having a regular cadence to your course corrections matters, two tools to make them more effective, and why getting more specific about what you want to accomplish makes course correcting along the way easier.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/243

The practice of honoring your calendar, which Melissa teaches in her Monday Map/Friday Wrap process, is what will make you a better business owner, lawyer, and leader. It's all about showing up for what truly matters, but you’re not alone if a sense of perfectionism and overwhelm are keeping you from making progress.

This week, you’ll hear an excerpt from one of Melissa's recent Mastery Group client calls that led to some big breakthroughs. It’ll change the game if you currently feel like you’re not performing at your best. Tune in to hear why intentionality is the secret to making progress in ways that will blow your mind, and the only things you should be spending your time and energy on.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/242

If, like many of Melissa’s clients, you’ve been tolerating or living with team issues in your firm for a while, the hard truth is that these perceived problems may not be a team problem. They might actually be a you problem.

On this episode, you’ll learn the opportunities you have as an owner, leader, and CEO to shift the culture within your firm towards greatness. Listen in to discover why you don’t need a blueprint for perfection in navigating team issues, and how just a little bit of initiative and curiosity can make all the difference.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/241

As a law firm owner, you can’t and shouldn’t be personally handling every task that needs attending to in your firm. You want to focus your time on bringing in new clients and doing the work you truly love, but where do you start?

This week, Melissa is joined by Southern California appellate and anti-SLAPP lawyer, Jeff Lewis of Jeff Lewis Law. They just did a strategic planning session together where they planned for the year ahead, and as one of her clients who has mastered the art of delegation, Melissa invited Jeff on to discuss exactly how he’s created an abundance of time and mental freedom for himself as a law firm owner.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/239

As a law firm owner, it's easy to get mired in day-to-day legal work, unforeseen obstacles, and your smaller to-dos. However, if you’re ready to finally stay on course with your big-picture goals, the practice of annual calendaring is non-negotiable.

How can you use your calendar to tee yourself up for success in 2024? Join Melissa this week as she shows you why annual calendaring is your secret to having a more ease-filled 2024, examples of what you might consider putting on your calendar, and her top tips for creating a calendar that works for your life and business.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.velocitywork.com/238 

Attorney John Gilhart is a veritable virtuoso.  A pilot.  A sailor.  An athlete.  And a damn fine lawyer!  Take a listen to a young star in the family law field for some GREAT insights and guidance!

Why do clients fire their lawyers?  What do we see from the front lines as the biggest complaints as to why/when clients fire their lawyers?  Lastly, if you have a lawyer, what minimum expectations should you have from him/her/them?

It is with tremendous pride we bring you the first of what will hopefully be a compelling series of former client stories for you to hear from the source just what kind of impact Family First Legal Group has had on their lives.

Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter and the allegations made from each side in these heavily contested cases the names of all involved will remain anonymous and the opinions of the guests are their own.

The BIGGEST and most heartfelt THANK YOU to the bravery of our mystery client #1!

Summary

In this episode, Zinda Law Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kevin Tully, sits down with Zinda Law Group CEO and lead trial lawyer, Jack Zinda, to talk about how data can be used to create better efficiency in your practice. 

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why is tracking data important?
• Defining the terms 
• Compiling your data
• How to use data
• Getting your team aligned 
• Other ways to use data

Why is Tracking Data important?

Jack speaks about what it means to use data with your business and why Zinda Law Group started using data in the first place. “It started with the practice of law and not how we ran the business.” Putting together a case and establishing good business practices are not that different. You do your research and see where the evidence leads you.

Defining the Terms

In this section, we learn about key performance indicators, metrics, activity numbers, and analytics. Jack explains the functions of these terms and how they all work together to create one final set of data. “If you’re not familiar with these terms, don’t beat yourself up. I wasn’t familiar with these terms when I first started my practice.” How seeing data as stats on a scoreboard instead of just numbers can greatly improve your ability to read analytics. 

Compiling Your Data

In order to use data effectively, you must first understand what purpose that data serves. Using the “3 to 5” rule for a specific subject can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. When logging data, make sure that you have a point person (and/or an automated program) who ensures that it stays organized. 

How to Use Data

“You want to make the data very simple to read and easy to use.” Using a color-coded system can be an effective way to address issues or acknowledge success. Data can also be effective outside of typical business needs. Jack shares a few insights on how they use data to determine which cases to take on or avoid.   

Getting Your Team Aligned

Getting your team to get on board with data collection can be a daunting task. Finding practical ways to explain how important data is, is a crucial part of having a team that’s aligned. A team that only puts minimal effort will end up with higher data errors, thus rendering it useless. 

Other Ways to Use Data

Jack explains how they use data from focus groups to help understand different demographics from state to state. “What if we had similar pieces of information that we could drive decisions on?” Just like insurance companies, we too can look at data to understand the value of a case.

You can reach Jack at jack@zindalaw.com. 

Books:

Measure What Matters

Traction 

Links: 

https://www.zoho.com/

https://www.salesforce.com
www.zindalaw.com