Personal Development

Many lawyers underestimate the impact that mental illness can have on an individual or family. It can be difficult to admit that you have a mental health problem in your life. Secondly, it can be just as difficult in getting the people you know to understand your situation without making any kinds of judgments. As a result, here are six reasons why you should make your mental health an important priority in your life. 1. Your Situation Will Improve if You Get Help Your anxieties and fears can be challenging to manage and more than likely you will need some help. Just as you talk to your doctor about your regular health, you should not be hesitant in seeking help for your mental health. If left untreated, your anxieties and fears may not go away. 2. Drugs and Alcohol Are Not the Answer Drugs and alcohol can make your problems more complicated. Many people have said that drugs and alcohol will only add more problems to your situation. Be smart and learn how to cope with your mental health issues by talking to a qualified professional. There are many health professionals in your area that can give you some ideas on where you can go for assistance. 3. You Will Save Time and Money Eventually, you will have to confront your fears and mental health issues. Save yourself the time and heartache and confront your problems now rather than later. You will save months of struggling by getting help right away. The sooner you get assistance the faster you will start getting some relief. 4. You Are Not Alone Everyone deals with fear, stress, and anxiety in one’s life whether your friends and others care to admit it. In addition, do not be embarrassed that you are getting help. We all learn new things from others on a daily basis and learning how to manage your anxieties is no different. In addition, your goal is to get your life back on track and not to get everyone’s approval. If people start asking you questions, just say you’re dealing with stress. Most people can relate to dealing with stress and anxiety! 5. Do Not Make the Mistake of Doing Nothing There are many people who struggled with anxiety and other mental health related issues, and they tried to ignore their problems. As a result, some of these people struggled on a daily basis and eventually things became more difficult. It can be scary asking for assistance, but the key is to take things one day at a time. 6. You Have a Variety of Options There are many mental health support groups, organizations, and counselors in your area that can help get your life back on track. Talk to your doctor to get more details on where you can go for some assistance. Help is available but you must be willing to make the choice of getting better. Remember that every problem has a solution. You just have to make the effort to find the answers. 

In a highly globalized world, commercial disputes are more likely to involve cross-cultural features. (“Cultural features” refers to aspects like language, expression, body language, value systems, governments, and negotiation styles that differ from region to region.) Each litigant’s unique culture, identity, or cultural value system may pose unique challenges to resolving disputes. This adds a layer of complexity in negotiations, further signifying the importance of a mediator’s cross-cultural competency to facilitate the resolution process. When negotiating across cultures, different perspectives may result in potential misunderstandings, which can reduce the chance of exploring and finding solutions that integrate various perspectives and resolve disputes effectively. These tips can provide you with valuable tools to add to your complex dispute mediation toolbox. Actively Recognize and Identify Cultural Differences While obvious cultural differences in one’s tone, expression, or language may be easily identifiable, it takes a well-trained mediator to effectively navigate non-obvious cultural differences. Recognizing the subtle cultural differences such as mannerism and business etiquette require stronger observation. In a multicultural resolution environment, the actions, gestures, and speech patterns encountered by individuals are susceptible to a wide array of interpretations, potentially leading to misunderstandings and hindering cooperation. The main challenge arises from perceiving parties through our own cultural perspectives. Cooperation can become particularly difficult when these value systems clash. For instance, someone from Saudi Arabia or Japan may take a longer time culturally to establish trust, the slower pace of which could be misinterpreted as a lack of enthusiasm for reaching a resolution by someone from the United States. Meanwhile, the Saudi party might view the American’s fast-paced approach to reaching an agreement as disrespectful and overly transactional, lacking long-term interest in actual dispute resolution. In such cases, it is essential for the party, and mediator, to consider the perspective of the opposing party’s cultural value system rather than solely relying on his or her own. However, achieving this understanding is challenging and requires competence in navigating delicate cultural nuances. Recognizing the cultural divide adds another dimension to resolving the dispute. It requires more adjustment than a typical behavioral analysis in a domestic setting so the mediator must actively recognize and identify cultural barriers. The mediator’s strongest currency in resolving a dispute is arguably the trust of the parties, and cultural nuances affect how parties perceive authority, build relationships, and establish trust. To remedy often-unintentional divides in dispute resolution, one would be served well by becoming more competent in their cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence refers to an outsider’s innate capacity to interpret unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures in a manner consistent with the expectations of the person’s fellow country persons. Possessing cultural intelligence can assist the mediator with the ability to build trust and avoid roadblocks because a mediator with cultural intelligence knows how to properly interpret social cues. For instance, a seemingly innocuous thumbs-up gesture, commonplace for Americans, between Greek or Iranian parties, could have disastrous consequences, as it will be deeply offensive to those parties. Similarly, discerning facial expressions accurately is crucial, as it distinguishes between various possible cues. A smile, for example, may not universally signify happiness, and a nod may not always indicate agreement but rather understanding or a simple “I hear you”. Throughout these interactions, understanding the context is paramount. Context serves as a guide for mediators, informing them of the appropriate responses in various situations. Ultimately, establishing relationships and fostering trust, respect, active listening, and open collaboration are crucial. By actively learning, cultivating self-awareness, and demonstrating empathy, individuals can develop the necessary skills to discern the appropriate cues, sharply understand context, and overcome challenges in cross-cultural negotiations. Beware of Implicit Bias The value system of a party influences his or her approach to negotiations. Unconscious implicit bias is our natural preference for people who look like us, think like us and behave like us. Once mediators understand their own behavioral patterns and the blind spots of other parties, they will properly respond to tone, negotiation style, body language, hand gestures, and ways each party may handle rejection. A proper response is situational and depends on the circumstances. When unsure how to handle a matter, caucusing and respectfully asking a party about the nuances involved may be a reasonable path to avoid a roadblock. Mediators are wise to admit the potential for ignorance on the subject matter to facilitate a transparent discussion. Seeking understanding of the system at work by facilitating a resolution-oriented conversation about difficulties that unfamiliar customs pose can in fact show respect for these differences and facilitate trust-building. The parties will likely appreciate mediator’s effort and the good faith shown, which can help avoid ill feelings that may lead to an impasse. Calibrate the Process Prior to the mediation, in preparation and during the joint conference, mediators are encouraged to address cultural differences. Additionally, in the opening session, whether done jointly or in a caucus, the mediator has another opportunity to present ground rules that demonstrate the mediator’s cognitive grip on the cross-cultural features of the dispute. For example, in the opening, a mediator with parties of Eastern and Western culture would be served well by addressing decision-making processes of the negotiating parties and how each company would approach corporate decision-making. In addition to adjusting the process itself, the mediator must think critically about the underlying needs of each party, how those needs may be driven by their cultural values, and how that positions their interests. Mediator should stay flexible during the proceeding and when necessary, recalibrate their strategy. For example, a mediator may recognize that a party is at unease by the pace of the process. It may be too fast, or too slow for that party. The mediator may benefit by caucusing and discussing the pace of the process with each party separately, and to provide context of the other party’s norm to avoid misunderstandings between the parties. Include Cultural Competency in Preparation While we often prepare for the legal aspects of a case, it is essential for the mediator to also prepare for the unique cultural elements of a dispute. Become aware of your own and others’ potential biases beforehand and anticipate how these elements may impact the proceeding. A wise mediator recognizes the process of decision-making is different in every culture. It is important for mediators to familiarize themselves with the unique process for each party’s culture and adjust their process accordingly. Be aware of the actors not in the room. Often, there may be informal influencers in each culture who may not be present at the mediation proceeding and yet make or break a deal. As such, the conscious mediator must find out early on who the players are and how each party will make a decision. Use Empathy to Avoid Pitfalls It is quite common when confronting cultural differences for people to oversimplify their counterpart and rely on stereotypes. Instead of focusing on stereotypes, shifting the attention to prototypes, or “cultural averages on dimensions of behavior or values,” can better allow both the parties and the mediator to understand each other’s behavior and adapt their negotiating technique to that prototype. Having empathy can help the mediator avoid generalization, stereotypes, and other similar pitfalls (like, Middle Eastern people may enjoy “haggling” or Thai people are always welcoming). Yet, each party is an individual who may not conform to common stereotypes. Each culture may possess different expectations, practices, and experiences that affect communication, trust-building, negotiations, and dispute resolution. When the mediator is aware of these differences, he or she is better equipped to guide the parties to a resolution. Whether or not the parties settle, adopting these strategies makes an impasse due to cross-cultural unawareness of the mediator unlikely. Originally published in the Daily Report and reprinted with permission.

When we talk about social media presence, we’re referring to the visibility you or your firm has across social platforms, allowing you to connect and engage with your community. While it’s possible for a lawyer to build a thriving practice without a strong social media presence, the truth is that it’s much more challenging. A robust presence helps attract followers, generate leads, and establish your firm as a trusted authority in your industry. How can you create a presence that adds value to your audience and builds your reputation? Let me walk you through some key strategies for attorneys looking to level up their social media game. 1. Take the Time to Engage Social media is one of the only channels where your clients and prospects feel they have real access to you—and you can respond to them. It’s important to engage in intentional ways with your target audience. Seek opportunities for your followers to engage with you at a deeper level, such as creating polls or asking open-ended questions. 2. Understand Community Management It’s possible to build a real community around your firm but to do so, you need to be proactive about reaching out to partners, industry leaders, and clients. You should also be proactive about creating and participating in conversations. Think of social media like a networking event—just being present isn’t enough; get in there and meet some people! A great way to do this is to engage with prospective clients and answer questions on social platforms. 3. Remember: Out of Sight, Out of Mind It’s important to be consistent and post regularly. You don’t want someone to follow you for valuable insights, only to realize you haven’t posted in two weeks. A lot of firms start off strong, posting every day. Then these activities are the first to be cut during busy times. If you’re running out of ideas, try limiting the platforms you are active on, or simply asking followers what they’d like to hear more about. 4. It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint Many growing firms are excited about what social media can do for them and expect results right away. However, social media requires a long game. It’s important to remember your goals and what brings you closer to your audience. That means never paying for followers or engaging in gimmicks that will attract useless traffic. 5. Keep a Firm Voice and Aesthetic Just like you want to be consistent with your posting schedule, you need to be consistent in how you display your brand. You should have one brand identity across all of your marketing channels and communications. Ideally, if someone sees a post from you, they can recognize your brand from other elements like your website. 6. Research Competitors It’s OK to be a little nosy when it comes to people competing for your business. Find them on social media and see what they do well. It’s OK to gain some inspiration for new ideas (without outright copying). Can you tell how your overlapping audience is perceiving them online? 7. Capitalize on Trends Trends are an essential component of social media for attorneys. Every few weeks you probably see some form of trend, challenge, or current event being discussed. When that happens, ask yourself how you can organically participate. It shouldn’t feel forced, but it’s a good idea to jump on a trend if you have something to add to the conversation. 8. Be Vocal About Issues When Appropriate These days, potential clients want to work with people whose values align with their own. That means they want to see what you stand for and hear your opinions on important topics—particularly legal ones. If there is an important issue being discussed in your industry, you should chime in with your opinion. 9. Use High-Quality Images People scroll through so much online content these days, they can spot the difference between bad graphics and good ones. Invest in great images, video content, infographics, and other visuals. It will make you appear polished and professional. 10. Listen to Your Audience—Then Make Adjustments Social monitoring and listening can provide some really powerful insights. You’ll learn more about your industry as a whole, your competitors, and what potential clients think of different firms. Use that information to inform your brand strategy. For example, does it appear as though some people are disappointed that a bigger firm isn’t offering a certain practice area? Make sure you publish what your firm does. 11. Always Optimize for SEO Many people don’t realize that SEO plays a role in social media for attorneys just as it does with websites. However, there’s a lot of value in optimizing your SEO profiles to make it easier for people to find you. One of the simplest tactics is using the right hashtags, but you should also use researched keywords in descriptions and have working links that go to other online channels. 12. Be Transparent About Mistakes It’s easy to find social media blunders online, and if you spend enough time on social, you may make one yourself. In these instances, own it and address it. Think about how you can learn from it and don’t be afraid to share these insights with your followers. 13. Treat Platforms Uniquely All social media platforms are different and what works for one might not work for another. It’s important to note the difference between repurposing content and duplicating it. What works on Facebook may not work on LinkedIn. You don’t want to simply paste the same content into every social media platform. Customize your approach to the different social media tools. 14. Add Value Over Promotion Everyone realizes you’re on social media to gain followers and promote your business. However, you have to provide value to people, or you won’t get those followers in the first place. Remember that social media users don’t go online to see ads for legal services. Balance your promotional posts with those that inform, educate, or simply entertain. Give people something to come back for. 15. Use Automated Tools There are third-party tools available to help you publish, monitor, and track posts. Many also allow you to schedule posts across various platforms, which can be a huge time saver. The analytics you can get from such tools are also invaluable. Try reviewing this list of social media marketing tools to see which one might be worth trying. 16. Focus on Accessibility Too many content creators don’t realize how important accessible social content can be. Things like captions and alt text can make a big difference for your followers. 17. Use Data to Inform Your Strategy Analytics are great for learning how certain things performed, but the work doesn’t stop there. Data should guide your future efforts as well. Learn more about what is interesting to your audience at various stages so that you can create more successful content. Start by reviewing your analytics dashboard and looking for trends. 18. Be Selective About Platforms It’s tempting to think you should jump onto every social media platform and figure it out from there, but that’s not a good use of time. Do some research to figure out where your audience spends time, and prioritize those social media accounts. 19. Consider User-Generated Content (UGC) It can be difficult to come up with new ideas for social media. Why not involve your followers? User-generated content allows you to reach new audiences and lets your followers engage with you more on social networks. UGC also offers a form of social proof, which prospects and new clients will find reassuring. 20. Promote Your Social Media Accounts Give people as many opportunities to find you and follow you on social media as possible. Include links to social accounts in your email footer, for example. Think about how you might share social media information on things like your website, your business cards, or other collateral. Make it easy for people to find you on social. 21. Learn New Features Social media platforms are always evolving and offering new functionality that you may or may not want to take advantage of. You can’t do anything with these features if you don’t know what is being offered. 22. Collaborate With Influencers One effective yet underutilized strategy for attorneys is to collaborate with influencers in the legal or adjacent industries. Influencers can help amplify your voice and expand your reach to new audiences. Consider teaming up with respected legal bloggers, industry thought leaders, or even satisfied clients with strong social followings. Authentic partnerships can position your firm as relatable and credible, while showcasing your expertise to a wider audience. Takeaway Building your social media presence is an ongoing effort, but a worthwhile one. You shouldn’t ever consider this job done, because you can always gain more followers or try new features. Make the time to keep exploring social media for attorneys and creating great content, and you will enhance your online visibility exponentially.

Delegation isn’t just a skill; it’s an art—and let’s face it, one of the hardest to master. As a lawyer and leader, it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re the only one who can do things the “right way.” But the reality is, clinging to every detail isn’t just exhausting—it’s holding you, your team, and your firm back. I know this because I’ve been there. Back in the day, when I started my law firm I leaned into doing more than I ought to have—client work, marketing, networking, admin work, everything. It was a different story when I started my coaching business because I had learned to let go, focus on the things I was good at and that moved the needle for my business, that I truly experienced the power of leveraging my team. Delegation is about creating time and space for what only you can do: lead, strategize, and envision the future. In this post, I’ll break down the four levels of delegation and, more importantly, how you can embrace the pinnacle—Designing—to achieve growth and freedom. Four Common Mindset Barriers to Delegation Let’s start with the mental roadblocks. If you’ve ever hesitated to delegate, chances are one of these is to blame: Fear of Losing Control I see this all the time with my coaching clients—and I’ve struggled with it myself. We worry that if we hand something off, the quality will suffer. But here’s the kicker: trying to control everything creates bottlenecks and limits your firm’s potential. Perfectionism Lawyers often tell me, “No one will do it as well as I do.” That may be true initially, but without delegating, your team will never rise to meet or even surpass your standards. Remember, perfection is the enemy of progress. Fear of Being Less Essential I call this the “busy equals valuable” trap. If your calendar isn’t packed, do you still feel like a leader? Delegation gives you the space to breathe and think strategically, which is where your real value lies. The Time Investment Misperception “It’s faster/easier if I just do it.” Sound familiar? While that might be true in the short term, it’s a myth in the long run. Training someone else to handle repeatable tasks pays dividends over time. The Four Levels of Delegation Let’s walk through the progression of delegation. Understanding where you are—and where you need to go—is the key to transforming how you lead. Level 1: Doing Here, you’re stuck in the weeds, executing tasks yourself. It’s exhausting and unsustainable. When I started Advocatus Coaching, I wasted hours scheduling appointments and managing my inbox. Once I delegated these tasks, my productivity skyrocketed. Level 2: Deciding This is the micromanagement zone—you assign tasks but require constant approvals. It’s a step forward, but not enough to truly free up your time or empower your team. Level 3: Delegating At this level, you delegate both the task and the authority to complete it. Your team begins to take ownership, but there’s still a gap between independence and innovation. Level 4: Designing Now we’re talking. Designing is where you, as a leader, define the vision, align your team’s goals, and trust them to innovate and execute with excellence. What Does Designing Look Like? Imagine you’re a managing partner tasked with expanding your firm’s business litigation practice. Instead of dictating every detail, you outline the high-level goal: become the go-to firm in the region within three years. Then, you empower your team to figure out the best way to achieve that goal. One partner creates a targeted client acquisition strategy. Another revamps internal processes to handle increased caseloads efficiently. By letting go, you’re not just delegating—you’re cultivating leaders within your firm. Mindset Shifts for Designing To lead at this level, you must adopt two critical mindset shifts: From Doer to Visionary: Stop focusing on how tasks get done and start focusing on where you want your firm to go. When I stopped designing every marketing campaign and instead shared my vision for what I wanted my brand to represent, my team produced incredible results—sometimes better than I imagined. From Manager to Leader: You’re no longer there to supervise; you’re there to inspire. Trust your team to take ownership, and watch them grow into the roles you’ve envisioned for them. A Real-World Example of Designing Delegation One of my clients, a managing partner at a mid-sized law firm, was overwhelmed. She was juggling operations, client work, and managing her team—and had no time for strategic thinking. Recognizing the bottleneck, she hired a COO and gave them full ownership of the firm’s operational efficiency. This move freed her to focus on two critical areas: building client relationships and dedicating time to strategic planning. For the first time, she had space to anticipate market trends, align her team’s efforts with long-term goals, and explore growth opportunities. The results were transformative and her ability to step back and think strategically made all the difference. Principles for Success in Designing Delegation Clarity of Vision: Define the “why” and the end goal, then let your team determine the “how.” Example: When delegating client onboarding, outline the ideal experience and allow your team to design the process. Trust and Autonomy: Let go of micromanagement. You hired your team for a reason—let them shine. Example: Entrust your associates to develop new legal strategies for complex cases, stepping in only for final approval. Continuous Feedback: Create a culture of learning. Celebrate successes and use setbacks as opportunities for growth. Example: After a major project, host a debrief to identify lessons learned and refine processes for the future. The Time to Start Is Now Delegation isn’t about giving up control—it’s about building a stronger, more resilient team and creating space for yourself to lead effectively. What’s one task you can delegate at Level 4 today? The sooner you start, the closer you’ll get to transforming your leadership—and your firm’s future.  My clients are the best attorneys in their fields. They’re managing partners and law firm CEOs who are comfortable with being uncomfortable, who think big to keep their firms thriving. They increase revenue, master their time and focus, improve performance, and ultimately enjoy more freedom with less burnout. You can too. Schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery session with me here, or send me an email.

Recently, I witnessed a Level 17 meet his doom. I have attended many sentencing hearings. For context, the federal justice system uses a unique numbering system called the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to determine the punishment due in relation to the extent of the crime. This system was implemented to bring fairness to individuals facing confinement. It starts with a base number, you add or subtract numbers based on conduct, and just like that, you have the sentence. Most client’s initial words are “I am sorry.” They are not sorry for what they did necessarily, but sorry for getting caught certainly. However, as time goes on, grief, financial demise, and stress bring most of them to their breaking point. In this case, the defendant’s words were different. When it comes to the business of sentencing, it can be much like golf. The ultimate objective is to reach the lowest score, which equates to the lowest possible level of sentencing. As I sat there in my best suit, I knew I was ultimately there for moral support for the attorney. I anticipated the arguments that day would follow the same flow as many I had seen before. Yes, he was a good man at his core, he had health issues and a business full of strife. Yet, the entire feeling of this sentencing hearing was anything other than what I had experienced in past cases. The case had been one of many in the court system that suffered delays due to the pandemic, but like all cases, it was time for this one to end. Did he commit the crime he was accused of? Yes, and he admitted so. What exactly was his crime? Simply put, he failed to pay his proper amount of taxes due, which came to a total that was just shy of $1,500,000. My norm in cases like this is that I am called to testify. That was not the case in this scenario. When it comes to financial crimes, more often than not, a forensic accountant is involved in order to unearth how vast the financial mismanagement and theft are. In tax cases, they call it uncovering the “tax loss”. After all, who is better than a forensic accountant to discover and calculate the amount of the tax loss? However, on a rare occasion, I am asked to attend the proceedings merely for moral support and to pat the attorney on the back. My role is to congratulate them on their well-thought-out argument, and their eloquence of delivery, which may reduce the sentence from 36 months to 34 and so on. I have seen all the playbooks. I have witnessed a wide range of reactions to sentences that are handed down. Rarely do I feel for the client, while almost always I feel sorry for the judge. Judges tend to hear the same old story when it comes to these white-collar crime cases, day after day, year over year, until they retire. At the end of the day, they do their best to administer justice. While this white-collar crime case was very much the same as I am sure the judge had heard far too many times in his career, what was different was the marked eloquence of the judge. At one point, I thought I was listening to Kevin Costner narrate Dancing with Wolves. The judge was clear and concise with his words, “Billy, you are a great man. You came to this country with $500 in your pocket. Over 40 years, you became a citizen, amassed $50 million dollars, gave extensively to charity, raised 4 outstanding children, and employed many. I have no doubt you will never do this again. Billy, why did you do it?” Billy looked up at the judge and said, “Sir, I don’t know.” The judge followed by saying, “Billy, many walk into this courtroom with far less. Having done much less. They will work their entire life paying for what they did and serve lengthy sentences. For me to grant you less than 15 months is not fair to those who have stood here before. I acknowledge you’re a good man, charitable, a loving husband, father and grandfather, a good boss, however, your sentence is Level 17, 15 months.” As he stood there taking in his sentence, he could only look back at his family. Most people become aware of their reality and impending future doom once they have arrived at sentencing day so a sentence is not a surprise, it is expected. As he turned to them, he realized they were sobbing profusely. Were they crying because Dad was going to jail? Sure. However, I think they were crying because they were disappointed in Dad. For Billy, that was the true cost and his true punishment. He still has money and most certainly will survive in jail, but what I don’t know is whether or not he will ever be able to erase the disappointment he now knows he caused his children and his family. While he may be released from his sentence after 15 months, he will likely carry a life sentence of regret. At that moment, Billy realized greed won, and it was now ensuring he would pay the ultimate price.

Society benefits when knowledgeable people produce thought leadership. Get off the sidelines, get in the game, and start producing thought leadership. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come out and say it: Shame on you for not producing more thought leadership. If you have knowledge and wisdom and insights to share, you’re a selfish jerk for not regularly producing thought leadership content. The world is a better place when knowledgeable people—particularly professional services providers, but especially attorneys—take the time to share their knowledge, insights, and wisdom with the world. Society benefits when knowledgeable people produce thought leadership. Don’t believe me? Here are just some of the groups of people who suffer when you do not regularly produce thought leadership. 1. Current Clients and Prospective Clients Your current and prospective clients need to learn about relevant legal and business/industry developments that could impact their day-to-day business operations or lives. When you fail to regularly produce thought leadership, you’re robbing current clients and prospective clients of access to additional information to help them navigate whatever issues they might be facing, especially ones that your firm is not helping them with at the moment. 2. People Who Might Never Be Your Clients When you’re not regularly producing thought leadership, you’re failing to educate and make the world better for people who might never be a client of yours, but who could use the information you’re putting out into the world to help them with their legal issues or business issues. They might never be able to afford you. They might never be able to afford a lesser attorney than you or a lesser law firm than yours. But your thought leadership could help guide them through a difficult legal or business issue they’re facing without having to engage you or another attorney or law firm. Your thought leadership could provide the key to helping them work through a difficult situation and changing their life for the better. 3. Politicians and Regulators Ok, look, I realize politicians and regulators aren’t the most beloved groups of people in society. But when you don’t produce thought leadership about certain legal or business issues that are fixable through legislation or regulation, you’re robbing politicians and regulators of the ability to understand those issues and you’re keeping them in the dark about them. When you produce thought leadership regarding issues that can be resolved through legislative or regulatory means, that content can inform and educate politicians and regulators about these issues. More importantly, that content can also persuade those politicians and regulators to take action and actually do something to resolve those issues. 4. Mission-Driven Organizations Mission-driven organizations need to stay aware of wrongdoing and other problems and issues they exist to combat so that they can take up those battles. When you produce thought leadership that spotlights this wrongdoing or these problems/issues, you provide a service to mission-driven organizations. Not every organization will have the financial and human resources to monitor all of the legal and business developments that touch on the work they do. But their ability to monitor your and other attorneys’ and law firms’ thought leadership regarding those developments will allow them to stay apprised of the developments they need to know about in order to mobilize their organizations’ resources and fulfill their missions. 5. Pro Bono Legal Services Organizations On a related note, your failure to produce thought leadership content also negatively impacts pro bono legal services organizations that provide legal services to the public. These pro bono organizations benefit from the thought leadership content you produce. They learn from the knowledge, wisdom, and insights you share, which they wouldn’t normally have access to unless they were working with you on a particular pro bono matter. Your ongoing thought leadership content helps educate them and keep them apprised of legal developments and best practices they should be aware of when they’re not actively working with you on a matter. 6. Your Employees When you choose not to produce thought leadership content, you’re negatively impacting your employees. Your employees benefit from the increased revenues that flow into your firm when your thought leadership leads to more client matters. Those revenues allow you to pay your employees more. They allow you to offer them more benefits. And, they allow you to invest in providing them a better work environment. (By the way, these expenditures should help keep your employees happy, which should help keep them working for you as opposed to searching for greener pastures.) 7. Your Fellow Equity Partners On a related note, when you abstain from engaging in thought leadership, you’re neither helping to increase the size of the revenue/profit pie you share with your fellow equity partners, nor the size of the pie that belongs to you. This is a problem if you’re the biggest rainmaker among your equity partners. If you don’t produce thought leadership and bring clients in, your firm might not survive. But it’s also a problem if you’re not the biggest rainmaker. If you can’t keep up with your equity partners’ revenue expectations for you, you could cause discord within the group of partners, and perhaps even be ousted. 8. Your Family You didn’t think I’d go there, did you? Well, I did. Your family suffers when you do not engage in thought leadership content. You’re preventing them from gaining access to more resources and benefiting from the opportunities those resources may afford. Why? Because your lack of thought leadership is limiting your ability to bring more client matters into your firm, which limits your ability to bring more money into your household. 9. You Last but not least, you suffer when you don’t regularly produce thought leadership. When you don’t engage in thought leadership, you’re preventing yourself from getting to a higher level of professional satisfaction. Perhaps that’s in the form of more revenue you’re bringing in and more compensation you’re taking home. Perhaps that’s in the form of only working on client matters that interest you. Perhaps that’s in the form of more personal and professional freedom that comes from being able to hire people to delegate work to. Perhaps that’s more freedom in the form of taking more time off or exploring other professional or personal interests. When you do not regularly produce thought leadership, you’re preventing yourself from enjoying your life more than you do currently. Regularly producing thought leadership helps you do well by doing good. Don’t be a selfish jerk. The world is a better place, and society benefits, when you create thought leadership content that thrusts your knowledge, wisdom, and insights into the world. And guess what? You and your family will benefit as well. Stop complaining about your lack of time to create and publish thought leadership content. Find the time to do so. Work with a colleague. Hire an outside ghostwriter. Or simply do a better job of managing your time. Do whatever you have to do to regularly produce thought leadership. You’ll do well by doing good. 

This past weekend I was reading something and saw the phrase “be the change you want to see.” I’ve heard it before and have written about the benefits of change. It struck me as I believe change and trying new things is the road to success in business, as well as in life and happiness. When days are like being on a treadmill, life is monotonous. Maybe it resonated with me because I’m in the middle of a two-week long arbitration hearing and in many ways the days are like being on a treadmill. It read to me as a manifesto saying “take action” and be in control of your own narrative. In looking into and thinking about the benefits of change, I found and remembered that this saying is part of a quote from Ghandi, which says, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world also change.” His point is obvious: if you change what you’re doing, the options and potential results change as opposed to waiting for others to change or, in most people’s thinking, for others to magically help them. An example is waiting and assuming you will meet people who are beneficial to your business instead of having a plan to meet people and asking those who know you well to connect you with others. In that case, the change is taking action instead of waiting for things to “happen” to or for you. The point is to change. Take action now instead of waiting to see what others do, or don’t do. This is a personal call to action that you are solely in control of. We all have heard the stories of entrepreneurs who had many failures before hitting it big. When you implement change, you will fail many times. Think of it like a mailing campaign where success may be having a 5% response rate. For me, that means that a high percentage of the people I connect together, or I that I am connected with, will not lead to new or increased business. If this sounds bad to you, it’s reality because not every change or new action you take will be a home run. Plus, the person you meet for lunch today may refer a great customer to you a year later based on that one meeting. You really never know! None of this happens if you don’t change and try new things. You need to take the first step to create change, whether in relation to your work, to self-improvement, or to improving your community, such as volunteering or joining a non-profit board. Once you start, others will take note and they will have the opportunity to join in, thereby providing a better opportunity for the change you’ve implemented to succeed. Even if you fail, you will learn, which improves your chances for success in the future. Think of the change you want to see in your world and the world at large. Then set goals and analyze the steps to get there, which will lead you to the actions necessary to bring the change you seek. Don’t let the challenge to change hold you back. As the saying goes, the first step is the hardest. Challenges you have no control over always will come up as part of life, but by affecting change in yourself and through your actions you’re doing more than sitting by and waiting for things to happen or just magically work out. You control the change you want to see, and you should start now.

Thought leadership can help assure your clients that your law firm was—and still is—the right choice.  I often say that thought leadership is a Swiss Army Knife. It can provide marketing benefits, business development benefits, and recruiting benefits, among other kinds of benefits. Here’s one of those “other kinds” of benefits: It can serve as a buyer’s remorse elimination tool. Obviously, a law firm’s thought leadership can’t overcome the firm’s bad client service, bad advice, or bad results. But if a firm is providing at least average client service, advice, and results, a firm’s consistent, strategic thought leadership can reinforce to a client that it made the right choice by hiring that firm. Thought Leadership Can Help Eliminate Buyer’s Remorse Assuming that a law firm is consistently publishing thought leadership that is relevant, valuable, and compelling, here are five ways that its thought leadership can be a buyer’s remorse elimination tool. First, it continuously reinforces expertise and authority on the part of the law firm, thus validating a client’s choice to hire that firm. When a firm publishes thought leadership content regarding issues that are relevant to the client and their industry, and that demonstrates the knowledge, wisdom, and insights the firm’s attorneys have, that content should reassure the client that the firm has the kind of knowledge, wisdom, and insights necessary to help them resolve the legal or business issues they’re facing. Second, a law firm’s thought leadership provides ongoing value for a client beyond the work the firm is doing on the client’s active matter(s). By regularly producing thought leadership regarding topics relevant to a client, such as various legal or business issues they might encounter, a firm is providing free, “value-add” educational material to the client. (The education fueling that material, by the way, was paid for by previous clients whose matters allowed the firm’s attorneys to develop the knowledge, wisdom, and insights displayed in the thought leadership.) The education a client receives from this educational material communicates to them that they will benefit from being a client of their law firm in ways that other law firms may not be able to match. Third, a law firm’s thought leadership can help shape a client’s understanding of complex legal or business issues, eventually leading to them being more satisfied with the firm’s work. Thought leadership exploring the messiness or uncertainty surrounding particular legal or business issues can help manage a client’s expectations when they’re facing similar issues. They’ll (hopefully) be realistic about the legal or business issues they’ve hired a firm to assist them with if they’re given context about those issues in a way that’s detached from the work the firm is doing on their active matter(s). If a client sees through thought leadership that the legal or business environment is particularly uncertain and difficult to navigate, it helps them understand that the resolution of their legal or business issues might not be a slam dunk. Of course, their attorneys would tell them the same thing in connection with their active matter(s). But when a client infers that on their own from their law firm’s thought leadership, it reinforces what the attorney said without making it seem like the attorney was managing the client’s expectations in a self-serving manner. Fourth, a law firm’s thought leadership shows a client that the firm has capabilities beyond those it’s employing in connection with the client’s active matter(s). When a law firm produces thought leadership that covers other legal and business issues beyond those it’s helping a particular client with at the moment, it shows the client that the firm has a wide range of services the client can avail themselves of down the road if necessary. This thought leadership should comfort a client that the firm they’re working with has a sophisticated service offering and, based on the various areas of law it practices, the firm’s attorneys will be able to “issue spot” potential issues their colleagues can advise their clients on further, making it easy for clients to nip potential issues in the bud. Fifth, and finally, a law firm’s thought leadership can help make a client feel valued and appreciated when the law firm co-produces that thought leadership with that client, and thus ingratiates itself with the client. Whether it’s co-authoring an article or whitepaper, or co-producing a video or podcast episode, the process of crafting co-produced thought leadership can help build and nurture a relationship between a law firm’s attorneys and their clients. The latter are getting the benefit of being promoted and marketed, and being given a platform, through their law firm’s thought leadership. How could a client not feel valued and appreciated when a law firm is asking them to participate in thought leadership at no cost to them, with no significant burden placed on them (because the firm is doing the majority of the work), yet they get all the benefits of the publication of that thought leadership? The fact that a law firm is asking a client to go in with them on thought leadership sends a message to that client that they are a special client in the eyes of the law firm, which should help reduce any buyer’s remorse they’re feeling. A Smart Way to Put an End to a Client’s Second-Guessing When a client hires a law firm to handle a new matter, it’s often going to be concerned at first whether it made the right decision. A law firm’s strategic, consistent thought leadership program that’s regularly producing relevant, valuable, and compelling content in the eyes of that client can go a long way in eliminating the client’s concern that they made the wrong choice when they retained the firm to assist them with their legal or business issue.

TikTok’s rapid rise in popularity has made it a must-use platform for marketers. However, a recent study reveals that many brands are not effectively leveraging TikTok. For law firms considering TikTok as part of their marketing strategy, understanding these insights is crucial for success. The State of TikTok Content A recent study by DAIVID highlights a significant issue: 84% of branded TikTok videos struggle to capture attention or generate positive emotions, and 24% evoke strong negative reactions such as anxiety or disgust. This data underscores a critical challenge for law firms aiming to build their brand on this platform. Key Findings: Forgettable content: 60% of branded TikTok videos are rated below average in emotional response and brand recall. These videos often fail to engage viewers effectively, leaving them with a sense of confusion or boredom. Negative emotions: Nearly a quarter of branded videos trigger intense negative emotions. For law firms, these reactions can undermine credibility and damage reputations, which is particularly detrimental in the legal field where trust is paramount. Attention and engagement: On average, branded TikTok content generates 9% fewer positive emotions and attracts 2.5% less attention compared to the global average. This highlights the need for more strategic and engaging content to stand out in a crowded feed. Strategies for Law Firms to Succeed on TikTok To turn these challenges into opportunities, law firms need to adopt a strategic approach to their TikTok content: Create positive emotional impact: Focus on content that elicits positive emotions like hope, admiration, and amusement. For example, share success stories, client testimonials, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of your firm’s culture. This helps build trust and humanizes your brand. Avoid negative triggers: Ensure your content is clear, engaging, and free of jargon that could confuse viewers. Avoid complex legal terms and focus on delivering valuable information in an accessible way. This approach minimizes the risk of evoking negative emotions. Capture attention quickly: TikTok is known for its fast-paced content. Make sure your videos are visually appealing and start with a hook that grabs attention within the first few seconds. Use trending audio and hashtags to enhance visibility and relevance. Leverage analytics for improvement: Don’t just rely on basic metrics like views and likes. Use TikTok’s analytics tools to understand how your content impacts emotions and attention. TikTok Analytics: What to Track To measure the effectiveness of your TikTok content, focus on the following analytics: Watch time: Indicates how long viewers are staying on your videos. Higher watch times suggest engaging content. Engagement rate: Includes likes, comments, shares, and saves. High engagement rates typically mean your content resonates with viewers. Audience insights: Provides information about who is watching your videos, including demographics and interests. Tailor your content to match the preferences of your target audience. Completion rate: Shows the percentage of viewers who watch your video to the end. A high completion rate suggests your content is compelling and holds viewers’ attention. Types of Content to Post Law firms can explore various content types on TikTok to engage their audience effectively: Educational videos: Share quick legal tips, explain complex legal concepts, or provide insights into common legal issues. These videos can position your firm as a thought leader. Behind-the-scenes: Offer a glimpse into your firm’s culture, day-to-day operations, or team activities. This helps humanize your brand and build a personal connection with viewers. Client testimonials: Feature satisfied clients sharing their positive experiences. Authentic testimonials can build credibility and trust. Legal trends and news: Comment on recent legal developments or trends. Keeping your audience informed can enhance your firm’s relevance and authority in the field. Interactive content: Create polls, Q&A sessions, or challenges to engage your audience. Key Takeaways TikTok presents a powerful platform for law firms to engage with a broader audience, but success requires a thoughtful approach. By focusing on positive emotional impact, avoiding negative triggers, and leveraging analytics, your law firm can stand out and build a strong presence on TikTok.