Today, my guest is Jonathan Merel. Jonathan owns a family law practice in the Chicago area that has experienced some pretty phenomenal growth as of late, now reaching 17 attorneys and support staff that are associated with those attorneys having started as a solo practitioner, and really grew as a law firm pretty quickly. One of the things we’re going to spend a fair amount of time talking about is how to attract talent to your law firm, because one of the things that most people are complaining about these days is their inability to find qualified candidates for the jobs that they do have open. Jonathan seems to crack that code a little bit. I think there’s something to be learned from this interview, and I hope you get something out of it.

In this episode, Neil and Jonathan discuss:

• Growing Jonathan’s firm from a solo firm to a firm of 17 attorneys. 
• How to attract talent to your law firm.
• Creating a culture where people want to be. 
• The onboarding and transition process. 

 

Key Takeaways:

• Build your book of business from the beginning. You never know if you’re going to want to go on your own or how it can further help in your career even if you stay in big law. 
• As you are learning how to be a lawyer, take note of what you do and don’t want your own practice to be like. 
• A personal one-on-one in an interview is important. You wouldn’t invite them to interview if they weren’t a good attorney, you’re looking to see if they are a good fit for your firm’s culture. 
• You need to take the time to focus on the business, not just in the business. That is how you are going to grow your firm and attract and retain the best talent. 

 

“Marketing is not just about targeting clients, it’s about targeting talent as well. I believe that by creating a good brand and a culture and an image, that will ultimately attract good talent.” —  Jonathan Merel

 

Get in touch with Jonathan Merel:

Website: https://chicagodivorce.com/ 

Email: jmerel@merelfamilylaw.com 

Show: https://www.merelfamilylaw.com/media/podcasts/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-merel-6629353/ 

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Ruby Receptionist – Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time – to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829

• The Net Profit CFO – Ryan Kimler works with attorneys who want to enjoy higher net profits without working longer or harder. With just 9 Simple Numbers, Ryan will help you drive more profit to your bottom line-and he won’t confuse you with all the details! Connect with Ryan at www.netprofitcfo.com.

Get in touch with Neil:

Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneur

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.

 

 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You’re the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Listen to the episode here

Today, my guest is Lauren Cohen. Lauren is an attorney originally from Canada, who now is located in South Florida, and licensed to practice law in two countries, which I think is pretty cool. She is the founder of a number of different businesses, all focusing around her primary mission – investing across borders. Her practice areas deal with all the different issues that people who are conducting business across borders have to deal with, whether it be immigration, finance, law, relocation services, business, commercial transactions, and more. Anything having to do or touching upon the transaction of business across international borders is something that Lauren and her team spent a lot of time helping their clients with. It’s a niche practice area that is very broad. Seems to be a contradiction of terms, but I think that summarizes it pretty well. 

 

In this episode, Neil and Lauren discuss:

• How Lauren fell into immigration law and created her full service company for immigrating to the US or Canada. 
• The business of practicing law.
• Being a lawyer running a business versus being an entrepreneur who is not a lawyer. 
• Removing yourself from the day to day running of the firm to build stronger procedures. 

 

Key Takeaways:

• Unless you’re working as a lawyer in a firm, where everything is handled for you, you’re going to have to learn to run a business. 
• Through failure you find success. You don’t know what you don’t know and what you do know is less than you think. 
• Collaboration and business relationships can change the game for your law firm. 
• Being in touch and being available can be both a blessing and a curse in your firm. 

 

“It’s always about collaborating and building trusted relationships and knowing that you don’t know everything. You need to be able to say and acknowledge that and bring in team members that complement what you do and can help you to build a stronger, scalable business.” —  Lauren Cohen

 

Get in touch with Lauren:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eCouncilInc 

Website: https://laurenesq.com/ 

Website: https://realestateacrossborders.com/ 

Email: asklawuren@laurenesq.com 

Show: https://laurenesq.com/latest-episodes 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecouncilinc/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investing_across_borders/ 

 

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Ruby Receptionist – Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time – to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829

• Coach Rockwell – Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205

• The Net Profit CFO – Ryan Kimler works with attorneys who want to enjoy higher net profits without working longer or harder. With just 9 Simple Numbers, Ryan will help you drive more profit to your bottom line-and he won’t confuse you with all the details! Connect with Ryan at www.netprofitcfo.com.

Get in touch with Neil:

Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneur

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.

 

 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

 

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You’re the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Listen to the episode here

Today, my guest is Demir Bentley, a productivity coach! Now, I am the poster child for someone who needs help in becoming more productive. I like to think of myself as productive, but my Achilles’ heel is planning. I am not a good planner. And that is where Demir really shines. This interview to me was personal and mind blowing. He has some really great ideas on how to take that giant leap, just one step at a time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

 

In this episode, Neil and Demir discuss:

• Demir’s journey from a background of burnout and overwhelm to being a productivity coach. 
• Unique challenges the law industry has in regards to productivity. 
• The necessary customizations of solutions and willingness to change. 
• Planning your week to win your week and structuring it as a reward. 

 

Key Takeaways:

• The biggest hangups in the legal community to becoming more productive are the billable hour and the this-is-how-it-is-isms. 
• Leave everything you touch 1% better for just 3 months. And you will be better than you have been in years without realizing it. 
• Making changes will take less time than you think it will – you just need to start. 
• The smallest thing you can do to maximize your productivity is to plan your week every single week. 

 

“If you keep working on the things that you’re willing to work on, it’s just a matter of time before you get the willingness to work on the things you weren’t willing to work on.” —  Demir Bentley

 

Get in touch with Demir Bentley:

Website: https://winningtheweek.com/ & https://lifehackmethod.com/ 

Book: Winning the Week – coming July 12, 2022! https://winningtheweek.com/  

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/lifehackbootcamp 

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Ruby Receptionist – Virtual receptionist & live call services that will help you grow your office (and save money), one call at a time – to learn more, go to callruby.com/lawentrepreneur or call 844.895.7829

• Coach Rockwell – Mark Rockwell works with lawyers who are frustrated by their inability to scale up and become more profitable. He helps them create their vision, and implement an operating platform that builds healthy, thriving law firms. Reach out to him at mark@coachrockwell.com or 503.784.7205

• The Net Profit CFO – Ryan Kimler works with attorneys who want to enjoy higher net profits without working longer or harder. With just 9 Simple Numbers, Ryan will help you drive more profit to your bottom line-and he won’t confuse you with all the details! Connect with Ryan at www.netprofitcfo.com.

Get in touch with Neil:

Website: https://thelawentrepreneur.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lawentrepreneur

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelawentrepreneur/?ref=hl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyralawfirm/

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please head to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating & review for the show! It only takes a moment, and really helps me to reach new listeners. You can also head to the website at TheLawEntrepreneur.com for more information on the podcast and my legal services.

 

 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

 

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You’re the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Listen to the episode here