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Atticus Law Firm and Attorney Coaching Workshops

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Posted on April 1, 2020
Public Resources

Interview with Shawn McNalis, Shareholder, Practice Advisor Trainer, and Curriculum Director at Atticus, on how law firms are responding to the COVID-19 crisis, strategic downsizing, and how they can change their organizations to go from struggling to survive to thriving during an economic downturn. Q: This is a very stressful time for many. The Coronavirus has ground the economy to a halt and created a lot of uncertainty. How are law firms managing the crisis? A: No one is handling this well. How they manage depends on how vulnerable they feel they are. Those who have a large financial cushion, a lot of files in their WIP, and the ability to operate virtually are the most secure, though the unpredictable nature of this crisis has them nervous as well. Firms that have no financial cushion, not a lot of work to do and who struggle to operate virtually are the most vulnerable. They will get help in the form of disaster relief loans, but that is also a confusing process. Q: Many firms are having to make tough, and often emotional calls. Some are considering reducing their operational overhead through layoffs and furloughs. What is the best advice you can give? A: Put the people...

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Posted on February 22, 2020
Public Resources

In the book, The 8 Dimensions of Leadership: DISC Strategies for Becoming a Better Leader, authors Jeffrey Sugerman, Mark Scullard and Emma Wilhelm give convincing evidence that leadership comes in a multitude of styles. Based on the DISC model of behavior – one of the most scientifically validated behavioral assessment tools available today, their work shatters many of our fundamental assumptions about leadership. ...

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Posted on February 18, 2020
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A good staff is the backbone of any successful law firm, and the difference between a good staff and a poor one can make or break your practice. But a good staff doesn’t happen by accident. From vetting to hiring, from training to empowerment, a good staff is built carefully with people who embrace your values and vision. When you finally have your optimal team in place, your office runs smoothly, efficiently and, we hope, profitably. A good staff, especially one that's been intact for a considerable amount of time, combines unique strengths from its members. The whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. A study in Harvard Business Review found "familiarity was a better predictor of performance than the individual experience of team members or project managers." Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt; it breeds competency. That said, however, turnover is the one universal truth among any workplace or organization — your law firm included. The challenge is to keep your team as intact as possible, and here’s where incentives play a part. A good, competitive salary is a must. People want to feel like they’re valued, and often they equate that to the dollars on their paychecks. But beyond salary are...

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Posted on January 8, 2020
Public Resources

This may seem like a strange place to start, but you really need to know your firm’s mission, vision, and values. If you have never gone through this exercise, or it has been many years, I strongly encourage you to go through a facilitated conversation to uncover these. These answers are what will help guide you in getting this people issue right....

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Posted on November 21, 2019
Public Resources

The first rule of marketing is to never, ever, ever stop marketing. The second rule of marketing is to never, ever, ever stop marketing. Now is a good time to kick-start your law firm's marketing plans to make next year your best year ever. To get started, focus on the first three months of next year. Here are three questions that, when answered honestly, can help direct your firm to get a quick start: What one thing can you do in the first quarter to get your marketing moving forward? What's one thing that scares you, but you know if you did it that it would be a big marketing boost? What's one thing that would give you and your team the most marketing confidence? How you answer these questions will be different for you than for different firms and, unless you just completely drop the ball, there are really no wrong answers. Anything that gets you moving, that motivates you, is worthwhile. With that in mind, let's look at your referral marketing — because referral marketing is one of the least expensive and most productive marketing activities in which you can engage. You need a systematic process for building relationships with key referral...

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Posted on October 17, 2019
Public Resources

The greatest challenge in planning an exit strategy from your law practice is that most lawyers don’t think about working today to make their practice more valuable tomorrow. They put off thinking through how to make the practice valuable to a buyer. I have looked at this from many different viewpoints, including selling my practice, looking to buy another practice, negotiating to have lateral partners merge, and examining what is the “real” street value of a practice versus the appraised value. There are three key things to consider working on today that will increase the value of your practice tomorrow. Your case management system. There is tremendous value in an updated, thought out, and organized case management system. If you can email all of your clients to announce a merger, a marketing program, a workshop, or a law change, then you are on the right path. If you are thinking, "That is a really neat idea, but I would never do that," then you may be on the wrong path to making your practice valuable. Your team. How dependent is the law firm on you? In my experience, the more dependent the firm is on your presence, the less valuable your firm...

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