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We know that attorneys are respected (and paid) for having knowledge of the law. But as a lawyer, you have a defining choice to make: create your market value as either an exceptional technical expert or as an accessible relationship builder. Today, we focus on the former choice, and how to make sure folks *know* you're the expert. Lawyer Forward's Mike Whelan joins us once again to unpack the various, often contradictory, ideas about being an expert that we as lawyers are constantly being told. We discuss where to draw your lines, where to focus your time and effort, the VORL (Value Over Replacement Lawyer) model, and ways to focus your expertise into products. Find Mike on Twitter or LinkedIn FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

We all know the power of technology to help us deliver our product, but creating a (mostly) automated legal tech product requires nuanced development and critical thinking about our clients' needs. Erin Levine of Levine Family Law and creator of Hello Divorce, discusses the process she went through creating her automated collaborative divorce platform. Now, we're not all going to make our own digital legal product, but we can learn a lot about our own processes from this chat - balancing tech and human elements, building trust, our role as experts, honing your leads, SEO, and the future of the legal landscape. Find Erin on Facebook or LinkedIn, and Hello Divorce at hellodivorce.com. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

We small and solo law firm owners don't have the time, money, or bandwidth to try out and implement every shiny new idea that we think of, no matter how great they seem. Our guest Mike Whelan, of the Lawyer Forward Podcast, has developed the Legal Innovation Canvas as a way to chart out the likely effectiveness and success that any new iterative idea might deliver, and keep you from wasting precious resources. Listen in as he shares his excellent system and powerful innovation tips. Get the free Ebook containing the Legal Innovation Canvas here: https://www.clio.com/newnormal Find Mike on Twitter or LinkedIn FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

It's time to reframe your management approach to incorporate great service to your employees. This pays so many dividends in the long run: team morale, work ethic, efficiency, and more. In turn, all of that flows down to your clients as well. John discusses ways to make your firm a place your EMPLOYEES rave about. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

As lawyers, we strive for perfection in our work - details are crucial to our practice - but in running a business, the perfect is often the enemy of the good. This is especially true with marketing our businesses, where experimentation and a willingness to try new things can really set you apart and deliver results. We're joined by Ryan McKeen of Connecticut Trial Firm and author of Tiger Tactics, to discuss his take on novel marketing efforts and give some great tips on getting social media traction. Find Ryan on Facebook or LinkedIn FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

It's hard to know where to start improving your business sometimes. This week, we'll build on our Four Stages of Business, and help you figure out where to focus your efforts based on what stage you're at. We'll also tackle how you need to tailor your actions for appropriate risk and ROI, with client service in mind. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper! Catch John speaking LIVE at Law Firm Growth Summit 2021, and help future-proof your law firm! Go to https://www.lawfirmgrowthsummit.com/fivestarcounsel

Your intake process sets the stage for your entire client relationship, and can make or break your rapport, your trust, and your business together. When it comes to getting a client to choose you over other firms, not all leads are equal, and you should have very different approaches for warm referrals vs. your marketing leads. Seth Price is a master of both of these crucial client inflection points, and he gives John some invaluable tips on his process.   Find Seth at https://blusharkdigital.com/, seth@pricebenowitz.com, or his cell (!) 347-661-9999. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

In order to operationalize your firm's service delivery, we have to understand what really matters to clients. There's an important distinction - that your client's *experience*, though important, is only a subset of *service*, or how you deliver your physical and technical product. A holistic understanding of your service operations will make your business more efficient, more consistent, and more desirable to clients.

The legal market is shifting, but the legal industry is slow (or resistant) to change. But YOU, nimble, independent, fearless listener, you can be the change and enjoy the benefits of dropping hourly billing. Jared Correia of The Legal Toolkit Podcast and Red Cave Legal Consulting joins us to discuss. Behold, The Top 5 Alternatives to Standard Billing! Find Jared at RedCaveLegal.com and subscribe to The Legal Toolkit Podcast. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

Ethical issues can arise from incongruent communication standards and expectations set between you and your client. Lawyers are keenly aware of their ethical duties, but how do these duties impact and reflect on client service? Megan Zavieh of Zavieh Law joins us to explore this interaction and many ways we can improve (and avoid bar complaints). Find Megan online at www.ZaviehLaw.com or @ZaviehLaw on Twitter. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

Your product is the core of your firm. We need a deeper understand of what we're actually delivering clients, and what clients are paying for, before we can improve our service and our business. It's incredibly common for attorneys - even very successful ones - to have an incomplete, or even incorrect, view of their own product.  John walks us through the basic types of products and how attorneys need to perceive their own deliverables and value to clients.  FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!  

There are a litany of soul-crushing and time-stealing tasks that you're doing every day in your practice. These tasks are using valuable brain power and time that you should be putting towards your clients and growing your business. Chances are, with a tiny bit of time and basic-level skills, you can automate those digital tasks using Zapier, Airtable, or other widely available services. Let Paul Kortman of Connex Digital introduce some of these and start you down the right path. Find Paul on Twitter or paul@connex.digital FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!  

Client service can be your practice's best market differentiator, bringing in more clients, better clients, and clients who are excited to refer you. In order to start improving, we have to have a baseline understanding of service and what it means in today's legal landscape. John walks us through a working definition, the three types of products businesses offer, and how we can correctly think about service in the legal field. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!

Welcome to the Five Star Counsel Podcast! We're excited to help you fine-tune and level up your client service. Our host John Strohmeyer gives us the show's main focus and a brief preview of what's to come on our podcast. FiveStarCounsel.com Get our FREE client service whitepaper!