The Legal Toolkit

In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Heidi Alexander interviews Alison Monahan and Lee Burgess, founders of the online resource Trebuchet Legal, about the steps to creating an alternative legal career path and what students should be doing in law school to prepare for the future. Monahan and Burgess each discuss their beginnings in big law firms and why they decided to seek out paths of advising other lawyers. To take a different path, they explain, lawyers must be interested and willing to take risks, learn new skills, and take the plunge.

In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Jared Correia interviews data analytics specialists Patrick Fuller and Bill Sowinski about the analysis of current trends in the legal field, why and how a law firm should implement analytics, and the recommended technologies and processes for big and small law firms. Fuller discusses current trends in the Am Law 200, the Top 200 U.S.-based law firms ranked by revenue according to the American Lawyer magazine. He talks about how Am Law’s metrics are emblematic of the market and how this directly correlates to law firm revenues. Sowinski discusses why metrics and analytics are increasingly important for a law firm to be successful in the future. If used properly, analytics can become a differentiating factor for the firm and increase client intake. While big law firms can afford expensive technology and experts, Sowinski explains, small law firms can still use analytics by planning and implementing discipline to capture data. In the future of the legal field, Sowinski says, analytics won’t just be beneficial, they’ll be necessary.

Apple products are gaining traction in the legal field, particularly among solo and small firm lawyers. As more software and apps are being created for Apple computers and law firms are working in the cloud, using Macs in your legal practice is becoming a better option for many attorneys. But often, it can be intimidating or seem challenging to make the switch to a new computer. Changing operating systems seems like an unnecessary added task, especially for already busy lawyers, but you might find that an Apple computer better suits your practice. In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Heidi Alexander interviews Jenny Stevens, also known as Mrs. Mac Lawyer, about her switch from a PC law office to one using exclusively Apple products. Stevens was converted by her husband, The Mac Lawyer, when they merged their family law practices. She had the benefit of already having a cloud based office, so she was able to access all of her files and applications in the same way. She was also already using an iPhone so she understood the way that iOS works to a certain degree. Stevens explains that there was not much of a learning curve and she mostly had to adapt to new keyboard shortcuts. Switching from Microsoft Office to Mac applications Pages and Numbers was easy, she explains, and her practice improved when she added other apps such as Dropbox, Keynote, Rocket Matter, and Textexpander. While switching to a Mac is certainly not for everyone, Stevens encourages attorneys who are thinking of making the switch to jump in with both feet. When she didn't have access to her PC, she learned to use the Mac much faster. Jenny Stevens co-owns and practices family law at the Stevens Firm in South Carolina with her husband. Before they merged, Stevens worked for an all PC law office in Charleston, South Carolina. She has nicknamed herself Mrs. Mac Lawyer and frequently contributes to The Mac Lawyer, a blog about using Apple products in your legal practice. Jenny is also a frequent speaker at local, state, and national continuing legal education seminars.

Lawyers all know they should be networking, and most of them are, but there is an important distinction between the quantity and quality of your connections. Many lawyers are more comfortable networking with other lawyers and find themselves at the same conferences every year. But in order to be truly successful, a rainmaker, lawyers must become power connectors and apply strategic thinking and high level planning to making and keeping the right business contacts. So what does it mean to have valuable connections? How should you get started properly networking while avoiding potentially harmful relationships? In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Jared Correia interviews business relationship expert Judy Robinett about how to become a power connector by meeting the right people, bonding quickly with them, and developing mutually beneficial relationships. She discusses the concept of different sized network circles, 5 close friends and family members, 50 closest business connections, and 150 as the largest number of effective connections to be made. She explains the importance of considering your professional goals and obstacles before reaching out to others. Often, the most valuable people aren't other lawyers or people in close networks, but professionals in other fields. The best way for lawyers to build strategic relationships, Robinett suggests, is to join a powerful group, start talking to strangers, and always provide value to others first. She gives three great examples of questions to ask a potentially beneficial connection: How can I help you? What ideas do you have for me? Who else do you know that I should talk to? In the end, all resources are connected to people, Robinett explains. Be scrappy and learn to connect the dots from where you are to where you want to go. Judy Robinett is the author of How to Be a Power Connector: The 5 + 50 + 150 Rule. She has more than 30 years experience as an entrepreneur and corporate leader and has served as the CEO of both public and private companies and in management positions at fortune 500 companies. Robinett was the managing director at Golden Seeds Angel Network and a member of the Department of Commerce team that defined performance criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award for Performance Excellence in Healthcare, for which she received an award from President Bill Clinton. She has been called the "woman with the titanium digital rolodex."

Whether it is from a coffee shop, home office, or library, more people than ever are working remotely. This includes employees at a law firm or business, but many of the principles could be applied to a solo lawyer working at home. The benefits of working from a remote office include shorter commutes, potentially flexible work hours, saving money on office space, and having the best employees for the job regardless of locale. Drawbacks include production-based judgement on employees, isolation issues, and a reduced opportunity for learning directly from coworkers. Despite these drawbacks, many companies are now allowing their employees to work remotely. If this is your company and you are already working from home, or thinking about starting to do so, what are the main considerations and best practices to put into place? In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Heidi Alexander interviews Tim Baran, a remote employee at a cloud-based legal software company, about the benefits and drawbacks of working remotely, the hardware and software needed, and how to overcome the core issues that many remote lawyers encounter. Baran discusses how the benefit of bringing the work to the employee often outweighs the inability for those workers to interact with and potentially mentor other employees. By spending more time with friends and family, getting involved in industry associations, and going out for lunch, he explains, remote employees can avoid emotional isolation. This advice applies equally to solo lawyers who often do not have a lot of personal contact. Alexander and Baran then go over the practicalities of working remote. While you only need a computer and a phone as hardware, there are many useful apps for practice management, organization, communication, reading and writing, social media, and even encryption (see episode notes for a list of products mentioned). Obviously, it is important for a remote employee to stay connected with their office and other employees. Baran recommends regular video meetings, daily standups, visits to the home office, communication even with non-urgent matters, and even a fun video activity that includes the whole company. The more communication the employees are able to have, he explains, the more opportunities for feedback, connection, and therefore productivity. At the end of the podcast, Baran gives some succinct but very thorough general productivity advice to all employees, whether remote or not. His systems include: touch everything once, keep a checklist, set a pomodoro timer, develop consistent habits with a calendar, plan the night before, and Alexander adds that the Getting Things Done (GTD) process by David Allen has worked for many lawyers. Tim Baran is the Community Manager for Rocket Matter, a cloud-based legal software company that makes a law practice management tool. Previously, Baran ran his own CLE company, and has worked in library services at a law firm, a law school, and for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

There has recently been an increase in virtualization of law practices and the rate at which firms are beginning to adopt internet-based technology solutions. There are significant advantages attached to those programs including mobility, flexibility, ease of installation and management, and decreased setup cost. But most lawyers don't know what a virtual office entails, are wary of trusting a remote server, or worry about the security of working through a browser. What is virtualization, how does it apply to law firms, and why should lawyers be adopting this new technology now? On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Jared Correia interviews AbacusLaw CEO Alessandra Lezama about cloud-based case management systems and why lawyers should virtualize their firms. Lezama explains the difference between desktop as a service (DaaS) and software as a service (SaaS), the benefits of virtualization, and how to choose a company to help with this process. The encrypted remote servers should have geographic redundancy, regular and thorough security audits, and have local data centers. Lezama points out that lawyers are hesitant towards virtualization due to anxiety of the unknown or lack of time, resources, or knowledge but they must adopt new technology as a matter of ethical compliance. Because there are so many intricacies to this process, many lawyers do not know where to start. Lezama encourages attorneys to invest time, perform due diligence, and seek a good partner to help guide the process. In the long run, the relief of IT burden will more than pay off. Alessandra Lezama is the chief executive officer of Abacus, a legal technology solution company that designs, installs, and manages virtual practice systems. Before joining Abacus, she was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of two Blackthorn Investment Fund companies, chief operating officer and CEO at American Internet Services, and has held key leadership roles in sales, marketing, and operations for Comsat International.

New applications and accessories for the iPhone and iPad consistently promise to improve the professional and personal lives of lawyers. However, with limited time and so many options, it is difficult for busy lawyers to keep up with trends and make educated decisions about which products will make their practice more efficient and which might be distracting or impractical. Tech junkies and new iPhone acquirers alike can benefit from an update on the best new products to improve a lawyer's Apple experience. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Heidi Alexander interviews iPhoneJD blog author Jeff Richardson about his favorite iPhone and iPad apps and accessories that lawyers use in their practice and lives. Richardson and Alexander list their favorite iPad, iPhone, and universal iOS apps for professional uses such as document readers, presentation tools, and Twitter managers, as well as apps for personal uses like podcasts or meditation. Because they are almost never free, accessories are best purchased with a positive review. The favored accessories included mobile hard drives, docks, cases, keyboards, and the best bags in which to carry everything else. While not every lawyer will benefit from all of the tech products listed, in 30 minutes, all will learn about the next app or accessory that can improve their practice. Jeff Richardson, a litigator for Adams and Reese LLP in New Orleans, is well known in the legal tech industry for his website iPhoneJD.com which helps lawyers who use iPhones and iPads in their practice. Founded in 2008, iPhoneJD has been named the best legal technology blog more than once by the ABA Journal.

In this increasingly saturated market, being a successful lawyer means standing out from the crowd and becoming the expert in a specific field. Due to economic pressures, it is now necessary for a lawyer to develop a powerful brand in order to make a good living. This means going above and beyond being a hard worker and a self-aware lawyer. Additional research in the field, networking, and self-promotion to garner awareness are all necessary actions required to thrive in the legal community. In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Jared Correia interviews internationally established marketing strategy consultant, Dorie Clark, about why it is important for lawyers to become subject matter experts, how they might realistically do so, and what the benefits of success are. Clark explains how many lawyers don't try to become experts because they don't believe it is possible, others think that expertise and success should fall into their laps due to hard work, and a third group think that it requires a genius level of intelligence. They should instead be expanding an expert niche, doing original research, combining ideas and fields, or creating a definitive guide to a system. Although expertise requires additional work, the benefits include a more trusting relationship with clients resulting in increased efficiency and results. Dorie Clark is the CEO at Clark Strategic Communications and is a frequent contributor to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Entrepreneur. She has guest lectured at Harvard Business School, the Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School and the MIT Sloan School of Management. Her new book, Stand Out: How To Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It, further delves into the topics discussed in this podcast.

It is important for lawyers to keep up with the newest pieces of technology. Software and products are constantly improving and it can be incredibly beneficial for a firm to switch to a new system. These new software packages can save time for lawyers who are then able to focus on new clients or marketing rather than busywork that can be automated. TechnoLawyer is a network of free legal newsletters that keeps lawyers and legal administrators up to date with the newest technology in the field. Every year, TechnoLawyer's newsletter, TL Newswire, reports on nearly 200 new products and services for law firms. From these, TL NewsWire subscribers choose the top 25 new products of the year. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander interviews TechnoLawyer's founder, Neil Squillante, about the newest legal technology products for 2014, what they do, which ones are the most popular, and how each one can improve a law firm's efficiency. These products include management software, dedicated document management systems, case prep and litigation support tools, e-discovery tools, trial specific software, document encrypting tools, eNewsletter marketing tools, and research products and services. Companies like LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters have developed features that range from connecting with Dropbox to assisting in public records research. Every lawyer or legal administrator could benefit from the information that this crash course provides. Neil Squillante, the founder and publisher of TechnoLawyer, has practiced commercial, intellectual property, and securities litigation at a large international firm in New York City. Neil's areas of expertise include advertising and publishing technologies, information architecture, persuasive writing techniques, statistical analysis and research, and legal technology. At the end of each year, Neil gives the TL Newswire's Top 25 Products Awards to the legal products subscribers find the most interesting. *Correction: An earlier version of this description said TL Newswire prints the top 25 most popular new products each year. TL Newswire reports on nearly 200 products and services each year, with subscribers choosing the top 25.

Many large law firms are embracing modern marketing strategies to be more competitive. Although some of the options are out of budget for smaller firms, there are many within reach. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia interviews Jennifer O'Leary Cathell from Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP. Together, they discuss what marketing paradigms and strategies small firms can adopt from the big firms. Whether your firm is in need of a new website or new look, there are many obtainable objectives to explore. Tune in to learn more about design by committee, relevant metrics, and when to hire outside consultants. Jennifer O'Leary Cathell is the eMarketing, Design and Brand Manager at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, where she conceptualizes, produces and enforces the visual identity for the firm's brand. She oversees the creation, design and production of all Edwards Wildman marketing materials, including websites, blogs and videos. Prior to her 16 years with Edwards Wildman, Cathell worked with the Warren Group (publisher of Banker and Tradesman).

Many attorneys believe email is the most effective form of marketing communication because of list segmentation, custom content ability, and reach into mobile devices. On this episode Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander is joined by email marketing expert Heather Jackson from Constant Contact. Together, they discuss the advantages of using email for marketing as well as the do's and don'ts associated with this type of outreach. Furthermore, we discover better practices for content creation and the importance of being consistent. Tune in to learn more about beating the spam filters, writing proper subject lines, and recommended frequency of message. Heather Jackson is the Regional Development Director for Constant Contact. She has a long history in the sales and marketing industry having founded and operated a PR firm before joining Constant Contact. Jackson regularly conducts outreach to small businesses and provides education surrounding email and online relationship marketing. In addition, she will be presenting at this year's LOMAP Super Marketing Conference held in Boston at Suffolk University Law School on June 5th.

When overwhelmed with work, some firms hire freelance attorneys to fill the gap between client demand and firm capacity. Whether it's niche expertise, transactional labor, or long-term temp. assignments, these contract attorneys are well-equipped to support the unique interests of their hiring firms. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia interviews talent placement experts Leila Kanani from Intermix Legal Group and Gil Schipani from Tempus Fugit Law to learn more about the benefits of freelance attorney placement. Kanani discusses how firms who hire freelance attorneys benefit from improved workflow and enhanced expertise without the need to hire a permanent associate. Tune in to learn more. Leila Kanani is an IP solo attorney and founder of Intermix Legal. After over 10 years of practice in BigLaw, she left for more control and balance in her life. Her objective in creating Intermix was to provide a flexible framework for experienced attorneys to participate in project-based contract legal services for solos and small firms. Gil Schipani is the founder of Tempus Fugit Law, which specializes in substitute counsel/court coverage for lawyers as well as single transaction services. He is currently a partner with Schipani and Sinay and former Assistant City Solicitor of Brockton, Massachusetts. His practice area focuses on real estate, personal injury, business, and employment law.

Many people know Evernote as Cloud based storage for documents, but some might be surprised that it can be used in collaborative environments as well. With its advanced search functions, storage options, share features, and OCR ability, Evernote is becoming a friend to law offices everywhere. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander is joined by tech expert Katie Floyd. Together, they discuss how to maximize your legal practice using Evernote. Katie Floyd is a litigator and the co-creator and host of the Mac Power Users Podcast. She is a regular speaker at Macworld Expo and contributor for ScreenCastsOnline Monthly Magazine. Katie also serves as the President of her local Macintosh Users Group and is a member of the Mac Roundtable Podcast.

How much time does your law firm or practice spend producing documents? Automated Document Generation can dramatically reduce that time while improving work product quality. Large firms have been doing this for many years but did you know there is a solution for small and mid-size firms? In this edition of Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia discusses the benefits of Automated Document Generation with Lowell Stewart of HotDocs. Stewart is the Chief Technology Officer for HotDocs and has been developing commercial software for 12 years. He has over 20 years of programming experience with a background in Computer Science. His specialty is designing consistent, intuitive, and usable systems based on end-user requirements.

In this edition of Legal Toolkit, co-hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander invite members of the LexisNexis team to discuss their latest report, Enterprise Legal Management Trend Reports, 2013 Mid-Year Edition: The Rise of “Large-Enough” Law Firms. The report concluded that the nation’s largest law firms are losing the market share to smaller rivals, referred to as the “large-enough” law firms. Correia and Alexander speak to Kris Satkunas and Mike Haysley of LexisNexis CounselLink to further define the results regarding law-firm size, economic breakdown, and how all law firms can use this information to their advantage. Director of Strategic Consulting Satkunas leads the CounselLink team in advising corporate legal department managers on improving operations with data-driven decisions. She is an expert in managing the business of law and in data mining, with specific expertise in matter pricing and staffing, practice area metrics and scorecards. Director of Strategic Services Haysley helps corporate legal departments manage the business of law. With more than 15 years of experience working with large legal organizations, Haysley works with an expert team at LexisNexis to advise legal departments on improving operations and results.

MILO, short for Macs in the Law Office, started as a listserv for attorneys using Apple products in their law practices. Since it’s inception, the interest has increased to support MILOfest: a conference centered around how to use Apple products to benefit law practice. In this edition of Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander invites the founder of MILOfest, Victor Medina, to discuss the goals and benefits of his unique conference, how it’s growing, and what to look forward to for MILOfest 2014. Medina is an estate planning attorney in New Jersey. In addition to being the managing member of his practice, he is also an avid contributor to the MILO listserv.

Social media data presents significant challenges for lawyers when it comes to issues of investigation, preservation and discovery. Nonsense words, arcane acronyms and unexpected abbreviations are just some of the things that attorneys need to look for in order to effectively discover evidence via social media. In this edition of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared Correia, invites Trent Livingston to discuss the challenges of sourcing social media evidence, the differences between public data, private data, metadata, and more. Trent Livingston is a director with Intelligent Discovery Solutions, Inc., and advises law firms and corporations surrounding the implementation and use of e-discovery, web and cloud-based technology. He is an adjunct professor for Golden Gate University, where he teaches complex data discovery. He is also the owner and founder of Geekly Group, LLC, a web technology consortium. You can check out his blog at www.TrentLivingston.com.

Office space is becoming less common as lawyers and entrepreneurs experiment with communal work spaces and home offices. “It comes down to time, money, and family,” Kelli Proia, aka the Stay@Home Attorney, said. When she began her practice, she was working part time and raising a family, and renting office space wasn’t practical. Now that she has mastered the ways of a stay at home attorney, she works from home full time. Proia spent her first eight years out of law school working as in-house intellectual property counsel at high-tech companies. When her daughter was born, she left the office ready to be a full-time mom. Missing her career, while enjoying every moment with her newborn, she set out to launch a part-time practice in 2009 from home. Now, she is working from home full time helping high-tech companies understand their intellectual property assets through IP management programs and eating dinner with her family almost every night. Legal Toolkit host Heidi Alexander chats with Proia on how to set up a home office, tips on how to be productive, and how to take full advantage of the benefits of working from home.

On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared Correia, invites Jordan Furlong to discuss how the legal marketplace is changing and how law firms can react. “In the short term,” Furlong begins, “we’re going to see a lot more regulatory reform ending in a small set of really advanced legal services, exclusive to lawyers.” Jordan goes on to prognosticate respecting the specific effects that changes will have upon solo and small firm attorneys, law students and law schools. Despite the disruptive change that will continue to take place in the practice of law, Jordan does, in the long term, see the light at the end of the tunnel for the redefined attorney. Jordan Furlong is a lawyer, speaker, and consultant based in Canada. He specializes in giving thought-provoking presentations covering the future of the legal marketplace and how to assimilate. Before working as a consultant and speaker, he edited top legal publications, including The Canadian Bar Association’s magazine National and The Lawyer’s Weekly. Currently he writes the blog, Law21: Dispatches from a Legal Profession on the Brink, a multiple ABA Blawg 100 honoree. His latest book, Evolutionary Road: A Strategic Guide to Your Law Firm’s Future, is available from Attorney at Work. Tune in to hear more on the future of legal services: how these will be created, priced, and delivered, and how lawyers can take advantage of the changes.

Adam Ziegler was a practicing attorney for ten years when he decided to leave his partnership at a Boston litigation boutique and become an entrepreneur. He is now co-founder and CEO of Mootus, a platform for open, online-legal argument. Lawyers and law students can open up legal discussion questions to their peers, who must provide the sources they use to validate their responses. “I always wanted something to exist like Mootus,” Ziegler said, “Since it didn’t, I figured I had to try.” Mootus was a success, and the driving force behind his pursuit in advancing legal technology. • Adam Ziegler began his career as a law clerk for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals. He practiced at two large firms before becoming a partner at the aforementioned litigation boutique. Since launching Mootus, he has also started the Boston Meetup group for legal innovators and begun blogging for the site www.smallfirminnovation.com. Ziegler’s career focuses on how technology can help practicing lawyers do more, better and faster for their clients. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander chats with Ziegler about how to use technology to maintain an efficient legal practice, keep up with legal-tech innovations, and launch a legal technology startup.

On this edition of The Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia talks with Chad Burton about how to use virtual staff in your law practice. Burton’s law firm employs virtual staffing services to manage its phones, accounting, documents and secure email. Chad covers the use of virtual staff to assist in other areas, as well, including: managing social media channels, making travel arrangements, creating presentations, and more. Burton is the founder of Burton Law, a virtual law firm which focuses on representing businesses and individuals in litigation matters. He also serves as outside general counsel to small and mid-sized businesses, including new and existing franchises. He is a leading member of both the Dayton Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association. Virtual staffing saves Burton Law a significant amount of overhead costs, and those cost savings are passed along to its clients. Tune in to hear more on virtual staffing, including: what to look for, how to manage the staff, and more.

Clients have an abundance of options when hiring an attorney. Often, it is a firm’s website that determines who they ultimately hire. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander talk to Jeff Lantz about building an Internet brand and website that differentiates you from your competitors and attracts clients. Jeff Lantz is the founder and CEO of Esquire Interactive. His company is an attorney-run marketing firm that specializes in website development, Internet marketing, and branding for law firms and attorneys. Lantz was a practicing attorney for more than 12 years before he delved into Internet marketing. He has authored two books: The Essential Attorney Handbook for Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Website Development Management, referred to as “The bible for building law firm websites,” by host Alexander, and Internet Branding for Lawyers: Building the Client-Centered Website published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section. Tune in to hear from the author of Internet Branding for Lawyers on the basics of branding, website development, and marketing for attorneys.

Desktop as a service, commonly known as DaaS, is a relatively new service which provides users access to their desktops from any computer via the cloud. Your hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander invited Tom Rowe to talk about DaaS for lawyers. Rowe is a 4th generation attorney with an undergraduate degree in computer science and business administration. He now works as a technology consultant for law firms and businesses at OTB-Consulting and was named Technolawyer’s technology consultant of the year. Rowe answers questions about DaaS for big, small, and solo firms, how to make DaaS secure, how to make it cost effective, and more. He will also talk about SaaS, software as a service, as it relates to lawyers and DaaS users.

Wondering where The Legal Toolkit has been for the past six months? Never fear, Jared Correia, your host and a Senior Law Practice Advisor with Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program ( Mass. LOMAP), is back. In this month’s episode meet the new co-host Heidi Alexander, also a Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, who will be the newest addition to The Legal Toolkit team. Before joining LOMAP, Alexander ran a solo law practice and a web consulting business. She has practiced employment law and litigation, clerked for a justice on the highest court of New Jersey, and worked helping entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses at a nonprofit women’s business assistance center. She is currently serving on the board of directors of a community arts nonprofit, as a special needs mentor, and as a coordinator and facilitator for girls in underserved communities. This episode will introduce Alexander and give her a chance to further outline her background, expertise, side projects, volunteer positions, and finally, her strong loyalty to her home state of Minnesota.

On this October edition of The Legal Toolkit, Jared Correia, Senior Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins Chiara LaPlume, principal of LaPlume Law, LLC and Sofia Lingos, principal of Lingos Law, to address entity choice for lawyers and law firms. Chiara and Sofia run down the options for law firms and solo lawyers (including d/b/a’s and limited liability entities), talk about why it’s essential to have a partnership agreement and relay why it may useful for an attorney to hire another lawyer to help them get incorporated.

Why is selling so hard for lawyers and what can you do about it? On this September edition Jared Correia, the host of The Legal Toolkit and Senior Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins Stephen Seckler, principal of Seckler Legal Consulting and Coaching, to talk about selling vs. marketing, how important referrals are for attorneys and some of the key things that get in the way of attorneys successfully generating work.

If you want to market your practice by leveraging your expertise, content marketing may be your answer. Jared Correia, the host of The Legal Toolkit and Senior Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, interviews Gyi Tsakalakis, the director of web marketing for AttorneySync, to get the skinny. Jared and Gyi discuss different types of content marketing and distribution platforms, the efficacy of paywalls and the skill set lawyers need to become effective content marketers.

Learn how to make the most of your next legal trade show experience when The Legal ToolKit host and Senior Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, Jared Correia, chats with Andrea Cannavina, the Founder and CEO of LegalTypist, Inc. Andrea and Jared explain how to decide which events to attend, how to network, the benefits of getting involved in conference planning, and much more.

When should a law firm consider either translation or interpretation services? Jared Correia, the host of The Legal ToolKit and Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP gets the answer from George Rimalower, founder and president of ISI Translations, Inc. Jared and George also explain the benefits of using a translation service and how these services can boost your legal firm’s bottom line.

If you’re looking for the hottest tech tips for lawyers, we’ll make sure your vision is 20/20. The Legal ToolKit host and Senior Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, Jared Correia, talks technology with Attorney Ernest Svenson from the Svenson Law Firm in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ernie has catalogued a number of useful tools for lawyers and relays them in rapid succession through word association with Jared. Listen in, and find out why Dropbox and Dilbert can both have a place in your law firm!

With the popularity of social media on the rise within the legal profession, has old school marketing taken a back seat? Jared Correia, the host of The Legal ToolKit and Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins Attorney Christopher Strang, partner at the Boston law firm, Desmond, Strang & Scott LLP and Robert Simpson, President/CEO of Waverider Communications, to talk about the pros of old school marketing, including: the importance of developing and implementing a strategy, the power of networking and how lawyers can successfully market themselves in both non-traditional and traditional modes.

With the prevalence of profile sites, blogs and social media platforms, law firms need effective websites. Jared Correia, the host of The Legal ToolKit and Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins Larry Bodine, the Editor-in-Chief for Lawyers.com, to explore the importance of law firm websites. Larry discusses everything from the sort of content components that should appear on a website and designing the website to basic SEO tools attorneys can use to get visits from their target audience.

What are people saying about you online? What if the comments are negative? How can you protect your good name? In an environment where online reviews are common, Legal Toolkit host Jared Correia, Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP,, and Conrad Saam, Vice President of Marketing at Urbanspoon, discuss online reputation management for lawyers. Conrad and Jared cover the importance of tracking online mentions, and the methods for doing so. They also address the rising vitality of local search and the usefulness in dominating vanity search.

Stressed about your student loans from law school? On The Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins Heather Jarvis, student loan expert and former capital defense attorney, to discuss student loan management. Heather offers her insight on consolidation, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Income Based Repayment and how lawyers can reduce, or better manage their payments.

What apps are on your holiday wish list? On this edition of Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins returning guest Brett Owens, CEO and Co-Founder of Chrometa, LLC, to take a look at some of the top web apps for this holiday season. Brett offers up his favorite apps across a variety of categories, including for collaboration and file sharing. In addition to relaying his thoughts about the best buffalo wings on the planet, Brett makes some bonus prognostications for 2012 and beyond.

On this month’s show, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, is joined by Tim Baran, Principal of BaranCLE and Community Manager at RocketMatter, as the two take a look at some ways to market a law practice through CLE participation. Tim and Jared talk about utilizing traditional and non-traditional marketing techniques for securing CLE faculty positions, discuss methods for approaching bar associations with respect to panel spots and cover the options that lawyers have for putting on their own CLE programming.

Is your practice management vision cloudy? We can help. On this month’s show, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, is joined by Jack Newton, Co-founder & CEO of Clio, as they take a look at the latest trends in practice management and cloud computing. Jared and Jack talk about the essential usefulness of practice management systems, the appeal of cloud programs (even for skittish lawyers!) and what the future looks like in the cloud.

Does global economics affect your law practice? The, perhaps surprising, answer is a resounding ‘Yes’! On this month’s show, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes to the Legal Toolkit Susan Cartier Liebel, the Founder & CEO of Solo Practice University®, to address the effect that global economics and changing demographics have on attorneys and their practices. Susan and Jared discuss the present economic downturn in the context of the history of the United States, talk about why it is so important for the modern attorney to apply a client-centric viewpoint and consider potential growth opportunities in a compromised economy.

Referrals are the lifeblood of the most successful law firms, but attorneys, like anyone else, have to get their potential referral sources to know, like and trust them. On this month’s Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, talks with Jaimie B. Field, Esq. founder of Marketing Field, LLC about the power of referrals. Jaimie and Jared consider potential referral sources for lawyers, mull over the age-old maxim that ‘referrals beget referrals’ and discuss the importance of training referral sources, in order to get them to get you the clients you really want.

Need a "brand" aid? On this month’s episode of the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, talks with Dorie Clark, CEO of Clark Strategic Communications, about personal branding for lawyers. Dorie is a regular blogger for the Harvard Business Review, and is working on, "What’s Next?: The Art of Reinventing Your Personal Brand", to be released by Harvard Business Review Press in 2012. Dorie and Jared cover what it means to have a "personal brand, " take a look at a the importance of developing a unique selling proposition and discuss some of the ways that attorneys can produce and leverage content, to stand out from the crowd.

In light of the recent tornado damage sustained across the country, this month’s episode of the Legal ToolKit will cover “Disaster Recovery and Disaster Planning”. Host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney Nerino J. Petro, Jr., the Practice Management Advisor for the Law Office Management Assistance program of the State Bar of Wisconsin, to discuss ways in which law firms affected by disaster can get back up and running, and how those unaffected can prepare for future potential disasters. Nerino talks about resources available to attorneys who have suffered practice interruptions due to natural disasters and the importance of having a disaster recovery plan and backup attorney(s) in place.

With a network of data protection rules and regulations on the state and federal level, it becomes more and more difficult for businesses to keep up. On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney C. Max Perlman from the law firm of Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP, to talk about those data security laws and regulations and their impact on businesses, including law firms. Jared and Max also discuss the federal requirements that local businesses should be aware of, to what extent the laws codify best practices and what to do if your business experiences a security breach.

Want to learn more about psychodrama? On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes two of "The 3 Sisters," trial lawyers and psychodramatists, Joane Garcia-Colson and Mary Peckham, to discuss the art of psychodrama and its application to the practice of law. Joane and Mary talk about the importance of telling a story in trial practice and how to use psychodrama to better connect with your clients.

How can you use SEO to market your law practice? On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Conrad Saam, Senior Marketing Manager for Avvo, to discuss Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and why it is important to lawyers. Conrad explains how SEO works, and how it retains its importance, even with the explosion of social media. Jared and Conrad also take a look at how law firms can supplement SEO with other marketing tactics.

How important is it for lawyers to stay on top of technological developments? Very. On the Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Paul J. Unger, an attorney and partner with Affinity Consulting Group and the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2011, to talk about how attorneys can get the most out of some popular computer applications and to do a quick preview of the upcoming ABA TECHSHOW 2011. Legal ToolKit is brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting.

What's the market for lawyers looking for jobs now? On this edition of Legal ToolKit, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney Gina Walcott, Executive Director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Tomeeka Farrington, Founder & Principal of Spotlight Communications, to talk about the lawyer’s job search in a down economy, the best social media sites for job seekers and helpful hints to lawyers in the job hunt. Legal ToolKit is brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting.

On this edition of The Legal ToolKit, brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney Christopher Strang from Desmond, Strang & Scott, LLP and Attorney Alexandra Gorman from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, to discuss their roles as co-chairs of the Boston Bar Association’s New Lawyers Section. Jared, Chris and Alex talk about the importance of networking, effective networking techniques, some common mistakes new lawyers make when it comes to networking efforts and the perks of getting involved in your bar association.

On this edition of The Legal ToolKit, brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Denise Squillante, president of the Massachusetts Bar Association and Valerie Yarashus, immediate past president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, to cover some important MBA initiatives. They take a look at today’s challenges for the legal profession, discuss diversity, technology, mentoring in the legal profession and about how the MBA is reaching young attorneys statewide.

On this edition of The Legal ToolKit, brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Brett Owens, CEO and Co-Founder of Chrometa, LLC, to take a look at some cool web apps to consider. Jared and Brett discuss the convenience of web apps, questions of security, drop some favorite web apps and talk about ways that attorneys can keep up with technology without becoming overwhelmed.

On this edition of The Legal ToolKit, brought to you by Catuogno Court Reporting, host Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, welcomes Attorney Chiara Urbani LaPlume and Attorney Audrey Heidt, both co-chairs of the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association's Solo and Small Firm Committee, to take a look at setting fees, through the lens of the new Women’s Bar Association series of “fee circles”, that focus on the issue. Among other topics, Jared, Chiara and Audrey cover how to start the conversation about fees, whether to charge consultation fees and/or retainers and, of course, how to establish rates, including when to reassess and reduce rates, as necessary.