Beyond Billables

On the show this week was a brilliant discussion I recorded recently with Scott Simmons, Director of Legal Balance. We had a great in depth chat about "selling", "business development" and even the role of pricing. Diving into more of the "business of law" we discussed both the mental approach to growing a practice and the practical steps all lawyers can take.  After a successful career in law where he faced similar situations to the lawyers of today, he discovered a love of coaching and training that has seen him coaching young professionals on how to build their own careers, as well as more senior executives to become rainmakers.  

Scott has spent the last 8 years coaching and training lawyers and regularly writes and speaks on the subject of professional services business development.

 

 

This week on the show we had a great conversation with Adam Pascarella, former Attorney and Founder of Second Order Capital Management in the US. Adam is also the author of a great new book, Reversed in Part:15 Law School Grads on Pursuing Non-Traditional Careers.  

Adam wrote "Reversed in Part" with a desire to help others looking to transition their careers. The book is packed with great stories and we were lucky enough to dive into some on the show. 

As a former Baker McKenzie associate and graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Adam has a great story to tell himself and we hope you enjoy hearing it! 

Good friend of the podcast Peter Moran joins us on today's episode! Peter is the Founder of Peer Legal, a leading commercial firm in Australia. Peter shares his insights on growing Peer Legal into a thriving team, along with the challenges of operating during the pandemic. As a forward-thinking, progressive firm Peer Legal has grown with purpose and Peter discusses how his deliberate intention to deliver better client service has been behind their success.

Season 3 of the Beyond Billables podcast is back and this season is all about how you can develop your skills and your reputation as an expert in your field. From interview shows to insight episodes this season is focused on giving everyone the tools they need to stand out for all the right reasons.  Kicking off Mike spends this short episode talking about 4 key points that define expertise for him. 

Season 3 of the Beyond Billables podcast is back and this season is all about how you can develop your skills and your reputation as an expert in your field. From interview shows to insight episodes this season is focused on giving everyone the tools they need to stand out for all the right reasons.  Kicking off Mike spends this short episode talking about 4 key points that define expertise for him. 

On the show this week is a great interview with the one and only James Diamond, founder of Diamond law. James is a lawyer from Queensland who certainly rode the wave of starting his own practice. James has quite the following on social media and we spent a big part of the interview discussing his crazy growth on Tik Tok and other channels. As much as I enjoy the marketing chat what I got most out of this interview was James' honesty and openness in discussing the benefits and difficulties of starting out on your own, the hard choices we have to make as business owners and how he has managed that. We also spent some time chatting about the present rights discourse in Australia and the difficulties of discussing rights in the Covid context. James is a really insightful, entertaining lawyer and business person with a keen sense of making the most of his life and opportunities. 

This week on the show I welcomed a very special guest, Kristal Naividi, Founder of Coastal Lawyers. Kirstal has an incredible and inspiring story for anyone looking to live their best life. Having grown up in public housing, made her way through university while working full time as a legal secretary and ultimately starting her own practice with three kids and a husband who had just been diagnosed with testicular cancer, Kirstal is a massive inspiration. 

On the show we discussed her journey to become a lawyer from such a tough upbringing, the impetus to start her own firm and how she has managed to make it a success so rapidly. Kirstal shares very openly about the hurdles and how she worked to overcome them in her own, incredible way. 

Upbeat, infectiously positive and incredibly open Kristal has a unique story that certainly makes me question the things I complain about!

 

This week on the show I sat down with the one and only Alex Su, Head of Community Development at Ironclad, and the hands down most entertaining lawyer on Tik Tok!  Alex was a lawyer at a leading US firm before running his own practice and then making the move into legal tech sales and business development. You may however know Alex from his short video content which he has used to build a remarkable following on Tik Tok, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Alex brilliantly uses humour to make some serious points about what it is like to practice and some of the biggest issues facing the profession including technology change, mental health, overwork and burnout. We had a wide ranging discussion about social media, content creation, the opportunities to reach an audience and the stresses of “putting yourself out there”. Alex is a true leader and it was an absolute highlight to get him on the show.

 

On the show this week I welcomed back one of the most knowledgeable and engaging experts in legal business development I have ever spoken to, Kim Wiegand, Founder of Julip Advisory and Partner at beaton. Kim has worked in Australia and Internationally for a range of leading legal service providers and brings deep expertise to our discussions on business development and what it means to deliver an outstanding client experience. Armed with both practical and quantitative insight Kim’s advice during our chat is hugely valuable if you want to grow your practice or business.

With the present mental health crisis in Australia, and following the recent suicide of a colleague, Mike speaks openly in this insight show about his struggles with anxiety and the need to keep asking the "r u ok"? question and really mean it.  

Mike shares a little about his journey with what is at times crippling anxiety and stress. From the lessons learned in the fight ring, to those shared by friends that motivated him to finally seek help from a mental health professional, this is a personal show about the negative impacts of anxiety and ways to ultimately manage it. The take home? Help is there if you put your hand up, and we can all do a better job of continuing to articulate that and actively supporting those around us.