Building a Better Law Practice: Become a Better Lawyer in Five Minutes a Day: Become a Better Lawyer in Five Minutes a Day

by Jeremy W. Richter

Overview

Building a Better Law Practice: Become a Better Lawyer in Five Minutes a Day will help you be a better lawyer and build a better practice. Not through flash-in-the-pan gimmicks, but by sustained good practices in case management, client development, and undertaking the daily tasks of being a better lawyer. All lawyers are best served when they are stronger at their craft. This book will help you effectively manage and communicate with clients, handle your cases more efficiently, and become confident in your practice by providing practical and readily implementable systems and suggestions.

Knowing how precious lawyers' time is, this book is written in a "daily reading" format. It's set up so that the reader can read one topic per day. Each day’s reading should take about five minutes or so. Over the course of about seven weeks, at the time cost of 0.1 hours per day, you will have collected dozens of practical strategies for developing an efficient and collaborative practice that will set the foundation for good relationships with your clients.

Building a Better Law Practice contains stories and vignettes that drive home some very practical information. This book is not just for young lawyers...even seasoned lawyers will find refreshing tip after tip to improve and build effective law practices.

Praise for the Book

"Full of ideas for becoming a better lawyer."
- Aaron Street, CEO, Lawyerist.com

"Building a Better Law Practice is written by a lawyer just like you. Mild-mannered, quietly knowledgeable, and generous, Jeremy Richter wrote an unassuming book that will save you years of grief without interrupting your day. Buy it. Take the five minutes a day to read it. You’ll thank me later."
- Ilonka Aylward, Aylward Family Law, North Carolina

"Some of the best advice in Jeremy Richter’s devotional to law practice boils down to (1) don’t lose your sense of humor, (2) common sense and work ethic are just as important in the long run as your knowledge of caselaw, (3) see Number 1. But don’t take my word for it: read the book!"
- Eli Edwards, Research Librarian at Santa Clara UniversitySchool of Law

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641051781
Publisher:	American Bar Association
Publication date:	01/02/2019
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	6.59(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

I am Jeremy W. Richter, and I practice civil defense litigation in Birmingham, Alabama. I discovered early in my practice that managing cases is only half the battle in the practice of law. Building and maintaining relationships with clients is equally important. I have set out to innovate ways to develop client relationships and improve methods for achieving efficient and effective results. In addition to this book, you can read more of my ideas on my law blog and in my second book, Stop Putting Out Fires.

https://www.jeremywrichter.com/better-law-practice/

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Part 1 Managing Clients and Creating Collaborative Relationships 1

Your Clients Need a Problem Solver, Not a "Trial Lawyer" 2

"Efficient Lawyers Starve to Death" 4

Early Case Evaluation and Collaboration Makes for Happy Clients 8

The Importance of Trust and Creating Value in Client Relationships 12

Align Your Tactics with Your Client's Objectives 14

What Metrics Are Clients Using to Measure Your Performance? 18

Three Commonalities between Potty Training and Client Management 22

How to Obtain Client Case Evaluation Feedback 25

The Value of Aggressively Pursuing Information 27

Evaluating Cases from a Personal Injury Lawyer's Perspective 30

Part 2 Practical Considerations for Your Practice 35

Apply Lessons from a Chainsaw to Your Law Practice 36

Practical Tips for Getting Paid by Clients 40

Build Touch Points into Your Case Management Processes 44

An Unannounced Visit to a Client's (Trailer) Home Is a Bad Idea 48

Never Take a Witness at His Word … Ever 50

Losing Control of a Client during a Deposition 53

On the Importance of Showing Up to Court 55

Know When to Stop Arguing Your Point 58

When Is It Wise to Argue with a Judge? 60

So Your Client Accused the Judge of Being a Thief 65

Use Mediation to Let Clients Have Their "Day in Court" 67

Part 3 Improving Your Skills and Managing Your Caseload 71

Play to Your Strengths. Improve Your Weaknesses 72

Choose Your Next Words Carefully 74

How to Write Like Stephen King, and Why You Should 78

Intentionally Improve Your Legal Writing 81

Cognitive Space Is Precious-Recycle Rather Than Reinvent 84

Should Lawyers Use Google for Legal Research? 87

Why Storytelling Is Essential for Trial Lawyers 89

Goals and Tactics When You Voir Dire a Jury 93

Get What You Want Out of Closing Arguments 98

Three Ways to Be a Good Second Chair at Trial 101

Don't Handle Your Case Like the Writers of Lost 104

Implement After Action Reviews in Your Processes 107

Part 4 Developing Yourself and Your Practice 111

Three Steps to Becoming a Better Lawyer 112

Be Prepared for an Unexpected Opportunity 116

Go Ahead, Let Someone Else Own Your Web Presence 118

(Why) Should a Lawyer Have a Blog? 121

Marketing for Introverts 125

"… The Job Can Absolutely Destroy You" 128

Cultivate an Atmosphere for Success 130

Treating Your Staff Poorly Can Have Disastrous Results 134

Feedback and Words of Encouragement Really Do Matter 138

Four Ways Your Law Practice Should Be Like Chick-Fil-A 141

"There Are No Days Off … Only Days You Aren't Billing" 144

The Importance of Having a Reputation for Integrity 147

Why Fly Fishing Will Make You a Better Lawyer 149