The Productive Attorney

In my discussion I will use articles, surveys, and reports that show trends for attorneys. I will compare the American Bar Association (ABA) reports with a private vendor company Cleo, that is a case management software system company. Topics of discussion range from good to bad such as: working from home to bad behavior at the law firm.

The main reason we have a business is to get money for our clients, but also to support our staff and family. I'm going to be discussing with you my 20 years of experience of doing my own finances for the law firm. I have learned valuable lessons in letting someone else do my finances, but I have learned that the best way to know what your business is producing is to have eyes on numbers yourself.

I have been in courthouses where it appears that I have entered the twilight zone.  I typically see this in small cities where they don't have the capital for multiple courthouses. This podcast brings attention to the differences, but more importantly tips on how to navigate in another county that you don't normally practice in. 

This is a continuation from my episodes 005 and 016. A lot has happened since my last episode on this subject. What's interesting is knowing the players responsible for the continuing disruption in the legal community. They want to make it easier for people to practice law by decreasing the barriers of entry for people to get into the legal profession.

Have you ever considered attending law school? This episode goes through my personal experiences and lessons I learned in law school. I talk about first year law school and expectations you might have. This episode should help answer some questions and thoughts you may have before attending law school.

Vexatious Litigants continuously impede court functions and essentially harass the opposing party. They attack people with lawsuits and end up finding themselves on a list unable to win their suits. So how does someone become a vexatious litigant? How do you deal with one? I answer all of these questions in this week's episode.

This is something that I do every day, but it took practice to get my method down. My workstation has very minimal paper, which means most of my work is done electronically. The trick to this is figuring out what works for you. Take a listen and see if any of my tips can help you to be more productive.

I have been practicing law for 34 years now, and I wanted to share a list of 34 things that I've learned as an attorney. Has anybody ever told you to shut up lately? Knowing when to shut up is extremely important if you want to win your argument. 

Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct is what we as attorneys are governed by. What about the rules that are not technically disciplinary rules but they're rules that we have to live by when dealing with other attorneys. This is referred to as the Texas Lawyer's Creed. But then you have this other subset that deals with business ethics, and that deals with the business of law. Listen in as I discuss the difference between ethically wrong, morally wrong, and what is illegal.  

As a litigator, you spend a lot of time developing your arguments for motions.  I know from experience that judges often hate discovery motions, and I believe you have a duty to talk to the other side at the very least and narrow the issues down. Arguing a motion requires preparation.  Typically about 2 days prior to the hearing I look at all the evidence and case law to prepare my outline.  Once complete, I take the next couple of days to get comfortable with everything that I may want to say. This is only the beginning, so listen in to hear all my tips on arguing motions. 

Being a civil litigation attorney, I know about 95% of cases get resolved through dismissals and or settlements. However, the rest get resolved involving written motions that are filed with the courts. When you are writing, the first thing you must figure out is what you want, and that's called the summary judgment. There are times when a judge does not have a lot of time to read about the case, so oftentimes they use the summary to educate themselves on the case.This is basically an elevator speech to the jude, so listen in and maybe you might learn a new tip.

Studying to be an attorney was extremely stressful. I learned early on that I needed to handle stress better if I was wanting to be successful in my practice. In this episode I will discuss the normal stress of being an attorney and how I have managed it not only for my practice but for my personal life.

Some people retire and no longer want to work, and others they just want to work less. I'm the type of attorney that is good at preparing cases. For me, I'm setting myself up to work less, which is really the reason for this podcast. I made this decision a long time ago, and now I'm setting myself up to work even less. Do you know how much you need to retire? This is one of the very first questions I ask my students in law school.

This goes without saying, but if you have been drinking, then you shouldn't be answering work emails. The disciplinary rules are in place for attorneys to be professional, and to serve as guidelines in cases where there may be gray areas. Are you familiar with the Texas Lawyer's Creed, which goes beyond the disciplinary rules? 

Gun laws are a touchy subject, but the approach that I'm taking is from an educational perspective. I discuss how gun laws affect individuals in the state of Texas, such as, what firearm you can purchase when you turn 18 years of age. Did you know that you do not have to be a Texas resident to purchase a gun here in the State of Texas?

This topic hits home for me because my son is going to law school, and ultimately he wants to be a judge. I discussed the pros and cons with my son and it was such a great discussion that I wanted to share the topic in this week's episode. My first experience with a judge was very positive. Listen and maybe you can learn something to help you with your experiences with judges. 

I have read jokes where society thinks that attorneys don't do much to help society. We're held in high regard to be smart when making money and power and influence. Reputation with society is not the only reputation you should be concerned with. The good reputation you should work on is with other attorneys, judges, your clients, and your employees.

I handle sexual harrasment law for plaintiffs and denendants on this issue, and my overall message to attorneys is Just Don't Do It. The question of whether it is illegal depends on your state. Listen in and I will let you know what our great state of Texas decided on this issue.

If you were able to graduate from law school and pass the bar exam, then you have the tools to write a legal document. However, to be efficient in legal writing you must be concise, brief, and logical. I will go over 11 tips that can help you to improve your legal writing skills. 

A few years back I was part of a test that was given to many attorneys.  At the end of this test it was determined that I was part of the 98% of the attorneys who showed no empathy.  In my experience my lack of empathy allows me to evaluate cases by separating emotion from the law. This is an interesting topic.  Email me if you have any feedback on this topic.  I can be reached at jim@zadehfirm.com 

I have a unique outlook for law school, since I'm an adjunct professor. I did not like law school, but that's why I'm teaching. Law school teaches us how to think like a lawyer, but it doesn't teach you the soft skills. Do you know how to be a “rainmaker”? 

Sometimes being a lawyer is lonely, because attorney client privileged information prevents you from talking to anybody about the case. Lawyers tend to have a higher rate of mental health issues due to the stress associated with the job. Do you know how to not be exhausted from the work day?

Most of these tips I have learned the hard way, and some are just basic tips that I feel every lawyer should have knowledge of. When you are running a law firm the last thing you want to do is try to outsmart the IRS, because if they find out they will go after your accounts.

In my line of work there are many forms of opportunities that come in the shape of barratry. As a new attorney you're going to be faced with hard decisions on how to make money. The best decision you can make is making money the ethical way. I have been practicing law for 32 years and I'm able to sleep at night with a clear conscience because I make sure to do everything ethically. 

Even the attorneys that are the most aware and the most astute to these kinds of things can fall victim to scams. I'm a professor, and I teach my students these types of scams. Scams are real and they are getting very clever. Listen to this episode so I can share with you how I almost fell victim just the other day. The scammers are getting clever, they tried while I was doing payroll. Is it a coincidence?, let me know if you have any similar stories. 

I've represented defendants and have represented plaintiffs in my 32 years of practicing law. I have watched the Texas Supreme Court during that time change from a democrat Texas Supreme Court to a republican supreme court. Because of the change I noticed that verdicts are now in the favor of defendants such as insurance companies and your big businesses. Looking back, I have practiced law on the opposite side of the supreme court decisions pretty much all my 32 years. In this episode I share my case with the Texas Supreme Court.

This episode is an update to an earlier podcast I posted. In that podcast I talked about how there is a nationwide effort to allow non-lawyers to invest in law firms. The reason that it was allowed was because consumers are not getting adequate service from attorneys and this would allow for those consumers to get treated better. I have seen that England has gotten involved in this movement. Take a listen to this week's episode and let me update you on the developments. 

I believe that lawyers are the worst in nutrition, and I believe it can be attributed to law school.  Poor eating habits can follow you if you don't recognize it.  Nutrition has been an issue that I have worked really hard to master, but I doubt I will ever master it.  Solutions for this topic can be found in your goals.  Listen to this episode if you want my opinion on how to improve your nutrition.

What does exercise mean to a lawyer? Most people don't want to hear about what workouts you completed. What I have realized is that you are the main character in your play, but you are an extra in everybody else's play. The most important part of working out is to figure out what you find enjoyable, but even more important is to realize what you are not good at. This episode is all about tips on how and why you should exercise.

One of the most important points I can make is that the money in your firm's trust account is not your money. That money is not yours until you earned it, and it's not yours until it clears in your operating account. This episode talks about the kind of problems a firm can make when mishandling money from the trust account.

As an attorney your life is consumed with work and sometimes its difficult to keep up with the social media outlet. I remember there was a time when Myspace and Facebook were the two social media sites that competed against each other. Today we have so many social media platforms it's hard to keep up with it all. When you are marketing on social media it's important to know your perfect client, because some platforms may be better than others to speak to your perfect client. This episode is about how I use social media for the firm.

This episode is all about real life marketing, which turns your attention to existing and new relationships. Real life marketing is about developing relationships because you never know who will ask you for help, but more importantly you never know when you will meet your perfect client. My “war story” is about how I ended up getting a case from a salesman who sold me a printer.

When I first started practicing law I was working for a big firm, and after working 200 billable hours month after month my employer told me they were not sure if they had enough work for me. At that time my partner was leaving the firm and before he left he asked if I wanted to go with him. I ended up leaving the big firm to go work for a small firm, and looking back, it was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me. At the big firm I was getting comfortable and didn't allow myself to grow. I eventually became a solo practitioner with my own practice and during my journey I have expanded my practice and contracted my firm. This episode will help you on how to expand and contract your law firm.

Emails may seem pretty straight forward, but listen to this episode if you are curious about tips on how to have zero emails in your inbox. Typically you can get a good understanding on how people read emails by how they read their text messages. Do you know people that have more than 10 unread text messages? If you are that person with more than 10 unread emails then you are also the same person with many unread emails. Give a listen and see if you have the same problems I had when organizing my emails.

A potential new client has called you and is wanting to discuss a legal matter. How do you evaluate a case? I became an attorney to help my community, but sometimes I feel like my bleeding heart can hurt me when doing a case evaluation. At my firm we have learned to be selective on the cases we take on, and we did this by understanding the types of cases we do not handle, and more importantly the types of clients we will not take on. Listen to this episode if you want to know the criteria that we look for in our firm.

Work balance was a turning point in my career. When I first became an attorney I worked hard and neglected the things that really matter in life. I spent most of the time in the office and failed to be there for my family and to enjoy life in general. Work Balance for me means three things: Academics, Athletic, and Social. In my opinion if you spend more time on one, then the other two will suffer. This episode is a special one for me because it helped me in my career and my personal life. 

What software do you want to use to help you run your law firm?  We have come a long way from paper documents filling up “red ropes”.  Back in my day, which was a world filled with typewriters and dictaphones, we could possibly lose documents and sometimes files all together.  Since now we live in an electronic world, I will show you important things to consider when finding your case management software. 

Lawyers not being able to do their practice the way they want to.  A lot of businesses have been affected by decisions made by the legislator adding restrictions on cases.  The legislator disrupted the way cases were being handled such as, giving economical caps on the amount of damages a case could be worth. In this episode I will share with you my personal thoughts on how our entire industry will be disrupted.

Growing up without technology makes me appreciate just how good I have it now.  In 1988, lawyers had to go to a physical library to research law, and now information is at your fingertips. In this episode I will share with you the technology I use that has been worth using. I will give you information I have shared in lectures I gave on the topic of technology.  I will cover my preferred computer, monitor, printer, mouse, keyboard, scanner, shredder, check scanner, and backups to your computer information. 

This episode is about marketing basics for any attorney that is just starting out or for current attorneys that want a quick refresher.  Marketing can be very complex and expensive, but the basic marketing is easy and can be free.  I will share with you how to utilize this method and maximize your passion into bringing you cases. I will explain the difference between marketing and sales and how to apply it to your practice

Understanding your core values is how you start your focus or re-focus in a law firm.  Understanding your core values provides your definition of professional identity.  This gives your peers and clients an idea of the type of attorney you are wanting to be. This is talking about internalizing your principles and values so that your professional conduct is a natural outgrowth of your internal moral compass.  

Working to live is different from living to work.  I want to share with you how to be a more productive attorney.  Working to live is about having the right business plan.  If done right then this plan will assist you in being organized, efficient, and productive. My business plan helped to gain the much-needed free time with my family.  It forced me to think about my goals and solidify in my mind the direction that I was going and the direction that I want to go for my business.  Listen to the road map that helped guide my success. 

The journey of practicing law for many years and teaching as an adjunct professor is the reason for this podcast. In this episode you will learn why attorney Jim Zadeh started his own firm. He also discusses his teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M Law School. Jim explains why he felt he was not prepared to be an attorney after graduating and passing the Bar Examination, and he plans on changing that for any new or current attorneys.