Why Smart Family Lawyers Are Losing Premium Clients (Fix This Now)

17:57

Send us a text How does a top lawyer get 87 client reviews in a single year? In this episode, I sit down with Nina Kelly, one of our partners from our Illinois team, who shares her secrets to gathering authentic 87 reviews while managing 40-55 cases, raising two children, and collecting nearly $800,000 last year. Nina reveals: Why client experience trumps case outcomes — "I don't lose often, but when I do..." clients still leave reviews Her simple communication system that makes clients feel valued The two-step text strategy that gets almost everyone to follow through How highlighting wins in closing emails reminds clients of their original goals Listen in for practical tips on building your reputation through authentic reviews while creating an exceptional client experience. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Go $0 → $15M in Family Law By Ignoring Your Competition - #126 12:43

7 днів тому12:43

12:43

Send us a text Want to grow your family law practice? Stop obsessing over what other firms are doing. In this episode, I reveal how to grow your revenue by focusing inward instead of watching competitors. I share: Why constantly monitoring competitors leads to competitive convergence - where everyone looks the same and profit margins shrink How building internal capabilities (like our fixed fee model) created real growth The abundance mindset helps us target the 65% of family law litigants who don't hire attorneys My own struggles with competitive obsession and how I overcame them Listen in to discover how shifting from "How do we beat them?" to "How do we get better?" can transform your practice. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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How to Objectively Measure Attorney Skills and Promote Fairly with Robin Esch - #125 29:25

11 днів тому29:25

29:25

Send us a text Growing a family law team is hard - especially when lawyers have no clear path forward. In this episode, I sit down with Robin Esch, our HR leader, to explore how we've solved one of the most vexing problems in scaling a law firm: developing attorneys from associates to partners. Robin shares: The innovative competency matrix that removes subjectivity from promotions How this tool creates clarity for lawyers at every stage of their careers The collaborative assessment process between attorneys and managing partners The unexpected benefit of helping non-fits "raise their hand" rather than forcing difficult exits Listen in to learn how this system has transformed our ability to develop lawyers with consistency while creating a sense of fairness and ownership. As Robin puts it, lawyers feel both excitement about having a career path and relief knowing expectations won't be a moving target. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Focus Your Family Law Practice to Have The Firm of Your Dreams - #124 21:22

14 днів тому21:22

21:22

Send us a text Want to grow your family law practice? I've learned that saying 'yes' to every opportunity isn't always the answer. Drawing from Sterling Lawyers' journey from 1 to 25+ attorneys, I share why focusing purely on family law transformed our firm. In this episode, I break down: Our painful pivot - cutting half our staff and clients to focus only on family law The unexpected rewards of saying 'no' to everything else (even estate planning) Five powerful reasons to narrow your focus—better lawyers, improved client service, efficient operations, marketing advantages, and higher profits Why most firms do the opposite (and why that's your opportunity) Listen in to learn why doing less can actually help you achieve more in your family law practice. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Tom's Trek: Switching Marketing Partners to a Specialist - #123 26:20

18 днів тому26:20

26:20

Send us a text Just wrapped up month five of Tom Hartin’s journey building his family law practice in Long Island, NY. January started slow until late in the month when things suddenly picked up — booking four consults over three days. In this update, Tom shares: How he's doubling down - opening a second office and switching marketing partners Why he's making major changes despite steady (but slower than expected) growth His shift to Rocket Clicks for marketing and what they immediately advised The real numbers: $7,400 revenue and $4,000 profit for the month Whether you're thinking about starting your own practice or already in the early stages, Tom's candid look at the ups, downs, and strategic pivots shows what it really takes to build from scratch. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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How to Change Attorney Compensation Without Losing Your Team (Pt 2) - #122 25:26

21 день тому25:26

25:26

Send us a text Following up on our lawyer compensation discussion, I sat down with two key perspectives from our 2024 comp change — Katie VanDeusen (Managing Partner) who led the rollout, and Nina Kelly (Partner) who experienced it firsthand. Drawing from their different vantage points, we explore: How Katie and our leadership team rebuilt trust through careful, intentional communication The critical importance of 1:1 meetings before group announcements Why making team members feel "safe and heard" was key to success Nina's honest take on what it felt like receiving two major comp changes Listen in for real insights on how to navigate one of the trickiest challenges in growing a family law firm — changing lawyer compensation without losing trust. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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How to Change Attorney Compensation Without Losing Your Team (Pt 1) - #121 30:38

28 днів тому30:38

30:38

Send us a text As we've grown Sterling Lawyers to 25+ attorneys and $15M in revenue, one of the toughest challenges has been getting lawyer compensation right. In this episode, I sit down with my partner, Jeff Kerlin, to walk through our 2024 journey of transforming our compensation model. We share: Why our original percentage-of-collections model that worked for years started breaking down The painful lessons we learned from rushing changes in 2022 How Jeff Kerlin led a 14-month process to rebuild trust and create a new model that works for everyone Our path to creating clear growth opportunities for attorneys at every level Listen in for an honest look at one of the most challenging aspects of running a growing family law firm. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Train Your Lawyers and Build Culture Simultaneously - #120 18:16

5 weeks тому18:16

18:16

Send us a text Wondering how to build a killer team culture AND speed up training for your new attorneys at the same time? In this episode, I sit down with Austin Miller (one of our Partners) and Bailey Holt (our rising star Senior Associate) from our Milwaukee team to share a simple but powerful tool we stumbled on - what we call "The Big Table." We dive into: How a simple office layout change transformed our team culture Why our attorneys choose to work together instead of behind closed doors The unexpected way this setup rapidly develops new lawyers Real stories of how sharing space creates better outcomes for our clients Listen in to hear how a simple furniture change created a massive impact on our team's growth and culture. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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New AI Lawyer Lead Gen Tool - Divorce.Law - #119 46:16

6 weeks тому46:16

46:16

Send us a text In this episode, I sit down with Antonio Jimenez, a Florida family law attorney and technologist who's created Divorce.law, which is a lead gen tool for lawyers. ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Developments Toward Non-Lawyer Ownership in Family Law - #118 17:53

6 weeks тому17:53

17:53

Send us a text Is a massive opportunity storm brewing for family law practices? In this show, I explore the impending stories that could reshape how we run our family law firms. Here’s what I covered: Washington State’s new 10-year pilot program to test non-lawyers practicing in a limited way How KPMG moving into big law (through Arizona) will trickle down to people law The surge of private equity firms circling small and rural law practices looking for a way to enter ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Build Advantages for Higher Margins in Family Law - #117 19:18

7 weeks тому19:18

19:18

Send us a text Growing a family law firm is hard. As we built Sterling Lawyers to a 25+ attorney firm doing $15M in revenue, I learned that you need clear competitive advantages to break out of the pack. In this show, I cover: Why having just one advantage wasn't enough for us Examples of what's working for successful family law firms across the U.S. How to identify your firm's unique advantages Deploying your advantages to increase margins I hope this helps you build a beautiful family practice firm and have the firm of your dreams! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Tom’s Trek: Growing a Solo Practice While Planning For Associates - #116 28:45

7 weeks тому28:45

28:45

Send us a text Four months into his new family law practice, Tom Hartin shares some frank insights about December 2024. While revenue hit a new high at $10,820, new client signings were slower than expected—though that's typical for the holiday season. Listen in as we discuss: The mindset shifts needed when running your own practice and managing growth expectations Tom's plans for hiring his first associate (and why lead flow matters more than current case count) Real challenges around marketing to first responders and unexpected hurdles with union relationships Why Tom's planning to refine his consultation process and possibly shift from free to paid consults If you’re considering launching your own family law practice or growing your current one, Tom’s experiences offer valuable lessons and practical strategies. Tune in for an honest conversation about the realities of building a successful practice and the steps needed to overcome challenges along the way. ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Why Smart Family Lawyers Are Losing Premium Clients (Fix This Now) - #115 11:34

8 weeks тому11:34

11:34

Send us a text Obtaining great client outcomes is not enough to satisfy family law clients. There's a mind-bending truth on what clients want more than great outcomes—it's meeting their emotional needs. In this episode, I share: The truth about what clients will pay premium rates for (hint: it's not legal outcomes) The two things we aggressively focus on at Sterling to deliver this at scale Why the gap between good and great family lawyers isn't about legal skill ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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Practical AI Family Law Tools That Work - #114 29:26

9 weeks тому29:26

29:26

Send us a text Jeff Morrell, one of our Senior Partners, is back to talk about AI tools for family lawyers. This is the presentation that Jeff gave at our annual Sterling Day event. It's about how our firm is using AI tools to enhance efficiency and streamline operations. Here’s what we covered: - The ways AI is transforming legal workflows. - Practical tools that save us time every day. - The development of user-friendly tools like a Chrome extension and an affidavit automation tool. - How AI applications are reshaping tasks such as email writing and document creation. - Personal stories illustrating the benefits of AI in overcoming challenges. - The future of AI agents and their role in improving accuracy and reducing costs. Hope this helps you grow your practice! ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources. My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a beautiful family law practice and have the practice of their dreams. I share my family law firm’s secrets, tactics, and strategies of how we have grown from 0 to 25 attorneys and over $15m in revenue in our first ten years. When I am not podcasting, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of SterlingLawyers.com. Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X - Instagram - TikTok…

The J. Sterling Hughes Show

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The Family Law Firm Strategy to Rule Them All - #113 21:11

9 weeks тому21:11