Blog – Seckler Legal Recruiting and Coaching

What Comes Next?-A Program for Senior Lawyers [starting in September]

July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by SeckAdmin

Eventually, every professional athlete faces the same challenges: when to retire and what to do next. For the most part, an athlete’s career is limited. Few players will be able to compete into their 40’s. Lawyers, on the other hand, do not face these constraints. They can practice full-time well into their 70’s or 80’s and even continue to actively participate in firm management.

As the pandemic has caused law firms and partners to rethink their priorities, the issue of what to do with senior partners has never been timelier. For lawyers who are thinking about the next 10 to 15 years of their lives, they may be asking themselves the same question that King George poses in the musical Hamilton—What Comes Next?

The C2C Podcast Now Has 10K Downloads; But the Number I Care About is 43

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 by SeckAdmin

This month marks the 10,000^th download of the Counsel to Counsel Podcast. While I’m proud to have passed that threshold and very pleased that so many lawyers are finding it useful, the number I really care about is 43. Since launching C2C in 2018, I have interviewed 43 guests. With each recording, I have come to appreciate the great value I receive from the guests who are willing to participate.

Podcasting is similar to other forms of marketing. Producing a podcast is a great way to highlight your expertise and to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. I have certainly gotten clients who have listened to episodes of C2C. Some of these are individuals who I already knew; but others are individuals I might never have reached.

For me, however, the greatest value in producing podcasts is that I get to learn something from the guests that I choose to interview. I choose topics that I want to learn about, and the person I interview gives me a tutorial.

Getting the Most From Networking Meetings and Troikas [podcast]

July 19, 2020 by SeckAdmin

In the latest episode of the Counsel to Counsel podcast, I speak with Steve Fretzin, a premier business coach, trainer, and speaker on business development. Steve focuses on the legal industry but comes with experience in other industries as well. Steve and I discuss the importance of networking in building a professional services practice, how you can get more out of your networking meetings, and how to do this in a time of social distancing.

The ability to generate work has never been more important for lawyers and other professionals. We are in a recession right now and adapting to the demands of the marketplace is critical. But knowing what services your clients want is only a starting point. A good business plan requires a healthy mix of marketing (or reputation building activities) and business development (or relationship building activities). For lawyers and other professionals, it is the second leg, the relationship building, that is more challenging to master.

Attorneys come out of law school knowing something about a broad cross section of legal subjects. Law school graduates enter the workforce knowing how and do legal research and write briefs. While clinics and internships help aspiring lawyers to start

Building a Concierge Law Practice to Address Family Conflict and Mental Health Issues

July 9, 2020 by SeckAdmin

In the latest episode of the Counsel to Counsel podcast, I speak with Lisa Cukier, a partner at the law firm Burns and Levinson in Boston. Lisa practices in a number of related areas including: all aspects of estate and trust litigation, fiduciary litigation, probate law, child custody, parentage issues and divorce. She also works on guardianship and conservatorship matters, elder financial exploitation, matters and serves as concierge trustee for many clients who feel protected by her approach to problem resolution. Her work includes representation of blended families.

We talk about how she has built what she calls a concierge practice. We also discuss what it has been like to serve on the executive committee of her firm, and how she has modified her own marketing and business development in a time of social distancing.

What a Deadly Virus Teaches Us About Business Development

July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by SeckAdmin

Since the start of the year, we’ve learned a lot from COVID-19 about how disease spreads. While it is hard to see beyond the toll that the pandemic is taking on our health and on our economy, I’ve been looking for the silver linings and the lessons we can learn. In the future, I’ll look back nostalgically on this time and remember the months I was able to have dinners with my three adult children who are all living with us.

I’ve also realized that the coronavirus has something to teach us about business development and the importance of building a network. In the case of the coronavirus, building that network is clearly a bad thing. In the case of business development, building a network is essential for success.

While COVID-19 spreads from individual to individual, we know that it can spread more quickly when groups of people come together; and it can spread exponentially faster when large groups of people are congregated indoors and near each other.

So how is this relevant to business development and business relationship building? The short answer is that it is better to know more people than fewer people. Your referrals will grow more quickly if you know more people and if you deepen your relationship with those people.

How the Rise of Digital Media, Innovation, and Data Privacy Regulation Have Shifted the Legal Job Market [podcast]

June 30, 2020June 23, 2020 by SeckAdmin

Photograph by Mark Ostow , https://www.ostow.com/

In the latest episode of the Counsel to Counsel Podcast, I speak with Professor Jessica Silbey of Northeastern University School of Law. Professor Silbey discusses how digital media have given rise to changes in IP regulation and data privacy. She provides great insight into how technological innovation has created a significant increase in demand for lawyers who understand these issues.

Professor Silbey is Director of the Center for Law, Innovation and Creativity at Northeastern University School of Law (also known as CLIC). She is a leading scholar and nationally recognized expert on intellectual property and the use of film to communicate about law. Professor Silbey is the author of several books on intellectual property, creativity and invention. She studies the role that intellectual property plays to sustain and frustrate creative and innovative communities. She is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, and a Guggenheim fellow.

How to Build Your Legal Career and Skills Through Pro Bono Work–and why it is so important in 2020 and beyond!

June 30, 2020June 10, 2020 by SeckAdmin

The need for pro bono legal services for the poor has never been greater. Prior to the pandemic, legal services agencies were only able to meet a portion of the need. For example, due to lack of funding, legal aid programs in Massachusetts were forced to turn away 57 percent of residents who sought help last year.

With the coming recession and millions of families in this country facing food and housing insecurity, this gap will surely widen. Pro bono lawyering will be needed to meet the great demand and fill the gap.

In the latest episode of the Counsel to Counsel Podcast, I spoke with Sue Finegan, a Member of Mintz Levin. Sue is a nationally recognized leader in pro bono representation. When I first spoke to Sue a year ago about being on the show, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about how pro bono can help build your legal skills and increase your career satisfaction. Today I feel it is a moral imperative to encourage practicing lawyers to do their part in proving pro bono legal services.

Succession Planning for Law Firms Meets Chapter 3 for Lawyers

June 30, 2020May 31, 2020 by SeckAdmin

All professional athletes eventually face the same challenge: when to retire and what to do after retirement. For the most part, an athlete’s career is limited in time because of the physical demands of job. Lawyers on the other hand do not face these constraints. There are many lawyers who practice well into their 70’s or 80’s and some who never choose to retire. But for many law firms and for many law firm partners, this is not an optimal strategy. Healthy businesses need a healthy succession plan and after 40 years in practice, many lawyers are ready for some sort of change.

As the pandemic has caused many law firms and partners to rethink their priorities, the issue of what to do with senior partners has become more timely. Firms are already under a lot of under a lot of financial stress. A lack of succession planning only adds to this.

In the latest episode of the Counsel to Counsel Podcast, I welcome back Larry Stybel of Stybel Peabody. At the beginning of

An In-house Career in the Life Sciences

June 30, 2020May 19, 2020 by SeckAdmin

For some associates, partnership is the ultimate career goal. But for many lawyers, a plum in-house job is the real brass ring. In the latest episode of the

, I welcome Mark Levine who has won the brass ring several times in his career. Mark is General Counsel and Secretary at Flexion Therapeutics, a commercial stage biotech company.

Building Business Relationships in a Time of Social Distancing-Webinar

June 26, 2020May 4, 2020 by SeckAdmin

UPDATE: This webinar has already taken place. For a rough transcript, click here.

Please join me for a webinar on building business relationships on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Free for members of the Boston Bar Association. We will be discussing the importance of building your network and how networks are crucial for career advancement and business generation. I will be offering some tips on how to do this effectively at a time when getting together in person is not possible.