Blog – Seckler Legal Recruiting and Coaching

Thinking of Law Firm Management? Listen to a Great Interview with David Rosenblatt, the Managing Partner Who Has Outlasted Them All in Boston

August 25, 2021 by SeckAdmin

Episode 69-Lessons Learned from David Rosenblatt–The Managing Partner Who Outlasted Them All (on the Counsel-to-Counsel Podcast–wherever you get your podcasts or follow link.)

I was very fortunate to catch David Rosenblatt at the beginning of his “farewell tour”. For those of you who don’t know him, David is one of the longest serving managing partners in the Boston legal community. Since 1999 he has served in that role at the law firm of Burns & Levinson LLP. In a great interview, David shares his thoughts about becoming a managing partner, some of the challenges he has faced, changes in the practice of law in the

What Weight Loss Teaches Us About Legal Marketing

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by SeckAdmin

I am happy to report that I have officially shed my “COVID-15”. After several months of going to the gym every day and eating more protein and far fewer refined carbohydrates, I’m finally seeing results.

When I stepped on the scale this morning, as I do every morning that I go to the gym, it occurred to me that there is a marketing lesson here. I’ve always resisted weighing myself on a daily basis on the belief that somehow I would be discouraged in seeing the ups and downs of my weight loss. But a family member of mine is doing Noom, and according to Noom, weighing yourself every day is encouraged. While you may not see direct progress each time you step on the scale, weighing yourself regularly keeps you focused on your goals.

Marketing success is very similar. Measuring your marketing activity keeps you focused on your marketing goals. In legal marketing, your success is based on the sum total of all your activities. The important thing is to be slow and steady in posting on social media, participating in networking events, giving presentations, having coffee, sending items of interest to your contacts, etc. (depending on what you enjoy doing and what makes sense for your practice.)

While you don’t need to measure your activity on a daily basis, taking the time to assess your activity and review your plan is important in growing your practice.

If you want to measure your own marketing activity, complete my marketing audit (10 minutes), and schedule a time to speak to me for a free consult. I’m always happy to help lawyers reflect on their careers and on their marketing. #legalmarketing #lawyers #goalsetting

“Pedacoaching” is a Great Way to Move Past Obstacles While Achieving Your Fitness Goals

August 15, 2021July 20, 2021 by SeckAdmin

While the pandemic has been difficult in so many ways, it has also brought a number of welcome changes to my coaching practice. For starters, Zoom has made it a lot easier to coach lawyers all over the country. I now have clients in Houston, Palo Alto, Seattle, Chicago and New York.

There are many lawyers and consultants who have been relying on Zoom for years (e.g. Jared Correia of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting) and they are happy to point out that there was nothing stopping me from doing this in the past. While I could have been coaching clients remotely on a virtual platform, the widespread shift to Zoom has made it much more accessible to many of my clients.

At the same time, I have also done a lot of walking in the last year and a half and I’ve now added pedacoaching to my repertoire for clients in the Boston area. I stole the term from Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame (he coined the term pedaconference–a long

Going In-House with Dave Sclar (on the C2C Podcast)

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021 by SeckAdmin

Thinking about going in-house? Listen to my interview with David Sclar on the Counsel to Counsel podcast (wherever you get your podcasts or click here). David shares some great insights on what it was like for him to leave an AmLaw 100 firm and

What are You Giving Away?

August 25, 2021July 8, 2021 by SeckAdmin

It is a simple fact of life that humans like to reciprocate. When someone gives you something for free, the natural instinct is to return the favor. This morning, I went to my local tailor/dry cleaner to get a pair of shorts repaired. The hem needed to be resewn and it wasn’t a big job (in fact in only took 2 minutes). When I first walked into the shop, the owner must have been downstairs because no one was behind the counter. I waited a minute or two and then walked out to do a few more chores. I briefly considered going into another shop around the corner, but I have always liked this dry cleaner and I prefer to do business with them.

When I returned, the shopkeeper took the shorts, fixed the hem, and quickly announced “no charge”. I asked 3 times “are you sure?” But the shopkeeper insisted that it was okay. While I am not a big user of dry cleaners or tailoring services (like most of us, I haven’t worn business attire in a very long time), I will surely be returning to this shop the next time I have sewing or dry cleaning. Through a small, simple act of generosity, the shopkeeper

Getting Past Adversity is the Key to Your Marketing Success

June 15, 2021May 31, 2021 by SeckAdmin

Yesterday was not a great day. I was driving on the highway and a car in front of me hydroplaned. In a matter of seconds, I smashed into it and then into a concrete block on the side of the road. You can see that the result in this picture. The car is probably totaled.

Fortunately, I survived with just a few bruises and when I went to the auto body shop today to take pictures, the watermelon I left in the car was still intact. Also, we were thinking of getting a new car anyway so could have been a lot worse.

High speed accidents are pretty scary. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion and then BOOM! You see it unfolding and there is nothing you can do. If you are lucky like me and you walk away unscathed, it is important to get back in the drivers seat (whether it is the same car after it has been repaired or into a different car). Then you should think about whether there is anything you could have done differently. In my case, the answer was a definite no. The driver next to me simply lost control of her car.

The Two “Whys” of Job Hunting for Lawyers

July 14, 2021May 23, 2021 by SeckAdmin

You have landed an interview for your dream law job. Maybe you sent in a resume and cover letter and you were fortunate to be selected from a pile of applicants for the first round. Perhaps a recruiter introduced you to the law firm or company. Or more likely, you leveraged your network* to help your resume rise to the top of the pile and get you in the door. Perhaps you aren’t sure yet if this is your dream job; but now it is game time.

Over the years, I’ve prepared hundreds of candidates for interviews and while my advice about interviewing still stands (updated here for a virtual world), I’ve come to appreciate that there are two key questions that you need to be able to answer convincingly in an interview: Why should the firm or company hire you? and Why do you want the job?

On the surface, why should the firm hire you may seem obvious. They selected you for an interview because you have the skills and experience that they need. You need to be able to address questions that get to the core of your competence to perform the job. If you are asked about experience that you lack, you need to be able to explain how other things you have done can make up for anything that is missing from your resume.

But even more important is your ability to explain why you are the best candidate (i.e. beyond your competence).

One way to do this is to demonstrate that you are the candidate that really wants to job. Companies like to hire individuals that are interested in them (i.e. not candidates who are merely trying to leave a bad situation or candidates who are interested in them but are really just looking for a better paycheck).

Beyond showing enthusiasm to continue with the process and explaining that you meet the requirements in the job description, what are some

Jenny Gamson Receives a Jenny!

May 31, 2021May 19, 2021 by SeckAdmin

This month’s Jenny Award for Creativity in Professional Services Marketing goes to none other than Jenny herself. Jenny (my wife) has created a new tagline Because Everyone Needs a Theditor. “Theditor”, a contraction between the words therapist and editor, was born from numerous conversations I’ve had with Jenny prior to sending responses to inflammatory email messages. According to Jenny, none of us are capable of exercising self-restraint when our emotions are triggered by hostile emails.

Jenny’s new tagline is fitting because of the excellence that Jenny displays in preventing family members (i.e. me), from destroying

We Take the “Sh” out of “IT”-Great Branding With Great Taglines

May 17, 2021May 10, 2021 by SeckAdmin

One of the great things about my business networking group ProVisors is that many members have developed very creative tag lines. As I previously posted, a good tag line is simple, unforgettable, and succinct (thank you ProVisors members Tricia Montgomery, a branding expert in Seattle and Larry Cohen of Glyphix). I will continue to post great tag lines here (for inspiration and entertainment). Today’s tagline comes from Michael Paul of Swift Chip Inc. Their tag line quickly conveys what they do in a way that is unforgettable.