HLP112: On Facing Your Fear to Create Content and Innovate in Your Legal Practice with Mike Whelan
Happy lawyers, you are in for one heck of a treat because today’s guest is so hilarious, so smart, and incredibly insightful about our legal profession. Mike Whelan is a CEO, lawyer, writer, podcaster, and self- proclaimed nerd impresario. On today’s episode we chat about the research he’s doing for his new book, “Lawyer Forward: Finding Your Place in the Future of Law”. Listen along as we discuss what it means to be innovative in the law, whether technology is a real threat to lawyers, and how lawyers can adapt their practices for the future. You’ll also learn about Mike’s new book, specialization, and social issues as they relate to the law. Enjoy!
What you’ll learn:
- Mike’s journey in the law
- The importance of giving yourself permission
- Mike’s thoughts on the future of lawyer conferences
- What to expect from Mike’s new book
- The big issue within the Big Law churn
- A major logistical issue within our field of Law
- Reasons to take your place in the law supply chain
HOT SEAT QUESTIONS:
- How do you deal with indecision?
- How do you prioritize your own happiness?
- What is a mindset shift that transformed your life?
- Name a book that has inspired your journey.
- What do you think separates lawyers who are happy to lawyers who struggle to find happiness in life with a law degree?
Fan Question: @onecraftylawyer on instagram says, “What advice do you have for bringing others on the journey. In a traditional law firm innovation is often seen as a dirty word.”
@Elill on instagram is wondering if her time is better spent innovating on areas in substantive law or in the way that we practice law.
Best Advice for Finding Happiness
“The unhappy lawyers idenitfy themselves with a to be verb and the happy lawyers identify themselves with to do verbs.”
“The key to happiness in the law is starting to use action verbs and question what you do, are you the kind of person that does the things that delivers on the promises you make.”
Resources:
- Kolbe A Test, http://www.kolbe.com/
- How To Give a Good Life, Jonathan Fields: https://amzn.to/2uuyD6M
- This is Marketing, Seth Godin: https://amzn.to/2JFt7ZB
- To Sell is Human, Daniel H. Pink: https://amzn.to/2Ymo3wu
- A Whole New Mind, Daniel H. Pink: https://amzn.to/2FztHnr
- Free Agent Nations, Daniel H. Pink: https://amzn.to/2HUYOMa
- Essentialism, Greg McKeown: https://amzn.to/2FzwsoN
- One Thing, Gary Keller https://amzn.to/2CE8oPI
- Friend of a Friend, David Burkus https://amzn.to/2uudIB6
Connect with Mike:
On His Practice Website: http://whelanlawfirm.com/
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewhelanjr/
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikewhelanjr
On His Website: http://www.lawyerforward.com
On His Book Website: http://www.lawyerforward.com/bookupdates
Thank you!
I know that time is your most valuable resource so I really appreciate you spending some of it with me. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it!
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Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, so you won’t miss an episode!
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