Trial Lawyer Nation

In this episode, Michael sits down with disability attorney and coach Marc Whitehead. The two discuss disability law, running a firm using systems, marketing strategies, case selection, building a great team, adapting to COVID-19, and everything else you need to know about running a “lifestyle law firm” that works for you.
Michael and Marc begin by discussing disability law, which Marc defines as representing disabled workers and veterans for disability benefit claims. Marc began as a PI lawyer and decided to make the switch to disability law after referring out a lot of disability cases. He realized that he thrived in disability law and stopped taking PI cases altogether. Marc’s “5-Star” cases are disability insurance claims for dentists and doctors, but he notes that veterans seeking retroactive benefits can be very lucrative as well. He also refers to social security claims as his “bread and butter” because of their quantity. Marc sums up his goals in disability law by stating, “If you haven’t been hugged by a client this week, you’re not doing your job.”
The conversation then shifts its focus to business management and running a law firm, which Marc coaches other lawyers on. Marc shares a story that is sure to resonate with many young lawyers, describing a cycle of winning a large verdict, then going broke again three months later. After stepping back and evaluating his business, he decided “The practice should serve me, I shouldn’t be serving the practice.”  Marc believes you have a duty to yourself and your clients to be profitable so you can do your best work for them.
On the note of profitability, Michael asks Marc what he did to make his firm profitable. Marc emphasizes the importance of time management, which he refers to as “focus management.” Marc chooses to live in his calendar instead of living in his inbox, which lets him dictate his own day instead of “constantly putting out fires.” Doing this allows you to focus your productivity and prioritize the best use of your time as a business owner.
Marc then shares his experience of learning to delegate tasks to other people. While Michael and Marc both note that this can be difficult at times, Marc insists learning to do this will allow you spend your time where it’s most valuable. Marc practices delegation in his firm by developing checklists and flow charts for every task. This implements consistency throughout his firm and allows Marc to spend his time where it adds the most value.
Besides his law firm management and coaching prowess, Marc is most well-known for his newsletter “The Successful Barrister.” Michael inquires about the strategy and success of the newsletter. Marc’s strategy is not to advertise his firm or bore lawyers with updates on disability law. Instead, he aims to provide a funny, informative resource which lawyers will actually read and enjoy. Marc sends the newsletter to a list of 4,000 lawyers and has found great success in this. Michael and Marc discuss other successful marketing strategies and how to tailor your marketing approach to a high-volume firm vs. a “high-end, niche” firm.
Choosing to accept or reject a case is a complicated process. Marc has streamlined this process by establishing a separate intake department and removing lawyers and paralegals from the process. This intake team uses a set of checklists and flow charts to determine acceptance or denial of most cases, so Marc only has his hand in dictating the most difficult decisions. Michael agrees with this strategy and finds if he is involved in all the decisions, he will take on cases he shouldn’t because he knows he could find a way to win the case. Upon more reflection, Michael has found that taking on these cases will lead to unhappy clients and disappointed referral partners. Marc and Michael discuss letting go of the “hero mentality” and not accepting every case they could win. Marc now only accepts strong cases that work with his sys...