S04E153 Becoming a Biz Dev Rainmaker with David H. Freeman

S04E157 Your Intake Costing Your Firm Thousands. Fix It with Sou Bounlutay

You can buy leads all day and still feel like your phone is ringing for someone else. That’s the painful reality behind a stat that should make every law firm owner pause: many firms lose the majority of the clients they already paid to acquire, not because the marketing failed, but because intake failed. We sit down with Sou Bounlutay, founder of Zinger Consulting, to unpack what actually happens between “Hello” and a signed fee agreement. We dig into why lead source changes the entire conversation, how cold leads from lead generation behave differently than warm leads from SEO, websites, and Google Local Service Ads, and why treating every inquiry the same destroys consultation conversion rates. Sou also explains the mindset shift that unlocks results: stop running “legal consultations” up front and start running a legal enrollment conversation with a clear structure and purpose. From there, we get practical. We talk about the first three seconds on the phone, removing friction like complicated phone menus, and how to stabilize a high-emotion caller in family law or criminal defense before you ever try to move the process forward. We also cover speed to lead, why web forms can quietly waste great opportunities, how after-hours responsiveness affects ad performance, and the key metrics that reveal whether your bottleneck is contact rate, scheduling, or follow-through. Reach Sou here: Book: Little Black Book of Legal Enrollment https://amzn.to/48ug3z1 https://www.gozinger.com/ Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins  Powered by Law Marketing Zone® https://lawmarketingzone.com A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right. Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform! Like, Share, and Review us! #leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

S04E156 From Reactive to Proactive Business Owner with Chris Papin

Your calendar isn't the problem, your priorities are. In this episode, JD/CPA Chris Papin shares practical strategies for law firm owners to take control of their time, align their schedules with business goals, and stop getting stuck in "technician mode." We discuss why time blocking fails without clear objectives, how reactive habits like constantly checking email hurt productivity, and the importance of focusing on the right opportunities. Chris also explains the value of combining legal and financial planning when making decisions about taxes, contracts, entity formation, and risk management.  Finally, we explore how client experience and thoughtful onboarding can drive better reviews, stronger relationships, and long-term growth, plus a simple 30-minute focus exercise you can start using immediately.  Reach Chris here: https://www.papinspeaks.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispapin/ BLABO on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Jll3VIXtTFOR0DwGhQKJb BLABO on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blabo-behave-like-a-business-owner/id1831290137/ https://www.instagram.com/papinspeaks/ Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins  Powered by Law Marketing Zone® https://lawmarketingzone.com A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right. Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform! Like, Share, and Review us! #leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

S04E155 Bar Leadership for Growth & Collaborative Family Law with Manisha P. Patel

Divorce is already painful. Turning it into a courtroom fight often makes it worse and it can hand your family’s future to a judge who doesn’t know your kids, your finances, or what you actually need to move on. That’s why I sat down with Manisha P. Patel, a collaborative family law attorney, certified mediator, and founder of a boutique family law firm in Greensboro, North Carolina, to talk about a different path: collaborative divorce and mediation designed to reduce conflict and protect what matters most. We get practical about how collaborative family law works, including the collaborative pledge to stay out of court, the expectation of full disclosure, and the way a true “team” approach changes the tone from positional arguing to interest-based problem solving. Manisha also shares how collaborative teams use tools like nonviolent communication, careful reframing, and private caucuses to manage high-emotion moments and keep negotiations productive. We also draw a clear line on safety, including why collaborative law may not be appropriate when domestic violence, coercive control, or manipulation are present. Then we zoom out to leadership. Manisha opens up about struggling with test anxiety and passing the bar exam on her third try, and how that experience fuels her mentoring and bar association work. If you’re a lawyer or law student looking for a real way into professional leadership, you’ll hear simple, actionable advice on showing up, starting conversations, and letting consistent work build trust over time. We also talk about her upcoming book, End Your Marriage Peacefully, and why educating yourself is the first step if you’re facing separation or divorce.  Reach Manisha here: https://www.lawofficeofmpp.com https://www.instagram.com/lompp18/ https://www.facebook.com/lawofficeofmpp https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishappatel https://www.linkedin.com/company/law-office-of-manisha-p-patel-pllc Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins  Powered by Law Marketing Zone® https://lawmarketingzone.com A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right. Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform! Like, Share, and Review us! #leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

S04E154 Rediscovering Your Hobbies for Quality of Life Andrea Diaz

You can love the law and still miss yourself. That tension is where my conversation with public defender and author-illustrator Andrea Diaz begins, and it quickly turns into a practical guide for any attorney trying to protect their energy, creativity, and mental health while the work keeps coming. Andrea shares how she drifted away from the artsy part of her identity during the long push of training, commuting, and early-career pressure, then found her way back when a small window of time finally appeared.  We dig into the surprisingly powerful habit that makes everything feel possible again: starting with five minutes. Andrea explains why “five minutes” is a gentle trick that gets you past resistance, how a tiny creative break can replace doom-scrolling, and why that reset often makes you more effective when you return to client work. We also talk candidly about lawyer burnout, especially in public service, and the guilt that shows up when you care deeply about clients or you’re balancing motherhood and career. Her reframe is clear: if you don’t take care of yourself, you eventually become unable to help anyone.  Then we go behind the scenes of Jury Trial ABC, the children’s book she wrote and illustrated to fill a gap in kid-friendly legal education. Andrea walks through self-publishing, learning new software, building a product line, and the moment every creator fears: ordering 2,000 copies with a missing line of text. Her sticker-sheet solution is a masterclass in resilience and trust, and it highlights a theme I hear from strong leaders again and again: you don’t need perfection, you need follow-through.  We close with what’s next, including Andrea’s upcoming children’s book about grief, inspired by helping her son understand loss in a non-religious and comforting way, plus where to connect and purchase her work.  Reach Andrea here: https://www.afternoon-recess.com/ @afternoon_recess on Instagram and TikTok Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins  Powered by Law Marketing Zone® https://lawmarketingzone.com A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right. Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform! Like, Share, and Review us! #leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

S04E153 Becoming a Biz Dev Rainmaker with David H. Freeman

Rainmaking doesn’t fail in law firms because lawyers are lazy or “not salespeople.” It fails because most firms treat business development like an event instead of a system. We talk with David Freeman, a National Law Journal Hall of Fame coach and bestselling author, about how to turn client development into an everyday habit that survives the pressure of billable hours and the chaos of real life. David shares why the future of law firm growth depends on relationship skills that AI can’t replace: building trust, staying visible, and nurturing networks over time. We dig into what’s broken with the classic retreat model, how cross-messaging kills momentum, and why tracking the right behaviors matters more than waiting for annual numbers. You’ll hear how cohort-based learning creates accountability and even strengthens internal trust, which unlocks cross-selling and a true culture of business development. We also get practical about execution: carving out protected calendar time, using “watchers” and buddy systems, habit stacking, and creating simple outreach that keeps you top of mind with high-value contacts. David explains how automation and segmentation can help when the message is genuinely useful, plus smart tactics like leveraging associations to get in front of the right audience quickly. If you want a bigger book of business without relying on motivation, this gives you a clear framework to build the machine behind the results. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a better BD system, and leave a review so more law firm owners can find the show. Reach David here: https://www.lawyerbookbuilder.com https://www.bdbuddy.ai https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfreemanconsulting Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins  Powered by Law Marketing Zone® https://lawmarketingzone.com A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right. Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform! Like, Share, and Review us! #leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins