ORANGE COUNTY
Volume 187, 2021 $6.95
California Case Summaries
Monty McIntyre
Practical Ideas on Client Development for Associates
Cordell M. Parvin The Art of Error Recovery
Norm Hulcher
5 Truths Every Attorney Needs to Know About Referrals
Stephen Fairley
Is Your Vocabulary Costing You Money?
Tom Hopkins
Seize Your Reader’s Attention and Erase Doubt from Your Marketing Copy
Tom Trush
7 Steps to Productive Meetings
Paul Burton
Attorney of the Month
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2021 EDITION—NO.187
TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Seven Steps to Productive Meetings by Paul Burton
10 Practical Ideas on Client Development for Associates by Cordell M. Parvin
12 The Art of Error Recovery by Norm Hulcher
EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brian Topor
14 Is Your Vocabulary Costing You Money?
EDITOR Wendy Price
by Tom Hopkins
CREATIVE SERVICES Penn Creative
ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH
16 Gerald Maggio Thriving in the Transition, MAGGIO LAW, Orange County Divorce Attorneys
CIRCULATION Angela Watson PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Griffiths STAFF WRITERS Dan Baldwin Jennifer Hadley CONTRIBUTING EDITORIALISTS Paul Burton Stephen Fairley Tom Hopkins Norm Hulcher Monty McIntyre Cordell M. Parvin Tom Trush ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Info@AttorneyJournals.com SUBMIT AN ARTICLE Editorial@AttorneyJournals.com OFFICE 30211 Avenida De Las Banderas Suite 200 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 www.AttorneyJournals.com ADDRESS CHANGES Address corrections can be made via email or postal mail.
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by Dan Baldwin
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22 Five Truths Every Attorney Needs to Know About Referrals by Stephen Fairley
24 California Case Summaries by Monty McIntyre
28 Seize Your Reader’s Attention and Erase Doubt from Your Marketing Copy by Tom Trush
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Editorial material appears in Attorney Journals as an informational service for readers. Article contents are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Attorney Journals. Attorney Journals makes every effort to publish credible, responsible advertisements. Inclusion of product advertisements or announcements does not imply endorsement. Attorney Journals is a trademark of Sticky Media. Not affiliated with any other trade publication or association. Copyright 2021 by Sticky Media. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from Sticky Media. Printed in the USA
7 Steps to Productive Meetings by Paul Burton
M
eetings are the most expensive periods of time we spend together. Try, for example, adding up the loaded employee cost of a simple weekly status meeting. Your answer will make it immediately clear why meetings need to be highly productive to justify the expense.
“work fills the time allotted” is completely true. Always state the start and end times at the beginning of a meeting. This serves as a reminder and sets the parameters for everyone involved.
EFFECTIVE MEETING ELEMENTS
A lot of work can go into preparing for a meeting, so prepare (or instruct others to prepare) only what is truly necessary to communicate effectively during the meeting. One thing that should be eliminated from virtually every team meeting is PowerPoint slides! Read that sentence again because it’s important. Most people use PowerPoint to put their speaking points on the screen. BORING! We can read speaking points, so why are we here in a meeting? Moreover, creating a list is much easier to do in an email or Microsoft Word than in PowerPoint—and there’s no setup time required to fiddle with the projector and such.
Let’s focus on the components of a meeting, and how you can use a new structure to produce more efficient meetings that get the job done. These seven simple steps make every meeting more productive:
1. Set an Agenda How can meetings occur without an agenda? It’s like scheduling a business trip without an itinerary! Agendas are simple to construct and distribute. The road map they provide not only prepares attendees for what will be covered, but agendas are a terrific way to keep the meeting on track. The more specific, the better the road map, and the more likely you are to accomplish the stated objectives.
2. Make Sure There Is a Hard Start and Hard Stop Meetings need a physical structure, which means predetermined start and end times. The old saying that
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3. Prepare Necessary Materials—Only
4. Distribute Materials in Advance Send out materials well before the meeting—preferably, the day before—with a request people review them and come prepared to discuss the items listed. You don’t want to waste everyone’s time by reading your summaries to them! You want to leverage that time for input.
5. Moderate the Discussion
7. Identify Follow-Up Expectations
If this is your meeting, it’s your job to “run” or moderate it. That means staying quiet most of the time and acting as a guide to keep everyone on course (topic-wise) and moving forward (productivity-wise) within the time allotted. Think of it as a referee or facilitator role. You want to marshal these valuable resources (people and their ideas) toward an effective end. If you, as the leader, participate too much, you’ll run the risk of commandeering the meeting, which is not an effective use of team members’ time.
The final point of any effective meeting is identifying and stating the next point of follow-up, if there is one. Place parameters around the work so people have relatively shortterm goals for producing a result. Make the follow-up period reasonable within the context of the work to be performed, but make it date-certain.
6. Confirm Decisions and Action Items It’s the moderator’s responsibility to confirm, out loud with everyone in attendance, the decisions made, the action items determined (if any), and the people assigned to those action items. This can be reduced to a follow-up email and placed on a future agenda for updates. This is a huge point of failure for many meetings—the failure to articulate decisions, action items and attendant responsibilities. Ironically, it is generally the stated reason for meetings! Fix this hole by stating things clearly before everyone disperses.
THE PATH TO MEETING PRODUCTIVITY Group leaders and managers are charged with using their own time effectively, as well as leveraging their team’s time. Meetings are a perfect opportunity to do both! Make a checklist in Microsoft Word or Evernote so you have this meeting checklist available whenever a meeting is approaching. n Paul Burton is a recovering corporate finance attorney who helps people regain command of their day. As a nationally recognized time management expert, Paul regularly speaks to audiences about getting more done and enjoying greater personal and professional satisfaction. He is the author of five books on productivity. Learn more at quietspacing.com and follow him @QuietSpacing. Previously published in Attorney at Work.
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Practical Ideas on Client Development for Associates by Cordell M. Parvin
I
have done a lot of work helping associates with client development in my old firm and now as a coach. In this article, I want to share with you my practical ideas on associate client development.
Set Yourself Apart Client development is more challenging today for a variety of reasons. First, business clients are no longer local or loyal and there are many more lawyers from which to choose. Second, you have less time but more choices of client development actions. Because you have too many choices, you may either never get started, or become ineffective in your efforts. However, if you have a plan, become visible to your target market and find ways to become a valuable resource and advisor for those clients and potential clients, you can become very successful. It is important that you start your efforts as early in your career as possible.
Client Development Myths Associates seem to buy into client development myths and this stifles their efforts. Here are several of those myths:
• Associates in big firms do not need to learn client development. At the very least, associates in big firms with institutional clients need to learn about those clients and find ways to become more valuable to them. As expressed above, institutional clients are no longer loyal; they can’t be counted on as they have been in the past. So learning the skill set to get new clients is more important today than before.
What Successful Associates Share in Common Here are some of the characteristics that I have observed over the years in the most successful associates: • They are patient, persistent, and perseverant; • They focus client development on things they are passionate about;
• You either have it or you don’t. I can tell you from my personal experience that I did not have it. Knowing that drove me to work at it and develop my skills;
• They have a plan for their non-billable time as well as written goals;
• Just do good work, get a Martindale AV rating, and wait for the phone to ring. There are thousands of lawyers in your city or area who do good work. Client development is a contact sport. It is about building relationships and adding value beyond the good work;
• They are seeking to become more visible to their target markets;
• “Too young and inexperienced to.…” Lawyers should start learning client development skills as early as possible. This is a marathon not a sprint, and even though you may not bring in a client now that fits your firm’s client profile, you are building towards doing so later; • You have to be an extrovert and know how to work a room. I know lawyers who are very outgoing and do poorly because they talk about themselves and do not listen. I know introverted lawyers who do very well because they ask great questions and listen; • You have to “ask” for business. Lawyers who are good at asking for business do not come across as needy or
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greedy. I, personally, was uncomfortable asking so I tried to be the “go to” lawyer who would be sought by clients in my target market; and
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• They regularly work on client development;
• They are getting feedback on their ideas and how they are doing; • They find ways to hold themselves accountable; • They all wish they had started their efforts earlier in their careers.
What Differences Do Associates Have? Several associates with whom I have worked are “connectors.” Those lawyers are active in their communities and/or active in the bar. Other associates enjoy writing. They are writing articles that are published. When supported by their firms, they are blogging. Those lawyers are using writing as a way to get speaking engagements in front of their target markets.
Associates I have coached do their planning in a variety of ways. Some associates begin their planning looking forward five years and then working back. Others emphasize setting 90-day goals. Several associates use weekly plans and journals as their method of holding themselves accountable. Successful associates do not “find” time for client development. Instead, they make time. Each associate develops different ways of making it. Several associates with whom I have worked spend time on client development after their children go to bed. Some associates work on client development on weekend mornings. Some associates are using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as tools to reconnect with classmates, firm alums, friends, and potential clients. Others are reaching out by phone.
Deliberate Practice Practice things you want to get better at doing. Examples might include: • Treating your supervising lawyers like clients, figuring out what they want and need and exceeding their expectations; • Finding out what is going on that impacts your clients; • Networking; • Working on your elevator speech/questions;
• Identifying future issues impacting your clients; • Writing articles for a business audience designed to get you hired; • Public speaking; • Questions for clients and potential clients; • Active listening; • Building the team and assigning work; • Supervising and giving feedback. Reading an article like this has very limited value by itself. It has to be translated into practice. If you want to get something out of the article ask yourself, “What can I do based on what I learned?” If you want to share your plan with me, I would enjoy hearing from you. n Cordell M. Parvin built a national construction practice during his 35 years practicing law. At Jenkens & Gilchrist, Mr. Parvin was the construction law practice group leader and was also responsible for the firm’s attorney development practice. While there he taught client development and created a coaching program for junior partners. In 2005, Mr. Parvin left the firm and started Cordell Parvin LLC. He now works with lawyers and law firms on career development and planning and client development. He is the co-author of “Say Ciao to Chow Mein: Conquering Career Burnout” and other books for lawyers. To learn more visit his website www.cordellparvin.com or contact him at cparvin@cordellparvin.com.
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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 187, 2021
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The Art of Error Recovery by Norm Hulcher
W
hen you make a mistake that puts a client behind the eight ball, your appropriate response can salvage— and even strengthen—the client relationship. When Alexander Pope wrote, “To err is human, to forgive divine,” he probably hadn’t just gotten off the phone with his attorney. If he had, he might have tacked on this qualifier: “… unless the erring party has an ‘Esq.’ after his name and whose hourly rate is greater than the GDP of Cambodia.” I can’t say why for sure (although I have a few theories), but there’s something about interacting with an attorney that often exposes people’s dark sides. Consider an otherwise kind, charitable soul whose closest-ever brush with violence grew out of a brief debate over the best key in which to sing “Amazing Grace.” But tell them that their lawyer made a mistake in handling their matter, and in the bat of an eye they become about as rational and forgiving as Cujo. Like it or not, you are human and, try as you might to avoid mistakes, you are doomed to make them. The big question is: How do you respond when you make a mistake that affects a client? It’s worth considering—in advance—because there may be no more important factor in whether you hang on to your clients and how successful you are in growing your practice.
Range of Errors, Reactions As an attorney, your potential for committing errors knows no bounds. Your mistakes can cover the entire spectrum, from No Big Deal (missing a typo, being late for a meeting, etc.) to Total Fail (recording a lien in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, instead of Santa Cruz County, California; thinking the trial was set for two weeks from yesterday, not yesterday, etc.). From a client relations standpoint, the gravity of the blunder may not be as important as the client’s reaction to it. You probably have clients who, if you told them that you’d made a small goof and that their $10 million claim had been thrown out, would say, “Oh, well, we all make mistakes,” and others who, on learning that the demand letter you promised by noon won’t be ready until 12:15, report you to the Bar. Even though no two mistakes, or your clients’ reactions to them, are the same, you should still develop an error-recovery procedure that you can follow when the stuff hits the fan, or looks like it’s about to.
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Beat Your Client to the Punch If you find out you’ve made an error before your client does, and if there is any chance that he will learn about it whether you tell him or not, do the smart and honorable thing: tell him before he learns about it on his own or from someone else. This takes guts, but it’s a lot better than sitting around with the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head, cringing whenever the phone rings, and feeling around under your steering wheel before every start-up, wondering if the client knows what you’ve done and what he’s going to do to you when he finds out. Here are some benefits to full disclosure: • After he finishes swearing at you and telling you how much he’s going to enjoy reading about your license being yanked, he may give you credit for being courageous. Sloppy and incompetent, perhaps, but courageous. • Conversely, if you let him find out on his own, a certain amount of time will elapse between discovery and response. During that period, he can work up a pretty uncharitable attitude toward you that, by the time you get to discuss your mistake with him, may be irreversible (especially if he thinks you’ve been ducking him). • If you alert your client to the mistake, you can tell him, in appropriate detail, what you’ve done to make things right (if that’s possible), and/or you can propose some method of atonement, such as a fee adjustment, free services, an offer to help out around the house, etc. (Caution: Don’t be too quick to make such offers. If the client turns out to be less upset than you expected, you may needlessly give away the store. Further, your resolution plan should not include lavish gifts, cash, or other phony attempts to get back in his good graces.)
Fix the Error, If You Can Make fixing the error your top priority. The longer the problem goes unaddressed, the longer the client has to worry, think evil thoughts about you, and memorize the names of professional liability attorneys.
Face the Music If the magnitude of the error, or the client’s reaction to it, warrants a face-to-face meeting, break the news in person. Offer to meet at his home or office. Meeting at your office may not be a good idea—it’s bad enough that you’ve made a mistake at his expense; don’t make matters worse by making him come see you. Besides, he’s less likely to bust up the furniture if he’s in his own home or office, and if he starts screaming, there won’t be other clients within earshot.
Accept Responsibility No matter who actually committed the error, you must be the responsible party. If you made the mistake, it’s your fault. Likewise, if your secretary or paralegal or clerk or the mailman or sunspots caused the problem, it’s your fault. You’re the attorney, you make the big bucks, and you’re the one who’s supposed to be getting your clients out of trouble, not digging a deeper hole for them. Claiming, “Hey, it wasn’t me, it was my secretary,” isn’t going to calm him down. (“Oh, it was your secretary. Why didn’t you say so? Here, let me call my other lawyer right now and tell him to just forget about that silly old lawsuit.”)
Don’t Be Defensive This is a close cousin to “accept responsibility.” The client is less interested in why or how the mistake was made than in what you’re going to do about it. Thus, explaining that the error was caused by your working too hard or too late, by incompetent help, by your crack habit, etc., is a waste of breath and will only make him madder.
Say, “I’m sorry” An apology won’t make the problem go away, but any resolution of the fiasco should include you looking your client in the eye (or in the receiver) and telling him that you’re sorry. But don’t grovel, unless you think the sight of you down on your knees at his front door, blubbering and begging for one more chance, will make him forget about your foul-up. Also, be careful about putting your apology in writing. You don’t want to give your client something he can pull out and re-read when he’s drunk or in a litigious mood.
Respect the Client’s Concern If the client pitches a major fit over your mistake, let him know that you feel nearly as bad about things as he does. If he feels terrible, you feel terrible. Trying to cheer him up or make him think it’s not that big a deal will likely backfire. Let him decide when it’s no longer that big a deal. On the other hand, if the client takes your mistake in stride and wants to get on with things, let him. Even if you’re still
embarrassed and upset by the error, don’t keep bringing it up and saying how sorry you are and how you don’t deserve to live. He might eventually agree with you.
Don’t Hang Your Client out to Dry If your mistake lands your client in a ditch with someone else—a lender, a buyer, his bookie—make contacting that person and accepting the blame a part of your proposed resolution. There are at least four good reasons to make that offer: 1. It’s the right thing to do, and maybe it will assuage your conscience a little bit. 2. Your client will probably appreciate your trying to get him off the hook, and if he ever speaks to you again he may even tell you so. 3. You are likely to use less critical and colorful language to describe your error, your character, and your lineage than your client might use. 4. Ironically, your candor and courage may make a net favorable impression on the third party. Instead of being known only as a dangerous idiot who nearly screwed up your client’s life, you may be the only attorney that person knows who demonstrates honor and integrity and is willing to own up to his mistakes.
Don’t Keep Your Error a Secret If the problem is a major one, and if it carries the potential for big problems for you and/or the firm, get the perspective of trusted colleagues who may be more skilled in damage control and malpractice avoidance than you are. Even if the problem doesn’t hold grave consequences, consider discussing the error with any other attorneys and staff who are likely to come into contact with that client. Filling them in may keep them from saying or doing something out of ignorance that may only make matters worse.
Conclusion At the very least, adequate error-recovery skills may salvage a client relationship that otherwise would have gone down in flames. Moreover, attorneys who react well to their own errors know that an appropriate response can not only save but actually strengthen their ties with a client. Honest. n Norm Hulcher is a law firm marketing consultant and coach. His Valley-based company, Hulcher & Hays LLC, was founded in 1993. He may be reached at 480-980-5473 or www.hulcher.net
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Is Your Vocabulary Costing You Money? by Tom Hopkins
W
hen we give a presentation to a future client not only do our appearance, visual aids, and body language relay a message, but the words we use create pictures in their minds. When we hear a word, we often picture a symbol of what that word represents. We may even attach emotions to some of these words. For example, let’s consider the words, SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER. Depending on your particular experience, each of those words can generate positive or negative emotions in you, right? The same applies to the words you use in your contacts with customers. You don’t know in advance which words will generate positive feelings in your clients about you, your product and your company. That’s why people in selling must become extra sensitive to the use of words if they want to have successful careers or businesses. One of the most commonly used words in sales is the term “contract.” What type of mental image does that term bring to your mind, especially when you picture yourself as a consumer? For most of us, it’s negative. We have an image of fine print, legalities and being locked into something that requires legal action to get out of. For this reason, I recommend that salespeople stop using that term, unless your particular line of business requires it. Instead, use the terms paperwork, agreement or form. Think about each of those terms for a moment. Do they bring to mind threatening images? If they do, I’ll bet those images are a lot less threatening than those created by the term contract. Do yourself a favor and eliminate that term from your vocabulary. Use paperwork, agreement or form instead. What about the words “cost” and “price?” What pictures do they bring to your mind? If you’re like me, I see my hard-earned cash leaving my pocket. Substitute the terms investment or amount in place of cost or price. When most people hear investment, they envision getting a return on their money which is something positive. Now, there are products for which the term investment would not be appropriate so let’s use the term amount for them. That word has been proven to be less threatening to most consumers than the terms cost and price.
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The same idea goes for the next terms, “down payment” and “monthly payment.” Most people envision down payments as large deposits that lock them into many smaller monthly payments for a considerable time period. They may see themselves receiving bills and writing checks every month. Not too positive a picture, is it? Replace those phrases with these: initial investment or initial amount and monthly investment or monthly amount. The next terms I’d recommend you change are “sell” and “sold.” Many salespeople will tell prospective customers about how many units of their product they have sold. Or, they’ll brag about having sold the same product to another customer. What are the mental images here? No one likes the idea of or the feeling derived from being sold anything. It sounds as if the customer didn’t really have much say in the matter. Replace sell or sold with helped them acquire or got them involved. Another term I feel is over-used by salespeople is the term “deal.” What does this bring to mind? Something we’ve always wanted, but never found. Top salespeople never offer deals to their clients. They offer opportunities or get them involved in transactions. The last, but definitely not the least important term I recommend you change is “sign.” Never again ask a customer to sign your agreement, form or paperwork. We’ve all had it drilled into us from early childhood never to sign anything without careful consideration, haven’t we? So, why would you want to create that emotion in anyone you were trying to get happily involved in your product or service? Instead of asking them to sign, ask them to approve, authorize, endorse or OK your paperwork, agreement or form. n Tom Hopkins International has been dedicated to providing the finest sales training strategies and techniques to individuals and companies alike. Tom Hopkins is world-renowned as The Builder of Sales Champions. His selling skills and sales strategies have helped millions of sales professionals and business owners in industries from A to Z to serve more clients, make more sales and earn millions in income. Copyright Tom Hopkins International, Inc. See more at: www.tomhopkins.com
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THRIVING
IN THE
TR ANSITION Family Law Firm Adapts and Thrives in a Changing Legal and Health Environment by Dan Baldwin
As
with many firms, Maggio Law Orange County Divorce Attorneys found the pandemic a major challenge to not only serving clients, but also to survive as a business. In adapting and making the necessary changes, the firm found itself in a position of providing even better, more flexible, and more personal service to its family law clients. Founder Gerald Maggio says, “Covid has marked the biggest changes in our firm, how we operate and how we interact with our clients and the legal system. We had to react in a very short time period. The changes were tough, but we’re a much better firm for taking on the challenge.” The process of making the transition from a standard office to a remotely connected operation took several weeks. Not only did Maggio have to set up people for remote work, but he also had to purchase new equipment to enable staff to work remotely. The firm purchased an internet-based phone system that allowed the staff to have all calls routed to individual attorneys or support staff. They bought another set of computers along with printers and scanners for every staff member to be able to work remotely. The process was made
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an even bigger challenge because, due to the lockdown, all the changes had to be made remotely. Eventually, the lawyers and staff communicated in virtually the same manner as standard inter-office communication regardless of distance. Clients, suppliers, and members of the legal system took to the process quickly and appreciated their efforts and proved to be enthusiastic about the transition. Maggio Law also handles mediation cases, usually a face-to-face process, but those challenges too were readily handled. “We’re able to conduct mediation by video conferencing. In many ways, the process is more efficient. The participants can be anywhere, at home at the office, anywhere. There is a lot more flexibility now for clients,” Maggio says. The other big change was using remote video in family law court. Maggio has been to court physically only four or five times since March of last year. He says that his firm has found the remote video process in many ways better for clients because they didn’t have to travel to court, wait around in court, or pay attorneys for that travel and wait time.
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He says, “Many of us in this area of the legal community hope they keep up some process for some hearings to be conducted via remote video post-Covid. More complex hearings can be handled in person; it’s better that way. For simple hearings and so on, I hope the court will keep something in place in that regard. Overall, the challenge of making the transition has proven to be a significant benefit to the firm and especially to our clients.”
KEEPING IT REAL The typical client for Maggio Law Orange County Divorce Attorneys is someone looking to file for divorce or respond to a filing for divorce—someone who has a job or is selfemployed, has at least one child, owns a home, and has assets and debts to divide. There are usually issues of child custody, child support, spousal support, division of assets and debts, and in cases of people that are self-employed, there can be issues of business valuation and cash flow analysis. The firm handles paternity cases that involve custody and child support issues as well as stepparent adoptions. Maggio says, “We keep it real. I do not try to overcomplicate matters just to drag out cases and churn out more legal fees. I have a practical approach to all cases and where it makes sense to settle, we always make strong efforts to do so. It makes no sense to spend one to two years in litigation to end up settling based on what could have been worked out the same way in the first six months. Divorce is expensive and can cause clients and their families financial damage in the process, which should be avoided if it can be. But when cases or issues need to be litigated, we don’t hesitate to do so.” For example, he handled a complicated case involving division of assets including three business plus custody and more. The spouse was horrible to his client and very contentious throughout the process. Ultimately, the case went to trial, which ended with a good outcome for his client. Justice was served because the other spouse didn’t get what they were asking for and in fact, the court didn’t even require his client to pay legal fees. That spouse left with a lot of legal bills and expert bills because Maggio and his team were able to get the court to see that person for who they were. Maggio practices patience, real caring for clients, and being a good listener when working with clients. “When I take a case, I have to understand what a client wants and why and really listen to them while also making sure they understand the ramifications of what they may want in a case, because in the end, it’s really their case and their life. I need to advocate for their rights and what they want while also making sure that they are not asking for something that would be considered completely unreasonable or not credible in the eyes of the Court. I’ve said it often, an attorney has to ‘keep it real.’”
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LEARNING FROM AND GAINING EXPERIENCE Maggio stresses to his attorneys and staff the importance of learning from every case and every work experience. He cites his own work record as proof. He had worked for a number of law firms while going to law school and after passing the Bar, developing a lot of experience in several areas of law. He went to work for several firms for about five years before going out on his own. “I knew the week that I went to work at the last firm I worked for that I had made a mistake and within a year, I decided to open my own law firm with only a few cases in hand. That was a risk since I had three young children at that time. However, it proved to be worth it the first year, I started my own practice in 2005 and I never looked back or regretted my decision.” Maggio Law Orange County Divorce Attorneys now
© Christopher Todd Studios The Maggio Law Team: Debbie Maggio, Carol Sullivan, Gerald Maggio, Ellie Fazeli, Britney Vargas and Sara Fenn
employs a full-time associate attorney, a paralegal and two other legal assistants. He recently changed the name of the firm to reflect the growth and direction of the firm. “Our firm is a team. Changing the firm name reflects how we’ve survived, how we’ve grown, and where we are going.” He cites an example of a divorce case that worked out fine for his client but a case in which both parties spent more money than they should have. They were a lower middle-class family and could not afford to spend what they spent. The problem was basic; neither side could agree on anything. “I believe that their attitude in that case likely affects them and their children financially to this day. That experience led me to become a trained divorce mediator. Divorce mediation is something I really believe in and can save parties a tremendous amount of money over traditional divorce litigation if the parties are willing to be reasonable and compromise. I created a saying from that experience: not every marriage can be saved, but every family can. That’s especially true when it comes to using divorce
mediation as a cost-effective way to end a marriage. Learning from experience pays off in many ways. For example, the firm’s newest attorney, Ellie Fazeli, met Maggio when they were on opposing sides during a case. She says, “I found him to be a great attorney. He was very professional, and I enjoyed working with him even though he was on the opposite side. We met again by pure luck. He had a blind job posting. I applied not knowing it was for his firm. From the way the job posting was worded I felt that the office really cared about their clients. When I applied, he remembered me and the case and he called me. It has now been over a year that I have been part of this amazing team and it is one of the positive things that has happened during the pandemic.” “I realize that there are a lot of lives, particularly the children’s, who are impacted by what we do every single day. I am dedicated to our clients and the children. I enjoy my work because I am constantly learning something new. It’s a great professional environment. We get things done,” she says.
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Contact Gerald Maggio MAGGIO LAW Orange County Divorce Attorneys 420 Exchange, Suite 270 Irvine, CA 92602 (949) 553-0304 team@maggiolawfirm.com www.maggiolawfirm.com
© Christopher Todd Studios
In the end, the turmoil created by the pandemic has created a stronger legal firm. “Now because of what has happened we’re more flexible because we don’t have to go into the office. We can work anywhere. Maggio believes the Covid situation was a wakeup call to the court system as to the desirability of using the latest in communication technology. He notes that family court was technology-wise behind in many ways and didn’t keep pace. Covid changed all that. Although he doesn’t predict that the advances will replace all court appearances, he firmly believes that overall, they will improve the system for everybody. Cases will be handled faster, better and more efficiently in the future. His plans for the firm include hiring more staff as their case load increases. He is also seeking to expand their divorce mediation practice not only in Orange County but other counties, which is now much more plausible with the ability to use remote video that most people are now comfortable with after the last year and a half of Covid restrictions. He notes that although the number of divorce cases has gone down the past year, the firm hasn’t noticed that at the office. There was a lull in the first months of the Covid lockdown, but once it worked its way through, everybody adjusted to the new reality and people began returning to family court. Their case load has actually increased. “When you practice family law and divorce, you wear a lot of different hats, which can include almost being a therapist and having compassion for what clients are going through. It can be a very emotional and personal area of law and I have colleagues and friends that practice other areas of law that say that because of that, they could never practice divorce and family law. However, I came to realize that my personality and interpersonal skills are best suited for this area of law. Moreover, what I do feels more real to me than other areas of law because I’m dealing with people’s lives and I have the ability to help make a difference in those lives more than I ever could practicing another area of law,” Maggio says. n
EXP ER I ENCE
LOOKING FORWARD TO THRIVING IN FUTURE CHALLENGES
» EDUCATION • Graduated from San Diego State University 1990 • Graduated from Western State University College of Law 1998
» AWARDS AND REVIEWS • OC Metro Top Attorneys • Prime Buyers Report Top 10 Certified • American Institute of Family Law Attorneys 10 Best Attorneys for California for 2017–2021 • American Society of Legal Advocates Top 100 Family Lawyer for California 2018–2021 • Lawyers of Distinction 2019–2021 • National Association of Distinguished Counsel Nation’s Top One Percent 2015–present • AVVO Rating: “Excellent” 10.0 rating with 103 client reviews as of August 2021 • Google Reviews: “Excellent” 5.0 Star rating with 60 client reviews as of August 2021
» ASSOCIATIONS • Member, Orange County Bar Association, 1996–present • Member, the American Society of Legal Advocates • Member, the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys • Member, the National Association of Distinguished Counsel
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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 187, 2021
5 Truths Every Attorney Needs to Know About Referrals by Stephen Fairley
At The Rainmaker Institute, we specialize in helping attorneys improve their revenues and increase the quality and quantity of their referrals. One of the things attorneys most frequently ask us is: “How do I find more clients fast?” The answer to this question is deceptively simple, yet amazingly complex to resolve. Referrals are near the top of the list when it comes to the best ways of finding new clients, but there are three pervasive myths, discussed in a previous article that I would like to dispel about referrals first. 1. Clients are the best sources for referrals 2. Other attorneys provide the most referrals 3. Networking provides great referrals While there is some truth to these myths, they are not entirely accurate. Clients aren’t the best source for referrals, just the most obvious. They are not always aware of all your services and you may not be the first person to come to mind when a friend comes to them for legal advice. Also, attorneys assume that most referrals can come from other attorneys, but that’s because they aren’t considering the other professionals that they surround themselves with. Consider accountants, financial advisors, realtors and other professionals with whom you can ally yourself. Choose professionals in careers that cater to the same sort of clients as your practice and you will be able to become natural allies without the concern of competition. Networking groups are also great places to make contacts, but attorneys don’t always follow up and create solid connections or they attend the wrong events. If you go to a luncheon filled with other attorneys in the same field, then you’re limiting the effectiveness of your efforts. If, however, you attend networking events filled with prospective clients, you’ll make better use of your time. If you’re a business attorney, consider joining a local business networking group. While these myths may mislead attorneys, these five compelling truths about referrals will help guide you to more business:
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Truth #1: People Make Referrals to Build Social Capital Most people enjoy making referrals to their friends and associates as a way of building social capital. If you truly want to build a referral-based law firm then you need to develop a habit of referring your clients and contacts to other professionals. It must be reciprocal to work longterm. When you refer a client to another professional, they feel more inclined to refer one of their clients to you. This becomes a give and take process. The more referral relationships you develop among your professional associates, the easier it will be for your practice to flourish from the referral business.
Truth #2: Mitigating Risk Is Important All referrals involve some risk—if someone sends you a referral and it turns our poorly, chances are you won’t receive too many other referrals. Attorneys who count on referrals for business generation need to take necessary steps to mitigate this risk with clear communication, setting expectations from the start, ongoing client education and stellar follow-up. This risk goes both ways. If you refer one of your clients to a professional associate and it doesn’t go well, than it reflects poorly on you. Don’t make referrals lightly; ensure that the professional associate is capable of handling the case.
Truth #3: People Refer Great Experiences People who have had great experiences with a product or service tend to refer it to their friends and colleagues. Which is why cultivating a culture of great client service is a must for gaining more referrals. How can you create a “VIP” experience for each client and referral that walks in your door?
While a lot of referrals can come from a referral network or a professional associate, clients also have the ability to spread your name. It is important to remember that people will tell friends and family about a bad experience before they will brag about a positive one. In order to keep your positive service top of the mind, make sure that you keep past and current clients up to date on your practice, awards and services. If a friend comes to them, they may remember reading your newsletter about a recent case or award. They may be more inclined to recall their own positive experience with you.
Truth #4: Referrals Require Trust Even if someone raves to a friend about you, that referral is likely to conduct a credibility search for you on the Internet. If the referral can’t find good content, reviews or social network participation, they will be less likely to proceed with contacting you. You need to manage your online image. Make sure to regularly check sites with client reviews. If someone posts a negative review, address it immediately. Don’t let a bad review turn away potential clients. Also, make sure that clients can easily find you. Make your LinkedIn profile public, so they can look over your
endorsements, your honors and your work experience. Make sure that you claim any attorney directory pages, so that it has accurate information. Clients should be able to contact you from any webpage.
Truth #5: Referrals Require a System Attorneys need to create a referral strategy that includes a systematic approach to educating referral sources what a good referral looks like and how to make it. This includes keeping all clients and professional associates current with your practice. Make sure that they are on your newsletter list. If you write an article about your practice area, send it out to everyone. n Stephen Fairley is CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, LLC, the nation’s largest law firm marketing company specializing in small law firms. Over 8,000 attorneys have benefited from applying their proven Rainmaker Marketing System. Stephen is a best-selling author of 10 books and a nationally recognized law firm marketing expert. He has appeared in the American Bar Association’s Journal, Harvard Management Update, Inc and Entrepreneur. To receive your free copy of his book “Top 10 Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make” visit www.TheRainmakerInstitute.com or call 888-588-5891.
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee ADR Services, Inc.
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Organized, succinct summaries of EVERY new published California civil and family law case, published every month for $50.00 a month. Subscribe at www.cacasesummaries.com
Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 187, 2021
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California Case Summaries New California Civil Cases by Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. These recent cases summarized by Monty A. McIntyre are from his publication California Case Summaries™. Monty prepares short summaries (one paragraph), organized by legal topic, of every new published California civil and family law case that California lawyers can subscribe to on either a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Monty also offers specialized practice area annual summaries in the areas of Employment, Family Law, Real Property and Torts. For more information go to https://cacasesummaries.com. A California civil trial lawyer since 1980, a member of ABOTA since 1995, a past president of the SDCBA and San Diego ABOTA, and also an expert Zoom user, Monty serves as a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. handling cases throughout California in the areas of business, elder abuse, employment/wage & hour, insurance bad faith, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death. Web: https://www. adrservices.com/neutrals/mcintyre-monty/ To schedule a matter, contact Monty’s case manager Haward Cho, (619) 233-1323 or haward@adrservices.com.
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT Civil Procedure Shalabi v. City of Fontana (2021) _ Cal.5th _ , 2021 WL 2908526: The California Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal concluding that plaintiff’s action under 42 United States Code section 1983, for the wrongful death of his father, was not barred by the two-year statute of limitations. Plaintiff was a minor when his father was killed. Code of Civil Procedure section 352(a) provides that when a minor is injured, the statute of limitations for any claim arising from the injury is tolled until the minor reaches age 18. The California Supreme Court ruled that, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 12, an individual’s 18th birthday is excluded when calculating the applicable limitations period. The California Supreme Court also ruled that its earlier decision in Ganahl v. Soher (1884) 2 Cal.Unrep. 415 (Ganahl I) was not binding because the California Supreme Court granted a hearing in bank in Ganahl I and issued a subsequent superseding decision, thereby vacating Ganahl I. (July 12, 2021.)
Employment Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC (2021) _ Cal.5th _ , 2021 WL 2965438: The California Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeal concluding that the employer did not have to include nondiscretionary payments when calculating the amount to pay their employee for noncompliant meal or rest breaks in accordance with her “regular rate of compensation” as required by Labor Code section 226.7(c). The California Supreme Court held that the term “regular rate of compensation” in section 226.7(c) has the same meaning as “regular rate of pay” in Labor Code section 510(a) and encompasses not only hourly 24
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wages but all nondiscretionary payments for work performed by the employee. (July 15, 2021.)
CALIFORNIA COURTS OF APPEAL Arbitration Law Finance Group, LLC v. Key (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 3240276: The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s order vacating an arbitration award in favor of claimant awarding it simple interest in the amount of $778,351 and costs and attorney fees in the amount of $838,864 as the prevailing party. Respondent had borrowed $2.4 million from claimant to finance her probate litigation. After respondent prevailed in that litigation, she repaid claimant the principal of $2.4 million but refused to pay interest claiming the loan was a consumer loan that violated the California Financing Law (Financial Code, section 22000 et seq.). A panel of three arbitrators found that some of the loan terms were invalid but otherwise enforced the loan agreement. The panel served the modified award on September 18, 2019. On October 1, 2019, claimant filed a petition to confirm the award. Respondent filed a motion to vacate the award 130 days after the service of the modified award, claiming the arbitrators exceeded their authority by finding that the loan was a consumer loan but nevertheless enforcing some of the terms of the loan agreement rather than finding it void. Nine days later, respondent filed a response to claimant’s petition to confirm the award that raised the same argument. The Court of Appeal ruled that both respondent’s motion to vacate the award and her response to the motion to confirm the award were untimely because they were not filed within 100 days of the service of the award as required by Code of Civil Procedure sections 1288 and 1288.2. (C.A. 2nd, July 30, 2021.)
Remedial Construction Services v. Aecom (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 2431256: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order denying defendant’s motion to compel arbitration. Plaintiff, a subcontractor on a construction project, sued defendant, the general contractor. Defendant moved to compel arbitration based upon an arbitration agreement in the contract (prime agreement) between defendant and the property owner. The subcontract between plaintiff and defendant incorporated the 151-page prime agreement including the arbitration agreement. The trial court properly ruled that the subcontract’s incorporation of the voluminous prime agreement containing an arbitration agreement between other parties was insufficient to subject plaintiff to arbitration of its claims against defendant. In the absence of a clear agreement to submit a dispute to arbitration, courts will not infer a waiver of a party’s jury trial rights. (See Avery v. Integrated Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 50, 59.) (C.A. 2nd, June 15, 2021.)
Attorney Fees Harris v. Rojas (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 3046421: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order concluding there was no prevailing party and awarding no attorney fees. The action was filed by the commercial tenant plaintiff against his landlord who cross-complained back against the tenant. The litigation continued for nearly three years and culminated in a seven-day jury trial. Plaintiff asked the jury for $200,000 and the jury gave him $6,450 on his contract claim. Plaintiff’s lawyers demanded $296,744.68 in attorney fees from defendant. The trial court denied the fee request on the ground there was no prevailing party. The Court of Appeal affirmed, concluding that when the demand was $200,000 and the verdict was $6,450 or less, the trial judge had discretion to decide the “victory” was pyrrhic and nobody won. (See Hsu v. Abbara (1995) 9 Cal.4th 863, 875.) (C.A. 2nd, July 20, 2021.) Pasternack v. McCullough (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 2633050: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order awarding attorney fees of $146,010 to defendant after he prevailed in an anti-SLAPP motion to strike. Plaintiff argued the fee award was excessive because the awarded fees were higher than the insurance defense rate (a package rate of $140 per hour) actually paid to the defense firm by the carrier. Defendant’s motion for fees had requested a fee award of $330,420. The Court of Appeal held a trial court has discretion to award an hourly rate under the lodestar method that exceeds the rate that was actually incurred or paid. The trial court properly determined the market rate for experienced appellate lawyers in Los Angeles County and exercised its discretion to not so narrowly focus on the insurance defense package rate agreed to in this matter. (C.A. 2nd, filed June 7, 2021, published June 25, 2021.)
Civil Procedure Cahill Construction Co., Inc. v. Superior Court (2021) _ Cal. App.5th _ , 2021 WL 3030225: The Court of Appeal denied a writ petition seeking to overturn the trial court’s order denying a defendant’s request to depose the plaintiff for more than 14 hours in an action against 105 defendants alleging 11 causes of action arising out of plaintiff Edward Richards’ alleged asbestos exposure that sought both compensatory and punitive damages. Ruling on an issue of first impression, the Court of Appeal held that a trial court cannot grant deposition time in excess of the 14-hour cap set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 025.295(b)(2). (C.A. 1st, July 19, 2021.)
Employment Levanoff v. Dragas (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 2621360: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s conclusion, following a bench trial, regarding a subclass of dual rate employees who allegedly were underpaid by defendants for overtime hours worked, that defendants did not violate California employment law by using the rate-in-effect method for calculating the overtime rate of pay and its subsequent order decertifying the dual rate overtime subclass and dismissing the claims under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA; Labor Code section 2698 et seq.). Defendants did not violate California law by using the rate-in-effect method for calculating the regular rate of pay for purposes of establishing the overtime rate of pay for dual rate employees. California law does not mandate the use of the weighted average method, and defendants’ dual rate employees, including plaintiffs, overall received net greater overtime pay under the rate-in-effect method than they would have received under the weighted average method. Because defendants did not violate California law by using the rate-in-effect method, the trial court did not err by decertifying the dual rate overtime subclass and dismissing the dual rate overtime PAGA claim. (C.A. 4th, June 25, 2021.)
Torts Swanson v. The Marley-Wylain Co. (2021) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2021 WL 2282641: The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment for plaintiff, following a jury trial, awarding plaintiff $5,489,688.68 in an action for injuries due to exposure to asbestos. Earlier in the case the Court of Appeal granted a peremptory writ of mandate directing the trial court to grant a motion for an order that Michigan law applied to plaintiff’s claims against defendant. The evidence of causation presented at trial would have been sufficient under Michigan law to support the jury’s verdict. But, the trial court’s instructions to the jury regarding causation reflected California law, not Michigan law. The Court of Appeal concluded that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on Michigan law and that error was prejudicial, and therefore reversed the judgment and remanded to the trial court for retrial. (C.A. 2nd, filed June 4, 2021, published June 24, 2021.) n Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 187, 2021
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Seize Your Reader’s Attention and Erase Doubt From Your Marketing Copy by Tom Trush
Drafting the Headline During the last century, countless advertising and marketing experts have crowned it king of the copy castle—the most critical element in any promotional piece. This status is well-deserved. After all, the headline is your first opportunity to grab your prospect’s attention. If you fail to attract eyeballs and communicate a reason to continue reading, then there’s little
“On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money.” —David Ogilvy, world-famous advertising executive and best-selling author of “Ogilvy on Advertising.”
use for the remaining copy because most people won’t see it. The good news is you don’t have to be a great wordsmith to write powerful headlines. You can simply alter ones that are already written to fit your needs. Once you understand the inner workings of a powerful headline, you can replace the elements with your own information. For example, let’s look at this article’s title (which serves the same purpose as a headline on an advertisement or marketing piece). There are at least three words you could change to target a completely different audience. In my opinion, the easiest terms to remove and replace are “Writer’s,” “Creating” and “Headlines.” If you want to target people who hate crunching numbers at tax time, why not use the headline The Reluctant Accountant’s Guide to Filing Taxes? If you want to target people who are hesitant about cooking their Thanksgiving turkey, you could try The 28
Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 187, 2021
Reluctant Cook’s Guide to Roasting the Perfect Turkey. Get the idea? A great source for coming up with headlines is Digg (www.digg.com). A social news website for discovering and sharing content from the Internet, Digg allows its users to determine the value of information using votes (or “diggs”). When you visit the site, it won’t take you long to notice a trend. Many posts with the most votes on Digg are numbered lists. Here are a few examples from this morning: 5 Ways Restaurants Provide You With Better Service Top 5 Food Shortage Nightmares 15 Best Free Windows Mobile Apps “How to” headlines are also common on Digg. If you study Ogilvy’s ads, you’ll see he frequently used “how to” headlines to tell potential clients about his agency’s expertise ... How to Create Corporate Advertising That Gets Results How to Launch New Products How to Make Your Sales Promotions More Profitable The reason numbered lists and “how to” headlines are so effective is because they promise readers helpful information. If you use these types of headlines, be prepared to provide valuable content in your body copy so you reward readers for investing their time. You’ll be amazed at how fast you can build credibility and trust with them when you share your knowledge.
7 Quick Ways to Erase Doubt From Your Marketing Copy Your prospects become suspicious the instant they start reading your marketing materials. The reaction is only natural. After all, when you’re a prospect and you’re asked to take action on an offer, your internal skeptic alarm goes off, too. Right?
So you realize you have only a few seconds to reverse your prospects’ thought process and get them on your side. The challenge is figuring out how to complete this transformation. Here are 7 quick ways to eliminate your prospects’ doubt when they read your marketing copy:
5. Encourage involvement. Ask for opinions or responses
1. Address doubts immediately. The longer you let
risk-free. A guarantee or trial period shows confidence in what you offer and allows prospects to test your legal services on their own terms.
suspicions linger, the more you risk your prospects fleeing to another marketing piece that better addresses their concerns. When you deal with objections, you become someone who helps rather than sells.
2. Add personality. Your copy isn’t just words on a page. If you want interaction, you must view the words you write as a friendly conversation. Prove to your prospects why you’re just like them and you’ll gain credibility.
3. Write the way your prospects talk. When you “speak” their language, you quickly establish a level of trust. Long words and jargon can create confusion and, in some cases, a sense of inadequacy.
4. Support your claims with proof. Testimonials, statistics and case studies go a long way in reducing doubt. Your prospects want to know people just like them were successful using your legal services.
to questions. Give prospects a checklist to help determine desires. You can even lead them to an audio, video or photo to engage their senses.
6. Give an escape route. This means making your offer
7. Deliver value. When you give freely, your prospects will feel more inclined to return the favor. There’s no substitute for making them feel like you truly care about their needs. Keep in mind, regardless of how well you write your copy, you’ll never get prospects to do anything they don’t want to do. All you can do is capitalize on an unfilled need or desire. n Tom Trush is a Phoenix, Arizona-based directresponse copywriter who helps entrepreneurs and executives craft lead-generating marketing materials. Pick up his latest book, Escape the Expected: The Secret Psychology of Selling to Today’s Skeptical Customers.
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