Shows
The J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Go From High Income to High Net Worth as a Family Lawyer - #146Send us a textHigh income, low net worth—it's the dirty secret plaguing many successful family law attorneys. In this J Sterling Hughes Insider episode, Darren Wurz, founder of the Lawyer Millionaire Founders Network, reveals why attorneys making $500K+ annually still struggle to build wealth and his proven three-step system that's transformed hundreds of law firm owners into true millionaires.Drawing from over 20 years of financial planning exclusively for attorneys, Darren exposes:The overspending trap that destroys wealth in both business and personal financesHis exact three-step framework: stabilizing business finances, maximizing profitability, and gr...2025-07-1836 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Calculate What Your Law Firm Is Actually Worth - #145Send us a textWhat's your family law firm actually worth if you decided to sell tomorrow? Most attorneys are shocked by the answer. In this J Sterling Insider episode, Richard James—founder of Your Practice Mastered, who's helped over 900 attorneys build scalable practices—reveals the brutal truth about law firm valuations and what drives them.Drawing from real valuation worksheets and market data, Richard breaks down:The four types of law firm owners and why your exit strategy determines your valuation approachHow value drivers like growth rate, profit margins, and LTV-to-CAC ratios can mult...2025-07-1122 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowThe 15-Minute Daily Practice That Built Our $17M Family Law Firm - #144Send us a textWant to see the exact communication system that scaled our law firm, Sterling Lawyers, to 25+ attorneys and $15+ million in revenue? In this exclusive behind-the-scenes J Sterling Hughes Insider episode, I take you inside an actual daily huddle—the 15-20 minute discipline that transformed their firm's growth and culture. Drawing from their real morning meeting, we unlock the framework that delivers:Accurate performance updates across yesterday, 5-day, and 28-day metrics that keep everyone alignedTimely recruiting discussions that ensure a quality teammate pipeline for sustainable growthRoadblock removal sessions that eliminate operational bottlenecks bef...2025-06-2624 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Run a Family Law Firm Daily Huddle That Propels Growth - #142Send us a textWant to know the secret tool that transformed Sterling Lawyers from chaos to a coordinated 25+ attorney firm doing $15+ million in revenue? In this interview, I interviewed our CFO, Todd Clauer, who revealed our game-changing daily management huddle—a 30-minute meeting that revolutionized how they operate.Drawing from 30+ years across manufacturing and professional services, Todd breaks down their proven system:The four-part daily agenda that keeps every division alignedHow our color-coded metrics drive immediate action on what matters mostWhy real-time consult tracking shrunk lead-to-appointment time from 2 weeks to under 5 daysThe Friday NP...2025-06-1223 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show8 Law Firm Naming Tips I Learned Building a $15M Practice - #136Send us a textStuck on what to name your law firm? In this video, I share eight practical tips for choosing a name that enhances your marketing without becoming an unnecessary obsession. Drawing from both my successes and painful mistakes building Sterling Lawyers, I reveal:Why choosing a name that personally inspires you matters more than you might thinkThe importance of making your name "portable" — easy to remember and shareHow to avoid the costly trademark mistakes I made when expanding to IllinoisWhy your firm name and brand are completely different things (and which one...2025-05-0109 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowDelegating Work in a Family Law Firm - #134Send us a textDrowning in tasks that keep you from growing your family law practice? In this episode, I share why mastering delegation was essential to growing Sterling Lawyers to 25+ attorneys and $15M in revenue. Drawing from personal experience, I reveal:The 8 reasons we often resist delegating (and which ones are costing you the most)My five-part delegation framework that transformed our firm's growth trajectoryPractical starting points, even if you don't have staff or resourcesListen in for a candid look at how delegation can free you from burnout while creating growth o...2025-04-1816 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Equip a Law Firm’s Satellite Location (Pt 3 of 3) - #133Send us a textThinking about opening a satellite office? Learn from our $100,000 mistake. In this third conversation with Tony Karls, we reveal our most painful and expensive lessons from expanding Sterling Lawyers to 26+ locations. Drawing from our experience, we covered:Why we spent over $100,000 on a satellite office that should have cost under $20,000The ideal satellite office setup: 600 square feet with just two rooms (not the elaborate setup we initially built)How our door lock system provides crucial usage data that transformed our expansion strategyThe hub-and-spoke model that makes multi-location growth actually profitable2025-04-1016 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Structure Your Law Firm Website for Multiple Locations (Pt 2 of 3) - #132Send us a textAre you planning to open multiple law firm locations? Your website structure could make or break your success. In the second part of my conversation with my partner Tony Karls, we explore the critical technical aspects of setting up your website for multi-location growth. Drawing from our journey building Sterling Lawyers, Tony reveals:The fundamental difference between single-location and multi-location website structuresWhy we experienced frustrating "traffic flipping" between our offices and how we fixed itThe counterintuitive truth about backlinks that can actually harm your multi-location strategyHow to future-proof your site f...2025-04-0318 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowFive-Part Framework to Build and Grow a Family Law Firm - #128Send us a textStruggling to grow your family law practice? Drawing from my journey building Sterling Lawyers, I share the framework I wish I'd had when starting out. In this episode, I reveal:The five key principles that guide smart resource allocation in a growing firmMy biggest mistakes and hard-earned lessons along the wayHow one principle helped us not just survive COVID but grow 18% during the pandemicWhy focusing on competition instead of building your own capabilities can cost you years of progressWhether you're just starting your family law practice or feeling s...2025-03-1018 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowFocus Your Family Law Practice to Have The Firm of Your Dreams - #124Send us a textWant to grow your family law practice? I've learned that saying 'yes' to every opportunity isn't always the answer. Drawing from Sterling Lawyers' journey from 1 to 25+ attorneys, I share why focusing purely on family law transformed our firm.In this episode, I break down:Our painful pivot - cutting half our staff and clients to focus only on family lawThe unexpected rewards of saying 'no' to everything else (even estate planning)Five powerful reasons to narrow your focus—better lawyers, improved client service, efficient operations, marketing advantages, and higher profitsWhy mo...2025-02-2421 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Change Attorney Compensation Without Losing Your Team (Pt 1) - #121Send us a textAs we've grown Sterling Lawyers to 25+ attorneys and $15M in revenue, one of the toughest challenges has been getting lawyer compensation right. In this episode, I sit down with my partner, Jeff Kerlin, to walk through our 2024 journey of transforming our compensation model. We share:Why our original percentage-of-collections model that worked for years started breaking downThe painful lessons we learned from rushing changes in 2022How Jeff Kerlin led a 14-month process to rebuild trust and create a new model that works for everyoneOur path to creating clear gr...2025-02-1030 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowBuild Advantages for Higher Margins in Family Law - #117Send us a textGrowing a family law firm is hard. As we built Sterling Lawyers to a 25+ attorney firm doing $15M in revenue, I learned that you need clear competitive advantages to break out of the pack. In this show, I cover:Why having just one advantage wasn't enough for usExamples of what's working for successful family law firms across the U.S.How to identify your firm's unique advantagesDeploying your advantages to increase marginsI hope this helps you build a beautiful family practice firm and have the firm of your d...2025-01-2019 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowWhy Smart Family Lawyers Are Losing Premium Clients (Fix This Now) - #115Send us a textObtaining great client outcomes is not enough to satisfy family law clients.There's a mind-bending truth on what clients want more than great outcomes—it's meeting their emotional needs.In this episode, I share:The truth about what clients will pay premium rates for (hint: it's not legal outcomes)The two things we aggressively focus on at Sterling to deliver this at scaleWhy the gap between good and great family lawyers isn't about legal skill------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com...2025-01-1311 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowPractical AI Family Law Tools That Work - #114Send us a textJeff Morrell, one of our Senior Partners, is back to talk about AI tools for family lawyers.This is the presentation that Jeff gave at our annual Sterling Day event.It's about how our firm is using AI tools to enhance efficiency and streamline operations.Here’s what we covered:- The ways AI is transforming legal workflows.- Practical tools that save us time every day.- The development of user-friendly tools like a Chrome extension and an affidavit automation tool.- How...2025-01-0929 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowStaying Focused On One Marketing Tactic at a Time - #108Send us a textThere are limitless marketing tactics available to a family law firm. It can be overwhelming. One of Sterling Lawyers' most successful marketing strategies has been to focus on one tactic at a time.In this show, I articulate why to focus on one tactic:1 - Allows enough time to yield results2 - Avoids switching costs3 - Enables achieving mastery4 - Builds momentumAnd how to do this:1 - Identify your best tactic2 - Get clear on your target audience3 - Re...2024-12-0216 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowScaled Offers at Sterling (Entry to High-End Service) with Mary Sankey - #104Send us a textIs your law firm losing clients who can’t afford full-time representation? This show offers creative ideas to get incremental clients that you may otherwise not get.I sit down with Mary Sankey, our Sales Manager, to explore how Sterling offers legal services for clients with varying needs and budgets. My last episode explained scaled offers. Here, we walk you through the scaled offers at Sterling that go from from $450 coaching sessions to $85,000 executive representation.------------------------- Go to: www...2024-11-1513 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowScaled Offers to Turbo-Charge Client Hires w/ Tony Karls - #103Send us a textAre you missing out on potential clients? Most family lawyers give potential clients one offer: hourly representation. There is a better way to serve clients than with just one offer. Having multiple offers is a great way to incrementally grow sales. We call this "scaled offers" at Sterling Lawyers. In this show, my co-founder, Tony Karls, and I cover:1 - The problem with jumping straight from "I don't know you" to "Spend money with me"2 - How to create a series of scale...2024-11-1114 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowSolving the Real Client Problems to Stand Out! (Legal Start-up 3 of 3) - #99Send us a textOftentimes, lawyers and clients disagree on the most important problem to solve in family law.Lawyers can assume it's one problem. Meanwhile, the client is focused on a totally different problem to solve. What’s the secret to figure this out -- so your firm can stand out above the rest?In this third part of our Legal Start-up series, Tony Karls dissects how our family law firm, Sterling Lawyers, separates ourselves from other firms by focusing on what the client wants.------------------------- Go to...2024-10-2819 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowEasy Interviews to Fine-Tune Your Legal Service (Legal Start-up 2 of 3) with Tony Karls - #98Send us a textClient interviews can revolutionize your law firm.That's what happened at our firm, Sterling Lawyers. In the second part of our 3-part series, I sit down with my partner and co-founder, Tony Karls, to reveal how early client interviews turned our struggling practice into a successful, growing firm.We talked about:The surprising impact of "Molly," our ideal client mannequin (kinda cringy, actually)How client interviews reshaped our marketing strategy and service approachThe unexpected insights we gained about client psychographics and buying behaviorsWhy longer intake calls b...2024-10-2413 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowSelecting the Law Practice Type that Fits You (Legal Start-up 1 of 3) with Tony Karls - #97Send us a textReady to build a law practice that aligns with your strengths and passions? Tony Karls, my co-founder at Sterling Lawyers, is back to discuss how to identify the best type of law for your practice. This conversation kicks off a three-part series where we share the early details that helped us start, build and scale our firm.We covered:1 - Determining the right type of law for you, aligning with your strengths and passions2 - Effective market research strategies, including using Google Trends3 - Ho...2024-10-1822 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowAttorney Levels at Sterling Lawyers with Holly Mullin - #93Send us a textHolly Mullin and I have an insightful conversation about the lawyer career development process from Associate to Managing Partner. She goes into detail with real-life examples and stories from consultations, settlement conferences, and court hearings that highlight how she mentors and trains in our firm’s future leaders.We also discussed:- Sterling’s tiered system for career progression- Why lawyer proactivity is necessary for fixed-fee models to work- The importance of shadowing senior attorneys- Lawyering skills necessary to advance from associate to par...2024-09-3022 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowBuilding a Legal Culture with Celebration and Recognition - #90Send us a textCreating a positive team culture is essential to build a long term law firm. In this episode, Sterling's Managing Partner, Holly Mullin is back to share how she has built a dynamic and vibrant environment for her teamHere’s what we discussed:Balancing client work and creating a collaborative atmosphereTransforming the office morale with the right floor planHow weekly "Level 10" meetings set a positive tone with personal shares and shout-outsPrioritizing fun and engaging quarterly events, like murder mystery parties and family outingsStrategies for recognizing team members' contributions, incl...2024-09-1924 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show$10k Lessons with Lee: Intake Teams & Moving to Fixed Fees (Pt 3 of 3) - #87Send us a textMy partner and I paid $10k (gulp!) for a day of Lee Rosen's time back in 2015. His advice turned around our law firm and the course of my career.His sage counsel turned out to be worth millions to Sterling Lawyers.In this third installment, I share Lee's advice to us on:1 - Intake team optimization principles 2 - Converting to Fixed Fee from Hourly3 - How to utilize the Net Promotor Score in our client serviceIn this show, I share the stuff that ac...2024-09-0910 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show$10k Lessons with Lee: Paying Lawyers & Building Culture (Part 2 of 3) - #86Send us a textI have learned that most business consultants are not worth the money. I think the idea makes the owner feel good about engaging and buying. But, little good ever happens from business consultants.There are exceptions, of course.Lee Rosen is one major exception for Sterling Lawyers. He has taught me so much.My partner and I paid $10k (gulp!) for a day of Lee's time back in 2015. His prescient advice dramatically changed our firm forever. In this show (part 2 of 3), I sha...2024-09-0517 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowMore Online Reviews = More Law Firm Wins - #83Send us a textWhat’s our secret to getting 9,000+ family law client reviews for Sterling Lawyers? In this show, I dive deep into the power of online reviews for law firms, sharing how Sterling Lawyers has amassed over 9,000 public reviews - a feat particularly challenging in family law. Here’s what I coverWhy Reviews Matter: From building trust to influencing decisions, reviews are critical in family law.Our Review Process: How we incentivize attorneys to gather authentic reviews and why we never pay clients for them.How...2024-08-2210 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowSteal Our Powerful Law Firm Culture Tool - #81Send us a textI’m excited to take you behind the scenes of how we've crafted a thriving and cohesive culture at Sterling Lawyers, despite the challenges of having 75 teammates spread across three states and three countries. We've discovered a powerful tool that brings us together—our bi-weekly meeting known as "The Summons." This 30-minute gathering, held over the lunch hour, has become more than just a meeting. It’s a space where connections are strengthened, a common language is developed, and our shared vision is reinforced.Here's what I describe...2024-08-1534 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowRetargeting Potential Family Law Clients with Tony Karls - #75Send us a textRetargeting potential clients is a big part of our firm's marketing strategy.I'm thrilled to welcome back Tony Karls, the innovative Sterling Lawyers co-founder and, now, President of Rocket Clicks. Tony shares his deep expertise, focusing on:Accurately identifying your target audienceCrafting compelling and resonant messagesChoosing the most effective communication mediumsI hope this information helps you grow your law firm and serve more clients!------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources.My purpose is t...2024-07-2520 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowManaging International Law Firm Teammates with Robin Esch (Part 3 of 3) - #74Send us a textRobin Esch, our Director of Team Growth, joins me again to explore the Sterling Lawyers' playbook for managing international teammates. Here's what we dive into:Our structured process that ensures every team member feels valued and equipped from day one.How we create accountability and integration within our diverse team.The importance of clear roles and expectations to foster productivity and clarity.How we effectively manage payroll, benefits, and compliance for our international staff.This is the final installment of our series on Sourcing, Selecting and Managing International Law F...2024-07-2219 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowSourcing International Law Firm Teammates with Robin Esch (Part 1 of 3) - #72Send us a textOne of Sterling Lawyers' talent advantages has been learning the skill of finding international teammates. This show is all about how we go about sourcing qualified, smart, hard-working teammates that do not live in the USA.Most of our firm's 27 international support teammates are client-facing. They have regular and meaningful communication with our Illinois and Wisconsin clients. My guest this week is Robin Esch, Sterling's Team Growth Director (HR). She details how we do it. We also discussed: - How we started with our firs...2024-07-1522 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowLeverage Constraints to Build Your Law Firm - #70Send us a textIf I could have a "Do-Over" for our first 10 years of building Sterling Lawyers, I would force myself to grow our family law firm with fewer resources.Why build our firm with less?-- Because I would have been more creative and disciplined, leading to a strong law firm today.In this show, I answer:1. What is a constraint?2. Why do they work?3. How do you use constraints to build a stronger law practice?I hope you learn from my mistakes to create...2024-07-0809 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowCoaching Family Lawyers and Support Teammates with Jeff Kerlin - #68Send us a textOur Sterling Lawyers' President, Jeff Kerlin, is back with me to breakdown the best practices on coaching lawyers.Jeff leads a high performing team of lawyers. This is not accidental. He shares his methods on how he does it.We discuss:Biweekly coaching sessions and frequent tactical meetings on team transparency and achieving a shared visionThe journey of building leadership through networking with peers and mentorsThe importance of reading extensively on leadership and business------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Fa...2024-06-2711 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowLeading a Family Law Firm as a Non-lawyer with Jeff Kerlin - #67Send us a textJeff Kerlin is the President of Sterling Lawyers. He is not a lawyer, but he is an incredible leader.Prior to joining Sterling, Jeff was the President and CEO of a large printer. His success at our firm is proof that good leadership applies wherever there are people. Here's a peek at what we covered:Becoming president of a law firm without a legal backgroundKey qualities of effective leaders and building a high-performance cultureThe importance of listening in leadershipEmpowering team members for better buy-in and ownershipWhether you...2024-06-2416 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowLaw Partners: Embrace your Differences from Teammates - #66Send us a textTransitioning from associate lawyer to a partner leading your former peers can be the most challenging jump of a career. Doing this well demands uncommon maturity, emotional strength, and new boundaries. Many new partners are reluctant to accept the new differences between them and their teammates.I talk through how to do this successfully. ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources.My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a b...2024-06-2009 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowManaging a Family Law Firm Operating System with Jeff Kerlin - #65Send us a textJeff Kerlin is the President of Sterling Lawyers, my family law firm.Jeff is responsible for managing our firm's operating system, which is based on EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) -- a framework to ensure that the entire firm is executing on the right things. Today, we have 80+ teammates spread out across three states and three countries. Our operating system keeps all of us organized and working together. We discussed:Leveraging EOS from day one to scale our firm to 25 attorneys and over $15 million in revenue.Keeping ev...2024-06-1717 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowFeedback as a Law Firm Growth Engine - #64Send us a textFeedback is an underrated growth tool for law firm leaders. It is most certainly a shortcut to improving as a leader.And, when the leader gets better, the whole law firm benefits. In this show, I discuss how one moment of feedback from a teammate transformed how I lead. At first, I was resistant and defensive. Then, as I listened, I saw my blind spot and weakness as a leader. In that instant, I determined to let down my guard and embrace feedback.It changed me for...2024-06-1319 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowFour Major Law Firm Growth Mistakes I Made - #63Send us a textWe started and grew Sterling Lawyers from 0 to 25 lawyers with over $15M in revenue within the first 9 years. It has been fun -- and painful.The pain came from the four biggest mistakes I made along the way.Here they are:Not joining a mastermind group with other legal professionalsUnderestimating how growth can cover serious flawsFailing to keep one or two key things the priorityFocusing too much on challenging the team while neglecting supportPay attention to my mistakes so you don't have to experience them!2024-06-1011 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowOvercoming a Health Crisis While Building a Family Law Firm with James Joseph - #62Send us a textJames Joseph's journey is inspiring and incredible. He is a deeply respected family lawyer who he has built a thriving practice on Long Island, New York. In the midst of building his firm and starting a family, he received life-altering medical news. The prospects looked dim. The doctors advised him to wait it out. So, James privately endured four years of slow progression of his disease.Then, the day came for his ultimate battle. In this podcast, James opens up about:The fascinating story of his succes...2024-06-0645 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowFinancial Reporting for Law Firm Growth with Leah Miller - #61Send us a textLeah Miller is a law firm financials expert. Her career began with a 13 year stint as a paralegal and office administrator. In that role, she learned the ins and outs of running a law practice. In 2023, after earning her MBA, Leah founded LNM Financial Services to help law firm owners achieve their growth goals. In this show we discuss:The pivotal impact of having a financial voice in law firmsThe crucial role of robust financial management in scaling operationsUnderstanding the balance between cash and accrual accountingEffective strategies for manag...2024-06-0338 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowLeading a High Engagement Law Firm Culture with Thomas Tona - #60Send us a textAttorney Tom Tona's story is incredible.He has consistently defied the odds and built a highly successful litigation firm in New York. It started with Tom building his grit as an undersized boy as he pushed through regular bullying. His mindset later pushed him to achieve his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu--which is a decade-long undertaking in the best of circumstances.In this show, we discuss:Tom's journey and the practical applications to any lawyer wanting to build a career and firmInsights from his 30 years as a...2024-05-3049 min
The Free Lawyer216. How Did Jeff Sterling Hughes Transform His Family Law Firm?In this episode of "The Free Lawyer," host Gary interviews Jeff Sterling Hughes, founder of Sterling Lawyers, a family law firm. Jeff discusses his journey from poverty to law, the firm's rapid growth, and the shift to focusing solely on family law. He shares the challenges and failures encountered, particularly with fixed-fee pricing, intake processes, and converting consults to clients. Jeff explains the firm's innovative approach to billing, moving from court-event-based fees to time-based fees, which improved efficiency and client satisfaction. He also touches on the importance of managing compassion fatigue and maintaining personal freedom. The episode offers insights into...2024-05-3033 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Build a Non-Attorney Family Law Sales Team with Mary Sankey - #59Send us a textMy guest, Mary Sankey, is the leader of our non-attorney sales team at Sterling Lawyers. We explore the genesis and development of our non-attorney sales team.We also discuss:Mary's experience with divorce as a child and how it shaped her empathetic approachHer transition from the coffee industry to leading our sales teamThe importance of non-attorney professionals in a law firmInsights from dozens of workshops and webinarsThe delicate balance between family life and professional responsibilities"Extreme ownership" of her roleThe synergy of sibling collaboration with her brother, Anthony Karls.I...2024-05-2330 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Fire Lawyers at Your Firm - #58Send us a textTerminating lawyers on your team is a very difficult process. Yet, it is critically necessary for any healthy law firm to grow and serve clients well.Every firm that is growing will have to terminate a lawyer's employment. At Sterling Lawyers, we have fired lawyers for a range of reasons. This show details our firm's history in this sensitive area, including other attorneys who fired us when they resigned. I discuss:1 - "Why" we have terminated lawyers from our team (they all fall into three categories)2...2024-05-2025 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Buy Paid Search for Family Law with Tony Karls - #57Send us a textPaid Search is the second most important component of search marketing for any family law firm. The first is map listings -- see earlier podcast on this topic. In this show, my co-founder, Tony Karls, and I discuss our firm's philosophy and strategy to employ paid search in our marketing mix. We cover:1 - Diversifying your marketing tactics2 - Dangers of leaning too heavily on paid search for your firm's visibility3 - How a meticulously structured account is your first defense against the complacency that can creep...2024-05-1618 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowManaging Family Law Compassion Fatigue with Gary Miles - #56Send us a textGary Miles's journey is one of profound transformation. He battled and overcame the grip of alcohol to build and lead a successful family law firm.In this show, Gary's candid retelling of his challenges and how he prevailed is certainly inspirational. It also serves as a roadmap to family lawyers interested in building their practice and having personal freedom.Additionally, we discussed:1 - Unique emotional complexities of a family law practice2 - Building personal relationships with clients3 - Expressing gratitude in old-fashioned ways4 - Psychological bat...2024-05-1329 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowSterling Lawyers' Marketing Blueprint Revealed with Tony Karls - #55Send us a textIt's no secret that my Sterling Family Lawyers co-founder, Tony Karls, is the digital marketing mastermind behind our success. In this week's show, Tony and I reveal the precise marketing blueprint that propelled our family law firm from 0 to 25 lawyers and $15million in revenue in less than 10 years. We discuss:1 - Establishing an initial online presence2 - Early decisions that pushed us to the top of local maps3 - Harnessing phone call analytics to fine tune our digital marketing4 - Crafting a website that attracts an...2024-05-0928 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowMethodically Effective Digital Marketing Strategies with Bo Royal - #54Send us a textBo Royal is a former Fortune 500 advertising agency executive turned lawfirm marketing expert. After holding leadership positions at eBay’s marketing solutions division and scaling the online advertising revenues of a variety of well-known brands, such as Calvin Klein, Bo pivoted into the world of legal marketing over five years ago and never looked back. Today, Bo co-owns and operates Pareto Legal, a growth marketing agency positioned to help small and medium-sized law firms add an extra 7 figures in cases to their pipeline.In this week...2024-05-0639 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowOptimizing Maps for Family Law Clients with Tony Karls - #53Send us a textMap listings are the single most important component of search marketing for any family law firm. The maps are Sterling Lawyers' most important lead generation channel. In this episode, my co-founder, Tony Karls, and I discuss the essential elements that have amplified our firm's map visibility. If you want to rank highly in the maps, this is the definitive playbook. ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources.My purpose is to ...2024-05-0214 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowRaw, Unfiltered Story on How to Build a Thriving Family Law Firm with Jonathan Breeden - #52Send us a textWhen I sat down with Jonathan Breeden for this episode, my intention was to get his blueprint on how to create a hyperlocal podcast for family law firms.We certainly covered that topic. But, there turned out to be so much value in hearing his story.Jonathan Breeden is a seasoned family lawyer who takes us behind the scenes of his North Carolina firm's impressive growth. We explored his journey from a solo practitioner to leading a team of seven attorneys across four officesJonathan's ca...2024-04-2945 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowOptimize Your Family Law Intake Team with Tony Karls - #51Send us a textThe best law firm lead generation system in the world is useless without a good intake team.One of the performance secrets at Sterling Lawyers has been our intake team. They excel at the critical task of answering the phone and supporting potential clients facing a family legal crisis.In this episode, Tony Karls and I do a deep dive into our family law firm intake strategy and key metrics.------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family L...2024-04-2516 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowLaw Firm Operational Health with Kyle Harbaugh - #50Send us a textKyle Harbaugh is the Founder and President of Chief Go Officers. He is a holistic business strategist for law firms and his focus is on helping firms grow and operate better by providing Done-For-You projects and fractional services. In this episode, we have a full conversation about the challenges that firms encounter to move from the founder(s) doing all the legal work to building a legal team. Kyle is also the co-creator of a comprehensive Business Health Analysis that dissects law firms in 12 key areas: Clientele, Messaging, Networking, Pro...2024-04-2232 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowSterling Lawyers' Initial Strategic Blueprint with Tony Karls - #49Send us a textThe Sterling Lawyers origin story began on a whiteboard in the late fall of 2013, where Tony Karls and I sketched out the strategic blueprint of the law firm.Today, ten years later, we are revealing the essential components of that strategy. It's not surprising that almost nothing worked out like we planned, including our firm's mission.There are two things that have not changed:1 - Our core values2 - The primary elements of our strategic planEnjoy!------------------------- Go t...2024-04-1810 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowDeveloping High-Performance Family Lawyers with Katie VanDeusen - #48Send us a textKatie VanDeusen co-leads a team of 25 family lawyers. She is a highly successful leader, especially when it comes to developing less-experienced attorneys.Katie has always been a top-performer at Sterling Lawyers. She has set more than a few performance records. In addition to her own prolific practice, she mentors other attorneys, some of which have surpassed her early performance.This episode peels back the layers of what it takes to challenge and support a team of high performers. Katie also talks about the subtleties of buil...2024-04-1535 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowDominate Family Law with a Great Hiring Process - #47Send us a textPeople are the most important success factor in every law firm. There are no exceptions to this rule. At Sterling Lawyers we take hiring (we call it "selection") very, very seriously. Over the past 10 years we have honed our selection process into a finely tuned machine. Robin Esch oversees the sourcing and selection of all our teammates. She is our Director of Team Growth (AKA, "Human Resources").In this episode, Robin unpacks our selection process and breaks it down in a way that anyone can copy it. 2024-04-1213 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowPreparing a Family Law Firm for Sale with Tom Lenfestey - #46Send us a textTom Lenfestey is the founder of The Law Practice Exchange. He's also a practicing North Carolina attorney, licensed CPA, and Accredited Business Intermediary.Tom is one of North America's most knowledgeable experts on selling a law firm. In this fascinating conversation we discussed:State of M&A in lawPeople law firms v. Business law firmsLaw firm ownership deregulationFamily law firm valuationsBest practices to maximize law firm value on an exitThe Law Practice ExchangeUsing the SBA to fund a law practice purchase------------------------- Go to: ww...2024-04-0836 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowThe Alchemy of Legal Triumphs with Attorney Patrick Slaughter - #45Send us a textAttorney Patrick Slaughter is an attorney coach with substantial "Street Cred."He has built a very successful law firm and sold it. Now, he helps other lawyers do the same thing.His story is non-traditional to say the least. Patrick was a magician for 20 years before attending law school. Once out of law school, he hustled, networked, and worked incredibly hard to build his firm from the ground up.He succeeded wildly.If you want inspiration or firm growth ideas--or both, listen to his...2024-04-0554 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Measure a Family Law Firm Culture with Robin Esch - #44Send us a textBusiness 101: If you are not measuring it, you are not managing it.This principle is true when it comes to a family law firm culture. My guest this week is Robin Esch, Sterling Lawyers' Director of Team Growth. We explore how we measure a critical aspect of our law firm -- our culture. ------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources.My purpose is to Empower Family Law Attorneys so they can build a bea...2024-04-0114 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Collect a Million Dollars in Family Law with Jeff Morrell - #43Send us a textAttorney Jeff Morrell is a Senior Partner at our family law firm, Sterling Lawyers.Since joining our team, Jeff has been a pace-setter.This episode is a conversation between me and Jeff riffing on his productivity strategies.He shares a load of valuable insights on how to improve the efficiency of a family law practice.Enjoy!------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources.My purpose is to Empower Family Law...2024-03-2821 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowKey Financial Metrics for Healthy Family Law Firms with Jon Morris - #42Send us a textJon Morris is the founder of Rise Interactive, a wildly successful digital agency that he exited a few years ago. Since then, Jon has started two more highly successful service businesses: (1) EngineBi (www.enginebi.net) and (2) Fiscal Advocate (www.fiscaladvocate.com). Jon also sits on the Sterling Lawyers Board of Advisors.Over the years, Jon has discovered the ideal ratios for professional service firms to be healthy. Here they are:Gross Margin - 50% +Profit - 20%+SG&A - 30% or less (Sales and Marketing - 8%, Ops and Finan...2024-03-2535 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show11 Surprising Lessons from Growing a Family Law Firm - #41Send us a textAs I reflect on our first ten years of building and leading Sterling Law, there are 11 lessons that have surprised me.Here they are:1 - Being a leader is your identity2 - Building a law firm is a sprint and a marathon3 - Vulnerability is confidence in action4 - Discipline today avoids pain tomorrow5 - Leadership isn't winning your way. It’s clearing the way for teammates.6 - Hire to complement. Not get compliments7 - Indecision turns temporary pain chronic8 - Ten minutes with...2024-03-2121 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Lead Family Law Lawyers for Maximum Results with Holly Mullin - #40Send us a textHolly Mullin co-leads one of the largest family law teams in the United States. Her well-earned law leadership insights have come through years of trial and error.She has a reputation for professionalism and genuinely serving her teammates. Holly is well-respected by every member of the Sterling Law team.In this episode, we explore: 1 - Leading through growth and adversity2 - Nurturing family law talent3 - Importance of empathy over technical prowess4 - Balancing supporting a teammate, while also challenging to achieve5 - Building a...2024-03-1840 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowLawyer Leader's Most Powerful Tool - #39Send us a textLaw firm leadership is visual. Teammates do what they see.Leadership is not about title or position. It is about modeling the behavior that we want duplicated.The truth about leadership modeling in a law firm is:1 - The higher up leaders go, the fewer privileges they have--and more weight they must carry.2 - When the leader engages in bad behavior, the team will amplify that behavior to excess. Conversely, the same is not always true about good behavior. 3 - The leader's relationship with co-workers will chan...2024-03-1411 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowDeveloping Digital Marketing Advantages for Family Lawyers with Paul Mackiewicz - #38Send us a textPaul Mackiewicz is the owner of Honorable.Marketing, an AI-powered digital agency focused on serving law firms.In this interview, Paul and I go deep down the digital marketing rabbit hole in the family law context. We discussed:- How to get started as a family lawyer online- The order of priority when building digital assets- How to hire and work with a digital marketing agency- Looking at your online presence as a whole- Maximizing law firm exposure - Man...2024-03-1244 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show6 Lawyer Leadership Paradoxes That I Painfully Learned - #37Send us a textSo much about leading a law firm is paradoxical. On their face, the concepts don't seem to make much sense.Yet they often make the difference between success and failure.These are my favorite law leadership incongruities I have learned through the pain of failure. 1 - Unless the decision can kill you, make it fast2 - Leadership vulnerability is a show of strength3 - The law firm leader is the CFO - Chief Focus Officer4 - In hiring, if you're not repelling most candidates, you’re n...2024-03-0714 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowCourtroom to Microphone: The Podcasting Journey of Robert Ingalls - #36Send us a textThis episode is all about how to execute a podcast for a law firm.My guest is podcasting expert, Robert Ingalls, owner of LawPods. Robert is a lawyer and "gets" what it takes for lawyers to use podcasts to grow their firm. We delve into all the salient questions that need answers for attorneys to start and grow their podcast.Enjoy!------------------------- Go to: www.JSterlingHughes.com for tons of Family Law Practice resources.My purpose is to...2024-03-0453 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Hire Great Family Lawyers - #35Send us a textHiring great family lawyers is the leaders' most important task if the firm is to grow.Nothing is more important.At Sterling, our formula for hiring Family Law Lawyers:1 - Must share our core values2 - Don’t mind being measured3 - Has drive and ambition4 - Has high level of empathy and people skills5 - Coachable to adopt proactive practice habitsWhat is not important and has little to no correlation to client success:GradesLaw schoolFamily law experienceIf...2024-02-2920 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Use NPS in Family Law to Measure Client Satisfaction - #34Send us a textThe most famous client satisfaction number in the world is Net Promoter Score (NPS).The survey question is: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?"Responses of "9 or 10" equal a promoter. "7 or 8" is a neutral. 6 or less is a detractor. Blend all the responses and get your NPS. We have made this single question the cornerstone of the Sterling Family Law client strategy.In this episode, my partner, Tony Karls, and I brea...2024-02-2616 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowThree Mentor Lessons that Changed My Law Career - #33Send us a textWhen I sat down beside business titan Bobby Martin at a New York restaurant in 2005, I never imagined it would mark the beginning of a mentorship that would alter my law leadership career.In the years that followed, Bobby taught me many lessons. Three, in particular, stand out:1. "Never milk the mouse"2. "When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box"3. "Can't never could" This is a short podcast but long on career value. I return to these often. 2024-02-2207 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowCorey Quinn's Playbook for Law Firm Success - #32Send us a textCorey Quinn drops pure gold for lawyers looking to grow their law firm through digital marketing. In this episode, he reveals:The three step digital marketing strategy for lawyers seeking to break into a marketHow to use targeted marketing strategies to support specializationLaw firm digital marketing best practicesThe importance of clarifying a firm's go-to-market strategyHow to transition a law firm from founder led sales to a more sustainable modelIf there is anyone qualified to advise lawyers on how to initially optimize their digital marketing, it is Corey Quinn. He is th...2024-02-1934 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowHow to Grow a Family Law Firm with Non-Lawyer Business Partner - #31Send us a textImagine transforming a vision into a 25 lawyer family law firm reality—Tony Karls and I did just that with Sterling Law Offices.In this episode, we pull back the curtain and describe how a lawyer and a non-lawyer worked together to build and scale our family law firm. We discuss the following:1 - bringing complimentary skills to our business relationship2 - our initial thesis to be dominant on one area -- digital marketing3 - focusing on business process once we reached a modest scale4 - chal...2024-02-1521 minThe J. Sterling Hughes ShowAI for Family Lawyers with Jeff Morrell - #30Send us a textMy guest this week is Jeff Morrell, Senior Partner at Sterling Law.Jeff is a brilliant lawyer and constant legal innovator. And, he is our firm's resident AI expert and tool builder.In this podcast, Jeff shares a number of tactics on how he has used AI tools to enhance his family law practice. His applications are practical. Anyone can implement them. Jeff has discovered ways to streamline his client communication, which is one of the largest time investments in family law. In particular, he has built a ter...2024-02-1221 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show#29 - Eight Characteristics of Top Performing Law FirmsSend us a textAs we have grown our law firm from zero to 25 attorneys, I have seen how our firm matched up with other very successful law firms. And, I have noticed that top performing law firms have some common characteristics:1 - Leaders have a growth mindset. They listen to feedback and ideas from others. They welcome criticism and have people around them who disagree with them. 2 - There is a simple, easy to understand plan in place. Effective leaders make business plans simple to understand and, thus, easier to execute. 3...2024-02-0815 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show#28 - Law Firm Entrepreneur Jennifer Gore-Cuthbert on Building a Practice and Smashing Growth PlateausSend us a textJennifer Gore-Cuthbert's journey is wildly inspiring. Our conversation is loaded with valuable insights on how to build a firm from nothing to a flourishing practice. Jennifer's path wasn't smooth. She faced the daunting challenge of failing the bar exam while pregnant and then managing a startup firm with a newborn. Immediately after passing the bar exam, Jennifer started her law firm from her spare bedroom. The firm has grown exponentially over the years and is an Atlanta powerhouse today--led by an absolute force in the legal community!In th...2024-02-0535 minThe J. Sterling Hughes Show#27 - Three Barriers that Stop Family Law Firms from ScalingSend us a textThe vast majority of Family Law firms do not grow beyond two attorneys. There are three primary barriers that stifle growth:1 - Ineffective leadership by the lawyer leader2 - Poor marketing3 - Lack of scalable business process systems Each of these obstacles can be overcome. At Sterling Law, we’ve bumped into each of these roadblocks at least once. We pushed through, and so can you. This episode isn’t just about identifying the problems; it's a gu...2024-02-0112 min