Michele Lebron didn’t inherit a pot of gold. What she did inherit from her grandmother, a paralegal of 50 years, was an undeniable work ethic and a love for the law. When Michele was only a child, her grandmother would take her to the law office where she worked and let her “work” with her, which led her to eventually getting a “real job” in that same office, becoming a paralegal herself and then, eventually, fulfilling her life-long dream of becoming an attorney.
But that wasn’t enough for Michele. More than anything, she wanted to be her own boss, and to create a prosperous and happy life she knew her grandmother always wanted for her.
It took re-writing old money stories in her head, overcoming old fears and stepping out on faith, but she did it and now not only runs a successful law firm, but she’s even invested in her dream home, her first office building, and a boat and resort-style pool so she can fully enjoy the Florida lifestyle.
In this episode, Michele shares with us how she accomplished all of this and much more, including…
- The network she turns to for advice – and two people she says are essential to any startup
- How to handle the “business” side of your law practice
- The power of narrowing your niche (and what happens when you don’t)
- What she does – and doesn’t do – to keep employees “happy” and motivated
- Why facing your fears is so important in your approach to business
Listen now…
Mentioned in this episode:
Transcript
Davina Frederick: Hello and welcome to the Wealthy Woman Lawyer Podcast, formerly known as the Solo to CEO Podcast. It’s a new year and we have a new name. But our mission in 2020 is still very much the same, to provide thought-provoking powerful and practical information to help you in creating your own wealth-generating law firm without overwork or overwhelm.
I’m your host, Davina Frederick, and I’m here today with my good friend Michele Lebron, founder and CEO of Lebron Law. Lebron Law is based in Kissimmee, Florida, and serves clients throughout the Central Florida region, providing family law services. Welcome Michele. I am so happy to finally have you here on the Wealthy Woman Lawyer Podcast.
Michele Lebron: Thank you so much for having me.
Davina: So tell us more about Lebron Family Law and services that you guys provide. I said family law services, and that can mean different things for different law firms. So tell us what that includes for Lebron Law.
What Family Law Means to Michele
Michele: Well, at my firm, we try to focus primarily on dissolutions of marriage cases, paternity cases. We also do Department of Revenue child support cases and domestic violence injunction cases as well.
Davina: And how long have you been in practice for your, how long have you had Lebron Law?
Michele: Just about four years now. We, I started in March of 2015.
Davina: And give us an idea of how big your firm is. You have, because you have some employees now.
Michele: I do. I do. When I first started, I was alone a true solo, and shortly thereafter, I started with one part-time legal assistant who very quickly grew into a full-time legal assistant. And then I added a receptionist. And now I’ve added a law clerk who just recently graduated from law school and is studying for the Florida Bar at this time. We’re hoping that he’s successful in passing the bar and he’s planning to join the firm as an associate.
Davina: Oh, wonderful, wonderful. So you have had quite a bit of growth in four years then with adding staff and now maybe possibly soon a new associate. That’s fantastic. So tell us how did you, let’s go back to, you know, your decision to become an attorney and tell us a little bit about your story and how you decided to become an attorney. And what led you to open your own practice?
Michele: Well, if we go all the way back, my grandmother was a legal secretary, paralegal for close to 50 years, and when I was a little girl, probably about eight or nine years old, she would take me to her office on Saturdays because she worked overtime on Saturday. So she would take me with her, and she would let me do the photocopying. And at that time, there was a typewriter with carbon paper. So I was a typewriter with carbon paper. And so I was exposed to a legal office at a very young age.
And then, when I graduated from high school, I started working in her office as a receptionist and continued most of my working adult life in a law firm while going to school part-time. So I ended up as a legal secretary, and I worked from 9:30 to 5:30. And then I went to undergraduate school from about 6:30 to 9:30 four nights a week. And at that time in the beginning, I was just planning. I wanted to be a paralegal. So I was taking paralegal studies courses.
And along the way, it took a while because I was working part-time, but along the way, I was working at a firm in Queens, New York, and I realized that, you know, some of the attorneys that were licensed who were practicing, I thought, if he could do it, I could do it because he was not a rocket scientist. So I’m like, I can do what he’s doing. And so at that point, I shifted gears to start to prepare to go to law school. And after I finished school, undergrad, I had to take some time off for family reasons. And then I decided to start applying for law school and I applied for a few schools in New York and one here Florida. Ultimately decided to come to Florida.
Since I’ve had so much experience in law firms, I knew already what type of law firm I wanted to work in. I knew that I wanted to be in a small firm. I knew I didn’t want to work in a large firm. But then as time went on, I started to decide that I don’t want to work for anybody because I figured if I was going to work that hard, I should be doing that for myself and my family. And so that’s when the idea of being a solo practitioner was born. So it’s been quite some, quite a challenge But here we are.
Davina: Yeah, I love that story. I love, I didn’t realize that you’re, you said your grandmother worked for 50 years did you say?
Michele: Yes, she started in her early 20s. And she was with the same practice all those years. So she went through a round of about three sets of lawyers who bought the firm, retired, sold the practice. Another group came in, bought the firm.
Davina: Can you imagine all the baby attornies she trained along the way?
Michele: Yes, yes. Many, many. She trained many, many lawyers and I remember her frustration when they were making more money than she was and she knew more than they did. Yeah, so that that was good.
Davina: Yeah, that’s, what a legacy though. I mean, I’m sure that she was so proud of you, you know, as you grew up and continued to carry on that tradition and follow. Well, she’s probably proud of you as a little girl in there typing.
Michele: Yes, she’s very proud of me. And I always, well she’s retired now, obviously, but I always joke with her that I need her to come to Florida to run my office.
Davina: Oh yeah. She probably would have you marching her orders. So that is fantastic legacy, you know, to be able to do that. So you started your own practice and what was that like for you when you started your own practice? Was it what you expected it would be? Or was it different than you expected it would be? Or, tell me what it was like that first year.
What it Was Like Launching Lebron Law
Michele: The actual formation was easier than I thought it would be. And I have believed very strongly in having mentors. So I went to one of my mentors and said, You know, I really don’t want to work for anybody. And she said, so don’t. And I’m like, Well, what do you mean? She said, Well, strip out a legal pad and she made a list of things to do. She said, Go do these things, and you’ll be in business for yourself. So I took the list and I went through each item. Checked it off when I was done. And then I was in business.
And my first clients, what I did was the Orange County Bar Association has a referral program, and so I think at that time it was about $75 or $100 a year or something like that. And so I signed up for the referral program and that’s how I got my first client. And very soon thereafter, the phone just started to ring and things just blew up.
So I was able to, very quickly I needed more help because I realized that I couldn’t manage the number of clients that I was handling on my own. And that’s how I ended up having to hire help because I just couldn’t do it anymore. But it’s just a blessing. Just, I don’t know. I just started off, like I said with the referral program and then word of mouth referrals and social media marketing.
Davina: Right. Well, that, I think, I think people underestimate or don’t even think about those the referral service, you know, for the county and the state referral services. I was in a different county. I was in Seminole County. You’re in Orange County. And so I was able to sign up for the state referral service and the Orange County referral service and I did both.
And that’s how I started my law firm. So from those referrals, and it’s amazing what that can do to get the ball rolling and start getting your phone ringing and get clients coming in the door. And you learn so much. You learn how to have a consultation, even if they don’t materialize into clients, become good clients for you, you learn how to have a consultation and how-to, you know, start handling the business part of being lawyer, you know?
Michele: Right, right. And the other thing that I did was I signed up for one of the legal insurance programs. And so I was also receiving leads from them as well. That was a little more difficult because they, when they make the referrals, they give them more than one name. It’s not like it’s an exclusive lead. So that was a little more difficult.
But it, you know, in the beginning when you need clients, you know, it’s a good start. You know, with the, with the legal insurance they do charge, really discount, you know, they pay discounted rates. But, like I said, when you’re new, you know, you need to get people in the door, you know, you do what you need to do.
Davina: Right, right. And how long did you say was before you hired your assistant?
Michele: My first part-time legal assistant, I would say because I opened in March, I would say was probably around August, maybe? July or August. So I had a lady there who, she was coming in part-time, mostly answering the phone and scheduling appointments. And then she needed full-time work. But at that time, I was still fearful to have, be responsible for someone’s full-time pay.
So, you know, she ultimately found work with the school district. And so the next person I hired, I, it was supposed to be part-time. And the first day she was there, she stayed all day. And I didn’t send her home. And then the next day she came and she stayed all day. And I didn’t send her home. So she was just full-time and she’s been with me ever since.
Davina: She just never left. So technically she’s still part-time.
Michele: We had enough work that was keeping her busy all day. So I figure Well, if she’s busy all day, then, you know, then I need her because the work is there. So that worked out. And then the receptionist, I think we brought on the receptionist, she first started as an intern because she was in between jobs, and she just wanted to have a place to go. And then she was doing very well and I felt guilty not paying her. So then I hired her. I ended up hiring her on a full-time basis. And that was probably about, I’d say about a year, about a year in we started with her. And then last year was when I hired the law clerk.
Davina: Right, right. And how did you, did you have trepidation about taking on employees. Was there fear around that?
Face Your Fears Head On
Michele: Yes, very much so. Every month there’s fear, but every month I’m able to make payroll. So I’m paying my bills.
Davina: How do you deal with that fear?
Michele: It’s so I, you know, throughout life, there were many things that I did not do because I was afraid. And so, you know, there was a turning point and I can’t even define what caused the turning point. But there was a turning point in my life when I decided that I was not going to let fear stop me from doing things anymore. And so, you know, I just, even though I’m afraid, I still take the leap of faith and do what I need to do.
And it just, it just works out but I realized, you know, through mentors and personal coaches, that I cannot grow to what I want to be on my own. I have to have other people to handle certain tasks in the office. And so, you know, I just realized I can’t do that by myself. And so even though I’m afraid, I have to do it. And that’s how I’m living life these days.
Davina: Yeah, I mean, to get, to have a half-million dollar or a million dollar law practice or more, I mean, you can’t do that as one person. I gotta have somebody, even if you’re, even for the virtual firms, they’ve got to have somebody that they’re outsourcing and getting help from, you know? You just can’t do everything.
And it’s interesting, you and I’ve had these kinds of discussions before that, you know, it’s ludicrous to think not only that you can do everything yourself, but that you’re the best person for every job too. You know what I mean? Like, am I really the best person to do every job in this office? I mean, surely there are some things that other people might be better at doing.
Michele: And the best example of that is the bookkeeping. Because when I first started, I downloaded QuickBooks and I was trying to learn to do the bookkeeping on my own. And then you taught me that I needed to delegate that. So I hired a bookkeeper. I’m not the best person to do bookkeeping. I went to law school to be an attorney. And that’s, you know, I don’t want to be an accountant.
Davina: Right. Very few of us like that bookkeeping and accounting work, you know, that I’ve talked to. Women attorneys that I’ve talked to. There are exceptions. There are a few who, you know, one person I talked to, and I think she’s a former podcast guest actually, said that she likes to do the bookkeeping to relax. And I’m like, Okay, well, you know, then that’s for you, but that is not for me.
Michele: Right, but at the same token, I mean, if I’m, I just feel like, and I learned this from you and from some of my mentors, if I bill myself out at $300 an hour, but I can pay the bookkeeper $100 an hour to do the work, I’m losing money doing it myself.
Davina: Right, right. Not to mention how much longer would take. Like, I know, how much longer would take me to do, you know, accounting kinds of activities than it would take a professional bookkeeper to do it, you know? I gotta add that to not only your hourly rate but the extra time that it would take you to go figure out how to do it. Yeah, and costly mistakes, you know? Those kinds of things. So what are some of the biggest challenges do you think that you have had in your growth journey so far?
Michele: Well, I would say in the beginning, some of the challenges had to do with deciding what area of practice I wanted to be in. Because as a new solo, I know, it happened for me and I know that it happens for other people. You kind of take whatever cases come through the door because you need the money. And so it was challenging for me to learn to narrow down my focus and not take other cases from other practice areas. But in the beginning, I was doing about foreclosure defense. I did some bankruptcy work.
And I very quickly learned that I did not like foreclosure defense or bankruptcy work. So that part was challenging, narrowing my focus. And then I just needed to make a decision about what areas of practice I was going to handle. So now it’s primarily family law, and I do have a handful of personal injury cases. But that’s it. I don’t venture out and try to handle other areas of practice. I refer that work out. And I do that with an open giving heart knowing that those attorneys that I’m referring to will, in turn, refer to me at some point when they have an opportunity to do so.
Davina: Right, right. That’s a wonderful philosophy. And, you know, there’s the thing too, about narrowing your niche, or, you know, just having a couple of areas of practice is to really have deep knowledge in an area of practice. You know, how reasonable is it to expect to have deep knowledge in three, four, five, six areas of practice, you know?
It’s, you really, you might really be doing your clients a disservice if you’re trying to do all of those different areas of practice, you know? Because how, you know, there’s only so many hours in a day. I mean, if you had, I guess if you had multiple attorneys in a practice and different ones specializing that it makes sense. But you know, you know, for individuals.
Michele: Yeah. I don’t think that one person can be a winner supposed to use the word expert but I don’t think one person can be an expert at five different practice areas because the body of law is just too vast for any one person to absorb all of that and be, you know, 100% proficient in so many different areas of practice. So would I prefer to kind of be, you know, a master of one as opposed to a jack of all trades. So I mean, and that’s what works for me. I mean, I’m sure other people do other things, but I know the way my brain works and I need to focus on, you know, one, maybe two things and that’s it.
Davina: Right. What is it that you like about family law because I have always heard that you either love family law or you hate family law. That you don’t feel, you know, nobody feels neutral about it. And so what is it that you really enjoy about your family law practice?
Why Michele Loves Family Law
Michele: Well, when I was in law school, I interned in a law office at the Attorney Handle Family Law. So I did a lot of work at that time. And the law just made sense to me and it came very naturally to me. And in terms of satisfaction, I get a great deal of satisfaction of helping people, you know, get through some of the most difficult times of their lives. And particularly, I receive a lot of satisfaction from helping parents who, for example, have not seen their children in a long time because the other parent is being difficult.
And I have, you know, the knowledge of what to do to go to court to get them time with their children. And the, you know, the look on their faces when they walk out of court with a court order letting them see their children is priceless. And I’ll never get tired of that. So, a lot, a huge percentage of the practice is paternity cases and, you know, trying to get fathers time to children. It’s a huge area of practice for us.
Davina: Right, right. And what, and you’ve done some personal injury now. You’re doing more of that kind of work. What is it that you enjoy about that?
Michele: Well, I in, when I was in New York City, I worked for personal injury firm so I kind of knew somewhat the area of practice, start, you know, the base, the basic starting out. I just needed to learn the, you know, the Florida aspects of it. And that is very rewarding, you know, when someone’s been injured, and I’m able to get them compensation for their injuries and help them get back on their feet.
If, you know, sometimes when people are injured after car accidents, they’re out of work for a long time and bills start backing up, and they’re always very, very grateful when I’m able to get them settlement for the injuries that they’ve sustained. And that is also an area of practice if you’re handling pre-suit negotiations, that can be very lucrative, you know, on the attorney side with not a lot of effort. So mostly, it’s
Davina: So it’s been a good balance for you then.
Michele: Right, right. Right.
Davina: You’re barred in New York and in Florida, right?
Michele: Yes, I am.
Davina: Yeah.
Michele: So in New York, I’ve taken, I’ve actually gone to New York to handle one hearing. But generally what I do is if I have clients from New York. I have attorneys in New York that will handle the hearings for me. Right now I don’t want to fly back and forth. So if I take a New York case, I have those attorneys up there that go to hearings for us.
Davina: But you do take cases up there, some cases up there.
Michele: Right, right. And I focus only on Bronx County. Bronx, so Manhattan counties in New York.
Davina: Okay. So tell us some of the things that, what kinds of things have been, we talked about some of the challenges in growing your practice. I mean, how’s it been in hiring people and growing your team and managing people and learning to lead your team and all that kind of stuff? Has that gone smoothly for you?
Michele: No. I think when I was interviewing for a receptionist, I probably, I mean, well I started to do Skype interviews or telephone interviews, just not wasting time having people come in. And it was probably, I don’t know, 15 people, maybe 20 people that I’ve talked to. So in our area, we have a huge Spanish speaking population. I have a lot of Spanish speaking clients. So it’s important to me to have a receptionist who speaks, well, is bilingual. And so it was difficult finding it. I had a hard time with that. And I think also, well, I just had a really hard time with that.
So I have not been in a position in any other time in my life to grow a team and train. And so all of that is coming new to me, is new to me. And so that’s something that my team, we’re all growing together in that respect. And I always ask them, is there something else that I can do to make your life easier? Is there something, do you feel that I’m giving you the tools that you need to do what you need to do? And so we have, I would say, bi-weekly conversations about that to try to keep everybody moving along and growing.
And, you know, the receptionist, we try to give her, I’m trying to grow her into a full-blown legal assistant. So little by little, I’m training her to do more legal assistance tasks rather than just answering the phone and scheduling appointments. So that has, you know, that’s a challenge, but it’s one that I meet optimistically. And I’m confident that we’re going to get to where I would like to see us, you know, in the next year or so.
Davina: Right. Yeah, I mean, I think you’re, you know, one of the great things about you is that you are so open to learning and willing to do what it takes to figure it out, you know? And that works to your advantage in growing your team and learning how to manage and learning how to lead and all of that. So and sometimes you just have to learn by doing. You know, like you said, you interview, you hire that doesn’t work out. You hire somebody else or you interview a lot, you know, and then you get, you develop this skill as you’re doing it.
Michele: One thing I learned is hire slow, fire fast. One paralegal, she lasted three days. I said, Okay, this isn’t working. She’s done. But another thing that I always keep in mind, I’ve done that job and I remember how I wanted to be treated and so I try to be very, very fair and treat them the way I wanted to be treated. And I’m very thoughtful and considerate about their family needs when, you know, they need a day off. I’m not, I don’t give them a hard time about that.
So I’ve been told that they enjoy working at the firm because the environment is so, I don’t want to say relaxed, but I’m just very considerate of their needs. And it’s because I’ve been in that job and I, you know, A know what it entails and B I know how I wanted to be treated. And so I’ve been with attorneys who yell and scream, you know, in the office, and I knew that I did not want to be that type of lawyer. I’m not going to say I don’t get annoyed from time to time but I treat them all with respect. And like I said, I’m very considerate.
And so I think that keeps them there and they want to work with me and they genuinely care about my firm. And that’s why I keep the three that I have now. That’s why they’re there because I feel that they genuinely care about me and they genuinely care about the firm and the growth of the business.
Davina: Right, right. And there’s so much to be said for that too, because that loyalty, if you can cultivate that loyalty and have people stay with you, I mean, for years, I mean, that’s something that’s rare these days, but it used to be commonplace in law firms. You’d have people, you were talking about your grandmother, you know, you’d have people that would stay with firms for years. And if you can cultivate that kind of feeling of loyalty to you.
And I think the key to that, like you said is really respecting your employees and making them feel like they’re a part of something you know? They’re an important and integral part of what you’re doing. Not easily, you know, not just replaceable, you know? Shifting gears a little bit, you did a big thing, I think it was last year. Was it last year? Or maybe you’re, I think it was the beginning of last year, wasn’t it? Where you bought your own office building?
Michele: I sure did. We closed in I think it was May 26th, 2018.
Davina: Okay, okay.
Michele: Yeah, that was a goal of mine because I just felt like I wanted to have roots. And I did not want to pay rent for a very long time. And so that was one of my goals. And I accomplished it. And I’m very, very proud of myself.
Davina: Yeah, I’m proud of you too. That’s fantastic. I mean, that’s really kind of amazing. Especially so early in owning and starting your firm. I mean, you’ve accomplished several personal goals that way. You know, you’ve accomplished some personal goals, some personal investments, and then this business investment as well, you know? What are some of the other things that you’ve done for yourself?
Michele: Well, in 2017, we bought our first house in Florida. We have a home in New York already. So when we came to Florida, we were renting. And so you know, obviously the goal was homeownership. And so we did that in 2017. And then in 2018, we bought the building. And then I decided that I have to have my own pool at the house because I just have to have it. So 2019 was the year of the pool.
Davina: Yay. The year of the pool. And that’s not just a pool. That’s like a little pool setup, right?
Michele: It is. It is a resort-style yard right now. It’s wonderful. So that was yeah, that was another goal. And so now, those are like three goals that I really, that was, that were important to me and the family that I wanted to accomplish. And so now we’re working on some new goals. And yeah, so the new goals, part of the new goals is bringing on the associate.
And I do have another attorney who’s working with me, sort of of counsel, she handles estate planning and guardianship and probate pieces. So anytime we get close to that we refer that over to her, but the goal is to have an associate to assist me with the family law cases so that we can grow the family law practice more. So that’s the 2020 goal.
Davina: And that’s like a five, so that would be like your five year
Michele: That will be my five-year yeah,
Davina: The goal there is to have that associate. So that is fantastic. So, and I wonder what it will be like too because this is something I’ve discussed with other women law firm owners on the podcast is the difference between hiring staff and hiring an associate attorney.
So when you start hiring attorneys, what it feels like and what the difference is in those experiences too, because there’s kind of different levels of anxiety and excitement that goes along with that, right? Because, you know, anxiety, the anxiety part is, you know, when you’re hiring staff. And usually, you’re like, Oh, my gosh, I’m now responsible for a person, right? But when you’re hiring attorneys, it’s a different level, you know?
Michele: Well, I’m thinking about the attorney salary that I’m going to be responsible for. That is a whole other level of anxiety along with it. But you know, now I noticed I’ve talked to a lot of other law firm owners and there’s different compensation plans that folks are doing now. So that’s still something that I’m working through as to what the compensation plan is going to be for the associate. But it’s definitely the 2020 goal is to make that happen.
Davina: Right, right. Well, there’s so much more, there’s so much value too, that comes from when you start hiring other attorneys. There’s so much value they bring to your firm, right? You know, just the expansion that creates for you in productivity and in billable hours and all of that. And just the whole having another attorney there in the office with you for all kinds of purposes, you know?
Michele: Yeah, and to bounce ideas off of.
Davina: Right, there’s so much value and that.
Michele: That’s one challenge as a solo, you know, being in the office, if I’m reviewing the case or doing legal research, you know, sometimes I just want to talk to another lawyer about something. And so luckily, I have a team of solo boss-lady attorneys in the area that we call each other from time to time when we need help, whether it’s hearing coverage or whatever, just to talk. And so sometimes I can pick up the phone and call somebody, but how nice would it be to have another attorney right in the office next door, and we can just walk over and have a conversation about a case or whatever.
Davina: Yeah, that is huge, makes a huge difference. I mean, it’s wonderful to have, you know, the camaraderie of other attorneys but, you know, with your network of attorneys, but there’s a difference when somebody works with you, you know, and you can really discuss intimately the cases and the clients and things like that and have them right there. So that’s very exciting. It’s a very exciting time. We’re gonna have our fingers crossed about him passing that bar exam and all of that just, so he’s got a whole team of, he’s got a whole bunch of podcast listeners out there. They’re going to be sending him good vibes. You can tell him that.
Michele: Oh, thank you. We accept all good vibes. Send him all the good juju.
Davina: Exactly, exactly. So before we wrap up here, give us what you think would be if you had some good advice for other women lawyers who are aspiring to wealth and they’re aspiring to grow their law practices and be successful and maybe they want to be, you know, hiring their staff and their associated attorneys and maybe they want to buy a building. You know, they want to do all those things that you’ve accomplished. That resort pool. What kind of advice would you have for them? That would be you know, based on your experience that would help them.
Advice For Aspiring Women Lawyers
Michele: I think that my best advice would be that they should not try, although they may be a solo practitioner, they should not go at it alone. They should have mentors. And I say, mentors plural, more than one and they should definitely consider having a business coach. Which I, in my experience, I found to be invaluable. And I think that with those people around you to support you and uplift you, as long as you don’t let the fear paralyze you, you can accomplish any goal that you set for yourself as long as you, you know, set a goal and have a plan and a allow your sea of influence to uplift you, then you can do anything you set your mind to.
Davina: I love that. I love that. I think that’s so inspiring. I think you’re, I’ve always thought your story is very inspiring because I know how, what a challenge it was for you when you started because of the fear of being a solo and can I do this and not in, you’re not alone in that.
So many attorneys that I talked to and what’s fabulous for you is you had all of this experience as a paralegal and growing up working in a law office, which I think was a tremendous advantage for you when you started out doing this. And so many attorneys don’t, you know, they come out of law school and they haven’t worked as a paralegal before. And I know for me, I didn’t. I didn’t work as a paralegal and I always really envied those of my friends who did.
Michele: Right. It was an advantage because that, you know, they don’t teach you how to e file a document in law school.
Davina: Well, the e filing has just come about though, you know what I mean? Like, when I started out as a lawyer, we weren’t doing e filing. And that wasn’t that long ago, right? I mean, you know, it’s 12 years, so
Michele: Well, when I started e filing already existed, and it was not taught in law school.
Davina: So you had to figure that out. So it was a new thing. There’s always something new. That’s something else too, is there’s always something new that you’re going to be challenged because every case is different. There’s always something new and, you know, as Marie Forleo, the business coach Marie Forleo says, everything is always figure outable. So, you know, you can figure it out. Figure it out. And if you can’t figure it out, there’s a whole community out there of people that can help you, right?
Michele: There’s a whole internet out there. The whole internet.
Davina: Exactly. Thank goodness for Google now.
Michele: Thank god. The other thing I would add also is for the solos, you know, trying to grow the firm is to consider getting things a little more automated. I know that you talk about that a lot. That’s another goal, I have to 2020, to get the firm more automated than it is. I mean, we have a practice management software, but we don’t use it as efficiently as we should. And so that is another 2020 goal is for us to use that to its fullest potential and get the office a little more automated because I think that we’ll be able to handle a lot more volume if we use the tools that we have in place already more efficiently.
Davina: Right, right. And that’s great advice. Great advice. So many, and there’s so many good tools out there and more tools available that can help but you have to start with what you already have and master those. And if you do that alone that makes a huge difference. Well, Michelle, I really appreciate you being here today. And as always, I’ve enjoyed our conversation. Tell us where we can find out more about Lebron Law on the interwebs.
Michele: Sure. And thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate our conversation as well. So Lebron Law can be reached at 321-800-5195. And our website address is www.mylebronlaw.com. And our physical location is in Kissimmee, Florida. We’re just walking distance from the Osceola County Courthouse at 15 South Orlando Avenue in Kissimmee. And we’re also on Facebook. We have a Facebook page and it’s the Lebron Law. If you search Lebron Law on Facebook, you’ll find us as well.
Davina: Good, good, good. And they really should take, they should really should check out some of your videos because you’ve got some of my favorites on there.
Michele: I haven’t done a video in quite a while and I honestly I’ve been thinking about it every day. So I’ll get one out to you very soon.
Davina: I know. My favorite though is the baby mama drama one. So if you got baby mama drama, you gotta check that video out because that one alone is worth the price of admission. That’s a great video so big props for that. Michelle, thanks so much. And I really am so glad that you’ve been here today. And I think a lot of people are going to get a lot of benefit out of listening to our conversation.
Michele: Thank you. Thank you. I hope so. And if anyone wants to reach out to me for any advice or assistance, I’m happy to talk to any of your podcast listeners.
