MCB President Fred DeVore and CLE Committee Chair Kevin Pratt drop by to give an update on bifurcation and upcoming CLE offerings from the MCB!

MCB Director of Communications Greg Hicks sits down with MCB President Fred DeVore to discuss an update on the sale of the Bar & Foundation Center, upcoming judicial elections, CLEs and much more.

This is a special episode of The 26th: An MCB Podcast. This episode is being released for National Lawyer Well-Being Week and comprises a series of conversations between Robynn Moraites, Executive Director of the North Carolina Lawyer's Assistance Program and Robert Ingalls, founder of Lawpods and a Mecklenburg County Bar member.These conversations focus on mental health and the practice of law and cover topics including the stigma surrounding mental health in the legal profession, the significant progress being made to de-stigmatize mental health discussions, the unique mental health challenges faced by lawyers, the pervasiveness of anxiety in the profession, the negative and surprisingly positive effects the pandemic has had on lawyers, resources available to lawyers, and a discussion about changing practice areas or leaving the law entirely.This episode fulfills the one-hour mental health and substance abuse CLE requirement in North Carolina. To earn your 1.0 hour of Mental Health credit, please email Lisa Armanini [email protected] at the conclusion of the podcast with your name, state bar number, and the passcode, which will be given during the episode. Your attendance will be reported to the NC State Bar which will in turn bill you for the $3.50 CLE fee.This is the first time we're offering CLE in podcast format, so we welcome your feedback.

Rhonda Patterson joined The 26th and shared her journey transitioning from Big Law to running her own successful family law practice in Mecklenburg County.

EPISODE SEVEN: Drive Up Your Profits With Community InvolvementGUEST: Harrison Lord, Lord Law FirmThe practice of law is among the more stressful professions. Adding business development to a lawyer’s ever-increasing litany of responsibilities can easily lead to overwhelm. Despite being a service-oriented industry, most law schools continue to send ill-equipped graduates into the workforce. Ready to fill that knowledge gap and beef up your book of business? This episode with Harrison Lord of the Lord Law Firm is for you.Harrison joins us on this episode of The 26th for an in-depth discussion on business development and specifically the role of community involvement in transforming your law firm. For Harrison, community involvement is mainly the practice of cultivating a network of people who know, like, and trust you. Harrison emphasizes moving beyond formal training and being more intentional in making connections with your peers. Find an organization or group and engage yourself in activities that you care about. Just as important, Harrison stresses, is learning what projects to say “no” to. He also recommends lawyers avoid a transactional approach to relationship-building, this is a quick way to come off as insincere and salesy. He points to soft marketing approaches as superior methods that focus on carving out intentional time to nurture relationships. Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, where face-to-face meetings are discouraged, there are an abundance of tools and groups at your disposal to build and maintain your network. Mentorship is another topic Harrison touches on, encouraging lawyers to cultivate multiple streams of mentorship. Mentors come in all shapes and sizes, and don’t necessarily need to have a legal background to provide valuable mentorship. You can often get the best pieces of advice from those outside the industry, like entrepreneurs. At the end of the day, Harrison advises against being so hyper-focused on your marketing processes that you lose sight of what your connections are looking for and how you can help them. He also provides us with a piece of advice we can all benefit from, “whatever you do, just show up and be pleasant.”You can connect with Harrison Lord at www.LordFirm.com.You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.Subscribe to The 26th: An MCB Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify, or your favorite Android podcast player.Some of the necessary things that are part of building a business involve networking, marketing and putting yourself out there.

This episode’s guest is Attorney Sara Lincoln of Lincoln Derr, and she shares her story on how she started her own firm even during the economic downturn in 1993, a time when firms weren’t hiring. Despite growing expenses, she was able to slowly build her practice with the help of the solo practitioners with whom she shared office space.

Attorney Laura Noble, who heads Noble Law Firm – the largest employment firm in North Carolina – shares her story from getting burned out as a prosecutor for the DA’s office to running her own successful practice.

Many lawyers are pretty clueless when it comes to the business side of law, which is quite understandable given that law school doesn’t really include these topics in their curriculum. Even if many attorneys want to start their own practice and have more control in their day-to-day life, they take a while to do so. Most of the time, they end up employed by a law firm for the rest of their careers.

Popular media has a habit of painting lawyers in a bad light. The stereotype with the most mileage is that of the greedy lawyer that only cares about the money. However, the opposite is frequently true in the real world, and there are unfortunately many attorneys who cut their rates and sell themselves short. Perhaps this has happened to you. When you don’t get paid what you deserve, it isn’t just going to affect your personal finances, but the way that you run your practice too.

Besides learning to practice law, it is important for attorneys to also focus on building relationships. It doesn’t matter whether you belong to a big firm, or a smaller one that’s just starting out. The relationships that you’ve cultivated can determine whether your practice will continue to thrive in the industry.