The Thought Leadership Project

Episode 140: Having More Power in the Business Development Process

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 140: Jay and Tom break down the (polite) battle for control in the business development process. As a lawyer, you have more power and leverage...

Episode 139: A LinkedIn Deep Dive

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 139: Listen in as Jay, Tom, and Curtis Hays do a LinkedIn deep dive. Curtis is the founder of collideascope, a digital marketing agency, and a...

Episode 138: Rachael Bosch on the Importance of Upward Feedback and Coaching/Training Trends for 2024

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 137: Laura Frederick on How to Turn Thought Leadership into Dollars

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 137: Creating and sharing thought-leadership content is an effective way to gain visibility and build trust with an audience, and generate bil...

Episode 136: Adrian Lürssen on Tips and Trends in Thought-Leadership Marketing

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 136: Adrian Lurssen, co-founder and VP of strategic development at JD Supra, rejoins the podcast to discuss tips and trends for thought-leader...

Episode 135: Scott Love on How to Become a Rainmaker

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 135: In this episode, legal recruiter, podcast host, and author Scott Love breaks down what it takes to become a rainmaker with Jay and Tom. S...

Episode 134: Jared Correia on How to Grow a Small Law Firm

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 134: In this episode, Jared Correia, founder or Red Cave Law Firm Consulting and podcaster extraordinaire, shares his expertise on how to run ...

Episode 133: Content that Inspired Us this Month

30 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 133: Jay and Tom share and discuss content that inspired them in the last month. Learn how a famous Hollywood producer generates movie ideas (...

Episode 132: Jay and Tom Unpack Their Writing Processes

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 132: Between the two of them, Jay and Tom have written thousands of LinkedIn posts, hundreds (perhaps 1,000+) long-form articles, and a number...

Episode 131: Why Your Law Firm Should Build a Media Company

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 131: Law firms sell expertise, and the best way to showcase expertise through marketing is to produce thought-leadership content. Most firms d...

Episode 130: Jordana Confino on Well-Being and the Practice of Law

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 130: In this episode, Jordana Confino, Positive Lawyering professor, and founder of JC Coaching & Consulting, joins Jay to discuss well-being ...

Episode 129: Jamie Sternberg on Building a Legal Practice

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 129: In this episode, Jamie Sternberg, trademark attorney at Saunders & Silverstein LLP, joins Jay to discuss her experience building a legal ...

Episode 128: Phillip Russell on Providing All-Star Client Service

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 128: In this episode, Phillip Russell, OSHA and employment lawyer at Ogletree Deakins, joins Jay to discuss the importance of client service. ...

Episode 127: 5 Mental Obstacles to Building a Legal Practice

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 127: When it comes to building a legal practice, mindset is critical. In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss five common mental obstacles lawyer...

Episode 126: Heather Stevenson on Moving In-House and Building Her Personal Brand

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 126: In this episode, Jay speaks with General Counsel Heather Stevens about her experience transitioning from private practice to general coun...

Episode 125: AI Implications in the Legal Industry, LinkedIn's Algorithm Updates, and Thoughts on Writing Books

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 125: Jay and Tom cover a range of topics in this episode, including the what the perfect AI tool for legal looks like, LinkedIn’s recent alg...

Episode 124: GC Brittany Leonard on What She's Looking for From Outside Counsel

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 124: In this episode, Jay chats with General Counsel Brittany Leonard about her experience transitioning from private practice to general coun...

Episode 123: Eric Pacifici on Building a Law Firm by Leveraging Social Media

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 123: In this episode, Jay chats with Eric Pacifici about his experience leaving BigLaw to build a thriving small law firm serving SMBs. They d...

Episode 122: Bradford Hardin on Building a Legal Practice

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 122: In this episode, Jay has a deep dive discussion on business development with Bradford Hardin, co-chair of the Financial Services practic...

Episode 121: Adding Value Beyond the Billable Hour, Less Reach on LinkedIn, and This Week in ChatGPT

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 121: Jay and Tom cover a range of topics in this episode, including the importance of adding value beyond the billable hour in the face of dec...

Episode 120: Chat GPT, How to Communicate with Key Contacts, and Email Newsletters

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 120: Jay and Tom cover a range of topics in this episode, including the latest developments at the intersection of AI and legal tech, the 5 ty...

Episode 119: Bob Buday on How to Compete as a Thought Leader

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 119: In this episode Jay has a deep dive discussion with thought leadership consultant Bob Buday about a number of concepts from Bob’s new b...

Episode 118: How to Make Time for Business Development (and How to Use it Wisely)

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 118: Jay and Tom take a deep dive into productivity for business development. They address two obstacles that often come up in Jay’s coachin...

Episode 117: Jay Shares Lessons He's Learned from 3+ Years of Daily LinkedIn Posting

18 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 117: Jay has been posting daily on LinkedIn (okay, almost daily—he’s missed a few) for 3+ years. In this episode, he shares some of the mo...

Episode 115: Generative AI and Legal Marketing (and much more)

28 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 115: Jay and Tom dig into what generative AI like Chat GPT may mean for legal marketing.

Episode 114: Alex Su Returns to the Pod

22 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Su is back on the pod! Jay, Tom and Alex cover lots of ground in this episode, including a social media content creation deep dive, how to get st...

Episode 113: Confront Your Productivity Demons

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 113: In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss the need to confront productivity demons this time of year — fixing the broken systems and bad hab...

Episode 112: Instead of a Generic Resolution, Challenge Yourself to Take Daily Action in the New Year

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 112: Join Jay for a short episode in which he describes the benefits of taking daily action in the new year, instead of creating a bunch of ge...

Episode 111: Optimizing for Serendipity, Twitter Creators Flood LinkedIn, Becoming Known Well vs. Well Known and More

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 111: Jay Harrington and Tom Nixon riff on the benefits of becoming the type of person who “gets lucky” in business instead of being behold...

Episode 109: Adam Pascarella Talks About His New Book and Lessons for Lawyers Looking to Leave the Law

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, BigLaw lawyer turned investor and author Adam Pascarella joins Jay and Tom to discuss his new book Reversed in Part: 15 Law School Gr...

Episode 108: Hot Takes on LinkedIn Conventional Wisdom

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is a lot of conventional wisdom out there about every marketing topic, and LinkedIn is no different. In this episode, Jay and Tom give their “...

Episode 107: Jonah Perlin on Twitter, Podcasting, and Becoming a Law School Professor

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We had our first law school professor join the podcast as a guest, and Jay was worried that he was going to get subjected to the Socratic Method. In t...

Episode 106: The 95:5 Rule and How to Use It in Your Content Marketing

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marketing conventional wisdom: Find the buyers in your market with an immediate need and get them into a “funnel” by using scarcity and urgency ta...

Episode 105: The Who, Where and How of Marketing and Business Development

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Strategy plans, marketing plans, business development plans…they can be useful, but they can also be a form of procrastination. Some people spend so...

Episode 104: The Creator Economy, Web 3, and Emerging Content Tools

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jay and Tom intended to talk about some of the newest content creation tools that platforms like LinkedIn have made available (and they do get to that...

Episode 103: The Power of a Content Niche

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jay and Tom having been getting more questions from clients, and seeing more posts on LinkedIn, about lower engagement people are experiencing with th...

Episode 102: Our Favorite Thought Leadership and Thought Leaders from 2021

18 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An important part of creating great thought leadership is consuming great thought leadership. Thought leaders tend to have high-quality information di...

Episode 101: Set Your Content Free

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Like the proverbial tree that falls in the forest, is there any value in creating content if no one sees it? That’s a bit of a rhetorical question, ...

Episode 100: A Celebration of 100 Episodes of The Thought Leadership Project

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

To commemorate our 100th episode, Jay and Tom play a game of 💯. Do we agree 100% with these examples of conventional marketing wisdom? Can each of ...

Episode 99: Turning Connections into Clients

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Making new connections, whether on LinkedIn or otherwise, is great. But most professionals want to turn those connections into paying clients or refer...

Episode 98: An "Ask Us Anything" Session About LinkedIn

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Jay and Tom give you a behind the scenes listen to some of the insights they share with members of the Thought Leader Collaborative, ...

Episode 97: Key Insights from the 2021 Thought Leadership Impact Study, with Joe Kingsbury and Tusar Barik

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As thought-leadership marketers, Jay and Tom look forward every year to the release of the Thought Leadership Impact Study. In this episode, they have...

Episode 96: How to Get Better at Business Development, with Aaron Baer

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We know business development is important. We know a book of business has many benefits. But…we often don’t know where to start. In this episode, ...

Episode 95: Why LinkedIn Matters and How to Make it Work for You, with Alexis Robertson

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“I just don’t see the value,” is something we often hear from lawyers who aren’t on LinkedIn, or who have a presence but aren’t taking actio...

Episode 94: Be a Good Human to Build a Legal Practice, with Scott Oliver

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From what they are taught in law school to what they consume in the popular culture, there are many messages that lawyers receive that lead them to be...

Episode 93: The Importance of Clear Legal Writing, with Laura Genovich

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Too much legal writing is too verbose and laden with jargon and legalese. Our guest, Laura Genovich, is on a crusade to change that. Laura is an advoc...

Episode 92: Preparing Today for the Post-Labor-Day New Business Sprint

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Here we go again. Just when we thought we’d be spending the fall taking people to lunch and networking at conferences, we’re back to discussing so...

Episode 91: Become More "Referable," with Joshua Baron

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Referrals don't happen by luck or happenstance. According to Joshua Baron, lawyers who are "referrable" are purposeful and intentional about how they ...

Episode 90: How to Take LinkedIn to the Next Level, with Alex Su

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There is a reason this is the longest episode ever recorded on this podcast: Alex Su takes us on a deep dive into the strategies and tactics that have...

Episode 89: Creating a Better Client Experience

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Law firm clients can’t always distinguish between average and excellent work product, but all know whether they’re receiving good or bad client se...

Episode 88: Playing the Long Game with Thought Leadership

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss how to approach content creation with the appropriate (long-term) expectations, and why you’re likely to exceed...

Episode 87: Conquer LinkedIn Like a Millennial, with Matt Margolis

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode, Gen Xers Jay and Tom sit down and chat with Matt Margolis, also known as #MattTheMillennialLawyer LinkedIn. Matt posts some of our fa...

Episode 86: Content Curation, with Brian Clark of Unemployable

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Brian Clark is a serial digital entrepreneur, with a track record of building successful businesses using content and thought-leadership marketing tec...

Episode 85: Building a Niche and Leveraging LinkedIn, with Phillip Russell

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Still skeptical about the benefits of a niche legal practice? You may change your mind after hearing Phillip Russell, a partner at Ogletree Deakins, d...

Episode 84: Choose One Social Media Platform

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You don’t need to do all forms of marketing. You don’t need to be on all social media platforms. In fact, as Jay and Tom discuss in this episode, ...

Episode 83: Thought Leadership for Beginners

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By listener request, Jay and Tom address the issue of how to engage in thought-leadership content marketing when one feels they don't have the accompl...

Episode 82: How Coaching Helps Lawyers Grow and Thrive, with Charlotte Smith

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Charlotte Smith’s journey from practicing attorney to becoming a coach is not all that uncommon. She hired a coach, found the experience to be trans...

Episode 81: How to be a High-Growth Firm, with Lee W. Frederiksen

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

To the surprise of many, most law firms not only navigated through the COVID-19 crisis in 2020—a significant percentage thrived. From smart pivots t...

Episode 80: How to Start and Grow Your Own Law Firm, with Katie Lipp

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Personal branding is often mistaken for professional bragging, but it’s really all about generosity, selflessness and abundance. That’s the view o...

Episode 79: Generosity, Abundance, and Personal Branding, with Winter Wheeler

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Personal branding is often mistaken for professional bragging, but it’s really all about generosity, selflessness and abundance. That’s the view o...

Episode 78: Introducing the Thought Leader Collaborative

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Thought Leadership Project is extremely excited to announce the next natural evolution of our ongoing project to convert lawyers' subject matter e...

Episode 77: LinkedIn, from Beginner to Mastery, with Callie Schweitzer of LinkedIn

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Callie Schweitzer is a senior news editor at LinkedIn, where she leads the editorial coverage of the marketing industry for the platform’s 722+ mill...

Episode 76: First, Identify Your Ideal Client

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Once you can identify and define your ideal client, everything falls into place. Listen in as Jay and Tom discuss the marketing and business developme...

Episode 75: Mastering Legal Writing Like a Thought Leader, with Ross Guberman

16 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are good brief writers necessarily excellent authors of thought leadership? Guest Ross Guberman is the President of both Legal Writing Pro and BriefCa...

Episode 74: Podcasting for Lawyers: Overrated or Underrated? (With Bryan O'Keefe and Gena Usenheimer of the "Into the Breach" Podcast)

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tom and Jay do a podcasting-for-lawyers episode on their podcast for lawyers, interviewing co-hosts of the recently launched, but already successful, ...

Episode 73: The "Keep it Simple" Approach to Marketing

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a busy lawyer, you can’t be everywhere doing everything, especially when it comes to marketing. If you spread yourself too thin, you won’t be v...

Episode 72: Thought Leadership Advice from the Editor-in-Chief of Law.com, with Zack Needles

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many lawyers desire to create content for prestigious publications, but don’t know what it takes. In this episode, Zack Needles, editor-in-chief of ...

Episode 71: "Fireproofing" your Law Firm, with Michael Morse of the Mike Morse Law Firm

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Michael is the founder of Mike Morse Law Firm, the largest personal injury law firm in Michigan. Since being founded in 1995, the Mike Morse Law Firm ...

Episode 70: Harnessing Flow State to Become a Thought Leader

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We all have access to a superpower. It’s called flow state. A 10-year McKinsey and Co. study found top executives were 500% more productive when in ...

Episode 69: The Psychology of Law and Thought Leadership, with Shari Belitz

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Shari is the founder of Shari Belitz Communications, LLC, a litigation strategy and education company for lawyers, with more than 20 years of experien...

Episode 68: An Introvert's Guide to Better Business Development in the Modern Era

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are introverts "having their moment?" The modern environment has made impossible many of the traditional business development arenas that historically...

Episode 67: Personal Branding from a GC’s perspective, with Lisa Lang

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Personal branding isn’t just for lawyers working in law firms. According to Lisa Lang, general counsel at Kentucky State University, t’s an issue ...

Episode 66: Lessons Learned from a Viral LinkedIn Post

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“John Grisham was a practicing lawyer with a side hustle.” That’s the “hook” line from a LinkedIn post Jay wrote on January 1 that generated...

Episode 65: The Critical Importance of Vision, with Bob Levant

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why is "Vision"—a somewhat nebulous term and often misunderstood concept—so critical for attorneys looking to further their careers (whether in la...

Episode 64: Getting to 20,000+ Followers on LinkedIn, with Patricia Baxter

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to grow a network of 20,000 followers on LinkedIn? In short, consistency, creativity and generosity. In this episode Patricia Baxter...

Episode 63: Managing the Mind and Time, with Jamie Jackson Spannhake

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jamie Jackson Spannhake is a lawyer, writer and work-life integration coach. Her new book, "The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry: Three Hours to Findin...

Episode 62: Cultivating Positive Mindsets and Habits, with Elise Buie

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Becoming a lawyer is a journey not a destination. To achieve success and satisfaction, and thrive in your career, you must continually learn, improve ...

Episode 61: A New Approach to LinkedIn

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tom asks Jay to describe a newly discovered approach to LinkedIn that attorneys who aspire to become thought leaders should explore: the value of writ...

Episode 60: What Thought Leadership is—and is Not

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There are myriad ways you can market a legal practice. We believe, perhaps not surprisingly, that thought-leadership marketing is one of the best ways...

Episode 59: Five Key Attributes of Successful Law Firm Partners, with Scott Love

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Love is a legal recruiter who focuses on national partner placement for Amlaw100 and Amlaw200 law firms. He is an expert on the topic of busines...

Episode 58: The Limiting Beliefs Holding You Back From Becoming a Thought Leader

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A limiting belief is something you believe about yourself that prevents you from realizing your full potential. In this episode, Jay and Tom discuss t...

Episode 57: Mastering LinkedIn in 30 Days, with Laura Frederick

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Laura Frederick is the Managing Attorney at Laura Frederick Law, a boutique law firm in Austin, Texas that helps businesses with vendor contracts. Hav...

Episode 56: How to Create a Personal Marketing Plan

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s that time of year: personal marketing plan season. When it comes to creating a personal marketing plan, make it strategic and also keep it simp...

Episode 55: How to Grow an Audience for a Legal Podcast

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re an attorney or legal marketer who has recently launched a legal podcast, you should be working actively and ongoing to grow your audience ...

Episode 54: Five Ways to Evaluate If Your Content Marketing Is Working

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're now more than six months since attorneys were forced to forgo traditional forms of business development and marketing and turn their attention t...

Episode 53: The Three Phases of Legal Business Development

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There are different phases lawyers will go through as they build a significant book of business. There’s no guarantee you’ll progress through each...

Episode 52: Is It Time to Rethink Your Positioning?

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Positioning yourself and your practice is all about narrowing your focus to the point where you can say “I do x practice for y market.” In this ep...

Episode 51: What We’ve Learned and What’s Next: COVID-19 Content Onslaught Post-Mortem

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in unprecedented demand for legal thought-leadership content. As we head toward the fourth quarter, the content onslaugh...

Episode 50: Get Creative with Your Content Format and Styles

03 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re tired of getting the same old results with your thought-leadership marketing efforts, try implementing some fresh new ideas. In this episo...

Episode 49: The Future of Legal Tech, with Jared Correia

25 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jared D. Correia, Esq. is the CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, working with law firms around the world to improve their business management practi...

Episode 48: Why Analytics Matter (and Why They Don’t)

18 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the old saying goes, what you measure you can manage, and that’s especially true when it comes to thought-leadership marketing. In this episode, ...

Episode 47: Announcing the "Productivity Pivot Book" Release

04 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Exciting news! Jay Harrington announces the release of his third book, The Productivity Pivot. Listen in as Tom interviews Jay to share the inspiratio...

Episode 46: Should Lawyers Consider Writing a Book?

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In anticipation of Jay's forthcoming book, The Productivity Pivot, Jay and fellow author Tom discuss the pros and cons of writing a book as a componen...

Episode 45: The “Expert’s Expert” on Positioning a Practice, with David C. Baker

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How do you position a practice? How does narrow positioning tip the power dynamic in an attorney/client relationship in your favor? To answer these qu...

Episode 44: Mindfulness for Legal Thought Leaders, with Jeffrey Bunn

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Can the practice of meditation and mindfulness help an attorney excel in the practice of law? And how is mindfulness and body/mind well-being correlat...

Episode 43: How to Generate Traditional Media Visibility Through Modern PR

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of the marks of a thought leader is that the media takes notice. Lawyers who are thought leaders are often quoted as sources in stories. Their opi...

Episode 42: The Power of Good Data for Thought Leadership, with Greg Lambert

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you want to become a thought leader, you can't rely upon your opinion alone. Thought leaders curate the best data and information, and use it to in...

Episode 41: Capturing a Reader's Attention With Thought-Leadership Writing

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when an English major and a former attorney get together to discuss writing techniques for legal thought leadership? Episode 41 of the Th...

Episode 40: Social Platforms + Thought Leadership—a Powerful Combination, with Adrian Dayton

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Social media activity, content creation, and content consumption have all gone through the roof during the COVID-19 crisis. Adrian Dayton, founder and...

Episode 39: The Art of Content Curation

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We've spent a lot of time discussing the importance of content creation for lawyers who want to become and remain thought leaders. But what about cont...