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Lawyers With Purpose would like to recognize Milvidskiy Willis LLP in New Jersey as September's Members of the Month. 

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?
We've been LWP members since my partner and I founded the firm in 2016. Since then, we’ve been working with Nedra Catale, for over a year now, on the implementation of LWP methods and processes. We’re still learning and improving our practice, but being able to break even within the first 6 months is probably our greatest success since joining LWP.

What is your favorite LWP tool?
The “How to Protect Your ’Stuff’” workshop proved to be a great marketing tool.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?
The LWP is a great community and invaluable resource for elder law/estate planning attorneys. The business structure and level of support you provide to new practitioners is unparalleled. It’s without a doubt that being part of LWP added structure to our organization and improved efficiency of our team.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.
I used to play lead guitar in a band in high school.

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?
There were many books and it would be unfair (and impossible) to name just one. In high school and college, I enjoyed reading F. Scott Fitzgerald, Irwin Shaw, Vladimir Nabokov, Erich Maria Remarque, Stefan Zweig, and many other American and European authors.

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?
Prior to joining LWP, I had no real sense of my “numbers”, especially my closing rate.  I back tracked and discovered that it was a mere 40%… I was stunned. Since joining the Onboarding Program at the last TAPER (3 months ago), my closing rate has soared to 85%. That made a huge impact and now our revenue is more closely aligning with our efforts.

What is your favorite LWP tool?
I’m not sure if I would call this a “tool”, but participating in the LWP On-Boarding program has been invaluable. Working with Phil Miner on the implementation calls has allowed me and my team to fully understand how to properly use and master the many tools that LWP offers. Phil has not only taught us the “what” and “how” as it relates to the tools, but also the very important “why” behind the need for a particular tool and many of the lesser known – but valuable – uses for them.  Working with Candace Pollock on the coaching calls has helped me to adjust my mindset. We’ve been able identify and move past many of the self-limiting beliefs that have been holding me back. Simply put, Candace has helped me to get out of my own way so that success can flow. This has certainly been a winning combination for us.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?
Being a part of LWP has impacted my team in 2 very major ways. First, with increased revenue; we’ve been able to become more selective with the clients that we choose to work with. Second, the tools and accountability that LWP provide have led the team to become more efficient, proactive and intentional with our efforts.  Instead of taking each day as they come, we are now becoming organized planners. This is allowing for greater work-life balance which is a significant issue for me, in particular. I have gone from working late every night and all day every weekend, to accidentally leaving my laptop on my desk over the weekend and not even realizing it until I arrived on Monday morning — a HUGE win for me as it relates to time management!

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.
I thoroughly enjoy researching and combining various herbs, minerals, and oils to make a variety of things ranging from organic food dishes to natural hair and skin care products. One thing that I would like to do once I set the law firm on autopilot is to resume traveling the world so I can explore exotic plants, herbs and other potential healing ingredients. Between that, and visit the great wine vineyards of the world in pursuit of my goal of becoming a certified Sommelier.

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?
I can’t say that I have just one favorite book, but a staple of mine that I reread at least once a year is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This is one of the greatest mindset books of all time. The principles for success that Hill sets forth are second to none. I have a framed copy of the poem handing on the wall in my bedroom so I see it every night and every morning as a reminder to be intentional with my thoughts.

On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act as part of the 21st Century Cures Act which allows beneficiaries to establish their own first party SNTs. Most changes will be made in the first 100 days of the PEOTUS term.

Our very own, Victoria Collier, will be heading to Hollywood this week to accept two different awards for her excellence in authorship. 

First, she is being recognized by the National Association of Experts, Writers and Speakers with the EXPY Award for her well known and top selling book, 47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors…Benefits You’ve EARNED but Don’t Know About! 

Second, with your support, her newly launched book with Jack Canfield, The Road to Success, hit FIVE Best Seller Lists.  While inHollywood, she will be receiving The Quilly Award by the National Academy of Best Selling Authors.

This is one of LWP’s co-founders making a difference in the lives of our community.  Please join me in celebrating her success!  

Stay tuned and follow us on social for pics!

Roslyn Drotar, Lawyers With Purpose

Did you know successful law practice comes down to knowing your primary colors? I've had the privilege of working with estate planning lawyers across America since 2000. One of the biggest struggles I find with attorneys is their understanding of how to run their law practice like a business. Many have read “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber, but few have implemented it. I was first introduced to “The E-Myth” in 2000, but after reading it I did what few others do: I began living it! I began creating systems and processes to run my practice like a business, and within a year of doing so I was cited by national industry leaders and asked to step on their stage to show their members how to run their practice like a business.

Fast forward 16 years – after having made thousands of lawyers more successful, I'm happy to say true success in your law firm business really comes down to understanding three primary colors: yellow, blue and green.

In the Lawyers with Purpose Practice Management system, all lawyers are trained to pay attention to how they spend their time. To create a successful business, you must spend your time in three keys areas. First, you must, as Michael Gerber says, work "in your business." That means you must schedule time on your calendar when you are not working on clients, marketing or paying bills, but rather are working on your business and identifying your future goals, wants and needs. In LWP we call this “yellow time.” This is the time when you are focusing on your business, building systems, streamlining work and doing things that over the long term will make you more efficient and profitable.

Second, to have a successful law firm practice, it is critically important that you market your firm. If nobody knows you're there, what services you provide or how you can help them, then no one will hire you. In Lawyers with Purpose we have three primary methodologies of marketing: wholesale, retail, and branding. Wholesale marketing is working with “allied professionals,” or those who serve your target market. The typical wholesale relationship will be with financial advisors, bankers, accountants, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and the like. Using the Lawyers with Purpose Relationship Management System and our Synergy Meetings often leads to referrals from these allied professionals that generate revenue in excess of $10,000 within one to two weeks of your meeting them. In Lawyers with Purpose this has become known as the $10,000 breakfast.

Retail marketing is also important and is your way to identify yourself in the marketplace so people know where to find you when they need you. Chet Holmes International did a multimillion-dollar study that identified an interesting idea: At any point in time, 3 percent of the people need what you're selling right now, and there's another 7 percent who will need it in the very near future. Retail marketing is a great way to reach that 10 percent of the public, so they "know who to call" to solve the problems you fix.

Retail marketing is also important because it helps establish your brand. Branding is what people think about you when they hear your name. Branding is a product of your wholesale marketing, retail marketing and who you are with your clients. What clients experience when they work with you or your firm becomes your brand. Your brochure, logo and written material also become part of your brand. When utilizing wholesale, retail and branding methodologies within the proper context, your marketing time can be maximized.

In Lawyers with Purpose, marketing time is “blue time,” and we differentiate between light blue and dark blue marketing time. Light blue marketing time is general marketing, where you are creating relationships and getting individuals to identify whether you might be able to help them. Dark blue times are specific meetings where clients will or will not hire you. The significance of dark blue is that, although light blue time is used to generate and develop relationships, dark blue time is spent converting those relationships into active clients! Therefore, in the Lawyers with Purpose Relationship Management system and Client Enrollment System, it is essential to distinguish your light blue appointments from your dark blue appointments to ensure that you will get hired. In Lawyers with Purpose, we call getting hired our “green time.”

Anyone who took art class in elementary school learned that combining yellow and blue results in green. The same is true in your business. When you work on your business (yellow time) and have an effective marketing strategy (blue time), people will hire you. Green, in the Lawyers with Purpose system, is money time. This is time in your calendar when you are working on things that generate revenue – not marketing, but rather working on client work or things that cause clients to actually write you a check.

Many lawyers’ cash flow suffers merely because they fail to get the work done. Doing timely work is essential to having consistent cash flow and profitability. In Lawyers with Purpose, one of our first priorities with members is to ensure that their time template for the week has all the necessary yellow and blue time to generate green time.

Most lawyers have all blue time and then all green time; that's why they ride a cash flow rollercoaster, , because they market, market, market, then they stop marketing to get all the work done, and then by the time they get all the work done, there's no more work and they have to go out and market again. This leads to inconsistent cash flow. The Lawyers with Purpose cash flow calendaring system is color-coded to ensure that not only you but your entire team utilizes yellow time, blue time and green time sufficiently to ensure that your cash flow is consistent and you operate your firm like a business. Our members have said it is the most empowering thing they've experienced – having consistent cash flow, being able to take vacations without worry, and having the relationships and marketing that lead to consistent cash flow. More importantly, it enables them to spend the time on their business to ensure that it continually grows to the next level.

So, do you know your primary colors? Are you living them? Come join Lawyers with Purpose in the room in Houston the week of October 26th – 28th. Click here to reserve your seat today, and let us show you how to use yellow and blue time to produce green time, so you can have the practice you've always dreamed of.

David J. Zumpano, Esq., CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center

Those of you who know me well, know that I am an avid University of Georgia fan (or perhaps fanatic). I arrive at football games at 6 a.m. to set up my tent. I will stand in the 100-degree sun, downpours, 90,000-person adversarial crowds and whatever else is thrown at me to support the Red & Black.

As any true Bulldog should, I refuse to wear or own anything orange. Working for a Syracuse company owned and dominated by graduates thereof, this is not an easy feat. Kyle, our Brand Development Specialist, continually tries to present me with orange apparel, cards and business accessories I will neither use nor touch.   So, until the untimely death of Patricia Summitt earlier this week, it was hard to imagine any circumstance under which I would say anything positive about any orange team, much less our bitter rival, the Big Orange of Tennessee.

But Coach Pat Summitt may have softened my perspective on that. I have watched Coach Summitt many times from the stands as she and her orange-clad teams continually dominated women’s college basketball. She appeared loud and strong, and seemed to tower with confidence over a group of women all averaging 6 feet tall and half her age.

However, I only once had the privilege of meeting Pat Summitt in person – at the 2012 National Alzheimer’s Association dinner, where she was being honored for her work for the association. There, she stayed close behind her son the entire night as he guided her through the room. When they took the stage, he held her hand, took her speech and read it. She stood silent with a look of slight discomfort and confusion. Yet there she stood on stage in Washington D.C. in front of advocates, celebrities and Congress members from every state. For me, in that moment, Patricia Summitt of Clarksville, Tennessee redefined bravery and heroism.

Coach Summitt made a conscious choice after her diagnosis to champion Alzheimer’s awareness. As she struggled with early onset and discovered the lack of information and research on the subject, it is said that she made her son promise to help her bring the awareness to the cause necessary to make change. She and her son Tyler did just that until the day she left us. She taught us that Alzheimer’s does not discriminate based on physical fitness level, race, gender, age or wealth. She showed the world that even the strongest among us with the best resources will buckle to this disease if we do not continue to fight together for a cure.  

Pat Summitt once said, “It is what it is, but it will be what you make it.” Through her powerful example, Coach Summitt put Alzheimer’s on a national stage and led a growing team of advocates, caregivers, families and sufferers across our country to fight for funding, research and reform. In my mind, that will always be her greatest coaching feat. Therefore, in honor of Patricia Summitt, I will say (just this one time), GO BIG ORANGE!

If you want to learn more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member, join our FREE webinar on Wednesday, July 27th at 8 EST. Click here to reserve your spot today!

Kimberly Brannon, Legal-Technical & Software Trainer

Chances are you or someone you love has been touched by Alzheimer’s Disease.

We’ve sent you communication before about how it has rocked our own families. 

Now, this June, we are collectively doing something about it as a community – and we invite you to participate or sponsor us as we take part in The Longest Day event during our Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat in San Diego.

(You can participate live or virtually! Skip ahead to join the team!)

The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association®. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. Teams are encouraged to create their own experience as they fundraise and participate in an activity they love to honor someone facing the disease.

You can live anywhere and participate in The Longest Day. Join with friends and family across the country – or even the world – and form a team that is active from multiple locations.

If you are attending the LWP retreat, the easiest way to get involved is to join our team in memory of Kimberly’s Mee-Maw:

Our LWP team will be holding numerous events through the day to help you get out and get moving, including a.m. and p.m. yoga with Molly, stretching with purple bands in the room at every break, or rocking a purple t-shirt as you support our walking team led by Kimberly, Roz and Molly.

If you CAN’T participate with us in person, please go here to sponsor our team virtually and commit to doing a Longest Day activity, wherever you are.

After you register, simply decide what your law firm will do in honor of The Longest Day. You can find many ideas on the association’s website, or go the extra mile in the quest for a cure by hosting a themed event in YOUR COMMUNITY. You likely have many referral sources, past clients and prospects who would be interested to join and support you in this important endeavor.

No matter what option you choose, please do something.

Finally, don’t forget to WEAR PURPLE to spread the word … and get your entire office team involved! Post pictures of your purple themes on social media, email them to your friends and family, send the pictures into your local paper … whatever! Do what you can to spread the word about Alzheimer’s Disease this June.

Dedicated to finding a cure,

The LWP Team

Over the last 25 years of dealing with the buying and selling of small businesses, I have become accustomed to lawyers and clients believing that creating an LLC or a corporation is the best way to protect their assets. While this is an effective start, creating an LLC or a corporation is far from effective in protecting your assets.

I always use the example of John’s Backhoe Service. John is a small contractor who bought a backhoe to install plumbing and other underground improvements. John starts small and, little by little, his business grows. The advice he is quick to receive from his lawyer and anyone else with an opinion is, “John, you’d better incorporate or do an LLC.” They assure John that creating an LLC or corporation will protect him from the liability of that business. If John owns the business himself, and is using the backhoe and hurts a little boy who is standing nearby watching him, John will be personally liable and all of his assets will be at risk to any lawsuit that comes from his actions in the business.

Creating an LLC or a corporation ensures that the liability for John’s actions will be limited to the assets of the LLC or corporation. At LWP we call LLCs and corporations a bubble; so if John’s backhoe suddenly becomes John’s Backhoe Service, LLC or Inc., then the only thing at risk of being lost if John were to hurt someone with the backhoe would be those things that are owned “inside the bubble.” Assets owned inside the LLC typically would consist of the backhoe and any cash accounts or other business assets. Unfortunately, that is not complete protection; it is only protection from the inside out!

Having an LLC or corporation protects John’s personal assets from all liabilities created by his business – and that’s where most people end, which is a mistake. Although an LLC or corporation protects John’s personal assets from the liabilities of his business, John’s business itself and his other assets are not protected from John’s personal liability. At Lawyers with Purpose, we say John’s assets, while protected from the inside out, are not protected from the outside in! If John buys his 16‑year-old child a new car and they go out and kill someone with it, John can be sued. Since John owns an LLC or the corporation, it can be taken from him as a general asset. Although some states provide protections from creditors getting inside the assets of an LLC, it is not always so. Many states require that there be more than one owner of the LLC for it to be protected. Others, while not allowing access even as a single-member LLC to the company assets, consider John’s interest in the company itself to be an asset that is subject to risk from third-party creditors and predators.

Perhaps the greatest creditor and predator to John is in fact not a lawsuit at all, but rather a nursing home or other long-term care costs. If John were to enter a nursing home, the full value of his business and all of the income it produces would be considered available in determining his eligibility for Medicaid or other needs-based benefits. This could be catastrophic, since small businesses rarely produce enough income to support the monthly cost of a nursing home stay. That’s why it’s absolutely essential: If John wants to protect his assets from the inside out and outside in, he needs to utilize an IPUG® protection trust. IPUG trusts ensure not only that John’s assets are protected from the inside out – that is, his personal assets will be protected from the liabilities of the business – but also that his assets will be protected from the outside in – John’s business and other assets will not be within reach of general creditors and predators (i.e. the kid’s car accident or a nursing home pay out).

So get really clear on how to protect people. That’s what we do at Lawyers with Purpose. Contact Lawyers with Purpose now to see how you can be effective at utilizing IPUG protection trusts to ensure asset protection for all of your client’s assets.  If you want to learn more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member, consider joining our FREE Webinar "Four Essentials For A Profitable Practice" on April 21st at 8 EST.  

The lifeblood of any good business or practice is the ability to attract a consistent flow of clients through the doors. In order to do this, you need to keep evolving your practice to offer not only what your clients want, but what they need. Attorney Julieanne Steinbacher, President of The Million Dollar Solution, is here to tell you why you need to be offering financial products with your repertoire.

Up until now, financial products have been largely unchartered territory, but that’s true no longer. We have cracked the code to practice success in the financial services arena, and we want to share it with you. A lot of attorneys believe they shouldn’t be involved in any way with financial services, thinking it is unseemly or not lawyerly, and they believe it takes away their ability to advise their clients in an unbiased manner. That’s what we thought, too — but we were wrong. Instead, we found that we were doing our clients a disservice by not becoming educated about the role financial solutions can play in helping protect our clients. Incorporating financial products into your firm could be the key to the success that you so desire.

The Million Dollar Solution, home to Leading Lawyers on Estate and Long Term Care Planning, and the Senior Estate Planning Institute, is dedicated to assisting elder law and estate planning attorneys build a profitable practice while most efficiently and effectively serving their clients. Through conferences, mastermind sessions, testing ideas, their website, www.planningandprotecting.com, and a multitude of other resources, The Million Dollar Solution has helped leading attorneys in this field transform not only their practices, but their lives and will be sponsoring the Lawyers With Purpose Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat.  If you'll be there next week make sure you join us for lunch on Friday, February 26th!