Lauren Lester and A Different Practice with Dori DeCarlo in The Business Spotlight

0:00 She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is she is you. She is you, she is you, she is sure, she is true, she is strong, she is straw. She is true, is true, she is brave, is bray, she is she is you. Hello, everyone, welcome to today's Word of Mom Radio. Here on the Word of Mom Media Network. I'm your host, Dori Di Carlo, and you know we are here a week after week, show after show, breaking those myths that morepreneurs and business women, especially those of us building our businesses from home, that we're just dabbling in between bake sales and getting our nails done. We're not. We are smart, we are savvy, and we are sharing the wisdom of women in business and in life. And I'm looking forward to bringing today's guest into our business spotlight. I'd like you to meet Laura Lester, a trailing solo attorney who's challenging the traditional law firm model. Fresh out of law school, she built a thriving practice that generates about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars plus annually while working part time, proving that attorneys can succeed without sacrificing their well being.

1:20 Lauren's journey from new graduate to successful entrepreneur isn't about profits. It's about transforming how legal services are delivered, making quality legal health more accessible while helping attorneys work less, earn more, and serve better. I like your mission, Lauren, I really do. So. With that being said, welcome to Word of Mom Radio. Thank you, Dorian. I'm so excited to be here. I am thrilled to have you, and I would love for you to take us on your journey. What just made you decide to become a lawyer, And then I want to know how you built a successful practice right out of law school.

2:04 Yeah, it's a little bit crazy. So that moment of learning that I passed the bar, as you can imagine for most attorneys, is absolutely thrilling. But I came to that journey on a little bit different of a path. So law is actually a second career for me. I spent about a decade in the web development space and just kind of hit the ceiling, figured out that that wasn't what I wanted to do forever, and so wanted to find a path that would allow me to be an entrepreneur. So I actually went to law school to open my own business, which most lawyers don't say, but I found that it would give me the freedom that I was looking for. I wasn't a mom yet, but that was on the horizon, and so part of why I wanted to have my own practice was so that I could be a mom and so that I could make my own hour. So finding out that I had passed the bar was going to get licensed with such a thrilling moment for me, But then it came with a sobering realization that I had no idea how to run a business. They didn't teach that in law school.

3:01 They just hand you this paper and say congratulations, you can lawyer, now, good luck. So I looked around at what other lawyers were doing, like mostlorepreneurs probably do when you start a business, like, well, I don't know what is everyone else doing, and I found the same story. It was high, buildable our rates, litigate everything, keep cost really vague, and don't actually tell the client what it's going to cost. And I thought that stinks, like I couldn't be a client of a law firm like that. That wouldn't work for me. I got a budget, right, I have a family, I need to make sure I can afford this, and so I said, I'm not going to do it that way. I want to build a firm that I can be a client of, and so I started to piece together ways that I thought were more client centered. So how would I want to work with an attorney, especially in you know, high conflict areas.

3:54 I did divorce law for a long time. Most folks don't want to fight till the death withouse and drain all of their retirement. They just want to have a resolution that works for everybody and allows them to move on. So I really focused on what do legal consumers want and built a practice around that. And it's been almost ten years down this will be the tenth year this year, which is really exciting. And just tried to have a bit of a different practice made that really successful. And so now I teach other lawyers who do not want to follow the traditional model and want more of a work life blend in their life how they two could do the same, which will hopefully give more of our communities access to affordable legal representation.

4:41 I'm so happy to hear this because, as we talked about before we started, my children's dad and I divorced back in ninety four. We never went to court. We drew up our own separation agreement, had it notarized, and a year later took it to a mediator, and who thought what we were doing was so unorthodox. And I was like, you know what, we have three kids. And I kept telling my children's father because you know, he wanted to just go to court. And I said, you know what, we will never find a way to be friends. And he said, how can we be friends we're getting divorced. I said, because we have three children, and it's not their fault that we can't make this work. We were in counseling five and a half years, so it's not like we just said, ah, screw this. We did everything, it didn't work. We worked great as parents, we really did, and at one point actually tried to get back together, and our kids were like, okay, now we understand why we're divorced because they were six, four and two when we split up. And as you know, eight years later, huh.

5:44 We did not work married. We just did and some people don't. But there's no reason to be adversarial about it when you have kids. And that was my son who was not even six years old. His friend. We were watching her parents have this knockdown, drag out fight, and after we left, he goes, you know, she doesn't mind that her parents are divorced. She kind of likes it. She is to birthdays, to Christmases, to bedrooms. How come people who get divorced don't remember that they loved each other enough at one point to get married and have a family. And out of the mouths of babes and I like what you're doing, because lawyers should remind their clients of that, not try to get them to fight about Aunt Betty's table that neither one of them want.

6:32 So for you, how do you work with attorneys helping them learn that they can actually not have to have their clients become adversaries and still give them a quality service and everything else, working smarter, not harder. How do you work with them doing that? Lauren? God, it's a mindset shift, because you know, we're taught in law school and the profession as a whole is very adversarial. And so when you get out and you see folks who are further down the road that are just going to take everything to a drag out fight, you think that's the only way to practice law. And it's really helping attorney see that at the end of the day, we're a business that solves a problem, just like you would go hire a plumber when you've got a leak in your house, right, you don't want the plumber coming along and saying, well, I'm just gonna tinker and try all of these things and i'll billy you for my time and let you know when i'm done.

7:28 You would be furious. She'd say, no, just fix the leak. What do you have to do to fix the leak? What's the quickest way we can get there? And I think attorneys have lost sight of that. It's happened certainly over decades. No way back in the day, attorneys were a flat fee. They were there to help solve a problem, you know, and then life got complicated and we sort of went along for the ride. So it's really helping solos in particular, remind them you're a business. You're here to solve a problem, and your clients want you to solve it effectively and efficiently. So a big part of what I help them do is have that mindset shift and then really focus on the solutions they provide, not the time they're spending, because when attorneys spend time, they're looking just to spend more time, and typically that means what issues can we bring up? Oh, you wanted that table, right, Let's make sure that we fight over that. And the client doesn't know any better because we're in the position of expertise and authority, right, so they think, oh, I guess we have to fight over the table. They don't realize there's another option. So it's really having attorneys see, you know, what solutions are you providing, How can you do it in a way that's based on the value you provide, not the time that you're spending, because that's not what legal consumers ultimately want, and then building a business around that so that they can work less oftentimes earn more, and then they're serving their clients better by actually giving them what the clients are looking for.

8:51 Again, so refreshing to hear an attorney speaking like this, Lauren, I have friends who are attorneys. They are not looking to cut down their bill of the hours. They're really not. They are looking at the fact that they want their kid to go to Yale. So you know that five minute phone call you're going to get they're getting billed for fifteen minute increment, and you know, my hourly rate is three hundred dollars, so it's an eighty five dollars pluck and so really it's it really is. I'm serious. My mom heart is so happy you're listening to this because this is what lawyers used to be. You know again, you know, you sat down and it was like, Okay, here's what it's going to cost. What I mean, I know, this is kind of a strange question to ask you, though.

9:39 What made that shift happen where lawyers went from here's what it's going to cost to that vagary of well we don't know how long it's going to take, and it's this is what I charge an hour. Why is that so prevalent in this profession at this point? Yeah, the history of it is different depending on who you ask, but in general, we can point it back to around the nineteen seventies where I think the world started to become more complicated and so cases got more complicated, right, the issues between civil parties, whether it's in a divorce case or a business transaction rate, it just got more complicated.

10:21 We had more regulation and laws and things that we had to consider, and I think attorney said, you know, we don't know how to price this anymore on a flat feet because there's now instead of three variables that we're trying to control, there's thirty. So it made sense for them at the time to just build by the hour because they weren't quite sure. And I think in the beginning the intention was probably good. They were trying to balance all of the needs of everybody and find a solution. But then law firms came along and for a lot of associates gave them these very high billable hour requirements that folks just had to build, you know, eight hours a day, but to bill eight hours you had to work ten or twelve hours, and so it just became this snowball effect that then to hit those very high billable hour requirements, folks were just coming up with stuff to do and to make cases more complicated, or bringing multiple people, and so just kind of got out of hand. And I think now the market is telling us, hey, this doesn't work for us, And that goes from you know, your neighbor to the corporation down the street. They have budgets too, and they don't want to write a blank check and just say, hey, let me know when you're done. They want to know what they're getting, you know, for what they're paying.

11:39 Again, the law firm model. I had a friend who became a paralegal and because you know, didn't want to bartend for the rest of their life, and you know, went through the whole thing and whatnot lasted six weeks. I was like, are you kidding me? I'm going to work sixty hours a week as a paralegal. I'm making what I made on a Thursday, Like, forget it. You know, they had this different idea of what this was going to become. And so I, for one applaud that you are looking at that solo practice and helping. How do you work with solo attorneys and those solopreneurs that are looking to work less without sacrificing the quality of their work.

12:26 Yeah, a lot of attorneys, I think most of us get into this profession because we ultimately want to help people. But the machine that we're in the traditional model very quickly takes that away or just makes it really hard to sort of have that warm heart that just wants to serve our community. So when I work with my coaching clients and fellow solos who are looking to build a different kind of practice, we focus on what they need the most. So at a coaching client recently who just wrapped up, she's actually transitioning from an in house role. She's going to go out on her own. She's got three kids too, right, she's a little bit later stage in life. They're all grown up, and now she's ready to have her own practice. And so we worked on her marketing and getting her services down and how she was going to price them and what problems she was going to solve for her target market. So it's really thinking about it like a business, which again they never teach you in law school. They just kind of throw you out there. And so it can be really helpful to learn from someone who's ten years down the road, Right, don't waste those ten years with all the trial and error like I did. So really sitting down and saying, hey, here's a framework that you can use. Here's an approach to build a business that's going to support the life you were looking for and not just be a business that runs your life. So from marketing and sales to thinking about services and pricing, all the way to I have a coaching client right now, who's I'm helping him with his automation. Like we get all these clients in

13:58 this different type of practice tends to attract a lot of clients because they like the way that it sounds and it works better for them. But then how do you serve people in a way that's going to give them really quality legal services, but in a way that you're not working ninety hours a week Because we're trying to get away from that. So thinking about the systems and the automation within a business, really using technology and leveraging that to be able to be efficient in your practice without sacrificing that quality. On that note, think of what Lauren just said. We're going to be back here in just a moment after we say thank you to our sponsors. On Word of Mom Radio. She is brave, she is bold, she is you, and we want to tell your story. Are you ready to share your journey with us on Word of Mom Radio.

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15:35 We need your help. Donations are critical in order for us to continue our work. We also need volunteers to help with research and development. Please visit Unsilenced Voices dot org for more information. And we're back here on Word of Mom Radio. We are talking of more and Lester. I love a different practice, I really do. And one of the things that you keep saying that it really resonates with me is how to serve better. I think that that is one of the things in the legal profession that has become forgotten is that they are there to serve their clients, not build their clients, not make their client's life more stressful.

16:25 Especially in the divorcary. You are there to serve them, and I like that you focus on that. How do you help people realize, Lauren, that they can build successful business without sacrificing their well being, Like you said, they don't have to do ninety hour a week work weeks and things like that. How do you help them realize that. Yeah, I'm so glad that you brought up our service element because you know a lot of attorneys will put ESQ at the end of their name right to signify esquire. That's the term that we used to go by. And I had a law professor back in law school remind us was my very last class, and it was the perfect note that made me think of what you're referring to that we are in the service industry That he said, do you know where esquire comes from? Right back in the day, those were nights. Those were the people who were protecting members of their community, right. They were there to serve And I think that business has unfortunately gotten away from that, and we do need to bring it back.

17:30 So solos are in such a great position because they have that leverage and they can be more mobile than maybe a bigger firm or it's going to take a little bit more to turn the tanker ship around. Solos could do it a little bit easier, but really thinking about the services and how we can help solve the client's problem. So in the divorce piece, like you've mentioned, it did divorce for contested divorce for a long time and now help people more much like you and your co parent, who just want to figure out how we can change this relationship so we can be awesome co parents but not have this marriage anymore. So really thinking about, Okay, what do those clients need, what are they looking for, and how can I give them that support, that guidance, that reassurance that yeah, you're doing it right. I know that these court documents are all crazy and they have a bunch of words on them that we don't use in everyday life. But you're doing this right. Your interests are protected. So coming to it from that space and thinking about those services and then offering it for a value based, transparent oftentimes flat fee, so the client knows what that is up front, and then you don't have to worry about a fifteen minute or three minute phone call to say, hey, just got a quick question. Right, your client and you are going to have such a better relationship because they're not feeling like they're on the clock and then I'm going to get an eighty five dollars bill for this three minute quick question that I had.

18:54 So that allows you to have a lot more trust and serve the client better, really understand what their goals are, what they're afraid of, what they're trying to avoid, you know, what's most important to them, certainly in the divorce space that they have kids, Like how do they want to set up this new co parenting relationship while they're you know, spousal relationship may be ending. So you can really get into those details and sort of understand them more on a human level versus just here's the ten tasks I have to do to get you divorced, and focusing on that and being able to do the task work efficiently while really focusing on the human element. For me makes for a really profitable practice but also a really purposeful driven practice because I have such a great connection with my clients and feel like I'm really making an impact for them, especially during you know, sometimes really difficult times.

19:44 Absolutely, I totally appreciate the fact that your client's well being and what they're going through is uppermost in your mind. It makes you such an anomaly as far as I'm concerned in most of the lawyers that I know and speak with throughout my life, and I would think that, especially in the kind of business that you have, being in returning and all of the negative that can happen being successful, you really do have to prioritize your well being because how can you serve your clients if you are so weight under by all their stresses? How do you work with that?

20:28 Yeah, it's that old phrase, right, you can't pour from an empty cup. So I learned that pretty early on the hard way. I was definitely trying to do that and not taking care of myself as well, but that then just allowed me I couldn't show up in my practice as well. I couldn't show up as a mom and as a spouse as well as I wanted to. And so the last few years I've really focused on setting and keeping boundaries. So I have a pretty strict schedule in terms of work. I only work four days a week, and every morning I try and get my movement in, so I actually don't start work until ten or ten thirty in the morning, and my clients know that they can schedule with me at any time, but the window of availability is within that time that works for me, and so I really try and prioritize my mental health, my well being, my family time first. And I thought that that would be a deterrent for my clients to go, oh, well, you know, most attorneys are available twenty four seven. You can come on Saturday at ten pm and they're going to pick up which sounds awful to me, but that's what other attorneys would say.

21:32 You got to be available twenty four seven for your clients. Actually had a client recently tell me that part of why she hired me was because I don't work on Fridays because she was a working mom, she's old or unfortunately just lost her husband. But she said, you know, I wished I would have done that. You know, I lost those years in those really valuable seasons with my kids because you just had to work, and you're a said you had to be there, you had to be there. So that really made me take a step back and think, Wow, this thing I thought might be a huge negative and I didn't really promote a lot because it was just important to me, but I didn't want to seem unprofessional, was actually something that was attracting clients. To me because they too understood right as a mom, as a family member, everything else, that we aren't just lawyers, right, we were very multifaceted people that they too wanted to have that balance in their life and recognize that in me. So that meant a lot.

22:35 We talk a lot about that work life balance and I always joke that it's that work life juggling at But how had you, as a mom and a solopreneur, how you created that work life juggling at balance for yourself? Lauren? The question that I always come back to is what is enough? I think it makes it gets really easy, especially when you're a solopreneur, to keep tasting more, more and more, more and more, more revenue, more clients, bigger firm, more staff, right, just bigger, bigger, bigger. But that's always going to come at some cost. And so for me, when I feel myself kind of getting on that treadmill that's speeding up, I try and remind myself, like, well, what's enough in the business that's going to allow me to be a mom and to be a partner to my spouse and have time for my hobbies and have time to have movement, Because that's important to me, and so that's always where I start is do I have enough?

23:32 Do I have a big, you know, fancy law firm and make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. People would make you think it sound like that's the only definition of success. No, but I take a walk in the afternoons when it's a beautiful day here in Colorado, and I'm with my kids every morning to wake them up, and we have weekend family time where I'm not distracted by phone calls and emails going off and having to work. So, you know, I just remind myself what's that trade off? Really stick to those boundaries and make sure that the first thing I put in my schedule is my time with my kids and my time with my partner, and my time for myself, and then whatever was last left was business time.

24:13 I think that is a marvelous way to wrap this conversation. I really hope. I don't care what profession you have, all you momrepreneurs and solopreneurs and businesswomen out there, this is a model you need to think about in any business. Scheduling your family and your time with and then you'll work around that. Good for you? What would you like to leave our listeners with Lauren and how may they reach out to you that. You can schedule a discovery call with me if you are interested in learning about my coaching for solo attorneys at a differentpractice dot com slash call. That's a different practice dot com slash call. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn just searching for Lauren Lester should pop up there. I would love to connect with other moms and women business owners, even if you're not in the legal space. I think we all need that community there to help support each other. So connect with me on LinkedIn.

25:15 I am going to have all of Lauren's links live, including her podcasts. You have a different practice podcast as well, so all of her links are going to be there. I really suggest you reach out. You know, all of you out there, you're building your law practices. You can do this. You don't have to be It doesn't have to be ugly. You know there's enough ugly going on there really is. And tell us a little about your podcasts. What do you share on that, Lauren. Yeah, it's a podcast for solo attorneys. I share really practical tangible tips, strategies, scripts that you can use to build a practice that you love where you can work less, earn more, and serve your clients better.

26:05 We all know I love sharing fellow podcasters, so that's awesome. I love what you do. I am so thankful that you reached out that you are here with us on Word of Mom Radio, Lauren, I really am. I have so enjoyed listening to how you are creating that work life balance and a career as an attorney that can bring positive into a profession that people think of as so negative. I've got all the attorney jokes going off on the top of my head. You know, it's amazing because there's you know, you never hear a good one, you never hear a nice one. It's always that really tough.

26:50 But I'm serious. You are showing that it doesn't have to be a room when you need to get an attorney involved. So again, thank you so much for the work you're doing. Good for you, good for your family, and just thanks so much for taking the time to come and share on one to mom radio. I really appreciate it. Warm absolutely, thank you and thank you for this wonderful platform and everything you're doing for supporting women business owners. Yeah. Absolutely, my pleasure and for all of you tuning in, thanks so much for being here. We're going to close out with our fabulous theme song from Smith's Sisters and the Sunday Drivers. So till next time, this is dor di Carlo saying, go out and create a marvelous youth.

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