Best Jeff Sterling Hughes Podcasts (2024)

1
Tom’s Trek: Quoting Fixed-Fees for Family Law with Mary Sankey - #80 42:42

18h ago42:42

42:42

Curious as to how to determine the right fixed fees for family law cases? In our latest Tom's Trek series, I have an insightful conversation with emerging Family Law attorney Tom Hartin and seasoned expert Mary Sankey. Together, we delve into the intricacies of family law and share practical strategies for quoting fixed fees effectively. Here's a g…

1
8 Simple AI Actions to Future-Proof Your Law Firm - #79 17:55

5d ago17:55

17:55

The AI frenzy has died down a bit since January 2023. But don't be lulled in complacency thinking AI will not have a significant impact on your life and law firm. It will in due time. Over the past 18 months, I have settled on a few practical steps to position our law firm for future AI opportunities and threats. In this show I cover: My Personal S…

1
Tom’s Trek: Building and Marketing the Law Firm’s Website - #78 31:17

8d ago31:17

31:17

This is the second installment of the "Tom's Trek" series. We are following Attorney Tom Hartin as he plans and opens his family law practice on Long Island, New York. We discuss: 1. Launching Tom's website (hartinfamilylaw.com) 2. Setting up a Google My Business profile and initiating SEO efforts 3. Understanding the local legal landscape and asse…

1
How to Quit a Law Firm - #77 12:44

12d ago12:44

12:44

Lawyers frequently fire the law firm they work at. The leave. They quit. They resign. This happens way more than law firms firing a lawyer. There are best practices to follow in order to best position your career for success. Over the last ten years, I have had a front row seat to 30 lawyers firing our law firm. Some did it very well, and others, .…

1
#141 - Josh Lawler and Jener Sakiri on securities, regulation and gaming in crypto 49:42

15d ago49:42

49:42

Josh Lawler is a partner at Zuber Lawler, where he leads the firm’s Emerging Technologies Group with a particular emphasis on blockchain technology. Josh previously practiced as a corporate securities and M&A attorney at Skadden, Arps. Jener Sakiri is an associate at Zuber Lawler and focuses on transactional and regulatory matters. He often works w…

1
Tom’s Trek: Starting a Family Law Firm from Scratch - #76 43:32

16d ago43:32

43:32

Transitioning from patent law to family law is no small feat, but Attorney Tom Hartin is taking on the challenge. This is episode one of a new series -- Tom's Trek. We will be following Tom as he leaves his patent law career behind and embarks on building his family law firm. In this show, we discuss: The appeal of family law for Tom, including med…

1
Retargeting Potential Family Law Clients with Tony Karls - #75 20:42

20d ago20:42

20:42

Retargeting potential clients is a big part of our firm's marketing strategy. I'm thrilled to welcome back Tony Karls, the innovative Sterling Lawyers co-founder and, now, President of Rocket Clicks. Tony shares his deep expertise, focusing on: Accurately identifying your target audience Crafting compelling and resonant messages Choosing the most e…

1
Managing International Law Firm Teammates with Robin Esch (Part 3 of 3) - #74 19:59

23d ago19:59

19:59

Robin Esch, our Director of Team Growth, joins me again to explore the Sterling Lawyers' playbook for managing international teammates. Here's what we dive into: Our structured process that ensures every team member feels valued and equipped from day one. How we create accountability and integration within our diverse team. The importance of clear …

1
#140 - SAFEs, SAFTs and what's market for crypto startups with Nick Pullman 1:07:22

22d ago1:07:22

1:07:22

Nick Pullman (@NickPullmanEsq) is Corporate Counsel and founder of Day One Law Corporation, where he provides legal solutions for tech startups and investors. Nick was previously head of legal at an NFT startup and an associate at Cooley and DLA Piper. In this conversation, we cover: [2:53] Nick's introduction to Bitcoin [7:33] What's market: SAFEs…

1
Hiring International Law Firm Teammates with Robin Esch (Part 2 of 3) - #73 18:20

27d ago18:20

18:20

In the second part of our three-part series, Robin Esch and I dive deep into the intricacies of global hiring, with a special focus on the Philippines. What we discussed: Maintaining a strong cultural fit despite remote work Crafting precise job postings and pre-screening questions about availability and language proficiency The numerous business a…

1
Sourcing International Law Firm Teammates with Robin Esch (Part 1 of 3) - #72 22:50

1M ago22:50

22:50

One of Sterling Lawyers' talent advantages has been learning the skill of finding international teammates. This show is all about how we go about sourcing qualified, smart, hard-working teammates that do not live in the USA. Most of our firm's 27 international support teammates are client-facing. They have regular and meaningful communication with …

1
#1 Attorney Hiring Attribute to Grow a Family Law Firm - #71 22:00

1M ago22:00

22:00

Tenacity is the #1 attribute in selecting attorneys to build and scale a family law firm. Once you get past the table stakes of your firm's values and the candidate's character, no other quality is more important. Tenacity is far more important than experience, intelligence, grades in law school, interview ability, network, etc. It is the attribute…

1
Leverage Constraints to Build Your Law Firm - #70 9:35

1M ago9:35

9:35

If I could have a "Do-Over" for our first 10 years of building Sterling Lawyers, I would force myself to grow our family law firm with fewer resources. Why build our firm with less? -- Because I would have been more creative and disciplined, leading to a strong law firm today. In this show, I answer: 1. What is a constraint? 2. Why do they work? 3.…

1
Two Ways Lawyers Self-Sabotage Their Law Firm's Growth - #69 6:09

1M ago6:09

6:09

Why do so many law firms struggle with growth despite their best efforts? On today's show, I describe the two major ways lawyers self-sabotage their law firm's success: 1) Mistaking activity for progress 2) Stop learning until they implement In almost every circumstance, we lawyers put a lid on our firm's growth, not our competition. --------------…

1
Coaching Family Lawyers and Support Teammates with Jeff Kerlin - #68 11:46

2M ago11:46

11:46

Our Sterling Lawyers' President, Jeff Kerlin, is back with me to breakdown the best practices on coaching lawyers. Jeff leads a high performing team of lawyers. This is not accidental. He shares his methods on how he does it. We discuss: Biweekly coaching sessions and frequent tactical meetings on team transparency and achieving a shared vision The…

1
Leading a Family Law Firm as a Non-lawyer with Jeff Kerlin - #67 16:29

2M ago16:29

16:29

Jeff Kerlin is the President of Sterling Lawyers. He is not a lawyer, but he is an incredible leader. Prior to joining Sterling, Jeff was the President and CEO of a large printer. His success at our firm is proof that good leadership applies wherever there are people. Here's a peek at what we covered: Becoming president of a law firm without a lega…

1
Law Partners: Embrace your Differences from Teammates - #66 9:32

2M ago9:32

9:32

Transitioning from associate lawyer to a partner leading your former peers can be the most challenging jump of a career. Doing this well demands uncommon maturity, emotional strength, and new boundaries. Many new partners are reluctant to accept the new differences between them and their teammates. I talk through how to do this successfully. ------…

1
Managing a Family Law Firm Operating System with Jeff Kerlin - #65 17:22

2M ago17:22

17:22

Jeff Kerlin is the President of Sterling Lawyers, my family law firm. Jeff is responsible for managing our firm's operating system, which is based on EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) -- a framework to ensure that the entire firm is executing on the right things. Today, we have 80+ teammates spread out across three states and three countries. …

1
Feedback as a Law Firm Growth Engine - #64 19:14

2M ago19:14

19:14

Feedback is an underrated growth tool for law firm leaders. It is most certainly a shortcut to improving as a leader. And, when the leader gets better, the whole law firm benefits. In this show, I discuss how one moment of feedback from a teammate transformed how I lead. At first, I was resistant and defensive. Then, as I listened, I saw my blind s…

1
#139 - Changing political tides in DC, Consensys' SEC lawsuit with Bill Hughes 50:03

2M ago50:03

50:03

Bill Hughes (@BillHughesDC) is Senior Counsel & Director of Global Regulatory Matters at Consensys Software, which is behind MetaMask, Infura, and various other software supporting the programmable blockchain ecosystem. For more on Bill’s background, I recommend episode 74 of Law of Code. This conversation is focused on the lawsuit Consensys brough…

1
Four Major Law Firm Growth Mistakes I Made - #63 11:42

2M ago11:42

11:42

We started and grew Sterling Lawyers from 0 to 25 lawyers with over $15M in revenue within the first 9 years. It has been fun -- and painful. The pain came from the four biggest mistakes I made along the way. Here they are: Not joining a mastermind group with other legal professionals Underestimating how growth can cover serious flaws Failing to ke…

1
Overcoming a Health Crisis While Building a Family Law Firm with James Joseph - #62 45:40

2M ago45:40

45:40

James Joseph's journey is inspiring and incredible. He is a deeply respected family lawyer who he has built a thriving practice on Long Island, New York. In the midst of building his firm and starting a family, he received life-altering medical news. The prospects looked dim. The doctors advised him to wait it out. So, James privately endured four …

1
Financial Reporting for Law Firm Growth with Leah Miller - #61 38:04

2M ago38:04

38:04

Leah Miller is a law firm financials expert. Her career began with a 13 year stint as a paralegal and office administrator. In that role, she learned the ins and outs of running a law practice. In 2023, after earning her MBA, Leah founded LNM Financial Services to help law firm owners achieve their growth goals. In this show we discuss: The pivotal…

1
Leading a High Engagement Law Firm Culture with Thomas Tona - #60 49:37

3M ago49:37

49:37

Attorney Tom Tona's story is incredible. He has consistently defied the odds and built a highly successful litigation firm in New York. It started with Tom building his grit as an undersized boy as he pushed through regular bullying. His mindset later pushed him to achieve his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu--which is a decade-long undertaking in…

1
#138 - The future of sports and crypto: Karate Combat 42:32

3M ago42:32

42:32

This conversation with two lawyers — Samir Patel and David Kuhn — and an entrepreneur who goes by OnlyLarping covers all aspects of Karate Combat, a novel form of sports league that is betting heavily on crypto. Show highlights: [2:51] What is Karate Combat? [7:26] Implementing token governance [13:11] Crypto and sports [19:34] Why they believe it …

1
How to Build a Non-Attorney Family Law Sales Team with Mary Sankey - #59 30:56

3M ago30:56

30:56

My guest, Mary Sankey, is the leader of our non-attorney sales team at Sterling Lawyers. We explore the genesis and development of our non-attorney sales team. We also discuss: Mary's experience with divorce as a child and how it shaped her empathetic approach Her transition from the coffee industry to leading our sales team The importance of non-a…

1
#137 - Blockchain Association sues the SEC to strike down Dealer Rule 38:45

3M ago38:45

38:45

Recently, the Blockchain Association (BA) and the Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas (CFAT) filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking a court order to strike down the SEC’s Dealer Rule due to the SEC’s various Administrative Procedure Act (APA) violations including preventing industry participants from being able to opera…

1
How to Fire Lawyers at Your Firm - #58 25:42

3M ago25:42

25:42

Terminating lawyers on your team is a very difficult process. Yet, it is critically necessary for any healthy law firm to grow and serve clients well. Every firm that is growing will have to terminate a lawyer's employment. At Sterling Lawyers, we have fired lawyers for a range of reasons. This show details our firm's history in this sensitive area…

1
How to Buy Paid Search for Family Law with Tony Karls - #57 18:30

3M ago18:30

18:30

Paid Search is the second most important component of search marketing for any family law firm. The first is map listings -- see earlier podcast on this topic. In this show, my co-founder, Tony Karls, and I discuss our firm's philosophy and strategy to employ paid search in our marketing mix. We cover: 1 - Diversifying your marketing tactics 2 - Da…

1
Managing Family Law Compassion Fatigue with Gary Miles - #56 29:31

3M ago29:31

29:31

Gary Miles's journey is one of profound transformation. He battled and overcame the grip of alcohol to build and lead a successful family law firm. In this show, Gary's candid retelling of his challenges and how he prevailed is certainly inspirational. It also serves as a roadmap to family lawyers interested in building their practice and having pe…

1
Sterling Lawyers' Marketing Blueprint Revealed with Tony Karls - #55 28:22

3M ago28:22

28:22

It's no secret that my Sterling Family Lawyers co-founder, Tony Karls, is the digital marketing mastermind behind our success. In this week's show, Tony and I reveal the precise marketing blueprint that propelled our family law firm from 0 to 25 lawyers and $15million in revenue in less than 10 years. We discuss: 1 - Establishing an initial online …

1
Methodically Effective Digital Marketing Strategies with Bo Royal - #54 39:58

3M ago39:58

39:58

Bo Royal is a former Fortune 500 advertising agency executive turned law firm marketing expert. After holding leadership positions at eBay’s marketing solutions division and scaling the online advertising revenues of a variety of well-known brands, such as Calvin Klein, Bo pivoted into the world of legal marketing over five years ago and never look…

1
Optimizing Maps for Family Law Clients with Tony Karls - #53 14:34

3M ago14:34

14:34

Map listings are the single most important component of search marketing for any family law firm. The maps are Sterling Lawyers' most important lead generation channel. In this episode, my co-founder, Tony Karls, and I discuss the essential elements that have amplified our firm's map visibility. If you want to rank highly in the maps, this is the d…

1
Raw, Unfiltered Story on How to Build a Thriving Family Law Firm with Jonathan Breeden - #52 45:49

4M ago45:49

45:49

When I sat down with Jonathan Breeden for this episode, my intention was to get his blueprint on how to create a hyperlocal podcast for family law firms. We certainly covered that topic. But, there turned out to be so much value in hearing his story. Jonathan Breeden is a seasoned family lawyer who takes us behind the scenes of his North Carolina f…

1
Optimize Your Family Law Intake Team with Tony Karls - #51 16:21

4M ago16:21

16:21

The best law firm lead generation system in the world is useless without a good intake team. One of the performance secrets at Sterling Lawyers has been our intake team. They excel at the critical task of answering the phone and supporting potential clients facing a family legal crisis. In this episode, Tony Karls and I do a deep dive into our fami…

1
#136 - Justin Wales on the Crypto Legal Handbook 47:16

4M ago47:16

47:16

Justin Wales (@bitcoin_wales) is the Head of Legal for the Americas at Crypto.com. Before going in-house, he was a partner at the international law firm K&L Gates, where he represented crypto companies in all aspects of their business. His new book, The Crypto Legal Handbook, is a must-read guide through the laws of crypto, web3 and an ever-decentr…

1
Law Firm Operational Health with Kyle Harbaugh - #50 32:38

4M ago32:38

32:38

Kyle Harbaugh is the Founder and President of Chief Go Officers. He is a holistic business strategist for law firms and his focus is on helping firms grow and operate better by providing Done-For-You projects and fractional services. In this episode, we have a full conversation about the challenges that firms encounter to move from the founder(s) d…

1
Sterling Lawyers' Initial Strategic Blueprint with Tony Karls - #49 10:09

4M ago10:09

10:09

The Sterling Lawyers origin story began on a whiteboard in the late fall of 2013, where Tony Karls and I sketched out the strategic blueprint of the law firm. Today, ten years later, we are revealing the essential components of that strategy. It's not surprising that almost nothing worked out like we planned, including our firm's mission. There are…

1
#135 - Everything you should know about Roman Sterlingov's case 51:09

4M ago51:09

51:09

Today’s podcast covers the case of Roman Sterlingov, a 33-year-old Swedish-Russian national, was arrested by Internal Revenue Service criminal investigators at the Los Angeles airport and was accused of creating and operating Bitcoin Fog, a bitcoin “mixing” service that the US Justice Department claims Sterlingov used to enable $336 million in mone…

1
Developing High-Performance Family Lawyers with Katie VanDeusen - #48 35:12

4M ago35:12

35:12

Katie VanDeusen co-leads a team of 25 family lawyers. She is a highly successful leader, especially when it comes to developing less-experienced attorneys. Katie has always been a top-performer at Sterling Lawyers. She has set more than a few performance records. In addition to her own prolific practice, she mentors other attorneys, some of which h…

1
#134 - Pre-enforcement lawsuit against the SEC with Amanda Tuminelli and Jake Chervinsky 29:23

4M ago29:23

29:23

The DeFi Education Fund and co-plaintiff Beba, an apparel company based in Texas, recently filed a pre-enforcement suit challenging the SEC’s regulation by enforcement approach to crypto and their policy that free airdrops are securities transactions. Amanda Tuminelli serves as the DeFi Education Fund's chief legal officer where she leads the organ…

1
#133 - Liability on smart contract developers: Roman Storm case with Jake Chervinsky and Amanda Tuminelli 27:34

4M ago27:34

27:34

After the DEF submitted an amicus brief in the Roman Storm matter, which involves Tornado Cash, I spoke with the two authors: Amanda Tuminelli serves as the DeFi Education Fund's chief legal officer where she leads the organization's impact litigation and policy efforts. Jake Chervinsky recently joined Variant as Chief Legal Officer, where he leads…

1
Dominate Family Law with a Great Hiring Process - #47 13:18

4M ago13:18

13:18

People are the most important success factor in every law firm. There are no exceptions to this rule. At Sterling Lawyers we take hiring (we call it "selection") very, very seriously. Over the past 10 years we have honed our selection process into a finely tuned machine. Robin Esch oversees the sourcing and selection of all our teammates. She is ou…

1
Preparing a Family Law Firm for Sale with Tom Lenfestey - #46 36:52

4M ago36:52

36:52

Tom Lenfestey is the founder of The Law Practice Exchange. He's also a practicing North Carolina attorney, licensed CPA, and Accredited Business Intermediary. Tom is one of North America's most knowledgeable experts on selling a law firm. In this fascinating conversation we discussed: State of M&A in law People law firms v. Business law firms Law f…

1
The Alchemy of Legal Triumphs with Attorney Patrick Slaughter - #45 54:08

4M ago54:08

54:08

Attorney Patrick Slaughter is an attorney coach with substantial "Street Cred." He has built a very successful law firm and sold it. Now, he helps other lawyers do the same thing. His story is non-traditional to say the least. Patrick was a magician for 20 years before attending law school. Once out of law school, he hustled, networked, and worked …

1
How to Measure a Family Law Firm Culture with Robin Esch - #44 14:18

5M ago14:18

14:18

Business 101: If you are not measuring it, you are not managing it. This principle is true when it comes to a family law firm culture. My guest this week is Robin Esch, Sterling Lawyers' Director of Team Growth. We explore how we measure a critical aspect of our law firm -- our culture. ------------------------- Follow me on: LinkedIn - YouTube - X…

1
#132 - What is MetaLeX? Plus, why lawyers must take note 54:49

5M ago54:49

54:49

Co-founded by longtime cryptolawyers Gabriel Shapiro and Alex Golubitsky, the mission of MetaLeX (which means beyond law) is to combine legal structures and autonomous tech to create best-in-class solutions serving DAOs, devs, and internet denizens with a suite of interoperable autonomous law solutions, which they refer to as MetaLeX OS. The goal i…

1
How to Collect a Million Dollars in Family Law with Jeff Morrell - #43 21:36

5M ago21:36

21:36

Attorney Jeff Morrell is a Senior Partner at our family law firm, Sterling Lawyers. Since joining our team, Jeff has been a pace-setter. This episode is a conversation between me and Jeff riffing on his productivity strategies. He shares a load of valuable insights on how to improve the efficiency of a family law practice. Enjoy! ------------------…

1
Key Financial Metrics for Healthy Family Law Firms with Jon Morris - #42 35:17

5M ago35:17

35:17

Jon Morris is the founder of Rise Interactive, a wildly successful digital agency that he exited a few years ago. Since then, Jon has started two more highly successful service businesses: (1) EngineBi (www.enginebi.net) and (2) Fiscal Advocate (www.fiscaladvocate.com). Jon also sits on the Sterling Lawyers Board of Advisors. Over the years, Jon ha…

1
11 Surprising Lessons from Growing a Family Law Firm - #41 21:47

5M ago21:47

21:47

As I reflect on our first ten years of building and leading Sterling Law, there are 11 lessons that have surprised me. Here they are: 1 - Being a leader is your identity 2 - Building a law firm is a sprint and a marathon 3 - Vulnerability is confidence in action 4 - Discipline today avoids pain tomorrow 5 - Leadership isn't winning your way. It’s c…

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