Michigan Law School and AAEPA – Lawyers as Businesspeople
I had the pleasure of speaking at the University of Michigan law school yesterday. I spoke to a group of students interested in alternative approaches to the law, in particular the evolution from lawyer technician to lawyer businessperson or total businessperson.
My message was simple: In order to be a great lawyer, in almost every area of the law, you need to also be a great business person – or at a minimum a student of business principles. Whether you want to start your own firm, be an influential partner or manager in a larger firm, be a general counsel or even represent business clients in litigation, the more you are a student of business principles, the more successful you will be.
Why? Because by understanding your and your client’s businesses, you can make better decisions related to risk and return. Too often lawyers – trained from day one to be ISSUE spotters – dismiss all sorts of opportunities because their fear of the issues – the risks – prevents them from ever thinking through the return.
And, sadly, law schools and bar administrators are very shortsighted in failing to promote any education on this front. Very few schools have any sort of curriculum relating to running a business, even though most of their students will be running their own businesses in the near future. Bar administrators repeatedly refuse to give CLE credit for anything that even smells like marketing, which is pretty sad. They should be encouraging lawyers to invest more time in becoming better businesspeople.
I noticed while writing this post that Megan has posted our October Avvo webinars and, in so doing, gave a shout-out to the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (AAEPA). The principals behind AAEPA , Robert Armstrong and Sandy Fisch, are two of the more business-savvy lawyers I know. I met them a couple of years ago after Sandy attended an Avvo social media event in San Diego. Thereafter, they have had me speak to the AAEPA regarding Avvo and social media and it has given me a firsthand view of the high quality services the AAEPA offers its members. As Megan mentioned, they are the “Total Solution” for estate planning attorneys helping them build their business and enhance the technical legal skills. Having dinner with a number of AAEPA members, they told me repeatedly that AAEPA had changed their practice.
So, if you are interested in learning more about the AAEPA, again, attend their webinar. There is also the Academy Summit coming up in October In San Diego. If interested in the summit or membership, contact info@aaepa.com or call 800-846-1555 for a free estate planning practice packet of information and tools. You can also read their books, “The E-Myth Attorney” and “Dominate Your Market! The Attorney’s Complete Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media.” Great guides for the business-minded lawyer.
Be a lawyer. Be a businessperson.
