As many of you know, I left my law practice after my very best year in 2004. From 2005 until COVID I coached close to 2000 lawyers in the United States and Canada.

One of the great joys I have from that experience is when I get an email, a handwritten note, or a phone call letting me know about the great success many of those lawyers have experienced. Many of the lawyers I coached have become leaders or top rainmakers in their law firms. Many of them have shared my ideas with the junior lawyers in their firm.

I left my law practice at a time when I loved my work and my clients. But, I still wanted to go because I believed helping the next generation of lawyers succeed would be even more rewarding.

I learned from 15 years of coaching that I could not motivate the unmotivated. I assume if you read my blog, you do it in part because you are motivated to build a successful and fulfilling career.

Do you and your colleagues want a chance to work with me for free? If you are a marketing director or in charge of attorney development, do you want an opportunity for the lawyers in your firm to work with me for free?

I’m writing this now because I’ve received emails asking if I’d be willing to coach lawyers in their firm. As many of you know, I’ve had several health issues that challenge me in a variety of ways. Leaving that aside, while I’m younger than our current US president, I’m about the same age of the one who will become US president again in January. I question whether lawyers in their late 20s or early 30s would find a guy their grandfather’s age to be relevant in 2024-2025.

Years ago (when I was younger and very busy), I created a Client Development Video Coaching Program titled Client Development Series: Securing, Retaining and Expanding Relationships with Your Clients. It is three hours of video with 7 Modules.

I created a workbook/guide for you to use. Here’s the link:SRE Participant’s Guide

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I urge those of you who are interested in elevating your law practice to take the time to watch the videos and complete the workbook. 

Do you know what today is? I suspect that at least 90 plus percent of you don’t know what today is.

Yes, it’s a Monday. Yes, it’s April 21. Yes, it will be remembered as the day Pope Francis died. And, yes, it’s the Monday after Easter.

It’s the Monday after Easter celebration you won’t likely know. For, seventy years I didn’t know it. Today is Dyngus Day. I only learned about it nine years ago when we lived in Prosper, TX. I wrote about the experience here.

Celebrated the Monday after Easter, Dyngus Day is a Polish-American tradition filled with lighthearted rituals, drinking beer, sharing food, and enjoying community. At its heart, it’s a day to let loose, reset, and celebrate a fresh start after the solemnity of Lent.

But here’s the connection to your legal career: Dyngus Day is a day of transition.

It marks the beginning of something new. For young lawyers, every Monday is a kind of Dyngus Day. It’s an opportunity to reset, recommit, and most importantly, plan. For those of you I coached, you remember me saying you should have a goal and plan for five years, this year, this month and this week, and maybe even this day

When I was coaching lawyers too many talked about their goals. Some talked about making partner. Some talked about building a book of business, but many stopped there. And as the saying goes:

“A goal without a plan is just a dream.”

So, What’s Your Dyngus Plan?

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying:
• “I want to get more clients,”
• “I want to be a better blogger ,”
• “I want to write more articles or speak at conferences…”

Then ask yourself: What’s your plan?

Just like Dyngus Day rituals are intentional (and yes, a little goofy), career growth requires more than good intentions. It requires consistent actions.

Here’s a Simple Dyngus Day-Inspired Framework:
1. Shake things up-Take a hard look at your habits. What’s one thing you can do differently this week to move closer to your goal?
2. Feast on Ideas—Schedule 30 minutes to read something other than your usual legal texts, such as marketing, communication, negotiation, or client psychology.
3. Celebrate with Others – Connect with a mentor or colleague. Share your goals and ask about theirs. Accountability fuels execution.
4. Start the Week with Purpose – Use Monday to write down one thing you’ll do this week to move your career forward. Just one. Then do it.

Final Thought:

Dyngus Day reminds us that even serious professionals need moments of reflection, joy, and intention. But don’t stop at the celebration. Let it be the launchpad for action.

Because in the end, dreaming is easy. Planning, and doing is what sets great lawyers apart from the crowd of others.

If you do not live in Dallas, you may not know that the parade for the NBA champion Mavericks is in just a few hours. After the Mavericks miraculous comeback in the second game of the series, there was a segment about Dirk Nowitzki and his coach, Holger Geschwindner. If you watched it, you got a sense of why Nowitzki has confidence in himself when the game is on the line. He practices, perhaps harder and more deliberate than any player in the NBA, and he constantly gets feedback from his coach.

To me it is interesting that the same way a pro basketball player gains confidence applies to lawyers. I have written many times that to be successful at client development you have to believe in yourself and project self confidence. In January of 2010 I wrote what turned out to be one of my most read posts: If You Want to be a Rainmaker, “You Gotta Believe”. If you have a moment go back and read that post again.

I have worked with lawyers throughout my career that lacked self-confidence, not in their legal skills, but rather in their ability to generate business. For many lawyers I coach when they realize they can actually be successful, their business generation takes off.

Too many lawyers believe you either have self-confidence or you don’t. I believe self-confidence can be developed. I believe I developed it. 

How do you develop it? Take a look at this Harvard Business Review article: How to Build Confidence. I believe that it is important to practice, practice, practice. I also believe it is important to get feedback. I owe my own development of self confidence to those two efforts.

I am a confident public speaker today, in part because I practiced in front of a mirror, and videotaped myself speaking and got feedback from friends, including my wife Nancy. What are the things you can practice and get feedback? How about:

  • Public Speaking
  • Writing articles
  • Writing blog posts
  • Client interviews
  • Client pitches
  • Networking

Does your firm provide opportunities for lawyers to practice these kind of things and get feedbacK? I know the firms for whom I am doing coaching provide it because it is part of the client development coaching program. Your firm can provide these opportunities internally if you actually create practice opportunities and have senior lawyers willing to provide the feedback.

If by chance you missed the segment about Dirk and Coach Holger Geschwindner, you can watch it here.

http://youtu.be/OYlI7J_LDkI

From 2005 to 2021 coached over 1500 lawyers in the US and Canada. Now, in 2025 many of those lawyers are leaders or top rainmakers in their law firm. I’m convinced they would have succeeded had they never met me, but I hope I help accelerate their success.

Not every lawyer I coached became a leader or top rainmaker.  At one extreme I fiound it difficult to coach lawyers who were so content that they did not want to focus on getting better. At the other extreme, while I loved coaching the most motivated lawyers, I also saw that their intense drive to succeed could also cause burnout.

If you were a regular reader, you know I started writing a novel. I wrote about my work on it: Women Lawyers: Self Confidence Key to Your Success and Lawyers: Are You Confused About Appropriate Attire?

My protagonist, at that time was Gina Caruso. She had an intense desire to excel and her greatest fear was failing at anything in her career and life. Gina was “all in” at her law firm, her physical fitness and her relationships.

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In the Snowflake Method, a writer starts with a sentence to describe his novel. Here was mine at that time:

A superstar young lawyer is so driven to excel and be a top Texas lawyer that she risks her career, marriage, and even her life.

While doing research for my book, I not only found the articles linked to in the two blog posts about self confidence and appropriate attire for lawyers, but I also found: Fire Your Inner Task Master. The subheading describes Gina and many other lawyers I have met:

Want to work for someone who pushes you relentlessly, criticizes  your efforts and makes your entire life miserable? Of course not. So why are you doing it to yourself?

That subheading reminded me of a blog Seth Godin recently posted titled: Self Talk.

I found many points in both the blog and the article informative. One from the article really described my career as a lawyer because I always said it to myself.

Sarah is always anxious that if she delivers a merely satisfactory performance, she will be exposed as the fraud she secretly believes she is.

I can relate. I actually described this condition as healthy paranoia during my career. I was insatiable to research and learn as much as I could about construction and trial advocacy because I was afraid I would be exposed as a fraud. I think my fear was healthy, but I can see how it easily could be debilitating.

I urge you to read the article if you are so intensely going for the gold that you are risking your health and happiness in the process.

How can you be successful and avoid this problem? There is no magic pill, but I told lawyers I coached to start with clarity on what, other than work, is most important in your life. Once you know that, plan and spend more focused time on those priorities.

Are you finding setting goals a challenge? If so, you are not alone.  I have 10 tips I hope will help you.

  1. Start broadly and work to specific goals.  
  2. Think of your major definite purpose (what you want to accomplish), understand why accomplishing it is important (why), and your core values (how you want to live).  
  3. Think of goals in the four aspects of your life. 
    1. Physical/Economic 
    2. Mental/Learning and Growth 
    3. Emotional/Relationships 
    4. Spiritual/Values/Contribution 
  4. Brainstorm and write down as many potential goals as possible in each of the four aspects of your life. 
  5. Just as you did for your major definite purpose, for each goal ask why achieving it would be important to you.  
  6. When you come up with an answer to the why question, ask why again. 
  7. If you do not have a good answer to the why question, discard that goal because you will not likely have the passion to achieve it. 
  8. For each goal make a list of no less than 10 things you need to do to accomplish it. 
  9. Share your written goals with your spouse, friends or mentor. 
  10. Take the first action step right away so the train will leave the station. 

In 1978, I decided that my major definite purpose was to be the preeminent transportation (highways, airports, rail) construction lawyer in the United States.

Why was that important to me? First, it was important because I wanted to be the “go to” lawyer in a narrow niche. Second, I wanted to pick an area that was not a crowded field. Third, I wanted to use my government contract experience I had gained while on active duty in the Air Force. Finally, I wanted to work for highway contractors because three of my college friends were active in family owned highway construction businesses.

I hope these ten tips help you find success in your goal setting. Please feel free to make comments or ask questions – one of my goals is to hear from you.
 

  1. Create a yearly Business Plan-If you need a template for a business plan just ask me.
  2. Breakdown Your Plan-Create 90 days or monthly goals (actions).
  3. Plan and Schedule Client Development Activities Each Week-Decide what you plan to do, estimate how much time it will take and then schedule it on your calendar.
  4. Keep a Client Development Journal-Keeping track makes it more likely you will actually do the activities.
  5. Have a Client Development Partner-Like a workout partner, a client development partner makes it more likely you will do the activities.
  6. Join Industry and/or Community Associations/Organizations and Seek Leadership Positions-Join just a few organizations and be active to raise visibility.
  7. Stay in Contact-Use multiple means (notes, calls, lunches, coffee, blogs, email, LinkedIn).
  8. Conduct Workshops and Seminars for Clients-(Get CLE credit if doing it for in-house lawyers)
  9. Put Links to Published Articles on Your Website Bio-You want prospective clients to read what you have written.
  10. Create a Blog-I feel certain you know that blog posts are shorter than articles and they are more timely and more easily shared.
  11. Create a Guide-This can be a handout at industry presentations. Make it short and concise.
  12. Read What Your Clients Read-Find out their industry publications and subscribe to them
  13. Identify Referral Sources-Referral Sources expand your network to prospective clients.
  14. Write Thank You Notes-Let clients know you appreciate the opportunity to serve them.
  15. Get to Know Assistants-A client representative’s assistant can be a great source of goodwill.
  16. Joint Venture Programs with Client Representatives-They will enjoy being asked and working together will help build the relationship.
  17. Become involved in your clients’ favorite charities-This is another way to build the relationship and let the client know you care about what is important to them.
  18. Return phone calls and emails promptly-Clients do not want to wait.
  19. Build database to better understand client needs-This helps bring more personalized contacts with your clients
  20. Go to events you would rather skip-You never know where you will run into opportunities.
  21. Have your elevator speech ready-Create several so you can use the appropriate one
  22. Have your elevator questions ready-People want you to be interested more than they want you to be interesting.
  23. Call, email and write clients-Just to see how they are doing.
  24. Do something no matter how small each and every day-Make a list of potential things you can do each and every day.
  25. Read books about sales and service-Figure out how other businesses do it effectively by reading about them.
  26. Learn to use AI Powered Tools-If you are not, your competitors will be ahead of you

For any of you wondering why I’m writing on this subject, I’ll simply say that my law practice peaked when I was in my 50s. I worked really hard. loved every minute of it, made more money than I had ever dreamed was possible and enjoyed both my clients and the lawyers who worked with me.

If I shared with you all the reasons I am proof it would be my longest blog post ever. Instead, I’m writing, not to share my late in life story with you, but to simply suggest I know most of you are late 30s, 40s, or 50s. Go after it while you can.

It seems a long time ago now, but in those days I was up at 4:30, coffee in hand at 4:45, at Cooper Aerobics in Dallas at 5:00 when it opened. I usually RAN 3-5 miles with a goal of 8 minute miles. (I capitalized that just for the fondness of being able to do it). I worked out afterwards and was usually at my desk by 7:30.

Nancy and I joined a Fort Worth workout facility which we had been a member on Labor Day. Rejoining this facility we get a free trainer assessment to set up the best workout program for us. I filled out the one page form, until I got to two a line asking me to list all of my surgeries. There wasn’t enough room on the page for the surgeries I’ve had in 2024, much less those just since 2022 when I had both Cancer surgery and disc replacement surgery in my neck.

I saw numerous articles about the same study during August, just last month.

For our purposes here I’ll send this link to the Stanford Medicine article: Massive biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s, Stanford Medicine researchers find.

Here is the opening pargaraph:

If it’s ever felt like everything in your body is breaking down at once, that might not be your imagination. A new Stanford Medicine study shows that many of our molecules and microorganisms dramatically rise or fall in number during our 40s and 60s.

I recommend reading the article.

I don’t remember many shifts in my health in my forties. I don’t remember many in my sixtie’s except for one time when I took the train from the Philadelphia airport to Central City. I got off at this one exit and I had to walk up the stairs with both my suitcase and my briefcase. I struggled (later that year my had a hip replacement on my right hip). Finally, a guy probably in his 50s asked if he could help me. I thought maybe for the first time that I was on the backside of the aging curve. I suppose the study suggests it’s not a curve.

Well, I’m 77 now. My major health changes took place in the last three years. I mention that because on LinkedIn I saw recently that one of my friends had been with his law firm in Roanoke, VA for over 50 years, and another friend had been with the same law firm in Roanoke. VA for 45 years. That’s amazing.

Nancy and I loved the late Tina Turner. As you will see below, we first saw her in 1971 while I was in law school. We followed her career from then forward. This is the third of my “dynamite” blog posts.

I was sitting in the barber chair and looked over and Tina Turner was on the cover of People Magazine. In the magazine was an excerpt from her autobiography that was recently published. Being a huge fan, I had to read the excerpt which was a bit challenging while my hair was being cut.

Reading reminded me of how Tina Turner influenced my presentations when I practiced law.

After I made a presentation at an ABA YLD meeting a young lawyer came up to me and asked how I learned to make presentations? I responded that Tina Turner had taught me all I needed to learn.

It was 1971, I was in my last year in law school when Nancy and I and two other couples sat in the second row to watch The Ike and Tina Turner Revue.

First, Ike and the band came out, then the Ikettes came out and sang.

Then the announcer, in a very deep voice said:

“Let’s welcome the star of the show, the hardest working girl in show biz…Ladies and Gentlemen: Tina Turner.”

Tina was unbelievable. She had the entire audience clapping and singing along to “I Want to Take You Higher.” I don’t remember many of the songs in the middle of the concert, but as it was reaching the end, she sang: “Proud Mary.”

When she finished the crowd was standing and asking to hear more from Tina. Here is a video clip from the 1971 concert tour with Tina Singing “Proud Mary.”

Fast forward to 2000. Tina Turner is live at Wembley Stadium in London. Her opening song: “I Want to Take You Higher.”

Like the concert in 1971, Tina came to the end of the Wembley Stadium concert and sang “Proud Mary.” Once again the audience clamored for more.

Other than my enjoyment of Tina Turner in concert, what is the point for you?

I suggest you take a lesson from Tina Turner when you are giving a presentation.

Start strong and end strong. You have about 90 seconds for the audience to answer the question: “What’s in this for me?” Do not end your presentation with: “Are there any questions?” Instead, as you are approaching the end, say: “Before I conclude are there any questions?” Then, conclude powerfully with a call to action.

In an interview author and expert, Nick Morgan said:

“The last thing you do with an audience is the most important and what they will remember the best. Q&A is open-ended and not in your control. A great speech can be undermined by a hostile or stupid question at the end. So save the last three minutes for a knock-them-dead wrap up that sends the audience on its way with jaws agape.”

Clearly when Tina Turner ends a concert with “Proud Mary” she knocks-them-dead and has the audience wanting to hear more. If you open strong and close strong your audience will want to hear more, and maybe they will even want to hire you.

Big wheel keeps on turning…

When I was a young lawyer, I wanted to become a rainmaker. Although I’m not certain I ever used that term. My mentor at the time told me I had to join the Rotary Club to meet potential clients. I joined and maybe after two Thursday night dinner meetings I concluded that although the men were all very nice, not one of them was a potential client. A big day in my life was the day I quit the Rotary Club.

You and your colleagues have no time to waste in 2024 and beyond. Years ago I took several hours and shot a Video Coaching Program and created a Particpant’s Guide for lawyers to use.

Go to this Blog to find both the Video Series and the Guide Law Firms: Are You Helping Your Lawyers Get to the Peak of Their Careers?   I assure you this will jump start your career and the your lawyers’ careers. Best of all it’s free. It won’t cost a penny.

I’m retired now. I no longer coach lawyers these days. But, in the hopes you will get the most out of the free video program, I wanted to share with you a summary of an email I received years ago from a lawyer I coached. He sent this email to a group of his colleagues who were just starting to work with me.

Cordell’s Coaching Program is a transformational opportunity for people who buy in completely. The main shortcoming is that people who are cynical/skeptical about the process won’t invest the time and effort to reform their daily lives to make the lessons (and the year-long program) work for them.

Cordell’s like a personal trainer – he’s going to work if I show up at 6 am for our meeting and follow his plans but he’s not much good to me if I still am eating Twinkies every day after the workout.

Cordell’s program provides a solid foundation on identifying the skills a person needs to be personally and professionally happy as their career progresses to more advanced stages.

Cordell has helped me focus on what I want long-term, middle-term and short-term out of life and my experience at an AMLAW 100 firm. I think that’s invaluable and suspect many others have reached the same level of enhanced personal and professional satisfaction through this program.

I’m happier today with myself and the firm than I was before I started this program. Nothing the firm has ever done for my development matches the investment that this program has made in my maturation as a lawyer, leader, and person.

During the past year, I have read books Cordell recommended on marketing, self-improvement, public speaking/persuasive skills, new media, people management, building client trust, etc. Cordell has convinced me that I must look to master a range of business skills that will (1) complement my legal expertise, (2) make me more attractive to clients, (3) a better teammate to others in the firm, and (4) a better leader of those who will work under me in the future.

Without Cordell’s pushing/prodding and recommending specific books (and following up on me to discuss them) I doubt I would have read any of this or found time to focus on self-improvement.

With Cordell, I have updated a personal mission/vision statement with personal values of importance to me and a list of 100 experiences in life I want to have; while I have had these things for 15 years, Cordell helped me to really reshape them to reflect who I have become and what I want in the future. Now I have the list handy and I am focused on living up to the statement and figuring out how to fulfill those life experiences, a few each year.

Cordell helped me focus on the basics of client services, in terms of making sure I have regular contact with all my clients and that the contact is always positive in nature. From little things, like sending them articles of interest, or calling to say happy birthday, or sending Christmas gifts telling them I appreciate the chance to represent them, I think I have seen progress with the clients. I’m much less frustrated with my relationships with clients and feel better prepared to handle the difficulties that inevitably arise.

I hope you will find these ideas helpful as you view the videos and use the Participant’s Guide to create a plan, have a better idea on how to build your profile and repuation and work on developing relationship.

Are you interested in setting dynamite goals, but don’t know where to start? Here are a list of questions you can ask yourself.

The Who Questions:
Who is important in my life?
Who do I want to benefit from what I am doing?

The What Questions:
What are my strengths?
What are my challenges?
What do I want to accomplish?
What do I want to learn?
What do I want to experience?
What contribution do I want to make?
What do I want to have?
What do I want to earn?
What am I most passionate about?
What do my clients need the most?
What do I need to do to accomplish my goal?

The When Questions:
When do I want to accomplish each goal?

The Where Questions:
Where do I want to live?
Where do I want to visit?

The Why Questions:
Why is each goal important to me?
And why is that important to me?

The How Questions:
How do I want to accomplish my goals?
How do I want to live?