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The J. Sterling Hughes Show
All about the practice of Family Law - insights, interviews, news, developments, real life case studies. My mission is to Empower Family Law Attorneys.
I share how we have grown our family law firm, SterlingLawyers.com, from zero to 25+ lawyers and $15m a year in revenue since 2014.
The purpose is to document what's working and not working so you can re-contextualize for your practice and shorten your success curve.
We are so open about what we are doing because we want to help other lawyers build a beautiful law firm, even if you "compete" with us.
So, follow me and subscribe to "The J. Sterling Hughes Show" Podcast.
My YouTube channel is @JSterlingHughes
Go to www.JSterlingHughes.com for a ton of family law practice resources and info.
Episodes
120 episodes
Train Your Lawyers and Build Culture Simultaneously - #120
Wondering how to build a killer team culture AND speed up training for your new attorneys at the same time? In this episode, I sit down with Austin Miller (one of our Partners) and Bailey Holt (our rising star Senior Associate) from our Milwauk...
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18:16
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New AI Lawyer Lead Gen Tool - Divorce.Law - #119
In this episode, I sit down with Antonio Jimenez, a Florida family law attorney and technologist who's created Divorce.law, which is a lead gen tool for lawyers.
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46:16
Developments Toward Non-Lawyer Ownership in Family Law - #118
Is a massive opportunity storm brewing for family law practices?In this show, I explore the impending stories that could reshape how we run our family law firms.Here’s what I covered:Washington State’s new 10-year pilo...
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17:53
Build Advantages for Higher Margins in Family Law - #117
Growing a family law firm is hard. As we built Sterling Lawyers to a 25+ attorney firm doing $15M in revenue, I learned that you need clear competitive advantages to break out of the pack. In this show, I cover:Why havi...
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Episode 117
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19:18
Tom’s Trek: Growing a Solo Practice While Planning For Associates - #116
Four months into his new family law practice, Tom Hartin shares some frank insights about December 2024. While revenue hit a new high at $10,820, new client signings were slower than expected—though that's typical for the holiday s...
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Episode 116
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28:45
Why Smart Family Lawyers Are Losing Premium Clients (Fix This Now) - #115
Obtaining great client outcomes is not enough to satisfy family law clients.There's a mind-bending truth on what clients want more than great outcomes—it's meeting their emotional needs.In this episode, I share:The t...
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Episode 115
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11:34
Practical AI Family Law Tools That Work - #114
Jeff Morrell, one of our Senior Partners, is back to talk about AI tools for family lawyers.This is the presentation that Jeff gave at our annual Sterling Day event.It's about how our firm is using AI tools to enhance efficiency...
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Episode 114
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29:26
The Family Law Firm Strategy to Rule Them All - #113
For most of our firm's history, we have been a "marketing-first" family law practice. This philosophy can only get a family firm so far. When I finally bought into the idea that long-term prosperity and career satisf...
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21:11
How She Collects $1,285,000+/yr in Family Law - #112
This is a gold nugget-laden show for anyone practicing in family law.I interview our firm's highest-collecting attorney, Tiffany Vogel. She is a star, an ultra-high performer.Tiffany gives a masterclass in operating a family law...
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Episode 112
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58:15
Tom's Trek: Emotional Resilience Through a Tough Month - #111
We all have months that kick us in the teeth. It hurts. It sucks. Tom had one of those months in November -- his third month in practice. This show is about what happened and is a picture of mental toughnes...
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Episode 111
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26:35
The Managing Attorney's Role in a Family Law Firm - #110
The second most important role in a family law firm is the managing attorney.In the vast majority of family law firms, the founder/owner sits in two seats: (1) the president and (2) the managing attorney. The preside...
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Episode 110
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29:24
Casting a Compelling Vision to Your Family Law Team - #109
This show highlights a talk I gave to our entire legal team at a recent event. I announced a new service blending Artificial Intelligence into tools for clients. I also shared two other long-term strategic initiatives that we are w...
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Episode 109
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32:31
Staying Focused On One Marketing Tactic at a Time - #108
There are limitless marketing tactics available to a family law firm. It can be overwhelming. One of Sterling Lawyers' most successful marketing strategies has been to focus on one tactic at a time.In this show, I art...
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Episode 108
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16:41
Recurring Money Wasters that Family Pummel Lawyers - #107
Are you throwing money down the drain in your family law practice? On this show, I reveal five of my most egregious money wasters.These nasty culprits get many other family lawyers too. Maybe you?Here they...
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Episode 107
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15:36
Should You Try to Persuade the Attorney to Stay? - #106
Unexpected attorney resignations can feel like a gut punch.But, should you try to get them to stay?In this show, I explore:1 - Getting to the truth behind the departure2 - Assessing the impact and deciding if it's worth ...
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Episode 106
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14:22
Tom’s Trek: Forming Ideal Client & Tightening Marketing Radius - #105
We've been following Attorney Tom Hartin as he has launched his family law firm.This is a behind the curtain peek at the nitty-gritty world of family law firm start-up.This month we discussed:Tom’s revenue highs and l...
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34:55
Scaled Offers at Sterling (Entry to High-End Service) with Mary Sankey - #104
Is your law firm losing clients who can’t afford full-time representation? This show offers creative ideas to get incremental clients that you may otherwise not get.I sit down with Mary Sankey, our Sales Manager, to explore how Sterling ...
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Episode 104
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13:43
Scaled Offers to Turbo-Charge Client Hires w/ Tony Karls - #103
Are you missing out on potential clients? Most family lawyers give potential clients one offer: hourly representation. There is a better way to serve clients than with just one offer. Having multiple offe...
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Episode 103
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14:38
What Law Firm Numbers Should I Track First? - #102
Numbers will make or break your law firm. Tracking the wrong ones is like getting bad directions to a desired location.Failing to track a number is an admission of not managing it.It's critical to get the number tra...
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Episode 102
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18:11
When to Move From Working IN to ON Your Law Firm - #101
Ready to push your family law firm to new heights?In this episode, I discuss the crucial shift from working in your practice to working on it—a challenging but THE essential step for growth.I cover:Key indicators tha...
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Episode 101
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19:05
Tom’s Trek: September 2024 Review - #100
We are following Attorney Tom Hartin as he launches his family law firm.Month #2 is officially closed. How did Tom do?Check out the podcast to get the authentic details. Spoiler alert: it wasn't a hug...
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Episode 100
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15:09
Solving the Real Client Problems to Stand Out! (Legal Start-up 3 of 3) - #99
Oftentimes, lawyers and clients disagree on the most important problem to solve in family law.Lawyers can assume it's one problem. Meanwhile, the client is focused on a totally different problem to solve. What’s the s...
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Episode 99
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19:38
Easy Interviews to Fine-Tune Your Legal Service (Legal Start-up 2 of 3) with Tony Karls - #98
Client interviews can revolutionize your law firm.That's what happened at our firm, Sterling Lawyers. In the second part of our 3-part series, I sit down with my partner and co-founder, Tony Karls, to reveal how early client...
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Episode 98
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13:58
Selecting the Law Practice Type that Fits You (Legal Start-up 1 of 3) with Tony Karls - #97
Ready to build a law practice that aligns with your strengths and passions? Tony Karls, my co-founder at Sterling Lawyers, is back to discuss how to identify the best type of law for your practice. This conversation ki...
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Episode 97
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22:28