Solo Practice University® » Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Are You Audaciously Humble? ReZoomers – Take Note!!

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:30:06 +0000

Audacious Humility

I first heard this term, having the right amount of audacity and humility, last weekend as I attended my son, Drew's final comps in film. He is graduating in May from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California with a Bachelor of Arts in Film. As a requirement of graduation he had to create an original film. His first idea was shot down by his professor and Drew was less then pleased. His second attempt was accepted and he did a beautiful job. Ok well maybe I am prejudice, but it was placed last in the order of films to be viewed and I'd like to think it was because they saved the best for last (proud parent interpretation!)

At a little cocktail party before the film premier started, I had the opportunity to speak with Drew's professor. Professor Broderick Fox said to me, "Drew is the right balance of audacity and humility." He went on to explain that Drew took criticism well, learned from his mistakes, stood his ground when he felt he was right which resulted in a product the entire film department was proud of. Professor Fox recommended Drew's film for an award in the student division of the British Film Academy (BAFTA).

As my husband and I proudly stood there, I realized this comment had much more meaning to me then just a nice comment about my son. He had learned something so valuable. As our careers re-zoom, we have to have a great deal of audacity to enter a room full of practicing attorneys, partners and corporate big shots and speak about what we do. We always have humility, in spades and sometimes, to our detriment. Audacity is something we re-zoomers need to gain, regain and exude in proper measure with the humility we bring in buckets full. It is that part of us that lights up a room, attracts people to us for ongoing discussions about our services, or that leads to affiliations we can use in our practice.

How do we get the right amount of Audacious Humility?

By trial and error I presume. When we miss a client opportunity to another equally qualified attorney we should examine how we offered our services. Did we seem tentative? Was our message clear? Was our 15-second pitch pithy and welcoming? Have we branded ourselves in a way that speaks to our strengths as a 'must have' person in their corner? If we are not as clear and welcoming as another, maybe we have to amp up our audacity. If we are too full of ourselves and didn't listen to the clients needs in a meaningful way, perhaps we need to add a dash of humility.

In the end, having audacious humility means finding the perfect blend of our rezooming expertise. Get out there and put your life experience to work, learn from your mistakes, take correction well and stand your ground when you feel you are right.

In the perfect world, your colleagues will refer to you as Professor Fox referred to my son Drew, "the perfect blend of audacity and humility.” You have to be out there to practice it. Rezoomers get the heck out there and have Audacious Humility.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

ReZooming – The Tortoise and the Hare

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:30:19 +0000

You may be wondering why I picked this title for my March installment of "The Rezooming Attorney". It is an interesting choice. We attorneys are hares, wanting things done, impatient when things don't happen or they don't happen soon enough for us. That's where this rezooming article comes in.

When you decide to rezoom your legal career, you go into the process thinking it’s a no brainer. I loved what I did before; I will just go back to it. Or, I hated what I did before; I will change it and pursue my passion instead. It will happen overnight. Not so fast!

After reading the most recent post from my SPU colleague, Annie Tunheim, "A Solo (A) Broad", who relocated to Australia and is rezooming her career there, one sentence struck me as the most illustrative of our rezooming journey; she was taking her time.

“A slow solo practice can be seen as a negative, as there is no traditional law firm paycheck direct-deposited every two weeks. But a traditional law firm would not allow for making the kind of life choices like I’ve made, and I don’t begrudge the decision to walk away from the traditional law firm (and the accompanying lifestyle, or lack thereof) in the slightest. I’m grateful that at this point my practice has allowed for my workload to ebb and flow depending on the circumstances of my life. And now that life is stable here (and I’ve gotten the urge to lie on a beach out of my system), I am eager to spend more time working on growing my practice.” Annie Tunheim-A Solo (A) Broad-March 27th, 2012

Rezoomers sometimes think we need to do this re-entry thing quickly or we are a failure. Actually, it is quite the opposite. We come back into the practice realizing, by dint of our life experiences, that we need to find and focus on our passion. Don’t be a lazy focuser! Don’t play it safe and secure, practicing law in the legal world you knew. Focus on what part of the law is drawing you back and create a legal-life around that which is entertaining to you. If we do this, doors will open with opportunities and our future will unfold just the way we pictured it.

The trick is we have to picture it. This is where the tortoise comes in. We need to take time and focus. As Rezoomers, some of us have the luxury of picturing ourselves back in the law doing what it is we love because we have been there before. Some of us haven’t practiced law or hated what we did before and want to change it.

For me, I no longer wanted to litigate animal law conflicts. I wanted to create a venue where people in conflict over animals could go. In this venue they could have the difficult conversation, after the conflict arose and before litigation ensued and stop "suffering in silence". I dreamed of what it would be like but had no idea, in 2010, of the ‘how to’.

In January 2010, I attended the NYSBA Annual Meeting. I have spoken about the value of attending these kinds of meetings in the past. However, not as a venue for inspiration! This was the first Bar meeting of any kind I’d ever attended in my 27 years of being an attorney. At the Animal Law Committee meeting, the discussion centered around new laws they were championing, despite the courts reluctance to take their cases, and how they would continue to push the envelope and make these new laws despite the courts push back.

At the Dispute Resolution Committee meeting the next day they spoke about how the Courts appreciated their presence in the legal arena. Courts felt strongly that some cases were better handled though ADR first and litigation as a last resort.

My inner voice went off with rockets. Create the ADR piece for Animal Conflict Resolution. I spoke to Columbia University School of Law Honorary Chair, Vivian Berg about my idea. She thought it was brilliant. I left that day thinking this will be easy, who wouldn't want to have the ability to discuss their conflict over an animal rather then harbor bad feelings for a lifetime or head into a court system not predisposed to take on such issues.

Initially, my passion had me going for training in ADR – Mediation, Arbitration and Collaborative practice. Each field spoke to me in a unique way. I committed myself to Mediation and Collaborative Practice. I have conducted mediations and found comfort in a process that enables parties to drive their own solution.

What does this have to do with the Rabbit and the Hare?

It has taken two years to get here. Each opportunity that came along brought me one-step closer to where I am today. There are no short cuts to be taken or experiences to be missed, good and not so good. Each was a learning experience.

What has been my constant is the tortoise-like determination to get to the finish line and bring, to the public and legal community alike, the fully developed concept of applying Mediation and Collaborative Law to Animal Law Conflicts. It is what I am passionate about. It is what gets me out of bed everyday and has me write and speak in venues large and small.

As Annie Tunheim concluded on her journey:

“So, now I am beginning to set goals—not in monetary terms per se—but practice goals such as increasing my participation in forums that could lead to future clients, and hours a day working on current matters vs. client development, continuing education and business matters.” Annie Tunheim-A Solo (A) Broad-March 27th, 2012

Whether you are a rezooming attorney or starting out in this admirable profession, remember it is the fire in your belly that gets the job done. Ignore it to your peril; embrace it to your success. Susan would say she had a fire in her belly when she started Solo Practice University®. We all think it happened for Susan overnight, and yes it was a pretty quick success. The success probably matched the fire in Susan's belly. She knew she was meant to create something wonderful, which she may not have seen at all like SPU initially, but that evolved as she experienced the process. Yet here she is with a wonderful platform and service available to all of us in the solo practice community.

As you embark on this race remember the passion is the tortoise, the fleeting fame and fortune, the hare! It will come if you listen to your gut. It may not come as fast as you want or hope. If you stay the course, you will long pass the 'hare' of your rezooming self and revel in the tortoise bringing you to the place you were meant to be.

For me, the tortoise has put me in the right place at the right time to meet people who moved me one step closer to my passion. I listened to myself and attended events where powerful alliances were made. It has only been two years since my return to the practice of law, and I just co-sponsored my first CLE on “The Application of Mediation and Collaborative Practice to Animal Conflicts” at St John's Law School. The passion is fueling the process, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Go out and find your passion, take your time as the tortoise does. You will never regret the outcome.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Empowerment – Use it or Lose it

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:30:36 +0000

On Sunday, as I was reading the NY Times, a pastime of probably 95% of the world, I came across an article entitled Casey Greenfield v. the World. Loved the title. It was about the life and love of Casey Greenfield, daughter of journalist Jeff Greenfield and mother of Roderick Henry Greenfield, nicknamed Rory, son of married (not to Casey) legal journalist Jeffrey Toobin. Was this ever going to be a juicy article.

As I read the article I realized what Ms. Greenfield was actually doing was taking charge of her life and living it as she saw fit. She may not be rezooming her career, but she clearly was revising her career to meet the needs of her life, her son’s life and the lives of her clients.

She is, along with her partner Scott Labby, a self proclaimed “country lawyer.” She redefines herself this way by dint of her life experiences. As the February 18th, 2012 NY Times article states, “Empowerment is a major theme in Ms. Greenfield’s personal and professional lives”.

Greenfield decided to create her boutique practice, Greenfield Labby, along with Yale Law School chum Scott Labby, as a place where “an elite group of country lawyers” help the “glittering urban professional” sort out their legal entanglements. She comes by this knowledge quite honestly, having untangled herself from a multitude of personal legal entanglements. What I find so interesting, and as the author puts so succinctly, “the partners… are not afraid to use Ms. Greenfield’s life as a subtext and an asset”.

As Rezoomers we never view our lives, outside the law, as a ‘subtext or asset.” By being so naive and myopic we miss the front page, Sunday NY Times Metro Section value of what we lived and now bring to the table. We miss the opportunity to bring our life experiences to the fore. Is Ms. Greenfield the first woman to have a child out of wedlock by a married man?

Instead of shrinking away and plowing on as a “smart, savvy, tough and natural litigator”, as Ms. Greenfield was described by her former boss at Gibson Dunn, she decided to open her own practice. She uses her own experiences to gain street cred. She identifies with people, like herself, who are struggling with legal and non-legal issues. She relates to them on a deeper level because of her honesty and forthright discussion of her own experiences. This in turn helps her resolve their similar outstanding issues. Brilliant.

According to the article, Ms Greenfield and Mr. Labby are fashioning themselves as the “next generation Gloria Allred and Raoul Felder, but with Ivy League Law Degrees.” Talk about making lemonade out of lemons. Ms. Greenfield’s friend and professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, Katie Roiphe, describes Ms. Greenfield's journey as one “live[d] on a kind of heroic register; she isn’t going to let what other people think about her affect her choices and there’s a real bravery in that. She is not your average divorce lawyer.”

Need I make my point on Empowerment any clearer? We Rezoomers never really value what went before as gold to guild the road ahead. We make this new journey harder then it needs to be because we want to break with the past, it has no value to us and will impede our attempts to get back in the game.

After reading about Ms. Greenfield's journey, it is clear her plans for the future are all about embracing her past. Her past is guiding her future, evaluating her present. She is not afraid of what she has done in past lives. She identifies herself to her ideal client by using her personal experiences as a badge of honor for the conquering hero. She has walked the walk and survived.

Empowerment-Use it or Lose it

There is a small window of opportunity to value your past experience in a way that creates the niche market you were made to fill. Be it a ‘city or country’ lawyer. Don’t subtract your life experience from your dynamic, it may identify you in a way that creates buzz and enables you to, as Ms Greenfield says, “recogniz[e] your own power.”

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Should You Belly Up to the Bar (Associations)?

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:30:42 +0000

One of the things that plagues we rezoomers is the question, “How do we get back in the game?”

I asked myself this question as I restarted my legal career in 2010. For 29 years I was a member of the ABA and the New York State Bar Associations (NYSBA). Yet in all those years, I had never attended a Bar Association meeting. I had done nothing with these bar association memberships. I simply paid my dues and attended stand alone CLE's to maintain the active status of my license to practice law.

In January 2010 I said, heck, lets see what these Annual meetings are all about. I attended three programs; one sponsored by the Committee on Women and the Law, one by the Committee on Animal Law and one by the Dispute Resolution Section. As I sat there, I realized I’d missed a whole chunk of the experience of what it meant to be a lawyer in NY. I was actually sad. I love camaraderie.

This experience encouraged me to volunteer to help put together the NYSBA Women and the Law Program in 2011. I found myself offering up speakers in the field of mediation because I was the only one who had pertinent knowledge of the movers and shakers in this group. I moderated the 2011 ethics section. In 2012, I am moderating, along with Linda Radlisky, a brilliant solo practitioner, the Trial, Tribulation and Tips of the Women Trial and Appellate Lawyers section.

In April 2010, I attended the ABA Women Rainmakers Conference. Yes, I am bold as brass. Rainmaking was not something I'd ever done or was currently doing. Again I said, heck why not. It was awe inspiring. My age may have helped me blend in, since one does not assume I am starting out. It was the single best conference I’ve attended. It inspired me to volunteer to assist in creating the program in 2012. This enabled me to keep in touch with a bushel full of wonderfully talented, rainmaking women attorneys.

I now have credits to my name, in connection with statewide and nationwide bar association events. I have colleagues whom I consider friends and feel secure calling and asking questions, even if they are partners in international Fortune 500 firms. In fact the ABA Women Rainmakers blasted an email touting "one of their own" as a section moderator of the 2012 NYSBA Women and the Law event this year. If you hadn’t guessed, they were talking about me.

If I had not "Bellied up to the Bar (Association)" and put myself out there, taken a chance, I would not have obtained the experience I have today. I can now say I have helped put on several statewide and national programs, working alongside colleagues from every legal venue and constructed written materials from panelists for attendees. It isn't easy. It takes time you don't have, skills you may need to acquire on the job, and the guts to throw your ideas out there to see if they sink or swim.

I have heard so many solos say the Bar associations have ‘lost touch with the Solo practitioner’ or have a ‘large firm mentality’ and ‘cost more then they are worth’. I am here to tell you, you are misinformed. Today, the Bar Associations are recognizing Solos as the wave of the future. As more new grads start their own firms in order to survive, the Bar Associations are adjusting their focus to meet the demand of a changing legal environment. Ask Susan Cartier Liebel. Business is booming for Solo Practice University. Law schools are asking SPU to help them teach their students the nuts and bolts of going solo. It is seen as a viable option for a goodly number of their graduates to survive post graduation.

If you are like me and want to get the most for less, always ask if you qualify for a reduced membership or CLE fee. No one will know and you can get all the benefits of full membership for one third the cost.

Once you join, pick a Section to dive into! Make a commitment to be uber involved. You will be amazed how welcoming they are to worker bees with new ideas. Keep your ego in check. Listen more then speak, and do what you say you will do. The street cred is unbelievable and the networking priceless

By the Way, in the ABA published, The Road to Independence-101 Women’s Journeys to starting their own firms, several of the contributors credited getting involved in their local Bar association as a stepping stone to their firms success.

So my rezoomer friends, "Belly up to the Bar (Association). You will be glad you did.

The next Women Rainmakers event is in Lake Tahoe on October 19-21. Come if you dare. It may be the change you have been searching for in your rezooming quest.

P.S.

My NYSBA Women and the Law Committee Program went fabulously. Try not to miss our program next year in NY, mid January. The attendee’s take away from our first panel, ‘Where have all the Women Litigators Gone?’ was each became heavily involved in their local bar association and a section that interested them from the get-go. Several were past presidents of their local Woman’s Bar Associations or Section Presidents. Don’t worry if you have never attended a Bar Association meeting before. As Rezoomers we have street cred, age and alternative experience on our side, something these groups prize more highly then gold.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Strategies For Making 2012 Your Year To Rezoom

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:30:50 +0000

As 2011 winds to a close, I find myself wrapping up the year with an empty tank of gas. Maybe some of you feel this way, too. It's hard to be optimistic every day and have you’re A-Game on all the time

Yet you must and you will!!

As I looked for something to write about this month, I realized many of us might be at the same point. Working tirelessly at rezooming our careers, yet questioning our sanity in the process.

Last month I wrote about trusting your spiritual guides, in my column 'ASK'. I must have struck a chord because it got readers talking.

Now I want to share a way you can use the advice given in those books during you’re high and low periods as you rezoom your legal careers. Read for fun an hour a day. I tend to read Forbes Women and intuitive sites that help me ground where I am, reflect upon where I’ve been, and plan for where I am going.

Two end of year articles jumped off the computer today as I was thinking about my empty tank:

Paula Gregorowicz’s Do You Fall Prey to Opportunists?, on her site, The Paula G. Company, and
Three Strategies for Winning in 2012 by Holly Green of More Than a Minute.

Both articles take us into 2012 thinking clearly and keeping us focused on what it is we would like to accomplish by 12-31-11 and in 2012!

Paula describes her experiences at a retreat for intuitives, where they are given a horse and told to walk 'Temptation Alley’. The alley is a path created by bales of hay and buckets of grain. As a horse owner, this is truly both a test of wills and sheer laws of gross tonnage. As I continued to read, it hit me how this exercise trains you to concentrate and be single-minded of purpose. The writer walked her horse between the hay and grain buckets and as long as she concentrated on the task at hand, she and the horse have one purpose. Paula said, “for just a split second I broke my concentration and presence and boom, his nose headed to the bucket”.

The moral of the exercise is this – if you remain focused and set boundaries for yourself and others your purpose is clear and your path straight. The minute your mind wanders and you need to 'reclaim' your boundaries it becomes much harder. You need to exert a lot of energy to get back on track.

For us Rezoomers, this is where Holly Green’s Forbes Women article picks up the ball and runs with it. Her three strategies lay out clear ways in which to concentrate and limit the number of times we have to refocus to get to our endpoint.

Holly’s Three Strategies for Winning in 2012 list:

Getting Clear About Winning,
Shedding Your Outdated Ways of Looking at the World, and
Slowing Down to Go Fast

These are three of the most effective ways to win in 2012. Holly encourages us to get 'crystal clear' on our vision of winning. Is it joining a large firm as a Rezoomer or starting a solo niche practice we are passionate about?

She encourages us “to constantly revise and update our picture of winning as the world changes around us”. Rezoomers do this each and every day as new adventures unfold in our rediscovered professional life.

Educate yourself, not with what you think you know but what is really true. This is what rezooming is all about. We know what we knew. However, is that still accurate? Will it still hold true when tested in 2012? Don’t “assume speculate or hope…[pursue] what you know to be true through verifiable data.” As Rezoomers this may be the easiest or hardest part of the journey. Relearning what is accurate for our practice today and letting go of discussions and arguments that are no longer accurate or preferred, sometimes pose the most unique of challenges.

Finally, slowing down is an anathema to Rezoomers. We have so many balls in the air if we slow down we undoubtedly feel something will come crashing down. Yet, as Holly implores, “slowing down to go faster requires pausing from time to time, challenging your beliefs and assumptions, learning to think differently and focusing on opportunities to add value to [clients] in ways that nobody else is doing.” For the most part, this is what we bring to the legal arena. We’ve perfected the ability to stop, regroup, and think outside the box.

I hope you take time to read the full articles by Paula and Holly. They bring such great out-of- the-box’ thinking to we Rezoomers. It's ok to listen to your inner voice. Our inner voice tells us what we need to do. It's ok to stop, look, and listen to become clear on exactly what it is we want to achieve in 2012.

Have a great Holiday Weekend and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

I look forward to providing you with continued ‘fuel for your rezooming rocket’ in 2012.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

The Power of Asking For What You Want

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:30:36 +0000

You may think I have taken leave of my senses and my left-brain has abandoned my head. Yet it is abundantly clear to me now. Asking for what it is you want, in a clear manner, is all we really need to do to get business.

Hog wash you say? Trust me. I said the exact same thing. (But it you think this is silly, then just read for your own amusement.)

In the past six months, I have been exploring the art of the “Ask” There are so many books written and people preaching about the “Ask” that I just had to explore further. This is what I learned first in theory, and then in practice.

The “Ask” theory revolves around the belief that the Universe stands ready to meet your demands if you ask clearly. ('Oh, no. Debra's getting all 'touchy-feely' on me, again.' you're sighing to yourself about now. Just bear with me for a few. I promise it gets better!)

As Rezoomers we are revving our engines again. The first question we must be asking ourselves is, "What are we meant to do now” Second: Is it a do over, a new start or a re-start? Why are we doing it? What are we meant to do this time around? How do we get there?

When I decided to investigate the theory of the “Ask” I read five really good books. Ask and It is Given, by Ester and Jerry Hicks, The Answer and Having it All by John Assaraf, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields. I want you to know I don’t have a lot of time to read in my practice, yet I found the time for each of these books and I couldn’t put them down. This began my first major attitude adjustment about what it is I was trying to accomplish. I had to understand the ‘What’.

I know this may be too ‘out there’ for my fellow attorney types, but I want you to think about something: We preach this every day to our clients and juries. We ask them to see things the way we want them to see it. We set up the scenarios in a way only one conclusion can be reached. We convince ourselves, our clients and our juries, that as long as we present the correct “Ask” and we tell them to deliver the proper outcome they will do just that. Yet lawyers don’t necessarily put this theory to use on themselves. We should, according to Hicks, Assaraf, Pressfield and Fields. It is the art of the “Ask” that moves us forward to the successes we are meant to achieve, our greater purpose. Playing the bigger game so to speak.

A Rezoomer is singularly qualified to follow the “Ask” theory. We are not hemmed in by the rules of where we are currently working. We are nowhere really, starting again with a clean slate, so why not focus on the “Ask” first to help us get where we are meant to go? Four things have convinced me the “Ask” is real.

I have consistently and clearly asked for the following 4 things for the past 6 months (and, no, not just into space):

the ability to create a new legal focus
the clients to hire me in that field
the venues to pursue the practice
the understanding and support of family and friends

Each “ Ask” has manifested itself in the form of a person or an opportunity I seized which has helped me to progress to the next level.

I educated myself in my chosen field; alternative dispute resolution as applied to animal conflicts, and while attending these educational events met several colleagues who refer clients to me with animal conflict issues.

I met an insurance broker affiliated with the underwriter for the American Veterinary Medical Association, at a Women on the Board event. This colleague scheduled a meeting for me with the underwriter for the entire AVMA. I will help this company’s bottom line with my alternative conflict resolving service and they will hire me to solve their conflicts prior to litigation.

I asked around for office space that was available and affordable and received a general email from a colleague I admire stating she has office space available.

I looked for support and understanding from my family and friends in the form of not being accessible to my son, sister and friend between 9-5. It was tough for them to stop calling and understand I was working. It was difficult for me to put this “Ask” out there because these groups are the champions of my rezoom. Yet I did, they understood and remain supportive and loving.

All in the space of a few weeks from my clear and focused “Ask”. Crazy huh!

If you take some time over the holidays to read these books you will begin to see it is not ‘hog wash’. Asking changes everything! Living in the befuddlement of the ‘what if’’ muddies the messages you are sending to others.

Speaking clearly about what it is you want to do, and believing in your heart that this is your life’s purpose, will enable your attitude to shift and surprisingly opportunities will present themselves providing you with the things you need to reach your “Ask”.

Attorneys ask people to believe their “Ask ‘ each and every day. We are fine-tuned to ask it clearly so our intended results are achieved. Now try the “Ask” for yourself. I especially want my fellow Rezoomers to work on their “Ask”. We have so many things pulling on us, the sooner we focus on what it is we really want to do the sooner the opportunities will present themselves clearly and accessibly.

Why not ask for exactly what you want today? Then move your feet toward achieving it. Study material about how to receive and gather information your “Ask” requires. Attend events and move toward your goal each and every day. You will be amazed at how easily you will meet and exceed your “Ask”.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

The Company You Keep Drives the Success of Your Solo Practice

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:30:28 +0000

Two months ago I wrote an article for Solo Practice University describing the organizations I joined to help me Rezoom my career. Entrepreneurial Women’s Network, Solo Practice University®, In Good Company, Savor the Success and Ladies who Launch to name a few and refresh your memories. In this post I'll explain how these groups defined the company I keep.

As we Rezoom our legal careers, it is very important to keep good company. The Company We Keep helps us to move move forward, evolving toward the vision we have of our practice area and ourselves. We need this Company as we move into this new legal world. Surrounding ourselves with people who are positive about the law in general, the legal profession and our return to our practice area impacts our success.

In this post I will give you some examples of the company I keep on my road to rezooming.

First, My Educational Company – I attended Pace Law School’s New Direction Program. It brought my legal skills up to date and gave me self-confidence. It provided me with an entre into the University system, the presenter’s world as a colleague, and the support staff of New Directions. Solo Practice University continues my education as I navigate solo practice.

Second, Women in the Law Company- Attending these events enabled me to meet colleagues and engage in discussions about my area of law, my return to practice and our journeys-similar and different- in the legal arena.

Third, Entrepreneurial Company – I attended these meetings to see what my prospective clients thought about my new practice area. This served as a ‘litmus test’ on the validity of the practice area I was creating.

I will go through the experiences I had with each group, tell you why they worked or didn’t, and offer some closing advice about the company you keep.

Educational Company – In your quest to Rezoom you may want to pursue a refresher course on the law or simply take a few CLE’s like the ones offered at Solo Practice University. I was away for 13 years and chose a 6-month return to work model.

The real trick to these educational environments is to connect with the presenter and attendees. Clearly you are going to a CLE on a subject in which you need or want information, you are with other attendees looking for similar information and are being led by a presenter who is filling the gap. Establish relationships with these people. They have similar interests, may be at a similar stage in their career or, if not, may be willing to help you progress in this field.

At the New Directions Program, I always thanked the presenters before and after their presentation and emailed them that evening to ask if I could contact them in the future if I had a question. If I was really interested in their area of law I’d try and set a date for coffee, have thoughtful questions prepared to ask and keep them for about ½ an hour. I identified myself in my emails by talking about my blue glasses or the pin I was wearing. This almost always jogged their memory of who I was. I have called a presenter, sometimes months or years after we initially met. They remember me, speak to me, advise me and introduce me to people they think will help me in my journey.

They are the Educational Company I keep, are the go-to people for my questions, ideas or as connections to other people in the know who may have crossed their paths or are in their firms.

Women in the Law Company – These events are by far my favorite company I keep. I found this path quite by accident. I attended the NYSBA Women in the Law committee presentation in January 2010 and the ABA Women Rainmakers presentation in April 2010. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

When I left the practice of law I had no women attorney friends. Lets just say the competition was fierce and friendships were more acquaintances and not life long. Boy has that changed, or maybe I have changed. I am now on the events panel for each group and have colleagues in almost every area of the law across the country. I feel comfortable calling on them for information in their practice areas and they call on me for information I have to give. I feel respected as a rezooming woman attorney who can speak on these issues to the group as well as on issues involving mediation. I hold my own in conversations and participate fully in the creation of yearly events. I keep my name out there and my knowledge ever changing and fresh.

They are the Positive, Colleagues-Giving Back To Others Company I keep.

Entrepreneurial Company – This is a step away from the legal arena and a whole new world of company I keep.

These are our prospective clients. They have come up with a formula that keeps them connected, innovative and evolving with the times. It makes sense. They are ‘solos’ like us. Without clients they will die too. Ironically, few if any attorneys use this venue as a think tank.

These entrepreneurs engage in a practice called mastermind. I am a member of 3 mastermind groups. A mastermind group is a small (3-4 member) group of entrepreneurs who meet each month to exchange ideas, brainstorm on their methods and best practices, create ideas and solutions and then agree to implement these ideas and solutions individually. The following month they meet again, begin with a period of reflection on implementation and accountability by each member, and then brainstorm on the next month’s movement forward. Boy do I need the accountability portion. Why don’t lawyers do this?

Mastermind groups keep you thinking, implementing and evolving for your market. Fabulous! They don’t talk about the latest baseball and golf score or football trade. They talk about real world problems we all face and work on real world solutions we all can apply.

A word of caution to all if you decide to check out this method of brainstorming, implementing and accountability. Connect with a group of similarly situated members. I was in a mastermind group with members not similarly situated. I felt I was carrying the other members on my positive ‘Pollyanna’ back. I had the courage to realize this was not working for me and excused myself from the group.

This practice should not be hard because you are having a difficult time assimilating with the members. It should be hard because they keep you focused and accountable to what you say you want to do.

Even if you don’t join a mastermind group, think about getting an accountability buddy. It will provide you with a mentor/sounding board as you traverse your solo practitioner path. As solo practitioners we are accountable to our clients and ourselves. However, we all know we tend to cheat in this area.

They are the ‘grounded-dreamers’ company I keep.

In Keeping Good Company you remain in motion, looking positively at your future, engaging with others who are or who can help you Rezoom and learning something new each day. You will find that the company you keep, keeps you rezooming your practice more efficiently and effectively. And, you will have more fun!

What Company do you keep?

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Are You Capable of Adapting?

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:41:59 +0000

It's funny how we always think we are adaptable. Yet most of us have a comfort zone, and in that comfort zone lays the risk of ‘stagnicity’. My special word for a lawyer's, particularly a re-zoomer's, failure to grasp what’s new with both hands and put it to use in their practice.

As I watched Tom Friedman, author of The World Is Flat and most recently, with Michael Mendlebaum, That Used To Be Us, on Meet the Press a few Sundays ago, I marveled at his discussion of 21 Century Adaptability. He spoke about how his book, The World is Flat (2005), never mentions “Google, Facebook, Amazon and twitter.” They weren’t around.

The Tech boom of the last 10 years, according to Friedman, had us go from “connected to hyper connected” in no time flat. Now people from third world countries can not only connect with us, they can compete with us. There is no longer a developed and developing country, rather as Friedman puts it, “the spark [idea] isn’t a commodity, but once you have the spark the commodity it creates is available to bring to market because China will build it, Amazon will market and sell it, you will find an accountant on Craig’s list and get your logo from Free Logo.com.”

What Friedman is saying, and which speaks so clearly to us all, is that to be a successful entrepreneur in the 21^st Century one must be ‘hyper-adaptable’ to the “hyper connected” world they choose to practice in.

Freidman then outlined “The5 Pillars” the US has used to continually adapt and succeed since the time of Hamilton & Lincoln. He believes if we apply the 5 Pillars to our current situation we will get out of this economic crisis. I believe if we apply them to our practice-building we will have a framework in which to remain current and adapt as needed.

First – educate everyone up to and beyond the level of technology;

Second – Attract the best and brightest immigrant talent

Third – Infrastructure – Keep it the best

Fourth – Government Funded Research

Fifth – Create the right rules for managing incentive and risk; not reckless

(Pgs.34-36; That Use to be Us-Thomas Friedman & Michael Mendlebaum)

As applied to the Solo and Rezooming attorney, these 5 Pillars work as follows:

First – To keep yourself competitive you must become technologically savvy, there is no short cut when it comes to using technology in a 21^st Century law practice.

Second – Attract the best and brightest to be in your network of colleagues. You need a mastermind colleague group to be challenged to excel as a solo. By exchanging ideas within your mastermind group you will increase the break throughs and limit mistakes you are bound to make. Using the group you will also achieve a higher level of practice acumen more quickly.

Third – Keep your options open for your office infrastructure. Evaluate whether a brick and mortar or virtual office will meet your needs. Don’t stagnate in the past. Recognize the benefits of this techno age and see if it fits your practice more efficiently and less expensively. (Check out Solo Practice University Contributor Rachel Rogers for the skinny on this pillar)

Fourth – The Federal Government has set aside monies for entrepreneurs to be retrained if their current career paths dry up. In fact the US Labor Department has provided funding for the education of re-zooming attorneys to get them back into the legal field.

Fifth – maintaining our ethics and integrity while navigating the new world of the techno-savvy solo practitioner in 2011 and beyond.

Re-zoomers, however, are uniquely challenged when getting back into the race as a solo practitioner. The track is so different, the horses more spirited. We remember 'when' and that can keep us in our stalls instead of entering the race. If we walk when we should trot and only trot when we should gallop, chances are we will not be as successful as we had hoped. Pick the pace that peaks your passion, make sure your blinders are off, adapt when needed and enjoy the challenge. In this technologically independent world, hyper connectivity makes the entire world our racetrack and we have a chance to win like everyone else.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Managing Criticism and Expectations as a Rezooming Solo Practitioner

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:14:18 +0000

My oldest son was a victim of what I call ostrich syndrome. It was his first internship for a large film outfit in California. He was very proud of his internship and took great pride in doing everything they told him to do. He collated, vacuumed, made coffee and was a stand up guy for all jobs needed. At the end of the internship he received a grade of C+. He was floored. He called me railing at the unfairness of the grade and the critique he received of his work on the last day of his internship. Why didn’t they say something to him sooner. All they needed to do was tell him and he would have done it again or better.

The film company review of his tenure as their intern stated he’d collated incorrectly, vacuumed while they were on the phone, made really bad coffee and never asked what else he could do. He always waited to be asked (don’t I know that!)

Because he did not inquire and he was in California confrontation was not in the cards (I’m from NY; confronting someone about not doing their job is a sport here). They were happy to let him think he was doing a great job. He made no effort to inquire how he was doing. They in turn made no effort to guide him to a better way. It was a very hard lesson for him to endure, but one he needed to learn. This experience taught him to be a proactive worker, inquiring about what he has done, can do and what he might do better.

Like my son, we Rezoomers have been doing things on our own for years now. We figure if someone wants to change the way we do things they will tell us. Not so my Rezoomer friends!! Think of the work place, even as a solo looking for clients or mentors, as a very large state of ‘California’. No one wants to criticize us. We are just starting anew. As people help us get back on our feet they may let us putter along incorrectly, without so much as a ‘by your leave’ that we are totally missing the boat.

Up until opening our solos practices, we Rezoomers have managed our lives in a vacuum. Our lives were out of the professional spotlight doing whatever we have chosen to do with little or no help…and without criticism.

Now that we've Rezoomed and done so as solo practitioners (a double-whammy) how do we handle criticism when it comes our way on both fronts? It is a tough question I have been faced with it recently. Rezoomers are a special breed of solos. We have practiced before, have a level of expertise from a ‘previous life’ and now we embark on a revitalization of a career.

This revitalization must, as Jeff Rutledge says in his column this month, follow certain ‘Service Lessons for the Exceptional Client Experience’. Jeff’s Service Lessons should be applied to the process of rezooming, too. We must be able to solicit and accept both accolade and criticism from our clients and others in our profession and lives.

Jeff’s five-point discussion in Service Lessons should be applied to ensure a positive attorney client experience and provide you feedback from reluctant clients or mentors. Applying Jeff’s method to working with organizations you respect will enable you to receive valuable feed back on your work product while giving the client the comfort level they need to speak candidly about the legal services you are supplying and what they want from you.

As a Rezoomer, we know about Jeff’s First Lesson, using a client or mentors name, greeting them warmly, and being genuine. We want to meet as many people as we can as Rezoomers (I speak to anyone in an elevator, as well). Yet, due to our age or prior experience, people may find it intimidating to criticize our work product.

As a solo Rezoomer when you work for a group and provide them with a service, follow Jeff’s rule #1 – Always treat them with respect. You chose to offer your services to the company/group. It is your responsibility to make them feel comfortable speaking to you about the service you are providing even if it is negative.

However, if you sense they feel uncomfortable speaking to you about your work product, don’t let them off the hook. It is up to you to make sure you are meeting the mark in service and if you aren’t, obtaining constructive feedback. This means you must inquire about how you are doing and provide a methodology to get a useful response.

It helps if you start the discussion and ask for concrete suggestions. Make every effort to do this face-to-face or over the phone rather than through e-mail which is impersonal and can be read in ways not intended. A great deal of language and intonation is lost via email. Make them give you examples. Come away from the discussion with a clear understanding of what it is your client/group wants. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into the ‘mind readers’ role as it never ends well….for you!

In # 3 of Jeff’s article, we Rezoomers can benefit from giving our clients/mentors our undivided attention both in doing the job and asking for a critique with constructive criticism and examples. Rezoomers need to do what my son Drew does now, be proactive and ask for constructive criticism. Don’t let someone you are providing a service for say, “well its just not what I want”.

Ask them to:

Be specific
Give examples
Recommend things they feel will getting the job done for them more efficiently.

If Rezoomers have learned anything from our prior lives, it is that God helps those who help themselves. If you do not advocate for your self, seek positive and negative feedback, and work on being better at what it is you want to do with the rest of your life you will not become an A#1 Rezoomer.

As I close, Id like to leave you with some wonderful direction I found in an article by John C, Maxwell, called 4 Steps to Handling Criticism – Effective leaders can't please everyone, but they can make criticism constructive. In the article he outlines four steps to use when you are criticized.

Know yourself-Reality
Change yourself-responsibility
Accept yourself –maturity
Forget yourself – security

In knowing yourself you make it easier for others to approach you and ask for revisions in what you are doing. If you live in the real world you make real world inquiries about what you are doing, and move forward.

As Rezoomers we are in a constant state of change while remaining true to ourselves. What will we do as Rezoomers? Will we go back to what we know or strike off in another direction? Mr. Maxwell quotes Aldous Huxley who said, “The truth that makes you free is for the most part the truth we would prefer not to hear.” Or in other words, my ostrich syndrome. We may like to think we are perfect as we are, but in reality if we are true to ourselves we will ask for input to achieve even greater success.

In accepting yourself, you need to know who you are first. Mr. Maxwell again quotes a wonderful author, Carl Rogers who said, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” If we do not know ourselves, our strengths, weaknesses and areas in which we need guidance, we will get stuck. Inquiry is precisely what someone who is rezooming needs to practice to assure they are achieving the level of work they left behind and strive to Rezoom again.

Finally, forgetting yourself and knowing what you want and how you want to achieve it gives you the ability to inquire, change and know yourself. Rezoomers have a corner on the market of forgetting ourselves. We have the security of knowing we have done this before. We have the security of knowing we were good at what we did then, what we did in the interim and what we choose to do now. Criticism is simply the polishing of skills we know we have and will not have us go crying to the showers.

In closing my post this month I’d like to use John Maxwell again to put our journey into perspective. “When it comes to criticism, it’s important to first understand that half of the stuff people say about you is true. So just take inventory, suck it up and change.” “If you know yourself, you will know what you are good at and what you are not.” “If you are able to get to th[e] fourth stage, criticism wont have a negative effect on your life.” As Maxwell says twice in his article, “If you are getting kicked in the rear it is because you are out in front.”

Don’t let anyone take away your opportunity to Rezoom with abandon because they or you are too afraid of giving/receiving criticism. Remember John Maxwell’s 4 Steps and Jeff Rutledge’s 5 Service Lessons. It is up to you, and you alone, how you are perceived and how you proceed forward in your journey.

Grab this opportunity with both hands and leave the ostrich syndrome in Africa.

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton

Make Your Re-Entry Into the Law A Less Bumpy Ride

Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:00:37 +0000

As I started writing a different column this month, it occurred to me I haven’t spoken about what I do each day to stay ahead of the 're-zooming' curve as I build my solo practice. My resume and bio on SPU hit only the highlights. What do I do, and continue to do each day to make my re-entry into practice of law easier? Here are the top four things I really do each day to keep ahead to give me a much needed boost.

I read books
I work with a career coach
I join Bar associations
I join Professional Women’s Groups

These four activities are like jet-fuel in my rockets and keep me on target, fresh and focused. I wanted to share them with you this month so each of you realizes the importance of finding your own.

So many things can exhilarate you as you re-enter the workplace as an attorney. They are the things that get you out of bed in the morning, energize you all day and are the last things you think about at night. The list above shows just a few of the educational tools and venues for networking I use. They suit me and keep me ‘moving forward’. You may find different ones. Great! The only criteria you need for choosing your boosters is that they turn you on, keep you motivated and you use them. They must be something you will follow up/through with.

Let me explain why I chose the ones above.

Books

Don’t Make Me Pull This Car Over: A Road Map For The Working Mom – by Kristin Andree. This is an irreverent guide for busy working women juggling the work/life balance by some one who walks the walk. Kristin is a Media Guru and Business Consultant. I was lucky enough to meet her in person at one of my top 4 events.

The E-Myth Revisited – by Michael E Gerber.

This book helped me understand the stages of entrepreneurship and how to survive each of them. It is applicable to any business. I can apply its business information to help my clients and myself. One of my business colleagues recommended it.

Soul Proprietor – by Jane Pollak

An unlikely addition to this group but a much valued one. This book helped me understand the fears and mistakes solo practitioners feel and make along the way. You read how Jane coped with and learned from her journey. She shares these business lessons with her readers. The biggest take away is she survived and thrived. It is invaluable for fresh ideas, which are outside the box. I have tried a few and they work beautifully. Again non-legal but extraordinarily valuable.

Law & Re-Order – by Deborah Epstein Henry

Finally a legal book!! This book is particularly good for women attorneys in the workplace. It speaks to how they have and continue to change things and thrive. Deb is a friend. I was fortunate to meet her during my New Directions class, at a NYSBA Meeting and again at a Yale Club – Law and Re-order presentation. She is a wonderful cheerleader for women in the profession and women re-zooming their careers.

How To Start and Build A Law Practice – by Jay G. Foonberg

The bible of a solo practitioner. This one should be dog-eared and highlighted.

The Road to Independence – 101 Letters written by women who have founded law practices. The ABA and the Commission on Women in the Profession, Solos and Small Firms and Women & Minority Lawyers Committee’s commissioned it. It is limitless in its encouragement for women to start their own firm. It includes the discussions of women who started their own firms on how they reinvented themselves whenever and wherever needed. Solo Practice University® has two faculty members featured, too!

Career Coach

Once I decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, I knew I needed to hire a career coach to keep me focused and help me get there. Maybe you are disciplined and can compartmentalize your old life and new. I realized this was the single greatest weakness I had. I needed to find someone who would be kind yet firm. One thing I did know, I didn’t want them to be involved in the law. I wanted the perspective of a client not a colleague.

I met Jane Pollak, my future career coach, at of all things a networking event. I attended the WCBS RADIO WORKING WOMENS LUNCH featuring Eileen Fischer of Eileen Fischer Designs and Nell Merlino of Count Me In and Make Mine A Million. Jane and I fortuitously met during the initial networking cocktail hour and then sat next to each other at lunch. I did not realize this good fortune then. I realized it after reading her book, which she graciously gave me as we left that afternoon (it was the only one she brought).

As a start up solo practice, it was expensive to meet with Jane each week. Yet because of the expense, I tended to follow her lead, formalize my next move and check on my progress, using our time together each week wisely. I was able to brainstorm every week seeing if what I was doing made sense. The relationship opened up a whole new venue for me, a non-lawyer networking group. It enabled me to remain true to what I was doing, while moving forward without distraction.

Let's just call it my “Weight Watchers” for career resuming.

Bar Associations

I know I have preached not to pigeon hole yourself but truly the greatest way to feel good about yourself while having others around you feel good about you is to volunteer for a bar association committee. I did it the first year I was back, before I even opened my solo practice. I joined the ABA – Women Rainmakers & TIPS – Animal Law Committee, NYSBA – Women and the Law and NYCLA – Animal Law Committee. Joining committees that interest you legitimizes the practice area you re-zoom to and actually makes you feel smart. You realize everyone is just like you and it’s invigorating. You come to the table thinking outside the box. Your career break provides a fresh eye on a subject or process. I have loved every minute of working along side these talented ladies.

Professional Women’s Groups

Now this is a tricky area. You need to join active groups with members who are energetic networkers for you as much as for themselves. I was privileged to have Jane Pollak include me in the Entrepreneurial Women’s Network – EWN, Kathy McShane is my link to Ladies Who Launch and locally I joined the Professional Women of Westchester. Each in its own way has added value to my re-entry.

I hope the advice in this column will do the same for you.

If you have any great ideas to share about how you helped your re-zooming into the profession, please share in the comments!

Written by Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton