The Retreat 2019 Ann-Marie David – The Power of Connection: It Starts With You!

The Power of Connection

Ann Marie David

This is a image of Lawyer Ann-Maree David

Author: Hannah Trotter

In classic Ann-Marie David fashion, she instantly has the crowd on their feet demonstrating their superpowers to one another but, with a twist – no speaking allowed! 

There’s a bit of dancing, a lot of giggling and with that, the after lunch lull has certainly left the room. 

Ann-Marie’s first acknowledgement was about how every presentation, despite our speakers having been given complete free-reign as to topic, has had the common thread of being centered around humanity. 

Ann Marie is famous for her super power of connecting people with opportunity and ideas but she encourages us to realise how this can also become our super power. 

As people, we have thousands of interactions every day and with each one of these, we are given the opportunity to create connection. 

5 Senses and Their Roles in Connecting Us

As humans, connection is innate – it’s within us from the very beginning. Each of our senses are designed to bring about connection. 

  1. Sight – When we make eye contact with one another, our brains physically light up. We engage, we connect and pathways are created within our brains. 
  2. Touch – physically reaching out to touch someone. When we hug, hold, touch – our brains remember the experience and form pathways that can never be erased. The physiological impact of hugging is astonishing – it reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and boosts serotonin levels. The electrical charge we given one another allows these pathways to embed within our brains. 
  3. Hearing – we have a radar for voice. If you register and know a voice, you can be in a crowded and noisy room and still hear it. 
  4. Smell – one of the strongest sources of memory that we have. It can connect us back to a place, a time, a feeling, a person.
  5. Taste – working in unison with smell to connect us to memory. 

Super Charging Your Power

The key to using the power of connection is building empathetic engagement.  It is this empathy that sets us apart from technology. 

Empathetic engagement creates the difference in how we make decisions and it develops trust. 

We are living in a world of disruption. Today, from the moment children are born, they are bombarded with technology. With screens held up to their eyes, they lose the opportunity to develop human connection. 

The philological impacts on the brain of a child when it is neglected, that is lacking connection, are astounding. 

We need to make the conscious effort to utilise our five senses and empathetic engagement to connect with someone at every opportunity. 

 

With that, Ann Marie has every attendee linking arms,  swaying, smiling, reaching out to one another, and she has certainly come through on her own power of connecting each human here today.  

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

THIS SESSION WAS SPONSORED BY

Bronwyn and Belinda, two of the #radboss ladies from Lacuna Legal Providers will be with us over the 2 days at the Retreat. Now these ladies are cleaver- they provide ‘back of house support to solo and small law firms aka YOU!!

Lacuna Legal Providers have a special offer for all attendees of the Club Retreat 2019 to sign up for a practice management or BD profile check in at 2 hours for the price of 1! At the end of the session you will get 10 tips on how you can improve your practice. More details will be shared on the flyer at the Retreat.

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Hannah Trotter

Hannah Trotter

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.

Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 2 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Jo Alilovic – Scaling the Old Fashioned Way

Scaling the Old Fashioned Way- With People!

Jo Alilovic

This is an image of Jo Alilovic

Author Hannah Trotter

AI, Automation, Technology – it’s everywhere in business, but buying and using tech isn’t always the best way to scale your law firm. 

While tech is great and often essential, it can’t do ‘human’. It can’t empathise with a client, see how they’re feeling, or give suggestions and solutions based on that understanding. 

Every firm needs humans but there’s a lot of nervousness when it comes to employing people. 

Jo is here to bust some myths about hiring employees.

Myth 1 - Use Contractors (it's easier!)

Jo’s first myth is for those who think they’re better off using contractors than hiring employees. 

Jo encouraged us to consider whether contractors really understand our business, our values, and whether they are really invested in the vision of our businesses. 

When you have a team of employees, they are invested in helping your business succeed. 

If you’re convinced that this isn’t the case for your contractors, ask yourself:

  1. Are they really a contractor or are they actually an employee? 
  2. Whose business is their priority? Remember! Contractors need to make their own businesses their priority and yours will likely come second to that. 

Employees can bring huge advantages for your business. Finding the right person can make all the difference to how your business functions. 

Myth 2 - It's Just Too Difficult to Have Employees

We all know people have their own values, beliefs and issues – so why would we want to deal with them as employees? 

One of the most common complaints from business owners is the admin involved in hiring. 

Jo has provided the 5 things we need to do to hire employees (and they really aren’t that difficult!)

  1. Have a job description; 
  2. Have a contract of employment;
  3. Consider the insurance;
  4. Forms! (Tax forms, super forms)
  5. Payroll (add them to your system!

Beyond hiring, the most common complaints from employers is that their employees don’t know what they’re doing or behave unacceptably. To this, Jo says that this problem can be solved by having clear job descriptions, a code of conduct, open communication, and leading by example. 

Myth 3 - I Can Do It Alone!

The reality is, unless we acknowledge that we can’t do it all alone, we are going to end up feeling burned out. 

33% of lawyers are suffering from some type of distress or depression. 

Having a team to carry the load is a huge antidote to this sense of being alone and isolated. You are given the opportunity to not only share in the difficult times but share in the wins. 

When we bring on team members, we surround ourselves with different strengths. Employees bring fresh ideas and insights that we can’t achieve on our own. 

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Hannah Trotter

Hannah Trotter

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.

Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 2 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Dave Eddy – The Funny Thing(s) About Lawyer Marketing

The Funny Thing(s) About Lawyer Marketing

Dave Eddy

Dave Eddy

Author Kiarah Grace Kelly

Dave Eddy is the all-humour, all-fun marketer from Newcastle that came along to the Retreat to tell us all about the good, the bad, and the ugly of lawyer marketing. Dave has experience in advertising, of course marketing, but also as a start-up founder in his venture, Camplify. Despite the hilarity that did ensue (and the ever-amusing banter between himself and Clarissa) Dave really drove home for us the importance of what we face outward.

Where to Look: Your Marketing Priorities

When visiting New York this year, Dave encountered some very slippery stairs. After carefully traversing down the stairs and thankfully making it to the bottom unscathed, he looked up to see a quite giant billboard advertising a personal injury law firm. Dave went on to show some further examples of the big and bold, more traditional marketing examples of outdoor and newspaper advertising that were also really hilarious. Tactful? No. Get’s the eyes on the prize? Yes. Dave uses these slightly problematic examples as a way to reinforce the need to be unique in marketing.

Dave then pointed us to a completely bogus report authored by a ‘David Eduardo II’ that said; “lawyers are a funny breed, some are brilliant at marketing” it went on to say; “lawyers are a funny breed, some are woeful at marketing.” But, what are the key traits of these brilliant, lawyer marketers? Take it away, Dave-

  • brilliant lawyer marketers are trustworthy;
  • they are articulate and direct communicators;
  •  they are knowledgeable;
  • they are persuasive and compelling;
  • they avoid jargon. 

Dave left us by reminding us that we already have the skills it takes to be a great marketer due to our legal lives, we just have to use them. Also, did you know the team pages of service based business websites are the 2nd most visited pages they have, and about 40% of all traffic will flow there? Now get updating those pages! And finally, it’s all about content that cuts-through and giving one thing a go at a time. 

Thanks Dave!

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Blogger and Happy Lawyer

Hi! I am Kiarah Grace Kelly, I have just finished a dual Bachelors degree in Law and Government and International Relations at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I tested my legal toes in the water at a boutique Gold Coast law firm before starting as a Law Graduate at Brisbane Family Law Centre in November 2018. I’ve just been admitted here in Queensland which makes me a Brand New Lawyer or #babylawyer as the BFLC gang likes to say. My sole practice area is Family Law.

I’m looking forward to writing about and sharing with you all that I can at this crazy-exciting but daunting stage of my career. I think there’s a need to talk about our experiences as early career lawyers so that we can all lean on each other as much as we can.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Sam Buckby— Creating inspired work spaces with people, performance and purpose in mind.

Creating inspired work spaces with people, performance and purpose in mind.

Sam Buckby

This is an image of Sam Buckby

Author Hannah Trotter

Sam Buckby is a tradie who has been in the construction industry over 20 years. In the last few years, he developed a design and consultancy firm. Passionate about space, Sam is adamant that we can make our work spaces better. 

Sam’s podcast ‘Spaces’ interviews humans who have successfully designed beautiful spaces and below he shares a few snippets he has learned from his guests. 

Design Areas For Performance, Not To Produce.

“Time invested does not equal output achieved. Forget productivity, think performance. Time away from the desk is not a bad thing”. 

We want work spaces that inspire creativity and high performance. 

Thinking outside the box is more than just a metaphor. It’s not about speaking outside the box, we need to get ourselves out of the box. Square rooms, white walls encourage institutionalised thinking. 

Sam went on to say that if you think your office is about impressing your clients, you’ve missed the point. The most important asset in our businesses’ are our people – our staff. We need to set up our environments base don our people and what we stand for. This way, we can inspire our staff and that will bring the clients in. 

Creating Healthier Homes & Work Spaces

“One third of illness comes from our environment. In many cases, we have control of this. If we don’t have our health, what do we have?”

We need to be aware of the environments we are creating. Consider air flow, natural light, our spaces should encourage health and our staff should feel well being there. 

“Work spaces that harm your health are unacceptable. Something as simple as bad lighting can damage your sleep patterns at night” and decrease your ability to work well the next day. 

Wellness Standards and Creating Environments to Thrive

“Social connection is proved to help with creativity, innovation and collaboration.”

Sam’s guest Heidi encouraged us to have collaborative spaces central to our office and to push the quiet spaces out. 

Create break out spaces that your staff enjoy and want to be in then create a culture around it. 

Scent, Sound, Colour and Light in the Work Place

When setting up her Family Law firm, Clarissa Rayward deliberately set up in a house to make people feel warm and welcome. This has the wonderful by product of people walking in and knowing whether her firm was for them or not. 

Clarissa modeled a space to create energy through scent and sound. “Busy energy creates meaningless chaos, whereas calm energy is high performance”.

Small changes make huge differences. The space we create determines the how well we provide our service and attitude in providing it. 

 

Smart Design Living Buildings and Taking Influence From Nature

“Describe a flower, it’s grounded, it’s 100% naturally fueled, it has no waste or toxicity, it’s beautiful. A building can be all of these things.”

Guest Stephen Choi encourages us to be inspired by nature and the world around us. We can do this through foliage, architecture, and colours. 

It’s not something we can necessarily achieve over night but as Stephen says “everything in the world that is good takes time. Doesn’t ever expect perfection on inception”. 

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Hannah Trotter

Hannah Trotter

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.

Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 4 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Jennifer Harris— More Than Monthly Macchiatos: Mentoring for impact.

More Than Monthly Macchiatos: Mentoring for impact.

Jennifer Harris

This is a image of Lawyer Jennifer Harris

Author Kiarah Grace Kelly

I had been so looking forward to Jen’s presentation at the Retreat 2019 that Hannah and I, on our way down to Kingscliff on Friday, rearranged our whole weekend just so I could write this recap. Jen has long been an incredibly inspiring force for me, there’s only a very special few people in our industry that would, despite their success and influence, find the time to keep a tabs of and even reach out to law students and early career lawyers to just check in. Jen has often done just that for me throughout my studies and now my early career and I am incredibly indebted to her for the inspiration she has given me. Here’s Jen’s story…

Jen's Story

Jen started her life as a lawyer as a 22 year old, the age I am now. Jen was an all-rounder, jill-of-all-trades superstar at her first firm; a sole, general practice. 

Jen bravely remembers her very early carer as being filled with unbelievable pressure, Jen described real difficulty. 

Jen is the eldest sister, she was the valedictorian at her high school- she knew how to use her voice. Her experience as being everything to her sole-practitioner boss but not being everything she needed to be for herself, took her voice. Enter, the angel in the red power-suit. 

The Angel in the Red Power-Suit (with shoulder pads)

Jen’s voice was down but not out, she used her voice to talk to her loved ones about how she was feeling and from there she was introduced to the angel in the red-power suit (with shoulder pads, it was 1996 after all).

Three hours into her lunch date with the angel, and the suit, Jen was still crying. Jen felt hopeless and that she just couldn’t do it. It was here that Jen received an incredibly powerful piece of advice- “Jen, you’ve never done this before.” A lightbulb moment for me for sure, this part of Jen’s presentation reminded me of the quote that says- “if you judge a fish in its ability to climb a tree, it’ll spend its whole life believing it is stupid.” A message I will absolutely be taking from this part of Jen’s presentation is that we can only know what we know, until we know more.

The angel and the suit inspired Jen’s passion for mentoring. Jen went on to tell us all how her next move into a mid-tier firm taught her to talk and then talk some more to people who need it. Jen became known for her empowering honesty in that business, one that was full of competition. Jen’s empowering honestly became her superpower and her superpower became mentoring.

The Why and How of Mentoring

The law is a people business. People are at the centre of all we do and Jen tells us that mentoring, whilst also being the best thing she’s ever done, allows her to be a people person. Jen goes on to tell us that mentoring allows a diversity of experiences and beliefs into her legal life, and that brings joy to the mentor and the mentee. Jen tells us that mentoring has become at part of her, it has stayed with her since the angel and the suit.

Great mentoring, Jen tells us, comes from mentors that hang on to their mentees and mentees that hang on to their mentors. Great mentors ask questions, they won’t tell their mentees what to do. 

Jen's C Game

Jen teaches her mentees, and encourages us to adopt, the C Game. The C Games insists we don’t Criticise ourselves, Condem ourselves or Compare ourselves to others. Instead we must be Conscious, be Curious, be Compassionate, be Courageous, be Confident and have a Community.

When being Curious we don’t need to accept what we have if it doesn’t suit us. When being Curious, we must name our feelings. When being Compassionate we must first practice it with ourselves. When being Courageous, we must remember it only takes 20 seconds of bravery to start something new. When being Confident, we must know we are free to do so; confidence is the general view of how likely you are to achieve something based on your past results, it is not arrogance. 

With her C Game, Jen doesn’t always need her A Game. 

I am truly so grateful for Jen and her impact on the Club but also on myself. I can’t thank Jen enough for particularly pointing to early career lawyers and letting them know how they are feeling is okay, and that they are not alone. As there is no one better to talk all things Jen, then Jen herself, I will leave you all with some quotes from Jen-

“you can be happy, hurting and healing at the same time” 
“life is full of befores and afters, it is the stuff of being human” 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jen.

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

THIS SESSION WAS SPONSORED BY

My friends over at Vincents Chartered Accountants— aka John Thynne and Peter Haley are joining us for the 2 days of business and law innovation fun! John and I have been working together for many many years now and the value, knowledge and bad dad jokes he brings to my clients and their matters is just incredible. John and the team at Vincents specialise in the provision of expert evidence into the Family Law arena.

Vincents are expanding their “Vin-link”— a support network for accounting and legal firms to give them access to knowledge of Vincents specialty services they don’t have in their practices such as business valuations, forensics, taxation, superannuation, financial advisory, insolvency or audit. The program gives members free telephone access to the specialists, webinars, seminar and events. More importantly, the programs puts members together who can benefit from each other.

John and Peter invite you to join the Vin-link program and if you mention #theclubretreat they will waive your monthly membership fee for the first year.

PLATINUM PARTNER

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Blogger and Happy Lawyer

Hi! I am Kiarah Grace Kelly, I have just finished a dual Bachelors degree in Law and Government and International Relations at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I tested my legal toes in the water at a boutique Gold Coast law firm before starting as a Law Graduate at Brisbane Family Law Centre in November 2018. I’ve just been admitted here in Queensland which makes me a Brand New Lawyer or #babylawyer as the BFLC gang likes to say. My sole practice area is Family Law.

I’m looking forward to writing about and sharing with you all that I can at this crazy-exciting but daunting stage of my career. I think there’s a need to talk about our experiences as early career lawyers so that we can all lean on each other as much as we can.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Andrew Griffiths— Future Proof Your Spirit: 7 strategies to reconnect, to protect and to nurture your true self.

Future Proof Your Spirit: 

7 strategies to reconnect, to protect and to nurture your true self.

Andrew Griffiths

This is an image of Andrew Griffiths

Author Hannah Trotter

One of the biggest challenges we face in business (and in life), is managing our spirit. Our spirit is what drives us and gives us passion – it’s imperative to us so how do we reconnect, protect and nurture it? 

Introducing Andrew Griffiths – an entrepreneurial futurist. 

Andrew wrote the book(s) on business, is an international speaker and is here to spread his knowledge about how we can future proof our spirits. 

Here are his 7 strategies to do just that!  

1 - It's Time To Let Go

Who of us are hanging on to something we should let go of? Most of us are. 

Our lives are shaped  by holding on to old, lingering beliefs and experiences. We have to make decisions not to let these beliefs and experiences define us and choose to let them go. 

When we hang on to things they become our comfort. 

Andrew spoke of the dive shop he owned as an 18 year old and an experience he had when his business partner did away with the whole business while Andrew was away. 

Andrew spent years seeking revenge on this person and focused his life around bringing him down. One day, he was finally ready to enact his revenge when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He was losing his hair, he was covered in boils, he didn’t recognise himself. His lingering anger had physically changed him into a person he didn’t like. 

That day, Andrew let that anger go and things immediately turned around. 

Often, to let things go we simply need to change our perspective. When we change our view on the situation, we are given the opportunity to let it go. 

This starts with empathy – it’s easy to feel anger and resentment towards a person or situation.There are times where life gets on top of us, and we hold onto that unless we consciously decide to let it go. 

How good are you at letting things go that simply don’t matter?

2 - Know Thyself

How well do you know who and what soothes your soul and feeds your spirit? 

It’s not just about knowing what they are, it’s about making TIME to do them. 

When we don’t plan for things properly, we don’t find the time for them. So make a plan and make it a priority! 

Think about the people who recharge your spirit. Make a conscious decision to spend time them and make them more prominent in your life. 

Identify them. Write them down. Make them a priority. 

3 - Power of Curiosity

How curious are you about this incredible world and all that it contains? 

Curiosity isn’t passive, we have to be aware of it. We live in a world where it is easy to be curious. 

When we become excited, dive deep, and become passionate and curious about everything we can be, the whole world changes. We miss out on incredible things when focus inwards. 

Curiosity keeps the ‘imagine if’ mentality alive. 

Don’t lose it – look for things that are inspiring, that make you laugh and put the world in a positive light. 

4 - Let Time Work For You

How often do we feel completely overwhelmed by a situation that simply hasn’t played out? 

Andrew encouraged us to let situations go a little further. When we are in the middle and circumstances are unfolding around us, we can’t see beyond the middle. When we let it play out, we are given the opportunity to see the big picture. “Play the long game”.

5 - Live Intuitively

Have you lost your connection to intuitive self?

We find ourselves in the habit of muffling the little voice inside our heads. 

Often, we know when we are making mistakes but we ignore the intuition telling us. 

Intuition’s purpose is to keep us alive. It plays the drums, cymbals and screams at us – and while we can usually hear it, we choose not to listen. 

Your decision making process should be driven by intuition. 

The more we listen to it, the louder it becomes. 

6 - Find Your Passion

Our spirit is so dependent on passion. 

Have you lost your passion for life? 

We are all inspired by amazing people doing incredible things and we have the opportunity to be among them. 

If you find yourself not feeling passionate about anything, then TRY EVERYTHING! There is so much to be passionate about, find your thing. 

7 - Create Meaningful Connection

Do you go through life missing opportunities for meaningful connection? 

Make every interaction with another human meaningful – whether it be your Uber driver, a stranger in the lift, or the person sitting next to you on your flight. 

“The spontaneity of being brave is how we create connection”. 

It should be our mission to be fully present, engaged and being making a difference for someone else. 

“The most important time for meaningful connection is when you don’t have time”. 

The Take Home

It’s safe to say that this was a pretty impacting presentation from Andrew. I can tell because as I look around the room, almost everyone has their iPhone out taking pictures of his slides and madly scribbling each of his off the cuff quotes in time to catch the next one. 

My favourite take home was Andrew discussing that 99% of the things we worry about never happen. The way we deal with the 1% is to make a rainy day plan. Prepare for what would happen if that thing really did happen. It helps us take the fear out of those worries. 

“This is not a passive process. It takes conscious effort – every single day.” 

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

THIS SESSION WAS SPONSORED BY

My friends over at Vincents Chartered Accountants— aka John Thynne and Peter Haley are joining us for the 2 days of business and law innovation fun! John and I have been working together for many many years now and the value, knowledge and bad dad jokes he brings to my clients and their matters is just incredible. John and the team at Vincents specialise in the provision of expert evidence into the Family Law arena.

Vincents are expanding their “Vin-link”— a support network for accounting and legal firms to give them access to knowledge of Vincents specialty services they don’t have in their practices such as business valuations, forensics, taxation, superannuation, financial advisory, insolvency or audit. The program gives members free telephone access to the specialists, webinars, seminar and events. More importantly, the programs puts members together who can benefit from each other.

John and Peter invite you to join the Vin-link program and if you mention #theclubretreat they will waive your monthly membership fee for the first year.

PLATINUM PARTNER

Hannah Trotter

Hannah Trotter

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.

Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 2 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Shelby Timmins— It’s All A Façade! The truth behind life in law.

It’s All A Facade! The Truth Behind Life In Law

Shelby Timmins

This is a image of Lawyer Shelby Timmins

Author Kiarah Grace Kelly

The title of Shelby’s presentation might cause you to think she wanted to gather us all to tell us about the moments she’s had to fake it. What Shelby delivered was one of the most real, genuine and moving presentations I’ve ever been lucky enough to see. Shelby took us through some of her most challenging moments and some of her wins too. I’ve decided to deviate from my usual ‘recap’ Retreat blogging and instead talk about the lessons we can take, and the moments that impacted me the most, from the truly remarkable woman that is Shelby Timmins. 

 

Shelby Timmins' Truths, As Told By Her To Us

  • Listen to your Mumma;
  • No workplace should ever try to keep you from the people that need you;
  • Always ‘have a crack’;
  • Look to the people around you, they are the best of you;
  • Shelby has known heartache;
  • Make friends with people who can still do the splits at 40;
  • Laugh;
  • Laugh some more;
  • Don’t swear in the presence of your children, they’ll repeat it in the most inconvenient times;
  • If anyone ever asks you ‘why the hell would you risk it all?’ That’s exactly when you risk it all;
  • Cook, cook as much as you can;
  • Know who is the better half;
  • Find a love that will make you move to Oxford and leave everything else behind;
  • Always google your date after the date;
  • An aerodynamicist is a person who plays with formulas to make planes and cars;
  • You can create a life in law that suits you;
  • Hold the ones you love close, and then a little bit closer again. 
And what are THE takeaways that Shelby says we should take away from her presentation?
  1. Hold your people close. Back them. Love them.
  2. It’s okay not to be okay, your goals will still be there when you’re ready for them.
  3. Let your hair down. It’s good for the soul. 

Wow. All I can say is thank you Shelby, you are so very inspiring and such a beautiful example of how we all can be we we need to be.

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Blogger and Happy Lawyer

Hi! I am Kiarah Grace Kelly, I have just finished a dual Bachelors degree in Law and Government and International Relations at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I tested my legal toes in the water at a boutique Gold Coast law firm before starting as a Law Graduate at Brisbane Family Law Centre in November 2018. I’ve just been admitted here in Queensland which makes me a Brand New Lawyer or #babylawyer as the BFLC gang likes to say. My sole practice area is Family Law.

I’m looking forward to writing about and sharing with you all that I can at this crazy-exciting but daunting stage of my career. I think there’s a need to talk about our experiences as early career lawyers so that we can all lean on each other as much as we can.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Royal Reed— Kindness as the new KPI

Kindness as the new KPI: A simple way to measure success may be just as effective by returning to the principle of kindness.

Royal Reed

This is an image of lawyer Royal Reed.

Author Hannah Trotter

The witty and engaging Royal Reed took the stage this afternoon with no slideshow, no sales pitch, no formal presentation and I have to say, I think this might be one of my favourite sessions of the day. 

Royal shared with us her experiences in law in one of the most hilarious and delightful presentations you can imagine and I sense no live blogger could do it justice – I will try though! 

Growing up in Taiwan, Royal used to dream in the bathroom mirror that she could speak English. As she grew up, she found herself living in New Zealand with the opportunity to begin her law studies. This is just where Royal says her challenges began. 

As she progressed in her studies, Royal felt as though she didn’t belong. Royal was met with unkindness and very little acceptance from her peers and the industry as a whole. She was told she didn’t belong in the room. 

As Royal began looking for positions post study, these challenges persisted but she found her passion assisting Chinese families migrating to New Zealand. 

When Royal landed her first job, she was pregnant and once again she was told she didn’t belong in the room. 

Royal was bringing in thousands of clients and still her colleagues, who were not working nearly as hard were being promoted and welcomed by senior staff into the fold. 

In her first performance review, Royal was made to feel like her job was a privilege and her reward was a venetian blind so she had privacy to breast feed (hardly a reward for someone bringing in so much business and working insane overtime).  Again, Royal was not welcome into the room. 

Royal concluded that she would never be taken seriously and so she began her own firm. 

It took a long time before Royal found people who would work with her but as she did, she made a conscious effort to create a work atmosphere where people are welcome. With an emphasis on building relationships with every one of her employees, Royal has successfully been running her firm of 20 people for the past 14 years. 

“We can only manage this if we support one another”. Royal has taken on to treat every person she encounters with kindness, to place value on them and to build relationships. Her nurturing of her employees inspires their pride in delivering the servives they offer. 

Royal is so proud of the accomplishments of her firm and her employees. 

Her emphasis has become on relationship and consciously not letting money or success drive her. 

Royal spoke with such eloquence and humility that I have never felt more confident in saying that this is 100% a room she belongs in. 

Thank you for your insight Royal, we have so much to learn from you. 

 

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Hannah Trotter

Hannah Trotter

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.

Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 2 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Mel Telecican— Scaling Reputation – Overcoming Distrust In The Marketplace.

Scaling Reputation- Overcoming Distrust In The Market

Mel Telecican

Mel Telecican ​

Author Kiarah Grace Kelly

When I saw that Mel Telecican featured on the program for the Retreat 2019, I couldn’t help but to have a little #happydance. Mel is a marketer by trade and uses her tips and tricks to help us lawyers use our reputation, at scale, to spread the word about the good work us lawyers do. 

"The First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Lawyers"

Mel began by reminding us that, when you dig down deep, the law is a profession deeply trusted by the public. Put simply and when taken broadly, we do good. But, on the surface, do lawyers have a PR problem? 

Mel asked us to recall all of the unpleasant moments where we’ve had all the unhelpful feedback from potential clients, current clients, a grumpy uncle, the public at large (eek!) and where lawyers are deemed the bad guy. Mel used an example in her life where she was chatting with a recently divorced friend and she told her “the only winners were the lawyers.” It’s a tough wrap, indeed.

But why the doom and gloom? Whilst we may spend our time in a distrusted profession, we don’t need to take that sitting down. Mel talked us through how to rise above the distrust and then build a reputation that stands out. 

The Good, The Bad (and then some more of the good)...

Banking, money, royal commissions. Wait, did you just skip to another blog? 

Mel told us all about how, in the banking industry, rankings are often published all about trust. Banking regulators keep a tabs of complaints from consumers and then compile a list of the worst offenders. This posed the question- is the banking industry all bad? Who features at the better end of those worst offenders lists? Are those banks just the ‘not so bad?’

The most trusted bank in Australia in recent years is the Bendigo Bank. What sets them apart? Mel, after showing us some examples from their socials, explained that the Bendigo Bank had gone very public with their policy not to invest in, or back, thermal energy products. Bendigo Bank also made waves by intervening in a community dispute in Bendigo where one side was accused of being Islamophobic. Importantly, Mel says, Bendigo Bank was living their values and their brand benefitted hugely.

And another example? The Queensland Police Service. If you have even the quickest of squizzes at the QPS socials, you’ll see the brand of humour that has become uniquely theirs. My favourite take away from this portion of Mel’s presentation is the power in QPS’s humour. Mel pointed out that, due to the popularity of QPS’s funnier posts, when they really needed to get their message across, in times of danger or tragedy, they had the audience there waiting.

The Crucial Stuff

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So what do we need to do to build one of these brands that makes people watch, but more importantly, think. Here are my key takeaways-

  1. To start, remember this: you have to start somewhere. Mel reminded us that, when Clarissa started on this crazy journey that we’re all now on, it was a stand-alone blog called ‘the Happy Family Lawyer.’ So, start somewhere;

  2. When things get tough on this personal branding mission that we’re all now on, tell yourself over and over; that without a personal brand, you’re one person, sitting at a desk, trying to convince one person at a time to pick up what you’re putting down. With a strong personal brand, and an audience, you can do it at scale;

  3. You have to be a ‘good friend’ to your audience- real, visible, you must tell your story and be in control of your narrative;
  4. Once you’re able to control your narrative, you must ‘pepper’ your services throughout your branding.

The example of the charity-

Mel reminded us that even the most trusted organisations there are, charities, require all the strategy and planning as any business would. Charities lead with their values, contribute to the betterment of our society and have all the assets of emotion to draw an audience. However as a warning to us, a charity, despite all its trust, can be unsuccessful if they don’t capitalise on their opportunity to tell the world their values. It’s not enough to do the work. 

My key takeaways from Mel’s presentation? Tell stories. Be visible. No matter your wins, you can’t use them at their best if there is no one listening. 

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Kiarah Grace Kelly

Blogger and Happy Lawyer

Hi! I am Kiarah Grace Kelly, I have just finished a dual Bachelors degree in Law and Government and International Relations at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. I tested my legal toes in the water at a boutique Gold Coast law firm before starting as a Law Graduate at Brisbane Family Law Centre in November 2018. I’ve just been admitted here in Queensland which makes me a Brand New Lawyer or #babylawyer as the BFLC gang likes to say. My sole practice area is Family Law.

I’m looking forward to writing about and sharing with you all that I can at this crazy-exciting but daunting stage of my career. I think there’s a need to talk about our experiences as early career lawyers so that we can all lean on each other as much as we can.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!

The Retreat 2019 Lynda Mckie – The Barefoot Investor & The Bindi Patch

The Barefoot Investor & The Bindi Patch

Lynda McKie

This is a image of Lynda Mckie

Author Hannah Trotter

Continuing our afternoon of powerhouse women speakers, Senior Private Wealth Adviser Lynda McKie is here sharing why she doesn’t hate the Barefoot Investor like most financial planners, but reminds us to beware the bindi patches if we are going to leave our shoes behind! 

The Triangle Happiness

In the last 15 years, there has been 40 surveys conducted to come up with the following 3 contributors for happiness. 

These are: 

  1. Strong Relationships;
  2. A Sense of Purpose; and
  3. Financial Security. 

What we’ve learned is that you can’t have one or two of these – you need all three so that no element is left in isolation. 

“True and lasting success is knowing deep in your bones you have the freedom to tread your own path in life and the ability to protect those you love.” 

1. Strong Relationships

In the Barefoot Investor, Scott encourages a weekly date night. Getting together with your significant other in a relaxed environment to talk about, an apparently taboo topic, money! 

In a survey of 3,000 Australians, 33% say they have never spoken about money with anyone! Not their loved ones, friends, an adviser – no one! 

When we speak about money, we become motivated to learn more about money. 

87% of couples who say their marriages are great also say they set long term goals around money. 

So in summary, no bindi patches in Scott’s date night and the strong relationships and conversation about money it encourages. 

2. Financial Security

They say well-being rises until we reach about $100,000 in income – then suddenly, it plateaus. 

The power of money to affect our well-being lies in its capacity to alleviate stress. People can actually achieve normal levels of well-being on a low income provided they remain in control of their finances. 

Financial Security comes from being in control and confident about our finances. 

The Art of Conscious Spending

Conscious spending is not about sticking to a tight budget. Rather, it’s like a keto diet. 

When we are consciously eating, we think about what we consume, we savour it, take our time and enjoy it and do not consume without thought. 

It should be similar with spending. 

We need to:

  1. Consider what’s important to us;
  2. Spend $$ on the stuff we love; and
  3. CUT THE WASTE! (Sorry Lynda, no more shoes!)

If you want financial freedom, we need to take charge. We need to feel confident that we are on track to achieve our goals. Money doesn’t lead to well-being, it’s the sense of control that helps us get there. 

The book sounds easy, but it’s not!

It is challenging to continue the maintenance of a new pattern behaviour, we need to see results. Similar to my gym membership, I’ve signed the papers, paid the subscription and been at least twice in the last few months, and yet, I can’t understand why my body doesn’t look completely different. 

When it comes to finances, Lynda says long term strategies take at least 7 years to show you significant benefit. There’s no short term path. 

Present bias is the tendency of people to give stronger weight to payoffs that are closer than trade-offs that are further away.  

In the moment, it’s hard to stay on track. 

‘No one is born smart with money – we have to learn to be savy.’ This is more about our behaviour than our brains. 

The three take homes from Lynda’s session are:

1. there’s no quick fixes – this is a long term strategy;

2. get support – we are working against our own behavioral tendencies here; 

3. talk more – we need to open the dialogue about money! 

Thanks Lynda! Beware the bindis friends! 

Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!

PLATINUM PARTNER

Our platinum partner Automio are thrilled to a part of the Club Retreat 2019. If you have been wanting to find out more about Automio’s combination of legal automation software and world-class training to scale your law firm to 7 figures you can book in a demo session with Business Development Manager, Mike Mullins here.

Automio love working with entrepreneurial lawyers just like you to help you scale up your law firm. And the final ‘Automio bedazzle’ we have for you is a special offer for you on Automio’s ‘Scale Up Springboard Training Program.’ 

If you enrol in Scale Up by 5pm AEDT 12 November you will get these fabulous free bonuses:

– A new, high-converting law firm website OR have our fabulous copywriter write high-converting copy for your firm’s website. 

 – A bonus small group VIP Event with Claudia King in Sydney before the 2 day Intensive. 

 – Up to $500 off your travel to the Sydney Intensive paid for

You can learn more about this offer at the Automio booth!

Hannah Trotter

Hannah Trotter

Blogger and Happy Law Student 

Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.

Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 2 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.

I would love to connect with you on Linkedin and Instagram!