Legal Grounds | Conversations on Life, Leadership & Law Mike H. Bassett

In 2021, the Bloomberg Law Survey reached a sobering milestone. For the first time, attorneys reported feeling stressed about their workload more than HALF of the time. 


Setting aside the very serious and very real consequences to one’s health, when your profession is one that bills by the hour, spending half of that time in “damage-control” mode is less than optimal. 


But as my guest, Courtney Redman, points out, what’s more troubling is that while many of these attorneys know this isn’t sustainable, they can’t seem to point to one specific thing, task, or procedure that’s holding them back. 


With more than a decade of experience in nearly every support role a law firm can have, Courtney came to learn that oftentimes the “thing” that needs to be fixed is how THINGS get done in the first place. 


This realization, coupled with a desire to help and coordinate at multiple levels, led her to found Legacy Contracts, a full-service administrative organization that works with medium and large firms on everything from Case Management and Workflow to Invoicing, Billing, and Process Implementation. 


This week’s conversation is definitely one for the organization and systems nerds out there, but I would encourage lawyers and leaders at every stage to listen, if only to gain an understanding of how vital this unseen work is.


Enjoy the show!

If you’ve ever found yourself pulling into your driveway only to realize you meant to stop at the grocery store on the way home, you know how easy it is for the brain to run on autopilot


And while forgetting you needed to pick-up a couple of ingredients for dinner is always a bummer, when leaders find themselves running on autopilot, there’s suddenly a lot more at stake… and for A LOT of other people as well. 


We talk plenty on this podcast about the less-admirable traits of leadership and how to go about changing them for the better. 


But my guest today, Dr. Eugene K. Choi, decided to take it a step further. 


Instead of simply asking, “how can I fix or improve these areas I clearly need to work on?”, he also asked, “where do these habits even come from in the first place?”


Dr. Choi is a clinical pharmacist, certified consultant for Neuro Change Solutions, and the founder of Destiny Hacks, a coaching program that focuses on the science of change. 


Now a transformational Mindset Coach on a mission to transform leaders, businesses, and communities, Dr. Choi has become a prolific writer and thought-leader whose articles have garnered over 8 million readers and his videos and short-films have amassed more than 23 million views. 


From learning that sometimes working towards an accomplishment is actually driven by our “Fight” response to understanding that being good at planning is widely different from executing said plan, we dive into the psychology and physiology of how habits can make or break leaders, and in turn, how leaders can break the habits. 


Enjoy the show!
SHOW NOTES
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Dr. Choi's NeuroHacking Podcast

This week we welcome Serban Mare back to the program. 
Last time we spoke, Serban and I discussed his life story and really focused on how trust is the foundation to any working relationship. 
But what listeners didn’t know was that we had an entire section of the interview that we simply ran out of time on. 
And - perhaps ironically - that subject was Burnout. 
So today we pick up where we left off, discussing the different kinds of ‘burnout’ and the ways they can manifest themselves, why the pursuit of efficiency is harming business, and why the best leaders put themselves in a place to work ON their business not IN their business. 
It was a lively conversation full of laughter and a couple of soap-box-moments, so I hope you’ll give it a listen. 
Enjoy the show!
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SHOWNOTES:
The Monkey Business Illusion Video

My guest this week is Dave Obrand, a fellow attorney and Deputy County Counsel out of Orange County. 
What attracted me to Dave was not simply the work he does helping to reunite families, but the story of his OWN family and the power to grow through grief. 
While not giving away the entire episode, after graduating from law school, Dave’s life took a very sudden and very unexpected turn when his father fell ill. 
The conversation this week was free-wheeling, but in the end I found it to be a meditation on the power of mentorship, both the intentional and the unknown. 
We also discuss the reasons Dave was drawn to public service, what advice he’d give to young lawyers, and why the best leaders never say, “do this FOR me,” but instead ask, “how do WE do this?”
Enjoy the show.

SHOWNOTES:

Dave Obrand for California State Assembly

For this week’s episode I was lucky enough to sit down with the Assistant Managing Editor of the ABA Journal, Victor Li, for one of the most wide-ranging discussions on the law we’ve had on this show in a while. 


As a writer focusing on Legal Technology and the Business of Law, it was a great chance to get the pulse of what’s happening at the forefront of the legal profession. 


We discuss how A.I. is helping lawyers while also unpacking why no amount of computing power can take away the responsibilities we have as attorneys. 


I was also fascinated by how Victor sees law schools adapting to new technology and enjoyed exploring the difference between having access to knowledge versus knowing how to apply it. 


We also talk about bullying in the law, how entertainment has shaped the practice of law, and even Richard Nixon makes a brief appearance. 


Enjoy the Show. 

SHOWNOTES:
Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House
by Victor Li

Victor's Recommendations:
Master of the Senate by Robert Caro
Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs by Dave Barry

Twelve Wooden Stirring Spoons. 


Twelve. 


That’s the number Liz and I unearthed the first time we decided to give Minimalism a try. 


We had both just read the book, “The More of Less” written by my guest today, Joshua Becker, founder of Becoming Minimalist.
The book explained how Minimalism wasn’t just a novel series of systems or routines to apply to your life, it was about a philosophy, a way of interacting with and moving through the world. 


As Josh puts it, “Minimalism is about the intentional promotion of the things we value most.”


Our conversation this week explores the misconceptions surrounding Minimalism, the way Minimalism can impact and improve our relationships, and perhaps my favorite topic - how organization tricks us into thinking we have less, and why the more we have the harder it is to truly value it all


Enjoy the Show

SHOWNOTES:

Find All of Josh's Books HERE

Josh's Recommendation: The Magic of Big Thinking by David Schwarts