Blog

As a Dementia Focused Lawyer

As a dementia-focused lawyer, you have a unique set of skills and expertise that can help clients navigate complex legal issues related to dementia. However, attracting clients to your practice can be challenging, particularly when it comes to sensitive topics like dementia diagnosis. Here are some tips on how to attract clients as a dementia-focused lawyer:

Establish yourself as an expert

One of the most effective ways to attract clients is to establish yourself as an expert in Dementia Care Planning and Elder Care Navigation. Write articles, blog posts, or social media posts on topics related to dementia care and planning, speak at conferences or events, and offer educational resources on your website. Establishing yourself as an expert can help you build credibility and trust with potential clients.

Build a strong online presence

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is critical for attracting clients. Make sure you have a professional website that clearly explains your services and areas of expertise. Consider creating social media profiles on platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter to connect with potential clients and share valuable content.

Offer free consultations or workshops

Offering free consultations or workshops is an excellent way to attract potential clients. Consider hosting a workshop or webinars on a topic related to dementia care or planning or offer free initial consultations to new clients. This can help you build relationships with potential clients and demonstrate your value as a dementia-focused lawyer.

Build relationships with referral sources

Building relationships with referral sources, such as social workers, caregivers, or dementia care facilities, can be an effective way to attract clients. Offer to speak at local support groups or caregiver meetings or offer to provide educational resources to these groups. By building relationships with referral sources, you can establish a steady stream of referrals to your practice.

Attending Networking Events

Attending networking events, such as local bar association meetings or dementia care conferences, can be an effective way to connect with potential clients. Be prepared to introduce yourself and explain your areas of expertise, and consider bringing marketing materials, such as business cards or brochures, to hand out to potential clients.

Leverage online reviews and testimonials

Online reviews and testimonials can be powerful tools for attracting clients. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews on your website or social media profiles and feature these testimonials prominently on your website. Positive reviews can help build trust and credibility with potential clients.

1. Set clear goals

One of the most critical factors in being productive is setting clear goals. Identify what you want to achieve, and break down your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks. Having clear objectives can help you stay focused and motivated, making it easier to stay productive.

2. Prioritize tasks

Not all tasks are equally important, and prioritizing tasks can help you focus on what matters most. Identify which tasks are urgent and important and focus on those first. This can help you make the most of your time and ensure that you accomplish what needs to be done.

3. Eliminating distractions

Eliminating distractions can be a significant impediment to productivity. Identify the things that distract you, such as social media or email notifications and eliminate them. Turn off notifications, close unnecessary tabs, and create a distraction-free workspace.

4. Managing your time effectively

Time management is critical for productivity. Use tools such as calendars or to-do lists to keep track of tasks and deadlines. Set aside specific times for tasks and prioritize your time to ensure that you accomplish what needs to be done.

5. Take breaks

Taking breaks can boost productivity. Breaks can help prevent burnout, refresh your mind, and increase your creativity. Take short breaks throughout the day, and make sure to take longer breaks to recharge.

6. Exercise

Exercise is an essential component of productivity. Exercise helps to improve focus, increase energy levels, and boost mood. Even short bouts of exercise can make a significant difference in productivity.

7. Get enough sleep

Sleep is crucial for productivity. Lack of sleep can affect focus, energy levels, and mood. Make sure to get enough sleep each night to ensure that you can be productive the next day.

8. Stay organized

Being organized can help boost productivity. Keep your workspace clean and clutter-free, use filing systems to keep track of documents, and create a system for organizing your tasks.

9. Stay motivated

Staying motivated is essential for productivity. Find ways to stay inspired, such as setting rewards for completing tasks or finding accountability partners to help you stay on track.

10. Learn to say no

Saying no can be challenging, but it is essential for productivity. Learn to say no to tasks or commitments that are not essential or that do not align with your goals. This can help you focuson what matters most and boost your productivity.

by Dom Loffredo, Director of Operations at MDS

Recently my wife and I spent a week exploring the beautiful state of Vermont, but expectedly so, we made our eight hour trip home asking “do we really have to leave?” If you have ever gone on vacation, then I am confident you can relate to that last sentence. Although my beautiful state of Pennsylvania has a lot of similarities –trees, mountains, farms, and lots of places to eat; something about the Vermont hospitality we experienced made me realize that our office culture should resemble our end of vacation experience mentioned above. Below are my 5 key takeaways on how this approach can prove valuable to increasing your office dynamic.

1. Make it hard to leave

The overall kindness and generosity we experienced in Vermont was overwhelming. On multiple occasions I was given bags of ice, coffee, and or food for free because we were from out of town!Takeaway: you always have the ability to make staff & clients want to stay because of your compassion and generosity –sometimes it only takes a 99cent cup of coffee!

2. Communication = Caring

We hiked and or walked about 40 miles while in Vermont –almost every trail we hiked a local would talk to us! I have hiked my entire life throughout PA and this rarely happens.Takeaway: A small conversation pays dividends to your staff –it shows that you generally care about them.

3. Recycling is not an option

Recycling is integrated throughout their entire culture without reminding people or labeling it –they just do it out of commitment to this unwritten value.Takeaway: If something is a core value of your firm, your staff should see it occur daily without it being pointed out!

4. Word of Mouth is still King

Through conversations with locals, we learned of the best “dives, overlooks and tours” throughout the state –the only place we were disappointed with came from Google.Takeaway: people still talk –make sure your brand is easily recognizable/searchable & viewable!

5. Take a Deep Breath!

Given the large mountains, we often did not have cell service and had to “wing it” since we did not have a physical map. Regardless of a few detours, I was determined to not let a lack of cell service ruin our vacation!

Takeaway: A deep breath in times of challenge or confusion can reset your perspective on how to handle the challenge –when something is out of our control we need to let it go and focus on the next best option!

By Julie Steinbacher

What You Need to Know About the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)Qualification Available to all employers regardless of size including tax exempt organizations.

There are exceptions:

• state and local governments and their instrumentalities and
• small businesses who take Small Business Loans

To qualify, the employer has to meet one of two alternative tests. The tests are calculated each calendar quarter:

• either the employer’s business was fully or partially suspended by government order due to COVID-19 during the calendar quarter -this could include the suspension of travel, group meetings or commerce OR
• the employer’s gross receipts were below 50% of the comparable quarter in 2019. Once the employer’s gross receipts go above 80% of a comparable quarter in 2019 they no longer qualify after the end of that quarter

Any interruption of business directly resulting from federal government order during 2020 or 2021 may qualify. The requirement to wear masks within the workplace does not qualify a business. Adjustment of business hours during a stay-at-home order do not qualify a business.

Supply chain disruptions do not qualify unless they directly resulted from a government order and met all of the following requirements:

• Supplier cannot make deliveries of critical goods due to a government order
• Business can’t purchase those critical goods from another supplier
• Business must experience a more than nominal effect as a direct result

Salaries of majority owners and their families cannot be included in the ERC calculation. If the business owner has any living relatives than none of the salaries are eligible. Businesses that received PPP can apply for the ERC as long as the same salaries are not used and the business qualifies for the ERC.

By Dom Loffredo

As I write this article there is most likely a large company getting ready to send out another mass layoff email. In the past few months, companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Twitter, Zillow, Peloton and many others have conducted mass layoffs, several even have had MULTIPLE rounds of layoffs. Although anyone reading this works for a small law firm that most likely won’t suffer billions in lost revenue in 2023, the actions mentioned above still can have a significant impact on your practice.

Heading into the new year with the economy in question, many people have begun to fear what their future of employment looks like. Even though you are no Zillow who hired people based on believing the housing boom would never end, your staff are most likely watching the news and getting concerned if there will be cutbacks, stagnancy or even closings in the coming year. Now more than ever, make sure that you are communicating to your staff your plan for the next 3-12 months. Just hearing that you have a plan will provide them with some reassurance.

On the other hand, there is another opportunity that this “fear” season provides to you as a small business. It is this; the opportunity to solidify a reliable and positive culture throughout your office. Although this may be an uncommon takeaway, I have proof –discussions with two of Julie’s staff who have been with her through the 08 crash and the 2020 pandemic. Common thoughts on why Julie succeeded throughout these extremely challenging times for other businesses? Julie’s determination to keep building and developing her firm. Both staff shared that Julie’s ability to push forward gave staff confidence in their boss. By Julie moving forward with innovation, the staff felt comfortable in this simple fact: in a time of doubt, they have an employer who they trust to push the company forward regardless of circumstance. It may sound cheesy and small, but it matters! Having that trust sets the groundwork for a culture and office environment of reliability and consistency, using one that makes people want to stay!

Regardless of where you are today, the coming months will be a pivotal time for you to set the standard at your office. Don’t let the negativity of the news dampen engagement within your office. Create a plan, communicate that plan, and stick to it! Even through difficult times, our team at MDS is here to help you through it –whether that be marketing, hiring, staff retention or building systems at your office! Make sure to proactively schedule your annual and monthly coaching calls with us at the new year quickly approaches.

Jenna L. Franks, Esquire, Partner, Steinbacher, Goodall, & Yurchak

About
Jenna L. Franks is a Partner at Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak licensed to practice law in both Pennsylvania and Florida. She practices out the firm’s State College location and leads the team there on all pre-planning clients. Jenna has the largest team within the Steinbacher firm, which comes with many managing difficulties. In working with Julie, she has learned how to create layers of middle-management, set boundaries within her team, and to delegate so that her clients still receive the best possible service while also keeping her team happy and content. Jenna’s State College team has seen exponential growth over the past 5 years and we are very excited to see what the team has in store for the future!

Jenna is also heavily involved in the firm’s marketing department and her team is commonly involved in testing out new marketing techniques and strategies.
Jenna has presented for MDS for years about dementia care and elder care planning and procedures, but has more recently become engaged in coaching for members. She has a passion for learning and engaging with other like-minded dementia care and elder care planning individuals and she is excited to be a part of the “think tank” that MDS has become.

Jenna’s Story

Those who have seen a loved one go through the end stages of life understand how many decisions need to be made. I am Jenna Franks and this is my story on how dementia affected me.

I’ll never forget the day my husband was on the phone with his family. This was about 10 years ago and we were living in Florida. All of our family was back here, in Pennsylvania. I could tell something was wrong by how he was acting on the phone, but then he hung up and just started crying. My husband is not one to cry. So I knew something was very wrong.

My husband’s father passed away when he was young. So he was raised in part by his grandparents. He was always very close to his grandparents. It turns out there was an accident. His grandfather had a stroke and he fell. When his grandfather was falling, his grandmother had tried to hold him up and both ended up having a bad fall. His grandmother ended up breaking her hip. It was not looking good at the time for either of them.

Now both of his grandparents actually recovered from that fall. They were never the same, but they were able to go back home for awhile. However, that day after my husband got off the phone, we decided we needed to move back home to help out with the family.

We moved back to PA

and I took a job with an elder law firm. I never practiced in elder law before and I had no idea that what I would be learning at my job would soon really help with what was happening with our family.

While my husband’s grandmother was hospitalized, she was diagnosed with dementia. We knew her memory wasn’t as good, but the diagnosis was a surprise to us. Within a short period of time, she started experiencing memory lapses and judgement issues. She left the stove on. We found socks in the refrigerator. And she repeated herself, a lot. However, she motored around the house like the Energizer bunny! Pap was fine mentally. His limitations were physical. The stroke left him very weak. His legs became very lean and he was barely able to walk. It was interesting to see Gram and Pap operate around the house together. In a way, they were a good fit because Pap kept Gram on task with what she needed to be doing and Gram met all of the physical needs for the two of them. They supported each other and this worked for them – for a little while at least.

It seemed like we were constantly having to adjust with Gram and Pap’s needs. Pap was in and out of the hospital. While he was there, Gram’s memory would be at its worst. They compensated for each other. But if one of them was off, it became very clear to us how much help they needed.

By going through this rollercoaster with my own family, I’ve developed a passion to help others going through the same journey. It’s a difficult and, oftentimes, long journey. Especially if dementia is involved. And no one should do this alone.

Multiple endings

• Planning is important. No matter the situation, you might not be able to stay home.
• Warning signs – first symptoms
• How married couples compensate for one another – family members don’t know what is going on
• The steps of losing/giving up independence

A common desire for most lawyers is to have more clients and more revenue –sounds great! Before looking at how to maximize revenue in your practice, I recommend you look at your overall revenue versus your actual profit, which can be the difference between a thriving practice and one that is ‘getting by’. All too often, practices strive to do everything they can to generate higher revenues. This may include marketing campaigns, flashy ads, more team members, a bigger office, or other similar classic campaigns. Yet, at the end of the day, profit is lacking. If this has happened to you, you are not alone. In fact, this was made painstakingly clear for many practices throughout the current pandemic, resulting in additional stress and negative outcomes. Here are two simple ways you can think differently with regards to technology and how to grow your firm’s profitable revenue:

1. Go after the under -40-year-old market! Historically this has been a very unprofitable segment, so attorneys have stayed clear. The fees were modest, and the work was manual. Today this segment wants a digital experience, human interactions provided as the exception, not the standard, and long-lasting relation-ships with service providers. With advancements in technology, information intake, client education, and the ability for legal document creation to be fully automated, are you currently completely automated? What does removing the administration, education and drafting do to the profitability of your revenue? Lastly, what is the value to your firm of a happy loyal client to that you can provide services to for the next 40 years?. Make sure your technology is working for you!

2. Large group plans This is another area that has been unattractive for attorneys; why deal with 100s of people that are only going to pay a few hundred dollars each? It won’t be profitable and it will be an administrative nightmare, so it never made sense to approach. Today going after larger groups haves never been more attractive, so long as you have the right technology to support the practice. We have seen clients deliver final Wills for entire police forces and fire departments in weeks, or POAs for graduating high school classes going off to college in weeks, with all interactions being digital. Law firms have embraced such opportunities for the ability to earn profitable revenue, provide a needed service to their community and market this brand. Would you also like 100’s of happy clients that you can add to you marketing funnel for future work and referrals?

In summary, thinking different about your clients, market dynamics and how leveraging technology can dramatically change your firms’ opportunities can start to set you apart from others. Finding profitable revenue is a marathon, not a sprint, and delivering your services with the technology now available to you can put your firm on the growth trajectory you’ve been looking for.

To learn more please contact Enrico Linscheer from LegalGEN.

Enrico Linscheer

CEO of LegalGEN

Email: elinscheer@legalgen.com

Website: https://legalgen.com/

A Legaltech platform helping attorneys serve their communities.

Growing up a college football fan, I was no stranger to the impact that Tim Tebow had on his family, football team and the world of college football. In fact, I was a huge Tim Tebow fan despite my family being devoted Penn State Nittany Lion fans. For those that aren’t familiar with the name, Tim Tebow played for the University of Florida (Gators) from 2006-2009 while also winning one Heisman Trophy and two national championships.  Ultimately, he was the ultimate leader in the college sports world at that time. 

Recently, Tim Tebow was a guest speaker for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) annual conference. His given topic is one worthy of sharing with all of you: The Keys to Lasting Leadership. Throughout his session, Tim shared how anyone can demonstrate leadership once, but to do it over time and leave a lasting impact requires four core components: respect, belief, passion and compassion. Below, you will see my take on these four categories and how they greatly impact your effectiveness as a leader within your office. 

Respect 

• Tim mentioned how social media “likes” should be switched to “respect.” The argument here is that many people like things that they don’t necessarily respect, which creates a lot of confusion at the organizational level. 

• In the end, your employees could seem as if they “like” you, but still fail to respect you. Ultimately, respect must be earned from your employees- spend time with them to establish this early on in your relationship. 

Belief 

• Here Tim gave examples that demonstrate the power of believing in yourself.  

• As leaders, we must have belief in ourselves and our staff. If you fail to have one of either of these your power as a leader will quickly be diminished.  

Passion 

• Arguably the most important topic of the group, you must have passion for what you do.  

• If you lack passion in your job and don’t stand behind what your organization does, it will be extremely difficult to gain the respect and belief of your co-workers.  

• If you find yourself struggling here, take some time away (a great long weekend opportunity) and reflect on things you are or previously were passionate about and how you can reignite that fire. 

Compassion  

• Tim described this as “showing passion towards others” or “being willing to suffer with someone in a supportive way.”  

• Co-workers are real people and will experience real-life challenges throughout their time working with you. Spending 2-3 minutes just checking in on how someone is doing (not accepting the “ok” response when you ask how they are doing) can go a long way in enabling you to demonstrate compassion for others. 

In the end, the path to lasting leadership within your organization is not a “one-size fits all” approach, so appropriate time should be devoted to visualizing and strategizing how to provide effective leadership within your office. 

If you would like to get group insight with other attorneys and executive directors on effective leadership within the office, make sure to join our monthly Executive Director calls which are the first Wednesday of each month or email me for the link at dloffredo@staging_milliondollar.wordkeeper.net . 

Dom Loffredo  

By Julie Steinbacher

There is a central truth to business: you are only as strong as your network. For many of us, the past three years have been spent working on adapting our businesses to the ever-changing needs of the pandemic. During these transitions, maybe your business has put off creating new and maintaining old referral relationships. Maybe you have pivoted. One thing is certain, there is no better time than now to focus on your network.

Referral marketing is a crucial long-term strategy, but it can take time to develop a relationship with a referral partner. In order for a professional referral relationship to become fruitful, both parties have to trust in each other’s abilities to serve the client well. To help you start this process, we have compiled a list of best practices to keep up with referral sources.

1. Keep an updated contact list.

Make a contact card and note details about every contact you have and add them to your email/mailing list. Adding this valuable information to your CRM is important, but if you are just starting out, you can always use an Excel sheet and move the list later. Think of the time spent maintaining your contact list as an investment in continued and future business. The money is always “in the list” – why would you buy cold mailing lists when you aren’t using your existing contacts in the first place?

2. Make an effort to consistently follow up with your contacts.

At our office, we send a letter with newsletters. This works out well since it’s something we are already doing. It provides our contacts with useful information without adding additional work.

3. Design an easy referral system.

Provide materials to referral sources that will attract potential clients. At our office, our newsletters include our contact information as well as engagement opportunities such as free seminars. Educational documents are a wonderful resource for referral sources.

4. Remember to send a thank you for each referral.

Each time we get a referred client, a staff person sends a thank you card to that referral source. We track those referrals and if one person sends 3 referrals, we send them a token of thanks like a fruit basket.

5. You must share your knowledge, especially about changes in your area of expertise.

For instance, if a law changes, we always jump out in front of the proposed change and provide articles in our newsletter and timely educational webinars. We also keep them up-to-date with interesting changes.

Those are five simple ways to cultivate referral sources and maintain relationships. As we move into the transition of COVID-19 from a pandemic to an endemic, we must resume building our referral network.  For some, this will look different. Civic organizations, non-profit boards, and professional groups now meet online rather than in person. This allows participation in groups without having to accommodate travel time. 

For our office, we were able to collaborate more with referral partners through webinars, which was highly successful for both our office and their business. We urge all businesses to take time to evaluate their referral network and make a conscious effort to add new referral sources and interact with those already in their network. This may look different after COVID but there is no need to wait – pivot now for a more profitable practice!

By Julie Steinbacher

There are many ways to donate to nonprofits and support causes. But as a recent Tax Court decision reveal, it’s very important to receive a detailed donation receipt from charities. In Albrecht v. Commissioner, a widow lost a $464,000 tax deduction of art and artifacts because the donation receipt that she had received from a museum did not state that she had not received any goods or services in exchange for the contribution. While I doubt that many of us are sitting on a half a-million-dollar art collection, it’s important to note that this decision only impacted the donor, not the nonprofit. It is best practice for nonprofits to issue a donation acknowledgement shortly following a donation, and preferably, an end of year summary if you have donated more than once. However, the optimal documentation isn’t always provided to the donor. Since the responsibility of providing the IRS with proof of donation falls to the donor, here are the basics of what a well-crafted, IRS-optimized donation letter should include: 

1. Tax-exempt status statement: Statement that the organization is a 501c3 tax-exempt organization. The nonprofit’s EIN should be included to demonstrate tax-exempt status. 
2. Name of the nonprofit and name of the donor 
3. Date of the contribution: The date the donation was received. 
4. Contribution Details 
   1. For cash (checks, credit card, payroll deduction): The amount of the contribution that was received. 
   2. For non-cash gifts: A description (but not the value) of the non-cash contribution. 
5. Statements – Good Faith Estimates of Value of Goods or Services. Did the donor receive any goods or services in exchange for the gift? 
   1. A statement that no goods or services were provided by the organization in exchange for the contribution, if that was the case. 
   2. If any goods or services were provided by the organization in exchange for the contribution, the letter should include a description and good faith estimate of the value of those goods or services. (Example: A fundraising dinner event where some of the funds received from the donor pays for the actual dinner, while the rest is a donation.) 
   3. If the goods or services that were provided to the donor were insubstantial token amounts, that should be noted. (Example: When a small gift is given to the donor with the nonprofit organization’s name or logo on it like a bumper sticker, coffee mug. See below.) Or a statement should be provided if goods or services (if any) that the nonprofit provided in return for the contribution consisted entirely of intangible religious benefits, if that was the case. 

If you do not receive a letter with the information above and plan to use your donation as a tax deduction, reach out to the organization and request one.