Maximum Lawyer

Evelyn Ackah, a successful immigration attorney from Canada, joins Tyson and Jim to share her experience and advice for attorneys looking to start their own niche practice. From starting her own firm to practicing law in two different countries, Evelyn has faced a variety of challenges and has come out on top. 

Here are some key takeaways:

  • Be Agile: When starting her firm, Evelyn had to make quick adjustments due to adopting twins on her own. She started her firm in just three weeks and had to juggle her personal and professional life. She emphasizes the need to be agile and make adjustments and tweaks to improve the business rather than throwing everything away and starting over.
  • Mindset Matters: Evelyn believes that mindset is critical in achieving success. She had to shift her mindset to overcome challenges in her business and become more optimistic. She encourages attorneys to adopt a mindset of an owner rather than an employee mindset.
  • Diversify Your Services: While Evelyn has a successful niche practice in immigration law, she also recognizes the need to offer complementary services such as wills and employment law to her clients. She suggests adding additional service offerings rather than branching out into unrelated areas.
  • Treat Your Practice Like Your Own Business: Evelyn encourages attorneys to build personal relationships with clients and own their files to develop a mindset of an owner rather than an employee. She also recommends taking advantage of the marketing and business development training provided by big firms to develop necessary skills for running a successful practice.

Overall, Evelyn's experience and advice provide valuable insights for attorneys looking to start their own niche practice. Whether you are just starting out or looking to expand your services, Evelyn tips can help you achieve success. So take her advice and get started on your own journey today! Listen in!


01:03 Starting her own law firm and practicing immigration law in Canada and the US
04:26 How COVID-19 has affected her cross-border immigration law practice and how she had to diversify her practice to recover from the decline
08:28 Practicing law in two different countries and how she hires a US attorney for green card and permanent residency applications
10:18 The day-to-day work, including team meetings, consultations, and business development
17:04 The impact of COVID-19 on her business and discusses the importance of diversification in practice areas
18:25 The importance of offering complimentary services to clients, such as wills and employment law, to insulate her business from ups and downs
20:20 Advising big law associates to treat their practice like their own business, building personal relationships and owning their files, to prepare for going out on their own


Jim’s Hack: Jim recommends the book "The First 90 Days" for a systematic approach to onboarding new employees beyond the first few days. 
Evelyn's Tip: Use restream to reach all the social media platforms. 
Tyson’s Tip: Recommends Steve.ai, a website that generates animated videos by plugging in a script with a free version. 


🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube here. 


Connect with Evelyn:


Resources:

Resources:


Creators & Guests

Host
Jim Hacking
Jim launched Hacking Immigration Law in 2008 and his firm has grown to over 30 employees and helped thousands of individuals obtain their immigration benefits. He is the co-founder of Maximum Lawyer.
Host
Tyson Mutrux
Tyson is the founder of Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers and the co-founder of Maximum Lawyer.

What is Maximum Lawyer?

Are you running or starting your own law firm? This is your podcast.