The Successful Business and Practice of Law - Presented by LAWCLERK
Jim Hacking: How To Successfully Market Your Law Firm Using Digital Tools
HOST: Greg Garman
Introduction:
Welcome to The Successful Business and Practice of Law. On today’s episode, I have Jim O. Hacking, of Hacking Immigration Law LLC. Not only is he a wealth of knowledge about immigration law, he is also well-versed and knowledgeable in marketing a law firm, especially on YouTube. Today we’re talking about his most successful marketing practices, utilizing digital tools (including YouTube, podcasts, and Facebook groups), and the future of Hacking Immigration Law and other law practices. We also talk about the importance of doing well by doing good. Jim is definitely changing things in nuanced ways to make the profession better.
Jim is passionate about immigration law. Since forming in 2008, he has grown his firm to over 30 employees and helped countless individuals obtain their immigration benefits. He is also the co-founder of Maximum Lawyer. Jim has set an audacious goal for himself: to help over 10,000 people become US citizens by the end of the decade.
The Successful Business and Practice of Law is brought to you by LAWCLERK. This is a place where we can have conversations with lawyers who have achieved outsized success, those who are building innovative business models, and those who are simply doing things differently. We may also cover how technology is changing what we do. The main focus, however, is on how we run our businesses and practices in order to make them better.
Talking Points:
● Jim’s business model: mostly flat fee model
● The journey to law for Jim and his wife, Amany Ragab Hacking
● The choice to go national
● The breakdown of Jim’s team
● Intentional growth and Jim’s 10-year goal
● Jim’s entrepreneurial approach
● The amount of growth that comes from the content that Jim makes on YouTube
● Marketing and creating substantive, helpful content for YouTube
● Understanding the value of firm building
● Maximum Lawyer, The Guild, and the business of law
● Commoditizing aspects of the practice of law
Resources/Links:
LAWCLERK: https://www.lawclerk.legal/
Hacking Law Practice: https://hackinglawpractice.com/
Maximum Lawyer: https://maximumlawyer.com/
Quotes:
“My understanding is that you can’t do immigration on a contingency fee.” – Jim
“The great thing about immigration is it’s federal, just like bankruptcy, and so I can practice in all 50 states. ” – Jim
“We were on Inc 5000’s Fastest Growing and we will be again next year too. We’ve been growing at 100% scale the last two years, which is just mind-boggling.” – Jim
“We pulled out of our butt the idea that a lawyer, a paralegal, and a an admin can handle 150 cases a year, at any one time… The right balance is really about 90 - 100.” – Jim
“Yesterday we had about 10,000 video views for the day since October so I feel like we’re back on track.” – Jim
“Most lawyers think of the ‘running of the business’ as the hassle part, not the fun part.” - Jim
“There’s always going to be a need for good council.” - Jim