Leadership In Law Podcast

S03E117 Protect What You Create with Trademark & IP Attorney Liscah Isaboke

• Marilyn Jenkins • Season 3 • Episode 117

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Want your brand to be more than a great idea? We unpack how founders and creators can turn names, processes, and content into protected assets that boost credibility, prevent copycats, and raise valuation. Our guest, business and IP attorney Liscah Isaboke, walks us through the must-dos that too many entrepreneurs skip: choosing the right entity, separating finances, running real trademark searches, and using NDAs to secure trade secrets. We also get practical about contracts, from Force Majeure to the two modern clauses most people overlook, AI disclosures and chargeback terms that can save you when disputes hit.

We dig into the timing and ROI of IP filings, why social media can accelerate trust without undermining professionalism, and how trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets play distinct roles in growth and eventual exit. Liscah shares how licensing creates new revenue, when to hold off on filings, and how to document unique processes so employees and partners respect confidentiality. For creators, we break down FTC disclosures, defamation risks, and the payment and usage terms to insist on before posting a single deliverable.

Across the conversation, the theme is proactive strategy. Form the right entity, keep money clean, protect the brand you plan to invest in for the next five to ten years, and treat contracts as growth tools that define scope, speed approvals, and keep cash predictable. If you want your business to feel more credible to clients, banks, and buyers, these are the moves that build real equity.

Reach Liscah: 
www.isabokelaw.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/liscahisaboke/
https://www.instagram.com/lawyerliss/

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SPEAKER_00:

The Leadership in Law Podcast is here to equip you with the knowledge and tools you'll need to build a successful and fulfilling legal practice.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to another episode of the Leadership in Law Podcast. I'm your host, Marilyn Jenkins. Please join me in welcoming my guest, Lizka Izaboke, to the show today. Lizka is a business and IP attorney helping entrepreneurs protect and grow brands. She's passionate about making sure business owners don't just build something great, but protect what they've built. From trademarks and contracts to brand strategy and visibility, Lizka guides her clients through the legal foundations that support long-term success. In this conversation, we're diving into the most common legal mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting out, the real value of intellectual property, how social media builds trust, and why contracts can be seen as a business strategy, not just paperwork. I'm excited to have you here, Lizka. Welcome.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. So tell us a bit about your leadership journey.

SPEAKER_02:

So my leadership journey started, I think I was just put in the position more so than deciding to be a leader. Starting to deciding to start my law firm. I had people just coming to me when I graduated law school. Hey, can you review this contract for me? I have an offer letter from my employer. I don't know if I should sign it. Can you review it? And I have a couple of those. And then I got so many of those questions and called them, like, okay, maybe I should start doing this. But I graduated during COVID. So it wasn't, I graduated in May of 2020. COVID started in March of 2020. So it wasn't really a good time for employers to be interviewing or hiring. But I was in a space where I was like, okay, I have to do something to make money. And I just decided to start my own firm when I thought about, I said, hey, I've been doing the patent clinic for about three semesters in law school, which is pretty much intro entry-level law firm work.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, but maybe I should just do this. But my journey has been a little wonky because when I first started having systems in place, I didn't have anybody working with me. So it was a learning curve from being a lawyer or just doing the legal work to turning into okay, now I'm actually running a business. I'm running a law firm. So I think when I made that switch from lawyer to business owner and lawyer, my the way I led changed. The way I spoke with people and the way I just thought about my business plan and the future growth of my law firm changed a lot. So that's a little bit about my journey, you know, about where I am now. Now I have systems in place. Now I work with other people. Now I speak with experts and don't try to do everything myself.

SPEAKER_01:

I agree. I agree. So thinking about your journey there. Did you have a mentor or a business coach or someone that helped you kind of connect the pieces and as they say, buy time?

SPEAKER_02:

So I had a few business owners that I knew in other areas of business, and they would speak to me about certain things in business that I didn't resonate with me until I started my own business. So I think those are probably the reasons why I decided to start my business because I was on a level of freedom that they had, a freedom of time, a freedom of choices. However, I didn't really get a mentor until probably about two years ago. And my firm has been open almost five years. So an actual business mentor that I sit down and I speak to, and we actually have meetings and conversations, and he helps me close gaps. My business because he's built low-time, multi-million dollar businesses. So I think I got to a point where I'm like, I can't do this myself. I need to speak to someone who's been there before, whether or not it's been a law firm, but because it's still a business at the end.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I agree. I'm I'm truly important. Absolutely. It's just invaluable to talk to someone who's been beyond where you want to be or just to help you along the way. We I have a coach that says you can't see the full picture if you're in the frame. And having a coach that you can talk to is incredibly important there. I agree.

SPEAKER_02:

I would like to mention that I do watch a few people on YouTube, Natalie Dawson. Who else? I think there's Hermosy, Alex Hermosy. I think those are what I just generally watch on on YouTube. And I think that's my fake mentors. I probably couldn't afford to sit down and talk to them, but truly amazing. Truly amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

Very cool. I have the same channels I like to watch as well. And it's just, it's great to get this great information and just give you ideas to move forward.

SPEAKER_02:

Because they are mentors. They're giving you your they're giving you business advice and they've done it before. Like I've even read their books. So I think that's a great start. If you're somebody who's starting because you don't have any mentors that are accessible to you, buy books from people who've done it before.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, absolutely. Let's jump into what you do. So you're talking about entrepreneurs and helping them protect what they've created. So when entrepreneurs first start out, what are the most common legal mistakes and what are the trouble they can lead to?

SPEAKER_02:

I would say one of the biggest things that I've seen is a lot of entrepreneurs, they skip the business formation part of it and they just go straight to being a sole proprietor or just doing business. And that'll be just on cash apps, the vending model. They won't actually actual legal structure to protect the personal liability, which is why you build the LLC, which is why you get the corporation. So you have that personal liability protection, but you also don't commingle your funds, right? You have a separate bank account for personal things, you have a separate bank account for business. That's the first thing. Secondly, I would say intellectual property. They don't protect their intellectual property. If they get an Instagram, they get the website domain, they're promoting all of these things and they have a great idea, but it's not protected federally. They don't have a federal trademark behind it. Sometimes they'll find out that they're infringing on someone's work that they haven't done a proper trademark search. Or somebody will steal their idea. So they'll have copycat and they'll probably file before them, which there's some protection in place that you could take, but it's just an uphill battle at that point.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

Outside of that, I think that's the main thing that I would say. And then contracts. All of them rely on handshake deals, right? You're new, you're excited, you meet people, I'm like, yes, of course, I can freelance for you. I'll do that for you. Yes. But then it'll just be a word of mouth thing, and they'll be so now they're getting into the work, their scope creep. There's no actual scope for what they're actually doing or payment terms. They don't have any payment terms. So now this person hasn't paid them or this person has costed them. Contracts protect both parties. So even you, you business owner, it might hold you accountable for the other side, it'll hold them accountable too. And now you have a contract to appoint to to say, hey, this is what we agreed on. So I think those are the main mistakes that I see a lot.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and when it comes to contracts, you also, if you're working with a client that's got, say, five or six-year-old contracts, you want need to bring those up to date, right? Is it especially after like COVID and stuff like that when things changed? Yeah, it's being thinking about the force major clauses.

SPEAKER_02:

COVID was one of the main things if you think about venues. So venues, if you didn't have a force withdrawal clause in your contract, or if you didn't have a contract at all, now people are asking for the deposit back because they're not allowed to congregate to have a wedding. And that's just one of the main things. So you have to think about having those things in claim. So if an act of God or something extreme happens, do you get your deposit back? Do we keep a part of that deposit or do you get it refunded? Because sometimes a venue, for example, will get a deposit and they'll use it and they won't be able to refund it.

SPEAKER_01:

Small businesses operating funds, exactly. So when you were talking about when you start and say you don't file for your trademark or that kind of thing, how early should a business start thinking about protecting its IP and what's the real cost of waiting too long? That's a good question.

SPEAKER_02:

That's actually a really good question. Because I meet a lot of business owners who have thousands of ideas. I don't want to protect it all. But I say if this is something that you see yourself doing in the next five to ten years, if this is something that you think will retire you, you something that you think you're married to, then please protect it. And also if you're if you plan on investing a lot of money into it, or if you already invested a lot of money into it, make the investment to protect the copyright patent, the trademark. And then also because it increases the log of your company. So now if a company or even if you're trying to get a business law, if you're trying to pitch to someone and say, hey, our company is worth a lot because we have these assets. Some people don't understand, but trademarks, copyright, and patents are business assets. It is something that you can use when selling your company or valuing your company. Okay, how a company is valuing at this because we spent this much on legal, or this is how much a trademark is worth. And that's something that you can also license. If you think about Disney, they license out their trademark to a few people so they can sell their shirts. And that's just another stream of income. So, like I said, I think that's something that you should think of early on, but it's something that's just like a random business idea. It is an investment. So I would say hold off until you're actually married to it. But if you're investing a lot of money into it, you should invest into protecting the IP first.

SPEAKER_01:

And at least doing a search, a trademark search to say, did you name something that someone else has? Right. And it builds consumer trust.

SPEAKER_02:

So it literally builds credibility and consistency. My clients that have gotten their trademarks, they can tell that people respect their business even more, even us. Our law firm name is trademarked, our logo is trademarked, our slogan is trademark, and it just feels good and it feels more professional.

SPEAKER_01:

Agreed. Yeah, I agree. We did that a few years ago. It took a long time, a lot of wait time, but it was worth it. Us feel good. It is worth it. It feels good.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like a whoop, like just a little weight off your shoulders.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you just want to have a dance party when you get it done when you're like, yeah, stack a dance. Yeah, exactly. So, how does a strong IP strategy say you've got the idea person that's coming up, all of these different things, and how does that give real long-term value to a business, especially if you have plans at some point to exit?

SPEAKER_02:

Another good question. Like I said, it built it increases the value of your company. So if you're pitching investors or if you're pitching somebody to buy your business, they not only buy the business, but they buy the assets that come with it. So whether that's a building or whether that's obviously trademarks or the copyright or the patent. So now you have an extra way to say, okay, it's not just, you're not just buying the corporation, you're also buying our trademarks. And we can use these trademarks or our these patents to license them up to companies. So if we think about some other companies that have licenses or have patent pharmaceutical companies, so they license out people so they can white label some of their products. If you think about like the GLP ones, or if you think about any generic brands, sometimes those are actually licensed out or licensed patent product, patented products. They'll just say, okay, we'll let you use it under this license and under these terms. So now if you're the first person in the marketing place to decide to trademark or patent or copyright, something that's very innovative that a lot of people want and that a lot of people can sell, and it's like too much for you, then just license it out. So that's just another stream of income. And like you said, editing, if you want to sell that, that you can't eat that food. That's just it just increases the value of your company.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Okay, that's incredible. And would you that one of the types of things that if you're like say I'm in small manufacturing, and would you're talking about patents for designs, you're talking about trademark for names, and maybe even the processes. So there's a lot of levels to it.

SPEAKER_02:

Correct. So if you take manufacturing or like your processes, so there's another thing is trade secrets. So you have trade secrets of how you manufacture your products or what you do on the back end. So that's another thing that we help people do get their processes and orders and get some trade secrets in their business that people sign NPAs before they speak to people or before they present their ideas. Again, if you want an investor to come in and buy into your business, that's something that you definitely have to think about. I think your intellectual property is the backbone of your company. Outside of contracts, I think intellectual property is the backbone of your business because if somebody has your IP, how can you operate? One, they can confuse your consumers, right? So if somebody else is operating under the same name or business model, it could confuse consumers, like, okay, who's the real person? If you think about scammers, like the scammers would use it, they'll probably change like one of the letters in the domain name.

SPEAKER_01:

And then the whole website looks exactly like yours. There was a phishing scam like that that copied Amazon but used a Cyrillic letter in Amazon.com. So it was, yeah, that was uh pretty amazing. So I think yeah, let's dig a little bit into the processes, your trade secrets. I think that's something that's not really high on the list when people think about it. We want to trademark our name, we want to patent the whatever we've invented, but trade secrets is that's gonna be what could that entail? Code.

SPEAKER_02:

Really processes so could code you can copyright. So more so like the processes and how you even if it can be a client onboarding system that you think is really innovative and it's really quick, and you think, okay, no other business is doing it this way. Or if you think about one of our clients, like a locksmith company, how they dispatch out their drivers, these are things that you can't necessarily because it's more of a concept than an actual something that you could put down on paper, okay. Once we get a call and we dispatch the closest driver to X, Y, and Z. And again, like I said, but this is a trade secret and how they did. So you document that, you process that, and then it's your trade secret.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

And you didn't DA then? Yes. You have confidentiality agreements with your employee and anybody else that you speak to, whether it be an investor, board of directors, however you want to build your company, or somebody else is coming in as an owner, that's something that you know that you have protected. So if someone takes that trade secret and it's you see it somewhere else, okay, now this competing company that's in the same neighborhood as me, they're doing business the same exact way that I'm doing business. And they hired one of my old employees. Now you know that they've infringed on your trade secret, and you can sue for that.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

But they documented that this is one of our trade secrets, and now they took that to our competitor.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. And show them in signed NDA. Okay. Let's think about in today's AI timeframe. So I know a company that's created an amazing AI automation that can create really super SEO created pages for a WordPress website and has it staged out to do X every X days. So would that be something that would be a trade secret? Or does the AI make it a gray area at this point?

SPEAKER_02:

AI is definitely making it a gray area. No, I would say no, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01:

No, that's what we thought. The AI is the thing that throws it out because everybody has access to AI.

SPEAKER_02:

Exactly, exactly. And now they're just tr doing creating the case law today on what AI, what you can do with AI or what you can protect with AI. So all of all these opinions are coming out day by day. So we don't necessarily know what is protectable with AI. All we do know is that there does need to be some human input.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Absolutely. So let's think about when talking about social media. Now, do you work with influencers as well?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh yes. Oh, yeah. Content creators, we I we just created a free legal checklist for content creators. Okay, I was gonna ask for that. You're making a lot of money these days on all the social media platforms, and some of them don't even, like I said in the beginning, about protecting yourself as a sole proprietor. And out of making business and personal findings, they don't know that even with an LLC or a corporation, now you have tax benefits.

SPEAKER_01:

And keeping that money separate is incredible because a lot of these people are young and just don't think beyond that, those dollars that are coming in.

SPEAKER_02:

A lot of people getting burned too in the brand deal, or you'll have companies that will take your videos and then post them without paying you. So those that's a lot of the contracts that we do too, that we make sure that the payment terms are changed. So payment is applying delivery of the work, but before the uploading of the work. So that's the things that we do with our content creators. Like we just make sure that okay, as soon as we deliver it to you and we approbe it, and before the creator posts on their page, payment is sent over.

SPEAKER_01:

And are they like mostly doing an LLC of their handle or their name? Or does it really does it really matter? Necessarily matters.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

As long as you them like to go do their name, but as long as you have a business entity and an EIN number.

SPEAKER_01:

Just get one set up, run through it. Very cool. And do you help your clients set up the bank accounts and that sort of thing within their LLCs? I help them get their EIN number.

SPEAKER_02:

As far as bank accounts go, I'll give you a banking resolution. So you could take that, take it to the bank, which will have your EIN number, it'll have your certificate or formation. You take that to the bank and they'll open your bank account for you.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, fantastic. Fantastic. And how do you think you can use professionals can use social media to build trust and visibility without crossing any legal or ethical lines when it comes to their IP and their trademarks and that sort of thing?

SPEAKER_02:

So I think social media helps professionals build trust and visibility in a major way. If you think about gaining clients, if you're a seller in any aspect, you think about the known trust factor. So how else do you build the known trust factor if people don't necessarily know and trust you or even know if they know and trust you? So I think I started posting on social media mainly because we were getting clients in. So the majority of our clients come in through Google Search. So 80% of our clients come into Google Search because we do SEO marketing. 20% come into a billboard and 5% come in through word of mouth. But like I said, the people that I've been watching, whether it be Myron Golden, Russell Brunson, Natalie Dawson, these people are saying that people need to see personal brand, I think, is a new trend. So traditionally, lawyers are very serious, very professional, suit and tie. I don't want to see my lawyer on social media. What I've noticed with my clients is they don't mind seeing me and understanding my personality, but that's just another factor to make some let somebody know I'm a real person. And I am knowledgeable. And not everybody's gonna like me, but some people will. Or even if you know you you might not care for me being on social media, but at least you know I'm a knowledgeable.

SPEAKER_01:

So I'm a person. And that's what we want is as a as an individual, we most people feel like attorneys are unapproachable. They just okay more than we do. We're not sure that I can afford you. I don't know what to I'm now nervous. So I think having your personality and your voice out there is a good thing. It's not like every video you make is an opinion piece. So at least people when they call you now they feel like they know who you are.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. And if you do some scrolls on social media, doctor's offices, law offices, they're all doing the funny videos more than they are doing the educational videos. But I think a good mixture of bulk really helps. And it really helps your clients just feel a little bit more comfortable, like you said. It's not like I'm just here with this big scary person that just has all this education and that's so expensive. Oh, we're real people too.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And a wall of books that no one has ever read. Yeah. But wow, okay. So let's jump to contracts real quick. So we started out how important they are, and of course, reviewing them if they're old. What is the one clause or area that a standard contract is consistently overlooked?

SPEAKER_02:

I think a chargeback clause. Yeah, I think a chargeback clause. I think some people don't that traditionally you didn't really see that in many contracts. I'm not I want to speak about what's new, right? I think what you need now is a chargeback clause into an AI clause. So AI clause, let's say you're a service provider that provides copy or marketing for someone, probably needs to be in there that says, hey, we may use AI. I mean, AI hallucinates, so that protects you from using AI and may have put out the wrong information, or just letting people know we may use AI and we'll edit it to all your standards. However, this is just one of the tools that we're using. Even if you're creating graphics, then you may be using artificial intelligence. That's an overlook clause today.

SPEAKER_01:

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean artificial intelligence, claw leader contracts. I suggest putting one in immediately.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, because I know use artificial intelligence, at least be aware.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, even if you use it for the base of your writing. Because I know that I personally use it for writing ideas, and then when you go from there, but yeah, always do the uh the human input has to be there. Putting in your contracts, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And it could protect you because you wherever the artificial intelligence language model got that information from, could be impringing on someone else's copyright.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's the point of large language models, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Exactly. And if something happens and you're like, we told you we were gonna use AI and we just wasn't gonna be perfect, but cool.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. All right, that's interesting. And the chargeback clause, I think, is very interesting, especially if you provide a service. Yes. And you know, you've delivered the service, you're out, you're time if someone decides to charge you back.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, exactly. And that one helps if you're submitting it to strike or if you're submitting it to square. Hey, look, we have a chargeback clause in there. But it also, I think when a client or somebody sees that, they're like, okay, and in that clause, you can let them know, all right, if you we can commit legal action against you. You that's just one of the things that you just let them know.

SPEAKER_01:

That's just a forewarning. I love that. And so thinking about what you had said earlier about the checklist, tell us about the checklist that you provide that helps entrepreneurs.

SPEAKER_02:

The checklist with the content creators. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. So it pretty much goes through business formation, IP, FTC guidelines. So, like for sponsorship deal, there are a few guidelines that you have to follow. And one of the things you have to make sure that you're at le letting people know that this is an ad or this is sponsored. I think this is something that you'll see on someone that's promoting, whether it be dub skincare, but you let them know that this is an ad, but you also can't exaggerate or lie. We have a few things in there about defamation. So some of the content creators that we work with are they deal with situations where they may be in some kind of drama. But you we let them know that defamation is something that you can get sued for, what defamation means, what libel means, what slander is. So you have to really be careful when you have a huge platform. What stay on that platform? So there's just a few of the things that are on the checklist. And I think one of the main things that we warn people about is the defamation thing. So now you have a big platform, you're making money, and then it's all it's out there, like the proof is out there that you lie, and somebody can prove that this isn't true, that's damages.

SPEAKER_01:

That is true, and we see so much rage baiting going on nowadays, it's just it's crazy. And even with celebrities, so you might be a content creator and you might have a hot take, right?

SPEAKER_02:

I have a hot take on Cardi B. And I think Cardi B baby is not hers or his or whatever it may be. And then if don't have which these people have money, if they really had the time and they felt like it, they could sue you. Make sure you're saying allegedly, or just be careful how you're using your platform. Like I said, FTC guidelines, because there's a lot of guidelines on you letting people know that this I got this product for free. So that's you just make sure you put that into your content. This is a sponsored post. And of course, first and foremost, I believe the checklist starts with creating that business entity and then protecting your IP, your Instagram handle that's to be protected, your website handle that can be protected. Um, right? Your brand deals and your sponsorships protect yourself, how you get paid, whether it be net 30, net 60. Make sure these brands are signing contracts and make sure you're reading all the way through them if you're doing it yourself, if not hire a lawyer.

SPEAKER_01:

And the brand deals are signing your contract if you're the content converter, creator. So they have their own contract, right?

SPEAKER_02:

So some creators have their own contract, but a lot of brands won't sign your contract. They'll send you theirs, but there's nothing wrong with negotiating and sending back your terms. Hey, I'm not giving you all of my rights in perpetuity. You can use it for this limited amount of time or for these uses only, or on only on these social platforms.

SPEAKER_01:

Like I don't want my video on your website or whatever it may be. And I understand that a lot of those are brand deals will be for like, say, a one month kind of thing, or it's a specific period of time or a promotion, but it's not an ongoing.

SPEAKER_02:

Some of the ongoings, they like you, but they'll just be like, let's say, two posts on social media, a 60-second call, securing second calls. Um, and from there, this is how much we'll pay you. But the things that you really have to look at is how they're using your your content. Are they owing this? What would you send them? Do they own it? Because you can license it out to them. Like I can license it out to you. It can only be on your social media pages for 90 days, right? You can use it in ad only for the promotional period. Let's say it's the holiday season, and I'm promoting your Christmas products. I don't want to see the same ad. And then you're not paying me next to your Christmas.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I love that. Yeah. I know that on TikTok it was probably a year or two years ago they had they started the required to say paid partnership when you promoted a product or talked about a product on your videos. So I think that's across the board now. You have to say that you're getting paid for it and it's a label. Yeah, you have to say they get it paid for it or you have to say that you got a product for free. Okay. All right, excellent. This is great. So we've got the checklist that you're gonna offer to that you have available, and we'll make sure we send a link to your to your website. Any other advice about someone who either wants to start to launch a business or rebrand a business, what's the smartest legal move? Obviously, contact a lawyer.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, first and foremost, contact a lawyer, especially if you're investing your time and your money into it. I think starting your own business, especially if you're bootstrapping it, costs a lot of money. But it's better to be proactive than reactive. So we we have a mixture of both. We have a mixture of people that, hey, I started this business and I got received this letter one, or I started this business and somebody copying me. But also we got the on the other side is people who are actually proactive and hey, I don't know what to do, I don't know how to start this business. Can you help me? And we love working with the people who are proactive, but we also help the people that are reactive because sometimes you don't know what you don't know, and that's okay. So, like I said, I think it's better to be proactive than reactive because now you're covered on the front end, and whether that be getting your contracts in order. So if something happens and you, okay, we already drafted the contract before you then come to me and say, Hey, this person didn't pay me or whatever the case may be. So now we have other steps in place to do versus you coming to me and saying, I never had a contract, I don't know what to do. So now our options are very limited. I have to find the cool proof from okay, send me emails or send me text messages and show me proof that this person agreed to do a commodity. And it's different when there's already a signed contract. So now it's much different, and it's a swivel process. So, like I said, have your contracts in order to get your IP in order before you start investing time into that branding, promotional items, shirts, website. You pay for the website domain, or you're paying people to help you market, or you're paying social media, or you're buying all of this stuff for your business, but you haven't even protected it on the front end. And one day you check the mail and you haven't seen the assist letter. So, like I said, and hire a lawyer to do the trademark availability search because you differ tools that aren't available to us than just a normal Google search, but Google or Instagram or getting that website domain may not even be enough. There's some businesses that happen in business, and all they do is word of mouth business, but they have a trademark in there from 2000 or 900.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

They might not be on social media, but they do word of mouth business and they might, they probably are doing well and they may send you a seat and assist letter. They may not, but you don't want to roll the dice.

SPEAKER_01:

No, good point. I know that my listeners are gonna want to connect with you and maybe ask you some more questions and get to know you. Where the best place for can they connect with you?

SPEAKER_02:

LinkedIn is a great place. Let's gate the bokeh on LinkedIn. Email is good. Social media is well at lawyer list on all social media platforms for sure. But I think LinkedIn is probably the best, most easiest way because sometimes all the messages and the comments get filtered out.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, excellent. We'll put those in the show notes. It has been a fascinating conversation. I appreciate you being here with us today, and thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02:

I appreciate this conversation and hopefully anything I said resonates with a few people.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Tons of tips and good information today. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thanks for joining me today for this episode. As we wrap up, I'd love for you to do two things. First, subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode. And if you find value here, I'd love it if you would rate it and review it. That really does make a difference in helping other people to discover this podcast. Second, you can connect with me on LinkedIn to keep up with what I'm currently learning and thinking about. And if you're ready to take the next step with a digital strategist to help you grow your law firm, I'd be honored to help you. Just go to Lawmarketingzone.com to book a call with me. Stay tuned for our next episode next week. Until then, as always, thanks for listening to Leadership in Law Podcast, and be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss the next episode.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Leadership in Law Podcast. Remember, you're not alone on this journey. There's a whole community of law firm owners out there facing similar challenges and striving for the same test. Head over to our website at lawmarketing.com and the architect with data experts to access valuable resources and stay up to pay on the link of the step of the time. And leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

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Marilyn Jenkins

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