Jessica Dunne, Senior Associate at Farrow-Gillespie Heath Witter in Dallas, joins us on today's show. Jessica talks about the growing demand for elder law attorneys, how to use social media for business development, and highlighting accomplishments on your resume.




Her firm/practice:

Full-service, mid-size, woman-owned
She mostly handles probate, guardianship, and fiduciary litigation and administrations; also adoptions
Growing elderly population so the needs for these services are skyrocketing
Most of the lawyers practicing in this area are older and are aging out, so there is a great opportunity for younger lawyers
Exciting to be in a high-demand practice
It can be hard to break into initially since many of the firms that handle these matters are small/solo, and/or they aren't in a position to train new lawyers
She took a general litigation position right out of law school, but wound up lateraling to work with a former probate judge who she had developed a relationship with once he left the bench and needed an associate
Easier to go from general litigation to probate as opposed to the reverse

COVID Update (8/20)

Still working mostly from home, though she can go into the office if needed
She can do most of what she does from home, and then hearings have all been by Zoom and phone, which has worked well
clients like not having to get to the courthouse, especially with a more elderly population
please mute yourself when you aren't talking
Keep courtroom decorum / look presentable
Find a quiet place
She is hoping/expecting both of these to continue post-COVID
Networking is challenging/different now
Best avenue for business development is social media

Advice for lawyers in practice

She learned early how to look at a case in a forward looking matter; anticipate needs and don't wait to be asked
Ex. find the medical expert for testator capacity if that's at issue
Ex. if you are asked to draft a motion, draft the order that you would ask the judge to sign granting the motion
Ex. put together everything you need for a prove up hearing, not just one or a few components
Put together the timeline of important facts and documents at the very beginning
add Bates numbers to related exhibits that pertain/prove those
can potentially be the outline of your opening statement; the theme can come from it
helps keep you organized
makes your discovery more effective
Communicate, communicate, communicate
respond to emails/calls of your bosses/colleagues/clients
Business Development
Build relationships
in the community
with other lawyers; they can be your best referral source
make sure other lawyers know what you do
Social Media
Ex. she diagrammed a complicated heirship tree on her daughter's playroom wall and posted it on Facebook with a clever caption and a #getawill hashtag. This originated four estate planning clients for her firm (and she doesn't even do the wills/estate planning)

Advice for lawyers in job seeking

no spelling/grammar errors
even in thank you notes (which you can send by email)
show on your resume what you actually did
did you draft/argue/win motions?
do you draft/object/respond to discovery?
do you prep depo outlines or do you take the depos? If so, fact or expert?
what did you do at trial?
what role in an appeal?
Highlight results
even for things that settle or get worked out, you can say "negotiated favorable result..."

Rapid Fire Questions

Name one trait/characteristic you most want to see in an Associate: self-starter / takes initiative / doesn't need to be told
What habit has been key to your success: making to-do lists or action item lists for litigation cases
Favorite app/productivity tool: Action-Item Lists - put everything you might do in a litigation case onto a master list so you can keep pushing the ball forward; also helps you hit billing requirements
Favorite social distancing activity: Enjoying the pool a their new house (purchased to accommodate their growing family!)
Favorite legal movie: Legally Blonde

Thanks again to Jessica Dunne for joining us on today's show!