Attorney of the Month Petro Kostiv The Digital Deposition Group Vendor ProfileT he lockdown wasn’t all bad, was it? We worked in our pajamas, we baked bread, we got creative, we en- joyed less traffic and bluer skies, and much, much more. Most importantly, we had a little more time to flip through the pages of Attorney at Law Magazine. That’s a trend I hope we carry over! This issue, I hope you enjoy reading about Attorney of the Month Petro Kostiv. Practicing immigration law and more, Kostiv understands what it’s like to stake one’s claim in a new land, and he continues to plant that stake around the world. Most will agree that one of the most important changes to come from the lockdown is that the legal community has been forced to embrace technology in its practices. The Digital Depo- sition Group, profiled in the issue, has been ahead of the game and continues to make the practice of law simpler, easier and timelier for all. Now that things are up and running again, don’t you want to tell the community about YOUR practice or service? Drop me a line and let’s talk! Happy Reading! Sarah Torres Publisher storres@attorneyatlawmagazine.com (323) 539-3983 Attorney at Law Magazine is published by: Target Market Media Publications Inc. Ken Minniti PRESIDENT & CEO OF Target Market Media Publications, Inc. EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER/ EDITOR IN CHIEF Attorney at law Magazine Howard LaGraffe VICE PRESIDENT Caitlin Keniston EDITOR Sarah Torres LOS ANGELES PUBLISHER Jaqueline Dávila GRAPHIC DESIGN Susan Cushing Veronica Jauregui ASSISTANT EDITOR Ellen Cohen Dimple Dang Erin Joyce Laura Reathford Caroline Sayers CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Rebecca Glazer Jill Huse Kerry Price Frederick Shelton CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Armando Antonio Images PHOTOGRAPHY Copyright ©2020, Target Market Media all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited. Advertising rates on request. Bulk third class (standard) mail. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Attorney at Law Magazine & Target Market Media cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by authors. Corporate Office: 5828 North 7th Street, Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ 85014 Phone (480) 219-9716 www.tmmpublications.com • info@tmmpublications.com LETTER FROM Publisher Northern Alabama | Atlanta | Chicago | Dallas | Ft. Lauderdale Jacksonville | Los Angeles | Miami | Minnesota North Carolina Triangle | Ohio | Philadelphia | Phoenix | San Antonio Salt Lake City | Middle Tennessee | Washington D.C. DIMPLE DANG LEGAL MARKETING LAURA REATHAFORD EMPLOYMENT LAW CAROLINE SAYERS EMPLOYMENT LAW ERIN JOYCE LEGAL ETHICS ELLEN COHEN LEGAL COACH Correction Notice: In the previous issue, Erin Joyce’s article, “Prac- ticing Law in Interesting Times,” had several block quotes that were mistakenly designed in-line and footnoted sources that were removed. Her corrected article is available online and on page 30. We apologize for this error. CONTRIBUTING Editors ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 6 NO. 3 4TABLE OF Contents 12 6 Gary Froonjian of Digital Deposition Group Vendor Spotlight 9 Three Tips to Adapt and Market Your Law Firm in Uncertain Times By Dimple Dang 10 What’s a Growth Mindset, Why Do I Need It and How Can I Cultivate One? By Ellen Cohen 12 Petro Kostiv Attorney of the Month 21 How Strong Corporate Guidance Can Prevent Seven- Figure Liability in Employment Cases By Laura Reathaford and Caroline Sayers 22 From Jobless to Employed: How I Switched Practice Areas During the Great Recession By Rebecca Glatzer 24 Client Experience: The Link Between Legal Counsel and Business Advisor By Jill Huse and Kerry Price 26 Will COVID-19 Bring You the Damocles Sword or Midas Touch? By Frederick Shelton 30 Practicing Law in Interesting Times By Erin Joyce SPECIAL SECTIONS 28 Talk of the Town AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 5AALM: How long have you and your family been in the court re- porting industry? GF: My father-in-law was involved in the legal transcription busi- ness in New York City in the late 1970s. He was transcribing from belt media. These were the pre-cassette days. I became involved in 1991 providing legal transcription to the Superior Court system in New Jersey. So I would say we have been involved for 45 years—almost a half-century. AALM: What are some of the highlights of your career in the legal industry? GF: I helped convert the court system in New Jersey from stenog- raphy to recording on 4-track tapes. We went head to head with ste- nographers to determine who could produce a more accurate, timely transcript of the court proceedings, and we prevailed. I was also involved in creating licensing curriculum for legal tran- scriptionists in New Jersey. Back in the day, they had to pass the state test to become certified to transcribe court proceedings. This upset the VAR association and the Court Reporters Union. They were vehe- mently opposing analog transcription. I attempted to bring 4-track recording to the deposition industry in 1997 in Manhattan. While I was not successful because the Rules of the Court disallowed it, I never gave up on analog/digitally recording depositions. I consider this lesson a highlight in my career. I’ve founded and created three legal transcription companies, two digital deposition companies and one medical transcription company. I never used stenography in my career. Gary Froonjian Vendor Spotlight The digital technology we employ also extend to litigation support. Impeaching witnesses using our software has never been easier.” of Digital Deposition Group ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 6 NO. 3 6Most recently, when COVID-19 shut down the world in mid-March, we were one of the first small com- panies in the country to begin con- ducting remote videoconferencing for depositions, allowing attorneys to continue deposing from at home. AALM: Why do you think it has taken the industry so long to switch from stenography to digital? GF: The legal industry has been no- toriously slow to embrace technology, and not just digitally. They were using WordPerfect years after the rest of the world moved to MS Word and other much more user-friendly software packages. Change is uncomfortable and can be scary. Attorneys were too busy to educate themselves and make changes. The old ways were working, but only barely. AALM: How has Digital Deposi- tion Group answered some of the challenges in the court reporting in- dustry? GF: The turnaround time to receive a transcript has been unacceptable. It can take stenographers 30 days to produce a transcript. If you want it sooner, it will cost more. Ten days is our standard turnaround time. Scheduling depositions has also been a tremendous hassle for attor- neys. In fact, it’s one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard over the years. To schedule with us, an attorney need only email a copy of the Notice of Deposition to us or visit our website. We’ll confirm via email. Easy! Reliability that a court reporter will cover your deposition has been an- other problem. There is such a short- age of stenographers that they are turning away 8-12% of the business. Steno schools are non-existent. Grad- uating numbers are not keeping up with the loss through attrition. Our company eliminates the stenographer so reliability is never an issue. Historically, billing was created to be extremely complex and allow the agencies to charge for anything and everything. We’ve simplified billing to reduce expenses for all parties. It needed to be simplified, and this is what we have done. AALM: How else have you inte- grated digital technology into your agency? GF: We recently started using re- mote videoconferencing depositions. The convenience, user friendliness and cost were eye openers to the at- torneys and law firms. In 2018, we also introduced digi- tal reporting using laptops equipped with recording software, microphones and three redundant backup systems to effectively record audio and video and provide the client with all of that information for free at the end of the depositions. AALM: What are some of the ad- vantages of digital reporting? GF: Digital reporting produces ver- ifiable and accurate transcripts, which are produced quickly and synced. The attorneys do not have to rely on any human being’s hearing what is said; it is recorded regardless of simulta- neous speech. Also, the labor force is unlimited. For the most part, digital reporters have grown up with this technology and know it even better than I do! There is never a shortage of reporters. The digital technology we employ also extends to litigation support. Impeaching witnesses using our software has never been easier. Our transcripts are delivered with built-in player software and contains synchro- nized audio/video and text, and they contain hyperlinked exhibits/docu- ments. While playing the transcript, the user can easily copy excerpts and paste portion them paste or create a new file that can be played back in court. AALM: What effect has the quar- antine had on your business and the legal community? GF: COVID-19 forced the legal in- dustry to trust and embrace digital technology by using videoconferenc- ing to conduct depositions and, in some cases, court hearings. Attorneys were kicking and screaming to stay in the 20th century, but they couldn’t anymore. Now that they have had to use the technology, they’re prob- ably wondering why they didn’t do it sooner. We trust they’ll continue to move forward incorporating technol- ogy into their practices. AALM: With all the new technolo- gies you’re using, does a deposition service need to be local anymore? GF: Not at all! We are based in Florida, but we have been conducting remote depositions throughout The United States, including Los Angeles and New York, and there are times when we do not even know where the person is located. We’ve provided the same high level of customer service that we’ve given to our local clients for decades. AALM: Has artificial intelligence affected the court reporting industry? If so, how? GF: While AI is not near 100%, it currently can accurately capture and convert speech to text with 80%+ ac- curacy. This reduces the time and cost of transcription. Ultimately, I see it producing a very accurate draft that can be distributed at the end of the deposition. AALM: How would a client begin to use your service? GF: All they need to do is schedule a deposition via the website or email, as described above. AALM: What sets The Digital De- position Group apart from the rest of the competition? GF: We have nearly 50 years of ex- perience in analog/digital technol- ogy. We understand the benefits and embrace enhancements in technol- ogy. We eliminate the client’s worry about coverage. We provide audio, video and the digital reporters notes on a USB flash drive for free at the end of every in-person deposition. If the deposition is held remotely, we can still provide audio and video upon the completion of the deposi- tion. We produce a 3D product for download that syncs the audio, video and transcript, allowing attorneys to watch, hear and see the deposition in just 10 days. And we do not charge for discovery video at every deposition. Most importantly, we are committed to developing new technologies that improve the experience for all. The Digital Deposition Group (855) 806-4455 www.thedigitaldepositiongroup.com gary@thedigitaldepositiongroup.com AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 7T he pandemic has forced busi- nesses and law firms to change the way they do business. Cur- rently, in-person meetings are literally obsolete and have primarily trans- ferred to Zoom meetings. Because COVID-19 pandemic has caused such a disruption in our day- to-day lives, people, platforms and businesses have been forced to change the way they operate. In many states, courts have been closed for weeks or at least limited in their capacity. Be- cause of this, what worked in your marketing last year may not work this year. Implementing a marketing plan that delivers results will now require you to re-evaluate the plan that you laid out based on what is going on in the marketplace. Below are three tips to help you adapt and market your law firm in uncertain times: 1. Get creative and outside Your Comfort Zone. Online visibility is more important than ever as many law firms are having to work with cli- ents remotely and in-person meetings have been put on hold. It is especially critical to stay top of mind with your clients and potential clients. There are several ways you can do this. Start your own daily or weekly show on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. You can also have a YouTube Chan- nel or live show on YouTube. It is not something that has to be lengthy. However, the most important element should be that it should provide value and useful information. If you are able to generate engagement with you au- dience, that is also ideal because the more engagement you get on your show or video, the more the social media algorithms show it to a broader audience. It can be educational, it can answer most commonly asked ques- tions from the public, it can be com- posed of interviews with other attor- neys/thought leaders, or you can even do a solo show. If you want a broader reach and don’t like being on video, consider launching a podcast. You don’t have to know how to do all the tech behind launching a podcast, you just have to hire someone to do that for you and focus on recording your podcast seg- ments. A podcast is also another great way to send people to your website for more information or provide them with a free PDF download with valu- able tips and information which will allow you to grow your email list. If you are not comfortable with public speaking on being on camera, consider joining a local Toastmasters Group in your area. this will help you get the polish and confidence you need to go live on camera or record your podcast. 2. Expand your offerings and ways to serving your clients. It is important to offer remote meetings during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The best way to do this is to set up a calendar system such as Calendly. Diversify your offerings by provid- ing more flexible options. If you took only 1-hour in-person meetings, it may make sense to also offer a 20- to 30-minute consultation for clients who may not need a full hour. You can also use Zoom or other conferencing platforms such as Blue Jeans to com- municate with your clients remotely. Also, be willing to be flexible dur- ing this time and offer a few time slots during the evening or even weekend to accommodate clients that may be overburdened with trying to work from home, homeschool their chil- dren and handle all the other house- hold chores that have now been am- plified. Your clients will appreciate your flexibility and are more likely to work with you in the future based on the little things that you do today. Furthermore, consider putting together legal packages for clients whose needs are more basic and pri- marily related to filing paperwork. 3. Grow your email list and com- municate with your list. Having an email list is one of the most essential parts of cultivating referrals in your practice. You can grow your list by offering a lead magnet. A lead mag- net is a PDF download (that provides tips or information relevant to your practice area) that one can download by providing their email address and name. It requires you to set up and integrate with an email provider such as Active Campaign or Mailchimp. Having a lead magnet on your website is the easiest way to grow your email list. Once you have an email list, make sure to send out emails 2 to 4 times a month to your list. Now is the best time to implement some new ways of doing business for your law firm! DIMPLE DANG | Legal Marketing Dimple Dang is a legal marketing specialist and consultant with more than 15 years of experience in the legal industry. Her expertise in marketing includes website design, email marketing, SEO, blogging, PPC, social media marketing, podcast production and video production. She speaks professionally at many professional groups and organizations all over the United States. To connect with Dimple, email her directly at dimple@digitalmediadiva. com or send her a message on LinkedIn. Three Tips to Adapt and Market Your Law Firm in Uncertain Times AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 9Next >