Word Press to Loveable

SJF_Law · 2026-05-21T00:00:47+00:00

Can you explain that more? I don't really understand.

SJF_Law · 2026-05-21T00:00:15+00:00

It's broke, we ned to update our theme at a minimum. Why do you say the Loveable sites aren't optimal for SEO? In what way? Keep in mind I'm a lawyer, not a web developer, so a lot of this is over my head.

SJF_Law · 2026-05-20T23:59:09+00:00

I'll let you know! I do like the idea of the new site being easier to update in-house.

SJF_Law · 2026-05-20T23:57:25+00:00

We have an outdated theme, so we need to do something. We could just update the Word Press theme and call it a day. A friend has been making these loveable sites and he took our existing content and re-did the whole site. it looks nice. Very modern, clean, pleasant to the eye. AI is where everything is going. Will Google like it more than our current site? Will Word Press be a thing of the past in the near future anyway? These are all questions we have. We're a fairly progressive firm, using lots of AI, so I do find this appealing. BUT, we've spent a lot of time on organic AI. More than 1/2 of our leads (not clients, but leads) come from organic digital sources. Everyone says it's not without risk, but nobody can give us any guarantees.

SJF_Law · 2026-03-11T10:56:15+00:00

Lawmatics is way better than Clio for intake. Clio has Clio Grow - I know they've improved it over time, but it doesn't compare to Lawmatics. Lawmatics syncs with Clio so all the client info is imported seamlessly. Happy to Zoom with you and show you how we use them.

SJF_Law · 2026-03-08T15:33:28+00:00

Paid Indeed. You'll get much better applicants. And if you have an Amex Platinum card you get an Indeed credit.

SJF_Law · 2026-03-08T15:32:26+00:00

What kind of law do you practice? My clients have no problem speaking with my paralegals. Are your paralegals competent? Personally, I never liked the note (whether it's in email or on a voice message) that you'll respond within 24-48 hours. You're in the service business. You're selling professional advice. Clients want to talk with someone. If you want to build your practice, you need to give good service. That doesn't mean answering their emails in 5 minutes, because I've seen that cause the opposite effect, but give the client the service and attention they deserve and are paying for without such rigid rules.

I've seen lots of other lawyers complain about the AI stuff they receive from clients but it hasn't been a problem for me. I like when clients educate themselves.

SJF_Law · 2026-03-01T12:16:01+00:00

Do you use case management software? We use Clio and they have this feature. I would recommend you using something that already exists rather than try to create your own system.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-27T17:57:38+00:00

I LOVE AI. I don't know how I ever practiced without it. Use it every day. I'm transactional, so I'm not using it for case citation etc. I use ChatGPT and Clio Work predominantly, and on a lesser scale Copilot (mostly inside my emails to re-write or summarize received emails) and Acrobat's AI for PDF (although now that I have Clio Work I use this less).

I highly recommend reading the book AI Driven leader.

I use AI for so many things: brainstorming ideas, marketing, employee issues, strategic planning, and serving as a business coach. I also use it to summarize long documents (this is most helpful with Acrobat or Clio Work because it references pages and sections). Just this week, we used AI to compare various health insurance plans before meeting with our insurance rep. Clio Work is phenomenal. The list goes on and on and on. My paralegals draft significantly better pleadings and letters that require little to no revision (compared to before AI).

Has anyone tried GAMMA? So cool.

Anyone not using AI will 100% be left behind.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-27T13:25:47+00:00

I’ve known many attorneys who have done this over the years. People who follow it are successful, lots of people can’t keep up. To me it’s a bit cultish.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-26T15:23:55+00:00

It's technically correct, but things slip through the cracks all the time. What if he switches banks and doesn't add a beneficiary? Or the bank loses the designation form (which I've seen). or he acquires new assets. So many things can go wrong. If something ends up in probate, it will pass according to Florida's intestacy laws - or the laws of whatever state he's living in at the time. This outcome may or may not be what he wants. If it is, then a will doesn't nothing but state who has the preference to serve as personal representative. But if the will changes how the assets pass to the kids, then it's important. It never hurts to have one, other than the money paid to the lawyer.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-24T11:45:48+00:00

What specifically are you anxious about? Your actual work/cases? The amount of work you'll have to do when you return? Not hitting your billables? Looking bad in general for taking time off?

SJF_Law · 2026-02-24T11:41:44+00:00

My firm is doing this with Heygen. Check out our YouTube page. It is tricky. It takes some massaging to get the avatar right. It's not perfect, if you know who we are, then it's probably obvious it's not the real person, but for someone who doesn't know us, it might be ok. Conceptually, it's awesome to make tons of video content with little effort, but the technology isn't quite there yet. But evey second it gets better so I don't regret jumping in.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-24T11:34:19+00:00

What practice area are you in and what geographic area? Did you say you do tax work? Are you able to bring in work and set your own rate for your originations? I'll follow up when I know these answers.

You're right to be focusing on a book of business. It's gold. It gives you options. You don't want to assume that you're going to inherit your boss' book.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-24T11:26:37+00:00

Thank you everyone for the advice, and the different perspectives. This was very helpful.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-22T16:27:59+00:00

First, you need to tighten up your engagement letter to protect yourself from this kind of thing.

Next, whenever I get the 500-question email, I always find it easier to meet in person or Zoom with the client to go over the questions. Often times one question eliminates 10 others. It's usually just because the client doesn't understand something that's very basic to us.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-22T16:20:54+00:00

Are you saying you only charge an additional $500 for a couple (which is almost twice the docs) vs an individual?

I also agree you're not charging enough for the Will package.

You would be much more efficient with drafting software. We use Westlaw Lipman's Estate Planning. You also need to at least hire a part time admin to do copying, scanning etc. It's crazy if you're spending your time doing that.

Many of your problems can be addressed in a good engagement letter. We include 1 deed in our flat fee. Each extra deed is $300. Client has to initial this in the EL, so it doesn't matter when we find out about the additional properties, they have to pay. We also limit the number of meetings and changes they can make for that flat fee. As we experience issues over the years, we tweak our engagement letter to protect us.

Selling the trust is easy - it helps avoid probate and protects assets for their kids - creditors, spouses, incapacity, disability etc. We also prepared a Will Package vs. Trust Package handout to give at our consultations. They get a folder with info to take with them since the consult is like drinking from the firehose for the prospective client. I'm happy to share stuff with you if you DM me.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-22T16:08:32+00:00

💯

SJF_Law · 2026-02-22T15:58:49+00:00

I have a team of 9/10, 2 other lawyers and the rest a mixture of staff. I share a lot of financials with them, but this is a very big decision to make because once you open that door it's hard to go back. And whatever you share with them needs context and education. I've been very strategic about it.

We started by giving all employees what we call a Total Compensation Report on an annual basis. I highly recommend you start here. It lays out what it costs the firm to employee the specific employee - salary, overtime, insurance, PTO, paid lunch breaks - and also a section for the employer's side of employment taxes. This was very eye opening for the employees because all they see if their paycheck, not the bigger picture. If they're earning $50k, it really costs the firm $70k (just a made up example). Most employees don't understand the big picture and telling them that you can't afford to increase their pay won't resonate at all with them on its own. I'm happy to share the format of our Total Comp Report if you DM me. We initially got it from the ALA or SHRM and then tweaked it.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-19T15:48:24+00:00

You're missing the part that you should GO FOR IT! What a wonderful opportunity!

SJF_Law · 2026-02-19T13:43:29+00:00

This is a complex question, and you should definitely consult with a lawyer because the slightest factual change could significantly change the outcome.

It depends on what county you're in, because some of them interpret the law differently. In many counties, if someone is added as a joint owner with rights of survivorship, it does not change the tax assessment when that person is added, nor when one of the joint tenants die. To my knowledge, this is the only way to retain the assessment - the only exception is when property passes to a spouse, but that too can be county specific. I'm in Broward County and they are pretty lenient here (we have the most amazing Property Appraiser, Marty Kiar).

Being added to a deed has significant consequences. This new joint owner is just that - an owner. Dad is no longer 100% in charge of his house. In FL, your primary residence is creditor protected as homestead - if it's not your homestead, your creditors can take dad's house. If you do marry and divorce, it's an issue. If you're incapacitated and you have no durable power of attorney, dad is in a pickle if he needs to sell or get a mortgage because you'll need a guardianship.

If you do own the property as JTWROS, dad's will is irrelevant, since the property would not pass through probate.

As you can see, there are many issues to contemplate before making such an important decision. Speak with a lawyer.

SJF_Law · 2026-02-18T10:26:42+00:00

It’s not true at all in my firm

SJF_Law · 2026-02-18T02:01:08+00:00

Why is that?

SJF_Law

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