In today’s interview, I’m joined by James d’Apice who you may know better as “the guy who does Coffee and A Case Note”. James’ simple but unique way of marketing his practice is to record short case summaries from his local café while he enjoys a nice cup of coffee. Then he uploads them to social media to share his expertise with the world. While it may have started as a bit of fun, CACN is now a source of new business for James at Chamberlains Law Firm.
In this episode, James shares how Coffee and a Case Note has evolved over the years, how it generates new business and some advice for us all to embrace social media in our own businesses.
There’s a lot to love in this episode, but the stand out for me is James’ advice about letting the lawyer mask slip and showing the human underneath. That, and his clear message to “just get on with it” when it comes to video and embracing social media. After all, we’re no longer in the business of selling information, but instead, we’re selling access.
This episode is brought to you by Legally Yours and LawCPD.
About James d’Apice
James is a corporate and commercial litigator practising in Sydney. He uses the internet to promote his practice via a project known as “Coffee and a Case Note”.
James is a Special Counsel at Chamberlains Law Firm. Chamberlains are a full service firm with profound expertise in insolvency and property. At heart they are a Canberran firm but have rapidly grown over the past few years, and continue to. They now have over 100 employees and are in: Perth, Canberra, Newcastle, Sydney.
To connect with James, please search “Coffee and a Case Note” or the hashtag #coffeeandacasenote on your preferred platform. You can find him on LinkedIn, Clubhouse (and just about every other social media platform!) and find out more about Chamberlains Law Firm here.
Quotes from James d’Apice
- “If case notes are good and videos are good, what happens if I combine the two?”
- “When you’re publishing stuff in the market you think not about “me, me, me”, but about “you, you, you”. I’m trying to bring as much value as I can.”
- “Every time you see my face I am putting on the line my reputation as someone who is good at explaining this.”
- “My biggest piece of advice for trying to push people off the ledge is to get them to choose their favourite medium. What are they looking at while they’re waiting for coffee or waiting for the bus? If they’re Instagram people or twitter people or TikTok people, just go with that.”
- “You have things in your head which are valuable and by keeping them to yourself, that is completely fine, what you are charging for in your business then, is information … but we are no longer really in the business of selling information … me and you and people like us are in the business of sharing information and giving information freely and as willingly as we can, and what you and I sell is access.”
- “To be an innovative firm is to be an open-minded firm.”
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Thank you to Legally Yours
This episode is brought to you by Legally Yours, an online legal marketplace that connects clients to fixed-fee and value based pricing lawyers across Australia. For lawyers, Legally Yours also helps innovative legal professionals connect and grow by providing business support services, education, leads and connections to other lawyers who operate beyond the billable hour. To find your legal tribe, head here. For more information about membership, head here.
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