IAM1004- CEO Allows Laws Firm to Get Things Done

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00:14 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:42 – Gresham Heckless

Hello, Hello, Hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO podcast. And I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Alicia Pierre of Legally Techie. Alicia, it's awesome to have you on the show.

00:51 – Alicia Pierre

Yes, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited and happy to be here.

00:55 – Gresham Heckless

Definitely super excited to have you on and happy to hear about all the awesome things that you're doing. And before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Alicia so you can hear about all the awesome things she's doing. Her name is Alicia and she is the CEO of Legally Techie. She helps small high-volume law firms become virtual by utilizing Google Workspace. Google Workspace allows your law firm to get things done and work with others anywhere using any device. Alicia, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:22 – Alicia Pierre

Yes, I am.

01:23 – Gresham Heckless

Awesome, well, let's do it then. So to kind of kick everything off, I just wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you guys started what I call your CEO story.

01:33 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, so I've always had this thing with problem-solving since a little girl, I always enjoyed figuring out how things work. I am a person who reads manuals. I know people usually throw them away when they get stuff, but I read manuals, and I read fine print. I want to know how things, words, the kinks, and everything like that, just for the fun of it. And then my tech journey kind of started with American Express. I was a junior computer engineer there with them working on their new accounts, connecting to big databases there, and creating code for that using Pega. And I became certified in Pega.

After that, I moved forward to the legal industry to serve my community better. And for the last 5 years, I've been working with attorneys. The last company I was with used Google Workspace within their boutique law firm, and that just combined my love for tech and then the legal industry as well. So I know a lot of attorneys, you know, are not so familiar with tech stuff. So me coming in, I became that point of contact, you know, I became that point of contact when things need to be done and so forth like that for IT. So that's kind of my, how I got started where I'm at.

02:44 – Gresham Heckless

Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And so funny, because I think I was reading the biography or autobiography he might have written himself about Mark Cuban. And I remember he used to work in a lot of tech shops. And 1 of the things that he said is that the reason that he was able to kind of be that expert, that go-to person, is because he would read the manuals because nobody would ever read the manual. So anytime people had issues, they would go to him because he knew everything about like each of the devices. So kind of sounds like you've been able to kind of build that in the same way, that desire to kind of solve problems and still be and have that knowledge just because that's just of interest to you.

03:18 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, for sure. I still keep the manuals here too. So like if things do arise, I'm flipping through the pages and making sure like, okay, what do they say when that happens? Most people just throw those things away. So yeah.

03:32 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, so funny When we first connected, I think we talked for, for, you know, it's about 30 minutes, but like 5 minutes into I had learned everything additional about Google Workspace I hadn't even known about. So definitely, you know, you're, you're valid in what you're saying and being able to kind of understand that. So I know you touched on it a little bit. I want to drill down a little bit more and hear a little bit more about how you work with your clients and how that process goes.

03:56 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, so Legally Techie, my company, really helps boutique lock firms, not only with mitigating data security risks but also with increasing their productivity resulting in cutting overhead costs. So not having to pay for extra services or subscriptions, because Google does provide it within their branded email that they pay for monthly. So I kind of help them maximize that first. And if you're not crazy about it, okay, I'm not gonna be a Google purist. You know, go ahead and use those third-party applications, but at least know what you have so that if, you know, you do need to budget, you know that there are alternatives out there.

So, and it's really cool because it allows these small law firms to have like an IT infrastructure of big law, but just a smaller budget, right? And I know a lot of those who leave the corporate law, they're leaving Outlook and they wanna have their brand and email, but they're just creating Gmail. So they're just like on 2 different platforms, don't really know what's going on. So I kind of helped them with guiding that process and being there for them to make sure they make the right decisions.

04:59 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, that makes so much sense. And definitely, correct me if I'm wrong, like a lot of the beauty of, I guess, I'm a big Android Gmail guy myself. So let me say I'm completely biased. But at the same time, you have an opportunity to use Gmail, but you get it with your branded URL. So if you're still comfortable with the Gmail infrastructure, and I guess some of the tools, you get that and kind of on steroids, it sounds like with Google Workspace, right?

05:22 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, it's amazing what you can do with it, because I think a lot of people don't realize they give you this admin console, that's what it's called, it's a dashboard, wherein the backend, you can implement certain rules as a business owner or law firm owner. You know when you have that paralegal or that receptionist that is coming in so that your data is protected they're not just forwarding emails and stuff like that. Because most of the hacks that happen with law firms just because people don't know, they're not educated on what those threats are. So once they know what they are, and then they're protected from it, it kind of gives that, you know, barrier of protection.

05:56 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, that's huge. It's definitely important, of course, to have the tools to be able to use it, but even more important to know how to use the tool. So I love how you are able to bridge that gap and help people to make sure that they're protected, especially for, you know, attorneys and people in the legal industry that need to have kind of, I guess stuff that's under high security.

06:13 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah. Most of them don't have the budget for an IT department or IG team or even know where to begin. You know, when they're starting off their new firm, a lot of solo attorneys just get up something on Wix or Squarespace and they get an email, right? But they're not taking into consideration all the data security that needs to be done or what's even been given to them once they have Google Workspace. So it's like an IT consulting service I'm providing for these small guys.

06:40 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, absolutely. Small but mighty, they get that opportunity to have that in place when you're able to kind of lean and glean all that information and knowledge that you have. So absolutely appreciate that. And I want to ask you for what I call now your secret sauce. And this could be for yourself personally or your business or a combination of both. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

06:59 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah. So my company is very unique because most legal tech companies out there, are trying to sell a product that they build, whether it's contract management, automation system, whether it's a whole automation world that they build and they're trying to pitch it to these corporations. But me, it's like you already have these in your firm. I'm not trying to pitch anything new. I'm showing you how to use what you already have and cut overhead costs, you know, move that bottom line a bit better. So that's kind of unique in my position of being in legal tech, helping them to maximize desisting products and services they already have, and finding alternatives that they're not crazy about. So that's 1 thing I would say, you know, makes me unique. And then I'm only, I'm specializing only in Google Workspace. I'm not trying to do Outlook or another third-party application, this specialization really helps me to make sure I'm doing the research, staying up to date on one product, and making sure that my clients are really maximizing it and building that strong, secure and scalable law firm that I think every solo attorney wants eventually.

08:04 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, absolutely. And like I said earlier, I almost feel like we may not even realize the capabilities we have within Google Workspace if we have that set up. And just again, in like 5 minutes, we talked a little bit about that, but I almost feel like, and I don't know if you find this when you talk with clients that they may not realize that Google Workspace can do certain things. So they're looking for another alternative when really they might have the capabilities right within if they are able to kind of leverage it.

08:32 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, I mean, 1 example, and there's plenty is Dropbox. Like it does, Google Drive has the same capability as Dropbox, even better, it's within your environment. So you're not, nothing's really leaving your cloud, secure cloud environment. Then you have alternatives like Google Sites, which allows you to have like a little landing page if you need or you can even have it as an intranet site for your firm like an announcement board, you know, these all these little gadgets you get to have. You don't need to worry about a Microsoft 365 subscription you know like you're when that thing expires you cannot even click on that document.

09:03 – Gresham Heckless: 

You cannot.

09:06 – Alicia Pierre

But Google gives you Docs, Sheets, and Slides, gives you that same document management and processing system all included. So you're just cutting cost after cost after cost. And if you don't like Zoom, okay, you have Google Meet as well. These are just alternatives that you have within your reach, especially if you don't have the budget to have a whole bunch of systems. And Google Workspace integrates with Clio, Practice Panther, Action Steps, so that your calendars all sync, Your emails can be assigned to a case for eDiscovery. So it just helps you have a really efficient law firm for sure.

09:43 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, absolutely. And I imagine even more secure too, because you don't have all those different pieces and programs that you have to try to make sure that they're all secure.

09:50 – Alicia Pierre

I'm telling you, yeah.

09:52 -Gresham Heckless

Nice. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

10:04 – Alicia Pierre

So I would say most of us start to communicate within Gmail, right? So using your Gmail as a file cabinet and not a storage center that you go visit, you know, So I have my Gmail very organized. If any advertisement, I'm not gonna go back to where I just delete it, and I also have my things labeled and your tasks. So one thing that helps me to really be efficient in the mornings when checking emails is implementing the parking lot method with something we use that MX if it's something that needs to be done later, it's not that really urgent, just put it to the side and we'll discuss it after I finish all my emails because if I try to answer each one, click on each one, I'm already an hour gone into and then I still have like 40 emails still on red.

So within Gmail, you can actually task your emails. You can snooze it and you can also label it. So that really helps me to really just, okay, I need to do this later around 02:00, task it, and then I can snooze it, which puts it back unread after an hour or so. So it's pretty awesome.

11:08 – Gresham Heckless

I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client, or if you have to do a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

11:19 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, so I would say, I mean, we are wrong for me not to mention Google Workspace, right? So get a branded email. You know, if you want to really start a business, having a Gmail kind of just lowers your credibility. You don't see Apple or Walmart saying Walmart at Gmail because you won't even trust that email. So if you kind of show yourself as a business, you can easily just get a Google workspace, just $6 a month per user, and just have a branded email so you can really show your clients that you're serious about what you're doing.

It's not just a side hobby. And if I can go back in time, I would definitely tell myself to hire a professional for certain areas. You know, I think as CEOs, we want to, or when we start a new business, we want to just do everything and figure everything out because we're on a low budget. But if you can find a professional and get like a monthly installment plan, whatever you got to do, it really saves you a lot of headaches, whether it's for marketing, whether it's for filing, you know, your trademark, just hire: a professional because, yeah, it can get messy once things are done the wrong way.

12:26 – Gresham Heckless

Yeah, I appreciate you sharing both of those nuggets. And yes, absolutely. I see so many people and I think we even talked about it when we first connected about people that have the at Gmail or even at Hotmail or whatever, like that doesn't to me, you know, present like a profession as professional as it could be, I should say company. And there's a lot of people that are doing some really phenomenal work.

And sometimes somebody might see that Gmail and not consider that person to be as serious about their business or investing in their business. So I think it's so important to kind of take that, that, that I think pretty quick step to be able to set that up. And then 2, I absolutely, you know, love what you said, you know, about, you know, making sure that you, you know, put yourself in the, in the best light possible. And when you're able to kind of understand that and you're able to put those ducks in a row, then that really lets things go to another level.

13:12 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, for sure.

13:13 – Gresham Heckless

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. And so now I wanna ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping our different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:23 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, so it actually took me some time for this. I don't know. I felt like it was such a profound question, you know, I like looking up the root word. Where did it come from? You know, So I think the first word that caught my attention was chief, that's chief executive officer. And then when I looked up the root word for chief, it comes from the word head Latin. And it just made me think of how your head doesn't try to do everything, it delegates and dignifies.

So I think that as a CEO, you know, don't try to do everything yourself, delegate work that needs to be done and dignify the person who does it. You know, the, you don't see your head jealous at the eyes or the ears for doing the tasks that they're doing, they're just happy that it's being done. And nor are they talking, you know, for, you know, figuratively not talking down anything to them. So I think being able to delegate and dignify is something a CEO could implement. And it benefits everyone because everyone feels like they're really part of a team and not just following earlier.

14:20 – Gresham Heckless

Nice. Absolutely love that definition is definitely, I thought you were going to say you read the manual to see what it is, but that's definitely, you know, just like that. And I love that, that the head analogy, because in the definition, of course, because I think that as you said in your nugget, the second part of your nugget, so many times we try to do everything and there's an opportunity cost to trying to do everything because whenever you're doing something sometimes that restricts you from doing something else. But if we understand and can recognize those experts, we can understand like, these are gonna be the eyes, these are gonna be the fingers to the business and this is what's gonna make it all work, then it allows us to really be that head, to be in that lane and really to help out all the other parts of the body. So I love that analogy and I love that definition.

15:02 – Alicia Pierre

Thank you, thank you. Yeah, I guess I did read the manual.

15:06 – Gresham Heckless

Yes, absolutely. Well, also, Alicia, I truly appreciate that definition and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best they can get out of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

15:22 – Alicia Pierre

Yeah, One additional thing I would say is definitely networking, connecting with people who are in the same field as you or your potential clients. And because once you start wanting to provide services to these individuals, you never want to just go straight into pitching, but see what their problem areas are. And then once you know what their problems are, then you'll know if you either have a solution or not, instead of assuming that you know what their solution is. So I think networking and just being around the people that you actually wanna work with and figure out what their conversations are and their worries allows you to have better leverage when it's time to provide a solution for them. If you wanna get in touch with me, I'm mostly on LinkedIn, but I'm also can be found on my business page on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and also YouTube channel, which I provide quick tutorials on Google Workspace for lawyers.

16:12 – Gresham Heckless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much again, Alicia. What we will do is we'll have the links and information and the show notes as well too, so that everybody can get ahold of you and get in contact with all the awesome work you're doing. But I truly appreciate the time you took, appreciate the work you do, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:26 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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