Presentation to University of Nebraska law students and young lawyers on the secrets to a productive and satisfying career.

1. 1
What is the Secret to a
Productive and
Satisfying Law Career?
Cordell M. Parvin
http://www.cordellparvin.com

2. 2
Law School Teaches
Think Like a Lawyer

3. 3
Law School Does Not Teach
Satisfying
Life

4. 4
Law School Does Not Teach
Productive
Career

5. 5

6. 6

7. The Doors Light My Fire

8. 8
Law Career 2015 and Beyond

9. 9
What it Takes to Succeed

10. 10
And Have a Fulfilling Life

11. 11
Fulfilling Life
AVOID
The Secrets
Career Success

12. 12 Secret 1

13. 13
Attitude
“The pessimist sees
difficulty in every
opportunity. The
optimist sees the
opportunity in every
difficulty.”
How You See Things

14. 14
How You See Things
More Successful
!
Yes, but
!
Sure, how
Less Successful

15. 15
How You See Things
More Successful
My
problem is
My
opportunity
is
Less Successful

16. 16
How You See Things
More Successful
!
I need to
!
I want to
Less Successful

17. 17
How You See Things
I am not willing
to be successful
if it means . . .
I can be
successful
and . . .
More Successful
Less Successful

18. 18
How You See Things
I will try my
best to . . .
I will
achieve
More Successful
Less Successful

19. 19
How You See Things
I want goals
to be
realistic I want my
goals to
challenge
More Successful
me
Less Successful

20. 20 Secret 2

21. 21
Take Responsibility
You Are the Architect

22. 22
Take Responsibility
How You Plan to Get There

23. 23
Take Responsibility
Execute Your Plan and Stay on Track

24. 24 Secret 3

25. 25
Intrinsic Motivators

26. 26
Weekly
90-Day Plan
2015 PLAN
Goals
Roles
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

27. 27
Purpose

28. As was once asked of Albert Einstein:
“If you could ask God one question,
what would it be?” He first replied
that he would ask God how the
universe began. After reflection he
said he would ask God why the
universe began, because then he
would know the meaning of his own
life.
28

29. “There is one quality
which one must
possess to win, and
that is definiteness of
purpose, the
knowledge of what
one wants, and a
burning desire to
possess it.”
29
-Napoleon Hill
Definite
Purpose

30. 30
Major Definite Purpose
Talent
Passion Need
Major
Definite
Purpose

31. Alison
Focused on What She Didn’t Want

32. Alison

33. Alison
Now Focuses on What She Wants

34. 34
Alison

35. 35
!
Major Definite Purpose
Your Major Definite Purpose
What is your Major Definite Purpose?
Why important?

36. 36 Secret 4

37. 37
Vision
Purpose

38. I believe that this nation
should commit itself to
achieving the goal, before
this decade is out, of
landing a man on the moon
and returning him safely to
the earth. No single space
project in this period will be
more impressive to
mankind, or more important
for the long-range
exploration of space; and
none will be so difficult or
expensive to accomplish.
38

39. 39
Clear Vision of What You Want
Career Personal
Life

40. 40 Secret of Life

41. 41
The One Thing

42. 42
Clear Vision of What You Want
In 1978 I decided I
wanted to be the
preeminent and most
Innovative
transportation
construction lawyer in
the United States.

43. 43
Clear Vision of What You Want
To become the
best long-term
care attorney in
the United States

44. 44
!
Clear Vision of What You Want
Your Career Vision
What is your career vision?
What are you doing now to achieve what you want?
Where do you want to be in five years?

45. 45 Secret 5

46. 46
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

47. 47
Core Values
You don’t create, you discover
and gain deep understanding

48. 48
Core Values

49. 49
!
Core Values
Your Core Values
What are your core values?

50. 50 Secret 6

51. 51
Roles
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

52. 52
Roles

53. 53
Characteristics
In the Zone
Roles

54. Christy
Priorities

55. Christy
Her Family
!
Her Church
!
Her Health
!
Her Law Practice
Focuses on What She Wants

56. Christy

57. 57
Roles
!
Your Roles
What are your personal and professional roles?
(i.e. husband/wife; father/mother; son/daughter; fit and healthy person; law student; young lawyer)

58. 58 Secret 7

59. 59
Goals
Roles
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

60. 60
Setting Goals
Why Important?

61. 61

62. 62

63. 63
!
Goals
What Are Your Goals?

64. 64
Rank Your Goals
1
4
2 3

65. 65
Rank Your Goals
1
2
3
4

66. 66
!
Goals
Activity to Achieve Goal?

67. 48
Christy Crider
Goals
PHYSICAL/FINANCIAL
Be the best Long-Term Care Attorney in the country.
!
Make Baker Donelson the best firm in the southeast.
!
Sleep 8 hours a day.
!
Eat healthy.
!
Buy a beach home.

68. 49
Christy Crider
Goals
MENTAL GROWTH
Learn Yoga.
!
Live in the moment.
!
Learn to scuba and dive the Great Barrier
Reef.

69. 50
Christy Crider
Goals
EMOTIONAL/RELATIONSHIPS
See my three best friends in person every
year.
!
Be there every time my children need me
and most times when they want me.
!
Be a mentor and role model for other
lawyers.

70. 70 Secret 8

71. 71
2015 Plan
Goals
Roles
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

72. Think Optimistically and Plan Purposely
72
Plan
Steve Jobs Founder/CEO Apple, Inc.

73. 73
Why Have A Plan?

74. 74
Plan
Most people aim at
nothing in life and
hit it with amazing
accuracy.
Jim Cathcart

75. 75
Plan
Energy Time
Most Important Resources

76. 76
Plan-Start with your Strengths

77. Prioritization Matrix
High Return / Low Investment!
!
!
Do first and do often
High Return / High Investment!
!
!
Break down into smaller pieces
Low Return / Low Investment!
!
Do when you have time
Low Return / High Investment!
!
Say NO graciously!

78. 78
90-Day Plan
2015 Plan
Goals
Roles
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

79. 79
Plan
90-day Goals/Actions

80. 80
Weekly
90-Day Plan
2015 Plan
Goals
Roles
Core Values
Vision
Purpose

81. 81
Sleep
Non-Billable
Free
Billable
How you spend non-billable
time will determine
the quality of your career
How you spend your
free time determines
the quality of your life
Plan
How You Spend Your Time Weekly

82. 82
Plan
Next Week’s Actions Item for Each Goal

83. 83
Plan
Do Something Every Day

84. 84
Plan Each Week
What? How Long? When?

85. 85
Plan Each Week
if X
then Y

86. 86 Secret 9

87. 87
Staying Motivated
Partner for Accountability

88. Keith McMurdy
88
Getting the most by
being accountable

89. 89 Secret 10

90. 90
What You Need to Do
Focus First on Developing Legal Skills

91. Do The Best Work Possible
91
What You Need to Do

92. 92
What You Need to Do
Dress for Success

93. 93
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Present to Clients

94. 94
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Write for Clients

95. 95
What You Need to Do
Learn Clients’ Business and Industry

96. 96
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Deal
Professionally With Adversaries

97. What You Need to Do
97
Develop Social Skills

98. 98
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Ask Questions

99. 99
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Actively Listen

100. 100
What You Need to Do
Think Like a Client

101. 101
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Build Relationships

102. 102
What You Need to Do
Start Client Development Early

103. 103
What You Need to Do
Learn How to Use Social Media Tools

104. 104
Getting Better
What do you want to do during the rest of
2014 and 2015 to become more
successful?
What do you want to do during the rest of
2014 and 2015 to have a more fulfilling
life?

105. What You Need to Do
Practice, Practice, Practice 105

106. 106
Deliberate Practice
Networking
Elevator Speech/Questions
Identifying Issues Impacting Clients
Writing Articles Designed to Get Hired
Public Speaking
Questions for Clients and Potential Clients
Active Listening

107. Do the best you can in every task, no matter how
unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns
more about a problem than the person at the bottom.
107
- Sandra Day O’Conner

108. 108

109. 109
What is the Secret to a
Productive and
Satisfying Law Career?
Cordell M. Parvin
http://www.cordellparvin.com

110. You Either Have What
It Takes Or You Don’t
C
l
i
e
n
t
!
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
!
M
y
t
h
s

111. Lizzette Zubey
111
Think Big and Are Confident

112. Just Do Good Work
C
l
i
e
n
t
!
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
!
M
y
t
h
s

113. Too Young and Inexperienced to . . .
C
l
i
e
n
t
!
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
!
M
y
t
h
s

114. You Have To Be A Good Networker
C
l
i
e
n
t
!
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
!
M
y
t
h
s

115. You Have To “Ask” For The Business
C
l
i
e
n
t
!
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
!
M
y
t
h
s

116. Associates in Law Firms Do Not Need
to Learn Client Development
C
l
i
e
n
t
!
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
!
M
y
t
h
s