Yesterday I sat down – Zoomwise – with Kevin O’Keefe, CEO and Founder of LexBlog, to interview him for my upcoming book, 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers: Boost wellness. Build resilience. Yes, you can. I have admired Kevin for years, but we had never met before yesterday. We became Facebook friends earlier this year, and it was through Facebook Messenger that I reached out to Kevin for the interview. Our Facebook Messenger exchange underscores the power of the internet and social media which Kevin speaks so passionately about.

If you want to be truly successful, through COVID and beyond, listen up! Here is some of what Kevin shared with me.

Think Differently

“The biggest problem lawyers have is just getting in the way of themselves and being guided by other lawyers. In order to innovate, somebody needs to be an innovator. The greatest challenge I see for lawyers is that they’re going to try to correct the situation by just doing the same things. It doesn’t work.”

“Look at how consumers interact with services and products. They don’t interact with them in the same way that legal services are being rendered. So, there’s real opportunity for lawyers who are willing to be different. Now’s the time not to be the same.”

Learn How to Use the Internet

“99.9999% of lawyers have no clue how to use the internet. It’s built for relationships. It’s built for building a name. Most lawyers don’t know how to use it.”

“Lawyers have to understand the internet is an opportunity to communicate, to basically build your own room, so you can network with people, engage with people, and other people can see you doing that.”

Build Relationships

“I’m not an expert on what lawyers are going through right now. But I can tell you what I think should work for people, and that’s leaning on each other, engaging each other, and that may not be able to be done face-to-face. You’ve got to turn to the internet.”

Be Vulnerable AND Have Faith

“Until we’re vulnerable, it’s hard to take a step forward. Lawyers are afraid to be vulnerable, and maybe rightfully so. They think if they let their guard down, other lawyers will think less of them. Vulnerability means letting your guard down and doing something different. And if you don’t know what to do, that’s okay. People will help you along the way. Others have laid down paths that you can follow.”

“It takes a sense of faith in yourself and in the world that things will work out because they always do.”

Wise words from a brilliant guy who I’m now proud to call my friend.