In this episode, we reveal the key legal assets every law firm needs to protect itself and secure long-term success. Discover how to bulletproof your practice with essential written agreements, intellectual property safeguards, and risk management strategies. Don't leave your firm vulnerable - tune in now to learn the critical legal steps you must take as a renegade lawyer to shield your business, avoid costly disputes, and pave the way to a thriving future. 

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Let’s Chat About Growing Your Law Firm. 

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[00:01:00] 


Introduction and Welcome 


MPS: Hey, Law Firm Owners. Welcome to the Your Practice Mastered Podcast. We're your hosts. I'm MPS. 


Richard James: And I'm Richard James. And today, MPS, I'm excited because we're here with a longstanding members of our community. Not only outstanding performers in what they do in the EAY world, but also a captain in our community. 


It leads our members, by volunteering to help them get to the next level. And probably, most importantly, good friends, and our attorneys for our business affairs. So, we got a lot going on here in this conversation. We know these folks really well. And I'm excited to share their journey. 


Meet Mike and Catalina 


Richard James: Mike and Catalina, welcome to the show. 


Mike Dickerson: Thank you, Rich. Thank you, Mike. 


MPS: Happy to be here. 


Personal Insights and Fun Facts 


MPS: One of the things I like to kick off with is, obviously, we had a wonderful introduction there. But what's something that maybe not everyone knows about you? 


Catalina Dickerson: Oh my, I think, maybe some might know or some not, but I'm certified in aerobic group exercise in kickboxing. I love to dance. I love to be active. And as Rich always asks us if I could only, you know, during our sessions, our partner club sessions, right at the beginning, it's a tough answer for me because I really love to support my husband. But so, if I could only is own my own cardio studio, and one place for the kids to work out, and one place for the parents to work out, and we do double team and we go. So those are my grand vision, is having a cardio studio. 


Richard James: I like to dance. Nobody very well enjoys watching me dance. So I'm like, And 


MPS: and I've seen you dance. 


absolutely have your own studio, 


Catalina. But I should only come perform in that studio, or work out in that studio when there's nobody else there. because, that's 


Catalina Dickerson: Yeah, no, it's okay. Well, It's a cardio burn. No judgment at all. 


Richard James: Good. 


Mike's Real Estate Journey 


Richard James: And so, Mike, I heard by the way, New Braunfels, I was just reading an article. And it just started touting New Braunfels as this robust place that's taking off on the heels of the success of Austin market or whatever. And I thought to myself, man, Mike's got it going on. He's really smart investor. So, you had talked about that like long before it was a hot market. 


Mike Dickerson: Yeah, so we've been in New Braunfels for going on three years. 


Richard James: Yeah. But I want to say that you and I even spoke about it before then. It was like on your radar. Is that a fair assessment? 


Mike Dickerson: Yeah. Central Texas. 


Richard James: Got it. And was the real estate investing, did that come from a bridge off of the Rich Dad Poor Dad conversation from Kiyosaki, that book? 


So, 


Richard James: So, were you an attorney when you started investing in real estate, or did you invest in real estate before you became an attorney? 


Mike Dickerson: No, I, didn't have money until I became an attorney. 


Richard James: Got it. Okay. Very good. 


MPS: Why don't you actually talk about that a little bit? What were the high points of your journey as an entrepreneurial attorney? 


Mike Dickerson: Okay. Well, I'm one of these rare birds that has had his own practice, since day one. So back in 95, I got my bar results and hung up my shingle. And have been on my own in one fashion or another. 


And so, that's what started me, trying to find, Hey, I need to, get a better system, to be able to grow this practice. Which is when, I met Mark, you know, blast from the past. And then, we, got our golden ticket and, joined the Partners Club. 


You know, We had a news, an email newsletter, and it was great because I'd send out a news blast, and all of a sudden, people were calling. Then they call, and I'd start getting busy with doing the work, so I'd stop sending the email blast. And then all of a sudden, it's, like, Oh, I don't have any work. I need to do another email blast. 


So, that lack of consistency was always that rollercoaster feast to famine. And with your all's help, we've been able to level that rollercoaster, to be something, a lot more palatable, and, don't get queasy riding the rollercoaster. 


Richard James: So did you start having Catalina help you right away, or was that like a progression? What did that look like? Cause I know you guys, you only have a couple of kids, right? So 


Mike Dickerson: Yeah, just seven. 


Richard James: it's just, How many kids do you have? 


Mike Dickerson: Seven. 


Catalina Dickerson: We have seven together. It's a blended family. As Mike says, it's yours, mine, and ours. 


Catalina's Corporate Background 


And then, things happen. And that opportunity fell, and, the company went in a different direction. And I was six months pregnant with Charlotte. And you know, it's okay. Well, yeah, I was going to stay at home. I was going to ditch you guys, but I guess I'm going to have to do it three months early you know, on your terms, not on mine. 


So then, you know, slowly, but surely, I never would have been a stay at home mom you know, with my other kids. I was the worker, and I'd get the very minimum off, and have to get back to work, have to have them in daycare at two months old, you know, that was my life. 


The Importance of Consistency in Marketing 


Catalina Dickerson: And that's where get that consistency, of having more of a cadence in your marketing, and not relying on Mike's Monday night grocery store runs. This was another key. A key moment in his marketing, which was, it's grassroots. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's having that cadence of things that people can expect. 


Richard James: Yeah. It's such a blessing for your team for you to have brought your grassroots marketing experience into the team. 


Challenges and Successes of Working Together 


Richard James: It's funny, so many times, I witness successful husband and wife teams, while they have, it has its challenges, right? 


I tell everybody, look, I've been working with my wife. We've been married for 29 years. We've been working together in business for 29 years. And if you're working with your spouse, I always say congratulations and my condolences, because there are good times and bad times. 


MPS: Yeah, just having a clear path for who does what. Because when you start trying to work over one another, I feel like that's when it gets a little bit messy. So making sure, each person has a dedicated role. And yeah, oftentimes, I actually find based off of a lot of the law firm owner couples that are in our program and that we speak to, it's usually beneficial when one isn't an attorney, right? 


And being able to have the thought process and mindset and perspective from a non-attorney, I find that actually helps fuel a lot of those practices, to grow a little quicker than even two attorneys would grow in some cases. 


So I think, having the different mindsets and perspective's important. 


The Power of Hiring a Phone Person 


Mike Dickerson: All right. So, I'm sure Cat will agree. Yeah, she's, giving me the sign. We hired a phone person. That was the first thing. And that was Cat was involved, and that started the hockey stick, you know, started things going up. Because now, somebody else was following up with the calls. We had this huge jump, as soon as we did that, because somebody was following up with unconverted leads. 


leads Cause when we started was like, how many sets and shows? Everyone who sets, shows up. And everyone who shows up, hires. you know, I'm an excellent salesman. And then, and it's, like, okay, well, can you look at the actual numbers? And you start tracking, and you're like, Man, I suck. I really need to do a better job because you know, we aren't selling. 


No, you need to call them because they're never going to call you again. Cause that means, have to write a check. And so, that was I think, the first brick in this pyramid, was getting the phones fixed. Cat, I don't know if you have something else. 


I know, you interviewed our, phone rep, and hired him. So, 


Catalina Dickerson: Yeah, no, I mean, definitely. It's a little bit different, having in an estate planning world, the sense of urgency is completely different from, you would say, bankruptcy, or criminal, and you know, I'm a little jelly of that, in those practice areas. Because it's sense of urgency right now, and here, it's not at all, it's something you, the least thing you want to think about. 


So, having that phone person and being able to pick up, that's a big burden that they're picking up, and it's fantastic to have someone, and it adds to that trust marketing, as well. like, Oh, someone's actually answering the phone, and they're calling me back. And just layers and layers and layers upon trust. 


Richard James: You know, Catalina, I would, say that, thank you for that insight. By the way, you got Mike, you chose estate planning with a business-to-business transactional bend in the asset protection realm. And you've done a great job for us, under that umbrella. And so, the interesting thing about that, as you said, the downside is, there's no third party pressing against the neck of your client, saying, they have to get something done, typically. Now, that's changing. And we'll probably hear about that a little bit later. 


And so, you have a much longer tail. So the negative is, you know, in bankruptcy, they're going to take their house at some point, right. And criminal, they're going to go to jail, or they're going to have to pay a fine. And in family law, they're going to take their kids or their spouse, is going to divorce them. 


I mean, Every single practice area primarily has some window to it. In estate planning, the negative is, there's nothing pressing them. The positive is, that we've got a longer tail to follow up with them. But MPS, the phone, just as a tool, I know that technology is changing, and I know email has been here forever, and texting is something people do, And AI is all about the rage, but the phone is still the most powerful tool. 


MPS: Agreed? 


But I'm curious, Mike and Cat, you guys said the first tactical thing was the phone. What actually inspired you to take that leap? What made you actually take the leap to find a phone person? 


Richard James: Yeah, and to be clear, I want a plus one on MPS's question, while we appreciate any kudos you might want to think about our program. Don't worry, that's not the goal today. 


The goal, I want you to deliver a message to that person who's listening at two o'clock in the morning. why should they be inspired to do this? 


Mike Dickerson: Without giving you kudos is, you know, just looking at the numbers. The thing is, you've got to remove your ego and your emotion from what's actually going on. Because you can blind yourself, thinking you're the best. And then, you look at the calendar, and you look at your bank account, and you're like, it's not matching up. 


So, once we had that in place, I mean, that was the thing that we saw. Look, if we can move this hinge just a little bit, all of the waterfall overflows that will come from that are going to really ramp things up. It's going to be the most bang for the buck. Okay. I don't know if you, have any other insights on that. 


Catalina Dickerson: Yeah, well, I mean, I think also, one of the things that really I think was pivotal for us is, we had to do something. That's the type of pressure that we felt upon us. That it's do or die. Whatever, you need to do something. And you can't afford not to do anything anymore, because it's just not working. 


And what was really nice and that was such a like a great first step. And he's not with us anymore. He moved on to bigger and better things. A great guy that, helped us out with the phones and he had a great charisma, a great people skills. It was that client relations type of thing. And it, Oh my gosh, what a breath of fresh air. And boy, did we have unconverted leads to give him. We were able to still get that list. You know, We were sure, we didn't have our numbers, but we were able to pull something together and more. He got, like, I don't know the exact numbers, but it was like three months of condensed, unconverted leads, being excluded out you know, into the next month. And then, the waves of that. And Then they're like, wow, I really like this service. And then, you get the referral. And, you know, So, it's a great tipping domino. And there's a lot of other steps after that. 


What are your unconverted leads? Go back to your emails. Go back to your phone records. Go back to your notepad, where somebody was writing messages down. 


So, there you have it. Cat and Mike just gave you this very simple solution. Wherever you are, if you're listening to this and you're struggling and you want an answer, don't get caught up into the daunting tasks of what's happening next. Just pay attention to two simple maneuvers. 


And what Cat said, Catalina, sorry, I call her Cat. What Catalina said is that, necessity is the mother of invention. They had to do it. Like that, to me, that's it, like MPS, you and I, we were in this stage in the first quarter of this year. Like We just couldn't crack the code on figuring out how to get our niche, law firm owners, to bubble up, and be able to raise their hand, and do what they wanted, you know, get them to the next stage in our [00:19:00] world and ask for help. And we were banging our head against the wall thinking, Oh, maybe it must be the niche, maybe it must be something else, but necessity forced us to figure it out. And we did, 


MPS: did, right? 


We did. You know, We had to take a leap of faith into a coaching program like we do. And also, just the willingness to test, to just constantly test, test, test, test, test new things. And all of that combined, created a solution, a solution that worked really, really well. 


I'm going to jump the gun, a little bit here because think, I know what the answer might be to this and I'm curious to open this conversation. But Mike and Cat, what's got you excited? What's got you fired up today? 


Mike Dickerson: Well, I've got a juicy one, so I'm going to let Cat go first. 


Catalina Dickerson: Okay. No, you go first. 


Mike Dickerson: So, I'm excited. 


The Corporate Transparency Act 


Richard James: Yeah, I think, a lot of people know what this new federal law is, Mike. Why don't you tell them? 


Richard James: So, they're asking for beneficial owner information? 


Mike Dickerson: Correct. So, what's a beneficial owner? That's where we get into a sticky part. Beneficial owners, anybody who owns 25% or more of the business, or somebody who exerts influence over the business. Okay. 


So, that second part could be in the statute, specifically identifies the president, the CEO, CFO, COO. So, even if they don't have any equity, they have to be disclosed. 


Richard James: This is a fee to the federal government. 


Mike Dickerson: Yes. 


MPS: Wow. 


Mike Dickerson: That's just for being late. Now, if they deem that you intentionally didn't file, or you intentionally, fraudulently filed, or omitted something intentionally, then it raises to the level of criminal. And that carries a fine of up to $10,000, and or up to two years in jail. And so sometimes, I'll have a conversation with a client, and what if I don't really want to do this? 


I go, well, just make sure you plan on having all expense paid, two year vacation, under the care and custody of the federal government. And they're like, okay, so I guess, we need to get this done. 


Mike Dickerson: Pay me now or pay me later. 


They're being very strict on it. It's really a lot of the pressure that we're receiving globally, from other countries who do this on a regular basis. And it's in an effort to mitigate and stop money laundering. And the United States has grown in its fame, as being an alternative to this, unfortunately. 


So we are helping a lot of people with that. But what a lot of people don't know, as well is that, if you created a new business, you only have I believe, 


Mike Dickerson: 90 days. 


And if there's any changes, if maybe you change address of the company, or maybe there's a new owner that you added, or someone switches, you know, just the information that you started off with you originally submitted, any changes to that need to be reported within 30 days. 


Mike Dickerson: And let me just plus one on that. federal government is not real quick to catch on and tell you, Hey, you're late. So, could be December 31st, 2025, when they say, Hey, you know what? You never filed your report that was due January 1. You owe us a whole year of $500 payments. 


Richard James: Right. You owe us $175,000. 


Mike Dickerson: Yeah. You did that math, really quick. I think you've thought about that. 


Mike Dickerson: And because I know who your, target audience is, Rich and Mike, usually, we have a really good lobby, except not in this case. There are a few exceptions, but most of these are already highly regulated financial organizations that are exempt from doing this. Being banks, banks have their own beneficial owner report that I think you experienced recently. The hoops you have to jump through, just to open a new bank account, nowadays. 


But lawyers, our law firms, if they're business entities, we are required to file this report, as well. Unfortunately, sometimes, the cobbler's children have no shoes. So, I would take to the lawyers out there, take a look at this because it's something that's going to affect you, and you've got to get it done. 


Richard James: There's two parts to this story. So, the first part is, Oh my goodness, as a United States citizen, I'm kind of appalled that I've got to do this. And that regulatory fines are so significant. However, having dealt, done business with other countries, I'm fully aware that other countries have had to do this for years. This has been standard operating procedure for them. So like, I shouldn't be surprised. 


And the federal government has just helped you add another level of service. So, congratulations to you, for figuring this out. And not only a bettering your business by doing that, but creating a venue for others to get help through these really questionable times, when we're all not exactly sure what we're supposed to be doing. And taking it a step further, and getting the technology connection through the API. 


I mean, If we thought this wasn't or was real before, we should now know if the federal government is giving you an API into their document system, to be able to file documents, we now know this is real, right? So, MPS, any thoughts? 


I also think, there's a lot of people that are screwed, because I think, there's a lot of people that have no idea this is even a thing, and we're gonna hit 2025. And it's probably gonna be a bit of an unfortunate time for many of them. And Mike, like you said, the government works slow. So, I'm a little concerned for several businesses out there. 


But that very insightful, very eye opening. And really appreciate you guys sharing that. 


Conclusion and Contact Information 


MPS: So, where can they learn a little bit more about how to get in contact with you, if they'd like to? 


Mike Dickerson: Cat Okay. 


Catalina Dickerson: Yeah. well We certainly are ready to help folks. Right now, have two offices. We are in Texas, and we service the South Texas area in Laredo. And we service the Central Texas area in New Braunfels. So, you can, Go ahead and email us at Info@DickersonLaw.com. And we'll be able to really just see which office works better for you. 


Mike Dickerson: And just a plus one on that. We have a lot of international clients that we've never actually met in person. So, wherever you're at, if you email us at that email, we'll be able to take care of you from wherever you're at. 


Richard James: Yeah, Well, we're in North Carolina and you do all our stuff. So, it's not that you're only working in limited to Texas. So yeah, for sure. well, Listen, before we go, MPS, I think, we want to let the audience know about 


MPS: about the 


Richard James: agreement. Am I right 


MPS: Of course. Look, we love doing these podcasts. We're hoping, you love listening and watching them. So, depending on where you're listening or watching, make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button, turn those bell notifications on, hit that like button. And of course, show some love down in the comments, and let us know your thoughts on this new law. And what it means for you, down in the comments below. 


Richard James: Yeah. Mike Catalina, the fact that you're here, speaks values about who you are, about willing to get the message out in your grassroots marketing approach. But more importantly, your willingness to give back to the community of law firm owners. Give them that one little inside tip that was the tipping point for you to understand how to start taking the next step in your business. 


One, start understanding your numbers. Two, just pick up the phone and start calling your unconverted leads to get some immediate traction, which will trigger the next challenge that you have to uncover. And then, you can continue to move forward as a business owner. 


So, as your friends, as members of Partners Club and the way that you serve our community, I just want to thank you for being here. Thank you. for sharing. Thank you for starting the new business that can help other business owners, just like us, manage through these new challenging times with the Federal Government law changes. And we appreciate you. 


Mike Dickerson: Thanks, Rich. 


Catalina Dickerson: Thank you so much.