Selena Kim

Many of us law firm lawyers need something more than hours to sustain us in our careers. We need a plan. For many of us, the pandemic has brought this need into sharp relief.
I continue to have success as an IP lawyer, but started feeling in the last year that I wanted to come up with something more deliberate for my future work years. You can allow your career to happen to you, or you can stop and think about what kinds of clients you enjoy, what you want, and how to plant the seeds to get it.
There is a lot of information out there on how to build legal practices. However, most lawyers are not conditioned to put aside time daily to look into such matters and, most importantly, to take action. I realized this about myself earlier this year and therefore signed up for a group BD program where I could get new ideas and meet like-minded people.
It was called, quite appropriately, Build Your Book, run by Aaron Baer and Dhawal Tank. They combine big law experience with sales science and tech, and even make it easy to sign up by telling you the exact schedule and how much it costs right on their website. By participating, I gained connections to some incredible lawyers from around the world, meeting people and hearing perspectives I never would have been exposed to otherwise.
Most importantly, the program works. As long as you stay open-minded to new ideas, and take some small action every day, you can feel things changing for you immediately. It has helped me to crystallize what direction I want for my career going forward.
This program is ideal for private practice lawyers who know they need to come up with a plan, but would benefit from learning more and talking through how to get there.  Spots are available early next year; consider starting 2022 by investing in more fulfillment and direction for your career. If you are on the fence, please reach out. I will be happy to tell you more about it, so you can decide if it would be right for you.

Trent Skanes

Thankful to stumble upon the Build Your Book podcast hosted by Dhawal Tank and Aaron Baer, which has already helped me reframe some of the issues I’ve been facing using clear logic and creative thinking. We need more voices like theirs in the legal profession who speak candidly to the power of #authenticity and #vulnerability.

Nadia Zaman

I thought being a lawyer meant hiding your true self.

That was when I was new to the legal profession.

A lot of lawyers around me seemed to have so much in common.

It almost felt like there was a certain expectation of who I am supposed to be as my “lawyer self”.

But how do you even fit into the mold of how a lawyer is supposed to “be”?

—

You don’t.

At least you don’t need to.

Being a lawyer can be demanding.

Of your time and your energy.

Even if you love what you do, like me.

The last thing we need is to expend our energy by not bringing our whole selves to work.

—

There is another upside to being authentic.

It helps us connect with other individuals on a deeper level.

Otherwise, we only touch the surface when connecting with others.

If you let the other person see the real you, they will be much more likely to show you their real self.

And that’s how we build relationships.

—

I enjoy building relationships with people.

Perhaps that is why I enjoy practicing Employment Law so much.

It’s the perfect nexus between business, law, and people, whether my client is an employer or an employee.

—

And you know what I realized?

Building your book is all about building relationships with people. Authentically and stress free.

And it can all be done without being “sleazy”, without having to spend hours away from your family, and without having to compromise on your billable hours.

—

Professionally, this was my best year to date.

I brought in way more business than I thought I would.

I worked on a large diversity of client files on both the employer side as well as the employee side. And I enjoyed running with them.

Then I thought – where do I go from here?

—

That’s when I came across Build Your Book.

Thanks Dhawal Tank and Aaron Baer for launching Build Your Book, and for the opportunity to be a part of the pilot cohort!

Peter Mayer

There are no sales classes in law school. Lawyers aren’t taught business development in a systematic fashion.
I wanted to get a better grip on the subject and came across an eight-week workshop to help me do this.
The course gave me a whole new perspective on business development for lawyers.
But more importantly, it offers a real hands-on approach that has helped both me and my clients.
Authenticity is key.
On top of it all, it was fun. Aaron Baer and Dhawal Tank are two very affable guys who are launching this up again this January. If you are interested in a hands-on experience, learn from them.

Priya Sankarapapa

I cringe when I hear the word business development- I picture sleazy marketers, false promises, fake laughs, manipulators….. you get the picture.

I was completely wrong – and Build Your Book is responsible for this shift.

Build Your Book is run by two incredible people Aaron Baer and Dhawal Tank- Aaron is a lawyer and Dhawal is in marketing.

Aaron who used to work for big law- was frustrated with the broken legal system. He got in touch with his friend Dhawal from business school and voiced his frustrations and the two set to work…. and created Build Your Book for lawyers.

These guys did not start this Academy based on their own experience or assumptions of the legal industry- they interviewed and surveyed closer to 100 lawyers in both large and small law firms in the US and Canada- to know what their “pain points” were- why are lawyers frustrated or angry, what is working and what is not working, why is it not working, what do they know about business development, do they have a system in place for business development etc. etc.

What they saw- the system was broken for clients as well as the people within the firm itself. Associate lawyers were already working long hours and stressed over the dreaded billable hours- how do they carve out the time for BD work when they have no time? Where do they start? Confusion and Overwhelm. For Solos their problem was more urgent and immediate- as they wore too many hats, faced large cycles of feast and famine(unpredictable billings), and stiff competition.

They took these insights and started Build Your Book as a response to these challenges.

May I add- these guys are incredibly humble- Aaron is the recipient of Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada & he also runs the 4L Academy for young lawyers. Dhawal is no stranger to good work either- he has helped tech companies and start-up grow from $0 to $1+million in revenue.

I was part of their first cohort of Build Your Book Academy. I got to meet 6 other incredible lawyers who were with me on this business development journey for two months- we shared our stories on how we felt after our first LinkedIn post, how to build our brand based on our values and who we are, how to connect with our referral network in an authentic way, how to use systems, processes, and automation to genuinely keep in touch with our network and much, much more.

If you have read this far- in a nutshell Build Your Book Academy is for lawyers who want a better and happier legal career- designing a business development plan that works for you according to your values and vision. It is not a one size fits all- it is custom made for you and BY YOU.

Build Your Book shows and gives you the tools to design and build YOUR business development plan. In other words, you can be your #AUTHENTIC SELF and attract the clients you want to work with it.

Their next cohort is starting in October and the link is in the comments below. I wish you a happy and successful legal career.

Gary Volman

I think this course is extremely helpful. Having an ability to interact with other lawyers in my shoes and from a variety of backgrounds is the best way to facilitate this program because it makes it real and meaningful and connects people in an authentic way.
I also enjoyed the accountability aspect. It made us implement what we discussed in our sessions and also gave me a real idea of what others are doing.
I want to thank both of you for putting this program together and for truly caring about others and wanting to enhance other professionals’ growth. It goes along way and leaves me with the sense of wanting to find ways to give back as well which in its own way is a business development tool.

Faren Bogach

During articling the senior partner told me that if I did good work, I would generate business.

So I put my head down and worked. For years I worked a lot. I learned. I honed my skill.

I did things to build my business, but they weren’t deliberate.

Eventually I became a partner.

I had done a great job of building other people’s books. My book of business was tiny.

Doing good work hadn’t been enough.

As a partner, being successful was no longer defined by billable hours (not that it ever should be, but that’s a story for another day).

I didn’t want to be dependent on others.

I want to practice law differently. Pitching a fixed fee or upset limit to someone else’s client is difficult if that lawyer is happily billing by the hour.

If I wanted to make meaningful changes, I needed my own clients.

I had to take control over my own destiny.

I went for a lot of lunches (pre pandemic).

I co-founded Pay Prompt (a software company that helps to navigate complicated legislation without needing a lawyer).

I took courses and read a lot of books. The theories were interesting, but were often lacking practical advice or were too complicated to integrate into my busy practice.

I interviewed, but didn’t hire, a business development coaches.

I am more confident in my efforts and less afraid of rejection, thanks to a push from the Build Your Book course taught by Aaron Baer and Dhawal Tank.

I wish I had started earlier. I encourage all of the bright lawyers and students that I work with to start now!

Ravi Patel

I would highly recommend this book about growing your legal practice. I too have been working with Dhawal Tank and have definitely been able to see an exponential growth in my billing over the past few months.
Short and effective book for anyone looking to grow their legal practice.

Wendy Ngai

As a relatively junior associate, I’ve always had my reservations about business development. Was I ready? Do I have the right skill set and competence to help potential clients with their problems?
Aaron and Dhawal’s coaching and insight through the Build Your Book course helped quell some of those fears and mental roadblocks.
Over the past 8 weeks, I’ve brought in two clients to my firm, connected with a number of prospective clients, honed my professional brand, and learned to use a myriad of tools and strategies for my own long-term and short-term business development goals.
All while in a way that felt truly authentic to myself.
Tiny achievements, yes. But with the right mindset and continued action on my part, I am confident that this investment in my professional development will no doubt yield dividends in the future.
With that said, I am both grateful and glad to have had the opportunity to learn from Aaron, Dhawal, along with the other members of our cohort. I would not hesitate to recommend Build Your Book to other junior associates who are ready to take concrete action towards their business development goals.

Shweta Chaubey

For lawyers, our strength lies in not just knowing the ins and out of our areas of expertise, but also knowing what we don’t know. What can be more powerful than when we open ourselves to opportunities to learn and grow.

We all come out of law school thinking we will work hard and that will pave the way to all the success ahead. Few years into the practice, we realize that all that grit and smarts are not enough – we also need to learn to build our book of business. Yes, we are lawyers, but we also have to learn to market ourselves (‘cringes’).

Many of my friends have told me that I seem very comfortable at networking events. Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting and connecting with new people, but till date my best days are when I get to sit at my desk, put my head down, and work. But if I want to be able to show up for my clients, my family and myself day after day, month after month and year after year, then that’s just not enough. There are systems and practices that drive innovation and consistent growth in other industries, but are just unheard of in the legal industry.

I was fortune to be a part of the Pilot Cohort of the Build Your Book led by Aaron Baer and Dhawal Tank. If you are on LinkedIn, you know Aaron. Aaron is challenging the status quo in the legal industry and is the thought leader we all needed during the pandemic. Dhawal has sales and marketing down to a science. He understands limitations of lawyers and the hang-ups we have (hint: not all of us like to post on LinkedIn everyday!), and he knows the way around them.

Over the past seven weeks, I have been waking up at 6 AM every Sunday to meet our cohort members in different time zones (Sundays are usually my days to sleep in as my husband takes over toddler duties). During this time, I have learnt there are small steps I can take every day that will help drive the growth of my practice, that there are principles of productivity and efficiency that I can adapt to deliver better value to my clients, that I can be intentional about building a practice rather than letting external forces guide my work. Most importantly, while doing all this, I shouldn’t lose sight of what’s important for me and my family.

Adapting good systems and practices takes time and work on the front end, but in the long run it delivers value to your clients and enriches your own professional and personal life.

As a new solopreneur, I couldn’t have asked for a better team to help me create a foundation for my practice. The pilot program is coming to an end this week, but the work does not stop here. Thank you, Dhawal and Aaron for demystifying the idea of Business Development and making it accessible to attorneys across the globe! I am proud to be a graduate of the Build Your Book Academy.