Jim Coogan: Interacting with Non-Lawyers in a Way They Understand

<p><strong>In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Jim Coogan discuss:</strong></p><ul><li>How Jim’s childhood interest in medicine lead to his career in personal injury law. </li><li>Listen to what the questions really are. </li><li>Engaging your audience when you speak. </li><li>How AI is changing legal practice with communication clarity and efficiency. </li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Key Takeaways:</strong></p><ul><li>In law school, there’s a mentality that you want to speak like a lawyer. Once you’re working with clients, however, they are not (typically) lawyers and will better respond to you translating the law to what they need to know and understand. </li><li>No matter what area of law you are in, your area of law is going to be connected to other areas depending on your client and their situation. </li><li>As you practice, you will get better at appreciating and connecting with the audience you are speaking to. But it does take practice and analysis of what you said previously. </li><li>Your job is to interpret and build trust with your clients so they have a reason to believe what you’re saying as things get more complicated. </li></ul><p> </p><p><i><strong>"It’s just a matter of gauging who's listening to you, and whether what you're saying is making a difference and whether it makes sense in the first place."</strong></i><strong> —  Jim Coogan</strong></p><p>Get a free copy of Steve’s book <i>“Sales-Free Selling”</i> here: <a href="http://www.fretzin.com/sales-free-selling">www.fretzin.com/sales-free-selling</a></p><p><strong>Thank you to our Sponsors!</strong></p><p>Get Staffed Up: <a href="https://getstaffedup.com/bethatlawyer/">https://getstaffedup.com/bethatlawyer/</a></p><p>Overture: <a href="https://overture.law/">https://overture.law/</a></p><p>Get Visible:<a href="https://www.getvisible.com/"> https://www.getvisible.com/</a></p><p><strong>Episode References: </strong></p><ul><li>Cautionary Tales - Tim Harford Podcast: <a href="https://timharford.com/articles/cautionarytales/">https://timharford.com/a