I’ll be doing two full 4-hour versions of my Fuel The Spark: 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law & Life CLE Ethics Programs in the next few weeks.

A couple things previous attendees have said:

“A Massage for Your Career.”

- ABA Annual Meeting Program Participant.

“The Best CLE Program I’ve Attended in 27 Years.”

- Program Attendee, Reno NV

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If you’re in Northern Colorado, attend:

Friday, December 17^th, 2010

8:30am-1:00pm

General Credits: 4.0

Ethics Credits: 3.5

Jury Assembly Room, Larimer County Court House

$60 in Advance. $75 at the Door.  All proceeds go to the Larimer County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

(Compare to $199 CoBar Home Study CLE Program)

REGISTRATION:

Young Lawyers Division, Larimer County Bar Association

c/o Josh Dart, Esq.

19 Old Town Square, Ste. 238

Fort Collins, CO 80524

For more info:

email: josh@dartlegal.com

phone: (970) 407-0090

NOTE: The Jury Assembly Room only has space for 50 people, so you’ll want to reserve your seat early. Tickets will go fast.

If you can’t attend in person, you can join online via a Webinar hosted by my friend Kendra Brodin and her Women Lawyers Online group.

Dates: December 8th & 9th @ 3:00-4:30PM EASTERN

Location: Online

Fee: TBD

Credits: (3-4 General & Ethics – will have final details soon)

Registration Information: kendra@kendrabrodin.com

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All Participants will receive:

1. 1. A copy of Kevin Houchin’s most popular book: Fuel the Spark, 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law and Life.
2. 2. 40-Page Fuel the Spark Action Guide to help you integrate the content into your practice and life.

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Program Description:

Sometimes we all need to look at things from a different perspective. This applies to both our personal and professional lives and how they blend into a successful and fulfilling legal career. Join Kevin Houchin for this nationally recognized Ethics program devoted to finding a more balanced perspective on the rules of professional responsibility and how we can put the rules into an easy system for finding more success in our practice and our lives. This intensive interactive workshop could be the best 3 hours you’ll invest in yourself this year.

Topics

The most profound choice any of us make is either to accept things the way they exist, or to accept our personal responsibility to change them.

PR Rules:

1.2: Scope of Representation

1.7 & 1.8: Conflict of Interest

1.13 Organization as Client

1.18 Duties to Prospective Client

Many successful people have found the simplest rule to success in anything is to “show up.” However, deciding where to show up and how to manage yourself when you get there can be a challenge.

PR Rules:

1.4: Communication

7.1: Communication Concerning a Lawyer’s Services

7.2: Advertising

7.3: Direct Contact with Prospective Clients

7.4: Communication of Fields of Practice

One of the hardest things to do in legal practice and in life is to truly pay attention. We get pulled in so many directions, so how can be do a better job of staying in the moment and how does that help our clients and colleagues?

PR Rules:

2.1: Advisor

5.x: Series

It’s easy to get bored and it happens to us all, so how can we avoid boredom and stay sharp? The answer is to keep multiple irons in the fire at once, paying attention to each in turn.

PR Rules:

1.1: Competence

1.3: Diligence

True fulfillment in legal practice and in life comes when you take the time to give back. Stewardship is the combination of giving ones time, talent, or treasure. This portion of the program helps define how you’ll make your greatest contribution.

PR Rules:

6.1: Voluntary Pro Bono Publico Service

6.2: Accepting Appointments

Faculty

Kevin E. Houchin is a different kind of lawyer. First, he has a fine art degree in graphic design and a dozen years of brand development and small business consulting before going back to law school. He uses both his marketing and legal skills every day in his efforts to help creative people reach their potential.

Kevin counsels creative people about how to maximize their creativity, build their businesses, and protect their intellectual property. Discussions tend to turn toward relationships and creative collaboration often, so sometimes Kevin plays the role of business and life coach in addition to attorney and marketing consultant. He truly enjoys the role of trusted advisor to his clients.

Kevin is the author of the book Fuel the Spark: 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law School and Beyond (March 2009). He is also the author of the forthcoming book The Secrets of Creative Business. He contributed a chapter on the legal issues of social media in the best-selling book Twitter Power, and is featured in KaChing, both by Joel Comm, published by Wiley Brothers Publishing.

Kevin is expert at helping people reach their creative potential, whether as an entrepreneur or as an attorney. He is the Founder of The Space Between Center for Creative Spirit in Business – an organization to helping entrepreneurs including attorneys align who they are with what they do. In addition to working with clients, Kevin writes a regular column for the leading business journal in Northern Colorado, blogs regularly at his several sites, and enjoys one of the top legal followings on Twitter.com. He speaks regularly for creative entrepreneurial business, continuing legal education, and law school audiences throughout the United States.

—

I receive a lot of email with offers for all kinds of different programs. I’m sure you do too. It can be a bit overwhelming for sure – especially when you also have client work, family, and community projects that need your attention.

Yesterday morning there were 3 new urgent client matters to deal with and an urgent matter for one of the community organizations I’m serving – all popping out of the blue. You’ve been there; you know what it’s like to be a solo or small firm attorney.

With all you have going on, why add more to your plate? Because adding the right thing at the right time can actually make your life less complex. I know it’s a paradox, but it’s true. The challenge is knowing when and what to change.

Hopefully, I can help. I’d like to make at least a part of your life easier.

We’ve all faced the fear of not knowing where the money to pay the bills would come from next month, let alone 6 months from now. Most of us don’t even want to think about 6 months from now, and if we do, we know in our hearts that any planning we’re doing is really just a fantasy.

That’s where being a member of The Space Between Center lawyer mastermind programs can help. One of the first things we do is help you free yourself from the trap of hourly billing and implement some flat fee models (customized to your practice, not mine) that will give you some benchmarks for REAL planning.

Does it work?

Here’s an email I received late last week from one of the founding members of The Space Between Center lawyer mastermind.  Remember this is after less than two months in the SBC program:

“I wanted to share with you that I landed one of the prospective membership clients considering my program (the other is just having me do a TM registration on a project basis for now) – his reaction was ‘I think that you have a great formula with the different tiers of service. Frankly, I wish we had met earlier so I could take more advantage of it…’- <- he is a very early stage start-up.

Once I showed the new membership client the math for the services they were looking for over the next year they signed up – at the $1500/month level!

Not only has this one client more than covered the cost of the Space Between Center program for me, but having knowledge of that recurring cash flow over the next year is already freeing me to focus on creatively growing my firm.”

Brian Fletcher, Esq.

The Fletcher Law Firm PLLC

Alexandria, Virginia USA

Founding Member, Space Between Center lawyer mastermind

Does it work?

Yes.

How good would it feel to know you had at least $1,500/month on the books through this time next year? How about $3,000, $5,000, $7,500?  How much better would your life be if you could look at contracted revenue of $10,000/month for the next few months?

That’s just one example and we’re too early in the program to have generally expected performance results to share, but it’s a great indicator of the results you COULD get if you become a member of our program and actually implement the approaches we’re discussing.

It’s about sharing.

It’s about experimenting.

It’s about moving through your fears and into the excitement & success that self-employment can offer.

It’s about being creative and taking control of your life and future rather than trying to fit your future into the model that some lawyer started using in England centuries ago. We’ve all been trapped by that guy. I’d like to throw some rocks at him. His billable hour model has caused unconscionable damage to lawyers and their clients over the centuries.

It’s time to get out of his trap.

• Are you ready to take a few simple steps to get control of your life?

• Are you ready to take a few simple steps to reach the potential you know you have inside?

• Are you ready to share your knowledge and experience with like-minded business, estate planning, and collaborative family lawyers who would like to share with you?

• Would you like some real support and guidance in building a legal services business and go beyond just “practicing?”

If you’re ready to get control of your life, then join us this Wednesday at 2pm for a free informational call about The Space Between Center’s lawyer mastermind programs.

We have openings in our small business mastermind group, and we’re introducing two new tracks:

• A track for estate planning attorneys led by estate planning attorney Candice Aiston; and
• A track for collaborative/family law attorneys co-lead by Michael Sherman and Steve Worrall.

Join us for the call.

The easy steps we’re talking about literally changed my life and took me from the depths of bankruptcy, fear, and anxiety to a place where I could plan, grow, succeed, and enjoy my profession. It can do the same for you.

Again, the call is this Wednesday, May 19^th at 2pm Eastern.

You’ll be able to learn what we’re doing in the programs, meet the leaders of the different tracks, and ask some questions to make sure the program is a fit for you.

Sincerely,

Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

Founder, The Space Between Center for Creative Spirit in Business.

P.S.  These programs are NOT for everyone.  If you’re satisfied in the billable hour model or if you have no intention of taking action to make the changes that will improve your life, then this program is not for you. If you’re ready engage with a mastermind group, share, implement, and receive, then you owe it to yourself to find out more.

Oh, and feel free to forward this post to other small practice attorneys that you would like to help succeed.

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is that most of us don’t have data to state what the Generally Expected Performanc Results ARE.

We’ve never done the research.

Now we must.

I was approached by Michelle DeKinder-Smith with an opportunity to co-affiliate the Site Compliant program, including the FTC Toolkit with her professional market research services. You wouldn’t guess it from first glance, but Michelle has over 20 years of consumer product market research experience – including projects for some brands that you would easily recognize.

Michelle was the first market research pro to understand the implications of the new FTC rules.  We immediately hit it off and saw a way to help each other out.

The first thing we did was a survey of the people who had purchased or otherwise indicated an interest in the Site Compliant LLC products including the FTC Toolkit. I don’t know how many of you have ever worked on a market research project, but let me tell you that working with Michelle was PAINLESS, EFFICIENT, and effective.

We found out great information about the products and services we’re offering through Site Compliant – including ways to improve the offer.  We also found out that 8-10 customers though the FTC Toolkit was a great value for their money!

Now we’re ready to take it (and you) to the next level.  Michelle has created a couple solutions to help people gather and analyze customer data so that YOU CAN use your wonderful testimonials again.

REMEMBER, the NEW FTC GUIDES require the disclosure of Generally Expected Performance Data when using testimonials – especially testimonials of the “aspirational” nature.  IF YOU USE atypical/aspirational testimonials without this GEP data disclosure, your aspirational (and completely truthful) testimonial will be interpreted as a statement of generally expected performance results, likely subjecting you to accusations of “deceptive advertising” from the FTC.

Michelle and I will be doing a FREE WEBINAR on the topic of Generally Expected Performance Results and the Market Research you need to back up your claims TOMORROW at 2pm EASTERN.

Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/667018355

Again, the webinar is free, will only take an hour, and will be hugely informational and helpful if you want to use those great aspirational testimonials again.

OK, it’s time to register now.  Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/667018355

Share the word.

Again, that’s Wednesday, December 16th at 2pm Eastern. (TOMORROW!)

I’ve been doing Webinars, Blogtalkradio shows, phone interviews, magazine interviews (no TV appearances yet, but amazingly the national TV media doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to this yet…). I am also a co-creator of the new FTC Toolkit and Site Compliant program and expect to see you using the new Site Compliant Trust Seal right away.  Here’s mine:

One question has been coming up over and over – especially for bloggers.

Do I have to put a disclosure next to every affiliate link or can I do one blanket disclosure?

Based on the new rules and the interviews with FTC officials that I’ve been reading, I think you need to do BOTH. So, I set up this site as an example.

Here’s what you’ll find:

1. A Disclosure Page

Some things you’ll notice about this page:

• First, it makes the required disclosures of material connection with each organization or entity that pays me a commission for links.
• Second, it makes the statement that I intend to be compliant with the FTC rules.
• Third, it gives my contact information.
• Forth, it tells people how I’m going to disclose material connections on my site.
• Fifth, it turns the disclosure page into another marketing page by including examples of all the affiliate links!  (I think this is brilliant…, but it’s 3:49am on Thanksgiving for Pete’s sake.)
  

2. Affiliate disclosures next to every element that visitors might not think I have a material connection with.

—

We’ll be posting this disclosure form to the membership area at www.sitecompliant.com for members to use as part of their membership. Yes, I know it’s short and easy enough that plenty of people are just going to steal this and use it without permission.  I can live with that if it helps a few people, but I also sincerely hope that most people will do the right thing (and find an incredible value) by going to www.sitecompliant.com, purchasing the FTC Toolkit and getting their 60-day free membership in the Site Compliant program and start using the trust seal on their site too.

YOU SHOULD BE PART OF SITE COMPLIANT starting NOW.

Is your site compliant?
Don’t risk it. Get The FTC Toolkit now! (I’m an affiliate and co-owner)

OH! And I hope you have a GREAT Thanksgiving, 2009. We all have a great deal to be thankful for.

I’ve been working on this day and night since the new rules were released on October 5^th. And, I’m not alone–I put together a full team of legal, editorial, marketing, and technical pros to bring this product and system together as quickly as possible, with the most thorough tools and systems as we could in time for people to implement our recommendations before the new FTC rules become effective 21 days from today on December 1, 2009.

This has really been a ride, and I hope it’s a ride that is just starting to gain speed.

It came together like this.

On Monday, October 5, 2009 – just 5 weeks ago, the FTC released the new rules. Joel sent me a quick email as he was getting on a plane to return from London after a speaking gig saying that when he got back into the office that Wednesday, he was going to have questions about how the rules were going to affect his information product business. On Tuesday the 6^th I downloaded and did a quick review on the rules. Joel and I had some brief conversations on Wednesday.  That night, the 7^th, I got home and felt something I can only describe as a “vibration.”

I was vibrating inside, kind of out of sync, excited and a bit off balance. I knew something was about to happen and as soon as I identified that my vibrating had something to do with the FTC rules (but not what yet), I knew I had to clear my schedule on Thursday the 8^th and really engage my full attention on the rules.

So, I cleared my schedule to the best of my ability on Thursday the 8^th, dug in, and wrote my initial blog post with analysis of the major issues that affect the businesses of my information entrepreneur clients. I sent the draft essay to a friend to proof-read before I posted it. The 8^th was my daughter’s 6^th birthday, so I knocked off work early to cook her favorite dinner (my famous garlic roast chicken and mashed potatoes). While cooking I came up with the idea to expand (greatly) on the essay and create a product with analysis, standard disclosures, forms, stock agreements, enforcement letters, etc to help every marketer understand the rules, bring their marketing into compliance, and remain compliant as enforcement actions by the FTC clarify the rules through real-life actions instead of the hypothetical examples included in the rules.

I emailed my friend Joel Rothman with the idea because I knew it was too big of a task to do on my own. Joel Rothman is a leading attorney in the area of nutritional supplements law (a major area/target of the FTC with these rules), and an intellectual property litigator. Rothman and I met and became friends when I needed back-up on the iFart v. Pull My Finger iPhone trademark litigation.  I knew he would be interested and be the perfect lawyer to bring into the team. Rothman and I scheduled a call for Monday the 12^th to discuss working together on the project.  I went back to cooking and had a great birthday celebration with the most incredible little girl on the planet.

The next morning the edited version of my essay came back and I posted it to my blog and shared it with Joel Comm to see what he thought.  My blog traffic was spiking to an all-time one-day high in unique visitors, then Joel asked if he could post it to his blog at www.joelcomm.com as a guest blogger.  Of course I said “YES” because Joel’s blog is one of the most-visited and most respected internet entrepreneurship blogs on the planet. Traffic spiked again.  I knew this was going to be something big because my body and spirit started vibrating again. I was already getting blogtalkradio.com guest requests.

Monday came. At about 2pm I had the conversation with Joel Rothman. He introduced me to Hugo Ottolenghi, a very experienced business journalist and editor. We decided to work together to put together the “FTC Toolkit” product. I decided to bring in another lawyer friend, Julie Yates, to help craft the standard disclosures, agreements, and policy documents. The legal authoring team was in place. I left the office to pick up my kids.

While I was running an errand with the kids on the way home my cell phone rang. It was Joel Comm, my internet marketing client. Joel said “this FTC thing is big, how about we do a paid conference call where you answer some questions for everyone?” I replied “how about I let you know Rothman and I are putting together an info-product on that topic.” Comm replied “you’re thinking big, how about we do a joint venture and run this though my team and go big.”  I said “sure” and we scheduled a meeting on Wednesday morning in Joel Comm’s office, with his marketing and technical team in the room and my legal writing team on the phone. (Rothman and Ottoleghi are in Florida.)

On the morning of Wednesday, October 14^th, the team met and the FTC Toolkit and the Site Compliant program and trust seal were born. Then we went to work. We knew we had to move fast, but be thorough. After all, there was a lot of analysis that needed to be done, and we had to have the product ready to launch well BEFORE the rules go into effect on December 1, 2009. We set what is normally considered a VERY aggressive launch date: November 10, 2009, with a pre-launch Webinar on November 9^th.

Now, the Webinar is only a few hours away and almost all the seats are spoken for. The days and weeks since that meeting on October 14^th have been intense with early mornings, late nights, and weekends of working on the project. (and trying to serve clients during the day too…).

Tonight the energetic vibration I felt on October 7^th manifests as the launch of the FTC Toolkit and the Site Compliant system. This project is motivated by an intention to serve as many people as we possibly can. I believe in helping small businesses (and large businesses) reach their potential. I think the creativity found in small business is divine. Helping businesses understand these FTC rules and stay out of trouble is an opportunity that came out of the blue, but I feel the idea was inspired, and so was the action, or else the team would not have been able to put such a comprehensive system together so quickly. Honestly, I hope a lot of people invest in the Toolkit and join the Site Compliant program, but even if they don’t, I’m still incredibly proud of the work we’ve done in the last few weeks and look forward to seeing how the next chapter of this adventure unfolds.

Later this week I get to travel to Reno, NV to present to Continuing Legal Education workshops at a bar association event. Thursday morning I lead a session based on my book Fuel the Spark: 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law and Life, and that afternoon I do a session on Social Media for Attorneys.

Big week.  Wish me luck.

I’ll be leading a Webinar with my friend, marketing partner on this project, client, and internet marketing Guru, Joel Comm next Monday, November 9^th at 6:00pm MOUNTAIN time. The Webinar is free, but space is limited. You can sign up HERE.

Again: sign up for the free Webniar Here.  Do it now.  Space will fill up quickly.

The new rules go into effect December 1, 2009.  Yes, in only a few weeks.  So are you ready?

Do you even know where to begin?

No?

I didn’t think so.

Well, don’t feel like the Lone Ranger. Most people don’t – and it’s not your fault because the new guidelines were just released a few weeks ago and they are subject to some different interpretations.

Joel and I will be discussing many of the implications of the new rules and introducing the project, product, and system that I’ve been working on almost non-stop ever since the new rules came out. Really, I’ve been dreaming about this stuff. Just ask my wife and friends – they’re sick of listening to me talk about this. Of course as a co-author of this product I’m hugely invested and probably a bit biased, but I’m convinced this is really going to help a lot of people quickly figure out what they need to do.

The product is a guide to the new rules we’re calling the FTC Toolkit. It is a thorough guide to the new rules including analysis, self-assessment checklists, sample disclosures, sample agreements, and sample policies. Incredible stuff here because I’ve not been working on this alone. I’ve assembled a team of lawyers, marketers, and communications professionals with over 75 years of combined experience in the relative material to develop the Toolkit.

We haven’t stopped there, because the FTC isn’t stopping there. These rules are going to evolve as the FTC starts enforcing the rules against people who don’t comply. So, people who purchase the FTC Toolkit will be able to join the Site Compliant(tm) program and receive ongoing updates to the Toolkit content and other timely information as the FTC begins enforcement.

And, we didn’t stop there. Members of the Site Compliant(tm) program will also be able to apply for and be able to use what we believe is the Internet’s first compliance “Trust Seal” that they will be able to proudly display on their site as a signal to consumers and to the FTC that they, as a member of the program, are taking a proactive and affirmative approach to being and remaining compliant.

This has taken a lot of work by a bunch of people over the last few weeks. If you were going to invest in this content from a lawyer on your own you would be need to budget at least $50,000 in legal fees, because my team has at least that much otherwise-billable time invested in this product.

Join us on the free Webinar to learn more. Again, that’s THIS MONDAY, November 9th at 6:00pm Mountain. Sign up HERE.

Remember to sign up NOW because space on the Webinar is limited.

… Then Vladeck (speaking of David Vladeck, Director of the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection) turned to the new FTC Endorsement Guides.  Everyone held their breath.

Before I go further it is important to remember that Vladeck comes from a consumer protection background.   He led the Public Citizen Litigation Group for 20+ years.

On the endorsement guides Vladeck’s message was clear:

1. Disclaimers like “results not typical” are useless and will be attacked by FTC.

2. Advertisers who make claims “will be held responsible for their claims.”

3. If your promotion relies only on testimonials “you will have a problem with us.”

Vladeck described this area for the FTC as a “target rich enviornment” in which they intend to pursue violators using all the resources at their disposal.  And when the 1000+ enforcement personnel at the FTC run out, FTC plans to call on the state attorneys’ general.  When the AG’s are too busy, Vladeck says that they will do as the FDA does and publish warning letters on the internet in order to “bully companies into compliance.”

Despite the backpeddling FTC has done in the media recently, Vladeck made it clear that he will enforce Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the endorsement guides.  It was as if Vladeck was drawing imaginary targets on foreheads around the room…

I spoke to several attorneys and CEOs at the reception that evening about the regulatory problem the enforcement guides present and everyone agreed that the problem is very serious.  One observed, candidly, that the problem was that “you never know what marketing is doing until it is too late.”

After all, lawyers and regulatory execs are considered “sales killers.”  We are never consulted by marketing in advance of a promotion for fear we will put the kibosh on the latest profitable social media marketing strategy.

So what’s next from the FTC?  Who knows.  After all, it’s a “target rich environment.”

For the full article. Visit Joel’s blog HERE.

Joel and I are working together on a new product and program to help companies of all sizes and in all niches become and remain compliant with the new rules. I should have more news about that to share with you on Thursday or Friday of this week.  If you are interested in helping promote this product, email me.

I also want to thank you for your time this week.  It was a huge relief that we are on the monthly payment plan.  We did not need to worry about the amount we would need to pay for our meeting and we were able to get great advice and keep our business on track.  Thank you again for your enterpreneureal spirit in working this through for us and others.  I hope you will have others take you up on this plan to ensure the success of their business.

Sincerely,

Kari Koppes

Apparel Design Alliance, Inc.

From: Brand, Kathleen W. – Department of Law
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:02 AM
To: White, Ginger – DOCA
Subject: Expo feedback

Hi, Ginger,

This is the first year I attended the expo.  I think the idea is wonderful.  I hope it is a yearly event.

I was present for 3 workshops, 2 for which I registered, and 2 for which I was the person staffing the room.  I have comments about all of these that I hope you find helpful.

The workshop on Copyrights was fabulous.  Teaching and communication are arts in and of themselves, and this session had it all.  What I loved most was that he taught from the ground up, not just providing a set of rules.  He [Kevin Houchin] taught from the heart and spirit of the law, and then made it interesting and fun.  Absolutely great.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Kathleen Brand
Legal Secretary
Denver City Attorney’s Office

Tim Batdorf, Past President, IAHL
http://www.lawyerandself.com/