Have you ever heard this saying?
Knowledge is power.
It’s trite and kind of cliché, but it’s also incredibly true. Knowledge gives you power, especially if you know how to use the knowledge you acquire. It’s so cliché in fact, that it’s taken for granted by most people.
Attorneys have to grow continually.
You have mandatory continuing legal education (CLE) requirements to meet. But how many attorneys go above and beyond that? How many attorneys have the time?
Not many.
Learning creates compounding growth
Learning from your own experiences is risky because you’re at the mercy of… your own experience.
Wait.
That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Actually it does.
You’re probably familiar with the Rumsfeld Matrix, right? This is the reason. Why learning creates compounding growth.
- Known/knowns: Things we’re aware of and understand. (your practice areas)
- Known/unknowns: Things we’re aware of but don’t understand (e.g. rocket science)
- Unknown/knowns: Things we understand but we’re not really aware of
- Unknown/unknowns: Things we aren’t aware of and don’t understand
Most attorneys simply drift through their careers. Their work happens to them. Their growth is limited to their experience which is limited to the first three categories above.
That’s the problem.
Most of the knowledge you need to dramatically outperform those around you exists in the unknown/unknowns category. Knowledge that by definition exists outside of your experience.
This is why you need it.
You need continuing education – on a variety of subject areas. If you’re not doing this you have no chance against those who are.
Here’s the problem you say.
I don’t have the time. I actually don’t have any time. None whatsoever.
This is completely untrue.
Most of us have lots of free time. Whether we use it to learn and grow is another story. But most of us do have the time. “You don’t know me or my life Andrew.”
You’re right, I don’t.
So what am I talking about? I’m talking about dead time.
What’s that?
Dead time refers to the time spent on monotonous tasks. The kind of tasks you can do without thinking about it. Showering, your daily commute, your lunch breaks, work out time, time spent doing errands, etc.
It’s the perfect time to learn.
You typically can’t read a book during dead time. This makes podcasts an ideal learning mechanism. So, let’s take a look at the legal podcasts you can listen to during your dead time.
Top 9 Legal Podcasts
This podcast provides attorneys specific insights on a variety of legal topics. They host three blogs: Legal Rebels, the Modern Law Library and Asked and Answered.
A team of investigative journalists, producers and scholars create biweekly episodes, using live storytelling to discuss all things law.
Serial is a whodunit podcast. It takes one story – a true story – and covers it, from a legal perspective, over the course of season. It’s an intense legal podcast that covers the factual twists and turns in a case. It’s compelling storytelling. And the best part? It’s all true.
A practical how to podcast, the legal toolkit covers topics like how to be a better associate, putting your firm on autopilot, how to make money as a lawyer and more. This gives you the ins and outs of becoming the attorney you want to be.
This podcast profiles legal professionals in a variety of jobs and practice areas. It’s intended to be something students can use to learn about what it’s really like to practice law. But it’s a great tool for seasoned attorneys to gauge their experience vs. others in their industry/locale.
Adriana Linares chats with attorneys and professionals in the legal industry. She covers topics like practice management, productivity, running a solo/small practice, rainmaking, job searching and more. Lots of practical advice for new and established attorneys.
Published by Thompson Reuters, this podcast covers interesting, trending and relevant legal topics. The Legal Current offers fresh insights from legal experts working in the field today. It’s concise, direct and gets right to the point.
This podcast covers the surprising twists and turns in criminal cases. These 45 minute episodes include a mix of testimony from legal professionals, journalists, family members and experts. Court Junkie stays neutral but works to humanize the participants in each case.
Hosted by Sam Glover and Aaron Street, the Lawyerist podcast has conversations with successful attorneys and professionals in the legal industry. Learn directly from the movers and shakers in your industry.
What if these don’t appeal to you?
You can use several directories to find the podcast that’s right for you. Here’s a few directories you can use to get started.
- The Legal Talk Network
- The ABA’s Best Law Podcasts
- Stitcher search (e.g. legal)
- iTunes search (via Google)
If it exists, these platforms should have them. The good news here is there’s something for everyone.
Dead time is the best time…
To learn.
Knowledge is power.
As trite and cliché as that sounds, it’s completely true. Learning from others is a straightforward way to flush out your unknown unknowns. Things you don’t know, that you don’t know.
This is where your competitive advantage comes from.
Most of the knowledge you need to dramatically outperform those around you exists in the unknown/unknowns category. Knowledge that by definition exists outside of your experience.
Use it.
Take advantage of the dead time in your commute. Do it consistently and you’ll acquire the knowledge and power you need to become the attorney you’ve always wanted to be.
It’s very quite brilliant post which I have never read before and has said my desired topic about some legal podcasts worth listening. In fact, there are some law type matters and I always think about the law parts.