Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Bob:
(00:01):
Welcome to this episode of the Justice Team Podcast on the Justice Team Network. And today we are very, very honored to have Attorney Booth, Quincy Booth coming to us from Pennsylvania.
Quincy:
What's happening? Happy to be here.
Bob:
Yeah, Quincy, thank you for coming. If you're watching, you're either on the Apple Podcast listening or if you're watching on YouTube, I'm wearing my favorite Pittsburgh Pirate jersey. This is Bobby Bonilla, still getting paid by the Mets.
Quincy:
I love it, I love it. I was going to wear my Phillies jersey... Actually, I was going to wear a green suit for my Philadelphia Eagles, but we won't talk about the Eagles too much today.
Bob:
Yes, well, I grew up on the west side of the state, the better side. You grew up in Filth-adelphia, Pennsylvania. So, we're going to talk about a relevant topic for a lot of lawyers here that are listening. They want to know, "Hey, how do I make extra income as a lawyer? How am I able to generate cases outside of my jurisdiction?" I think it's one thing that you've really been able to excel at being licensed in Pennsylvania, as well as California, took the California Bar, and some other states, and do a lot of construction-specific cases, construction workplace injuries and product liability case has kind of been your niche.
Quincy:
Yeah, man. So, the interesting thing about going to school in Pennsylvania, I'll just start with kind of how I got started as a multi-jurisdiction practitioner, is that certain states... Obviously, they're going to be border states, so Pennsylvania, Jersey, New York, they offered back when I was in law school, the ability to take the multi-bar exam, the multiple choice portion, as well as both written days in three consecutive days, right? So, I started out taking the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar, so it's like Tuesday, Pennsylvania written day, Wednesday, multiple choice, Thursday, Jersey written exam. So, just drive down Atlantic City, and you drink away your woes after that Thursday bar exam, right? And then you wait three months to find out if you're licensed in two states or zero states or maybe one, but-
Bob:
Did you see any of the kids from Jersey Shore?
Quincy:
Pauly D.
Bob:
[inaudible 00:02:09] Pauly D [inaudible 00:02:09]-
Quincy:
Pauly D. What's the other one's name, The Situation?
Bob:
Mike The Situation.
(00:22):
Quincy:
Yeah. No, I didn't see any of them, but it was an amazing time, because you're starting out the gate, not just licensed in one state, but two. And then you quickly realize, look, this gives you the opportunity to grow your practice, to have a much broader reach when it comes to your clients-
Bob:
I'm today years old that I realized that we can move this mic down, so they can see my face.
Quincy:
Yeah.
Bob:
You taught me something. Look at that.
Quincy:
Oh, is that what I'm doing? Okay, cool.
Bob:
Look at that.
Quincy:
Yeah, exactly. It's flexible like me.
Bob:
Oh [inaudible 00:02:41].
Quincy:
So, having that flexibility to market yourself to not just one state, but two or several really is a game changer, but it comes with some challenges. Every state has its own set of rules, and I learned... I think that there could be no greater contrast in the practice of personal injury law than Pennsylvania and New Jersey. So, here's an example. In New Jersey, in a wrongful death case, there's staggered fees that are statutory in nature. So, you can't just-
Bob:
The retainer is completely different.
Quincy:
(00:43):
The retainer is completely different. So you've got to, like the first... Don't quote me exactly, because I don't practice as much in New Jersey anymore, but I think the first million, you can only get 20%, and then between 1 million and 3 million it's like 30%, and then anything after that, a different percentage. So-
Bob:
And if you're having somebody sign your Pennsylvania retainer in New Jersey, that's a dead-bang ethical violation.
Quincy:
Exactly, so the other part is the ethical rules. I mean, fortunately for the three states that I'm licensed in, which are Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California, I think all of them for the most part follow the model rules of professional conduct. So, take your MPRE exam, and you're good to go for the most part. Obviously, you want to acclimate yourself with certain nuanced rules wherever you practice.
Bob:
And the other thing is whenever you have multi-jurisdictional is a lot of people don't realize that other lawyers are looking for other lawyers as their local counsel or they need somebody in a specific area to help run logistics.
Quincy:
Exactly, and in tune with that, I mean I've had the opportunity to be on the pro hac side. So for our listeners, that's when you associate with a local council, and then you might not even be barred in that state, which opens the door for a much wider arena within which you can practice. If you associate with the local council and you specialize in a particular type of case that they don't, they can file a motion with the courts in their state to admit you pro hac vice, but the logistics of things is pretty intense. I mean, I reside in California, but I'm always back in Pennsylvania as much as possible physically, because that's where my home is, and that's where I was born into the law. So, I wanted to physically be there as much as possible. When I'm not, the advent of AI and remote work has made it super easy to handle my caseload there.
Bob:
Yes, and how much of your... Because you still have a lot of cases that you're doing in Pennsylvania back East, and then also your California practice, how are you able to manage doing that?
Quincy:
I think the biggest challenge is with respect to court appearances. Depositions are 10:00 AM pretty much universally. And so when I have a dep at 10 AM in Philadelphia, or in Pittsburgh or someplace, I'm up at like 5:00 AM, 4:30-
Bob:
Why are you sleeping in?
Quincy:
... California time to get ready, because it's going to start at 7:00 AM from here. Otherwise, it's about case management, utilizing software to manage your caseload, be on top of your files. If you've got support, which I do, just touching base with them as frequently as possible. I think one of my biggest strengths is client connection, and I've always prided myself on just being available for my clients, regardless of when during the day they call me. So, I get calls at 4:00 AM, because someone on the East Coast is calling me at 7:00 AM their time, and I get calls at 12:00 AM, right? So, I'm always available to be there for my clients.
Bob:
And I think a big thing that you brought up a lot of lawyers should have is you have a base of your case management software. It also sets you up for multi-jurisdictional practice, because some of them auto-populate the rules of that specific state.
Quincy:
Right, right.
(01:04):
Bob:
That's huge.
Quincy:
So EvenUp, for instance, I've used EvenUp in both states, California and Pennsylvania, and it's so simple. You just feed the system, the state in which your demand applies, and they will pull for you... I mean, this is incredible. They'll pull verdicts for your specific type of case according to the jurisdiction that you're in. They'll weave it into the demand, and obviously you want to meticulously read through it, so that there isn't some California case law that they're citing in your Pennsylvania case or vice versa, but for the most part, it does all that work for you.
Bob:
Yeah, EvenUp's been great for us, too, and I always say it takes you 90% of the way there. You still got to fact check-
Quincy:
Sure.
Bob:
... to make sure it's good, but-
Quincy:
Exactly.
Bob:
... man, what a time saver, but it's products like that that allow you to move at a lightening pace, and you can literally be where you want to be with your wife in her home in Southern California and still practicing and running your caseload. Just for our listeners to be aware, some states are very archaic as it comes to technology. I am also licensed in Texas, and they have some that require in-person hearings, like they have no technology at the court.
Quincy:
Right.
Bob:
For some bullshit hearing, you got to go fly in, and-
Quincy:
That's the other thing. So fortunately, and I've practiced up and down the coast in California, so cases in San Joaquin County, down to San Diego County, and certain counties within California might have e-filing, right? So, it makes it so much easier to interact with the court, because you can do it from your computer, versus other archaic counties that might require paper filings, and you've got to have your administrative duties really on point.
Bob:
(01:25):
Yeah, let's talk about the monetization of the multi-jurisdictional practice. So, for those of you that are on Attorney Share, you can add right now, put Attorney Booth, find Quincy. You can put them at the top of your waterfall for Pennsylvania.
Quincy:
That's right.
Bob:
So, that's the easy way, or New Jersey, or California, because he get right of first refusal on those construction workplace injuries or product cases-
Quincy:
That's right.
Bob:
... To be able to look at it, and I think that's something very easy for our listeners to be like, if you get a referral or somebody calls you in Pennsylvania, who do I know there? You can literally go there and have it auto-populate to go to Quincy.
Quincy:
That's the-
Bob:
Referral fee.
Quincy:
I was looking at it today and my mind was blown. It's so cool. I can't wait to be a part of it. And another thing about multi-jurisdiction practices, the substantive case law that you've got to be familiar with is probably the most challenging, right? So, I've been actually fortunate that for instance, in products liability, I remember in law school you'd be in... I went to Pitt Law, we'd be in torts reading through products liability case law, and I remember being like, "Why do we borrow so much from California?" The Supreme Court in Pennsylvania would cite California cases pretty often. And so, I found that there isn't a big disparity between how those laws are applied, which makes it pretty useful, so that you don't have to know one type of law over here and one type of law over there, but there are other areas of law that could be very starkly complicated.
Bob:
Yeah, and I think that's where you lean on some of your networks, and have communities, and sub-communities within there that'll help you, and I think it's good for lawyers. You can market yourself as the go-to for that region.
Quincy:
Exactly.
Bob:
I know a lot of lawyers just on Instagram, I send them cases, because I'm like, "Shit, who's in Ohio? Oh yeah, the Ohio guy."
(01:46):
Quincy:
Right.
Bob:
I can send it to him or her.
Quincy:
Yeah, it's funny. My friends throughout my life have always looked at me as the guy to put them in touch with somebody or help them through a challenging time, and that's why I became a lawyer in the first place, because I pride myself on helping people, and it fulfills me to help people. And so, even when I might not be the person that handles that specific type of law, I want to be people's first call for everything law, because my network is-
Bob:
Yeah.
Quincy:
I've built such a vast network, and that's one of the cool parts about this profession is that the plaintiffs' bar, regardless of whether you're talking the Philadelphia Bar, or the bar in California, it's so collegial, and through people like you, I've met so many great lawyers and we piggyback off one another. And if a client calls me, I pride myself on letting that client know that I'd rather me make less money, but you make more because you are in the absolute best hands possible, and I've worked with those firms on those cases. I mean, I like to do as much as possible on a case for somebody or worst-case scenario, I've made sure that you've got the best attorney possible.
Bob:
Yeah, and I think for anyone coming out of law school, a young lawyer, you should think of yourself as a general counsel for every call that comes in.
Quincy:
Right.
Bob:
And sometimes you're the specialist that handles it, but sometimes you're the person to find them the specialist. And that's where you can partner with those folks, learn from them, learn their specialty, and share in the fees.
Quincy:
You are inherently as a plaintiff's lawyer, a leader, right? So, let's just say you have your own case and you were like the general of that case, right? You're going to battle, you've got an army behind you, one of your soldiers is your client, right? Obviously, it's all for their benefit, but you've got a whole bunch of other soldiers, too, your staff, your experts, the doctors, the people that you're going to go into that trial with to tell your story, your client's story. And so when you look at yourself as a leader, that's what it's about. You're also a leader when you refer cases, right? I'm leading my client to the promised land just with the help of somebody else.
Bob:
Yeah, and you could still be the point of contact, still keep in touch with them, make sure that everybody's doing everything together, and efficiently. Yeah, so how do listeners find you first of all? What's the best way?
Quincy:
(02:07):
Easiest way is Instagram @attorneybooth, right? It's pretty simple. Booth is my last name, so @attorneybooth. On Instagram, I give people my direct cell phone number. It's (267) 231-1195.
Bob:
Say it a little slower.
Quincy:
(267) 231-1195.
Bob:
Why isn't it @phonebooth?
Quincy:
I don't know, I don't know. That's a good idea.
Bob:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it just came to me.
Quincy:
Well, there's a little slogan, the Injury Booth, I like that. I need to put a cape on and come out of the booth. I'm the hero for your case.
Bob:
How about Hot Tub Time Booth? That would be awesome. Don't do that, nobody will remember-
Quincy:
I feel the only two people would love that, you and me.
Bob:
Yeah, it's like when I went through this branding exercise on for Instagram they wanted to do, and they're like, "You got to change it from @planetfunbob." I'm like, "Fuck that. I love that name."
Quincy:
No, dude, I love that @planetfunbob.
(02:28):
Bob:
Everybody now calls me... I go to conferences and people come and be like, "Oh my God, you're Fun Bob."
Quincy:
You are a master at marketing, man. I feel like Pittsburgh as a city should hire you to market theirs teams.
Bob:
Oh, I would crush for them.
Quincy:
If I see you 20 times a year, 18 times out of those 20 you're wearing some Pittsburgh gear, which is amazing. I love that.
Bob:
I also have it tattooed all in my body. There's the Clemente Bridge. I actually have a Pirates symbol back there, Steelers, it says Justice. That's so I don't forget, your roots.
Quincy:
Yeah, man.
Bob:
Yeah, dude. So, what advice do we have for somebody that's in law school right now to be able to help get into where you want to be as a lawyer, and also actually make money and have fun doing it?
Quincy:
So, I was having a chat with a law student very recently, and I was explaining to them different streams of income as a plaintiff's personal injury attorney. One being that you directly market to clients and you generate business that way. Another way is to really facilitate referrals, which back into Attorney Share, you've got these incredible tools now to facilitate that process for you. So, the referral networks that you build and establish can end up being a source of income for you [inaudible 00:15:17]-
Bob:
A big source of income.
Quincy:
So it's like-
Bob:
(02:49):
On either end of that, too, you could either be the specialist [inaudible 00:15:22]-
Quincy:
Right, where you receive the referrals.
Bob:
Exactly, there's a lot of people that I know that do nothing other than be your local counsel.
Quincy:
Right.
Bob:
The whole business models around they get a smaller percentage of the fee, and they're literally the ones that are filing the cases for you, that have the relationship with the staff and the judges, and people... I would gladly pay for that, right? It's a huge thing.
Quincy:
100%. I've actually been tapped for local counsel. I was mentioning that earlier, pro hac vice. I've been on the receiving, or the other end where I file a motion to pro hac somebody in, because they had specific knowledge of a baby sleeper case, and this products liability case involving Rock 'n Play and baby sleepers. And they had already hit big on the big company's Fisher Price, Mattel, whatever, and they weren't licensed in California. So, you work with them as local counsel, you develop knowledge. Look, when you're local counsel for somebody, it is a perfect opportunity to learn a new area of law.
Bob:
On their dime.
Quincy:
On their dime.
Bob:
Yep.
Quincy:
And now you might not be the expert specialist, but you slowly start building that expert knowledge, and the next thing you know, you don't need somebody else to work with on those cases. You're marketing yourself as that type of attorney.
Bob:
I love it, and that's what I think a lot of people come out of law school and say, "Oh, I got to take that the big corporate job or work for the defense, because how am I going to be able to make money?" And then you get lost in that pattern. It's like, "No, you can actually go into something you love to do, niche up into it, and then still advertise that you can help everybody as a whole, and then find the specialist to monetize it."
(03:10):
Quincy:
Exactly.
Bob:
I mean, I've seen people under the age of 30 have massive success just marketing on YouTube and on Instagram. I mean, it's crazy.
Quincy:
I mean, it's mind-blowing, but here we are, right? And you got to go with it-
Bob:
Look, the client gets a good result, because they're getting the specialist.
Quincy:
100%. What else is interesting is between differentiating different jurisdictions is the procedural practice. So Pennsylvania, I think out of my 10 years of practice is the easiest procedurally on the papers. So, I'm talking the format of your complaint, right? California, you've got like pleading paper, you've got like the numerical lines on the paper, which is annoying to use if you ask me.
Bob:
I don't know it any other way.
Quincy:
But yeah, you know that, but in Pennsylvania you just slap your motion together, your complaint together, you e-file it, and you're off to the races. But you compare and contrast certain procedural things like a motion for summary judgment, for instance, right? In Pennsylvania, you got 30 days to respond, that's it. I think it's a little different in California. You might have like 15 days before the hearing date with which you have to file a response, and in a recent case that ended up being... That gave me like 55 days to respond to [inaudible 00:18:15].
Bob:
Yeah, and then in Pennsylvania, you can't even ask for a number for general damages, for instance.
Quincy:
Right, right.
Bob:
You got to be creative around that. There's all these different nuances, and that's where you have to really, if you've got to get in the trenches, just have a network of folks that you can bounce those ideas off of to make sure.
Quincy:
(03:31):
Exactly, the more you start realizing that even if substantive law is similar in a state as compared to a different state, you're going to have enough differences where it just behooves you to call somebody that knows what they're doing in that state, right? So for Pennsylvania, that's me.
Bob:
And another good thing is that interpersonal networking. It gets easy for law students, young lawyers, to literally slide into somebody's DMs and be memorable, very easy, very easy.
Quincy:
[inaudible 00:18:53].
Bob:
And that's how I develop relationships. Go to also-
Quincy:
Sliding into DMs?
Bob:
Sliding into DMs? Oh, did you give your OnlyFans account out? I know you gave your Instagram one. Oh, that's the Phone Booth.
Quincy:
Yeah.
Bob:
There we go.
Quincy:
No, it's really cool. So, your listeners might not know, I went viral a few years ago.
Bob:
Oh, I remember that, yeah. Not the kind that you need the penicillin for?
Quincy:
No, not related to anything OnlyFans related, but no, I sang a song... So, my wife's Persian, and I sang a song at our wedding in Farsi, the language that Persians speak. And I got so much positivity and love from people worldwide, okay? The video went viral. There was like a million views on TikTok and Instagram, and I've actually gotten business from that.
(03:52):
Bob:
See, it's crazy, but yeah, monetize it.
Quincy:
You can do something... I'm not necessarily encouraging you to go and try to be like a rapper or singer to get business as a lawyer, but just know that you can monetize anything that you're interested in, because you offer that information to the public, to your viewers on Instagram, and next thing you know, you get tapped for a case or two.
Bob:
Exactly, and then when you're building out your profiles, I don't care where you are, people should know what you do-
Quincy:
That's right.
Bob:
... know where you are, and have it easy to click to refer your case.
Quincy:
100%.
Bob:
And that's where we're actually going to build that out for Attorney Share, where people can have just a link that's going to be on all their social media profiles. So if they push it, you can automatically refer in, that'll be tracked. It's a no-brainer, but you know how many lawyers I see that reach out for mentorship and I go to their Instagram handle? First, it's private. It's like, "Okay, accept, so I can see-"
Quincy:
What sense does that make?
Bob:
It makes no sense, and then it doesn't show where they are. I have to literally Google to find where they are.
Quincy:
Yeah.
Bob:
(04:13):
And it's like, "How can I even refer you a case to remember that?"
Quincy:
Yeah, it's weird. So, I've gotten referrals from attorneys on Instagram and people sliding into my DMs asking if I do this, that, or the other. And sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It's just amazing. You want to avail yourself at all times. So, that's what I was going back to earlier. I mean, I've availed myself to both attorneys and clients alike at any hour of the day, and I make it easy for them to find me, to reach out to me. And I mean, that's a bare minimum.
Bob:
And I think monetizing multi-state practice is a big thing that you do very well, and I want all of our listeners to reach out, slide into Quincy's DMs or anyone. Another good thing to do, you could do... I call it digital networking.
Quincy:
Right.
Bob:
You could do it that way, but also conference networking, go out there meeting people, and I like to go to out-of-state conferences and be the California/Texas guy.
Quincy:
Right, right.
Bob:
Right? So there's one guy that... He's a Virginia lawyer, and we were talking about it, I was like, "Dude, your logo should be Virginia's for Lawyers." You know how that Virginia is Lovers-
Quincy:
Lovers, yeah.
Bob:
... and he actually made it. And then so he wears a-
Quincy:
That's so good.
Bob:
... T-shirt and goes around when he goes to conferences and has it and everybody remembers it.
(04:34):
Quincy:
That is so good.
Bob:
Now, everybody knows he's the Virginia guy.
Quincy:
It's the simple things.
Bob:
It's the little things like that.
Quincy:
It's the simple little things, man.
Bob:
I'm going to start wearing this jersey around. I got to get licensed in... I'm not licensed in Pennsylvania.
Quincy:
You don't need to be. You got me.
Bob:
That's right, I can just refer you a case. Actually, I have.
Quincy:
I like what you did there.
Bob:
That's true, that's true. I like that.
Quincy:
(04:55):
Exactly. So, I was born into construction law. So, I worked as a brand new lawyer, baby lawyer, the nation's leading construction accident firm. And after I had left, I mean they just recently hit for, I think, close to $1 billion in that Miami collapse case.
Bob:
Oh, wow.
Quincy:
So, I love construction accidents. They're complex, because you've got... No pun intended. They're complex, because you've got so many different contractors, right? You got OSHA, Occupational Safety Health Administration rules and regs to sort through and swift through, but at the same time, damn near every contractors got OSHA violations in the past that you can just [inaudible 00:22:54]-
Bob:
And that's why you have to find a specialist, because it's not difficult, there's just so many nuances, and there's different layers of insurance, and there's different people that are indemnifying other parts of people that are on there, and you have to know a little bit about contracting, and a little bit-
Quincy:
Correct.
Bob:
... about carpentry and things like this. I had a case yesterday came in where a door fell on somebody. It sounds simple, but it...
Quincy:
No, it was more complicated, yeah.
Bob:
Yeah, yeah.
Quincy:
But for new law students or for new lawyers, I mean, one thing that I would always say is just always have fun with it, right? Because I mean, this is a tough practice. It's a beautiful profession, but it's not easy. There's so much work involved, and if you can find a way to always have fun with it, it'll help you get through your days and weeks.
Bob:
And it's so much more fun if you're co-counseling it with somebody else.
Quincy:
Right, right.
(05:16):
Bob:
It makes it, because you have somebody to talk to, somebody to lean on.
Quincy:
The beauty of it is that you're always learning. I'm always learning. Every time I sit with you, I learn something that is super next-level stuff, right?
Bob:
Like when we were putting mayonnaise on sandwiches, that blew your mind? The guy's never had mayonnaise before. That's so weird.
Quincy:
I would never eat mayonnaise. I don't like mayonnaise. No, but you just got to always have fun and always be learning, right? I mean, the more you learn, the more tools you have in your toolbox to go out and get business and earn a living.
Bob:
It's like leveling up on Dungeons & Dragons, more EXP points-
Quincy:
You would've played Dungeons & Dragons.
Bob:
I still do. I have a big game tonight.
Quincy:
Such a nerd.
Bob:
Big game tonight. Oh, yeah.
Quincy:
[inaudible 00:24:31].
Bob:
(05:37):
Oh, yeah.
Quincy:
You didn't graduate the Pokemon or anything?
Bob:
No, get out of here, stupid. We're actually an development. We have a game coming out that we're modernizing Dungeons & Dragons-
Quincy:
Really?
Bob:
... and taking out all the... It's called Ravel and it's by Rackico Games, but it'll be coming out soon. We're going up to the gaming convention here at the end of the month.
Quincy:
Get out of here. [inaudible 00:24:48]-
Bob:
Pretty far along, man, yeah. But we do with the other lawyers, we actually have a campaign we're starting with a bunch of lawyers at our firm.
Quincy:
[inaudible 00:24:54]-
Bob:
Fun for team-building, man.
Quincy:
Oh, hell yeah.
Bob:
Yeah, so anyway, we took a little tangent there, but I think at the end of the day, if you're going to market your multi-jurisdictional practice, there's a lot of very easy levers you can pull to make revenue for either sending cases out, getting them in, but also practicing what you want to do. And for lawyers out there, young lawyers or old lawyers, if you're going to say you're good at something, get good at something, and make it lucrative.
(05:58):
Quincy:
Right, right.
Bob:
You don't want to be like, "I'm the banana peel slip and fall at 99 Cents Store lawyer."
Quincy:
The other thing to newer lawyers is if you're thinking about multi-jurisdiction practice, I would leverage the energy that you have in proximity to when you take your first bar exam, to take the second or third one if you have... So, I had to take the California Bar Exam because there was no reciprocity-
Bob:
Dude, California has reciprocity with nobody.
Quincy:
And it was like six years after I had taken, or five years after I had taken the Pennsylvania Bar Exam, so it hurt. [inaudible 00:25:51]-
Bob:
Yeah, so thank you for listening to this episode of the Justice Team Podcast on the Justice Team Network, which you can find on Apple, on YouTube, or go to www.justiceteamnetwork.com. Thank you, Quincy Booth, for coming in.
Quincy:
Thank you for having me.
Bob:
And if you have any construction cases, if you have any questions about product liability cases, or if you want to plug in a case in through Attorney Share, he's sitting there for you in PA-
Quincy:
Right here.
Bob:
... CA, New Jersey, and soon to be...
Quincy:
(06:19):
New Mexico.
Bob:
New Mexico, New Mexico. He's going to be the champion of the Black community in New Mexico.
Quincy:
Hell, yeah. I already am.
Bob:
Already am. Look at that, fuck yeah. You got to get some more cowboy boots though.
Quincy:
I do. I don't own a pair.