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The Managing Partners Podcast

Charis Campbell

Episode # 193
Interview on 05.24.2022
Hosted By: Kevin Daisey
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About Charis Campbell

Representing: Golden Key Law Group, PLLC

Charis currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Family Law Rules Committee for the Florida Bar. She is also an active member of The Canakaris Inn of Court, an association comprising lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals who share a passion for professional excellence in family law. Her goal as an attorney has always been to spend the necessary time understanding her client’s needs and facilitating a plan to pursue them under the law diligently. She also serves as a Director on the board of the Clearwater Bar Association and a board member of Adoption Related Services and Mt. Zion Human Resources. She understands the unique dynamics of every family and the circumstances that can affect the same dynamic.

Episode transcript

Kevin Daisey:

All right, everyone. We are live. Welcome to another live recording of the Management Partners Podcast. My name’s Kevin Daisey. I’ll be your host. And I’m also the founder of Array Digital. We help law firms grow through digital marketing, help fill their case pipeline. Today, I’m joining the special guest out of Florida, Charis Campbell. Welcome to the show.

Charis Campbell:

Thank you for having me.

Kevin Daisey:

Yes. Thanks for joining us. And you’re in Florida. I think I said you’re closest I could tell is around the St. Petersburg area, Clearwater, Florida.

Charis Campbell:

Yes. I’m located [crosstalk 00:00:36].

Kevin Daisey:

So give us the details where are you actually located?

Charis Campbell:

So I’m located in Pinellas Park, right by city hall. So not too far from St. Pete, about 10 minutes.

Kevin Daisey:

Okay. What’s one cool thing about the area you’re from.

Charis Campbell:

Well, I’m actually from The Bahamas and I became a US citizen today. So-

Kevin Daisey:

Today?

Charis Campbell:

Today I just had my ceremony.

Kevin Daisey:

Wow. Well, congratulations.

Charis Campbell:

Yes. But I really do like Pinellas Park. It’s very close knit, small community. Yeah. I really do like the area.

Kevin Daisey:

That’s awesome. Great. Well, congratulations again. I’m glad we’re the first place for you to announce that.

Charis Campbell:

Thank you.

Kevin Daisey:

Awesome. Well, so first question I always had to ask is, tell us your story, tell us your journey, obviously coming from The Bahamas, what influenced you to becoming an attorney?

Charis Campbell:

So what actually influenced me to become an attorney is spending time with my grandfather in The Bahamas, during the summers, we would watch Law & Order. And for three summers in a row, I would always fall asleep to the constant episodes because they would play it back to back, to back. And then as I got older, I actually started paying attention and my interest peaked that way. And then fast forward to college, I attended University of Florida. And I was actually pre-med at the time I thought I wanted to be a doctor, but I was on the… I took pre-law classes as well. Yeah. My major was criminology. And then in my junior year I switched over. So pretty well.

Kevin Daisey:

You’re like, wait a minute. I like this law stuff.

Charis Campbell:

Yeah. I like reading, and writing, and arguing, talking so…

Kevin Daisey:

Well, doctor or lawyer, neither one’s a bad path to take. Well, that’s awesome. That’s interesting. And it’s cool to just hear everyone’s different stories on how they got where they are. So take us from when you switched in school to where you are today and the firm that you have.

Charis Campbell:

Yeah. So I attended Stetson for law school, and I actually worked at a lot of real estate firms. I thought that would be my primary practice and worked for a nonprofit, doing that for a couple of months. And then I got approached by a partner, my old partner to start a law firm shortly after. And that’s where I hang my first shingle.

Kevin Daisey:

Okay.

Charis Campbell:

Yeah. So we worked together for a few years. Then I left and started my own practice in 2015.

Kevin Daisey:

Okay. And that’s Golden Key Law Group?

Charis Campbell:

Yes. In November 2015, Golden Key Law Group was born. And here we are today, steadily growing, steadily increasing our practice areas. But we primarily focus on family law, that’s like I would say 7% of our practice, but we also do real estate, social security, and some criminal law.

Kevin Daisey:

Okay, excellent.

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

Oh, [inaudible 00:04:19] plan?

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

Okay. Excellent. So everyone listening, if you’re listening on your drive or on the podcast, the website is goldenkeylawgroup.com. Very easy to remember. You can go take a look at her firm, see what she’s all about, see what they’re located, connect with her, of course, through there and anyone that could use her as a referral, another attorney down in Florida, I’m sure she’d be happy to chat with you there. So. Awesome. So you said the family law makes up the majority of the practice?

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

Okay. Excellent. And estate planning, that makes sense. I mean, the things that you’re doing there go hand in hand and even some criminal it all what I’ve heard from other attorneys, of course, that those are kind of natural progressions as you go along, clients have those needs and you can help them out with those needs. That’s excellent. And so how many, based on what I saw you have three partners in the firm, that’s three attorneys?

Charis Campbell:

Yes, yes.

Kevin Daisey:

Three attorneys?

Charis Campbell:

Yes. So I’m the sole owner, but I do have two other attorneys, Shannon Riley and Rita Briles.

Kevin Daisey:

Excellent.

Charis Campbell:

And Rita, she handles the criminal and estate planning for the firm. She’s been practicing for about 25 years. And then Shannon, she’s our new newbie. She worked as our law clerk for a year. And then she’s been practicing now for a year. So she assists us in all of the areas.

Kevin Daisey:

Excellent. Love it. And so all in all, I assume you have some support staff and things as well. How many folks do you have in total at the firm?

Charis Campbell:

So in total there are eight of us.

Kevin Daisey:

Oh, awesome. That’s strong, strong for a family law practice.

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

So, tell me a little bit about some of the things you’ve done. So you started in 2015, had some great growth. It sounds like.

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

And it’s your baby, which is awesome.

Charis Campbell:

It is my first baby.

Kevin Daisey:

And well, yeah. It’s something different when you start something yourself and it’s yours. What are some of the things that you’ve done through that process to gain new clients? Anything marketing wise, that’s worked well for you to drive clients in the door?

Charis Campbell:

So I’ve always actually believed in operating on an shoestring budget as far as just spending what’s comparable to what I have. So the tactics have changed over time. When I first started, I did a lot of community work. I did lot of face to face. So I was in B&I for a couple of years.

Kevin Daisey:

Oh Yeah. Familiar.

Charis Campbell:

Yep. And that’s how I got to meet a whole lot of people in the area. I also, I’m very involved in the legal community. I’ve served as president for a few organizations and continue to serve the leadership and that helps with referrals. So a lot of peer to peer networking is what I did in the beginning. And then when we started building our clientele and I started spending more time in court, almost three or four days a week. Now, I had to at that point I decided to kind of scale back on the face to face and do more of the hiring a marketing company to help us with the SEO and paper clicks and that marketing.

Kevin Daisey:

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it’s critical these days, but you can never replace the face to face and the referrals but it does take a lot out of your time too.

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

That’s how I built my company as well, just meeting people and I’ve served on a lot of boards and I’ve just got a lot of events. I’m actually looking forward to getting back into some of that just because of COVID it’s like all right I do… I got to go see people.

Charis Campbell:

Me too. I’m zoomed out is what we call it.

Kevin Daisey:

Yeah. Now, I hear you. So I’m actually looking forward to hopefully, near spring and summer, just getting back into some normal events and networking.

Charis Campbell:

Definitely.

Kevin Daisey:

But, yeah. But it does take some time and it’s you to prioritize.

Charis Campbell:

Yeah.

Kevin Daisey:

But yeah, so I looked at your site and yeah. All those things are important. It’s stuff obviously we do marketing. That’s what we believe in having a good reputation. I always tell people if you have a good referral source or people refer you, Google is just another referral source. It’s the people that don’t have a referral. They can’t ask their neighbor or they don’t, or maybe they just move to the area, Google is going to be where they go and why not be there?

Charis Campbell:

Agree.

Kevin Daisey:

So, and if you are there, you have good reviews, your reputation, video on the site, all those things will play a part where they’ll call you and take the next step. And that’s all you’re looking to do.

Charis Campbell:

I agree. Yeah. I think it’s best to diversify and hit as many… Having used it as you can, continue to be involved, which we do. We split up organizations in a sense. And yeah, Google presence, Google reviews that’s been the biggest thing for me.

Kevin Daisey:

Awesome. That’s great. Yeah. It’s nice to see that you guys are putting the effort in there. I see you at 61 right now. It looks like based on your Google. So that’s awesome. You got them flooding in. That’s going to help you rank locally and everyone listening, that help that affects everything you do. And I think most people are like, “Well yeah, I like to do good work.” And so we get referrals if we do good work and you have to do that.

Kevin Daisey:

That’s a must. But if you do good work and you focus on getting people to give those reviews to you online, builds your online presence and not rely on just the referrals sources that face to face. So I love it. So what’s your plans for going forward the next couple years? Growth plans, anything big on the agenda?

Charis Campbell:

Well, I’m always in the pursuit of continuing to grow and scale. Not saying there’s never enough clients, but the more clients you get, you can decide on what kind of clientele you would like. And not only that continue to hopefully add attorneys and move more towards an administrative role versus my litigation role right now. And I have about four trials scheduled for this month. And so I am constantly in court and prepping and spending long hours. So, hopefully, transitioning more to a manager role. And then, of course, I’d love to buy an office building.

Kevin Daisey:

Very nice. Awesome. I was just talking to a divorce attorney a few minutes ago before we were getting on here that they’re looking to purchase a building in January, I guess. But that’s one of their big goals this year. So very cool. That’s awesome. It sounds like you guys are going the right direction. You’re growing, you’re doing the right things. You’re investing on digital marketing and doing good work. So I don’t see a reason why you won’t get there. That’s for sure. And just like you I’m ready to get back to the meetings of folks. How are the courts down there? Are you going in-person? Are they doing virtual? Is it a mix? How’s that going?

Charis Campbell:

I would say about 90% virtual.

Kevin Daisey:

Oh really? Okay.

Charis Campbell:

We’re still virtual. There’s some trials and hearings being held in-person, but it’s on a case by case basis. The family law judges do have a desire to slowly transition back to in-person.

Kevin Daisey:

Got you. Awesome. Okay. I just like to find out how you guys from all around the country and some report different things. So want to see what’s going on out there. Well, last question, not in your questions, but one I just have is for a young attorney listening, maybe someone in law school, they’re not an attorney yet that might be tuning in, any advice you have for them, for getting started and trying to get their feet wet. What would you give them?

Charis Campbell:

The biggest advice I would give them is to stay busy, right. When I opened my firm, if I didn’t have the clients, I spent the same amount of time marketing and getting involved in organizations and trying to develop the client phase and then use your strengths. So if you are a people person and you have no issues with networking, definitely use that to your advantage. If you love writing, then blog. It’s just use your strengths, your marketing strengths to your advantage, and then operate on the shoe strength budget. Don’t spend in more in marketing than you can afford, or it may be worth taking a risk, but at some point, sometimes you have to take a risk. I know when I was ready to pay my first marketing professional, I made the calculation, okay. It’s 3000 a month, but one case can pay for it. So I would hope that they’ll give you one pay.

Kevin Daisey:

That’s right.

Charis Campbell:

And so weighing your risk and taking a chance in certain cases, too.

Kevin Daisey:

Awesome. Well, I appreciate that. That’s good advice. Yeah. And if you don’t have clients, then you start out, don’t sit around. You got to do whatever you can to get more clients. So makes total sense. A lot of DIY in the beginning, marketing throw together your own website. There’s all kinds of things like that. Until you’re ready to, before and to be able to invest and take some risk. So, great advice. I love it. So let me pull your website back up here. So everyone, listen again, if you’re watching or listening, website’s below goldenkeylawgroup.com, go check that out, to see her website, learn more about her, check out all the reviews that they’ve got.

Kevin Daisey:

I think it’s kind of right at the top of the website, which I like and see what they’ve done. And this is a short amount of time. I mean, you started in 2015, so moving right along. So anyone out there trying to take the next step, maybe haven’t hired anyone yet. Maybe you’re a sole practitioner, look what she’s been able to accomplish. So I think it’s also… And congrats again on citizenship is what you said, right?

Charis Campbell:

Yes. Thank you.

Kevin Daisey:

That’s awesome. Anything else you want to share before we wrap it up?

Charis Campbell:

Well, you have my website there and, well-

Kevin Daisey:

Yes. Anyway. Yeah. Sorry for, to ask other way that someone can connect with you if they wanted to reach out, sorry.

Charis Campbell:

Yes. You can also give me a call. (727) 317-4738. My phone number is right on the website and I’d be happy to speak with any attorney who’s interested in hanging their own shingle or have questions I’ve met with attorneys in the past and shared what I know. I have no issue with that. So I’m always eager to impart knowledge.

Kevin Daisey:

Yeah. She likes talking to people.

Charis Campbell:

I do.

Kevin Daisey:

So give her a call. Now, I just appreciate you coming on. You’ve been just a great person to talk to and I appreciate it. And sharing your story and again, congrats on citizenship and all the things you have going forward. And yeah, just looking forward to you getting back to some in-person events and getting out and about, and hopefully you’ll move more into that administrative role and get to do more of that too.

Charis Campbell:

Yes.

Kevin Daisey:

I’m sure you’ll get there. So everyone else, if you’re listening, you’ll see this episode with Charis here soon, it’ll be up on our website. So you can go to thisisarray.com>/podcast and as well, it’ll be up on the podcast version on all platforms. We’ll share this as a live episode as well in the future here on my LinkedIn and Facebook as well. And then, of course, we also have the Managing Partners Newsletter. So that goes out twice or I’m sorry, every week. So we’ll actually feature some of our attorneys that are coming on the show in each of the episodes of the newsletters, as well as, a lot of other cool information marketing tips. We also have the book club. So a lot of our attorneys set come on the show have written books will feature those books as well for other attorneys to check out.

Kevin Daisey:

And yeah, so look out for the newsletter as well. And as always, if you need any help marketing, the digital marketing has worked out very well for Charis here. So if that’s something you need help with, that’s what we do. We help law firms with the websites, SEO, advertising, and social media and help get them new clients. So, if you need that help, please reach out and array.com and we’ll be happy to talk to you. Charis, anything else you want to share before you go?

Charis Campbell:

I would say that I wish I can get more into social media marketing side, maybe contacting you soon to discuss that. I think that’s an untapped area that a lot of attorneys can tap into.

Kevin Daisey:

There’s a lot going on with that area. And I’ve seen some have some very good success with that. And folks, you would not expect to have success with certain things like TikTok and Instagram Reels and all that stuff. So there’s attorneys out there doing some cool stuff. So yeah, I’ll be happy to talk to you about that. But either way, stay on with me for a minute and we’re going to stop recording everyone else. Have a great day and thanks for tuning in, and we’ll say goodbye.

Charis Campbell:

Thank you.

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