Shane McClelland

Shane McClelland is the Founding Partner of the Law Office of Shane McClelland, a Texas-based law firm that focuses on personal injury law. Before going to law school, Shane worked with high school students by teaching them the tools they needed to both survive and thrive in life. After getting married, Shane pursued a career in the legal field and opened his own client-focused practice. Shane realized long ago that his drive to serve people as their legal advisor was born out of his desire to care for injured people or anyone being taken advantage of. Since then, Shane has worked side-by-side with thousands of clients for the last 15 years, placing their needs at the forefront of everything he does as an attorney. By choosing to run a client-centered firm, Shane has the unique and amazing opportunity to put himself in his clients’ shoes. As he’s taken the time to better understand and support his clients’ needs, Shane has been able to establish a deep level of trust with his clients. No matter what case Shane takes on, his first priority is to build a relationship with his clients so he can help them find the reassurance, emotional support, and guidance they each deserve to achieve the best outcome for that case.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I try to start my day with time of reflection, whether that’s meditation, reading a book, or journaling, and I try to exercise 3 to 4 times per week. I’m generally in the office by 8 – 8:30. I check my email when I first get into the office, but I try to only check my email periodically throughout the day; otherwise, I find that I can spend all day responding to emails and not being productive on moving cases forward. That said, because my job is so centrally focused on helping my clients I try to be as responsive as possible. But generally only checking my email every few hours helps tremendously with my productivity. After I check my email, I get with my staff, and we get started on projects that require immediate attention and then those projects that help my clients find resolution or the help they need. Having an amazing staff that works with him helps me stay productive. We work together to try and accomplish as much as possible every day. I also try to utilize the most effective and efficient technology to stay productive. There are so many tools and software programs or apps that make promises to help improve your productivity. Sifting through those applications can be overwhelming. I think it’s important to think critically about the big picture, what are your goals, and how can any particular piece of technology make my practice more efficient.

How do you bring ideas to life?

By understanding that life is often about progress and not perfection. When I have an idea that I think is going to help improve my law firm or help my clients, I look at how that idea is going to affect every aspect of my firm from my clients to my staff, to my time. But through perseverance, taking chances, and knowing that not all ideas are going to work out you can learn from that. And harnessing what you learn from those experiences, and allowing them to make you better instead of bitter will help you bring your ideas to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The implementation of new technologies in law firms is one trend that excites me. New technology can help us with productivity on a day-to-day basis, but also through integration with social media or other marketing tools, it can really help grow your business.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Building relationships within your community. I believe that, at some level, all jobs are relationship driven. And I know that having relationships with my clients and the community is essential to being successful as a personal injury lawyer. I try to build relationships with individuals and organizations within my community. But not just for marketing purposes. I want the people who live in my community to know that our firm’s goal, my goal, is to serve the members of my community by walking arm in arm with them when they’ve suffered an injury and need help navigating the legal system.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t be so hard on yourself and be willing to take chances and embrace failures as an opportunity to learn and grow. But the experiences I’ve had since childhood have shaped me into who I am today. My journey has helped me have the empathy and insight I needed to create a thriving and fulfilling client-based legal firm.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

Running a client-focused business is crucial, relationships matter more than money. If you want your business to grow, you have to put your clients first and not your drive to make money. Doing this allows you to better understand things from each client’s perspective, and create a company brand that’s driven more by relationships rather than profits. As you take the time to work alongside your clients, you increase your ability to differentiate yourself from your competitors and create a more sustainable business.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Community Involvement is something I frequently focus on and recommend other entrepreneurs look into. Getting involved in things like non-profit organizations or volunteering in local youth groups is a great way to get your name out there and connect with people who may need your services in the future.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

When I start to feel overwhelmed or unfocused, I like to prioritize my tasks. Doing this allows me to prioritize my most important tasks and focus on what’s most important. By considering the urgency and importance of each task, I’m able to make informed decisions about how to best allocate my time and resources which allows me to be more productive, efficient, and effective in my work and personal life.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Becoming a client-focused legal firm is the one thing that has helped me grow my business the most. As I’ve strived to compassionately listen to my clients’ needs and give each of them the attention they deserve, I’ve gained a stronger ability to represent my clients and get them the best possible results. This has caused me to get great reviews and an increased amount of referrals, which has driven more traffic to my website and, as a result, helped my company grow exponentially.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

There was a period during my time as a lawyer when my practice wasn’t growing and in fact, I lost out on many opportunities to represent people that I wanted to represent. I overcame those failures by seeing them as an opportunity to learn and as an opportunity to grow. Evaluate what happened, and make a course correction.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

If you’re a business owner looking to gain a competitive edge and take your brand to the next level, you should consider hiring a digital PR firm. Digital PR firms specialize in leveraging the power of digital media to help businesses increase brand recognition, manage their reputation, and improve their overall digital marketing strategy. By creating compelling content that resonates with your target audience and utilizing their expertise in digital media and SEO, they can help you achieve your goals and grow your business in today’s competitive marketplace.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

As a solo practice attorney, I have multiple cases and tasks I need to juggle and manage at the same time. With the majority of my attention on my clients, I have little time to focus on marketing for my legal firm. After doing some research, I hired a digital marketing company that can help manage and optimize my website’s rank, plan and create content that drives engagement, and executes various media outreach projects so I can spend the majority of my time maintaining a client-focused practice.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

I took my sons out to dinner and sat outside with them and enjoyed the beautiful meal, but, more importantly, I enjoyed and embraced the opportunity to spend time with them. Again, it all goes back to relationships. Getting to spend time with my sons while building and nurturing those relationships is invaluable.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

“The Generosity Factor: Discover the Joy of Giving Your Time, Talent, and Treasure” by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy is the one book I recommend. As I’ve stated before, running a client-focused business is the best way to maintain continual growth. In this book, readers learn how to use their time and talent to help those in need and form strong relationships that can go a long way toward building a successful business.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

These days, I don’t usually have time to watch a movie or T.V. series. However, when I have the time to watch something, I’d most likely choose a show that’s either humorous or based on real-life events.

Key learnings:

• Community involvement is a great way to connect with people who may need your services in the future.
• If you want your business to grow, you have to put your clients first.
• Social media is an excellent way to share meaningful content that can establish your brand and attract an audience that is in need of the services you provide.