Morris ("Mo") Lilienthal is not just a successful trial lawyer in Huntsville, Alabama. He's also a dad, husband, and volunteer who has cultivated a large social media following.
But Mo doesn’t fill his social feeds with car crash statistics and lawspeak. His Facebook and Instagram videos and posts chronicle his family life, offer life tips, and show off his funny weekend wear. And his popular Facebook Live series, The Mo Show Live, features interviews with community leaders, non-profits doing great work, and positive stories that viewers love.
Mo tells us how sharing personal and vulnerable stories has rapidly expanded his social media footprint and leads to business referrals because his social media connections feel like they know him.
Enjoy the conversation with Mo Lilienthal.
Guest Insights
- Mo discusses his influences and priorities. [1:32]
- How Mo’s family life has shaped his path. [3:30]
- How Mo started sharing on social media. [04:17]
- Tips from Mo. [05:38]
- Mo started The Mo Show Live on Facebook to highlight nonprofits, people in the community, and positivity. [07:05]
- Mo’s YouTube channel and The Mo Show Live podcast. [07:31]
- The importance of being genuine. [08:45]
- Getting comfortable with sharing experiences. [09:53]
- Dealing with feedback on social media. [10:47]
- How Mo’s social media activity spotlighting the community leads to business. [11:43]
- People reach out to Mo for all their legal needs; an analogy to an internist referring patients to specialists. [13:24]
- The importance of walking clients out to the street (and resulting endorsements). [15:00]
- Lawyers are trained to have all the answers and believe their social media feeds must be about the law. Mo proves the opposite is true. [16:18]
- Connect with clients on common interests. [17:24]
- Athletic background shaped Mo’s hard work skillset. [19:28]
- Making friends of opponents through genuine connection leads to more referrals. [22:40]
- #WeekendWorkShirt. [25:02]
- People pay attention to the details. [26:19]
- Mo’s personality type: Introvert or Extrovert? [27:41]
- Becoming a trusted advisor by building trust in you as a human being. [29:44]
- Relating to people at all levels and with different views. [31:17]
- Getting in touch with Mo. [33:54]
Links from the Episode
Episode Transcript
John Reed: [00:00:00] Morris “Mo” Lilienthal is a gentle giant; a former high school and college football player turned trial lawyer who discovered the power of social media. And he has embraced social media, and what it has done for him personally and professionally will restore your faith in humanity. No joke. Morris, I know you told me I can call you “Mo” and I’m going to, because you are so personable and so friendly and so authentic that I feel I just have to call you Mo. It would be a disservice if I didn’t.
[00:00:32] I smile every time I think about you and the things that you’re doing just because it’s the perfect mix. As I say, you’re so authentic and the way you come across and what you’ve done is so you, and so real. I’m delighted that we’re speaking today. And I have to say, this probably might be the easiest episode I’ve ever recorded because I think all I have to do is tee up some of the many stories you have to share and just let you go.
[00:00:54] So it might be a different format today. One thing I want to start off with is how I started to do some research on you. First, I went to your law firm website bio. And it’s very buttoned up. It’s professional, admittedly typical, but there’s a curious little badge that says “Mo Show Live” and you click on that link.
[00:01:16] It takes you from Morris to Mo. I love that, number one. And I love the fact that the first line on that separate website says, quote, “I’m Morris. And I’m a dad, husband, volunteer, and trial lawyer.”
Mo Lilienthal: [00:01:32] It’s just who I am, and it’s who I am in that order. And I think if you’ve got your priorities straight –and how I was raised and things that influenced me growing up– I’ve always put my family first. That started with my wife. And then when my son was born, he moved to the front of the line there, and my wife would say the same thing.
[00:01:53] And so everything falls in after that. So, I prioritize putting them first and giving back to the community and doing. Because I think at my core –in what I think should be everybody’s core if I was influencing others– should be family and your friends and giving back to the community because they are essentially your larger family and friends. Whether you know them or you don’t, you’re influencing them, and they are influencing everything that you’re doing in and around your ecosystem.
[00:02:23] And then, certainly, what I do from eight to five (but really, it’s a lot longer than that) is to be a trial lawyer.
John Reed: [00:02:30] So, this idea of being deliberate, and influential. How do you carry that into your law practice? How does that translate into building relationships with prospective clients and referral sources?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:02:45] I try to do that through my practice and the types of cases that I handle, and the types of people that I help, and some of the products liability cases that we’ve handled and been involved in over the years, to make a difference in the community, to make a difference in people, individuals, laws, and in some cases not law, but sometimes yeah.
[00:03:04] We make a difference in how companies interact and (we) change how they handle things to influence the community as a whole, in a better position. So, that’s kind of where it comes from. And it’s just who I am.
John Reed: [00:03:15] You know, a lot of lawyers have kind of a bold line of demarcation between work and personal life. But I get the sense that your personal life, your family life, affects your practice. Can you talk about that?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:03:30] When I grew up, my parents were divorced and I didn’t interact a lot with my dad (and that’s a whole different podcast), but that’s just always wanting to put my son first. And if you dive into my story a little bit more, I think you guys have, you know I lost my first son. And that certainly has molded and shaped me and my wife and how we interact with our son now.
[00:03:53] And so that’s just who I am, man. That’s it. And that’s how I roll.
John Reed: [00:03:57] I’ve heard you speak. I’ve met you before –I’m sure you don’t remember– but I remember you; you’re extremely memorable. You’re doing things with social media, that you certainly wouldn’t expect from an attorney and you wouldn’t expect from a lot of people.
[00:04:11] So, what’s your superhero origin story when it comes to getting involved with social media and really embracing it?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:04:17] Well, I think my backstory on social media is like a lot of people. And that is, I was kind of just someone that was on a couple of platforms, mainly Facebook to start with. And I just kind of looked and lurked and occasionally, if it prompted me, I’d give a like, and maybe throw a picture out there or something. But it was just kind of one of those things that when I’m not doing something, I take the thumb and scroll up and down. But it really started probably four years now or so ago where I was kind of looking at ways to get involved more in the community and spread positivity and highlight things and help others and engage. When I was a lawyer, the way that firms have traditionally done that — and lawyers are traditional– my firm’s been around for 84 years next year.
[00:05:00] it was network marketing and meeting people and making a handshake, “grin and a grip,” as we say, and meeting people. And they trusted you and they sent you business. Well, I have kind of taken the position that we still do that, but the position that that can be done on social media but amplified in such a way that I can get out and spread positivity and impact others and engage with others and give feedback without the expectation of anything in return. And I do get things in return. First and foremost, I get positivity. I get feedback. I make new connections or reconnect with people that I connected with before and in turn things, good things, come from that.
[00:05:38] But where it kind of started was with me doing what I call my “Tips From Mo,” which were these 60-second video tips and had nothing to do with the law, because nobody wants to hear about the law. Occasionally out of the 500, I’ve probably done a handful that have been about the law. But it’s more about consumer-related things, as opposed to the sticky issues that we deal with in the law that may affect how someone’s case turns out.
[00:06:02] These are life tips, hacks, inspirational things that have moved me and something that I have seen on a ball field –at an eight-year-old’s or ten-year-old’s ballgame– or something that inspires me. Or for example, recently I shared one out that a lot of people were interacting with that I thought I was late to the party on (and evidently others are still back there), which was adding the hotspot to your cell phone package. And I’d never done it because I didn’t want to lose my unlimited data. And I shared that out. And as a parent, if you’re a parent out there and your kid’s got one of these Switches or you’ve got an iPad that only has Wi-Fi access, then man, this is life changing. And for me riding in the car a lot when my wife’s driving (she’s usually chauffeur for the family), I’ve got the laptop now and I’m pounding out emails and doing stuff while we’ve been on some road trips recently. And that’s kind of where it started.
John Reed: [00:06:49] You went from being a looker/ lurker, you know, thumb scrolling and liking, whatever else. Then you moved into video. Then what?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:06:58] I started with that and did hundreds of those, dedicated doing, same hashtag, and did it on a myriad of things.
[00:07:05] And then that gave me the inspiration and the confidence probably to start The Mo Show Live, which was my Facebook Live show. And I started that with the idea of highlighting non-profits, people who are doing good in our community, and other people who have a great story. And that’s what I’ve done. And I’ve been doing that show for three plus years now, and I’ve had 80 plus guests on.
[00:07:31] And then as I’ve done that, what has developed is I’ve just refined that. So, it just started with me doing the Facebook Live show and doing The Mo Show. And then I add into the mix, let’s start a YouTube channel and add it to YouTube. Then I add into the mix, let’s start doing a podcast version of The Mo Show Live. Well, that means we rip the audio and add an intro and an outro and do that.
John Reed: [00:07:53] So, for anybody who’s listening and might be confused, your community is not in New York City from the sound of your voice. It’s Huntsville, Alabama, right?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:08:00] That’s right.
John Reed: [00:08:01] Okay, Good. Just wanted to clear that up.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:08:03] Roll tide.
John Reed: [00:08:04] I know that you give a lot of talks and you give a lot of great advice on the “how.” And you kind of just talked to us about the how, the things that you were doing.
[00:08:15] What really strikes me though, is your vulnerability comes through on this stuff. I would say that you’re fearless and I think you are. But I keep coming back to the word “real,” right? You didn’t contrive these 500 videos. You didn’t sit down and say, “What’s really going to work with this group that I’m trying to market to?”
00:08:34] It was kind of from you, outward. And if it flopped, it kind of sounds like you would have been okay with it. And if it took off, that’s okay too. But you stayed true to it. It’s what I see from it.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:08:45] A hundred percent. And I think in anything you’re doing, and we’re talking about social specifically, I think it has to be genuine and true.
[00:08:53] I think that’s with any marketing and do, and I think people see that and feel that, and they know whether it’s real or it’s not. I’ve made connections with people that I’ve never met. People reach out to me. Or if I go to a conference, people will come up and tell me they follow me on social.
[00:09:10] And they’ve made a connection with me through something that we share, that I just shared on social. And what I try to do is I try to be real with people. And the things that I share are life experiences that I have that I think other people either have those experiences or would be interested in that experience.
[00:09:30] And maybe they haven’t had the freedom or the willingness or the ability to open up and share that. And I just think you’re genuine. And if you’re genuine, people will connect with that.
John Reed: [00:09:40] Was it, I don’t know, video number 111, when you stopped feeling so vulnerable or when the confidence kicked in, or do you still feel it when you share stuff?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:09:53] I still feel it sometimes. And there are things that I have a question, whether I should share that, or would people be interested in that and do? I think after a couple, 75 to a hundred videos, I just kind of let my guard down even more and I felt more comfortable about letting my guard down and do.
[00:10:11] And the people that want to engage will engage and people that are reached are reached. And that’s just kind of how I did. But you know, a lot of people ask me, well, you just feel like you’re really free with it and you can do it, and you don’t have a problem with that. And that’s not true. I mean, especially at the outset of this three or four years ago, it was very, very difficult for me to let loose and start doing these videos. And I might shoot a Tip From Mo six or eight times before I felt like it was worthy of sending out. Now, I never shoot it more than at most two, but that’s once every blue moon. Now, just shoot it one and done and get it over with.
John Reed: 00:10:47] Social media can be a pretty evil place, too, and I wonder –and I can’t understand why it would happen– but have you had any negative response to the things that you put out there? The things that you share?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:10:58] I did a show a few months ago that I felt called to do with a lot of the social justice things that are coming out. And I did a show like that and I was a little concerned whether I was going to get some feedback, negative feedback, on that. And I just got to the point of saying I don’t really care at this point. I feel so strongly about this issue that I wanted to bring that out and really didn’t get any feedback. But I was really calculated with my guest and made sure that the guest was on point. And, I couldn’t have had a better guest that I had to talk about that issue.
John Reed: [00:11:29] What’s the connection between your social media activity, your focus on the community, your spotlighting your local community, and business development? Getting more work, getting new clients?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:11:43] Yeah. I mean, my position has been kind of what I was leading into just a little earlier. And that is it’s making connections and growing –it sounds so conceited now to say this– but growing my brand. Let’s say that I have a brand; I’m big enough to be a brand. But growing my network of people that I can meet and influence and do, and that if I can meet a new person in my community, or I can meet someone else who has a really good story that I can help share their story, making a connection with that person.
[00:12:15] In the last three years of these people that I’ve interviewed –I mean, I’ve interviewed just a myriad of people locally. I started kind of locally, and it’s still more local centric, but I have people who are regional people. And I have people– I’ve had the international president of Rotary. Oh my gosh.
[00:12:30] He has over 1.6 million Rotarians in 200 and something countries. So, you know, I I’ve had the ability to network and do. What it’s done is it’s really allowed me to reach out and connect with these people. So, I’m top of mind with them now, right? We hear a lot in the marketing world and it’s being “TOMA,” Top Of Mind Advertising.
[00:12:52] Hey, I want this person that’s three hours away that may have connected with me on social media, that if something unfortunately happens to that person, that the first thing they think is, “Man, I better call Mo.” And it’s because I’ve been entrenched into them.
[00:13:07] I’ve made that connection with a tip or two that I’ve made. I’ve made that connection because they’re the ones that have got the “low battery dad” shirt like I’ve got. They’ve got a kid and they’re trying to shuffle them from –last night– from flag football practice at 47 degrees (which was really not a really smart idea) to basketball skills training.
[00:13:24] We’re shuffling from one to the other, taking off cleats, putting on basketball shoes. People understand that. People connect with that, right? But that person that connects with that, six months later when they have a legal need, the hope is that they’re going to know, like, and trust me already. So, they’re not going to go shop. Their first instinct: “Man, I better call Mo.” And they are.
John Reed: [00:13:24] Are you the first call for any legal issue? Or are you the first call for the work that you do?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:13:51] No, it’s any legal issue. And that’s the key. And especially in my firm, we’re a mixed firm where we do a lot of different things. I only specialize in doing trial work, personal injury work, but we do a lot of estate planning and other areas of the law.
[00:14:04] So, people just trust you. It’s kind of like when you have a doctor that you know, you just call that doctor. And they’re like, well, I’m a podiatrist and you’re calling me about a cardiac problem. Here’s the cardiac doctor to call. So yeah, people are reaching out to me for lots of things. It could be something I can’t really help them with specifically, but I always get right back with them. I let them know what my recommendation would be and put them in touch with somebody that’s capable of helping.
John Reed: [00:14:25] We go to our internist and hopefully the internist can help us in that initial visit and we’re good to go. But if it’s beyond the internist’s capabilities, we understand that. And they are going to bring in the specialist to help us. So, I think you have established yourself as the internist. You get to ask, “Tell me where it hurts,” and then make the determination, whether it’s you or somebody else.
[00:14:47] Your work in the community, it’s walking up and down the street. And you shared with me that you have a practice, not a law practice thing, but you have a routine that you walk your clients to the front door and out to the street.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:15:00] So, I guess it’s just the Southern boy in me that when we leave a meeting, I’ll always walk my clients, not to the door, but I walk them out on the front steps of the courthouse here. We’re right on the courthouse square. We’ve got one of these old Southern movie-type courthouses where we’ve got a square.
[00:15:16] So, I go to walk some clients out a while back and we’re walking out and it’s before COVID so we’re able to shake hands. And so, we’re talking and up walks Devyn Keith and Devyn is the president of the Huntsville city council at the time. And Devyn has been a guest on The Mo Show.
[00:15:34] And because of that, I’ve gotten to know Devyn and we’ve been to lunch a couple of times and coffee and these kinds of things. And Devyn introduces himself to them. And I tell them that he’s president of the city council and Devyn says, “Well, you’ve got the best lawyer in Huntsville, Alabama. You’re in capable hands.”
[00:15:50] And I mean, I can’t say anymore.
John Reed: [00:15:53] You can’t buy that stuff. That’s an endorsement.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:15:55] And in fact, to further that, yesterday or day before yesterday, I shared out a tweet about me being selected again to the Super Lawyers list. Devyn retweeted it and said, “I hope I never need him, but I know he’s here. Thank you,” he wrote, “for what you’re doing in the community.”
John Reed: [00:16:12] My goodness.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:16:14] I mean, that’s the city councilman sharing that out in soon to be the largest city in Alabama here in the next two years.
John Reed: [00:16:18] What I find interesting, we spend three, sometimes more years in law school being trained to be experts, being trained to speak this different language, the law.
[00:16:30] And it’s ingrained in us that we have to have the answer. And what I find so interesting about what you do is whether it’s not knowing how a hotspot works or something else that you come across that you share, you’re not coming off as the lawyer dispensing legal advice from on high, from atop your ivory tower. You are right there with people. You are living your life, just like they are in their sharing. And I want to call this out because I think there’s this misconception out there that, “Hey lawyers, if you’re going to get involved in social media or any sort of personal marketing, whatever, make sure you’re talking about the law.”
[00:17:12] And you’re proving that you can talk about everything but the law for the most part, and still make a fantastic and indelible impression on people so that you have top of mind awareness.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:17:24] Yeah, I agree with that. And I think it’s because nobody –when you’re flipping through social media and doing, you’re not looking for a lawyer at that time.
[00:17:32] Right? And that’s not something that you’re, I mean, maybe a few people are, but generally speaking and most people don’t care what someone else is doing at their job that day. You know, “Hey, I put together 57 car parts today on the assembly line.” Nobody else wants to hear about what your job did unless something extraordinary happened.
[00:17:49] Lawyers in law firms are approaching it the wrong way by just blitzing social media with “Here’s my 10 Car Wreck Checklist; 10 Things to Know If You’ve Been in a Car Wreck. “
[00:17:59] Do we have some of that stuff? If people have been in a car wreck and they are looking on Google or somewhere? Yeah, we’ve got those resources available for people, but that’s not what I’m harping on and doing. I’m trying to build a genuine connection with people that connect with me in some way or manner or shape. And I try to do that with my clients in any meetings. And there was a meeting with someone yesterday over the phone, talking with someone that made a connection because the person was a schoolteacher.
[00:18:27] Well, I’ve got a huge heart for schoolteachers because I feel like I’ve been one forever because my wife’s in year 20 of teaching school, and we live and breathe school around our house. And now even more so when it’s half hybrid and we’re teaching school from home and we’re taking school from our home and do. I’m trying to set up a show right now with the administrators in the school system to talk about ways to help parents. So, I can do a show on that, how to better educate your kid from home and do. Here’s some tips. Here are some issues that the superintendent’s office is saying, and the classroom teachers are saying, and I think it would be a great resource, and people will really eat it up. We’ll see.
[00:19:01] But I think it’s about building that connection. And if I’m blasting memes or pictures of car wreck images and saying, “Call me if you’re in need.” Nobody’s going to do that. That’s just like a billboard on the interstate. It’s just a billboard on Facebook. And I guess it will get you some, but it’s not the way I’m going at it.
John Reed: [00:19:20] In terms of your sports background, certainly your college football career, etc., how does that impact your practice?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:19:28] I think my background is –and I’ve spoken a lot about it and done some shows about it– I think my background in athletics has really benefited me well to teach me the skillset of hard work, dedication, and resiliency, and getting knocked down and overcoming obstacles.
[00:19:46] And winning in the courtroom, because I learned how much it takes to do. And each of our backgrounds are different, but with me, I’m not the best athlete and do. But I worked very hard and did and was a protector and somewhat successful. I wasn’t an SEC college ball league football player. But we won the state championship my senior year in football and I was captain first team, all state and all those kinds of good “Uncle Rico” moments. But it was based upon we went 5-5 in the regular season and were only, I think, one of only two teams in the whole history of Alabama high school football to ever win a state championship with a 5-5 record.
[00:20:20] But that kind of resiliency is something that that’s been my core in everything I do. With me being a lawyer now, I think clients want someone who’s genuine and I’ll make it a point to always meet my clients. A lot of people that do what I do have an investigator or somebody else meet the client, and I want to meet my client.
John Reed: [00:22:40] Being a litigator, I’m sure the greatest compliment is when the other side hires you at the end of a case to take on something else. And I know it doesn’t necessarily happen in your world, but I think you’ve got a story to tell me about a great relationship that you’ve forged with a particular insurance adjuster.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:22:54] Yeah. I won’t name names because I don’t want to divulge a bunch of things out and do, but I had someone locally that I’ve got cases and claims against and it’s one of those things. We have a good professional relationship, and so, we’ve kind of butted heads here and there, but they’ve come to, as you know, like, and trust me, and respect me.
[00:23:13] And they led to help me get a guest on my Facebook Live show and the connection that they have with them –something else they do outside of being an insurance adjuster. And that has then led to people, other people in that network, sending me business. I think the reason that I have made that connection with that particular person and some others that I could tell stories about is because of –similar to what I do on social– I’ve met a genuine connection with them. I’m asking about their background and their family and things.
[00:23:43] And I’ve made a connection with them either as a parent or with sports or with something, and it’s genuine. And that has led to them trusting me and doing, and sometimes if we still have a claim against each other, we don’t always agree with each other and we may have to duke it out on the battlefield of litigation, but that’s okay. We understand that, and we just move on.
[00:24:05] I’ve got an adjuster right now. This is another adjuster I’m thinking about that I had to report to their supervisor years ago because they would not respond and do what I thought was appropriate.
[00:24:15] And he got really upset with me because I went over his head and they ended up doing what should have been done to start with. And since that time, we started talking more and they trust me more. And now for the last two years, they follow me on social media and comment on my posts sometimes every once in a while.
[00:24:33] And recently when I needed help, in another case, I called and hit zero to talk to another adjuster because the adjuster on that file wasn’t available. And this particular adjuster I formed a bond with although we were averse to start with, answered the phone just by pure luck. And it was like, “Hey, Mo, what’s up?”
[00:24:49] And, he gave me information that I normally probably wouldn’t have gotten if I had not had that bond with them.
John Reed: [00:24:56] I want to talk about some of the other things you’re doing on social media. Mo, talk to me about t-shirts.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:25:02] One of the things that I shared my personality with over the last several years is what I call my Weekend Work Shirts.
[00:25:10] It really is just that I’ve got these fun little wacky shirts that I bought, and my wife and son seem to buy me all the time, that just kind of let a little of my personality go and come out. And they’re fun. I like to work a lot of Saturdays really early. I’m an early person. I’ve always been that way. So, I get up and I might be here by 5:30 on a Saturday morning, but I don’t work all day. I work until nine or 10 o’clock in the morning, before my kid’s ever really gotten out of bed so I don’t really miss anything at home. So, I’m up here one Saturday morning and I’m looking at my account.
[00:25:41] I catch myself in a mirror. And I’m like, “Man, I’m up here on a Saturday at 5:30 in a Mickey Mouse t-shirt and a Nike hat. Everybody’s lawyer should be working or hire a lawyer that has a Mickey Mouse shirt and is working at 5:30 on a Saturday.” So, that’s what I did. I shared it out and I said, “Hey, your lawyer should be at work on Saturday morning with a Mickey Mouse t-shirt on.”
[00:26:00] And I just hash tagged it #WeekendWorkShirt, and I got tons of feedback. I’ve had just tons of fun. When I kind of mentioned in passing earlier about the low battery shirt, it’s basically a cell phone battery with the little red one line on it, and it just says “Dad” on it. And people relate to that. Right? I mean, people connect with that.
[00:26:19] People pay attention to details. This is a story I’ve told before, but I think this is a pertinent point to tell this is that with my Weekend Work Shirts, I had someone reach out to me. I’ve been doing those Weekend Work Shirts probably a year or so. I had someone reach out to me about being on a state nonprofit board.
[00:26:38] And I said, “I am honored. And this is a mission that I’m very passionate about, but I don’t have the time right now”. And when I said that, he said, “Oh, I know. I see your Weekend Work Shirts at 5:30 on Saturday mornings.” Right? But understand that that person was paying enough attention to my social and not only was getting the humor in my shirts, but recognized that I was a lawyer on Saturday morning at 5:30 and I’m that busy.
John Reed: [00:27:06] I tell people all the time, gone are the days when somebody could say I need a personal injury attorney and I’d say you need to call Mo. They’re going to go to the internet first. They’re going to check you out on your website. They’re going to check you out on LinkedIn. They’re going to check you out on a number of different places, and they do pay attention. So, you are spot on. You’ve got to manage your online presence because it’s your new bona fides.
[00:27:31] It’s where people are going to go and validate you and feel good about picking up the phone or calling you or not feel good about reaching out to you. You’re really onto something with that.
[00:27:41] Another question I want to ask you… I do Myers-Briggs personality type indicator assessments on people I coach and I’m pretty good at kind of spotting somebody’s personality type. I’ve got to tell you, you’re the first person in a long time I can’t tell. Are you an extrovert? Are you an introvert?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:28:02] I don’t know. I mean, it really is, because everybody that sees The Mo Show image. And my little 10-year-old Wyatt loves to give me a hard time –”The Mo Show.” He always gives me a hard time about it, but I think I’m probably more of an extrovert but not just totally outgoing, where my wife is definitely more of an introvert.
[00:28:22] And I’ve tried to, for example, parenting things that I share out on social. And this is certainly my perspective, but I’ve tried to teach my son at a young age, (to) get out and meet people and ask about people, right? We were at his hitting coach a couple of months ago and we’re picking up balls in between hitting.
[00:28:42] And I started asking his hitting coach questions. “Hey man, where are you from? Where’d you go to school?” And trying to learn and know. And Wyatt looks at me and says, “Dad, why are you asking Coach Lou all these questions?” It’s like, “Hey buddy, man, I’m trying to get to know him and do.” Now, I’ve gotten to know that guy and he’s a rock star and his sons started this cool business, like young entrepreneurs called The Bro Shop, and they’ve been guests on The Mo Show. And I’m like, man, who are these cool kids that have their own business in the eighth grade and doing all this cool stuff? I want to have them as a guest. But I’m trying to teach my kid that.
John Reed: [00:29:12] So, The Bro Shop was on The Mo Show Live.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:29:16] Yes.
John Reed: [00:29:17] How did you get past that introduction? That’s a tongue twister right there.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:29:22] But yeah, I think I’m probably more of an extrovert, but not to the level I think some people would think. It has been difficult for me to open up about things, but my wife definitely is more of an introvert and I think my son is kind of a good mix. He’s a good charmer and can open up a little bit more. I’m trying to teach him to do that just because I think there’s a lot of good things that can come out of that.
John Reed: [00:29:44] There’s a book that I’ve pretty heavily relied on in my marketing career, my legal marketing career, called The Trusted Advisor. And to synopsize a certain area of it, when you build trust with people, as you move up that trust curve and you gain more, you move from being a good lawyer for them. You move from being a trusted legal advisor up to being the pinnacle, which is the trusted legal advisor. And at that level, trust is synonymous with profitability because those clients aren’t going anywhere.
[00:30:17] But the other thing is that level of trust offers fulfillment to the trusted advisor. And what I find so interesting is in so many different ways –of course, social is what we really are talking about– but numerous others, as you’ve explained, you are building trust in you personally, in you as a human being. Maybe consequentially as a lawyer, but not necessarily primarily.
[00:30:43] And I’m hearing from you, the fulfillment that you get from the practice of law, because of all these other things you’re doing as an adjunct to that, to meet people, to get to know them, to make an impression on them. Am I hitting home on this one? Because I’m really sensing this from you, that you love all these different things. And the only reason you love them is because you’re connecting. You’re engaged, right?
Mo Lilienthal: [00:31:05] Fall back to what you were saying a while ago about being an extrovert and introvert. I’m definitely a people person and I enjoy interacting with people and getting to know them and knowing their story and making a connection with them on some different levels.
[00:31:17] And one of the things that I’ve learned growing up and having experiences, playing sports, meeting different people and 17 years of practicing law –and it’s even more in the last four years of doing The Mo Show and all these other things– is that we have a connection in some way with most people, whether we really think we would, or we wouldn’t. In different ethnicities, different socioeconomic things, you meet people and people have initial perceptions.
[00:31:43] Like what you said earlier about being a lawyer, right? People think and say, “Well, oh my gosh, he’s a lawyer. He must have, you know, his parents were probably lawyers, and he probably grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and all these kinds of things.” Some lawyers did, and that’s great. What we all want for our children is to make a better life for them and to give them more opportunities than we had.
[00:32:03] And I hope that, and I feel like I’m providing that for my son now. But that’s not my story growing up and doing. Not that I didn’t have a mother who’s a rock star and she still is, but to say that we struggled is an understatement. And so those kinds of things melded me, informed me. But those kinds of things are things that if you meet me — Morris, the Lawyer who seems to be doing very well, and I am and I’m very fortunate– I can relate to that person who can’t pay their bills right now.
[00:32:03] I relate to them because I’ve been there personally. I didn’t buy my first house until I was 35 years old because I had to put myself through law school. But I relate to people and I think I enjoy meeting people and making those connections and doing it. And I feel like one of the strengths that I have is that I can relate to someone who is in varying levels of life and skills and economic and socioeconomic and political views. I make connections and can relate to them, and that’s something that I think makes me a better lawyer. It makes me a better human being, and certainly makes me a better father and a husband.
John Reed: [00:33:07] Great advice.
[00:33:08] Morris –Mo, I will now call you Mo forever– I have enjoyed this immensely and more than just learning about your social media presence. In a very short time, I have come to truly admire and respect you. You are genuine and authentic, and I so appreciate you spending your time talking with me today.
[00:33:31] Congratulations on Super Lawyers. Congratulations on paying off your student loans. Congratulations on the weight loss, although podcasts are very slimming. And I have no doubt that everyone in our community of listeners will want to learn more about you and see you in action. So, I’m going to give you the opportunity to give me the litany of places where they can go and find you and learn about you and see what’s going on with you.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:33:54] Yeah. Well, thank you so much for having me on. And if people are listening to this and they want to reach out to me to get more information and feedback about what they can do to get more involved in social and digital, I love talking about this stuff and getting feedback.
[00:34:09] Because I always pick up something from somebody else that I can maybe fold into the mix and into what I’m doing. So please reach out to me. But the best and easiest way to do it is just go to TheMoShow.live. That’s TheMoShow.live and all my social media handles and links are there. The links to The Mo Show Live Facebook interviews are there. The link to the YouTube channel is there. The link to the podcast is there. It’s a one-stop shop.
[00:34:37] Please check me out there and reach out to me on social media. I’d love to engage in whatever your platform is: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. I’m on Tik TOK; I haven’t started with the videos yet. I’m getting close. And so, on that –coming soon, as they say.
John Reed: [00:34:51] We will make sure to get all those links or at least all those references in the show notes for this.
[00:34:57] Thank you, Mo. This has been a real joy for me and a real treat. And I appreciate you giving us your time today.
Mo Lilienthal: [00:35:03] My privilege and honor. Thank you so much for having me.