Un-gatekeeping Legal Cheat Codes

Summary

Slay The Gatekeeper: Un-Gatekeeping Legal Cheat Codes

Hosted by Courtney Johnson | Featuring Attorney Morgan Epenema | Release Date: June 24, 2025

In the episode titled "Un-gatekeeping Legal Cheat Codes" of Slay The Gatekeeper, host Courtney Johnson sits down with attorney Morgan Epenema to demystify essential legal strategies for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and content creators. This engaging conversation breaks down complex legal concepts into actionable insights, empowering listeners to protect and scale their brands effectively.

Challenging the Traditional Attorney Image

Courtney opens the discussion by highlighting how Morgan defies the stereotypical image of a traditional attorney.

Courtney Johnson [00:27]: "When you think of attorney, you think of someone that's like some dude in a suit in like a stuffy office... and you really break all of that."

Morgan agrees, emphasizing the shift towards more approachable and innovative legal practices in today's entrepreneurial landscape.

Morgan Epenema [01:25]: "There are so many people like you who aren't looking for that traditional attorney... people are going to be looking for more people like me instead of the sticky suits and big egos."

Morgan’s Unique Path to Law

Morgan shares her unconventional journey into the legal field, transitioning from a marketing undergraduate degree with interests in environmental law to civil rights law at the ACLU, and ultimately founding her own practice inspired by a mentor.

Morgan Epenema [02:58]: "I listened to him. I was super inspired and been working alongside him for a few years now. And now I have launched my own practice."

Wealth: Making Money Work for You

A significant portion of the conversation delves into the financial strategies of the wealthy, emphasizing that "wealthy people don't work for money; they make money work for them."

Morgan Epenema [04:32]: "The rich... own their own businesses... it's essentially a tax strategy."

This approach aligns with Courtney's experiences, where investing in self-development and education has become a major life expense, treated as a business investment rather than personal spending.

Courtney Johnson [05:56]: "My biggest life expense has been self-development and education."

Embracing Self-Employment

Both hosts advocate for entrepreneurial ventures as avenues for financial and personal growth. Courtney suggests starting small to build the necessary skills without the immediate pressure of a full-scale business.

Courtney Johnson [06:24]: "Realize that it's a skill to work for yourself. You can start freelancing on the side."

Morgan adds that transitioning to self-employment doesn't require an immediate leap but can be approached gradually.

Morgan Epenema [06:51]: "You don't have to take the jump immediately, but you can start dabbling in this."

The Critical Importance of Trademarks

Morgan underscores that securing trademarks is not optional for serious brand builders.

Morgan Epenema [07:21]: "Trademarks really are not optional if you're serious about your brand."

Courtney shares her personal experience where failing to trademark led to the necessity of rebranding and the subsequent destruction of her company, highlighting the dire consequences of overlooking this step.

Courtney Johnson [08:43]: "I didn't trademark and it ultimately led to me having to rebrand, which ultimately led to the destruction of the company."

Accessible Legal Counsel for All Businesses

Addressing the misconception that legal services are exclusively for large corporations, Morgan introduces the concept of fractional in-house counsel. This model provides necessary legal support to small and mid-sized businesses through affordable retainers rather than traditional, high-cost billing structures.

Morgan Epenema [09:15]: "Even I offer something called a fractional in-house counsel... it's no longer just for those large companies."

Courtney extends this idea, mentioning the applicability of fractional roles across various fields.

Courtney Johnson [11:07]: "Fractional consultation is applicable to a lot of fields... even fractional CEOs."

Tactical Legal Strategies: Put It in Writing

One of the key "cheat codes" discussed is the importance of documenting agreements to prevent misunderstandings and protect business relationships.

Morgan Epenema [11:55]: "Contracts really do save relationships and they save you so much money."

Courtney emphasizes the necessity of following up verbal agreements with written communication to maintain clarity and accountability.

Courtney Johnson [13:09]: "Need to have it written down for your own protection. No handshake deals."

Securing Your Brand Name Early

Early trademarking and securing your brand name are crucial, especially in the age of social media where brands can go viral quickly. Morgan advises thorough searches using resources like the USPTO trademark office to ensure brand uniqueness.

Morgan Epenema [19:36]: "It is never too early to secure your brands."

Courtney adds a cautionary note for content creators to be vigilant about who owns their content, warning against inadvertently relinquishing rights to their likeness or creations.

Courtney Johnson [20:44]: "Be careful who owns your content... they might own your face and your likeness and this image forever."

Intellectual Property as the Core of Your Business

Morgan posits that all elements of your brand—names, logos, courses, programs—constitute your business's intellectual property (IP) and must be protected diligently.

Morgan Epenema [21:03]: "Your IP is the business... making sure that it's protected is so, so important."

Courtney reinforces the idea that establishing a solid IP foundation early on is far easier than attempting to secure it after significant business growth.

Courtney Johnson [22:07]: "It’s much easier to figure it all out when you’re smaller rather than after you blow up."

Utilizing LLCs Effectively

The discussion moves to the practicalities of forming and maintaining LLCs. Morgan advises against using generic services like LegalZoom without proper maintenance. She emphasizes the importance of having a comprehensive operating agreement and maintaining separate business finances to protect personal assets.

Morgan Epenema [22:58]: "You need to have a proper operating agreement... maintaining separate finances."

Courtney adds that keeping finances clean across multiple business entities is essential to avoid legal complications.

Courtney Johnson [24:38]: "Make sure you have everything running very cleanly through each channel."

Making Legal Services Accessible and Affordable

Morgan discusses her firm's innovative approach to making legal services more affordable by leveraging technology and streamlining processes. This method reduces reliance on traditional, expensive billing practices, making legal assistance accessible to a broader range of clients.

Morgan Epenema [26:00]: "Legal doesn't have to be as expensive as it usually is."

Courtney highlights the potential of AI to further minimize costs and increase accessibility, particularly for routine legal tasks like drafting NDAs.

Courtney Johnson [28:00]: "AI is going to help attorneys charge smaller fees for NDAs when they're not matters like super duper and could make legal help just more accessible."

Conclusion

The episode concludes with Courtney expressing gratitude for Morgan's insightful contributions and reiterating the importance of accessible legal knowledge for business success. Listeners are encouraged to seek out legal counsel that aligns with their innovative endeavors without being deterred by traditional cost barriers.

Notable Quotes:

• Courtney Johnson [00:27]: "You really break all of that... shatter the whole image of an attorney."
• Morgan Epenema [04:32]: "The rich... own their own businesses... it's essentially a tax strategy."
• Morgan Epenema [07:21]: "Trademarks really are not optional if you're serious about your brand."
• Morgan Epenema [11:55]: "Contracts really do save relationships and they save you so much money."
• Morgan Epenema [21:03]: "Your IP is the business... making sure that it's protected is so, so important."

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key discussions and insights shared by Courtney Johnson and Morgan Epenema. By breaking down complex legal concepts into digestible "cheat codes," the episode serves as a valuable resource for anyone looking to safeguard and grow their business effectively.

Transcript

[Morgan Epenema]

Foreign.

[Courtney Johnson]

Welcome to Slay the Gatekeeper.

I'm your host, Courtney Johnson, and I.

Am here to un. Gatekeep the gatekeep. Thank you so much for being here.

Enjoy.

Well, Morgan, welcome to the podcast, guys. Morgan's my attorney. I feel so cool and official to have an attorney.

[Morgan Epenema]

Hello. Hello. Thank you for having me.

[Courtney Johnson]

So happy you're here. Okay, so we were talking before this recording started. You were saying, what drew you to me and my work? And I want to share what drew me to your work is you. You know, when you think of attorney, you think of someone that's like some dude in a suit in like a stuffy office that's going to speak in ways that you don't understand and, you know, maybe like a little ego driven, making things seem really important. So speak speaking in legalese to kind of stroke their own ego. That's the picture I have in my mind of an attorney. And you really break all of that. You, like, shatter the whole image of an attorney. You are welcoming and soft and kind and communicative and just everything about you is the antithesis of what we think of a lawyer, of an attorney. And it's just, just so cool. It's so cool that you're, like, leading this way for other attorneys, especially female attorneys.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah, absolutely. And other people who are in traditional fields that they don't really fit the mold of. And I definitely, I agree, I don't fit the mold of a traditional attorney, but it's been the best because there's so many people like you who aren't looking for that traditional. That traditional attorney. And I think as we are in this new age of entrepreneurship and we're shifting into this new paradigm, people are going to be looking for more people like me instead of the sticky suits and big egos.

[Courtney Johnson]

What, what made you even choose this career path?

[Morgan Epenema]

I am a marketing under grad. And then I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. Marketing didn't feel totally aligned, but I loved the business world. I was actually really interested in environmental law whenever I started. First applied to law school. Lots of shifts throughout law school. And after I dabbled in civil rights law, I worked at the aclu. I worked for multiple different firms, clerked for a judge. There were different things throughout my path until I was listening to the To Be Magnetic podcast and I heard my mentor, Grant. He is their attorney and he was on the podcast and I just loved what he was saying. I was so drawn to that type of client and a more innovative, spiritual, feminine approach. Obviously, he's a guy, so it didn't, it's not exactly what I wanted to do, but he has been a perfect mentor and has really helped me shape where I'm going with, with my own firm. So I listened to him. I was super inspired and been working alongside him for a few years now. And now I have launched my own practice. So, yeah, that's kind of, that's kind of me.

[Courtney Johnson]

Wow, that's amazing. And I always say that if you feel called to content creation, if you feel called to speak or go on podcasts or whatever, and you don't do that, that is selfish. Because of things like this happening. Like, if he was like, oh, I don't really want to go on this podcast. I'm scared, scared to be seen, blah, blah, blah. He would miss out on this opportunity to inspire you to take this whole career path. So, anyways, side note, if you're considering, if you feel the pull to share your story in some way, usually there is some reason for that. And I think this is a great example.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah. And on that note too, I just cold reached out to him. So if you feel called to reach out to somebody, that's also a sign that you need to take it too.

[Courtney Johnson]

Love that.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah.

[Courtney Johnson]

Okay. Beautiful. Well, we got some awesome cheat codes that I want to dive into. But first, first I want to talk a little bit about some of the UN gatekeeping. So we got our cheat codes that are tactical, but there's a lot of information that you've shared with me that is more on the UN Gatekeeping side. And one of those things is that the wealthy don't work for money.

They make money work for for them.

So I'm curious what this means in the people, the wealthy people that you've seen and observed and worked with.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah. So I actually first read about this concept in Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I don't know if you've read that before. It's a classic. And I saw this chart and it really just breaks it down. It's a tax strategy. The rich, they, they're, they own their own businesses, so they're not working for other people. So they earn their money and then they spend it on business expenses and then they pay taxes. If you're an employee, you are earning and then you're paying taxes, and then you're left with whatever is left over to spend. So it's essentially a tax strategy. And if you can figure out how to work for yourself, you can keep a lot more money than giving it away. So. And that's Something that you've talked a lot about too, in terms of, like, going freelance work consulting. Like, your employer doesn't want you to realize that you can make so much more money on your own. Yeah. So that is a huge hack is working for yourself and being able to funnel that spending and those tax dollars, reducing all of that from yourself. So, you know, there's so many business expenses that you can write off that are truly valuable for your wellbeing in your life. And. And you can pay a lot less taxes.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. Even the self development has been a huge one for me. Like, I used to. Every education, up level of my skills, self development, leadership training, used to go, yeah, pay taxes, then pay for it. And now that's probably my biggest life expense, honestly, has been self development and education.

[Morgan Epenema]

So that's.

[Courtney Johnson]

That's nice.

[Morgan Epenema]

It is so nice. And you're able to invest that literally back into yourself instead of putting it into somebody else. So. Yeah.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. I think a great way to, like, begin this is, you know, realize that it's a skill to work for yourself. It's a skill to be an entrepreneur. So you can dabble in the skill. You can start freelancing on the side. You can make a digital product. Maybe you set up a booth at your farmer's market where you're selling your crafts, like, one weekend. You can build the skill slowly. I think a lot of people think there's this, like, big, dramatic crescendo where they quit their job, and then the next day they're this amazing entrepreneur. And it just doesn't happen like that.

[Morgan Epenema]

No. No, not at all. And Grant with Framework, that's. He was my, like, bridge job for a really long time. And so, yeah, there's. You don't have to take the jump immediately, but you can start dabbling in this. Like, I was a 1099 contractor and still am, actually. So, yeah, it's. It's a much easier route.

[Courtney Johnson]

Love it. Okay, our next cheat code is that trademarks aren't optional if you're serious about your brand. Oh, shit.

[Morgan Epenema]

Mm. I said it. They're really not. They are not optional if you're serious about your brand. If you are ready to take your business to the next level, you really need to have your brand protected. It's heartbreaking to see people build this huge thing and then they didn't protect it and they are having to rebrand or they're having to go pay huge legal fees to get their brand back. And you don't have to do it that way. If you Are smart up front and see where this is going, get it, get it done early. It's totally worth it. Yeah, it's 1000% worth it. Anything that you're creating for your brand and yourself, you need to be protecting it. Because especially in the day of social media, like if, like if you're preparing to go viral like you, this is part of it is making sure that your brand's protected. So when that happens, you're ready and somebody doesn't rip off your idea and you have to go chase them down like I, I can. You will save so much money if you just do it properly from the beginning.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. This is a story for another day. But my first company I started with was a consumer packaged good product company and that happened to us. I didn't trademark and it ultimately led to me having to rebrand, which ultimately led to the destruction of the company. So, yeah, fair warning.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yep. You are one of many people who have that exact same story. And I get it, it's, it's overwhelming. You don't know where to start whenever you're first starting your brand. But that's kind of what this is about is. Yeah. Un. Gatekeeping some of this stuff.

[Courtney Johnson]

Love it. Well, okay. Next thing you want to un. Gatekeep is that general counsel isn't just for big companies. So when I think of general counsel, I think of like, yeah, massive Fortune 500 companies having their general counsel. Is this something that is applicable to smaller companies, Freelancers, individuals?

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So even I offer something called a fractional in house counsel. So for all of these companies who are, which is a huge amount of companies who are in that middle tier of people, they don't need a lawyer full time, but they definitely need support. And they're, they're bringing on employees, they're doing deals, they've got contracts that they need reviewed. I mean your, your company is a great example of that. Like you've, you've got teams around you, you need that support to make sure that your contracts are in place, your business is compliant with all registrations, filings. Yeah, it's, it's no longer just for those large companies. I think if you, if you're starting a business, you definitely need an attorney in your corner. And we can tap into this a little bit later whenever we get to the cheat codes. But it doesn't have to be the same traditional billing system that we've seen. So the traditional legal system is built on a billing system. So it's in six minute increments and Your time is billed that way. And I think that is very outdated. And so my solution to this is a fractional in house counsel, where I'm available as a resource for a small retainer and we can work together that way. Instead of, hey, I'm going to send Morgan a text about a question. Maybe I'll get a bill back that's $2,000 because she spent three hours on this. Who knows? So, yeah, it's not just for big companies anymore. If you are a scaling business or even just starting out, you need to make sure that your ducks are in a row legally and going. As you're expanding, as you're growing, making sure that your contracts are protected, as your brand is growing, your IP is protected. Yeah, I think it's really important.

[Courtney Johnson]

Mm. Yeah. I think that this idea of like fractional work is also fractional consultation is applicable to a lot of fields. Like I have a fractional chief operating officer. I think that if you have skills in operations like finance, you could be a fractional chief financial officer. There's even fractional CEOs. So, yeah, on one side it's, I want to un gatekeep that you can hire this type of person for your business. And also it might be an interesting career path for you too.

[Morgan Epenema]

Absolutely, Absolutely.

[Courtney Johnson]

Okay, beautiful. Let's get into some tactical cheat codes. And oh, my gosh, this first cheat code literally would have saved me. Oh, my God, so many, so, so much in my, in my career. And that is to always put it in writing.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes. No handshake deals. No. Just send me a Venmo. Contracts really do save relationships and they save you so much money. Like, so much money. And I get that contracts can feel really sticky, really formal, but. And you're like, oh, we're just, you know, we're just talking. We don't need that. But it will save you so much energy and trying to become aligned after you're already in business. You can just get aligned at the very beginning. And if there's anything that's going to ruffle any feathers at the beginning, you know about it and you can deal with it before instead of after. You're already in business with somebody and then you're trying to work through something that isn't really working. So another tip here is if you do have a verbal communication, always follow up to. So if you've got a call or you jumped on a meeting, make sure that you follow up in an email or a text saying exactly what was discussed. So, hey, yeah, we're going to do that deal, $10,000, blah, blah, blah. Put that in an email to them right after you get off the phone detailing everything that you talked about. It's better than not having a contract at all. But that would be step one and then definitely get a contract in place.

[Courtney Johnson]

Totally. I had a friend, I got coffee with a friend yesterday, and she was dealing with this exact thing. She was like, yeah, I got this new client. We had a verbal. We had a zoom call. You know, we didn't record it or anything. And I said that the price would be, I don't know, 5,000. And they came back a few months later. I'm like, okay, I'm ready to. We're ready to go. We're ready to do this program. It's the time and it's $5,000. And they were like, wait, we thought you said $3,000. And it's just no writing. Yeah, no, no handshake deals.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah, exactly.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. Need to have it written down for your own protection. Okay. Morgan. I literally make contracts with my partner all the time. Like, if he is like, I am committing to doing these three things, I will make him write it down on a whiteboard and sign it and I take a picture of it. And then I'm like, I'm giving you radical accountability. It will, it will even be for something so silly. He's like, my goal is to wake up and meditate for 10 minutes every day this week. And I'm like, write it down. I'm taking a picture. I'm holding you to it. So you can't be like, oh, I'm tired. No, I'm like committed.

[Morgan Epenema]

You made a deal with yourself.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. You made a deal with yourself and I am holding you to it. Yeah. I think this is also really important in your career too. If you have a full time job and you are dealing with something a little uncomfy and you start documented asap, or let's say your manager says something verbally like. Yeah, so in three months we're going to reevaluate this raise. Like, okay, email in three months. Put it on the calendar. Put it in writing. Like corporate amnesia is real.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes. And yeah, I'm not so sure if it's totally amnesia or shadiness, but we'll, we can say it's amnesia.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah, I've had many of those conversations of he said, she said and yeah.

[Morgan Epenema]

And yeah, it can really be as simple as, hey, just following up on our conversation, detailing what we just discussed. Xyz.

[Courtney Johnson]

Great.

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Okay. Also, this is reminding me I actually have a whole cheat code in my book of career cheat codes that's coming out next summer about, like, when you get yourself into when you're in, like a really uncomfortable situation, how to deal with it in the workplace. And it's like, you know, one of the parts is document, document, document. But now that I'm thinking about it, Morgan, I need to send you this chapter and get your legal opinion on the chapter too.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes, I got you.

[Courtney Johnson]

Okay. I'm like, literally going to email my editor right after and be like, can I show this to my attorney? Because I think we need an expert opinion. Okay, I'm going to come back to that. But yeah, it has. This section also has, like, resources. It's like, here's a list of resources if you feel like you're being discriminated against at work. So I probably should run this by you.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes, you definitely should. I'll check those out.

[Courtney Johnson]

Okay, beautiful. And then you can be a credit in my book. Yay.

[Morgan Epenema]

There we go. I'm so excited for your book.

[Courtney Johnson]

Me too. Okay. Cheat code number two. Secure your name early.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes, we kind of touched on this, but especially in the viral social media age we live in, it is never too early to secure your brands. People are always like, when's the best time? Like, if you've got a brand that you feel strongly about, now is the time to do it. So, yeah, I would always double check. Look, obviously do like a Google search check on any domains, socials. The last thing some people don't realize, you can check the USPTO trademark office. That is where you want to look. If you're looking at trademarks, I know there's different searches you can do, but literally the USPTO trademark office, you can run a search for every trademark that they have registered.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. I also want to add to that, especially with content creation, be careful who owns your content. There's a lot of apps and stuff that's like, you can get a free product if you send us a picture of you using It. And that's great and that's fun, but they might own your face and your likeness and this image forever. And it might be on a Times Square billboard, which you might be excited about, but also, you might not know about it.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah. And if you're not gonna get paid for it, then you might not be as excited about it. All you got was like a. A bottle of, you know, whatever.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. Like a bottle of serum or something. I see that happen to so, so many people. And, yeah, people really get fucked over with brand deals a lot if it's like, yes.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah.

[Courtney Johnson]

I'm so excited. This I'm getting a thousand dollars. And then it's like, yeah, but they're using your face on national TV for now and forever.

[Morgan Epenema]

They're making millions. So, yeah, great, you got a thousand dollars. But yeah, that's another thing with content creators having a con, like an affiliate contract that you. Most big brands probably will have you sign one for them. But even being aware of what goes into those terms is really important. And making sure that it's reviewed by an attorney probably before you sign it.

[Courtney Johnson]

Cheat code number three. Your IP is the business. Ooh, what does this mean?

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes. So you talk a lot about brands and, like, building your own brands like that. Like, that is your business, your brand, what you're protecting. So whether it's the name of your business, your logo courses that you're creating, programs, anything like that, that is your business. So making sure that it's protected is so, so important.

[Courtney Johnson]

Love it. Yeah. It's all your own intellectual property. Like, and again, like, if you see growth, if you are on a growth trajectory, it is so, so important. Because I assume it would be a lot easier to figure it all out when you're smaller rather than, like, after you blow up. And there's.

[Morgan Epenema]

Exactly, exactly. And there's a way to really lay the foundation. It. It can really be so easy. Like, it doesn't have to be as complicated. And it, in fact, is way more complicated if you're doing it down the line, especially if you've. If you have to do a rebrand or anything else along those lines, it's just much easier to get it. Get your solid foundation from the beginning so you're actually able to grow totally.

[Courtney Johnson]

All right. Cheat code number four is llcs work if you use them.

[Morgan Epenema]

Right.

[Courtney Johnson]

Tell me more.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes. So legal zoom is probably not enough. So filing it is step one. You also need to maintain it. So. And you also need to have the proper agreement. So you're going to want to make sure you have a proper operating agreement, even if it's just yourself individually, this is key. This is your internal governing document. So this is like basically the contract of the. Of the entity that you formed. So especially in it's. It's important as a single member llc, but it's even more important if you're going into a business partnership. So this can really detail everything. So if there's a buyout, if there's how debt is prioritized, how payback is prioritized services or other money that you've contributed, you can break down everything in this document. If there anything comes up down the line, you always can refer back to it. And this is kind of your guidepost for the structure of your entity. Another thing you need to ensure is that you are maintaining separate finances. So maintain clean books. So if you've got your personal entity or your personal. And then you've got your entity making sure that the business expenses are fully running through the business versus, you know, commingling funds. So you want to make sure that you're actually using it right by keeping that separate paper trail.

[Courtney Johnson]

Mm. Yeah. And one thing I've learned is also making sure you don't do that with the different businesses you have. Bad. Bad.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes. You shouldn't do that. Yeah. If you've got multiple entities, make sure you. You have everything running very cleanly through each channel.

[Courtney Johnson]

Mm. How do you feel about, like, the emotions behind this? Like, I feel like this happens a lot in financ, taxes, legal, where it's almost so overwhelming that people are like, I can't do this because I don't like, you know, like, I feel like it's very much of a shutdown type feeling, or it can be. How, how are you, like, addressing that with clients? And do you think that other attorneys do that or don't do that? Because I've definitely felt that, yes.

[Morgan Epenema]

I mean, I think it's not an overstatement to say that the legal field is extremely overwhelming and inaccessible. And I think it was honestly created to be that way to keep people out. So, yeah, it, of course it's overwhelming. But making sure that you have somebody on your team who can break it down more simply and speak to you like an actual human and not like a. A legal robot is definitely important. So you should know, you should fully understand, even if you don't understand all of the legal terms, you should. Should be able to understand what is happening in your business. And I think as a business owner, it's really important to be able to understand those, even if you're, you know, outsourcing your legal, which I highly recommend you do because you're probably not a lawyer, so probably shouldn't be doing that yourself. But just having a general understanding of your business.

[Courtney Johnson]

And you have a checklist, right, that people can get that kind of go through some of this. Yes.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah, I've got a legal checklist. I'll send it to you. And we can get that up for you guys too. Yay.

[Courtney Johnson]

Fun. Okay, we can make sure that we link that in the notes because I think that'd be a great place to start of just like getting a pull check at where you're at, seeing what help you might need. And also when you do hire an attorney, you could bring them that checklist and be like, I'm solid on these things. I have no idea what these things are. Like, it could be a good jumping off point.

[Morgan Epenema]

Exactly. It's a great jumping off point. And it's. It's pretty simple. I think it's relatively easy to wrap your mind around once you break it down and break it out.

[Courtney Johnson]

Totally. Okay. Cheat code number five. This one was really mind blowing to me. And that is that legal doesn't have to be expensive. I feel like for a lot of people, just the idea of an attorney or legal, maybe someone starting a freelance graphic design business, what's in their head might be like, oh, how am I going to pay someone 5, 10, $20,000 a month when I'm only making $5,000 a month?

[Morgan Epenema]

Exactly. Yeah. So, I mean, I do think the traditional. The traditional legal field has been pretty expensive. I kind of touched on that, like, billable hours structure that most firms operate out of. But we are doing something more innovative at my firm, so it doesn't have to be expensive, as expensive as it usually is. So we're able to utilize technology, utilize systems to get this stuff out much quicker. So my time is actually spent on legal matters and not all of the other fluff that attorneys also spend their time on and they bill you for.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. How are you, like, implementing, like AI and technology into your.

Into your work?

[Morgan Epenema]

Oh, gosh. I mean, it's kind of everywhere. I. I mean, I run AI through almost everything. Like. Yeah, obviously not like confidential client information, but I mean, that is usually my first resource whenever I'm drafting an email or even this. Like, this was like, definitely used AI to help me prepare this cheat. These cheat codes. So, yeah, I use it all the time. I love it.

[Courtney Johnson]

Totally. Yeah. I think that AI that will minimize Labor, Like I, I had a client last year that was a legal startup for like NDAs and he was basically, I was ghostwriting for him and he was basically saying like NDAs, they are so expensive for kind of nothing. And being able to use AI is going to help like attorneys be able to charge smaller fees for NDAs when they're not matters like super duper and could make legal like help just more accessible. And I can see that like roll out in a lot of different aspects of legal work.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes, absolutely.

[Courtney Johnson]

I love that. Okay, cool. Beautiful. Well, Morgan, where can people find you? And if people are like, okay, yo, I definitely need an attorney, how can they, how can they work with you?

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah, so I've got a few ways to work. Work with me. We can set up a consultation. I do free consultations just to make sure it is aligned. You can find that on my website. I'll drop that. But it is epanema law.com. you can also find me on Instagram, Morgan Epenema. You can find me on LinkedIn as well. And yeah, we can jump on a consult, make sure it's a right fit. Exactly. Figure out what your needs are. And then I do LLC formations, contracts, trademarks, and then I also offer the fractional in house counsel for other businesses that are growing and need more legal support.

[Courtney Johnson]

Love that. And guys, I know Morgan's target audience and if you're listening to this, you are in Morgan's target audience. So yes, absolutely.

[Morgan Epenema]

My target audience is innovative entrepreneurs who are really creating something new. I feel like I'm creating something new with my law firm and I want to partner with people who are equally creating new things in our new world.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah. I also want to share that you're a mom and I just feel like that's so resonant. Like when I found out you're a mom, I was like, oh, I trust you and I want to work with you and I just get you, you know, I am not a mom yet, but I think a lot of the listeners would probably be like, oh, that's so cool.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yeah, absolutely. I've got an 11 month old baby girl. And yeah, another thing with like having my own firm, obviously the flexibility has been amazing. I'm able to work on my own time. Yeah, being able to work for yourself and be a parent is a game changer.

[Courtney Johnson]

Yeah, you're like, truly the energy that you bring into your work is so like beautiful and light and kind and just like it's really awesome. Anyways, you're, you're quite an expander for me as well, because I want to. I want to be a mom, and I want to be like you.

[Morgan Epenema]

Stop. I want to be like you.

[Courtney Johnson]

Well, we're learning from each other, so thank you, Morgan, for coming on the podcast again. I'm going to link all Morgan's information, and I'm going to link the checklist. I think that's a really good place to start. And we will hopefully see you back here soon.

[Morgan Epenema]

Yes, I will come back anytime.

[Courtney Johnson]

Okay, y' all, if you like this.

Episode, you would love, love my Patreon. Okay? You get exclusive access to me, exclusive content, tons of other resources, and a lot of juicy shit. Okay? So I hope to see you on my Patreon. Patreon.