#069: David Sparks (MacSparky) - "Country Doctor" Lawyer Turned Productivity and Consumer Technology Expert

How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin

In this episode I speak with David Sparks who is known in internet circles as MacSparky. For more than 28 years, David was a business law attorney first at George & Shields, LLP and then more recently at his own law firm called Sparks Law based in Irvine, California. But in perhaps a first for the How I Lawyer podcast, I invited David on the show knowing full well that he recently left the practice of law altogether. In addition to being a lawyer, over the past fifteen years David has also become a recognized expert in consumer technology (including, but not limited, to Mac products) and productivity. As part of his MacSparky business, he podcasts and writes about getting more out of consumer technology, automating your life, and getting more focused. He hosts multiple podcasts including Mac Power Users, Focus, and the Automators. You can find all of his work at www.macsparky.com. In our conversation we discuss his decision to attend law school as a science student, his career transitions from litigator to "country doctor" lawyer to consumer technology expert, building a practice based on providing the best service and not necessarily the biggest bottom line, how referring business to other lawyers supported his growing law practice, the power of effective information management systems and processes in a lawyer's life, the importance of attention management and using technology to help our focus and efficiency as opposed to harming it, ways to use automation better as a lawyer, the need to protect time for high impact knowledge work, and why the most expensive technology is not always the best for practicing lawyers. If you enjoy this episode, please make sure to sign up for future episodes at www.howilawyer.com or to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys.