My internal classification of people used to be simpler. One filter: professional or not. Can they actually work, or are they just performing work? I thought solid competence was enough to shake hands and start a project.
Lately, something has fundamentally shifted.
I look at values, not credentials
Now, when I choose an expert, a partner, or a specialist, the first thing I look at is not their cases and track record. I look at who they support in life. What they stand for when the lights go down. Which side they are on in the eternal argument between good and bad. How they behave when nobody is watching.
A person can be a genius in their field three times over — but if we are not aligned on the basic settings, on how we relate to life, to integrity, to what matters, I will not choose them. They are simply not my kind of person.
Why a lawyer’s personal brand is built on values, not credentials
A personal brand in 2026 is not just a flawless professional record. It is, above all, the person. Their position. Their backbone.
That is why I write so much here about life and principles, not about courts and legal statutes. It is the best filter I have found — and it works automatically.
The right people stay. Those who feel the resonance, who breathe the same air.
The others move on. And that is fine.
I no longer want to spend energy proving the obvious or persuading people who are looking in a different direction. The better answer is simply to stay close to your own people — and the work becomes something else entirely.