Joe Douglass | Clear Eyed Media | Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Tell us a little about your company or service.

We make legal videos that help attorneys win better outcomes, including settlement documentaries, day-in-the-life videos, wrongful death videos and more. We serve clients anywhere in the U.S.

How did you get into this field?

As a 3x Emmy-nominated investigative TV news reporter with two decades of journalism experience, I reported on countless legal cases. Some of my work led to lawsuits against the authorities that were the subjects of my investigations. I earned the trust of the attorneys I worked with, and after I left broadcasting, they hired me to help present their cases in a professional video format.

Do you wish others would join this industry? Do you want to encourage the next generation to get into this field?

If you have the skills, it's a great line of work. It requires a massive amount of research, writing, collaboration, video production and editing skills. But when it all comes together it's a great feeling.

When you're not working, what matters most to you? What keeps you grounded outside of the business?

My daughter, wife and dog are everything to me. I also love writing, editing tribute videos for family members and clients, and continuing my investigative news habit on my blog. I'm a huge movie and music nerd as well.

What's your favorite local restaurant?

Lili's Restaurant in Amherst, MA makes unreal noodles.

Coffee, tea, or energy drink?

Coffee

What do you think has been the biggest factor in you or your company's success?

Having nearly two decades of experience working on dense legal cases as an investigative television news reporter. I can process thousands of pages of information, hours of deposition video and other evidence and turn it into a compelling 60-Minutes style video that gets results for clients.

What is something you or your company does differently that you think has made a real difference?

I'm a writer, a reporter and a researcher as much as a video producer and editor. I also narrate videos. I'm always collaborative. My clients drive the ship. But I often help find information that helps cases succeed.

What's something you know now about your career or running a business that you wish you knew when you started?

Patience is key. I landed my largest job three years after starting my business. Keep going. Give yourself breaks and room to grow. If you love it and you're always improving, you will get there. Even if it's scary to take the next step to grow, it's the fear that drives you to succeed

What do you think separates a really great company or professional from an average one?

Hard work and really caring about clients. You have to have your own standards.

What's a 'small' detail in your work that actually matters, that nobody outside the industry realizes is important?

Images and documents that prove your case are more powerful than anything. It sounds obvious. It's often not. Usually, clients start out giving me testimony or documents about something. But when I push for more, I often find the actual footage, image or document itself buried in discovery. I put that in the video, and it's everything.

Basically, show, don't tell. But you have to really work hard to find the most powerful thing to show. It's always worth it.

What's one piece of advice you wish you had ignored?

Networking events are often a huge waste of time and early on everyone tells you to go to them.

What's the best marketing idea you've ever tried?

Emailing people I used to work with and asking for help.

What's a totally random skill that makes you good at your job?

Being really good at searching for things and finding them quickly.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry right now?

AI, AI, and AI. It can do amazing things, and it's not going anywhere, so everyone in this business has to reckon with it. But so far it can't do what I do, because the work relies on judgment, and judgment comes from experience. It's a daunting force, and I take it seriously, but it's not a replacement.

AI is changing just about everything. Are you excited about AI, worried about it, or somewhere in between?

I'm terrified and excited. Terrified because if you don't check AI's output and refine it mercilessly it can be disastrous. Excited because it can do incredible things if you use it correctly.

There are new laws, regulations, technologies, and changes being introduced that could affect how people in your industry work. What changes are you watching most closely, and are there any that concern you?

There will always be change, but as someone who's worked in media for decades I'm confident I'll figure out a way to handle it. Communications and art are all about solving problems. Legal storytelling is no different.

What do you think your job and/or industry is going to look like five or ten years from now?

If AI is able to process the amount of material in discovery in most cases, it may just become robots talking to each other. But I doubt that will happen anytime soon. The promise of AI is far removed from the reality of what it can produce without a ton of human oversight and countless iterations.

Where do you think your profession is headed? Do you think technology and AI will replace parts of the profession, or will they ultimately make professionals more valuable?

More valuable, I think. There's too much information, too much raw video, and too many judgment calls that all have to be right. Someone has to decide what matters and stand behind it. And the legal system will always be run by humans.

What do you think makes someone great at what they do? And what do you wish more people understood about your profession?

Humility makes you great. Always digging deeper, checking your work again and again, refining then refining more and learning more.

I always want more picture and more video. It always helps, not because you use everything but because it's like panning for gold.

What's one mistake you see people early in their careers making that they could easily avoid?

Not taking the time to really assess what people want and need.

What's your secret to building great relationships with clients and keeping them coming back?

Do a really good job and overdeliver in a way that's sustainable and repeatable.

What's the part of your job that you genuinely enjoy the most?

When I finish a video, the client's happy and it helps settle a case for a lot of money.

What's the biggest goal you have for your company or career over the next few years?

To work on more and more cases. I love doing it.

If you could go back to the beginning of your career and give yourself one piece of advice, what would you tell yourself?

Invest in Apple, lol. No, trust your skills, believe in your value.

What's something about your industry that you believe strongly about that you think most people would disagree with?

Most depositions could be shot with a newer iPhone, a tripod, some decent mics, and an external audio recorder.

What's a moment on the job that reminded you why the work actually matters?

Interviewing a plaintiff's children about how an accident made it so their father could no longer take them to the park or the pool to play. I recommended talking with them, and it really helped the video and the case.

Who was the most memorable person you've ever worked with or for, and why?

Troy Bachmann. His brother said my reporting helped free him from being wrongfully imprisoned in Mexico.

What's the proudest 'nobody will ever know I did this, but I did' moment of your career?

I recently wrote, produced, edited and narrated a 100-minute settlement documentary in a massive legal case. It's a private video only shown to mediators and attorneys, but I'm very proud of it and its outcome.

CONTACT JOE DOUGLASS

https://www.cleareyedmedia.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmdglss/

https://www.facebook.com/cleareyedmedia/

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