I help time-starved lawyers + law firms build & strategically position what makes them unique into their online presence to connect with qualified clients and high-quality referral networks consistently. 

Are you ready to leverage LinkedIn for business growth? 
As a trained lawyer, I'll help you with industry-specific business development strategies. 
Short on time? I can even handle it all for you.        

𝙎𝙀𝙍𝙑𝙄𝘾𝙀𝙎 
I offer custom online business development plans and strategies for lawyers, law firms, & business owners...

🟥   LINKEDIN CONTENT MARKETING (DONE FOR YOU)
▹ custom plans to create your online presence
▹ manage your online activity 
▹ engagement to build authority + develop quality client relationships consistently.

🟥   LINKEDIN CONSULTING (DONE WITH YOU)
Audit discovery & strategy sessions to help create content that resonates with your clients to build solid connections. 

🟥   LINKEDIN WORKSHOPS 
Presentations & workshops for law firms, law schools, conferences, law firm retreats, bar associations, & meetings.  
Topics include:
▹ LinkedIn Leveraged Lawyers
▹ Yawnworthy to Trustworthy Branding for Lawyers
▹ Promote & Protect: Social Media Policy 
▹ Content Making & Marketing

🟥   LEARN (ON YOUR OWN)
Private/firm-wide training or coaching on how to establish, build or elevate your online presence & best practices, (or conveniently via my Linked-In Leveraged Lawyers™ course.)         

𝙒𝙃𝙔 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙆 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝙈𝙀
By combining a decade of business law + a decade of online business development, I offer a unique perspective on how to efficiently position you & your firm to connect, engage and build trust with your ideal client. I also understand the unique challenges, communication styles and regulatory requirements related to a lawyer's online activity.

❝ HessConnect understands online media for the legal industry! Law firms resist change in the technological arena. Viveca’s creative, nuanced know-how along with her legal background is critical for business growth. ~ Heidi Weaver, Esq. 

❝ With a wealth of marketing knowledge, Viveca sincerely cares about everyone who works with her. The value Viveca places on building relationships reflects the high quality of her work, making her a person you want on your team. ~ Evan Dwin, Esq. 

🟥   𝙇𝙀𝙏'𝙎 𝙏𝘼𝙇𝙆
619.962.5504 / viveca@hessconnect.com / connect on LinkedIn 
Explore Call ➤ https://calendly.com/hessconnect/15min-1


_____


I do not signify any affiliation with or endorsement by LinkedIn®️ Corporation or its affiliates.

Viveca Hess, J.D.

LinkedIn positioning gets you 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻.
AI readiness gets you 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 when the attention shows up.
 
And yes…they’re wildly connected.
 
Because what’s the point of a gorgeous LinkedIn presence if:
 
• your team is reinventing the wheel every Monday
• your “process” lives in someone’s head (and they’re on PTO)
• your people are using Shadow AI like it’s a secret snack drawer
• your competitors are quietly getting faster while you’re still debating 
  “Should we?”
 
Here’s the parallel most leaders miss:
 
𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿.  𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻.
 
Front door matters. (Hello, first impressions.)  But if people walk in and the kitchen is on fire…we’ve got a different - not good - kind of “hot lead.” 🔥
 
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙𝙄𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚:
 
I help you look like the person people 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to hire, refer, invite, and trust.
 
• Profile optimization (headline, About, positioning, proof)
• Content strategy (what to say, how to say it, so it doesn’t sound like a beige corporate memo)
• Content creation + management (consistent, sharp, aligned with business goals)
 
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙄 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚:
 
I help you operate like the leader people 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 you to be once they find you.
 
An AI Assessment isn’t “let’s sprinkle ChatGPT on it.”
 
It’s:
 
• how work actually flows today (not the version in the SOP folder from 2019)
• where time leaks, bottlenecks, and handoffs are slowing delivery
• where AI can support speed + quality without turning your risk profile into a haunted house
• what policies, training, and guardrails need to exist so your team can use AI confidently
 
Why this combo matters (and why it’s rare)
 
Most people can help you with visibility 𝗼𝗿 operations.
 
But the advantage is when they work together:
 
𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 + 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 = 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀.
 
LinkedIn builds trust and demand.  AI readiness builds capacity and consistency.
 
One gets the right people to the table.  The other makes sure you can serve them without chaos, burnout, or “we’ll circle back in Q4.”
 
So yes, I still do LinkedIn.  And now I also help leaders answer the bigger question:
 
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻, 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲…𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?
 
If you’re a leader, partner, or exec:  What’s your bigger pain right now - 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 or 𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆?

Former lawyer leveraging LinkedIn™ for lawyers to gain quality referral relations and connect with qualified clients efficiently ~ (when I’m not ocean swimming).

AI is writing beautiful “strategy” in organizations right now…and leadership is mistaking it for direction.
 
𝘼𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙.
 
And yet…I keep watching smart leaders hand it the keys like it’s been to a single leadership meeting, understands their org chart, and knows what “acceptable risk” means.
 
Spoiler: it doesn’t.  It’s just 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵.
 
Here’s what I’m seeing inside firms + organizations right now:
 
• People are already using AI (quietly ➛ what we now call "𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘐"  )
  
• Leadership is “exploring” AI (publicly)
  
• Policies are…somewhere between “draft” and “we’ll deal with it later”
  
• Everyone is buying tools before anyone agrees on the actual problem
 
This carousel breaks down what AI can do brilliantly (with right guidance)…
and what it absolutely cannot do (no matter how persuasive the paragraph).
 
If you’re a partner, executive, or leader trying to modernize without turning your operation into a shiny, expensive science experiment:
 
𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙥.  𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨.
 
What’s one task you’d 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 to stop doing every week?

AI Summarizes, You Lead

There’s “big consulting insight” and
 There’s “here are five shiny prompts, good luck out there.”

One is expansive and useful. The other is basically a fortune cookie with a keyboard.

Even McKinsey is saying the quiet part out loud: “Clients are tackling the complexity of moving from siloed experimentation to real impact,” (Ben Ellencweig, a Senior Partner who leads alliances, acquisitions and partnerships globally for QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey.)

𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨.

Because prompts don’t fix:
• messy data
• broken handoffs
• unclear decision rights
• misaligned stakeholders
• workflows that live in Sharon’s head (and Sharon is taking PTO)

And here’s the stat that should make every leader sit up straighter:
McKinsey reports 𝟲𝟮% of organizations are experimenting with AI agents, but only 𝟮𝟯% say they’re scaling an agentic system anywhere in the enterprise. 

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 “𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜” 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚.
𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 + 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚.

McKinsey-style insight can be powerful when it leads to real decisions, real prioritization, and real execution.

But “prompt packs” without a foundation? (Yep, they're everywhere...)
That’s just giving a toddler a power tool and calling it innovation.

If you want AI to drive growth, reduce friction, and create real competitive advantage, the conversation has to move past “cool outputs” and into 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨.

If that’s where you’re headed, I’m open to a thoughtful, low-pressure conversation to see what would actually be most useful for your stakeholders and your business.

(And if your current AI plan is...
“Step 1: prompts ➛ Step 2: ??? ➛ Step 3: transformation"?
We should probably talk before Sharon comes back from PTO to find her job replaced by a Google Doc.) 😱

Rehabilitated Lawyer

Director

Novcon

Compliance is an integral part of doing ethical business – not just a box to tick. But often when a lawyer is asked to give advice on compliance they will produce a convoluted document detailing all the problems a particular piece of legislation cause – without providing advice on potential solutions.

It was time for a new approach. At Novation, we believe that compliance can change minds. Increase sales. Reduce complaints. Add value. We can help you do things right and grow your business. We try to think more like entrepreneurs and less like lawyers. What we do is not about paying lip service to compliance but marrying it with good and ethical business practices.

Simply put: compliance is a gain. Not a pain. Work with us and you’ll see why.

Novation Consulting was founded by Elizabeth de Stadler and Paul Esselaar in 2013. Under the brand of Esselaar Attorneys, we’ve been providing law services since 2011 but felt the need to create a new company that could turn compliance on its head, shake the nonsense out of its pockets and present it in a fresh and exciting way.

Founding Director

Hey Plain Jane

Hey Plain Jane is an information design agency that helps companies achieve clarity in their communication. We create clear, innovative, and beautiful forms, terms and conditions, and policies to help these companies build trust and communicate with empathy.

What many companies see as an exercise in compliance is really an investment in the success of their business. Clear communication has the power to improve operations, enhance marketing, reduce customer complaints, and mitigate legal risk. Our founders are crusaders for clarity on every level.

The company was started in 2017 by Novation Consulting and Liezl van Zyl. We’re headquartered in Stellenbosch with an office in Cape Town’s foreshore. Hey Plain Jane has clients in financial services, artificial intelligence, higher education, and retail. We work with best in class designers, animators, and copy writers to simplify technical communication.

Esselaar Attorneys

Her practice comprises of general regulatory compliance due diligences; training and workshops on regulatory compliance; opinion work on the Consumer Protection Act (the CPA), the National Credit Act, the Protection of Personal Information Bill, Banking Law, Insurance, Medical Law, Marketing Law, Contract Law; and plain language drafting.

She conducts regular workshops and training sessions on the CPA and other consumer legislation for businesses and for Law@work, a unit situated within the Law Faculty at the University of Cape Town.

In addition writing her dissertation (The consumer’s right to quality goods: a comparative analysis of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008) she is the co-author of a consumer law textbook and a guide on plain language legal drafting which is to be published by Juta Publishing. She is the editor of the Consumer Law Review, which provides a montly update on consumer law related matters. A free subscription is available through www.jutalaw.co.za.

Senior Associate

University of Cape Town

Teaching and research assistant in Contract Law and Comparative Legal History.

Teaching and research assistant

Webber Wentzel

She was employed as an associate in the practice of Daniel le Roux and Lisa Swaine in the Insurance and Legal Liability Practice Group.  Their practice consists of general Commercial litigation, Insurance law and Insurance litigation.

She was exposed to litigation both in the High Court of South Africa as well as the Magistrates' Courts.
During this time the third draft of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 was published.  She conducted an overview of the Act and wrote several opinions for companies in various industries and the Law Society of the Northern Provinces on the impact of the Bill in general with particular emphasis on the impact of the Act on their terms and conditions and exclusions of liability.  

She conducted several internal training sessions on the Act as well as a series of talks to clients of the Webber Wentzel. She was also invited to do workshops at the Chamber of Business, the National Housing Loan Fund and the Law Society of the Northern Provinces.

Candidate Attorney and Associate

Rehabilitated lawyer, #funlawyer, legal designer, plain language fanatic, (retired) amateur skateboarder, humour researcher, (un)professional speaker, knows a little about privacy law, etm.

I call myself a rehabilitated lawyer™.  I have been a litigator, a corporate lawyer, and a privacy and data protection specialist. Now I am a #legaldesigner, a #professionalspeaker, a #plainlanguage fanatic and at parties I tell people I am a cattle inseminator so they don't tell me about their forking divorces. 

Wanna work with me? 

Here is what I do:
🤓 I use #legaldesign and #plainlanguage to create #legal documents that people actually want to read. I have done this with terms & conditions, commercial #contracts, insurance policies, #privacy notices, terms on application forms... if it is legal, I design it.
🙃 I 'rehabilitate' #lawyers and #complianceofficers by doing pep talks and workshops on soft skills like #communication, effective #riskmanagement, #changemanagement magic, and how to look after yourself with #funlaw. Yes, having #fun and using #humour at work is a skill!
😎 I ❤️ #compliance. I help organisations to understand their compliance obligations and identify, plan and implement the changes they need to make to meet them!
🦕 Writing #policies is my jam! On any topic; the harder and more boring the better. I find ways to make sure that people (want to) read them, because if it is not read, it is dead!
✏️ I am a pretty motivational #speaker and a bit of a legal stand-up #comedian. I have done keynotes and training on #legaldesign, rehabilitating #lawyers and #complianceofficers, #funlaw, effective #compliance, #legalwriting, #plainlanguage, #behaviouraleconomics, #changemanagement, #privacy and #dataprotection, #ethics...I love the challenge of making any topic interesting!
🤬...and yes, I can help organisations with #privacy compliance. I wrote a book about South Africa's #POPIA with my work wives. Why the swearing? I have a little bit of #POPIA fatigue, but I will get over it.

If you need help with any of these things and feel like having some fun, send me an email at elizabeth@novcon.co.za! Let's chat!

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Viveca Hess, J.D.

Elizabeth de Stadler

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The Battle

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Elizabeth de Stadler

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