Un-Billable Hour: Business Management Strategies for the Busy Lawyer Around the Community Table

When running a law firm, it’s vital to know what’s important. Results? Production? Call it “everything.” When we explore the future of law, it’s important to talk about the whole picture. Today, that means AI, money, financing, and results. Guest Dan Lear, VP of Partnerships at InfoTrack shares his insights.  It starts with understanding the “hemispheres” of the brain and understanding yourself and how you think. The world is moving from a “left brain” logical type of approach to a more holistic, creative approach, tapping unconventional, big picture skills. The narrow approach learned in law school and practiced in the past is due for an upgrade.  There’s a lot going on. Will AI make you more productive, or will it jam you up? Understanding today’s legal landscape and the new era of work demands your attention.  Lear digs into how fast things are changing. AI is rewriting the very tech we use, and you can’t escape it, only keep up. Take a new look at the future of work, and, equally important, the future of money, outside funding, and the practice of law as a business.  Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? Mentioned in This Episode: Clio legal software Clio, Daily Matters, “Dan Lear, Chief Instigator of Right Brain Law”  Avvo Daniel Pink, author Mycase Smokeball “The Free-Time Paradox in America,” The Atlantic, Derek Thompson Books by Ray Kurzweil, Amazon The Matrix, trailer “The End of Lawyers,” Richard Susskind Claude AI “The Prize,” on Amazon Legal Talk Network team

Host Christopher T. Anderson and team are at the Community Table. Real answers, no script. In this episode, a job candidate is a great cultural fit but doesn’t have the skills. And, what about an employe who doesn’t communicate like you? EPISODE NOTES:  In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: A law firm owner finds an associate candidate who seems like a good “culture” fit and has great qualities. There’s potential, but not the experience and skills for this position. Does the firm take a chance and invest, find another role for the candidate, or look for a more polished attorney? What to do with an employee who doesn’t fit the office culture and struggles to communicate with coworkers? Even worse, efforts to develop communication skills fall flat. Can this ever work out? Christopher’s insights will surprise you. Where do you stand on the old mantra “hire slow, fire fast?” The panel challenges assumptions and adages that somehow seem to hang on. Ask us anything for the Community Table. Leave us a question online. Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?   REFERENCES MENTIONED: “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” Wikipedia Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast Clio Legal Trends Report  Cliocon 2025  

AI is real and it’s rapidly advancing the practice of law. Guest Austin Brittenham is the co-founder of the legal AI company 2nd Chair. As an attorney, he recognized the inefficiencies that plague the legal profession and put his background in computer tech to work to create an AI platform that both recognizes the unique challenges facing lawyers – including security and confidentiality – while speeding workflow and maximizing output.  AI has been put to work in a lot of "lawyer-adjacent” areas of law such as web design, intake, and billing, but Brittenham recognized the need for a model that helps lawyers practice actual law.  He says AI won’t replace lawyers, but it may change how lawyers are viewed. If AI can automate mundane tasks, such as drafting paperwork, attorneys may be able to get back to their traditional role of a true “counsellor,” providing meaningful guidance. Hear about what’s coming in the future and, more importantly, what’s here now. Start slowly, learn the state-by-state rules, and see where you can get in the game. If you’ve been curious about AI and how it will change the practice of law, you’ll want to catch this episode.  Mentioned in This Episode: Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?  “The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI,” by Ray Kurzweil  “The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology,” by Ray Kurzweil  ChatGPT Microsoft Copilot AI Clio legal software LexisNexis ThomsonReuters CoCounsel AI

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: To meet client demand, firms are exploring alternative fee structures, such as flat-rate billing. Clients are paying for results, not hours. Today’s tech, including AI, can make your firm more efficient and settle cases faster. Hear how you can experiment with different fee structures and where they may, or may not, work.  Do you need a real receptionist, or can you get by with an outsourced, virtual one? There can be advantages. Clients today expect more, including 24/7 availability. Virtual receptionists can be available around the clock, and modern technology can offer lower costs, greater capacity, and add-ons such as multiple languages. As your firm’s footprint expands, you may consider opening an office in a new territory. Dig into the pros – and many cons – of expanding your reach and the creative alternatives to physical office space (even sending a ride-share company to pick up distant clients and bringing them to you). Mentioned in This Episode: Ask us anything for the Community Table. Leave us a question online! Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?  Clio Legal Trends Report Previously on The Un-Billable Hour, “No More Billable Hours: The Move To Value-Based, Results-Based Pricing”  Posh virtual receptionist Ruby virtual receptionist Cliocon 2025

In this hands-on, in-the-trenches episode about real business development, learn the secrets to acquiring and signing new clients from law firm advisor Steve Fretzin, author of the new book “Be That Lawyer: The 101 Top Rainmaker Secrets to Growing a Successful Law Practice.” Fretzin, an accomplished author, business strategist, and podcaster, works with law firms big and small to help them prioritize goals, build their business, and achieve measurable, repeatable successes. Business development is more than buzzwords such as “branding” or “marketing,” it’s about the entire, intentional path to creating a business that is always growing, always producing. It’s the process of becoming the lawyer that everyone knows and everyone goes to: a rainmaker. As Fretzin says, “Be that lawyer.”  Hear about “sales-free selling” with a thoughtful, insightful approach to learning what clients need before you start pitching a service. Develop a checklist, a map, for building your business that you can put to work today. Developing a business can be confusing, with a lot of moving parts. Fretzin explains how it all comes together. Mentioned in This Episode: Books by Steve Fretzin  Previous appearance on The Un-Billable Hour, “Business Development: Planning and Practicing” Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? 

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: Grappling with a marketing refresh? Start with understanding you are an experiment of one. Asking someone else what’s working for them is a doorway to blind alleys. There is nobody just like you, so explore all options, ask yourself what you want to get out of it. You can’t copy what someone else does.  Learn and live “The Five Commandments of Marketing.” Have a call to action, know what you want to get back for the marketing spend, evaluate your results, learn from the outcome, and commit to the full process (don’t skip a step). Hiring a marketing agency is tricky. Manage the agency. Don’t let them take over. Hold them accountable with weekly meetings and reports. Make sure the agency has worked in your field and knows your market. Understand where your money is going, what amount of your spend buys marketing and what pays the agency. Mentioned in This Episode: Cliocon 2025 Seth Godin Legal Marketing Blog Seth Godin previous appearance on Legal Talk Network’s “New Solo” podcast, “What New Solos Can Learn From Han Solo”  Ask us anything for the Community Table. Leave us a question online Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? 

 Not too long ago, law firms were discouraged from using trade names and “branding” themselves. But the world has changed, and branding today is a key part of your success. Is it time for your firm to get serious, or even consider a “rebranding?”  Guest Jim Heininger, “The Rebrand Man,” founded and leads the firm Rebranding Experts. He is an experienced, highly successful brand consultant and brand activator. Branding, he says, is your strategic business accelerator, a “jet pack to success.”  Don’t confuse branding with marketing. It goes deeper. Who are you? What’s your culture? What do people think about when they hear your firm’s name, and what do they expect from you? Hear how far you can go with your brand (and how far you should).  Whatever you do, take a few minutes to soak up this insightful consultation with a branding expert who will get you thinking about who you are, what you stand for, and everything from your firm’s name to your message and culture. Mentioned in This Episode: “Jim Heininger: The Art of Rebranding,” YouTube “Your Rebranding Launch: Not The Finish Line But The Starting Point,” by Jim Heininger, Forbes Bravanti The Un-Billable hour podcast website Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? 

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:   An attorney realizes she’s waited too long to fire someone and knows there may be repercussions. But sometimes, the cost of keeping a problematic employee outweighs the consequences of letting them go. What’s best for the firm? What if you can’t fill the position and work piles up? Nothing stays the same, even in marketing. Attorneys question the value of “pay per click” online advertising. Hear what firms are seeing, especially in Google ad words. Is the “golden age” of pay per click over? As rules change, you are one algorithm change from trouble. Communicate with your marketing team and diversify.                        Imagine if you had to move to a new city, or if you simply wanted to. If it’s not a corporate gig, and you’re hanging out a shingle, it takes some work to ramp up. Network, network, network. Develop a marketing plan that ensures your name gets out and clients can find you.   Cliocon 2025Ask us anything for the Community Table. Leave us a question onlineJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? 

 It’s tax time. No, we’re not referring to a specific date. For your business, every day is tax time. Guests Jackie and Adam Williams are married and co-own Pennywise Tax Strategies, a firm focused on helping small businesses navigate tax codes to keep more of their hard-earned money. Jackie Williams is a CPA and veteran tax specialist, and Adam Williams is an attorney and serial entrepreneur who became frustrated with large tax bills. Managing a business and your business taxes is more than handing over a stack of receipts to an accountant once a year. Many business owners don’t know enough about the tax system and miss opportunities to maximize earnings through intentional tax strategies throughout the year. Look at the future, not the past, when you think about taxes. Payroll, cash flow, metrics, records all matter and all fit together every day, not just at the end of the tax year. This requires a shift in your mindset. Keep more of your money, reinvest it in your business, and get more out of life. Tax strategy is not just for billionaires, it’s for you. Understand incentives baked into the tax code and how you can use tactics including the switch from sole proprietor to LLC or S Corp structures. Think this isn’t for you? Wait until you hear how much money, real money, you can save. Hear the actionable things you can start doing today.Mentioned in This Episode:The Un-Billable Hour podcast websiteJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? 

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: PLA? Professional law firm administrators. What you need to know and what they do. It’s not an office manager and it’s not an administrative assistant. Hear why you might need a PLA. As your firm grows, are you spending more time “running the business” than attracting clients and winning cases? Maybe you need a PLA.  While we’re at it, how about a non-attorney salesperson. Someone who is passionate will build your firm beyond simply sales. Propelling your brand is as important as getting a signature on the dotted line. Compensation, goals, motivation, there are so many factors. Understanding the difference between “wealth” and “money” is critical to your business. Money spent builds client lists (SEO, advertising, Google ranking), but building a referral network through a solid reputation builds wealth that never stops. One takes cash, one takes time, effort, and commitment. Mentioned in This Episode:Ask us anything for the Community Table. Leave us a question online.Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? Association of Legal AdministratorsClio Legal Trends ReportClioCliocon 2025