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

The largest proportion of attorneys work as sole practitioners, or within small firms and chronic stress is rampant among these attorneys, who face stress from all sides. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program joins returning guest, Attorney Eric MacLeish, principal of MacLeish & Woolverton, to cite the major stress points for sole and small firm attorneys, steps attorneys can take to reduce the impact of acute and chronic stress, and the benefits of learning to manage stress.

Hiring your first employee can feel like jumping off a cliff, but in some circumstances it can lead to more efficiency and profits. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program joins Lee Rosen, founder of the Rosen Law Firm, a North Carolina family law firm, blogger and practice management guru and Attorney Scott Stewart, from The Law Offices of Scott David Stewart out of Arizona, to talk about how to make the first hire a successful hire.

How does your firm track time? On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program joins Danny Wen, Co-founder of Harvest Software and Sri Vemuri, Marketing Manager at Harvest Software, to discuss how law firms can track time and invoice clients in a way that captures more time and allows attorneys to receive payment more quickly.

Law firms are increasingly being targeted by hackers seeking to access confidential business and personal information. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Digital Detectives co-hosts Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. and John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, to discuss a variety of issues including: computer security, why attorneys are targeted and malpractice and ethics risks related to having inadequate security.

Feeling Stressed? On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Attorney Eric MacLeish, principal of MacLeish & Woolverton, to talk about how firms can help their attorneys and staff handle the perils of stress.

One of the biggest challenges facing attorneys is how to acquire and maintain clients. A fundamental method of developing a client base is to create a referral network. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Linda O’Koniewski, the broker/owner of ReMax Heritage , who tells us what it takes to get referrals from another professional. Linda gives tips on how to strengthen your network and how to develop and sustain those relationships.

Law firm administrators are the backbone of every law practice and they are often times met with challenges on a daily basis. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Joanne Schnare, Executive Director for a Boston law firm and President-Elect of the Boston Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, to take a look at the top issues that law firm administrators need to be aware of in today’s legal environment and how these unsung heroes can help manage the law practice and be a part of a successful law firm.

A vast majority of attorneys in the United States and Canada must keep and maintain IOLTA trust accounts pursuant to very specific guidelines established by the governing body in each state. Despite the clearly defined rules, which in most jurisdictions, have been in place for years, some attorneys continue to put their license at risk. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and interim executive director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, talks with David Bilinsky, a Practice Management Consultant/Advisor for the Law Society of British Columbia, about why so many attorneys fail to properly do their IOLTA trust accounting, where they should go to learn how to properly do their accounting and shares his recommendations for trust accounting programs for attorneys.

Podcasts have become increasingly available and cover topics of all flavors. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and interim executive director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, welcomes St. Louis based legal technology writer and information technology lawyer and co-host of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy, to talk about how attorneys can benefit from listening to podcasts, how to find the best podcast that suits you and how attorneys can improve their podcast listening experience. And don’t forget, you can listen to many Legal Talk Network podcasts here and get CLE credit!

Why are the world’s best communicators often unable to have difficult conversations with clients, employees, partners, or even family members? Find out on The Un-Billable Hour, with host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and interim executive director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, along with Szifra Birke, counselor, consultant and co-host of Shrink Rap, a syndicated cable TV show. They discuss the impact on success and how legal professionals can start handling difficult conversations in a healthy manner.