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

Guest Charlène Gisèle is a former big-firm litigator turned professional high-performance coach. This show is about you. It’s about you being your best, taking better care of you, and avoiding burnout and other health issues. It’s no secret, the legal profession is a field filled with stress. Deadlines, precision, scheduling, marketing, and running a business. It’s a lot for anyone to handle. Gisèle helps her clients improve their well-being, increase productivity, and maintain a sustainable practice.It’s great to set goals, even ambitious goals, at the start of every new year. But don’t forget to take a moment to make a plan for yourself and how you’ll keep going, day after day, with so much weight on your shoulders. Hear how Gisèle used her own experience and a lot of professional research and training to develop a coaching method that helps stressed professionals enjoy their life and stay healthy. “You can have all the success in the world,” she says, “but if you’re not going to be around to see it, how much success is that truly going to be?” Do you feel stressed? Exhausted? Isolated? Do you know the symptoms of burnout? This is a podcast for you. You are not alone. Mentioned in This Episode:Charlène Gisèle's PodcastE-book, “Breathwork For Cognitive Performance,” by Charlène Gisèle “Burn-Out An ‘Occupational Phenomenon:’ International Classification Of Diseases,” World Health OrganizationJoin The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: Who should a solo attorney hire first? You’re building your firm. Who’s the next person you add to add (and you want avoid the wrong hire)? For starters, what do you need? Where are you wasting time? From there, “hiring is marketing,” it’s crucial you attract the largest pool of great candidates.  How do you prepare a job candidate for your hiring process? Start by being transparent. It’s that easy. “Hey, here’s our process, it may be different from what you’ve done before.” The important thing is to find what’s not only right for you, but what’s right for the new hire. And if they start by questioning your process, move on.  How do you introduce your “second in command” to your team? Maybe that’s the wrong question. “Second” in command suggests you still want people to report to you. You don’t. The whole idea is to offload daily decisions so you can focus on strategy and bigger things. There’s no “second in command,” there’s the “here’s the new person in charge for all of you.” Your language can sabotage your intentions.  Mentioned in This Episode:“Who: The A Method for Hiring,” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street “Hamlet Was Wrong,” a transcript, from Malcolm Gladwell discusses “hiring nihilism”Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Marketing and sales are keys to building your business. But where do they meet? It takes two to tango, and “Intake” is the junction. Good intake is always worth the effort. Guest Bo Royal is co-founder of Pareto Legal and has worked with several Fortune 1,000 companies and scores of law firms. He specializes in helping small and medium sized law firms build their business and strengthen their intake process. Data tracking and quality matters. Follow the trail, understand how the marketing funnel is working and where to get prospects in the door and sign that retainer. Intake is about nurturing inbound leads – the results of your advertising and marketing – and turning them into clients.Intake can make or break all of your marketing and sales efforts. Don’t build a “leaky bucket.” You worked hard, and spent a lot, to develop leads. This is an important episode that can help you go that last mile from generating interest to capturing revenue. Track the “journey” of every prospect. It’s not luck, it’s a process. Mentioned in this Episode:Pareto LegalPareto PPC LinkedInLawmaticsNeedles legal softwareHubspotClio GrowGoogle Analytics for beginnersJoin The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:  AI is all the rage in the public media, but how are lawyers using it in real life? For starters, it can help you with written communications. Tone down an angry brief or client communication. Write advertising or blog communications. Even create Excel formulas. (But remember, it’s a tool, not a replacement for your skills!).  How do you convey the value of a paid consultation? Help clients understand what they get by paying for a professional consultation. Sometimes it starts with an explanation that every case is different, and only a paid consultation can explore all available options before hiring an attorney. Tell prospects what they can expect from you and your conversation is more than a sales call. Marketing is important. And it’s expensive. How do you know when you’re getting the right ROI? It takes some math. Do you know how much you’re spending and how many paying clients are a direct result? Plus, the risks and rewards of posting your firm’s phone number prominently. Sometimes putting your number out there generates spam and time-wasting calls when a simple online scheduling tool could be more efficient. What’s right for you?Mentioned in this Episode:ChatGPT 4Paxton AI for legal profession“Michael Cohen Says He Unwittingly Sent AI-Generated Fake Legal Cases To His Attorney,” NPRMicrosoft Excel“PPC For Lawyers: It's About Cost Per Client, NOT Cost-Per-Click,” Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on Legal Talk Network“Getting Started With Local Services Ads,” GoogleCalendlyJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Business and professional growth are at the core of your business. This episode is about growth. Growing your business intentionally. Are you working “for your business” or “in your business?” Guest and growth guru Rick Watson helps business owners – like you – go beyond daily tasks to focus on real growth. Watson started his consulting dynasty with a dream and twenty bucks in his pocket. He’s now the successful owner of several businesses, including a half billion-dollar registered investment advisory, and he’s the founder the National Referral Network. He walks the walk and provides solid insights. Learn to think like an entrepreneur, not a practitioner. Don’t set artificial limits on your business. This is a deep dive, and it may force you to think. It’s about culture, goals, hiring, and about directing your firm and your future with purpose. If you’re on a treadmill running daily operations and chasing leads, you may be letting your business and your opportunities slip away. Separate good growth from bad growth, cut the mundane tasks, and energize your firm today. Mentioned in this Episode:Video, “The Growth Minded Accountant: A Firm Worth Building With Rick Watson”Book, “A Firm Worth Building: Running a Better Professional Business,” By Rick Watson Join The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: We start with an attorney who wants to balance hiring and firm growth. What happens when you hire “too much” team for the work or have “too much work” for the team? It’s a delicate dance. Start with a business plan and control the one thing you can, the number of cases you accept. It’s OK to say no to a new potential client. (Plus, find out what Christopher calls a “bull$#!* plan”).  What happens when you haven’t explored new ways to market and you fall behind? No use crying over spilt milk, but honestly, get on it. You start from where you are. Understand what you’re doing, what’s working, and what’s failing. A swift kick in the pants may get you motivated. And how do you help a long-standing employee establish some metrics, mainly a minimum billable hour requirement? Be straightforward, but it’s a balancing act. Sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind (in the right measure). Mentioned in this Episode:Empirical360BlueShark Digital MarketingWhat are LSAs? (Local Service Ads)Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Guest Joey Seeber, an experienced litigator, shares insights on the integration of tech and human touch in the legal world. From eDiscovery to AI, finding the balance between using tools and adding a personal touch is crucial. Discover tips on leveraging the right tech to surprise and delight clients while standing out in a high-tech environment.

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:  It’s a new year. The “Dos and Don’ts of New Year’s Resolutions.” It’s OK to set goals, heck, it’s great. But be reasonable, mindful even. There is no “magical thinking” that everything will change if you wish it. Review your past, understand yourself, share your vision. And if you need an unbiased opinion, ask someone. The dreaded sales slump isn’t cause for panic. If something has changed, your conversions fall off a cliff, take a deep breath and a logical approach. Don’t dash around like a squirrel in the road. You’ll find the flaw and correct it. Building your team isn’t easy, but if you take an open approach, you can do it. Interviewing a prospective team member is a marketing process – from both sides. You want to learn as much as you can about each other. If you have to spend some time and money getting it right, there’s nothing wrong with that.  Mentioned in this Episode:The Atlantic, “You Can’t Simply Decide To Be A Different Person” by Amanda MullJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Technology has quickly become a topic that touches everything in the legal world. You can’t escape it. While learning to embrace the latest in legal tech is vital to the success of your firm, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.We’re talking on this episode about how today’s emerging tech trends impact every aspect of your law firm – from client acquisition, to producing results, to generating profit – with guest Colin Levy, an author, speaker, and leader in the world of legal tech.But just buying a tech package won’t deliver value. Incorporating today’s new tech tools, understanding how they work, and truly understanding them (and then actually using them) is what drives value. Take the time to understand what you need, what problems you’re solving, then seek out the tech that actually gets you to your destination. Things are changing, and the rate of acceleration is accelerating, and we’re just getting started. Imagine AI drives the pace of change even faster. Before our eyes, technology is redefining what it means to be a lawyer.Mentioned in this Episode:Malbek“Handbook of Legal Tech,” by Colin Levyhttps://www.amazon.com/Legal-Tech-Ecosystem-Innovation-Advancement/dp/B0CKCZTLWWClio Cloud Conference ABA TechshowLegalweek 2024  Join The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:  Building an effective landing page is critical to making the most of your pay-per-click marketing dollars. Getting “clicks” is one thing, but then what? Hear how to craft a landing page that drives visitors to the next step: hiring you. Go beyond “call now.” Show why you’re the lawyer for the job. What makes you different? Referrals can be a big part of building your business, but getting them takes careful marketing and effective business relationships. It’s a two-way street. Be a friend to have a friend. It comes down to communication: if done well, it can be your cheapest marketing tool Building your business strategically helps you manage cash flow. If your practice area is too broad, you may be spreading your time across too many channels. And that can lead to cash shortfalls throughout the year. Understand what your business is really about and focus on that. You’re thinking of breaking away from a firm and starting your own practice? Hear some real-world advice from lawyers who have been there, done that. Mentioned in this Episode:Seth Godin, “The Mythical Head Of Marketing”Seth Godin’s blogJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?