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

Every attorney knows to lock client secrets behind sophisticated cybersecurity. But as guest Rich Hale explains, the data that’s hiding in plain sight, “Dark Data,” is just as important to your client relationships and your reputation.After this important episode, you’ll want to look around your office. What do you see? Passwords taped to keyboards, thumb drives and scribbled notes left on desktops overnight, email exchanges that keep expanding as more people are looped in? Protecting that data both from thieves and ransomware attacks is every bit as crucial as your clients’ secret formula or business plans.As chief technology officer for the data security firm ActiveNav, Hale is surprised how many organizations are swimming in unsecured Dark Data. Just because you aren’t hearing about a security breach at a small law firm doesn’t mean it’s not happening daily. Learn to shine a light on your Dark Data. This may be one of the most eye-opening podcasts you listen to this year.

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: What do I need to consider to bring the firm’s outsource bookkeeping in-house? How can I utilize job boards more effectively to find quality candidates? What is the best way to script internal messaging to my team about a firing?

Feeling overwhelmed, like you’ve lost control of your life and your practice, like your job runs you instead of the other way around? You’re not alone and there are ways to overcome anxiety, doubt, and feeling overwhelmed. You can put you back in charge of you.Guest Monica Levi is a lawyer and former corporate HR executive who channels what she learned into leadership coaching for attorneys. This episode of the Un-Billable Hour is about you. Learn to listen to yourself, understand your worth, and go after what you want in life, whether that’s managing your own law practice, working within a corporate setting, or doing something entirely different.Lawyers especially feel the pressures of time management, productivity, and reacting and responding to everyone else’s needs. No wonder so many attorneys are struggling to find satisfaction. It’s hard to set boundaries and gain control of your time and goals. But you can do it.  And if you’ve got questions and want to be part of the discussion, join us at The Community Table, a live round table Q&A with host Christopher Anderson and guests here!

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How can I minimize the damage of an upcoming employee resignation? How do I decide which size cases my firm should pursue? How do I handle two employees that need to be hired/transferred?

Marketing is about message, not volume. Before big advertising spends, figure out who you are and what you want to say. What makes you special? Look inside your firm and understand your culture and passions. You don’t have to dress, act, and talk like every other firm. And you can’t buy authenticity.Guests April and Tyler Roberts are co-founders of NOMOS Marketing. They dig into what makes a law firm unique, building on aspects that forge stronger connections with clients. Lean into what makes you unique.Too often, firms focus on the same, bland messaging. They don’t know what they stand for, so they follow the crowd. Instead, build a real brand. When people need an attorney, they are going through a scary period. Learn how making your firm more personal generates trust and helps clients envision the successful outcome only you can deliver.(Plus, the one thing any lawyer or law firm can do right now, today, to improve marketing results).

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How should I structure a bonus plan for my client intake specialist? How should I construct a pro hac vice agreement with an out-of-state law firm? How should I market my newly created educational course to my potential clients?

If there’s a key lesson in this episode, it’s “Don’t try to do it all.” Guest Mike Morse founded the largest personal injury law firm in Michigan. But it wasn’t always that way. He started out trying to do everything himself, from trials to correspondence to hiring assistants to finding office space. Nobody in law school teaches you how to run a law firm – law school doesn’t even admit a law firm is a business. You need to learn how to run your firm like a business. Morse did just that.Learn to delegate. Be a visionary. Be an entrepreneur. Build a brand, scale up, and succeed.If you’re already leading a firm, take the next step. Offload tasks to others who share your values and hold them accountable. Build your business by doing what you’re best at and assigning others to do the things you don’t love.For anyone running their own firm and wants to grow, this episode may be one of the most important podcasts of the year.

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How do I decide which candidate to hire for the office manager position? How do I attract quality candidates to my small firm when we’re competing against larger law firms? How do I hold people accountable in a way that doesn’t create a lot of extra work for me?

The COVID pandemic changed our understanding of remote work with new technologies and more efficient management. But does that remote employee need to be in your town, or even country?Guest Brett Trembly is cofounder of Get Staffed Up, a growing firm that provides talented, English-proficient, remote professional legal support staffers from around the world. Some 700 law firms around the U.S. profit from offshore legal support.Look beyond the limited – and highly competitive – talent pool in your region. Limit costs by working with staffers in countries with less expensive economies.Never considered offshoring? Now’s the time, as technologies and attitudes about remote work open new ways to expand your business, tackle new projects, and delegate support services so you can focus on results that matter. 

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How do I promote an employee to a part-time position without upsetting the current full-time coworker? Did I make a mistake hiring a friend? How do I overcome my reluctance to hand over the drag-in duties to a new hire?  Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion.