The Agile Attorney Podcast
John E. Grant
The Agile Attorney podcast teaches legal professionals how to streamline their legal workflows using the principles, practices, and tools of the Kanban Method.
Join Accredited Kanban Trainer and award-winning legal operations professional John E. Grant as he shares the keys to implementing effective strategies, practices, and technologies to drive true efficiency in your legal processes.
For more information on how John can help you develop an agile mindset and bust through your legal delivery bottlenecks, visit https://agileattorney.com.
This is the show for you if you find yourself asking questions like:
-How can I make my law practice more efficient?
-What is the best way to implement legal project management in my legal workflow?
-How can I best leverage technology to improve my legal workflows?
-What is the best way to transition my practice to flat fees or other alternative billing structures?
-How can I get my legal team to perform better?
-How can I better build productized legal services?
-What is the best way to increase law firm revenue without adding headcount?
Join Accredited Kanban Trainer and award-winning legal operations professional John E. Grant as he shares the keys to implementing effective strategies, practices, and technologies to drive true efficiency in your legal processes.
For more information on how John can help you develop an agile mindset and bust through your legal delivery bottlenecks, visit https://agileattorney.com.
This is the show for you if you find yourself asking questions like:
-How can I make my law practice more efficient?
-What is the best way to implement legal project management in my legal workflow?
-How can I best leverage technology to improve my legal workflows?
-What is the best way to transition my practice to flat fees or other alternative billing structures?
-How can I get my legal team to perform better?
-How can I better build productized legal services?
-What is the best way to increase law firm revenue without adding headcount?
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 27, 2026 • 16min
138. The Lawyer Shortage: New Data and What Law Firms Need to Know
The lawyer shortage is real, and the latest data offers some signs of change. But a bigger pipeline of future lawyers does not mean law firms will be able to hire their way out of the problem anytime soon.In this episode, I revisit my earlier look at the roots of the lawyer shortage to see what's changed. I also explain why investing in your existing people, improving your processes, and making better use of your technology can help your firm increase capacity and throughput while continuing to deliver value to clients.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/138Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with GreenLine LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
Oct 13, 2026 • 16min
137. It’s Not Procrastination; Overloaded Lawyers Struggle With (Ethical) Diligence
Why do legal matters stall? Often, it’s not procrastination but an overloaded system. This discussion explores how Kanban, work-in-progress tracking, legal operations, and capacity discipline can make commitments visible and support ethical diligence. Discover why reliable workflows and thoughtful workload limits are essential to delivering consistent client service.
Sep 29, 2026 • 23min
136. Law Firm Overload: Why Closing Just 5% of Your Cases Brings Big Relief
Why can a law practice feel overwhelmed almost overnight? Explore how seasonality, high utilization, complexity, and work in progress create hidden bottlenecks. The discussion covers Little’s Law, Kingman’s formula, intake management, and practical ways to reduce active matters, ease tracking overhead, and restore smoother workflow.
Sep 15, 2026 • 44min
135. What Business Clients Want From Their Law Firms with Stephanie Corey (Voice of the Client)
Stephanie Corey, founder of UpLevel Ops and co-founder of CLOC, brings 25 years of buying-side legal experience. She explores what in-house teams really want from law firms: predictable pricing, focused services, AI-enabled delivery, and business-minded advice. They also discuss aligning compensation with alternative fees, using client scorecards, and why responsiveness and ease of doing business can win repeat work.
Sep 8, 2026 • 18min
134. Why Your Law Practice Should Avoid Diving Catches & Other Heroics
An unexpected crisis sparks a candid look at overloaded capacity, depleted focus, and the hidden costs of running at full utilization. Explore why “diving catches” and last-minute heroics often reveal fragile systems, plus how law practices can build reliable processes, preserve slack, and maintain a sustainable pace during busy seasons.
Aug 25, 2026 • 25min
133. How to Talk to Clients About AI [AI ROI Part 4]
They dig into why clients already turn to AI for instant, low-cost legal answers and emotional reassurance. They lay out the main legal risks like privilege and discoverability. They map six key conversations lawyers should have about AI use. They explain practical ways to teach clients AI hygiene and offer firm-managed options and context documents.
Aug 18, 2026 • 52min
132. When People Need Answers But Can’t Afford More Legal Help (Voice of the Client)
People do not stop needing answers when they can no longer afford legal help. They still have questions, still need to understand what is happening, and still need guidance through unfamiliar processes. But when access to their attorney changes, they often have to find other ways to fill that gap.In this episode, I revisit a conversation with Jason, a former divorce litigant who shares what it was like navigating the legal system as a client. We’ll explore the importance of setting expectations, helping clients understand how legal services work, and recognizing what happens when people still need answers but no longer have access to traditional legal support.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/132Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with GreenLine LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
Aug 11, 2026 • 29min
131. Why Overdue Tasks Keep Piling up in Your Law Practice
Overdue tasks are a frustrating reality for many law firms. But the problem is not always a lack of discipline or effort. Often, it is the way the system is designed to manage work.In this episode, I explore why overdue tasks keep piling up in your law practice and why traditional task management approaches often make the problem worse. I explain how practice management software can create task overload by treating every matter independently instead of accounting for the team's shared capacity to complete the work.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/131Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with GreenLine LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
Jul 28, 2026 • 35min
130. Law Firm Blueprint: How Jim Boatman Aligns Vision, Values, & Operations
A law firm’s vision and values only create real impact when they influence the decisions people make every day. Many firms have mission statements that live on a website but never become part of how the organization operates. The challenge is turning those ideas into a practical framework that helps guide hiring, leadership, culture, and difficult decisions.In this episode, I sit down with Florida-based litigator Jim Boatman to discuss the law firm blueprint he created to define his firm’s purpose, values, and operating principles. Jim shares how what started as a recruiting tool evolved into a guide for making decisions across the organization, from compensation and client service to team alignment and AI adoption.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/130Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with GreenLine LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrantFollow Jim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/james-a-boatman-jr-esq/
Jul 21, 2026 • 34min
129. Legal Workflow Made Simple: Kanban Board Essentials for Lawyers
Kanban boards are one of the most effective tools for visualizing and managing work in a law practice. Whether you are juggling multiple matters, tracking client requests, or balancing internal projects, a well-designed board helps you see what’s in progress, what’s waiting, and what’s done, so nothing falls through the cracks.In this episode, I take a deep dive into the Kanban methodology and show how to apply it specifically for legal workflows. I cover the basics of task-level and matter-level boards, how to structure columns for “to-do,” “doing,” “waiting,” and “done,” and the importance of definitions of ready and done.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/129Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with GreenLine LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
