The Agile Attorney Podcast

John E. Grant

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Oct 28, 2025 • 40min

093. Legal Document Automation: Building Productized Legal Services with Laura Patton

Life can change in an instant. For attorney Laura Patton, that moment came when her college-age son landed in the emergency room, and she discovered that without proper legal documents, she couldn't even speak to his doctor about his condition. By combining her decades of estate planning experience with open-source document automation tools, Laura created a scalable, affordable solution that protects families while preserving the personal connection at the heart of her practice. In this episode, Laura shares how thoughtful use of document automation can expand access to justice, improve efficiency, and strengthen client relationships. You'll learn how lawyers can identify opportunities to systematize repetitive work, build productized legal services, and design innovative, human-centered solutions for modern legal practice. Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/93Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with Greenline LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
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Oct 21, 2025 • 19min

092. Essential Skills to Build a Successful and Profitable Law Practice

Building a new law practice requires confronting the reality of what actually works, not just what should work in theory. The natural tendency for lawyers starting something new is to perfect every system and procedure before launching, but this perfectionist approach often becomes the very thing that prevents real progress. This week, I'm breaking down why the essential skill for new legal business owners isn't doing the legal work, it's getting the work. Drawing from a recent consultation with an attorney who wanted to dial in all their systems before ramping up their practice, I explain why this cart-before-the-horse approach misses what really matters. Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/92Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with Greenline LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
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Oct 14, 2025 • 19min

091. Broken Systems, Not Bad People: How Blame Breaks Your Law Practice

When someone on your team drops the ball or a client misses a deadline, it's tempting to write them off as disorganized or unmotivated. This snap judgment feels natural - after all, if they cared enough, they'd follow through, right? In today's episode, I'm unpacking the fundamental attribution error - a cognitive bias that makes us blame people's character instead of examining the broken systems they're working within. I'll show you how well-designed workflows can transform your team's performance and why investing in better systems beats endless hiring cycles every time.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/91Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with Greenline LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
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Oct 7, 2025 • 43min

090. Stop Writing Policies and Start Creating Working Agreements with Tim Lennon

Most organizations default to command-and-control when creating policies - one person decides what needs to happen, writes it down, and expects everyone else to follow along. The problem is that this approach creates policies that exist on paper but fail in practice, because the people doing the actual work never bought into them in the first place. In today’s episode, I'm joined by Agile Educator and Organizational Coach Tim Lennon to discuss why the traditional approach to making policies explicit often backfires, especially in American workplaces. Through Tim's evolution from teaching the Kanban method to developing what he calls "Adaptive Kanban," we uncover why negotiating working agreements with your team creates far better results than top-down mandates. Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/90Take your law practice from overwhelmed to optimized with Greenline LegalFollow along on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnegrant
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Sep 30, 2025 • 26min

089. The Four Ds of Productivity: Removing Bottlenecks & Managing Capacity

The Four Ds of productivity (do it, delegate it, defer it, or drop it) show up everywhere in productivity advice. Yet most of us default to the same two options over and over, creating bottlenecks and stress rather than solving our capacity problems. In this episode, I break down why only two of the Four Ds are reliably good options for managing your law practice workload. I explain the hidden pitfalls of delegation, including why delegated work often creates more quality assurance headaches than it solves, and why deferring work is really just delegating to an unreliable resource called "future you." Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/89Get the 5-day Agile Attorney Boot Camp here: agileattorney.com/resourcesJoin me on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/agileattorney.comFollow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johnegrant/
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Sep 23, 2025 • 29min

088. Why This Firm Stopped Chasing Clients- and Got More Done

Managing a law firm’s workflow can be tricky, especially when you’re juggling a long list of active matters and chasing unresponsive clients. In this episode, I’ll share how one firm, after years of using Kanban, finally broke through the delivery bottleneck with a simple but powerful shift in their approach.You'll hear the key changes they made that allowed them to close 40 matters in one month, even in what’s usually their slowest season. Tune in to discover how simplifying your systems, setting clear client expectations, and focusing on the work that matters most can unlock new levels of productivity and capacity for your practice.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: agileattorney.com/88Get the 5-day Agile Attorney Boot Camp here: agileattorney.com/resourcesJoin me on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/agileattorney.comFollow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johnegrant/
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Sep 16, 2025 • 17min

087. Change Management for Law Firms: How to Engage Your Team from Day One

When you introduce new processes in your law firm, you're asking your team to rethink how they get things done, and that’s a bigger challenge than most realize. In this episode, I explore why the usual approach to change management often misses the mark in law firms. I also discuss why involving your team from the start is critical to getting real buy-in.This approach might take a little longer upfront, but it pays off when it comes to actually implementing the changes you need.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/87
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Sep 9, 2025 • 39min

086. From Chaos to Consistency: Lessons from a Decade of Agile Lawyering with Jeff De Francisco

When Jeff De Francisco noticed his less tech-savvy colleagues billing more hours for the same estate planning work, he uncovered an injustice that would reshape his entire practice. The disparity wasn't about knowledge or skill. It was about efficiency, and the billable hour was punishing him for being good at his job.In this episode, I sit down with Jeff, a long-time client and now business partner, to explore his decade-long journey with Agile practices. You’ll also hear lessons from Jeff’s journey that you can apply to your own law practice - and get a peek at how tools like Greenline Legal can support your systems along the way.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/86
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Sep 2, 2025 • 25min

085. Make Work Visible: Using Kanban Boards To Manage Your Law Firm’s Capacity

Discover how knowledge work often remains hidden, leading to overwhelming capacity issues. Learn how Kanban boards can transform invisible commitments into visible tasks, facilitating better communication and decision-making. Explore the power of prioritizing visible work, identifying bottlenecks, and enhancing team workflow and onboarding. Hear how this system fosters psychological safety and objective discussions, ultimately improving overall efficiency. Plus, tips on measuring progress and ensuring leadership is aware of team capacity!
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Aug 26, 2025 • 15min

084. Technical Debt in Law Firms: How Small Shortcuts Create Big Problems

Discover the hidden dangers of technical debt in law firms. Shortcuts may save time initially but can lead to bigger problems later. The discussion includes practical strategies for improving workflow and efficiency to combat burnout. Learn about the innovative Greenline Legal tool designed to tackle these challenges. Feedback and demos are encouraged for those eager to enhance their legal practice.

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