Lawyerist Podcast

For this week's podcast, Sam talked with several attendees of the inaugural edition of TBD Law, a first-of-its-kind gathering of innovation-minded lawyers sponsored by Lawyerist and Filament.

In this week's podcast episode, Sam talks with Jamie Sutton, a third-year law student who has already started his own sliding-scale nonprofit law firm.

This week, Sam talks with computer forensics expert Mark Lanterman about the dark web and the latest trends in law firm security breaches.

For this week's Lawyerist podcast, Sam talks with Will Harrelson from Curo Legal about how to overcome resistance when your firm needs to upgrade its technology, systems, or processes.

On this edition of the Lawyerist podcast, Sam talks to Nicolle Schippers about what legal insurance is and how it can help to bridge the access to justice gap.

This week, Sam talks with solo practitioner Randall Ryder about what it is like to go out on your own when you have no safety net.

For this week's podcast, Sam talks with Janine Sickmeyer, CEO and founder of NextChapter, about how she went from being frustrated with her practice management software to building her own.

On this week's podcast, Sam talks with Jamie Whitney about how to make choices about fee-setting when starting a new firm.

This week, Sam talks to Jeena Cho about her new book, The Anxious Lawyer, and how to build a mindful law practice.

In this podcast, Sam chats with Eric Cooperstein, an ethics attorney. They talk about how to approach law practice in a way that avoids ethics trouble.

This week, Sam chats with Paul Floyd, a lawyer who advises solosmall attorneys about business issues, about how an attorney can leave a small firm in a small town and do so on good terms. Aaron and Sam also discussed how everyday things like keycards and paper checks can be far less secure than you think they are.

On this week's podcast, Sam talks with Joshua Lenon, lawyer in residence at Clio, about how to assess legal technology through four lenses: price, user base, the interactivity of the company with the legal field, and responsiveness. Sam also talks about how to properly contextualize news about software security problems when that news is often poorly reported.

On this week’s podcast, Sam talks with Matt Homann, founder of Filament. Filament and Lawyerist are collaborating on TBD Law, a conference/retreat/summit/workshop about the future of law for solosmall firms.

Sam chats with Sam Harden about his solosmall firm and how to balance having a newborn at home with a burgeoning law practice. Sam Harden also explains how he taught himself to code and leveraged Florida's extensive public records law in order to develop My Court Case.

On this podcast, Sam talks with Dean Strang, the attorney who represented Steven Avery in the case that formed the basis for Netflix's Making a Murderer documentary. They discuss how Strang came to represent Avery and how an attorney makes a decision to take a case that will be all-consuming.

Sam and Adam Ziegler talk about the future of law and the challenges it faces through the lens of the Harvard Library Innovation Lab. They also explore the beginnings of Perma.cc—a tool that saves links from rotting—and other products that have also come out of the Harvard Library Innovation Lab.

Sam and Jared Corella discuss the impact of smartphones on our daily lives and why it may be best for you to give it up in favor of being in the moment. (And don't worry, you can give up your smartphone without being considered a luddite.)

Sam and Julie Tolek chat about what it means to be a solo lawyerand how to create a brand experience that doesn't intimidateclients. Julie also tells us about how she manages her client tasksand what it takes to maintain a work-life balance in the legalfield.

As more law firms go paperless, using cloud services for billing, timekeeping, and client files is common. But not all cloud services, especially those that offer free packages, will promise to keep your client data secure. Many of these services even reserve the right to use the data you store with them in marketing materials. David tells us what we should do about this and what we should look out for when subscribing to a new cloud service. Links: http://www.forbes.com/sites/schoolboard/2016/03/17/which-top-law-school-will-close-follow-the-money/#7d3edcbf3457

Sam and Andy Mergendahl chat about the ever-increasing prevalance of Internet-enabled devices, otherwise known as the Internet of things, and what impact it will have on your practice and your daily life. The worst part of all this? You may now have to read the Terms of Service that comes with every new software packagae you buy. Links:http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/07/x-ai-raises-23-million-for-its-ai-personal-assistant-plans-to-launch-this-fall/ https://lawyerist.com/103254/introduction-artificial-intelligence-lawyers/

Sam and Tom Mighell talk about how to keep your information—client data, finance documents, and other records—preserved, orderly, and accessible using a data map. Tom also tells lawyers that even though abundant online storage gives you the ability to keep all of your client and business record data, that doesn’t mean you should. Links:Meet Another Day

Sofia Lingos talks with Sam about how her firm provides outside counsel services to startups and small businesses, and the challenges of doing so. Lingos and Sam also take a deep dive into the Access-to-Justice incubator program at the Northeastern University School of Law.

Chad Burton discusses how bar associations can help lawyers run their practices—and whether bar associations need to rebrand. Sam and Aaron also go over what practice management apps stood out to them at the ABA TECHSHOW.

Greg McLawsen discusses how he went about building an agile, virtual immigration law practice. Sam and Aaron also discuss Deloitte's unique acquisition of Conduit Law.

David Zvenyach discusses the reasons lawyers should consider learning to code. But first, Carolyn Elefant asks whether lawyers should shed bar association dues as an unnecessary expense?

Jordan Furlong talks about the changes in store for the legal industry over the next 5-15 years, and what those changes mean for lawyers who will be practicing during (and after) them.

Megan Zavieh explains what's at stake in the FBI's quest to force Apple to build a backdoor to the iPhone. But first, a good story about social media and the law.

Let's face it, a lot of legal conferences are pretty bad. You get a lot of presenters reading their slides and panels where one person hogs the microphone. As Matt Homann explains, the needs of conference-goers have changed, which is an opportunity to do better CLE.

Some people who need to use the legal system want to go it alone, and a lot of those people call Mike Vraa’s free tenant hotline. On today’s podcast, some of his best tips for helping people represent themselves. Plus, we chat about our new guide, How to Set Up Your New Windows Computer.

Sarah Glassmeyer is trying to get to the bottom of open access to law, and Ed Walters is trying to build a company based on access to that law. Both share their frustrations and wishes for open access on today's podcast. Plus, lawyers are terrible at client intake. News at 11.

Billie Tarascio started out trying to build a firm that furthers access to justice, and wound up building a pretty innovative law firm with a software backbone that allowed her to deliver legal services at every price point—and it didn't work. You'll find out why in today's podcast, but first, don't forget that clients and customers are looking for very different things.

Gyi Tsakalakis on what local marketing is, why it matters, and how to do it effectively. But first, don't forget that a client and a customer are looking for very different things.

Bob Ambrogi has had his finger on the pulse of legal technology for a long time, and in this episode he talks about the ten trends that defined 2015. Plus, a reluctant preview of the trends that might define 2016.

Adriana Linares trains lawyers to use technology, but she often has to back up and teach basic skills. In this episode, she goes over some of those basic skills and how to master them. The second tip alone is worth the download. Before that, Aaron gushes about Making a Murderer. If you’re watching, too, discuss the show with us in the Lab.

Karin Conroy is back to talk about law firm websites. This is also, you might notice, our last podcast of 2015. Call it the end of Season 1. But don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2016, thanks in large part to your contributions.

On today's podcast, we ask security experts Sharon Nelson and John Simek things like how hard is it, really, to hack into someone's email? And what's the greatest security threat for lawyers? Plus, our favorite posts and podcasts of 2015.

Want to automate your documents? Step one is *not* shopping for software. Barron Henley talks about how to get started — without purchasing a thing. Before that, we say goodbye to two Dropbox services we loved.

Here's why cost-cutting measures aren't catching on with firms: many clients care more about the size of the discount than the size of the bill. Plus, how do you know whether the money you are spending on online marketing is getting the results it should?

In this episode we skip the introductory banter in order to get straight to the conversation with John Suh, CEO of the legal-industry bogeyman, LegalZoom. Not only would Suh like to change that, he's got a strong argument for why lawyers should learn to love his company.

Why should you care about typography? That’s like asking why you should practice for an oral argument or wear a tie to court. If you aren’t already using Matthew Butterick’s typography guide for lawyers, you’ll snap up a copy after you listen to this podcast. Crowdfunding Lawsuits Crowdfunding is all the rage, these days, and now it includes lawsuits. We’ve written about two crowdfunding efforts, LexShares and CrowdJustice, and now crowdfunding has hit the news. In Colorado, a court decided crowdfunders are subject to the same lending laws as payday lenders. And Wired wrote about the use of crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo to raise money to pay legal fees and fines. So is this good or bad? We weigh in on today’s podcast.

What does an innovative law firm look like? According to Peter Carayiannis, whose firm, Conduit Law, has been twice nominated for an innovative law-firm award, it’s less about technology and more about clients. And you know what, it’s not your fault that you can’t encrypt your email. Stop trying and just use a secure portal.

Law partners Jayne Sykora and Jennifer Santini have great advice on figuring out if you want a partner to start your practice, and how to choose one. Before that, Sam and Aaron discuss the security of If This Then That and Zapier.

Josh Camson reflects on nearly six years of law practice and the column he wrote when he was just starting out: "The Shingle Life." Plus, Sam and Aaron break down Net Promoter Score, the closest you'll get to a magic number for growing your law practice.

As a well-known lawyer and (former) law professor, Alan Dershowitz gives a lot of advice to young lawyers. At one point, he wrote it all down in Letters to a Young Lawyer. The book has been around for a while, but it is still full of good advice for young lawyers — and so is Dershowitz.

Representing low-income clients can present challenges for lawyers who are not used to it, but learning to meet those challenges is a good lesson in basic client service. While we're on the subject, what is the access-to-justice gap everyone is talking about, and can you really build a profitable law practice serving people who fall into that gap?

Brian Tannebaum’s book, The Practice: Brutal Truths About Lawyers and Lawyering, is a collection of tough-love letters to the new generation of lawyers. During our conversation with Brian about his book, we also talked about his criminal defense practice, the importance of a code of ethics, why some lawyers seem to leave ethics behind when they go online, and much more.

The Internet is a powerful tool for research that few people know how to use well. Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch are two of those people. They move through the Internet like ninjas through a moonless night. Before we talk to Carole and Mark, we argue about whether Nikki Black is right that 50% of lawyers will have an Apple Watch in 2 years.

Dennis Kennedy thinks the real promise of technology is taking away the tedious bits of law practice so lawyers can do more of what matters. And do the numbers show that law school crushed all our dreams?

Jodi Ettenberg left for a vacation, and never came back. On today's podcast, she talks about how to do the same (even if you've got a shorter timeline). But first, did Ohio just issue the dumbest ethics opinion ever?

There's so much potential for increasing access to legal information online, but only if knowledgeable lawyers are willing to contribute. Which is a challenge. Any project that requires a critical mass of lawyers to contribute is probably doomed from the outset. But somehow, Casetext seems to be thriving, and in this episode, Casetext VP Pablo Arredondo discusses what it takes to get lawyers to collaborate. But first, why law firms shouldn't serve clients.