Lawyerist Podcast

Judge Dillard is one of a small group of judges who have an active presence on social media. In this episode, he talks about why he joined Twitter, what he gets out of it, and whether it is a good thing. Plus, Microsoft is releasing practice-management software.

What does a law firm look like without the traditional hierarchy? Sonia Miller Van Oort's firm has a flat governance structure, transparent compensation, and offers alternative-fee arrangements to every client. Plus, why it's silly to let your hardware dictate your law-firm policy.

Shantelle Argyle has a non-profit law firm, something many people talk about but few attempt. Well, the non-profit firm Argyle co-founded doesn't just work, it's flourishing. Find out more on today's podcast after we talk about the ridiculous disconnect between law and science — and by the way, should trials be held virtually?

Agile project management is huge in software development, but lawyers can take advantage of Agile, too. John Grant explains how to adapt Agile for law practice. But first, is the legal market really experiencing "modest job gains"?

Brendan Kenny explains what every lawyer needs to know about e-discovery. But first, how to effectively disconnect your phone when you’re on a vacation.

Nicole Bradick explains what a virtual practice is and how to build one. But first, we talk about a baby who is crazy about a local personal injury lawyer, and the difficulty in combating link rot.

Omar Ha-Redeye is (among other impressive things) co-founder of Fleet Street Law, a law practice incubator focusing on innovation and increasing access to justice. In today's podcast, he talks about how the legal industry is changing and what that means for the future of access to justice. But first, we try to figure out why lawyers let receivables become a problem.

David Lat of _Above the Law_ talks about the similarities and differences between BigLaw and solo and small firms, and talks about changes and opportunities in the legal market. But first, Sam and Aaron talk about the new wine fad: rosé.

Deborah Savadra writes for Lawyerist as well as for her own blog, Legal Office Guru. She specializes in making Microsoft Office do what lawyers need it to do, and in today’s podcast she identifies the five things she thinks lawyers ought to know about Microsoft Office and explains why. But first, Sam and Aaron try to figure out to what lengths lawyers will go to avoid turning in their timesheets.

This episode we're trying something a bit different. One of our favorite interviews to date was Sam's conversation with Ed Walters about law and robots, so this week we are replaying it. If you missed it the first time around, you'll want to tune in now.

In today's show, ABA Law Practice Division chair Bob Young talks about being a plaintiff's lawyer in a defense firm, and explains what the ABA LPD is doing to help lawyers with marketing, management, finances, and technology. But first, is solo practice a shitty economic proposition for most people?

In today's show, Allison Shields talks about how to be more productive, also the subject of her new book, How to Do More in Less Time. But first, Sam and Aaron talk about Lee Rosen's advice to block your firm website from your firm computer.

Today Todd Hendrickson talks about how he uses technology to give him an edge against better-funded opponents in his solo med-mal and personal injury practice. But first, Sam and Aaron explain why a shredding service is better than throwing your clients’ files in the trash.

In today’s podcast, David Colarusso, a lawyer and data scientist for the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services, talks about what a legal hacker is, how he incorporates hacking into lawyering, and why lawyers should learn to code. But first, Sam and Aaron try to figure out whether lawyers who bill after working 55 hours in a week are just padding their hours.

According to Ernie Svenson, either you already are paperless or you just haven't committed to it, yet. If you haven't committed, you are just wasting resources maintaining two systems: one for your paper files and and one for your digital clients files. This week Sam and Aaron also talk about why you should never use hotel Wi-Fi without a VPN.

If you are tired of drinking wine with strangers in conference rooms, you're going to appreciate this podcast. Shannon Hoagland's creative approach to entertaining clients is virtually guaranteed never to bore you. This week Sam and Aaron also talk about a brand-new guide to increasing your computer security.

Ken White and his partner started his firm with rented desks and unreliable phones and built their firm to around a dozen lawyers today. Meanwhile, he became a champion of free speech by defending bloggers threatened by censorious douchebags. He also reveals the secret of the name Popehat. Sam & Aaron start out today's show by talking about legal hacking, about which Aaron is a little confused and Sam is pretty interested.

Daniel Gershburg has a real estate and bankruptcy practice in transition, so he is trying to figure out what the future of law practice looks like for solo and small-firm lawyers. As he puts it “I wanted to see who was going to eat my lunch.” Plus, Aaron and Sam talk about their 2015 ABA TECHSHOW experience. Note: Sam sounds a little different in the intro because he forgot to plug in his fancy mic. It’s not terrible, but you’ll probably notice. He’s sorry.

Don’t build your marketing plan around the strategies you want to employ. That’s step 4. First, you need to do a little background work to figure out which strategies make sense for your practice. This week, Karin and Sam talk through her 5-step marketing plan. Plus, Sam and Aaron talk about a BigLaw April Fools prank that was in very poor taste but turns out to be a really good idea.

Bitcoin is seriously cool technology with the potential to transform the financial industry — and any other industry that needs trusted transactions. Marco Santori talks with Aaron about what Bitcoin is, the hurdles to its wider adoption, and why every lawyer should accept legal fees in Bitcoin. Plus, we also talk about why computers are only as secure as the people who use them, which means the computers in most law firms are not very secure.

During this week’s conversation, Keith Lee talks with Sam about his book, The Marble and the Sculptor and how new lawyers can become good lawyers. Before that, Sam waxes poetic about one of his favorite lawyer-friendly iPhone/iPad/Mac apps, Soulver.

Google is going to start directly penalizing websites that aren't mobile device–friendly. We explain why this is important. Also, in its secret labs Google is learning to tell whether you are lying or not. Just something else to worry about. Then, in this week's interview, Ellie Krug has a lot of interesting things to say about starting a law firm, building a strong reputation, trying cases — and yes, trying cases as a man, then after coming out as a woman.

40% of small law firms don’t have a website, and Casey Flaherty’s Legal Tech Auditwas just the beginning of his quest to reform the way law firms use technology and price their services.

Law school admissions are dropping, but the bar exam is getting harder. Is a smaller bar inevitable? After Sam and Aaron try to figure that out, David Sparks talks about starting a brand-new solo practice, including the Mac tools he is using to make it work.

Entertainment lawyer Ali Grace Marquart recently made Forbes’ 2015 30 Under 30 list for law and policy. She talked about the unusual path she took to owning a successful fashion law boutique, what success means at this point in her career, and how she represents clients all over the world from her office in New York.

Sam and Aaron talk with Jeena Cho about why jerky law students become jerky lawyers, and then Aaron Hall explains why and how he is giving some clients a satisfaction guarantee.

This week Sam and Aaron wonder whether a lawyer could become an Uber driver to market a law practice, on obvious marketing, and Sam talks to Gyi Tsakalakis of AttorneySync about online marketing without the BS.

This week Sam and Aaron discuss the effectiveness of meditation as a way for lawyers to relieve stress, shake our heads at the technological incompetence of LegalTech attendees, and Sam interviews Alison Monahan of the Girls Guide to Law School.

Morning pages, robot lawbreakers, and an interview with Brian Tannebaum, the eminent law blogger who just published The Practice: Brutal Truths About Lawyers and Lawyering.

Plus, Aaron and Sam talk about non-lawyer ownership (and why personal injury lawyers don't like the idea), non-lawyers doing legal work, and learn that every lawyer should be bringing in at least $200,000 because statistics.

In today’s podcast, we talk to Carolyn Elefant about what you can and should do in advance if you are planning to go solo. Then, in our Q&A segment, we talk about whether solos ought to form a business entity or "go naked."

Today’s guest is Paul Floyd, a business lawyer for lawyers — and a very successful one. Paul finally explained law practice valuation so I could understand: the best way to value a law practice is not to value it. Today's question is from our forum: How do you calculate flat fees when starting out. Aaron and I offer our own suggestions for coming up with flat fees early on in your legal career.

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.

Sam and Aaron introduce the Lawyerist Podcast and our first guest, Alan Dershowitz. You'll also find out how to send us a question to answer during future podcasts. Subscribe now, either using your favorite podcast app, in iTunes, Stitcher, or find out about new episodes by subscribing to the Lawyerist Insider.