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

For growing solo and small firms, deciding when to use billable resources to hire new employees can be a challenge. Greg Garman talks about when firms should hire freelance lawyers to help them fill in the gaps. What are the benefits and functions of freelance lawyers?

There’s a lot of talk about practice management software in legal circles, but what is it and how can it serve your law firm? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson and PracticePanther CEO David Bitton dive into the details of just how practice management software can lead to a more focused and efficient law firm. From client portals to document generation, they discuss the key benefits of practice management software and how they enhance the client experience. David Bitton is the CEO of PracticePanther, a management and billing software solution that is specially catered to users in the legal profession. Special thanks to our sponsors, Answer1, Solo Practice University, and Scorpion.

There are systems to help you run every part of a small law firm, whether it’s billing, marketing, or hiring. But what are systems and how do you implement them in your practice? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson talks to Kristen David about the importance of using systems and how they help law firm owners, staff, and even clients. They discuss crafting checklists, freeing up time, and how systems are sometimes resisted. They also share tips on how an owner can free up their time. Kristen David is law firm management and marketing advisor for How To Manage a Small Law Firm. Special thanks to our sponsors, Answer1, Solo Practice University, and Scorpion.

The mindset of a leader can affect an entire team and how they perform. This is especially true in law firms. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson talks to Michael Mogill about the seven mindset habits that lawyers can use to run a more successful and cohesive law firm: Ambition Engagement Accountability Respectfulness Openness to change Openness to learn Set clear expectations They go into detail about the strategies and benefits of each habit while also discussing the difference between a growth or fixed mindset. Michael Mogill is the president and CEO of Crisp Video Group, a national legal video marketing company that produces high-quality and engaging legal videos for attorneys all over the country. Special thanks to our sponsors, Answer1, Solo Practice University, and Scorpion.

Currently, there are at least 900 different kinds of cryptocurrencies being traded on the internet. As they have grown in popularity, it has become clear that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will inevitably impact the way law is practiced. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson talks to Joshua Lenon about blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and why it is essential for lawyers to know what these technologies are and how they work. They discuss how blockchain can perfect the authentication of digital files and how lawyers can start to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment. Joshua Lenon is an attorney who currently serves as lawyer-in-residence for Clio, providing legal scholarship and research skills to the cloud-based practice management platform. Special thanks to our sponsors, Answer1, Solo Practice University, and Scorpion.

Everybody hates those merciless sales emails that fill up your already packed inbox, but marketing via emails and phone calls is an important part of bringing clients through the door. As the owner of a legal business, what’s the best way to balance selling your services and being a lawyer? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Chris Anderson talks to Michael Chasin about what lawyers should be doing to turn leads into clients. They discuss how important it is to create internal processes to handle incoming clients and provide them with the best legal experience possible in order to keep them coming back. Michael Chasin is CEO of Lexicata, a CRM and client intake software designed to help law firms and lawyers increase client satisfaction. Special thanks to our sponsors, Answer1, Solo Practice University, and Scorpion.

Everyone has had technology issues. Whether it’s yanking paper out of your printer, restarting your computer for the fifth time this week, or struggling to open certain kinds of files, no law firm operates free from technology challenges. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Chris Anderson talks to Tom Lambotte, CEO of GlobalMacIT, about the effect different technology mindsets have on legal businesses. Some of these mindsets include ignoring smaller tech problems, avoiding issues until they are severe, and lawyers acting as their own IT experts. Ultimately, technology can save you time and money but only if you look at it with a healthy mindset. Tom Lambotte founded GlobalMacIT in 2007. He is renowned nationwide as an author, speaker, trusted IT advisor, and cutting edge, successful provider of the #1 complete end-to-end IT solution for Mac-Based Law Firms in the world. Special thanks to our sponsor, Answer1 and Solo Practice University.

In order to run a law firm successfully, you need clients and one of the most effective ways to get clients is through referrals, but what’s the best way to get referrals? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson and guest Vikram Rajan, co-founder of PhoneBlogger.net, lay out the four Cs of referability, which are: Credibility Customer service Content Connections They also discuss testimonials, how to get them, and their key benefits in legal marketing. Vikram Rajan is a co-founder of PhoneBlogger.net. He started Practice Marketing Advisors and its blog because he realized attorneys, CPAs, and related professionals required specialized marketing help. Special thanks to our sponsor, Answer1 and Solo Practice University.

In order to be a good lawyer, you first need clients. And to get clients, you need good marketing. Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of marketing courses at law school. So in this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson discusses way to market your law firm with LexBlog CEO Kevin O’Keefe, including how to use social media strategically, online networking, and using technology to facilitate and simplify your marketing process. According to Kevin, marketing is a conversation that involves building relevant relationships and setting goals for your particular business. Tune in for insights on various social media platforms and the best times and situations for each. Kevin O’Keefe is the founder and CEO of LexBlog, a pioneer company that helps lawyers with online marketing and blogs.

So there’s an ice cream shop. This ice cream shop is used to serving quality ice cream to its customers, but recently their vendor has cheated them out of their usual delicious product. But since this is a small business, they can’t cover the cost of litigation even though they have a solid case. What do they do? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, recorded at ABA TECHSHOW 2017, host Christopher Anderson talks to Joshua Lenon and Eva Shang about Legalist, a form of litigation finance underwriting for commercial cases based on algorithms and data. Together they discuss why Legalist was created, how it works, and its integration with Clio. Joshua Lenon is an attorney who currently serves as lawyer-in-residence for Clio, providing legal scholarship and research skills to the leading cloud-based practice management platform. Eva Shang is the co-founder of Legalist, a service dedicated to finance underwriting for litigation. Special thanks to our sponsor, Answer1 and Solo Practice University.

Everyone has had technology issues. Whether it’s yanking paper out of your printer, restarting your computer for the fifth time this week, or struggling to open certain kinds of files, no law firm operates free from technology challenges. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Chris Anderson talks to Tom Lambotte, CEO of GlobalMacIT, about the effect different technology mindsets have on legal businesses. Some of these mindsets include ignoring smaller tech problems, avoiding issues until they are severe, and lawyers acting as their own IT experts. Ultimately, technology can save you time and money but only if you look at it with a healthy mindset. Tom Lambotte founded GlobalMacIT in 2007. He is renowned nationwide as an author, speaker, trusted IT advisor, and cutting edge, successful provider of the #1 complete end-to-end IT solution for Mac-Based Law Firms in the world. Special thanks to our sponsor, Answer1 and Solo Practice University.

Before you read the word “numbers” and cover your ears, consider this your reminder that accounting doesn’t have to be intimidating. On this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson talks to Micky Deming, the director of business development at Kahuna Accounting. Together they explain the common misconceptions attorneys have about bookkeeping and how these can be detrimental to legal businesses at large. In reality, dedicating time and effort to accounting can build your confidence, save you time, and help you make wise business decisions. Plus, it can potentially save you money. Maybe numbers aren’t as intimidating as they seem. Micky Deming is the director of business development at Kahuna Accounting where he has seen first-hand hundreds of attorneys who have taken their financials from a place of anxiety to a place of clarity. Special thanks to our sponsor, Answer1.

It can be difficult to set your course in marketing when you don’t know where your firm has been. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson talks with Marketing Vice President Chelsey Lambert from How To Manage a Small Law Firm about building successful marketing campaigns. Together, they discuss the money-saving attributes of planning in advance and the components needed to drive business to your firm including key performance indicators, ideal times to attract clients, and much more. Tune in to hear about a blueprint that you can implement into your very own marketing plan. Chelsey Lambert is the marketing vice president for How To Manage a Small Law Firm. Her mission is to help attorneys and legal professionals understand the technology that is available to them, how to use it, and the positive impacts it can have on their business, client relationships, and bottom line. Special thanks to our sponsor, Answer1.

Law firms, attorneys, and legal tech entrepreneurs require certain skills in order to successfully grow their business within the legal marketplace. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Chris Anderson talks with Habitude Executive Director Martin Hurwitz about his tips to help legal practitioners create processes and habits to better leverage their strengths and achieve their goals. Martin Hurwitz is the Executive Director of Habitude and the founder of Transitioneering. He received his B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University and his MBA from the University of Michigan.

Many lawyers, more than ever before, are moving toward small law firms or starting solo practices. However, there is another subset of solo attorneys that are often overlooked when discussing small law. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Chris Anderson talks with Now Counsel Network CE​O Lisa Solomon about freelance lawyering, the difference between contract and freelance work, and how these lawyers find work and thrive in the world of small law.

When attorneys find themselves needing to take continuing legal education courses, many of them regard the experience as a burden, boring, or simply an unavoidable chore. However, what if the problem isn’t with the CLEs themselves but with the attitudes of the attorneys? What can providers do to change the opinions and perceptions of attorneys regarding the CLEs? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson speaks with AttorneyCredits.com Director of Legal Education Jason Castillo about how to make the CLE experience a better one. As an attorney and Director of Legal Education with Attorney Credits, Jason Castillo researches diverse legal topics and emerging areas of law to create and produce CLE courses with significant current intellectual content. Jason has also created numerous courses on pertinent topics, including legal ethics and technology, malpractice, elimination of bias, and other key subjects. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, he is a licensed member of the State Bar of California.

As a youngster, when someone asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, how did you respond? Did you tell them that you wanted to be the CFO of a mediocre law firm that does just enough to get by? With so many resources out there, it’s difficult to grasp why so many law firm owners are settling for only doing as much as is necessary to pay the bills. Lawyers should be using their businesses to help as many people as possible, including themselves. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews small law firm business expert RJon Robins about how to balance seven parts of a law firm business to make it work for you, and not the other way around. While many firms seem to be focused on doing just well enough to get by, RJon Robins is urging legal professionals to take a different approach. He believes that you should set up your law firm as a means to make you happy, and that doing so will create revenue as a byproduct. Christopher and RJon take an in-depth look at the seven parts of every law firm and the ways in which they should be synthesized in order to reach professional and personal goals. These parts consist of marketing, sales, production, people, the physical plant, financial controls, and you, the firm’s owner. Ultimately, RJon says, your business should be a manifestation of who you are. In closing, RJon tells listeners where they can find complimentary resources to help them implement these changes.

Historically, law firms have billed clients exclusively by mailing paper invoices, a slow and relatively time-consuming system. With the increase in technology and credit card billing for almost everything we purchase, billing online is now more professional and more efficient. Furthermore, by accepting credit card systems, your law firm saves money and will likely be paid much more quickly. Despite this knowledge, many lawyers are still hesitant to change their billing system. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews Amy Porter, CEO of AffiniPay, about how law firms can use online billing to get paid on time, ways to comply with ethical obligations and requirements regarding trust accounts and retainers, and the hesitation many lawyers have concerning processing fees. Topics include: The changing stigma of accepting credit card payments for legal services How billing online saves hours a month Pre-authorization forms and creating a positive and convenient client experience Reducing past-due invoices, discounts, and write-offs Separating earned and unearned fees Properly handling a chargeback Law firm payment statistics

As marketers of solo and small law firms, most listeners are aware of the importance of online reviews in today’s marketplace. Almost every potential client will research a lawyer or law firm’s reputation before even picking up the phone. Whether on Facebook, Google, Yelp, or other review sites, every business should know what is being said about them online. Furthermore, we can increase positive feedback and promote it through social media, our websites, and across other platforms. So where should we start? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews Michael Veinbergs, CEO of Mach4Marketing, about law firm reputation management and marketing, the importance of your website, rankings, and reviews, and specific things lawyers and firm employees can do today to get started. Topics Include: Working with your online reputation before marketing Bad reviews and client snap judgements Reputation management versus marketing Reviews as a search engine ranking factor Syndicating good feedback across social media Responding to positive and negative reviews Marketing on all channels including Avvo, MerchantCircle, Yelp Winning at customer service: give them something to rave about

Solo and small law firm owners spend plenty of time and money marketing their services each year, whether online, through networking, or offline advertising. But many lawyers are not seeing the return on investment that they would like. So with over 600 thousand solo and small firms in the U.S. today, what does it take to stand out among the crowd? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews Mark Cerniglia from Spotlight Branding, an internet marketing and branding firm for lawyers, about the practical steps attorneys can take to manage their brands and market online successfully. Topics include: Building your law firm’s notoriety Transcending lawyers’ reputation as intimidating Information and resources to create credibility and trust How to create the right video content Using social media for branding Newsletter marketing and top-of-mind Blogs to answer potential client questions Providing value versus giving away your knowledge Maximizing referral sources What a marketing funnel looks like Necessary components of a website Internet marketing no nos

Christopher Anderson interviews Michael Carroll, a professional liability insurance expert. Carroll describes specific insurance products that lawyers should examine, policies that may or may not benefit a small or medium firm practice, and how making relatively inexpensive changes now can affect your potential malpractice lawsuit later.

Although Lawyers are under increasing pressure to be mobile, transparent, and organized, many solo lawyers and law firms regularly lose money tracking time and expenses, billing, and organizing documents and calendars. Cloud-based practice management solutions are often suggested as a way for lawyers to increase efficiency, track costs, and get paid properly while keeping your clients happy. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews Susan Harman from LexisNexis Firm Manager and attorney and analyst David Houlihan about how practice management technologies can benefit the performance of lawyers and law firms.

Court deadline rules can be incredibly complicated, particularly for civil litigators, and even the most meticulous lawyers and legal assistants can miss an important date. Federal, state, and local courts can all have individual rules, and even some federal courts are different from district to district and within divisions of the district. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews Carol Lynn Grow and Jack Grow from Law Toolbox about the risks inherent in deadline-driven practices and why it is important to manage law firm risk with rules-based docketing. They discuss malpractice claims and explain how the technology can reduce your firm’s risk which often reduces malpractice insurance rates. Rules-based docketing, they explain, can collaborate with the cloud-based softwares you already use, like Clio, Office 365, or LexisNexis Firm Manager. Tune in to hear about how the software works, which practice areas can benefit from using it, and how lawyers approach cost recovery.

In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson interviews Broel Law Group founder Erik Broel about what it means to build an “A Team,” how attorneys should hire and train their staff, and the underlying qualities of becoming a successful leader. Broel suggests that lawyers chart out and develop a position clearly before beginning recruitment. As resumes come in for the position, he says, it is best to create a series of tests for problem solving, attention to detail, temperament, etc. in order to filter through many applicants. Through the interview and selection process, Broel talks about the job, his law firm’s culture, and discusses how the position will improve the candidate’s life. In this way, the person hired is already invested in the improvement of the firm itself. Becoming this type of leader takes a lot of work, but it is worth the time and energy spent. Make changes one step at a time, Broel says.

All lawyers should start focusing on intake and lead conversion, since it is the easiest and cheapest way to increase revenue. For the purpose of this podcast, lead conversion happens when prospective clients are turned into paying clients. Lead conversion is just a part of intake, the process or system that takes a potential client from the point of contact with your law firm to signing up to be a paying or retaining client. Most lawyers believe themselves to be very good at lead conversion, often boasting up to a 92% conversion rate. However, these lawyers are only counting leads that are already sitting in consultations, who need the services the lawyer provides, and with adequate money to pay for them. Actually, a lead is anyone who clicks on the law firm website, calls for information, or is referred by an existing client. If these leads are measured and analyzed properly, there are very simple changes a law firm can make based on that data to dramatically increase revenue. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley about the importance of lead conversion and client retention, the mistakes most law firms are making, and some simple and more complicated solutions to increase intake success. Fairley defines a lead as a person with whom the firm has never done business, who needs the services they provide, and who contacts them by phone or online. Once this potential client makes contact, he explains, conversion rate drops by 400% after 5 minutes. He recommends that every firm have an established non-lawyer and non-paralegal employee responsible for responding to every lead and setting up appointments. Tracking your firm's intake process is incredibly important, Fairley explains, because you can use the data to make small changes with big results. If a law firm is looking for a place to start, he says, they should record all contacts and hire a secret shopper to give some outside perspective. Stephen Fairley is the founder and CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, the nation's largest law firm marketing company specializing in marketing and lead conversion for small to medium law firms. He has developed "The Rainmaker Marketing System" which has helped more than 10,000 attorneys nationwide who have leveraged his system in building their businesses. Fairley has written two international best-sellers and is academically trained as a clinical psychologist. Prior to focusing on the legal marketplace, Fairley ran two successful small businesses and over a period of 14 years and he has become a nationally-recognized legal marketing expert. He has spoken numerous times for over 35 of the nation's largest state and local bar associations and he has a large virtual footprint with a highly successful rainmaker legal marketing blog.

Consumers and clients believe customer service has become increasingly bad, yet most businesses believe their customer service is above average. Lawyers are certainly not exempt from this. However, in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and smartphones, unhappy customers are able to share their bad experiences to hundreds, thousands, even millions of people in real-time. So how do law firms, solo lawyers, and other businesses combat this influx in technology and potentially harmful online information? There's no trick, loyalty program, or hack that will work. Lawyers, and all other people providing service, will just need to create a good experience for their clients and customers across the board. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews customer service consultant Peter Shankman about how clients are changing the way they respond to bad service, the part technology plays, how businesses should respond to this change, and his view for the future of online reviews. Shankman begins by explaining the change in the way businesses have sold their products and services for the last 60 years. With the advent of the internet, people are more skeptical of advertising, and are able to connect with each other and interact in real-time. If one unhappy client shares his/her experience on social media, hundreds of people will see it. Shankman discusses transparency and genuine apologetic responses as the effective ways for lawyers to respond to these bad client experiences. However, in order to make clients fanatics, lawyers need to simply communicate with them and treat them with respect, and the client will brag about the good service to others. In the next four years, Shankman expects even online review sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor to become less relevant to business reputations than social media sites like Facebook, Google+, or Twitter. The most important point, Shankman emphasizes, is to consistently treat your clients decently and with respect. When your customer has an amazing experience, they will want to share. Peter Shankman is an author, consultant, entrepreneur, and the owner of several multi-million dollar companies. He speaks to companies all around the world about how to provide amazing customer service and how to take advantage of the social conversation economy that he believes will be driving the global commerce engine over the next 100 years. Shankman has worked with hundreds of well-known companies and brands, as well as many other companies around the world. His newest book is Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans.

Most lawyers are technicians; they want to provide legal services but cringe at the necessary step of selling them. There is a negative connotation of sales and marketing in the legal field. Lawyers often feel like they are trying to convince a potential client to pay for something he or she does not really need. But what if lawyers began to think of marketing as a network of trust and sales as connecting a person with legal needs to the right lawyer? While many lawyers would embrace this as an idea situation, few know where to start. What steps should solo and small firm lawyers take to ethically and effectively sell their services? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews networking expert Bob Burg who wrote a book about successful marketing techniques called "The Go-Giver." Burg describes a different sort of marketing in which the lawyer provides value to the consumer in the form of comfort and trust. By shifting the focus of the practice to the consumer's needs, the lawyer creates an environment in which people want to pay him/her for the legal services they already need. In order to do this properly, Burg explains, the lawyer must recognize five "laws of stratospheric success," or systems for evaluating the success of their practice: value, compensation, influence, authenticity, and receptivity. These laws are based around the idea that authentically and genuinely putting others first will inevitably be profitable for a valuable legal practice. Burg does not mean giving away services, however. He encourages lawyers to do some research; ask happy clients what qualities about the service they found valuable build upon those qualities for future marketing techniques. Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at corporate conventions and for entrepreneurial events. He has written the well known business marketing books Endless Referrals and The Go-Giver. His latest book is entitled, Adversaries Into Allies: Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion which discusses how to master the art of Ultimate Influence. Bob is an advocate, supporter, and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve.

Many lawyers believe they are not benefiting from the time and money spent on marketing their firm. Online marketing can seem complicated and time-consuming and most lawyers do not want to seem self-promoting so hiring marketers seems like the best option. However, the fact is that marketing a personal brand is both necessary and not as hard as it seems. Especially in solo and small practices, lawyers are marketing their reputation every day by building relationships online and in their offline communities. But in a field where everyone is doing the same thing, where should a lawyer start and how does he or she stand out from the crowd? In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher Anderson interviews legal marketing consultant Mary Beth Monzingo about the importance of marketing a personal brand, how lawyers can start building relationships and connections with potential clients, and tips to a successful online marketing strategy. Monzingo encourages lawyers to market themselves at all times whether working with a client on a case or while engaging in outside hobbies and activities. Additionally, lawyers need to attend networking conferences, connect with other lawyers, stay in touch with law school alumni, and be an active part of associations and organizations. Online, lawyers should be available on most social media outlets, create valuable content, have a "call to action" on their website, and always maintain a consistent presence. Monzingo encourages every lawyer to spend 2-5% of their revenue on marketing in order to see an increase of 10% or more. And, don't forget, consistency is key. Mary Beth Monzingo is the managing partner of Monzingo Legal, a consulting company for legal marketing and management, business development, and law firm recruiting. A specialist in helping lawyers start and build their law practices, she has consulted with hundreds of attorneys in structuring successful firms, implementing marketing departments and strategies, and recruiting top talent for expansion and growth.

Many lawyers are hesitant to regularly look at their finances. In addition to the regular workload and marketing, maintaining a budget seems overwhelming and is often undervalued in time management. After all, when managing a business, there are so many different factors that can affect cash flow and finances: personnel issues, economy changes, client payment plans, marketing and advertising, clerical errors, and many others. Although it may seem difficult to organize and prioritize the finances of a law firm, there are six key categories that break down the budget so that it can easily be managed. In this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher Anderson interviews financial analyst Brooke Lively about the six key numbers every attorney should know. Three are involved with the money that exists or has already been spent: cash position, budget, and accounts receivable. Lively emphasizes the importance of knowing how much the firm has, how much it is owed, and what is being spent. She recommends that an attorney then take these numbers and analyze them to provide cash projections, budget variance, and income variance. Any noticeable changes can lead to modifications to save the company unnecessary losses. By simply paying attention to these six numbers each month, the success of a lawyer's practice could greatly increase. Brooke Lively currently serves as a CFO to over twenty small and solo law firms around the country through her organization, Cathedral Capital. She focuses on fundamental analysis, firm modeling, and valuation backed by strong quantitative skills. She holds an MBA with a double concentration in Investments and Corporate Finance and has been awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst certification.

While identifying a client base, deciding on office space, and making countless other decisions, assumptions are made when developing a legal business plan that are, at best, educated guesses. Many startups have decided to follow in the path of previous companies only to find that their firm does not thrive in such a structured methodology. In the incredibly complicated world of legal business, social media attorney Scott Malouf argues that the Lean Startup method provides an alternative and relatively efficient approach to identifying the specific needs of potential clients. Lean Startup is a trial and error based business model in which a startup company makes small, specific assumptions and does vigorous testing on the results rather than depending on a big picture business plan. On this episode of The Un-Billable Hour, Christopher T. Anderson interviews Malouf about the benefits and difficulties of applying Lean Startup to law firms. New law firms can benefit by limiting wasted money, efforts, and time by truly sampling what clients might want and eliminating unnecessary services according to direct feedback. However, there may be challenges in ethical statutes surrounding lack of certain services and the ability to be transparent with clients. Scott Malouf is an attorney who helps other attorneys turn texts, social media, and web-based information into evidence and advises in social media risk reduction. He has extensive insight into the best practices for startups, challenges that may arise, and examples of how he has personally applied Lean to his practice. He writes the Social Media Law column for the New York Daily Record and can be found on Twitter @scottmalouf. Stick around to the end for details on how you can learn more about Lean Startup.

As the rate of new technology increases, it becomes more difficult for lawyers to keep up with industry standards for protecting client data confidentiality. In addition to the rigors of day-to-day practice, attorneys are expected to be familiar with terms such as SSL 256, SaS 70, and SSAE 16. On this episode of the Un-Billable Hour, host Chris T. Anderson interviews The Droid Lawyer blogger, Jeffrey Taylor. Together they discuss the importance of attorneys staying current through workshops, blogs, conferences, and state bar associations. In addition, tune in to learn more about the security issues associated with cloud-based vs. server-based practice management software solutions. Jeffrey Taylor is the author of The Droid Lawyer blog. The blog discusses Android mobile operating system for lawyers. The Droid Lawyer is one of the ABA Journal's Top 100 law blogs, and one of Biztech Magazine's Top 50 Must Read IT Blogs. Jeff is an attorney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Law firms are beginning to utilize Lean Six Sigma standards to improve service quality for their clients. This two-tiered approach is both paradigm and methodology aimed at increasing organizational efficiency and accuracy of work. It focuses attention and efforts toward changing those behaviors and systems that slow productivity and increase errors. On this episode of the Un-Billable Hour, host Christopher T. Anderson interviews managing consulting expert Debbie Foster from Affinity Consulting Group. Together, they discuss Lean Six Sigma and the 8 main areas where law firms are losing productivity and profitability. Tune in to learn how your firm can benefit from modern day management practices by reducing waste, down time, and much more. Debbie Foster is a Partner with the Affinity Consulting Group (ACG), where she specializes in practice management, time/billing/accounting and document management software, as well as providing technology audits for firms around the country. She has also trained hundreds of consultants around the country on software programs used in law firms and best practices when consulting on a law firm's specific technology needs. Foster is very active with State Bar Associations, a former Chair of ABA TECHSHOW, and a regular speaker on topics relating to technology, management, finance, and marketing of a law firm.

Nearly every firm has clients who are difficult to collect from. Most lawyers are not trained to deal with that. On this episode of the Un-Billable Hour, host Chris Anderson interviews experts Loretta Ruppert and Jeff Krause. Together, they explore ways to effectively track and manage client billing. Loretta Ruppert is the current Senior Director of Marketing for the SaaS Product Platform at LexisNexis. She is the subject matter expert for billing and accounting software solutions, including Time Matters, and has been involved in developing software products for law firms for nearly twelve years. She is a current member of the American Society of Women Accountants and the former Controller for the Bliss Riordan Law Offices. Jeff Krause is a Wisconsin attorney who founded Krause Practice Management, LLC and is a founding partner at Solfecta, LLC. He is a Certified Independent Consultant for software solution Time Matters and a frequent author and speaker on legal technology.

On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, joins Paramjit Mahli, a Development Coach/Consultant for lawyers at The Rainmakers Roundtable, to discuss some of the biggest mistakes lawyers make when it comes to business development and what kind of "skill set" lawyers need in order to be successful when it comes to business development.

Do you use an iPad in your legal practice? On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, chats with Tom Mighell, the author of three books about the use of iPads, iPad in One Hour For Lawyers, iPad Apps in One Hour For Lawyers, and soon to be released, iPad in One Hour for Litigators, about the explosive growth of the use of iPads in the legal profession, and Tom’s favorite productivity and entertainment apps for the legal iPad.

Attorneys can turn into leaders by successfully engaging others during difficult conversations. Learn more about handling these tough talks, how to prepare and how to get the results you want during these conversations on the Un-Billable Hour with host Attorney Rodney Dowell, the Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and expert guest Karen MacKay, President of the consultancy Phoenix Legal Inc.

Are you on LinkedIn? Un-Billable Hour host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program chats with Dennis Kennedy, lawyer and co-host of The Kennedy-Mighell Report and Allison Shields, author of Legal Ease Blog, about their recently published book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers. Dennis and Allison talk about how attorneys are using LinkedIn, and the key features that make LinkedIn a valuable networking and client development tool without consuming all of an attorney’s time.

Find out how document assembly tools can increase efficiency and profits at your firm on The Un-Billable Hour. Host and Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and Diane Ebersole, practice management advisor for the State Bar of Michigan explain how document assembly applications have advanced in the last few years and how these applications can increase the bottom line for your law firm.

The largest proportion of attorneys work as sole practitioners, or within small firms and chronic stress is rampant among these attorneys, who face stress from all sides. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program joins returning guest, Attorney Eric MacLeish, principal of MacLeish & Woolverton, to cite the major stress points for sole and small firm attorneys, steps attorneys can take to reduce the impact of acute and chronic stress, and the benefits of learning to manage stress.

Hiring your first employee can feel like jumping off a cliff, but in some circumstances it can lead to more efficiency and profits. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program joins Lee Rosen, founder of the Rosen Law Firm, a North Carolina family law firm, blogger and practice management guru and Attorney Scott Stewart, from The Law Offices of Scott David Stewart out of Arizona, to talk about how to make the first hire a successful hire.

How does your firm track time? On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program joins Danny Wen, Co-founder of Harvest Software and Sri Vemuri, Marketing Manager at Harvest Software, to discuss how law firms can track time and invoice clients in a way that captures more time and allows attorneys to receive payment more quickly.

Law firms are increasingly being targeted by hackers seeking to access confidential business and personal information. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Digital Detectives co-hosts Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc. and John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, to discuss a variety of issues including: computer security, why attorneys are targeted and malpractice and ethics risks related to having inadequate security.

Feeling Stressed? On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Attorney Eric MacLeish, principal of MacLeish & Woolverton, to talk about how firms can help their attorneys and staff handle the perils of stress.

One of the biggest challenges facing attorneys is how to acquire and maintain clients. A fundamental method of developing a client base is to create a referral network. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Linda O’Koniewski, the broker/owner of ReMax Heritage , who tells us what it takes to get referrals from another professional. Linda gives tips on how to strengthen your network and how to develop and sustain those relationships.

Law firm administrators are the backbone of every law practice and they are often times met with challenges on a daily basis. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Executive Director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Director of LCL’s Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program welcomes Joanne Schnare, Executive Director for a Boston law firm and President-Elect of the Boston Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, to take a look at the top issues that law firm administrators need to be aware of in today’s legal environment and how these unsung heroes can help manage the law practice and be a part of a successful law firm.

A vast majority of attorneys in the United States and Canada must keep and maintain IOLTA trust accounts pursuant to very specific guidelines established by the governing body in each state. Despite the clearly defined rules, which in most jurisdictions, have been in place for years, some attorneys continue to put their license at risk. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and interim executive director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, talks with David Bilinsky, a Practice Management Consultant/Advisor for the Law Society of British Columbia, about why so many attorneys fail to properly do their IOLTA trust accounting, where they should go to learn how to properly do their accounting and shares his recommendations for trust accounting programs for attorneys.

Podcasts have become increasingly available and cover topics of all flavors. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and interim executive director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, welcomes St. Louis based legal technology writer and information technology lawyer and co-host of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy, to talk about how attorneys can benefit from listening to podcasts, how to find the best podcast that suits you and how attorneys can improve their podcast listening experience. And don’t forget, you can listen to many Legal Talk Network podcasts here and get CLE credit!

Why are the world’s best communicators often unable to have difficult conversations with clients, employees, partners, or even family members? Find out on The Un-Billable Hour, with host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program and interim executive director at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, along with Szifra Birke, counselor, consultant and co-host of Shrink Rap, a syndicated cable TV show. They discuss the impact on success and how legal professionals can start handling difficult conversations in a healthy manner.

Today’s attorney can practice from anywhere at any time with the dramatic improvement in technology, most importantly, the rapid growth of smart phones. Smartphones made by Blackberry have been the big law phone, the iPhone, the hot tech geek phone, but for an affordable alternative we see the Android phones rapidly taking a substantial percentage of the the smartphone market. On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, welcomes Courtney Kennaday, Director of the Practice Management Assistance Program at the South Carolina Bar, to help explain what an Android smartphone is and how it can make practicing attorneys more productive.

How can legal professionals get better at getting things done in their practice? On The Un-Billable Hour, host Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, welcomes Dr. David D. Nowell, a Clinical Neuropsychologist, to discuss his work with legal professionals and how he helps them reach their practice management goals. Rodney and Dr. Nowell touch upon working with professionals with ADHD, the perks to hiring help and how attorneys can persist and complete tasks in a busy practice.