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

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How should I structure a bonus plan for my client intake specialist? How should I construct a pro hac vice agreement with an out-of-state law firm? How should I market my newly created educational course to my potential clients?

If there’s a key lesson in this episode, it’s “Don’t try to do it all.” Guest Mike Morse founded the largest personal injury law firm in Michigan. But it wasn’t always that way. He started out trying to do everything himself, from trials to correspondence to hiring assistants to finding office space. Nobody in law school teaches you how to run a law firm – law school doesn’t even admit a law firm is a business. You need to learn how to run your firm like a business. Morse did just that.Learn to delegate. Be a visionary. Be an entrepreneur. Build a brand, scale up, and succeed.If you’re already leading a firm, take the next step. Offload tasks to others who share your values and hold them accountable. Build your business by doing what you’re best at and assigning others to do the things you don’t love.For anyone running their own firm and wants to grow, this episode may be one of the most important podcasts of the year.

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How do I decide which candidate to hire for the office manager position? How do I attract quality candidates to my small firm when we’re competing against larger law firms? How do I hold people accountable in a way that doesn’t create a lot of extra work for me?

The COVID pandemic changed our understanding of remote work with new technologies and more efficient management. But does that remote employee need to be in your town, or even country?Guest Brett Trembly is cofounder of Get Staffed Up, a growing firm that provides talented, English-proficient, remote professional legal support staffers from around the world. Some 700 law firms around the U.S. profit from offshore legal support.Look beyond the limited – and highly competitive – talent pool in your region. Limit costs by working with staffers in countries with less expensive economies.Never considered offshoring? Now’s the time, as technologies and attitudes about remote work open new ways to expand your business, tackle new projects, and delegate support services so you can focus on results that matter. 

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How do I promote an employee to a part-time position without upsetting the current full-time coworker? Did I make a mistake hiring a friend? How do I overcome my reluctance to hand over the drag-in duties to a new hire?  Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion.

Guest Joey Seeber prides himself on bringing out the best in his team in the courtroom, at his legal firm, and as an elected public official. He says finding the right person for the job starts with understanding yourself and your organization’s values.Seeber reflects on what went right and what went wrong when assembling teams. At his company, Level Legal, he focuses on culture and fit by identifying core values and living by them: “Give a damn. Get it done right. Show respect.” Everything starts with the interview, asking important questions that align with the organization’s values instead of checking boxes.What interview questions are you asking? Do they connect to your values? Before you seek a new team member, do you understand what makes your organization work? Hear how Seeber focuses on indicators of success and learned the difference between a “job description” and a “role description.” As he says, “look beyond the resume.” Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion.

Host Christopher T. Anderson meets with lawyers from around the country to discuss issues they are currently facing in their practices. Featured on this episode: How do I format my invoices so they convey value? How can I better teach systems to my team? What should I do when a job candidate has a few red flags? What is the most efficient way to have my virtual assistant write out processes and procedures?  Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion. 

For guest Jason Levin – author of “Relationships to Infinity” and founder of the firm Ready, Set, Launch – keeping in touch with past connections, friends, and mentors is a lifelong passion and the bedrock of networking and relationship development. Through his work, Levin has developed an intense interest in helping people develop and maintain personal and business relationships. Business, after all, truly comes down to who you know.Levin’s firm Ready Set Launch applies corporate brand management principles to personal and corporate relationships. It’s the stuff they don’t teach in law school but is a pillar of any successful law firm. Hate networking? Learn to overcome. Think you are doing a great job at networking? Maybe you aren’t. Levin helps professionals make new and maintain lifetime connections. Keeping in touch is foundational. “Let’s do lunch” and “keep in touch” have become meaningless phrases, but the art of maintaining relationships has never been more important. Go beyond social media, events, and transactions and start getting real with steps you can take right now. Today is the day.    Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion.

Host Christopher T. Anderson meets with lawyers around the country to discuss issues they are currently facing in their practices.Featured on this episode: How should I market two different areas of focus for my law firm? How do I find the right call intake employee to hire? What is the best use of marketing dollars when starting a practice in a new state? What are the pros and cons of training a new hire vs. hiring an already-experienced candidate? How do I deal with understaffing as I’m about to go on maternity leave? Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion. 

This special episode of Un-Billable Hour goes to the heart of your firm’s existence: attracting and signing new clients in a digital world. Guest Jason Hennessey of Hennessey Digital built his company through reverse engineering the Google algorithm. He’s a respected leader in law firm marketing and offers valuable tips you can put to work today. Learn core principles successful firms use to climb Google search rankings. Embrace the variables that help them adapt and shape their marketing to reach more potential new clients. Hennessey’s book, “Law Firm SEO” explains how search engine optimization works and empowers firms when they look to hire a marketer. The book is written for the layperson, explaining in plain language the principles of SEO. If you don’t want to do it yourself, at least hold the teams you hire accountable. Confused by SEO vs. Paid Search? It comes down to understanding marketing spend and outcomes. Learn what potential clients are looking for and how to hook them. Plus, insights into website functionality, purposeful content strategies, and brand awareness. Attract more prospects and convert them to clients. Special thanks to our sponsors LawClerk, Alert Communications, LawYaw, and Scorpion.