The Agile Attorney Podcast (John E. Grant)

One of the biggest challenges law firms face when moving away from hourly billing and towards incorporating flat fees is motivating your team in a way that actually supports the new business model.

Tune in this week as I challenge the conventional wisdom around using billable hours as a key performance metric, even for firms that bill by the hour. I explain why billable targets often work against efficiency and profitability, especially for firms incorporating flat fee billing. But more importantly, I dive into the social science behind human motivation and share proven strategies for tapping into your team's intrinsic drive to do great work.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more here: https://www.agileattorney.com/43

Do you feel like you're stuck on the hamster wheel of your law practice, constantly working on being more productive as an individual, but never getting ahead? It's time to explore how shifting your mindset from individual excellence to team excellence can help you break free and build a thriving, sustainable firm.

Tune in this week to discover criminal defense attorney-turned-law-firm-owner Justie Nicol's secrets for creating a law firm that supports your personal goals and enables your team to do their best work. From implementing unique meeting structures to tracking meaningful KPIs, Justie offers a wealth of practical tips and hard-won wisdom that can help you transform your own practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/30

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

How do you address the unpredictability of legal fees in your practice? In this episode, I talk with practicing attorney Elise Buie, founder of Elise Buie Family Law, about her journey implementing flat fee pricing in her practice. This was originally an interview conducted by Emery Wager for Confido Legal’s podcast Financially Legal, and Emery has his own insight to share in this area too.

Join us this week to dive into the nuts and bolts of designing and implementing flat fee services in a legal practice. Whether you're just starting to explore alternative pricing models or looking to refine your existing approach, you'll come away with valuable insights and practical strategies you can apply in your own firm.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/50

Delivering customer value is at the heart of being Agile. That’s why, in this bonus series of the Agile Attorney Podcast, I’m focusing on the Voice of the Client. I am bringing you the stories of real people in their own voice talking about the challenges and successes they have had dealing with lawyers.

Today you will hear from Amy who only has good things to say about the lawyers she works with regularly. For me, it highlights what's possible when there's strong mission alignment and open lines of communication between attorney and client. Amy also disavows me of a false dichotomy that I was trying to draw between lawyers and scientists so I will go ahead and take my lumps on that one. Overall I really appreciate how she thinks about the role of her lawyers in helping her frame the important business decisions she has to make.

For show notes and more information, be sure to visit https://www.agileattorney.com/podcast

How do you build the systems, tools, and culture required to sustain and scale a law practice and deliver the results your clients need, even when you have non-standard working arrangements, or a fairly unique practice area?

In this episode, I'm joined by Richard Hoare, owner of Hoare Associates, to discuss how he transformed his music-centric law practice by embracing Agile and Kanban methodologies with a heavy emphasis on capacity liquidity. Richard explains how visual management systems and Kanban thinking have allowed his firm to be more responsive, efficient, and profitable in support of their mission.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/47

Most lawyers think of their intake form as something that they need to send to the client so they can get the information they need to actually do the legal work their client requires. But what if we shifted the perspective and instead asked the question, "What is the job that my client is hiring my intake form to do?"

Tune in this week to gain a deep understanding in "Jobs To Be Done" Theory and unlock hidden client needs in the process. You'll learn how to better understand the job that your client is hiring your product to accomplish, as well as get clarity around the scope of competition for your products and services, so you can innovate the products and services you offer in your law practice to better meet your clients' needs.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/18

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

There are people all over the US who find themselves in legal binds, but are unable to get the legal help they need. As we enter this season of giving, this episode is here to highlight an Access to Justice success story that I've been fortunate enough to be a part of, albeit one that is still very much in its early chapters. I’m sharing this to spread a little hope, but also to illustrate some Agile tools and concepts that you might be able to use in your own private practice.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/45

I’m a massive fan of Bottleneck Theory. This is the idea that you can make massive improvements to your legal workflows by finding and focusing on just one part of your overall system: the bottleneck. In this episode, I’m super excited to bring you an interview with The Bottleneck Guy himself, Clarke Ching.

Tune in this week to explore where the bottlenecks might be in your legal practice, and discover how to address these constraints. We discuss how small iterative adjustments can create big changes in how work flows through your practice, and you’ll learn the value of preserving your capacity, so you don’t end up being a bottleneck in your own practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/39

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

One common anti-pattern I run into in working with lawyers and law practices is people who are constantly looking for little efficiencies to try to improve particular parts of their practice or their legal workflow. But sometimes, finding those short-term efficiencies, even if they work in the short term, can actually cut against the long-term productivity or the overall flow of work through your practice.

Tune in this week to discover where you might be sacrificing long-term flow in pursuit of short-term efficiency. I discuss how engaging your clients in the legal process improves long-term efficiency, and you’ll learn how to start balancing the immediate demands of your legal work with long-term efficiency in your practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/34

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

As you work to meet the high standards you set for yourself, it can become impossible to get tasks all the way through to done. However, in today's episode, I'm bringing you a framework that will help counterbalance your natural tendency to overbuild in the early stages of developing a process or product, so you can ultimately land on a higher-quality output than if you'd tried to build the perfect product from the outset: the minimum viable product or MVP.

Tune in this week for some insight into the minimum viable product and the valuable role that minimum viable products can play in delivering quality in your law practice, especially when you're setting out to create something new and you aren't yet 100% sure what 'good quality' is going to look like.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/17

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

When you’re buried in work, your to-do list is flowing off the page, and you’re feeling totally overwhelmed in your day-to-day activities, I invite you to hit play on this episode. I go old school, describing how to build a very simple Kanban board on your wall, a whiteboard, or any simple Kanban system. Discover how using even the most basic Kanban board can help you break down your work into manageable pieces, focus on what matters most, and start crossing those items off your list with confidence, one sticky note at a time.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/44

Do you find yourself juggling too many tasks at once, struggling to make meaningful progress on any of them?

In this episode, I dive deep into one of the core practices of the Kanban method: limiting work in progress, or WIP. We'll explore how taking on too many concurrent tasks can wreak havoc on your brain, your client experience, and your ability to keep your commitments. I also provide you with several practical tools and strategies for setting WIP limits in your personal work and your practice as a whole. By the end of this episode, you'll have a clear roadmap for regaining control of your workload and consistently delivering your best work.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/56

As law practice owners, we can gain valuable insights by looking outside of the legal industry. Today, I'm excited to bring you an interview with Michael Clarke. Michael is the co-owner of the financial advisory firm Protection Point Advisors and co-author of the book A Firm Worth Building: Running a Better Professional Business.

Tune in this week to explore the differences between having a law practice and running your law practice like a successful business. Michael gives us his perspective on legal services as someone outside of the legal industry. Michael discusses what he's looking for when he hires lawyers for his own business needs, and shares what he considers when referring his clients out for legal help.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/32

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Transitioning away from the billable hour can feel daunting, but it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. By taking an iterative, milestone-based approach to your matters, you can begin to identify which phases of work are ripe for flat fee billing, helping you increase your firm’s profitability.

As I share more insights and takeaways from the most recent Clio Cloud Conference, I walk you through real-world examples of how this phased approach has worked for firms in different practice areas and at different price points. Even if you’re already using flat fees in your practice, what I share today will help you refine your approach and ultimately boost your bottom line.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/41

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

The lawyer shortage is a complex issue with multiple factors at play, but the impacts are becoming apparent everywhere, from the public defender crisis to the civil access to justice gap, to the fierce competition for hiring and retaining mid-career associates. But what are the roots of this lawyer shortage?

Tune in this week to discover what I believe are the roots of the lawyer shortage. I highlight the significant shifts we've seen in the legal services industry, analyze how increasingly complex federal laws and regulations have changed the landscape of legal demand, and I discuss what all of this means for the future of your legal firm and our whole industry.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/23

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Have you ever put a ton of time and attention into a piece of legal work only to realize that it's not quite hitting the mark for your client? Or maybe you've delivered a technically flawless document, but your client’s just sort of “meh” about the whole thing, like they just don't seem to be satisfied?

Tune in this week to discover how the Fit for Purpose framework helps you deliver what your clients need, when they need it. You'll learn the three core components of evaluating whether your legal offerings are Fit for Purpose, how to come up with user models around common Fit-for-Purpose criteria, and how to design Fit for Purpose products and services that are 'just right' for your firm's context and resources.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/19

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Streamlining processes in your law practice makes sense. It saves you and your team precious time and energy and keeps the backend running smoothly. However, optimizing a system for efficiency doesn’t always go down well with clients. In fact, it can reduce customer value and loyalty, leaving them disengaged from the process you’re helping them through.

Tune in this week to discover how you might unknowingly be alienating your customers in an effort to have efficient systems in your law firm. I’m discussing how to find the line that separates efficiency and customer value, and you’ll learn how to help customers see intrinsic value in becoming part of your streamlined systems.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/7

You’ve probably already set your goals for 2025 in your law practice, but do you have a system for following through on your plans and goals week after week? Implementing a simple weekly planning and review habit could be the key to helping you and your team manage capacity and prioritize the right work, transforming your firm's productivity and predictability.

Tune in to learn a step-by-step process for conducting effective weekly planning and review meetings with your team. I share tips for structuring the meetings, involving your whole team, and using the insights gained to continuously improve your practice. Implementing this habit consistently can help you break free from the cycle of overcommitment and overwhelm too many law firms fall into.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/51

Hi, I'm John Grant. I'm an operations expert on a mission to help legal professionals of all kinds build practices that are profitable, scalable, and sustainable for themselves and the communities they serve.

I created this podcast for law firm owners, in-house leaders, practice group leads, and really any other legal professional who wants to reduce overwhelm and gain better visibility and control over their legal delivery workflows. After all, you should be running your law practice. It shouldn't be running you.

Before I became a lawyer, my first career was with a wildly successful technology start-up, and I've spent the last decade applying the tools of modern entrepreneurship to help legal practices become more successful. Along the way, I've learned that a lot of the conventional wisdom around how to manage a law practice isn't actually so wise.

Each week, I'll draw upon my experience with agile project management, lean manufacturing, the theory of constraints, and other proven methods to help you improve not just how you manage your law practice, but how you think about legal services and the value you bring to your clients.

If you're ready to bust through your law practice bottlenecks and uncover ways to bring whole new levels of client value and get recognized for that value, please subscribe or follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Thank you, and see you in the next episode.

In this bonus series of the Agile Attorney Podcast, we are focusing on the Voice of the Client. I am bringing you the stories of real people in their own voice talking about the challenges and successes they have had dealing with lawyers.

Today you will hear from Lynn who is in the later stages of a custody battle. I’m excited for you to hear her opinions about her lawyers and the legal process in general. She voices her frustrations both with her case and their implication for the larger society. So listen along as she talks about going through 3 different attorneys and what went wrong. We also talk about what the most recent one finally got right.

Additionally, Lynn is a marketing professional, so she shares some tips for lawyers trying to communicate with their clients and prospects.

For show notes and more information, be sure to visit https://www.agileattorney.com/podcast

Adding capacity to your law practice, whether through hiring new team members, outsourcing work, or using AI to help you with certain tasks does not always add up to overall workflow improvement. This can be really frustrating for law firm owners because you’ve spent time and money on these solutions, only for the work to continue getting stuck in workflow bottlenecks.

Melissa Shanahan and Ben Hudson join me today to discuss what changes when you shift your focus from resource efficiency to flow efficiency, and why sometimes the key to increasing capacity is actually doing less. Ben shares his insights on using data to inform hiring decisions, improving client perception, and defining productivity in a way that aligns with his goals, and we dive deep into the tools and strategies that make a difference.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/36

Catch me at the Clio Cloud Conference 2024, Tuesday, October 8th at 3pm (Discount code: ACTFAST): https://cliocloudconference.com/

Something I see with my lawyer clients is that they have so many different things on their plate that each piece of work looks like an object, like a static thing that we need to deal with, as opposed to a dynamic part of a bigger process. When you are overloaded, that is totally natural. But this phenomenon points to the importance of seeing work as flow.

Tune in this week to discover a helpful tool to help you get work flowing more smoothly and predictably through your law practice. You’ll learn how to break down your workflow into its component parts so you can identify bottlenecks, streamline processes, and keep work moving smoothly through your law practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/37

Catch me at the Clio Cloud Conference 2024, Tuesday, October 8th at 3pm (Discount code: ACTFAST): https://cliocloudconference.com/

Have you ever struggled with giving tough feedback to your team members? Do you find yourself resorting to the criticism sandwich approach, hoping to soften the blow by sandwiching negative comments between compliments?

Tune in this week to discover why the criticism sandwich doesn’t work. I also discuss the importance of setting clear quality standards, providing explicit training, and offering timely feedback to help your team members grow and succeed. Plus, I address the recent trend of blaming younger generations for workplace shortcomings and offer a more productive approach to building the skills and capabilities your law firm needs.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/38

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Have you ever felt like certain tasks in your law practice are taking longer than they should? What if I told you that sometimes the key to efficiency is slowing down and working together? This is where a concept from the software development world called "paired programming" can help you create better outcomes in your legal practice.

Tune in this week to discover how to accelerate your law firm’s efficiency using the concept of paired programming. From co-working on complex briefs to training new team members, you’ll learn how working together in real-time can reduce miscommunication, accelerate feedback loops, and ultimately lead to a better work product for your clients.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/35

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

In past episodes, I’ve talked in detail about individual practices and how the Kanban method has upleveled them, and today’s show provides living proof. That’s because I’m talking with two clients of mine, Jess Birkin and Megan Heitkamp, of the Birkin Law Office, about the start of their practice and how they’ve transformed their business with systematic improvements.

Together we’ll discuss how these concepts and frameworks are wholly trainable and teachable, allowing you to bring full teams on board and then streamline processes even more effectively (think automated lead nurturing campaigns). Even better, this episode can serve as a case study that these systemizations can improve your practice too.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/20

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

You've heard me talk about the individual practices and concepts from the Kanban method, but today's episode is an exciting opportunity for you to learn from one of my teachers in this world of Agile, Kanban, and Lean: Tim Lennon.

Tim shares his experiences using and teaching the core practices of the Kanban method (like making work visible, limiting work in progress, managing flow) and how those practices work together to create balanced systems that are primed to create better customer outcomes while also bringing internal balance in your delivery teams.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/16

Are you struggling to keep up with your law practice workload, like there's never enough time to get everything done? You may be operating at or over your practice's ideal effective capacity, meaning just one or two small tasks added to your team's workload could potentially grind everything to a halt.

In this episode, you'll discover the three key indicators that your practice has too much work in progress, as well as three helpful techniques for rightsizing your workload and getting back to a more comfortable working space. With the strategies I share, you'll be on your way to feeling more in control of your practice and delivering a better experience for your clients.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/28

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

As professionals, it's easy to jump to conclusions about what clients need based on our experience and the patterns we see emerging. But in making these assumptions, are we missing a critical opportunity to truly connect with them by not taking the time to understand their individual motivations and worries?

Tune in this week as I explore why giving clients space to articulate their "why" is so important for delivering great service and keeping them engaged throughout the process. I discuss how to make your client intake meetings more effective, write a compelling professional bio that resonates with your ideal clients, and ultimately build a more sustainable, profitable practice by staying connected to your own "why."

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/33

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

There is a wealth of tools out there designed to streamline your workflow, easy to pick up and capable of adapting in countless ways as you master them. A personal favorite of mine is the Kanban board.

We'll explore various board types, identifying the one that best meets your practice's needs and pinpointing bottlenecks in your process. You'll learn how to introduce useful complexity into your workflow modeling, understand the differences between Matter-level and Task-level boards, and decide which one suits your practice's requirements.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/4

Do you know the most profitable parts of your law practice? If you're like most lawyers, the answer is probably no. But without a clear understanding of matter-level profitability, you could be making costly decisions about where to invest your limited time and resources.

In this episode, I explain why the traditional approach of using effective hourly rate to compare flat fee and hourly matters is flawed and what to do instead. By assigning a direct cost to each team member's time and calculating the gross profit on a matter-by-matter basis, you'll be able to make more informed decisions about which types of work to pursue. The result is a more profitable and intentional law practice.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/42

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Do you have numerous cases close to being completed but, because they are no longer urgent, they sit among the rest of your work and make you feel overwhelmed by all there is to do? Many firms overlook addressing this common issue as an opportunity to reduce the total amount of work in their system.

This week, I’m building on concepts we’ve talked about over the last few weeks to help you organize your law practice. I’ll cover two important concepts related to law practice management and how to prioritize where you set your and your team’s finite time and attention. I’ll also introduce new concepts to help you reduce administration overheads and close cases and tasks that are closeable in your law practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/5

What if I told you that a simple 15-minute daily standup meeting could dramatically improve your team's performance and help everyone work more effectively and predictably within their actual capacity?

In this episode, I share how implementing a daily standup can be a game-changer for your law practice. You'll learn the key elements of an effective daily standup, including the three essential questions to ask, how to keep the meeting focused and concise, and how to use the standup to surface dependencies and roadblocks. I also detail some pitfalls to avoid and techniques to make your standup meetings productive from day one.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/52

Are you a struggling solo attorney trying to get more clients in the door? Before you turn to an expensive technology solution, it's important to take a step back and fully understand the nature of the problem you're trying to solve in your law practice. I'm all for utilizing tech, but it's dangerous to imbue technology with too many magical properties. So, what can you do instead to come up with better, more sustainable solutions to your business problems?

While investing in the right technology can certainly help streamline your practice, it's not a magic bullet. If you’re struggling to get clients in the door, the key is to first get clear on your business strategy and really understand your target market. Tune in this week to discover valuable tips for focusing on your core strengths, niching down, and how to best serve the marketplace effectively.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/31

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

I walk you through the specific steps my client took to optimize their workflow, improve their client experience, and ultimately achieve remarkable results by embracing Kanban without implementing new software. Whether you're a solo practitioner or part of a larger organization, you'll learn valuable insights and actionable strategies to implement Kanban principles, even if you’re restricted in terms of the tech you have available.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/46

If you’re like a lot of attorneys, one of the more significant sources of overwhelm in your law practice comes from the sheer volume of emails and other communications you have to process in the course of your day.

In today’s episode, I share my recommendations for designing a better communications policy for creating more effective, efficient communications that will ultimately reduce the administrative overhead of dealing with email, Slack, Teams, or other related tools. I also share how to get hold of a downloadable template for creating your own communication policy in your law practice, prefilled with recommendations from this episode.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/13

What if the best way to improve the efficiency of your law practice is to not try to improve efficiency at all, but to focus on quality instead? This may sound paradoxical, but focusing on quality, not efficiency, is the key to unlocking more balanced workloads, smoother workflow, increased capacity, and ultimately greater efficiency while delivering an improved client experience along the way.

On today’s show, I'm musing on why I believe quality improvement and process improvement are the same thing. Plus, I'm sharing the cascade of events that occurs when you focus on defining and prioritizing quality in your services and deliverables.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/9

Melissa Shanahan, founder of Velocity Work and host of The Law Firm Owner Podcast, teaches her clients a planning and accountability method she calls Monday Map/Friday Wrap. This method highlights some vital parts of the Agile practices of weekly planning and weekly review meetings.

Monday Map/Friday Wrap is about creating micro-feedback loops within the context of a larger strategic plan, which is the kind of thing I love, so tune in this week as Melissa and I unpack this methodology, and have an all-round entertaining discussion about strategic planning and its benefits in general for the leaders of legal teams.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/25

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Are you hitting roadblocks in your legal delivery systems because of stubborn bottlenecks that disrupt the flow of work? It feels like every new solution out there promises smoother operations, yet often, they just end up shifting the problem elsewhere.

In today’s episode, I’m going to guide you through the most effective strategies for getting work to move seamlessly through your system again. We’ll take a close look at the bottleneck areas in your law practice and discuss why making improvements in the wrong areas doesn’t really cut it.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/3

Do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done? You're not alone. As legal professionals, we often struggle to fit all our commitments into our finite capacity. Here's the thing: having a completely empty calendar isn't the productivity blessing you might think it is. Today, I share two powerful techniques - calendar blocking and calendar bucketing - that will transform how you think about and use your time. Get ready to take control of your calendar and supercharge your productivity!

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/53

In this bonus series of the Agile Attorney Podcast, we are focusing on the Voice of the Client. I am bringing you the stories of real people in their own voice talking about the challenges and successes they have had dealing with lawyers.

Today you will hear from Angel who has had some serious challenges in the workplace at the intersection of racial and gender discrimination. There is a lot to unpack in this interview, but one of the things I hear is an internal struggle about how to value the effort he gets from his lawyer. In the end, Angel learns some tips from his lawyer that helps him navigate future challenges in the workplace.

For show notes and more information, be sure to visit https://www.agileattorney.com/podcast

One of the features of modern business is that there's tons of pressure to grow, scale, and do more with less. Lawyers and their teams aren't exempt from this expectation. It makes sense to leverage our resources and our impact. However, growth for the sake of growth isn't necessarily the healthiest approach for your business, or for the people in it.

Tune in this week to discover the critical importance of prioritizing sustainability before scalability in your law practice. I discuss why you can't scale your way out of a sustainability problem, and you'll learn how to identify the areas of your law practice that are currently unsustainable, so you can clear a pathway toward making scaling a real possibility.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/21

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Visualizing your work on a Kanban Board can be a life-changing improvement to your and your team's overall productivity. But adopting the board as a tool and the Kanban method more broadly can be a little uncomfortable at first, especially when you see all of your to-dos laid out in one place. So, how do you stick with change, like using a Kanban Board, when change gets hard?

Your Kanban Board can be overwhelming to look at, especially if you're new to the concept, so tune in this week to discover how to stick with it and keep your work flowing, even if your workflow looks overcommitted right now and you want to give up on your Kanban Board altogether.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/24

Start your Agile transformation today and check out these free resources to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Something I find fascinating is the extent to which the behaviors and practices of the legal profession have evolved over the years, and the extent to which they haven't. In this unique episode, I take a look at some intriguing insights from the legal files of my great-grandfather, Lloyd Wright Sr., a pioneering entertainment lawyer who represented some of the biggest names of the era.

Join me as I explore the captivating case of Jane Wyman's divorce from Ronald Reagan in 1948, which offers a glimpse into the world of celebrity marriages, for-cause divorces, and the evolution of legal practices, as well as an interesting look into the history of flat-fee billing.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/49

Dave Maxfield, co-author of The Lean Law Firm, joins me today to provide an interesting look into how lawyers can adopt techniques from the Lean methodology to empower and improve their law practices.

Tune in this week to discover how to take lean production systems of global production lines and use them to improve your law practice. We’re discussing the potential efficiency pitfalls of hourly billing, Dave’s simple formula for making changes that increase revenue, and we’re analyzing the things that prevent law firms from being as efficient and profitable as they could be.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/8

A common piece of conventional wisdom around how law firms prioritize their work is that they should organize everything around deadlines and due dates. While deadline-driven prioritization does have a place, it's my experience that there's a better technique that law firms should be adopting as their default prioritization method: first-in first-out (FIFO).

Tune in this week to discover the advantages of a first-in first-out policy in your law firm. I discuss how deadline-driven prioritization leads to overwhelm and unpredictability, and you'll learn how FIFO as a default prioritization method will keep work flowing through your organization.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/27

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

How do you know that you’ve done enough to meet the standards you’ve set for your law practice? Today, I have two specific tools that work beautifully together and amount to a specific type of quality standard policy that you can implement within your law practice.

Tune in this week as I share two important parts of the Agile Framework - Definition of Done and Definition of Ready. I’m discussing the role that checklists play in coming up with your Definition of Done and Definition of Ready, and you’ll learn how these tools help you ensure the flow of work and client-facing deliverables through your systems.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/11

Today, I'm excited to welcome Tim Lennon back to the podcast to explore the Taoist concept of Wei Wu Wei, or "action without action." Tim and I dive into why understanding and navigating obstacles is more important than trying to bust through them, why feedback loops are essential to making progress (and how to make those feedback loops more effective), and why preparation and intentionality are the keys to true agility. If you're looking for ways to work smarter, not harder, in your law practice, this episode is for you.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/54

Do you dread assigning client homework, knowing it will likely stall your case for weeks or even months? Chasing down questionnaires and documents from clients can feel like a never-ending battle, leaving you frustrated and resentful.

After years of working with law firms to improve their workflows, I've discovered that the client homework bottleneck isn't actually about the clients - it's about how we structure and support the assignments. In this episode, I'm sharing my proven six-part framework for optimizing client homework. Tune in because these techniques will help you get unstuck and achieve a more predictable, efficient flow of work, creating a better experience for both your firm and your clients.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/55

I've spoken before about the importance of making policies explicit. But what does it mean to draft an effective policy in your law firm?

Tune in this week to discover what I believe are the elements that comprise a good policy, and learn how to get your team on board in implementing your policies. I share a template for writing effective policies in your law firm, give you examples of policies I use with my clients, and I even dive into the slightly meta idea of a policy for writing policies in a law practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/22

Grab my free Law Firm Policy Template & Policy Library and other resources mentioned in today's episode to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice here: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Do you ever feel discouraged or overwhelmed by the amount of unfinished work in your law practice? Are you ever juggling so many balls that you’re worried something is going to drop and you may not notice when it does? Join me this week as I dive deeper into what the Agile Methodology is and how it can help you avoid the overwhelm that leads to problems and burnout.

I share the four principles of Agile Methodology and how beneficial they can be for your practice and encourage you to slow down and think about what each of these principles means in the context of your firm or business.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/1

In this bonus series of the Agile Attorney Podcast, we are focusing on the Voice of the Client. I am bringing you the stories of real people, in their own voice, talking about the challenges and successes they've had dealing with lawyers.

Today you will hear from Dennis, a financial planner in central California. In Dennis's Case, he's not hiring the lawyer as a client, but he is "hiring" lawyers that he can trust to handle the legal work for *his* clients.

For show notes and more information, be sure to visit https://www.agileattorney.com/podcast

Why is the concept of "start with what you do now" crucial for creating meaningful and durable change in your law practice? This principle helps you understand your current processes and the people involved in them, recognizing why you are where you are, so you can make more informed decisions about how to move forward.

Tune in this week for a dive into a foundational aspect of the Kanban Method: Start with what you do now. I share tips for initiating sustainable change in your law practice, respecting the roles and titles of your current team, helping them embrace the changes you want to see in your firm, and allowing them to become a valuable part of the change process.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/26

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Are you familiar with Clio's Kanban-inspired feature, Clio Matter Stages? It’s been around for a while now, but as a Kanban enthusiast, I was eager to check it out at this year's Clio Cloud Conference. While it's certainly a step in the right direction and an interesting tool for Clio users, how does it measure up when it comes to implementing some of the more robust Kanban systems?

In this episode, I share my first impressions of Clio Matter Stages, and explore some key Kanban principles that can help you level up your workflow, including the power of queue columns, work-in-progress limits, and definitions of done.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/40

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

Handing off work, especially multiple back-and-forth handoffs, can be a huge source of delay and rework in your law practice.

Tune in this week to discover how to be more effective when handing off work in your legal practice, minimizing the negative effects of ineffective handoffs. Rework is a harmful form of waste in your practice, so you’ll learn about the three different kinds of handoffs that occur in a law practice, and I give you practical tips for mastering effective handoffs.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/15

In this bonus series of the Agile Attorney Podcast, we are focusing on the Voice of the Client. I am bringing you the stories of real people, in their own voice, talking about the challenges and successes they've had dealing with lawyers.

Today you will hear from Jason, a maintenance technician at an industrial plant who represented himself through the majority of his divorce proceedings in Massachusetts. Listen more to hear what happened to his original attorney, how he prepared for court and what his takeaways are from the process.

For show notes and more information, be sure to visit https://www.agileattorney.com/podcast

One of the hardest things to recognize in a law practice is how the default way in which lawyers approach and deliver their work creates barriers to access for everyday people trying to reach that lawyer’s services. So, how do you identify it and what can you do about it?

This week, Alexandra Devendra, founder of design-focused B Corp law firm Aligned Law and I discuss the design elements that help meet your clients’ human needs. We explore Alix’s passion for organizational design, development, and alternative ownership models, and Alix shares her tips and tricks for more intentional design in your law practice.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/12

As a lawyer, it's easy to fall into the trap of equating more hours with more revenue. But as Jonathan Stark points out, this mindset often leads to a vicious cycle of overwork and burnout, without necessarily translating into increased profitability or client satisfaction. The key to breaking free from this cycle lies in streamlining your processes and focusing on delivering value, rather than simply billing time.

In this episode, I share an episode I recorded with Jonathan Stark on his podcast Ditching Hourly exploring how improving your delivery workflows can make the switch to value pricing a no-brainer. From implementing systems and checklists to leveraging technology and outsourcing, we explore the many ways you can optimize your workflows to deliver better results in less time.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/48

As attorneys, we often forget that our engagement letters occupy a unique space - they're not just contracts, but also the final step in our marketing cycle. So why do so many of these crucial documents end up feeling dense, overwhelming, and even off-putting to clients?

Tune in this week to learn how to create engagement letters that not only protect your firm but also set the stage for a positive, productive attorney-client relationship. I share some simple, actionable ways to make your engagement letter a seamless, welcoming transition into the legal services you provide.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://www.agileattorney.com/57

If you're feeling overwhelmed or overburdened in your law practice, it may be a sign that you're operating beyond your current capacity. But how do you know what that is? And how can you go from prioritizing intake and growth to focusing on delivering quality work within the firm's capacity?

In this episode, I provide tools to help you get back within a comfortable capacity and deliver the work you promised to clients and customers. You will discover how to think of capacity in a way that avoids feeling overwhelmed and instead lays the foundation for future clients, while also keeping the promises already made to your people. Start the process today of striking a better balance between your real current capacity and the commitments that you make in a way that is agile and free of burden.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/2

If you don’t have explicit policies, it becomes incredibly difficult to develop any consistency around how and when you deliver your work. Tune in this week to discover the importance of establishing simple but clear policies in your law practice.

Those policies are going to be the key to improving the quality and consistency of your work product and your workflow. You’ll learn two different ways to think about policies that can help you accomplish the same thing, but ultimately, I think one of them is more powerful than the other.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/10

Ever started your Monday already swamped with emails and tasks, all competing for your attention? Determining the best sequence to tackle these tasks is crucial for maximizing your effectiveness throughout the week and beyond.

In today’s episode, I introduce a structured framework that enhances your ability to prioritize demands effectively, helping you manage your limited time and resources. You’ll also gain insights into common pitfalls to avoid when prioritizing projects and tasks in your law firm.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/14

Engaging your team around process improvement is a vital part of successfully implementing changes in the way you work in your law practice. When everyone is on the same page, working toward the same goals while you empower each member of your team to demonstrate leadership in their field of expertise, process improvement becomes an easier proposition, no matter the size of your firm.

Tune in this week to discover my favorite tools and concepts for fostering an environment that is not only open to change, but actively recruits your people to be willing participants, and even leaders in those improvement efforts.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/29

Start your Agile transformation today and check out free resources, including my Law Firm Policy Template, to help you and your team develop a more Agile legal practice: https://www.agileattorney.com/start

When somebody hires a lawyer, what are they really looking for? One mainstay of being an Agile Attorney is delivering customer value consistently, so how do you invest your time and experience in your practice now to create an environment that prioritizes client value in your firm?

Discover how you can pivot in your law firm to provide the kind of value your clients really want from you. I’m giving you tools that will help you expand what you’re able to offer your clients, aside from advancing their legal matters, to meet their human needs without neglecting the social and emotional complexities that people experience when navigating the legal system.

For full show notes, transcript, and more information, visit: https://www.agileattorney.com/6