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

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital if you want your website to be found by the right clients. But SEO can be difficult to understand to those who don’t specialize in online marketing. Host Christopher Anderson talks to Seth Price about the four main components of SEO including high quality content, authoritative links, correct coding, and local. They also discuss the advantages and disadvan...

Host Christopher Anderson talks to Tyler Todd about the access to justice problem and how blockchain and other technology could be the key to solving it. They discuss the common issues within access to justice like lawyers not being able to connect with consumers, and how blockchain addresses these issues with transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

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...

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,...

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 ex...

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...

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 shou...

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 le...

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 als...

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 technol...

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 Christop...

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 le...

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 l...

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...

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. Marti...

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...

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...

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...

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. Despi...

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...

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, Christop...

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 th...

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 And...