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John E. Grant
The Agile Attorney podcast teaches legal professionals how to streamline their legal workflows using the principles, practices, and tools of the Kanban Method.
Join Accredited Kanban Trainer and award-winning legal operations professional John E. Grant as he shares the keys to implementing effective strategies, practices, and technologies to drive true efficiency in your legal processes.
For more information on how John can help you develop an agile mindset and bust through your legal delivery bottlenecks, visit https://agileattorney.com.
This is the show for you if you find yourself asking questions like:
-How can I make my law practice more efficient?
-What is the best way to implement legal project management in my legal workflow?
-How can I best leverage technology to improve my legal workflows?
-What is the best way to transition my practice to flat fees or other alternative billing structures?
-How can I get my legal team to perform better?
-How can I better build productized legal services?
-What is the best way to increase law firm revenue without adding headcount?
Total 48 episodes
1
043. The Right Way to Incentivize Your Team
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
30:3314/11/2024
042. Ditch Effective Hourly Rates: How to Calculate Matter-Level Profit
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/42Start 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
40:3807/11/2024
041. How to Transition From Hourly Billing To Flat Fees, One Phase at a Time
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/41Start 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
39:2931/10/2024
040. Legal Workflow Management and Matter Management Are Not the Same Thing
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/40Start 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
26:3824/10/2024
039. Productive With Dollar Signs, with Clarke Ching
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/39Start 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
42:5417/10/2024
038. Delivering Effective Feedback to Legal Teams
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/38Start 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
27:5510/10/2024
037. Putting the ‘Flow’ Back into Workflow
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/37Catch me at the Clio Cloud Conference 2024, Tuesday, October 8th at 3pm (Discount code: ACTFAST): https://cliocloudconference.com/
28:1703/10/2024
036. What To Do When I’m the Bottleneck with Melissa Shanahan and Ben Hudson
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/36Catch me at the Clio Cloud Conference 2024, Tuesday, October 8th at 3pm (Discount code: ACTFAST): https://cliocloudconference.com/
58:3226/09/2024
035. Two Heads Are Better: How Coworking Sessions Can Improve Law Firm Efficiency
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/35Start 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
27:0919/09/2024
034. Short-Term Efficiency Can Hurt Long-Term Goals
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/34Start 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
24:4512/09/2024
033. Connecting with Your Clients’ "Why"
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/33Start 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
20:4505/09/2024
032. Organize Your Law Practice for Business Success with Michael Clarke
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/32Start 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
42:0529/08/2024
031. Tech Improvement Should Be Step 3. Don’t Skip Steps 1 & 2.
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/31Start 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
26:4622/08/2024
030. From Solo to CEO: Lessons in Building a People-First Law Firm with Justie Nicol
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/30Start 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
45:2615/08/2024
029. Getting Team Buy-in for Change
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/29Start 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
28:4008/08/2024
028. 3 Signs Your Law Practice Is Over Capacity
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/28Start 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
20:0101/08/2024
027. The Advantages of a First-In, First-Out Policy
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/27Start 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
22:5525/07/2024
026. Start with What You Do Now
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/26Start 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
17:1518/07/2024
025. Following Your Law Firm Strategic Plan with Melissa Shanahan
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/25Start 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
40:2011/07/2024
024. Sticking with Change When Change Gets Hard
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/24Start 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
16:4604/07/2024
023. Roots of the Lawyer Shortage
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/23Start 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
22:3027/06/2024
022. How to Write Effective Law Firm Policies
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/22Grab 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
27:0320/06/2024
021. You Can't Scale Your Way Out of a Sustainability Problem
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/21Start 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
24:1413/06/2024
020. The “Really Check:” Fostering Accountability with Jess Birken & Meghan Heitkamp
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/20Start 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
28:0606/06/2024
019. Fit for Purpose: Designing Legal Services To Meet Client Needs
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/19Start 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
26:1230/05/2024
018. Understanding "Jobs To Be Done" to Unlock Hidden Client Needs
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/18Start 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
32:3323/05/2024
017. How Minimum Viable Products Can Improve Efficiency AND Quality
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/17Start 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
21:1316/05/2024
016. Aligning Your Firm's People and Systems with Tim Lennon
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
41:1409/05/2024
015. Mastering Effective Handoffs in Your Legal Practice
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
30:0102/05/2024
014. How to Prioritize Work Within Your Law Practice
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
24:1825/04/2024
013. Taming Email Overwhelm
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
24:2718/04/2024
012. Principles for Legal Design with Alexandra Devendra
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
33:4511/04/2024
011. The Definition of Done
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
23:2904/04/2024
010. Make Policies Explicit
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
21:5928/03/2024
009. Focus on Quality To Improve Efficiency
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
19:3721/03/2024
008. Building the Lean Law Firm with Dave Maxfield
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
50:4414/03/2024
007. Don’t Let Efficiency Destroy Customer Value
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
28:2107/03/2024
006. What Clients Really Want from Lawyers
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
33:5329/02/2024
005. Close the Closable: Finding Balance in Your Caseload
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
28:5722/02/2024
004. Kanban Board Essentials for Lawyers
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
34:2215/02/2024
003. Finding and Fixing Bottlenecks to Drive Law Practice Efficiency
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
21:3308/02/2024
002. The Honest Reckoning with Capacity
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
21:4301/02/2024
001. Four Agile Principles to Help Your Legal Practice
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
17:4125/01/2024
Voice of the Client: Jason
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
50:3805/10/2021
Voice of the Client: Dennis
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
52:5101/09/2021
Voice of the Client: Amy
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
36:4806/07/2021
Voice of the Client: Angel
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
48:2324/06/2021
Voice of the Client: Lynn
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
51:2910/06/2021