Episodes

In this episode, Alay and Chelsea discuss: Being on social media as a lawyer. Sharing your stories. Scaling your social media exposure. Building your social media plan within any budget. Key Takeaways: There’s not one right way to approach social media. You don’t have to start doing all social media all at once. Pick one platform, get good at it, and then expand from there. There are more factors than just having the right equipment or the right information when doing video. You can batch-rec...

In this episode, Alay and Chelsea discuss: Starting your new year strong with a plan for your firm. Gathering the right information for your goals. Creating measurable goals to break out of the comfort zone. Building a team for successful business planning. Key Takeaways: Your new year’s business planning should begin in November or December with information gathering. To create your specific goals, you need to know where you are before you can know where you’re going. Pay a little more to ha...

In this episode, Alay and Chelsea discuss: Why lawyers need to speak more about the business of a law firm. Making your Monday-Friday schedule work for you. Setting the boundaries that work for you. Utilizing tools to communicate boundaries. Key Takeaways: It is possible to live a full life while running your law firm. You just have to put in the effort to make it work for you. Set your boundaries, but have some flexibility in your schedule for the unexpected. Know where you thrive, set bound...

In this episode, Alay discusses: How goals work. Why goals often fail. Why goal failure is not bad. Outcome-based versus activity-based goals. Key Takeaways: Set fewer goals but know why that goal is important to you and know what it will take to achieve it. Without a plan for change, a goal is just a wish. Look at what habits you have now. There are habits you’re doing right now that are contributing to your success, and ones that are limiting your success. Tweetable Moments: “It’s much har...

In this episode, Alay and Mary discuss: Conversion copywriting for marketing. How copy is different from content. Expected results when working with a conversion copywriter. Key Takeaways: Copywriting is designed to make a person take action. Not every person is the right audience for your product or service. What sounds great from a lawyer’s point of view is often terrible from an audience’s point of view. If your target clients are in a vulnerable state, such as personal injury lawyers, mas...

In this episode, Alay and Jeff discuss: Understanding where your clients come from. Planning your videos Overcoming the mental hurdle of beginning to use video marketing. Monetizing your videos to reinvest in your marketing. Key Takeaways: Video content converts at a higher rate than traditional digital marketing. Pull content from your frequently asked questions from your existing clients. You don’t have to go viral, you just need the right views. Just get started. You don’t have to have the...

In this episode, Alay and Arvind discuss: Why billing is one of the most impactful problems to solve. The reasons many lawyers dislike billing so intensely. Implementation of automated billing. Key Takeaways: AI, when integrated with the programs you use every day, can track what you’re doing more accurately than you can in hindsight. AI is not perfect, but it is good at certain tasks, especially when integrated with the right data. Billables.ai integrates directly with various tools like Mic...

In this episode, Alay and Sirena (of Marsh McClennan Agency) discuss: Keys to clear communication in a multi-generational law firm. Flexibility for better engagement. Adapting communication styles for specific situations. The different traits of each generation. Key Takeaways: There are currently four generations working in the workplace: Boomers, Gen-X, Millennials, and Gen-Z. The way we are raised changes the way we receive information. Gen-X and Millennials are the least likely to want to ...

In this episode, Alay and Melanie discuss: The power of having a published book. What goes into a reputation-building book. Integrating book marketing into your law firm marketing. Key Takeaways: You can put the amazing cases you’ve won in a book. A book is tangible, and winning a case is an event. What you do every day can be fascinating to someone who isn’t in the field. You aren’t starting from scratch. As an attorney, you’ve done a lot of writing. Repurpose that content for the book. Util...

In this episode, Alay and Jennifer discuss: Why influence matters and what it means. The skill of influence. Three reasons lawyers should make influence a priority. Why connecting with others can be difficult. Key Takeaways: Influence is a muscle that can be built and cultivated, no matter your personality type. As a lawyer, you are an advocate and a leader. Get out of your head and feel your connection with your clients and your work. The key to getting people to feel is first to feel yourse...

In this episode, Alay and Phillip discuss: Taking action on opportunities. Proactive communication. Creative solutions to legal issues. Setting policies and proper training. Key Takeaways: Ask questions and take chances. You don’t know what’s possible if you never try anything new. Communication is key. Clients want to know when a problem happens, not after the fact. Creative solutions begin during the hiring process. When you own a company, you set the policies and get people to enforce them...

In this episode, Alay and Jeremy discuss: How to structure, value, and sell a law practice with a book of business. Transferring trust and transferring referral sources. Vetting potential law firms that want to grow by acquisition. Ensuring successful mergers through listening, adapting, and then growing. Key Takeaways: Trust can build via video calls over a short period of time. It does not need to happen in person or over a long period. The best purchasing firm is a like-kind firm. The best...

In this episode, Alay and Julia discuss: Why a virtual law firm administrator can help your firm. Limitations of virtual law firm staff and paralegals. When to add someone to your team. Key Takeaways: Law firm administrators can help with tasks that aren’t necessarily billable but are revenue-generating like case management, newsletters, marketing, billing, and more. If your firm is relying on paper, it will take longer to get up to speed quickly with a virtual administrator or paralegal. Hav...

In this episode, Alay and Julia discuss: Preparing the attorney to work with a virtual paralegal. Hiring someone who understands your practice area. Properly utilizing tools and technology. Mistakes made in delegation. Key Takeaways: There are many tools, such as Otter, Loom, or Office 365, that can help to improve employee training and management. If you run a bankruptcy firm, hiring a paralegal who has only worked in a different area may not be the best option for fast training. Writing dow...

In this episode, Alay and Julia discuss: The benefits of fractional and virtual paralegal services. The value add of bringing on a paralegal. Having a vetting process in place during the hiring process. Key Takeaways: Paralegal duties can vary from law firm to law firm which makes it difficult to hire. While there may be some need for a paralegal in the office on occasion, most work can be done remotely. It only takes about 10 hours of work each week (or even less) for a paralegal to pay for ...

In this episode, Alay and Michelle discuss: The benefits of using a flat fee vs. the billable hour. Tracking your time to understand your costs and capacity. Utilizing AI and other technologies to better serve your clients. Key Takeaways: Not knowing if the law fee is going to be $1,000 or $10,000 is what often keeps people from calling a lawyer. The fear of cost seems to override the client’s ability to take advantage of legal resources. Large companies have multiple general counsels. It’s n...

In this episode, Alay and Eric discuss: Smart, online marketing to capture the market in your niche and your geographical area. Standing out and setting up a unique marketing campaign for your firm. Creative ways to use social media and build a following. No niche is too small. Key Takeaways: For the attorneys who don’t want to commit to doing social media themselves each week, you will likely need to pay for online advertising. Find something that fits with your personality. Find your niche ...

In this episode, Alay and Ryan discuss: The four financial positions your firm needs as you grow. Adding on advisors as your firm grows and taking a tiered approach. Challenges your firm will face as you approach 7+ figures. Communication between your financial advisors. Key Takeaways: During your law firm’s growth, you must have a bookkeeper, a good tax preparer (for both personal and business), a part-time CFO, and a retirement advisor. Start early and build the relationships now, even if y...

In this episode, Alay and Ryan discuss: CFO versus accountant versus bookkeeper. Trust fund collection procedures and utilization. The importance of regular meetings on your law firm’s financials. Addressing new metrics and financial problems as you clear up the primary issues. Key Takeaways: When trying to figure out where you’re having a cash flow problem in your business, go through your financials, learn the numbers, and start there. Bringing in a third party can also give you a different...

In this episode, Alay and Ryan discuss: How much do you pay new hires? Profitable versus scalable when looking at new employee expenses and incomes. Properly building cost centers into your business. Specific guidelines and benchmarks for hiring different positions in your organization. Key Takeaways: Look at what a competitive salary in your area for the position is as the base. 401(k), taxes, insurance, and other benefits are all part of the employee’s cost, not just their salary. In your l...

In this episode, Alay and Gina discuss: Differences between different types of assistants. How the tech layoffs have affected the virtual assistant market. US versus international virtual assistants. Generational changes with remote working. Key Takeaways: The right-hand person who can do nearly anything is often the first hire of lawyers, even before they can bring on a full-time person. Younger generations, Millennials and Gen-Z in particular have always built relationships and connections ...

In this episode, Alay and Belle discuss: Why client onboarding is key to law firm success. Knowing when and why a conversation should happen with a prospective client. Who should be doing the process mapping. Understanding the right questions to ask as you build a process map for your client onboarding. Key Takeaways: Every law firm has to onboard clients if they want to succeed, but it is not taught in law firms or in early associate roles. Saving time on your client onboarding saves time fo...

In this episode, Alay and Belle discuss: Benefits of having a process map for onboarding staff. How to document your processes and procedures. The knowledge and expertise that is hidden in underdeveloped documentation. Different ways of brainstorming for process maps with your team. Key Takeaways: Simple checklists are helpful for experienced staff. They are not the end-all-be-all for every process, especially in an industry as complex as law. There should be at least three visual shapes for ...

In this episode, Alay and Belle discuss: How process mapping can help a law firm’s operations. Many processes that now don’t make sense or should be obsolete often started because of valid and important reasons. Visualizing the information flow to see how the processes happen. Key Takeaways: Being proactive will allow you to prevent problems before they can occur and cause a big mess in your law firm. Bringing in an experienced third party will be less expensive than utilizing a law partner’s...