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PODCAST

The Agile Attorney Podcast

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

business management

All Episodes

25:41

089. The Four Ds of Productivity: Removing...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/09/30

The Four Ds of productivity (do it, delegate it, defer it, or drop it) show up everywhere in productivity advice. Yet most of us default to the same two options over and over, creating bottlenecks and stress rather than solving our capacity problems.In this episode, I break down why only two of the Four Ds are reliably good options for managing your law practice workload. I explain the hidden pitfalls of delegation, including why delegated work often creates more quality assurance headaches than it

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29:24

088. Why This Firm Stopped Chasing Clients- and Got...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/09/23

Managing a law firm’s workflow can be tricky, especially when you’re juggling a long list of active matters and chasing unresponsive clients. In this episode, I’ll share how one firm, after years of using Kanban, finally broke through the delivery bottleneck with a simple but powerful shift in their approach.You'll hear the key changes they made that allowed them to close 40 matters in one month, even in what’s usually their slowest season. Tune in to discover how simplifying your systems, setting

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17:26

087. Change Management for Law Firms: How to Engage...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/09/16

When you introduce new processes in your law firm, you're asking your team to rethink how they get things done, and that’s a bigger challenge than most realize. In this episode, I explore why the usual approach to change management often misses the mark in law firms. I also discuss why involving your team from the start is critical to getting real buy-in.This approach might take a little longer upfront, but it pays off when it comes to actually implementing the changes you need.Get full show notes,

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40:21

086. From Chaos to Consistency: Lessons from a Decade...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/09/09

When Jeff De Francisco noticed his less tech-savvy colleagues billing more hours for the same estate planning work, he uncovered an injustice that would reshape his entire practice. The disparity wasn't about knowledge or skill. It was about efficiency, and the billable hour was punishing him for being good at his job.In this episode, I sit down with Jeff, a long-time client and now business partner, to explore his decade-long journey with Agile practices. You’ll also hear lessons from Jeff’s

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25:59

085. Make Work Visible: Using Kanban Boards To Manage...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/09/02

Knowledge work hides in ways that physical work never could. That invisibility creates a dangerous pattern: you say yes to one more matter and before you know it, your entire team operates beyond capacity.In this episode, I use real examples from law firms using Kanban boards to demonstrate how making your work visible can fundamentally change how your team coordinates, communicates, and makes decisions about your capacity.Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here:

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15:51

084. Technical Debt in Law Firms: How Small Shortcuts...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/08/26

In this episode, I’m diving into a concept that may be quietly hindering your practice: technical debt. In short, technical debt occurs when you take shortcuts to save time, but they end up costing you more in the long run.I’ll walk you through how technical debt shows up in your firm and why tackling this issue head-on is crucial to prevent burnout and boost your firm’s overall productivity. I’ll also share practical steps you can take to begin addressing your firm’s technical debt. Get full show

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27:20

083. Delivery Debt is as Bad as Financial Debt, and...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/08/19

In this episode, I’m revisiting the concept of delivery debt: the promises you’ve made that remain unfulfilled. Just like financial debt, taking on too much delivery debt can snowball and overwhelm your firm. And it’s not just about the practical cost; it’s also psychological. The mental load of these unfinished commitments affects your focus, your decision-making, and ultimately, your practice’s efficiency.I’ll share practical steps to help you clear delivery debt by addressing unfulfilled

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11:28

082. The Best Way to Word Your Checklists

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/08/12

In law firms, a lot of time is wasted when work gets passed back and forth because the deliverables aren’t meeting the expected quality standards. This happens when tasks are considered “done,” but the results don’t meet the actual requirements or the unspoken expectations, causing frustration and delays. These unnecessary back-and-forths can grind your entire practice to a halt and create more stress than necessary.In this episode, I share a simple but powerful shift in how you write your policies

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25:18

081. Task Engines in Law: Why Some Cases Sabotage...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/08/05

Task engines are quietly draining your law practice's productivity right now. These hidden culprits show up as certain case types, jurisdictions, or even internal projects that generate a lot of tasks but little tangible progress or return. It’s something a litigation boutique in Oregon learned the hard way when a surge in Washington State cases almost derailed their entire operation.In this episode, I’m sharing how a firm with plenty of demand and a growing team found themselves in crisis mode due

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34:10

080. AI for Legal Workflows: The Potential and the...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/07/29

AI tools in legal workflows are making waves, but are they really the productivity boosters they’re cracked up to be? While these tools can help speed up certain tasks, like research and drafting, they can also introduce significant risks if we’re not careful.In this episode, I dive into the promise and pitfalls of AI task engines and automation tools in law practices. I'll also explain why more working time doesn’t always mean faster delivery, and how managing both working and waiting time is key

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20:11

079. Make Space Before September: A Call for Rest and...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/07/22

Summer brings its own pressures - family obligations, vacation planning, and the nagging feeling that your practice needs constant attention. The temptation to squeeze in work between beach trips or check emails during family gatherings can rob you of the very reset this season offers. In this episode, I'm exploring the importance of using summer as an intentional season of rest and reflection for your law practice. You'll discover practical strategies for disconnecting from work, like allowing

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01:01:28

078. Build Financial Clarity into Your Law Firm with...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/07/15

Law firm owners often feel overwhelmed by their financial statements, staring at QuickBooks reports that seem to tell only half the story. The disconnect between having financial data and understanding what it means for strategic decision-making creates unnecessary anxiety and missed opportunities.In this episode, I'm talking with Danielle Hendon, a fractional CFO who specializes in helping law firms transform their relationship with their finances. We explore how to structure your revenue streams

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37:02

077. The BEST System for Managing Legal Work: Kanban...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/07/08

Legal teams face a unique challenge that factory floors and software developers rarely encounter: managing dozens of active matters simultaneously while dealing with constant interruptions from clients, opposing counsel, and courts. You're juggling multiple cases, each with its own timeline, dependencies, and unpredictable external factors that can derail your best-laid plans.In this episode, I dive into why the Kanban method is the best-fit system for that reality, and how it helps legal teams

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37:36

076. How Scrum Lessons Can Improve Your Law Practice:...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/07/01

Back in the early 2000s, software teams started embracing a new way of working that turned conventional project management on its head. Instead of trying to define everything up front and push massive projects toward a distant deadline, they asked a different question: what’s the most valuable work we can deliver in the next two weeks? That question gave rise to Scrum—a system built on fixed time, cross-functional teams, and fast feedback. And while it started in software, the lessons apply just as

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40:06

075. Legal Workflow Lessons from the Factory Floor:...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/06/24

A Japanese automobile factory floor in the 1950s might seem worlds away from your law office, but the visual management systems that transformed Toyota's manufacturing process hold powerful lessons for modern legal practice. The same principles that helped Toyota become a global automotive giant can help you create smoother workflows, reduce overwhelm, and deliver more predictable outcomes for your clients.In this episode, I explore the origins of the Kanban method and why visual systems are so

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28:59

074. Using Kanban to Manage Capacity

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/06/17

In law firms across the country, I'm seeing a concerning pattern emerge when one attorney adopts Kanban and Agile methods while their partner - often from an older generation of lawyers - resists these systematic approaches. This clash of perspectives frequently pushes teams back into overload and burnout.This week, I explore how this capacity tension manifests in law firms, particularly during succession planning. I share specific strategies for implementing personal Kanban systems to manage

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22:31

073. Don't Let Magical AI Thinking Cloud Your Sense...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/06/10

A concerning trend I've noticed both in my own practice and among my clients is that the rise of AI technology is making it harder to accurately assess our true capacity. Between constant marketing messages and the promise of enhanced productivity through AI tools, many of us are failing to gauge our own capacity and falling into the trap of overcommitting.The legal tech landscape is evolving rapidly, and technology companies are using sophisticated attention-hacking techniques to convince us their

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32:15

072. The Hidden Dangers of Overcapacity

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/06/03

We don’t talk about overcapacity enough in legal practice, especially not the hidden ways it erodes performance, burns out your team, and stalls your cases. In this episode, I take a closer look at what really happens when you’re operating beyond your firm’s functional capacity. From unnecessary administrative overhead to frustrated clients and cherry-picked tasks, the ripple effects of overload are costing you more than you think. If your firm is feeling stretched, stuck, or constantly in

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59:05

071. How Trauma Informed Lawyering Helps Avoid...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/05/27

The impact of trauma in legal practice extends far beyond individual client interactions. From law school through retirement, lawyers face unique psychological challenges that can fundamentally alter their personalities, relationships, and effectiveness as advocates. Dr. Colin James, author of "Vicarious Trauma and Burnout in Law," brings decades of experience as a senior lecturer of law and researcher to examine how trauma theory applies to legal practice. Through exploring concepts like vicarious

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52:34

070. Profit First for Lawyers: A Conversation with...

The Agile Attorney Podcast ·

2025/05/20

Is your law practice truly profitable? Not just cash-flow positive, but actually generating the kind of profit that allows you to serve your clients well, take care of your team, and live the life you want? In this episode, I dive deep into the critical topic of law firm profitability with RJon Robins, founder of How to Manage a Small Law Firm and author of Profit First for Lawyers.We explore why so many lawyers struggle with profitability, how to properly calculate your cost of goods sold, and why

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90 results

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