Founding Partner Podcast

What if the billable hour is holding law firms back from their greatest potential? In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins sits down with Bob Kopka, founder of an 80-attorney insurance defense firm, to explore why the future of law may depend on changing how firms bill, lead, and embrace technology. From building a culture where people feel valued to preparing the next generation of leaders, Bob shares what more than three decades of running law firms have taught him about growth, trust, and knowing when it's time to do things differently.

What does it take to build a law firm that stands out without chasing volume or spending millions on advertising?

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins sits down with David Craig of Craig, Kelley & Faultless to explore how creativity, specialization, team development, and consistent content helped shape his practice. From an ingenious Yellow Pages strategy to building a rapid response team and creating consumer-focused books and podcasts, David shares why lasting growth starts with becoming genuinely valuable to the people you serve.

What happens when you suddenly find yourself without a firm and need to build one almost overnight?

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins lays out a practical triage plan for attorneys who unexpectedly need to start a law firm. From forming the entity and opening bank accounts to protecting client relationships and building your public presence, he explains what needs attention first, what can wait, and why you do not have to solve everything at once.

Leaving a law firm can create tension for everyone involved, and the decisions made before and during that departure matter.

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins walks through three issues lawyers and law firms need to think about when someone makes a move: notice to the firm, communication with clients, and handling client files. The goal is simple, understand the potential trouble spots before you step on a landmine.

What happens to your law firm if you suddenly cannot run it?

In this solo episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins breaks down what he calls the “Hit By a Bus Plan,” a practical approach for protecting your clients, family, employees, and firm if death or disability takes you away from the practice unexpectedly.

Does every law firm really need to scale?

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins sits down with New Orleans personal injury attorney David Vicknair to talk about building a firm on your own terms. David shares how intentional growth, memorable client hospitality, bold marketing, and investing in the right people helped shape his firm, and why growth only works when you know what you actually want to build.

What does it take to grow from a new law firm owner hiring an attorney off Craigslist to leading one of Washington’s largest family law practices?

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Michelle Dellino shares how confidence, calculated risk, hard-earned lessons, and a willingness to let go helped her build Dellino Family Law Group. She also opens up about the difficult seasons behind the growth, why founders need a clear vision, and what it really means to build a firm around the life you want.

A law firm partnership can work on trust and a handshake, until it doesn’t. In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Jonathan Hawkins breaks down four essential issues every law firm partnership agreement should address before disagreements, departures, or unexpected changes put that partnership to the test.

He also shares a practical bonus tip for structuring partner compensation so it can evolve without reopening the entire partnership agreement.

What happens when a young lawyer combines an entrepreneurial instinct with an early fascination for technology? Erik Pelton turned that combination into a trademark practice that has continued evolving for more than 25 years.

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, Erik shares how flat fees, technology, education, content, and a willingness to learn from failure helped him build a distinctive firm. We also explore why lawyers need to advocate for themselves, how delegation changes a founder's role, and why Erik believes some of his greatest successes began with mistakes.

What happens when a lawyer sees an underserved market and decides to build something bigger around it?

In this episode of The Founding Partner Podcast, I sit down with Bart Denham, founder and principal attorney of Denham Property and Injury Law Firm, to talk about growing from one attorney to twelve in less than three years, expanding into new markets, building a custom case management system with AI, and learning how relationships can fuel explosive growth.