Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

In this episode of the Un-Billable Hour’s Seat at the Table:

Take a “seat at the table,” with host Christopher T. Anderson and guests Rob Leitner, John Reed, Kristen David, and Elliot and Erik Alicea, all experienced pros in building and running successful law firms. In this episode, dig into marketing, the next step once you’ve established your brand identity. How does marketing share your vision and attract the clients you want?

Share how, and why, you and your firm are the solution to your potential clients’ problems. Because that’s what clients want: solutions. As we’ve learned, branding is who you are and what you stand for. But marketing is about connecting with potential clients, sharing that brand, and creating that “Bam, that’s who I want to work with” revelation. 

Learn to connect your value proposition to your target audience. Define your ideal clients, find them, and let them know you understand their situation and can help. Then, after the initial contact, get them in the door and cement that connection.

Avoid wasted effort by connecting your brand to your marketing, making your voice heard and your capabilities recognized. It all has to work together to help you interest, connect with, and land the clients you want. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Clio

ClioCon 2026, Oct. 26-27, 2026

Subscribe to Un-Billable Hour: https://play.megaphone.fm/qxfro4f-suekajnwe_solw

Strengthening relationships between the bench and the bar is essential to the health of our legal system and the effectiveness of professional collaboration, but achieving that alignment is not always straightforward. Building on their plenary session at the NCBP Midyear Meeting, Judges Bridget Duignan and Ann Keele join us to go into greater depth on strategies for fostering stronger cooperation within bar associations among both lawyers and judges. They emphasize the importance of engaging in bar service as equals, elevating peers into leadership roles, and remaining grounded in the mission and purpose of the association.

Later, drawing on their experiences as women in leadership, Bridget and Ann share their perspectives on the evolving role of women in the legal profession. They reflect on shifting attitudes, and offer practical ways to support and empower women in law. They also provide a thoughtful vision of effective leadership—one rooted in inclusivity, intentional space-making, principled neutrality, and a steadfast commitment to the oath and ideals of the profession.

To learn more about NCBP or to become a member, visit ncbp.org

Subscribe to Leading the Bar: https://play.megaphone.fm/kxvaphfdsnmb5ge2-7x0rw

In this episode of Heels in the Courtroom, Liz Lenivy, Mary Simon, Elizabeth McNulty and Katie St. John explore recent cases raising concerns about attorney-client privilege, confidentiality, and discoverability when AI tools are used. The hosts highlight the risks of exposing sensitive information as more clients use AI to draft summaries of their cases when looking to hire an attorney. The ladies also examine how AI is emerging in discovery and expert research, and what lawyers must do to stay ahead as these tools continue to reshape litigation.

In this episode of The Case Doctors, Christine tees up a lineup of legal dilemmas that range from rideshare upgrades to Instagram gotchas — while John Simon and Alvin Wolff do what they do best: separate real claims from manufactured outrage. And, a viewer wonders how to salvage their case after the defense found a workout video of an injured client. John Simon says a case he once had involving an injured wrestler was salvaged by the plaintiff’s honesty on the stand even though he was on commercials jumping from the top rope.

Subscribe to The Case Doctors: https://play.megaphone.fm/d8rovuhcqx6msdzgbqfaja

How do you rebuild a life after it was taken from you? A wrongful conviction strips a person of their agency, leaving pain and loss where there once was freedom and purpose. Healing from such a profound injustice is no easy task, and even after exoneration, the ache of what was lost remains.

In this episode, Michael Semanchik sits down with Antoine Day, Eddie Lowery, and William Michael Dillon—all members of The Exoneree Band. Together, they share how music became a powerful outlet for processing their experiences, reclaiming their voices, and transforming pain into purpose. Through their performances, The Exoneree Band spreads awareness about wrongful incarceration, tells their personal stories, and educates communities about the human cost of injustice. Their message is clear: freedom is everything. 

Learn more and book the band at ExonereeBand.com.

Listen to William Michael Dillons Story.

Subscribe to For the Innocent: https://play.megaphone.fm/l674qjabrokc8uscyu76jg

The Jury is Out explores the growing problem of discovery obstruction in litigation, where routine requests are increasingly met with blanket objections. John Simon, Erich Veith and Tim Cronin discuss how this trend impacts day-to-day legal work, and practical strategies attorneys can use to push through resistance and keep cases moving forward.

It's time for the first official meeting of the Modern Law Library Book Club, and Lee has invited on her friend (and go-to Nixon expert) Victor Li to talk about his experience reading the 1979 bestseller The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court. As both a lawyer and journalist, Victor gives his thoughts on how Woodward and Armstrong were able to pierce the secrecy of the Supreme Court and show the behind-the-scenes wrangling as Nixon's newly-appointed chief justice, Warren Burger, took over from famed liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren. Up next, we'll be discussing Chapter 1, the 1969 Term, and we want to hear from you!

Email your comments or a voice message to [email protected] to appear on a future episode.

Check out our discussion group on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1285340-modern-law-library 

Purchase your copy of The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court: https://amzn.to/4cRQivF

Subscribe to Modern Law Library: https://play.megaphone.fm/93wtgxnatpsubsdxwklzwq

Drop a quarter in the slot and dig into the nontraditional career of Chrissie Scelsi who specializes in the law of video gaming. Scelsi forged her own way, untangling the intersection of entertainment, marketing, technology, and law. 

Games aren’t all fun and games. Scelsi deals with licensing, advertising, intellectual property, transactions, e-sports, content clearance, privacy law, and even influencer relations. “I lean something new every day, and that’s great,” she says. Throughout her career, she’s become a self-described legal Swiss army knife (and she’s a master at Pokémon Go).

Among the topics she encounters both in her practice and as the first woman president of the Video Game Bar Association is the impact of AI, from game development to game play. Working independently, hear how Scelsi has found her community, networks with others, and keeps current on the latest issues affecting not only legal aspects but also trends across the video gaming industry, an industry expected to approach $200 billion in annual revenue this year. 

Questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at [email protected]. 

Topics:

Subscribe to New Solo: https://play.megaphone.fm/snklydceswminrbke6phsq

And the DOJ had an atrocious week.

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Rapper turned First Amendment hero Afroman took his frustration over a heavy-handed police raid on his Ohio home and turned it into music. When the officers sued him for millions for hurting their feelings, a jury told them to take their $3.9 million demand and pound it like lemon pound cake. Unfortunately, what happened to Afroman happens all the time in America and there's not a lot being done to stop it. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice had a rough week, catching headlines for lowering hiring standards and running interference to protect Jeffrey Epstein's accomplices. That's before a judge literally tossed a DOJ lawyer from the courtroom over the U.S. Attorney's Office operating without any legal oversight. And Elon Musk went into court to argue that he wasn't fraudulent, he's just stupid. Jurors decided it's possible to be both. 

Subscribe to Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer: https://play.megaphone.fm/lpff6i7nq9wlb-pkdudwtw

AI is more than just another tool for lawyers. It may fundamentally change how law firms make money. In episode #607 of the Lawyerist Podcast, Stephanie Everett talks with legal industry analyst Jordan Furlong about the shifting economics of law practice and what happens as AI begins doing work lawyers once billed for. 

Jordan explains why the traditional law firm model built on billable hours and human effort is starting to break down as legal workflows become automated. Together, they explore how AI may shift lawyers away from producing legal work and toward supervising systems, validating outcomes, and delivering the one thing machines cannot easily replicate: judgment under uncertainty. 

The future of law practice may depend less on expertise and more on qualities machines struggle to replicate such as judgment, character, and the ability to guide clients through uncertainty. The conversation also explores why hourly billing may no longer make sense in an AI-driven world, how firms can rethink pricing around outcomes and client experience, and why smaller firms may adapt more quickly. 

If the billable hour fades and AI begins handling the routine “widgets” of legal work, the real question becomes what a lawyer’s value is now, and how firms should prepare for what comes next. 

Listen to our previous episodes on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Legal Practice. 

Links from the episode: 

https://jordanfurlong.substack.com. 

Have thoughts about today’s episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X! 

If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you.  

Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com. 

Subscribe to Lawyerist Podcast: https://play.megaphone.fm/xrm0mqp4tqwi0ozntiu41g

Chapters / Timestamps:  

00:00 – Introduction 

01:45 – Why Everyone Is Talking About AI in Law 

04:20 – Meet Jordan Furlong 

06:40 – The Real Disruption AI Brings to Law Firms 

09:30 – The Economics Behind the Billable Hour 

12:50 – What Happens When Software Does the Work 

16:05 – The Shift from Expertise to Judgment 

19:20 – What Lawyers Still Do Better Than AI 

22:40 – Client Value in an AI-Driven Profession 

26:00 – Why Smaller Firms May Have an Advantage 

29:10 – What This Means for New Lawyers 

32:45 – Preparing for the Next Version of Law Practice 

36:10 – Closing Thoughts