Your fees are not just how you get paid. They may be quietly building the practice you are trying to escape.

Every fee structure creates consequences. Hourly billing, flat fees, subscriptions, packages, phased fees, and hybrid models do more than determine revenue. They shape client expectations, boundaries, scope, workload, value perception, risk, and sustainability.

That means the real pricing question is not simply, “What should I charge?”

The better question is:

What kind of practice does this pricing model create?

In this episode of The Practice Playbook Podcast, Susan Guthrie looks at pricing as one of the most powerful design choices in a professional practice. She explores what underpricing may be building, why hourly billing can reward inefficiency and punish expertise, how AI is weakening the link between time and value, and why alternative fee models only work when the service design underneath them is clear.

This episode draws from Susan’s work in The Flat Fee Playbook, The Business Plan Playbook, Second Edition, and her upcoming ABA book, FUTURE PROOF: Designing a Legal or ADR Practice for the AI Era. Together, they point to one essential truth: pricing is never just pricing. It is part of the practice you are building.

Susan discusses:

What kind of practice does this pricing model create?

Choose one fee, one service, one offering, or one engagement type and look at it with curiosity. Is it building clarity or confusion? Good boundaries or scope creep? Sustainability or resentment? A better client experience or a more reactive practice?

This free worksheet helps you look at one fee or pricing model and identify what it may be creating inside your practice. Use it to explore what the fee promises, what it requires, what it makes easier, what it makes harder, and where one small design change may create more clarity.

Download the free resource from the episode page on the website at susaneguthrie.com/podcasts

Inside the Practice Accelerator, members receive the deeper companion resource for this episode: the Pricing Model Redesign Map.

This implementation tool helps you move beyond noticing what a fee is building and begin redesigning one pricing model around value, scope, boundaries, client expectations, delivery, AI impact, and sustainability.

The free resource helps you see the issue. The Accelerator resource helps you work through the redesign.

The Business Plan Playbook, Second Edition launches September 29.

This new edition introduces the Living Practice Plan™ and helps lawyers, mediators, dispute resolution professionals, consultants, coaches, and other service-based professionals examine the practice they have inherited, reacted into, or intentionally designed.

Pricing is one part of that larger design. Your fees connect to your services, client experience, delivery model, visibility, systems, technology, revenue goals, and capacity. The Second Edition helps you look at those pieces together so you can build a practice by design, not by default.

Learn more at intentionalpracticedesign.com.

The Practice Accelerator is the place to work through the ideas from The Practice Playbook Podcast and The Practice Playbook Series in a supportive online community.

For $99/month, members receive:

It is designed for lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, dispute resolution professionals, consultants, and other service-based professionals who want practical tools, accountability, and support as they build by design, not by default.

Learn more at susaneguthrie.com/accelerator.

Not sure where to begin?

Take the Practice Design Assessment to see where your practice may be inherited, reactive, or intentionally designed, and where one intentional redesign could create the greatest relief, clarity, or momentum.

Start the assessment at intentionalpracticedesign.com/assessment.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in law, mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

Books: https://susaneguthrie.com/books

Practice Playbook Series: https://intentionalpracticedesign.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susaneguthrie

Instagram: @susaneguthrie and @practiceplaybookpodcast 

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

"That's the way we've always done it" might be the most expensive phrase in your practice, even when you never say it out loud. Susan Guthrie explores the practice rules professionals follow without ever consciously choosing them, from availability and referrals to pricing, customization, and the very definition of success.

The last two episodes of The Practice Playbook Podcast explored whether your practice is working for everyone but you and what your calendar reveals about your business model. This week, Susan goes one layer deeper into the patterns shaping practices that were never consciously chosen, but simply inherited.

Using a relatable (and timely) suitcase story as the through line, Susan walks through five areas where inherited rules quietly take over: availability, referrals, pricing, customization, and success. The message isn't that inherited rules are wrong. It's that they deserve to be examined, kept, revised, or released, so the practice you're building is the one you actually intended.

What You'll Learn

Free Episode Companion Resource:

Download the worksheet at susaneguthrie.com/podcasts

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live Implementation Hour webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Practice Lab sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Bi-Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.  Use code "PPP" for $10 off your monthly subscription!

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

Practice Playbook Series: https://intentionalpracticedesign.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

A full calendar can feel like proof that a practice is working. The phone rings, the referrals come in, the consultation requests land in the inbox, and from the outside, that looks like success. But inside the practice, a full calendar can hide a lot. In fact, a full calendar is not the same as a healthy practice.

In this solo episode, Susan Guthrie continues the lead-up to the launch of The Business Plan Playbook, Second Edition, by turning to one of the clearest places a practice tells the truth: the calendar. She breaks down what a full calendar can actually be hiding, why revenue alone does not tell the whole story, and why the real question is not whether the calendar is full, but what it is full of.

Susan walks through a practical 30-day calendar audit designed to help identify what the calendar is rewarding, what it is ignoring, and where one pattern might be ready for redesign.

What You'll Learn

Free Episode Companion Resource:

Download the worksheet at susaneguthrie.com/podcasts

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.  Use code "PPP" for $10 off your monthly subscription!

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

Have you ever looked at your practice and thought, this should feel better than it does? Not because you hate the work. Not because you're bad at it. In fact, the opposite is often true: you may be very good at the work, you may care deeply about your clients, and you may have every outward sign of success, and still feel like something is off. That's the question we tackle in a special series about intentional practice design, kicking off with this episode.

Intentional practice design is built on the idea that a thriving practice is not inherited, improvised, or assembled one urgent decision at a time. It is intentionally designed. Drawing on 20-plus years running a family law litigation practice, Susan Guthrie breaks down the three forces shaping every practice, inherited patterns, reactive patterns, and intentional choices, and walks through the signs that a practice is asking for redesign.

A practice that feels off does not mean you chose the wrong work. It may mean you've outgrown an inherited model, or that reactive decisions have quietly piled up, or that the practice still reflects a former version of you. That is not failure. It is growth, it is information, and it is leadership, because the practice you lead should be something you build by design, not something you simply end up inside.

This week's free companion resource is the Practice Design Assessment, a seven minute interactive tool at intentionalpracticedesign.com that looks at five dimensions of a practice, including pricing, delivery, client experience, positioning, and AI governance.

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.  Use code "PPP" for $10 off your monthly subscription!

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

AI in the legal world is often met with fear instead of curiosity, but Susan Guthrie has a different take: used with the right skepticism, it doesn't replace professional judgment, it frees practitioners to use more of it. That shift is exactly what's playing out with Descrybe, the legal research tool that's gone from a free startup product to one of Anthropic's official launch partners for Claude for Legal in just eighteen months. Susan sits down with the co-founders of Descrybe, Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona to unpack how that happened, and what it means for the future of practice.

Kara first joined Susan on the podcast back in December of 2024. Since then, Descrybe has added many new features, including a Citator to evaluate good law versus bad law, a deep research tool called Descrybe LM, and an advanced brief checker, all while earning national recognition, including being named one of the ABA's Legal Women of Tech.

Together, Susan, Kara, and Richard, explore how Descrybe evolved from startup to industry leader, why the Anthropic partnership matters, what AI-powered legal workflows look like today, and where authority-based search and option generation are already changing how practitioners and mediators work.

Kara Peterson, Co-Founder & CEO: Kara leads marketing, partnerships, and strategy. She brings a background in technology and social impact and a deep belief that access to information is a social justice issue. She was named to the ABA Women of Legal Tech 2024 list.

Richard DiBona, Co-Founder & CTO: Rich leads product and engineering. He built the structured primary-law corpus and reasoning architecture that powers DescrybeLM. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in the application of AI to legal research. Descrybe has earned multiple industry awards for the platform he built, including the American Legal Technology Awards, the Anthem Award, and recognition from the Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards and the Webby Awards.

Website: http://descrybe.com

A practical guide to help you start putting Claude and Descrybe into practice, with prompts and a simple workflow you can use right away. Visit susaneguthrie.com to download.

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.  Use code "PPP" for $10 off your monthly subscription!

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

There are two words that can make you excellent at your work and quietly sabotage the practice you actually want, and most professionals say them without noticing. A colleague floats an idea, and before they finish the sentence, you are already building the response that starts with "Yes, but."

Stephen Seckler calls it the yes, but reflex, and he has spent a career helping lawyers and dispute resolution professionals catch it before it costs them the relationships, the work, and the practice they keep saying they want.

Susan Guthrie sits down with Stephen Seckler, career and business development coach for lawyers, host of the Counsel to Counsel podcast, and author of Think Like a Lawyer, Act Like an Entrepreneur, published by the American Bar Association. Stephen spends his days helping skilled professionals get out of their own way. What Susan loves about his thinking is that he is not asking anyone to become someone they are not. The same instincts that make you sharp in a negotiation or precise as a neutral are the ones that can stall your growth the minute you step into building a practice.

Together they get into where that line sits, how artificial intelligence is testing it right now, and why so many professionals end up with a full calendar of work they never actually chose. It is about the small shifts that move a practice from reactive to chosen.

A one-page reset to help you catch the reflexes that keep you reactive and start choosing the practice you actually want. Download the resource here: https://susaneguthrie.com/podcasts

Stephen Seckler is a career and business development coach for lawyers and the host of the Counsel to Counsel podcast. He is an attorney who has dedicated his entire legal career to heaping other attorneys find greater professional satisfaction in or out of the law. Stephen is the author of Think Like a Lawyer, Act Like an Entrepreneur, published by the American Bar Association. He sits on the board of the ABA Career Center and on the editorial board of the ABA publication GPSolo.

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.  Use code "PPP" for $10 off your monthly subscription!

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

The best business relationships have nothing to do with business. Not at the start, not in the room, not over coffee or at a conference. Phil Fornaro, attorney and podcast host, calls what he has built relationship capital, and with a client conversion rate approaching 100%, he has the results to prove that leading with the relationship instead of the business is not just a nicer approach, it is the smarter one.

Susan Guthrie sits down with Phil Fornaro, attorney, founder of Fornaro Law, and outside general counsel to founder-led businesses. He is also the host of the podcast Light Bulb Moments: It's All About The Energy. When Susan was a guest on his show, Phil said two words at the end of their conversation that made the light bulb go off: relationship capital. She knew right away it needed to be an episode of The Practice Playbook Podcast.

Together they get into what relationship capital actually is, why most professionals are not building it intentionally even though they think they are, and how the shift from transactional networking to genuine relationship investment changes everything about how a practice grows. This is not a conversation about networking tips. It is a conversation about rethinking one of the most valuable assets in your professional life.

A 10-question self-assessment that gives you an honest picture of where your relationship capital stands right now, plus one clear action you can take immediately.

Download the resource here: https://susaneguthrie.com/podcasts

Philip Fornaro is the founder of Fornaro Law, where he serves as Outside General Counsel to founder-led businesses navigating complex, high-stakes decisions. For nearly three decades, he has worked at the intersection of legal strategy, business judgment, and relationship capital - helping clients create clarity and move forward with confidence.

He is also the host of Light Bulb Moments: It's All About the Energy, a podcast featuring conversations with entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals about the moments that shape how they think, lead, and grow.

Philip believes the most valuable asset people build over time is relationship capital - the trust and alignment that compound when thoughtful people connect.

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.  Use code "PPP" for $10 off your monthly subscription!

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

This episode is about what happens to legal and dispute resolution pricing when AI does in twenty minutes what used to take a full day, and why the subscription billing model may be the answer. Clients know their lawyers are using AI, and they want to know why that is not showing up in what they are charged. It is a fair question, and most practitioners do not have a good answer yet.

Here is the part that should get your attention: if you use a tool that cuts your time in half and bill as though you did not, that may not be a client relations problem. It may be an ethics one.

Susan Guthrie sits down with Mathew Kerbis, The Subscription Attorney and CEO of Practi, and what makes this one worth your time is simple. Mathew is not theorizing about subscription pricing from the sidelines. He runs a subscription law firm. He knows what these pricing conversations actually feel like, what scope management looks like day to day, and what it takes to get clients to genuinely prefer this model over the clock.

Together they get into the ethics questions clients are already raising, how a subscription practice really works from the entry-level price to the tiers to the flat-fee add-ons, why putting your pricing on your website now helps AI tools recommend you, and what the next five years look like for the practices that decide not to adapt.

Mathew Kerbis, The Subscription Attorney and CEO of Practi, is a national award winner dedicated to revolutionizing the legal profession by helping attorneys abandon the billable hour for the subscription model, and leverage automations and artificial intelligence to serve clients affordably at scale. After 10 years of practice and four years running his law firm, he co-founded Practi as the business model solution for Al-powered lawyers. He is also a frequent public speaker, host of the Law Subscribed and Legal Al Live podcasts, and instructor of highly-rated CLE courses.

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

Imagine a potential client calling your office for a consultation, and before you can even finish saying hello, they say, "I've been following your podcast for two years. You are already my professional. I just came to meet you." That is not a fantasy call. That is what it looks like to win a client before they ever call you, and how a podcast can make it happen. 

Susan Guthrie sits down with Dennis "DM" Meador, founder of the Legal Podcast Network, where he and his team produce podcasts for attorneys and legal professionals nationwide. An entrepreneur since his teenage years, DM spent decades in marketing after nearly 20 years as a pastor, and he came to the legal space with a very specific thesis: most attorneys and legal professionals were being set up to podcast the wrong way, for the wrong reasons, and with the wrong format.

DM identifies five distinct types of podcasts that legal and dispute resolution professionals can use strategically, and the type most likely to actually generate clients is probably not the one most people are building. Whether you have thought about starting a podcast, have one that is not doing what you hoped, or have been dismissing the idea entirely, this conversation offers a framework you probably have not heard before.

Free Episode Companion Resource: Which Podcast is Right for Your Practice?

Dennis “DM" Meador has been an entrepreneur since he was a teenager, building business in everything from shoveling snow to SEO before finding his fit helping attorneys share their voices. A lifelong communicator, from his years as a pastor to his decades in marketing, DM believes the best ideas don't come from selling, they come from conversations.

Website: https://www.thelegalpodcastnetwork.com

Susan's Practice Accelerator is now open as a monthly membership subscription!  Designed for professionals who want more than just ideas, the Accelerator delivers structure, strategy, accountability, and a community of forward-thinking professionals who are serious about building sustainable, successful practices.

If you have ever wondered if you would benefit from professional coaching, this is your opportunity to test the waters with Susan at an accessible price point.  

Members receive:

One monthly live webinar with Susan in her signature practical and easily implemented insights and strategies for building your practice.

Two live monthly group Office Hours sessions with Susan.  A place to bring your questions to receive expert advice and insights from colleagues on the same journey.

Weekly Premium Resource that accompanies the latest Practice Playbook Podcast episode that supports you in implementing the golden nuggets in the episode.

And much more for only $99/month.

Visit https://susaneguthrie.com/accelerator to join now.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Connect with Susan E. Guthrie

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of the infrastructure of modern professional practice, and it is already reshaping the competitive landscape. The question is no longer whether to use it. The question is what professionalism looks like now that it is here.

In this solo episode, Susan Guthrie shares two real conversations that capture the tension so many professionals are feeling right now. One colleague rejected a document because it "reads like AI." Another rejected a job candidate because they failed to use AI to improve a basic follow-up email. Same technology. Completely opposite conclusions. So who's right?

Susan's answer reframes the entire debate. The issue is not whether AI touched the work. The issue is whether a thoughtful professional stands behind it.

This episode is part two of a two-part conversation. If you missed last week's companion episode, start there first:  AI Just Changed Again. Here’s What Actually Matters with Susan Guthrie.

Susan created the companion resource, The Professional Judgment AI Check, specifically for this episode. It is a practical framework designed to help legal and ADR professionals evaluate AI-assisted workflows before they ever reach a client, colleague, or public audience. Use it as a filter to make sure your AI-assisted work is accurate, ethical, confidential, and genuinely reflects your professional standards.

It is the monthly membership for lawyers and mediators who are done guessing at pricing, flat fees, and the systems that make a practice run. You get the strategy, the tools, and a community building the same way you are, with new value every month.

The work we cover on the show, made practical enough to use this week.

Join The Practice Accelerator: susaneguthrie.com/accelerator

The New Legal Frontier: AI-Driven Disputes and How You Can Lead Them | June 9th A forward-focused look at how AI is reshaping disputes, client expectations, and professional opportunities, and how you can position yourself as a leader in a rapidly changing environment.

Practice Playbook listeners save an additional 20% with code Susan20 at checkout. Register at https://susaneguthrie.com/webinars.

Susan E. Guthrie is one of the most respected voices in mediation and conflict resolution today. A nationally recognized family law attorney and mediator for 35 years, she is now a top professional coach and consultant helping dispute resolution and legal professionals build thriving, modern practices.

Susan recently appeared on The Oprah Podcast, expanding her reach to an even broader audience and highlighting her role as a trusted expert in divorce, communication, and modern conflict resolution. She is also the creator and host of The Divorce & Beyond Podcast, ranked in the top 1% worldwide, with millions of listeners and a global following.

As Immediate Past Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Susan continues to shape the future of the profession while training and mentoring practitioners around the world.

Website: https://susaneguthrie.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe to The Practice Playbook Podcast on your favorite platform, leave a 5-star review, and share the episode with a colleague or professional friend who would benefit from this conversation. Your support helps us continue bringing practical insights, forward-thinking strategies, and meaningful conversations to lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and entrepreneurial professionals looking to build stronger, smarter, and more sustainable practices.

And as always, please remember that this podcast is presented for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, business advice, or professional advice of any kind, and listening to this podcast does not create any attorney-client or professional relationship.