258. The Best Strategies for Overcoming Billing Challenges in Law

The Free Lawyer

In this episode of "The Free Lawyer," host Gary Miles, a seasoned attorney with 45 years of experience, discusses common billing challenges lawyers face with guest Molly Kremer, a certified life coach and former litigator turned billing coach. Molly shares her journey from litigation to coaching, emphasizing the importance of contemporaneous billing over reconstructive billing to avoid inaccuracies and stress. She addresses psychological barriers like guilt and procrastination, offering strategies to shift mindsets and improve billing practices. The episode provides practical advice and insights to help lawyers manage their billing more effectively and achieve professional satisfaction. Molly Kremer is a Certified Life Coach, and former big law litigator turned billing coach who helps attorneys go from struggling with their billing to finally solve ALL of their unhelpful billing habits. Unhelpful billing habits that most attorneys struggle with include procrastinating their billing, underbilling some time, missing or forgetting billable time, not billing for the time that could have been billed, and then having to overwork or overbill to make up for that time. She’s been successfully helping hundreds of attorneys go from stressfully struggling and hating having to bill their time - to easy, effortless contemporaneous timekeeping utilizing her proven billing models and billing strategies.

Contemporaneous vs. Reconstructive Billing (00:04:32)
Molly contrasts contemporaneous billing, which is done immediately, with reconstructive billing, which is done later.

Common Billing Struggles (00:09:11)
Molly identifies procrastination, underbilling, and confusion about billable tasks as major challenges for attorneys.

Understanding Billable Time (00:10:48)
Molly emphasizes that time is billable if it adds value and moves the case forward, encouraging open discussions.

Addressing the Taboo of Billing (00:12:01)
Molly aims to remove the stigma around billing, promoting conversations to help attorneys feel more confident.

Strategies for Better Billing (00:12:59)
Molly shares her coaching tools to help attorneys understand and overcome their negative thoughts about billing.

Shifting Mindset Around Billing (00:15:03)
Molly explains how generating awareness and shifting thoughts can help attorneys feel better about billing.

Common Misconceptions About Billing (00:16:53)
Molly discusses the belief that billing is unimportant and how it leads to avoidance and procrastination.

Billing Backlog and Panic (00:17:57)
Discussion on how billing piles up, leading to panic and procrastination as deadlines approach.

Handling Interruptions (00:19:04)
Strategies for managing constant interruptions while drafting motions and the impact on billing.

Mindset Shifts for Billing (00:21:06)
Coaching on overcoming procrastination and using pauses to improve billing practices.

Guilt Over Guesstimating Time (00:24:28)
Addressing feelings of guilt attorneys experience when they guesstimate their billing hours.

Mindset's Role in Billing Practices (00:26:22)
Exploring how mindset impacts billing habits and developing a positive billing identity.

Taking Control of Time (00:29:15)
Encouraging attorneys to manage their time intentionally rather than ceding control to others.

Differences in Billing Challenges (00:31:00)
Contrasting billing issues faced by new attorneys versus those with years of experience.

Benefits of Improved Billing Practices (00:33:40)
Clients report meeting billing goals and capturing more hours after adopting better practices.

Emotional Freedom in Billing (00:35:38)
Discussion on how emotional freedom impacts lawyers' billing practices and reduces guilt and stress.

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