January 2025 Law Subscribed Monthly Digest
Mathew Kerbis
The Subscription Attorney | National Award-Winner | AI-Enhanced | Podcaster (200+) | Public Speaker (120+) | Fractional General Counsel | Helping business owners with legal ops and people find legal peace of mind.
This is the first sponsored newsletter for the Law Subscribed Monthly Digest! Thank you to Gavel for sponsoring. More info on FREE training sessions below and at this link.
Here is your summary of Law Subscribed content from the previous month, so that you can pick and choose the episodes most interesting to you.
January saw the launch of a new series on Law Subscribed with Lauren Lester and A Different Practice called "How to Run a Law Firm in 2025."
I also hosted four LinkedIn Lives in January on the topics of cost accounting (it's more interesting than it sounds), AI efficiencies, and helped a new Legal AI launch out of stealth mode. Links to those at the end of the numbered podcast episodes below.
The episode titles are hyperlinked.
Here are podcast episodes from January 2025:
This is the trailer for the new series.
Attorneys Mathew Kerbis and Lauren Lester kick off their joint series on How to Run a Law Firm in 2025!
In a candid discussion about choosing business entities for law firms, Mathew and Lauren share their experiences and insights for new lawyers starting or running their own practices. Both initially chose to form LLCs, with Lauren using Google for research nine years ago and Mathew following the example of previous firms where he worked and checking with his state’s Supreme Court. They emphasize that while the entity choice is important, new lawyers shouldn’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough when starting out. Both started as single-member LLCs with pass-through taxation. Lauren transitioned to S corporation taxation status years later while Mathew is planning to do so in the near future. They stress the importance of working with CPAs for tax matters, maintaining separate business and personal finances, and building up a financial cushion before taking regular payments from the business. The key takeaway is that lawyers don’t need to choose S corp status immediately when forming a LLC, as the entity taxation structure can be changed later when it makes financial sense (in consultation with a CPA).
In the second episode of How to Run a Law Firm in 2025, Mathew and Lauren have a candid discussion about the importance of law firm naming decisions and practice pivots. The hosts share their experiences with different naming approaches - one chose a traditional surname-based name while the other opted for a descriptive name reflecting their niche. They explore how firm names can impact client perceptions, marketing, and the ability to pivot services later. The discussion then shifts to the challenges and process of pivoting law practices, emphasizing that such changes often take significant time and careful consideration. Lauren describes transitioning from family law to estate planning, tax, and prenups after nine years, motivated by burnout and work-life balance concerns. Mathew shares how he “burned the boats” and how it was hard to build a practice inside another law firm. They highlight the importance of having a support system when making major practice changes, the value of continuing legal education resources for learning new practice areas, and the need to overcome the sunk cost fallacy when considering a pivot. The hosts emphasize that while changing direction in legal practice requires intentionality and preparation, it is entirely achievable and can lead to greater professional satisfaction.
In the third episode of How to Run a Law Firm in 2025, Mathew and Lauren discuss how lawyers can continuously learn and stay updated. They explore various resources for both legal and business knowledge, emphasizing the importance of finding trustworthy content. Mathew discusses using bar association memberships and Lexology for legal updates, while both hosts stress the value of learning from non-legal business resources. They recommend podcasts like “ This Week in Startups ,” newsletters like Justin Welsh ’s “Sad Saturday Solopreneur,” and mention valuable legal resources like Carolyn Elefant 's MyShingle.com and Laura Frederick ’s " How to Contract .” They share their content consumption strategies, with Lauren preferring reading and podcasts like “Business Made Simple” and “Online Marketing Made Easy,” while Mathew listens to podcasts during daily activities like driving and household chores. They emphasize the importance of being selective with content, unsubscribing from unnecessary sources, and finding ways to efficiently consume information through methods like speed listening and time blocking.
Law firm partners Damien H. Weinstein and Brian Klein discuss their journey of founding Weinstein + Klein , a New Jersey-based firm, after leaving their previous positions at larger firms about six years ago. The two attorneys share their early experiences of starting a firm with minimal resources and learning through trial and error. They emphasize their focus on being a good business rather than just a good law firm, with Weinstein handling corporate transactional work and Klein focusing on employment law and litigation.
The partners detail their recent transition to a subscription-based billing model, moving away from traditional hourly billing. They explain how they discovered this model when a client requested a flat monthly fee, and how they've since refined their approach to include regular client updates, proactive communication, and will incorporate comprehensive monthly summaries of work performed. While they acknowledge some challenges in convincing established clients to switch to the subscription model, they highlight the benefits, including better client relationships, more proactive legal work, and the ability to provide value beyond traditional legal services. The partners note that their subscription model allows them to serve as fractional general counsel for small and mid-sized businesses at a cost significantly lower than hiring traditional in-house counsel.
SPONSORSHIP
*Estate Planning - Feb 20th @ 12pm PT (direct registration link: https://lu.ma/4qawvcvk)
*Probate - Feb 27th @ 12pm PT (direct registration link: https://lu.ma/gmp7m7zf)
*Family Law - March 6th @ 12pm PT (direct registration link: https://lu.ma/qdbocg1e)
Please select "Mathew Kerbis" from the dropdown menu when registering to let Gavel know that you found out about the training from this newsletter!
(end of sponsorship section)
LinkedIn Lives from January 2025:
AI mastery and topical authority expert Jonathan Mast joined me on LinkedIn Live to discuss how he is using, teaching, and learning about AI. He has a lot of free content teaching folks how to use AI to save time, increase profits, and provide more value in their work.
Connor Acle of Marveri joined me on an episode of Law Subscribed Live to come out of stealth mode for his new legal AI startup focused on corporate and transactional work.
Ron Baker and I discuss why profit across a business' portfolio is more important than tracking time to understand your costs. He also announces his new professional membership community THRESHOLD .
NOT affiliated with Law Subscribed, but relevant and interesting to this community, is a new monthly panel on LinkedIn Live in which I'm a recurring panelist. Last month we also had Dennis Kennedy , Maya Markovich , and George "Geo" Bellas . Here's a link to attend the February panel.
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Partner at Weinstein + Klein
3 周Such a pleasure being on the podcast with you Mathew Kerbis! Thank you!