Last month, I participated on a panel at the 2016 Futures Conference. My assigned task was to discuss whether the billable hour would finally be dead by 2026. That got me thinking about the future event that would mark the passing of the billable hour as we know it: Would there be a final hourly invoice, billed and paid by a client, signifying the system's demise? Would there be a funeral for the billable hour? And if so, who would be there to eulogize it and what would that sound like? The eulogy might sound something like this.

Recently Attorney at Work asked three legal technology entrepreneurs — all speakers at this fall's Clio Cloud Conference — for their thoughts on the biggest challenges facing solo attorneys and smaller law firms, why so many stumble at marketing, and what new technology most intrigues them. Plus, a few reading recommendations and favorite apps. Here are words to the wise from CEOs Andrew Arruda of ROSS Intelligence, Nehal Madhani of Alt Legal, and Ed Walters of Fastcase.

Consider the many things that make normal life easier. Like buttons. There haven’t always been buttons, you know. What if you had to button your shirt without buttons? Literally impossible. (Button up, by the way.) I had a professor in college (he was the kind of guy who would wear an ascot) who didn’t take a salary. He didn’t need the money: His family invented some small rubber coupling that was used between railcars, and that was it. He never had to work a day in his life, even if he did. Small things can have a big impact. Simple changes can create massive efficiencies. ClariLegal does something very simple, very well.

I’ve noticed that the best rainmakers usually have really good legal administrative assistants (LAAs), and these lawyers are generally very good at engaging their LAAs in activities to nurture existing client relationships and even develop new ones.

Now that we are in the third quarter of 2016, we can look back and assess some of the year's health and fitness trends. Which ones have real staying power? There are always many predictions for what will be the go-to diets, workouts and lifestyle changes. Here are five trends predicted to change our lives for the better, and a verdict of whether to keep them — or let them go.

“My life sucks.” That’s what I said during the weekly video call with my mastermind group a few weeks ago. My life is actually awesome, but it’s challenging with the amount of work I’ve heaped on my plate. Between clients, speaking engagements and new product ideas, I was overwhelmed. I could not wrap my head around everything I wanted to do and everything I was already committed to doing. I needed to get organized — in the global sense. I needed more than a to-do list or a calendar. Glancing over at the empty wall in my office I thought, “I can use that.”

Next month, Merrilyn Astin Tarlton's new book hits the streets, and we couldn't be more excited. "Getting Clients: For Lawyers Starting Out or Starting Over" is the best response yet to that age-old plea, "Tell me how to get some clients!" And, starting today, Merrilyn will be writing a new monthly column of the same name — because based on what we've been hearing, you just can't get enough help getting clients.

Earlier this month in San Francisco while speaking at the Legal Marketing Technology Conference West, I made a startling observation. Marketing automation in the vast majority of law firms is either nonexistent or 10 years behind the times. What a CPA Firm's Revenue-Generating Website Can Teach Us. I did a panel together with Eric Majchrzak, CMO and shareholder of Arizona accounting firm BeachFleischman. Although Eric's firm is small in comparison to most large law firms (with approximately 100 accountants and CPAs), they are light years ahead of most law firms in terms of online marketing. The website that Eric and his team have created is a revenue-generating machine, projected to bring in half a million dollars in new business this year, and over $1 million next year. Does your website do that? It can. But it won't, unless you make these six fundamental changes to your online marketing strategy.

The Legal Marketing Technology Conference West in San Francisco, produced by the Legal Marketing Association and its Bay Area Chapter, is a forum for product debuts and first looks at new ways of doing business. This year’s conference (held Oct. 5-6) did not disappoint. Without ado, here are five marketing technology and social media trends to watch.

Technology continues to raise clients' expectations. They want improved performance, better communication, accurate billing and quicker results. Lawyers will fail to keep up with those expectations if they refuse to incorporate the necessary technology into their work. Brilliant tools are available to help you meet clients' desires faster, without compromising on quality. Here are five types of productivity tools, and a favorite in each category.