The Practice Playbook Podcast with Susan Guthrie

Most professionals are busy, capable, doing good work and yet the practice is not growing the way they expected. The issue is not effort. The issue is usually strategy, or lack thereof. Because most professionals are focused on what feels productive, not what actually drives growth.

In this solo episode, Susan Guthrie walks through the seven fastest ways to grow your practice in 2026 and beyond. These are not trends. These are patterns, the things she sees consistently with professionals whose practices are growing, whose calendars are full, and who are being sought out rather than chasing work.

One important note before diving in: you do not need to do all seven. You should pick one from the list and do it consistently. Work through the episode, refer to the companion download, and  find the one strategy that resonates. 

What You’ll Learn:

Every successful practice is built on three things: positioning, visibility, and trust. If your practice is not growing, at least one of those is off.

The market does not reward general capability. It rewards clear positioning. You can do many things, but you must be known for one.

You do not need more visibility. You need the right visibility, showing up where your referral sources already gather.

Stop asking how to find more clients. Start asking who already works with your clients and build real relationships with those people.

Thought leadership is what turns visibility into demand. It is not about being louder. It is about being clearer.

Related Resources

Companion Worksheet: Download and refer back to it as you listen to the episode! 

The Business Planning Playbook

The Flat Fee Playbook

The Thought Leadership Playbook

Meet Our Creator and Host: Susan Guthrie
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 Daily 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
Books: https://susaneguthrie.com/susans-books
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susaneguthrie
Instagram: @susaneguthrie and @practiceplaybookpodcast

Most people think you can simply stop practicing law one day and become a mediator the next. But as this episode makes clear, building a successful neutral practice takes years of credibility, relationships, and intentional effort. For anyone who has thought about making the transition from litigator to mediator, or who is already building a neutral practice and wondering what it really takes to succeed, this episode is exactly where to start.

Susan Guthrie sits down with Scott Zucker, a commercial litigator with nearly four decades of experience who has built a thriving mediation and arbitration practice. He is also the author of Mediation Minute: Insights on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Scott pulls the curtain back on what his journey really looked like, including the long runway and the simple but powerful marketing principle he calls “Go out, get seen, get asked”.

This conversation is packed with the kind of real-world insight that only comes from someone who has walked the walk. Scott and Susan cover everything from making the mental shift from advocate to neutral, to building thought leadership, and to why trust is the true bedrock of dispute resolution work.

What You’ll Learn:

Building a mediation practice does not happen overnight, and why reputation, relationships, and credibility take years to develop.

Thought leadership builds credibility before anyone picks up the phone, and how writing and speaking about what you observe as a neutral lets people understand you better

Some of the best ways to build skills and get cases early in a neutral practice

Why and how trust is the foundation of dispute resolution

Guest
Scott Zucker is a founding partner of the Atlanta law firm Weissmann Zucker Euster + Oblinger P.C. and has been practicing law since 1987. His law practice focuses on real estate, employment and construction matters. He is also a certified Mediator and Arbitrator and assists parties in resolving matters through Alternative Dispute Resolution. Scott is a frequent lecturer at national and state real estate and construction trade conventions and is a contributing legal writer for trade industry magazines.

Scott is actively involved in the community and has sat on the advisory boards for Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute as well as the Rollins School of Public Health. He is a past president of Temple Sinai in Atlanta and is a Vice-Chair for the Southeast Division of the Anti-Defamation League.

Scott is a fervent writer and educator on the topic of “Ethical Wills” and is a passionate advocate of the importance of legacy writing. Scott presented a TEDx talk on Ethical Wills in 2019 which is available on YouTube.

Scott obtained his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Scott and his wife Melanie are proud parents of two sons (and two wonderful daughter-in-laws) and especially proud grandparents.

Connect with Scott
Practice: https://milesmediation.com/neutrals/scott-zucker/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-zucker-3643b712/
Book: THE MEDIATION MINUTE: Insights on Alternative Dispute Resolution

Meet Our Creator and Host: Susan Guthrie
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 Daily 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
Books: https://susaneguthrie.com/susans-books
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susaneguthrie
Instagram: @susaneguthrie and @practiceplaybookpodcast 

—--------------------------

What if credibility does not come from sounding like an expert? What if it comes from being understood? That is the question at the heart of this week's conversation and for legal professionals trained to believe that complexity signals expertise, it may be the most important question to sit with.

Susan Guthrie is joined by Lee Shainis, founder of Simplify Language, who has trained hundreds of organizations nationwide to make their written and spoken communication clearer, more efficient, and more inclusive. Lee brings a grounding reminder that simplifying communication is not dumbing it down. It is tightening it up, editing, sharpening, and making space for the people across from you to actually follow along.

Together, Susan and Lee explore the hidden costs of complex language, why most people will never tell you when they are confused, and how small, intentional shifts in clarity can strengthen trust, influence, and authority. 

What You’ll Learn:

Why complexity can actually work against your credibility

How institutional language creates distance, even when you do not mean it to

Why most people will never tell you when they are confused, and how to make it easier for them

Why knowing your audience is always step one, before you write a word or say a thing

How to use AI to simplify your communication without losing your voice

Join Us at the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Skills Summit
Lee Shainis is the featured presenter on day two of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Skills Summit this April. He will be diving deep into practical tools for simplifying communication, elevating your public speaking, and strengthening your facilitation skills. It is a two-day virtual program, so you can attend from anywhere.

Register at https://events.americanbar.org/event/b68303d1-af4a-495c-abc3-a67a5bd67a9b/summary

Guest
Lee is founder of Simplify Language, providing training to make written and spoken communication more concise, understandable, readable, and efficient for all audiences.

Since 2023 he has led hundreds of custom trainings nationwide for educational institutions, government agencies, nonprofits, and others.

Lee co-founded the nonprofit lntercambio Uniting Communities in 2000 and was the CEO for 20 years. During his leadership, lntercambio connected 10,000 adult immigrants with 5,000 volunteer English teachers in Boulder County and established a national network of several hundred organizations. lntercambio continues to thrive and in 2024 received $2M from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation.

Connect with Lee
Website:  simplifylanguage.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-shainis

Resources Mentioned: 
Get All Three Practice Playbook Books for Just $19.99
If you are serious about building a profitable, sustainable practice, Susan's entire Practice Playbook series is now available as a PDF bundle. That includes the Flat Fee Playbook, the Thought Leadership Playbook, and the Business Plan Playbook. One PDF with three strategic guides designed to help you clarify your positioning, strengthen your authority, and build a practice that actually works for you.

Grab the full bundle at https://bit.ly/Three-Books

_____________________________________

Meet Our Creator and Host: Susan Guthrie
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 Daily 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

Books: https://susaneguthrie.com/susans-books

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susaneguthrie

Instagram: @susaneguthrie and @practiceplaybookpodcast

Are you building a firm, or have you really built yourself a very high-paying job? That is a question every entrepreneurial professional needs to confront at some point, whether you are five years into practice or thirty-five. This week, Susan Guthrie welcomes Andrea Steinbrenner for a thoughtful and eye-opening conversation about what it truly means to build something that can sustain itself beyond the founder.

Andrea is the CEO and Partner of Exit Consulting Group, where she helps business owners plan for succession, transition, and exit. A former fractional CFO and operational leader, she brings deep strategic and practical experience. What makes this conversation especially powerful is that she does not view exit planning as simply a transaction. She frames it as something much bigger.  It is about transition, legacy, and long-term relevance.

Together, Susan and Andrea explore what happens when a business is built around one person, the emotional and practical challenges of letting go, and what it really takes to create something that can endure. 

Whether you plan to sell, wind down, pass your work on, or simply want more freedom in your life, this conversation invites you to consider an essential truth: A business that depends entirely on you is inherently fragile, and building something that lasts requires intentional planning long before any transition begins.

What You’ll Learn:

Why a business that cannot run without you is not yet transferable and what that actually means about structure, not success

How to think about exit strategy as transition, legacy, and future freedom rather than simply selling

Why timing matters and how early structural changes create more options later

How to assess whether you are building a scalable firm or sustaining a high performing job

Where founder dependency shows up and how to identify if you are a single point of failure

One practical step you can take in the next ninety days to build real leverage in your business

Guest

Andrea Steinbrenner is the Chief Executive Officer and Partner of Exit Consulting Group, Inc. (ECG), where she leads with strategic vision and cultural integrity. Her career spans retail management, accounting, and operations, including serving as a fractional CFO and VP of Operations at TGG Accounting, where she helped scale the firm significantly. After earning her EMBA, she founded Canopy Consulting before joining ECG in 2019, rising from consultant to COO and ultimately CEO in 2022. Known for her clear communication and “Tarzan” analogy of bridging strategy and execution, Andrea prioritizes active listening to align company goals with client success. Outside of work, she enjoys baking, hiking, reading, and raising poodles with her husband, Todd.

Connect with Andrea:
Website: https://exitconsultinggroup.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasteinbrenner/

Featured Companion Resource: The Founder Independence Scorecard
Take this conversation from insight to action with The Founder Independence Scorecard, a companion resource created for this episode.

This short, strategic self assessment helps you see clearly whether you are building a scalable firm or sustaining a high performing job. More importantly, it helps you identify where you are structurally strong, where you may be a single point of failure, and one practical move you can make in the next ninety days to build real leverage.

Download the companion scorecard here:

bit.ly/PPP-Founder-Scorecard

This Episode is Sponsored by Fourth Party
FourthParty bridges the gap between great mediators and great businesses by offering technology and guidance that make running a mediation practice feel effortless. Say goodbye to the pain of scheduling, payments, and communications.  

FourthParty is offering listeners 20% off their first 6 months with the codes SUSAN20. Head over to FourthParty.app and schedule a conversation with the team. https://fourthparty.app

Meet Our Creator and Host: Susan Guthrie
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 Daily 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
Books: https://susaneguthrie.com/susans-books
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susaneguthrie
Instagram: @susaneguthrie and @practiceplaybookpodcast 

 

—--------------------------

This is not your typical episode on profitability. Susan Guthrie welcomes guest Darren Wurz,CFP®, who brings a fresh and innovative approach to what profit really means for legal professionals. He explains why chasing higher revenue alone can actually leave firm owners feeling more stressed, stretched thin, and disconnected from the life they want their practice to support.

Darren is the founder of The Lawyer Millionaire and a fiduciary financial planner who works exclusively with law firm owners. He brings a rare perspective shaped by his background as an educator and his deep understanding of both business strategy and personal finance.

In this conversation, they dig into what profitability really means, why growing a firm can actually reduce profit if you’re not careful, and the practical systems that help lawyers keep more of what they earn while building businesses that support the lives they want.

This episode invites you to slow down, challenge familiar assumptions, and think about profit in a more intentional, sustainable way.

What You’ll Learn:

Why profitability is not the same thing as revenue, and how a growing practice can still leave you financially strained if you’re not being intentional 

How separating business and personal finances, paying yourself consistently, and setting profit aside on purpose can transform both your numbers and your decision-making

Why profitability is a team sport, and how aligning your staff around clear financial goals leads to better choices across the firm

The hidden cost of rushed decisions, and why slowing down to think strategically can protect your profit and your long-term vision

Guest

Darren Wurz, CFP®, is the founder of The Lawyer Millionaire®. He is a fiduciary financial planner who works exclusively with law firm owners, helping them bridge the gap between running a successful practice and actually building lasting wealth.

What makes Darren’s perspective so compelling is his path. He didn’t come up through traditional finance sales. He started as a teacher, driven by a genuine commitment to helping people grow, and that mindset carries through everything he does today.

Through his work with lawyers across the country, Darren saw a pattern that will sound very familiar to many of you. Talented, driven professionals bringing in good revenue, but still struggling with cash flow, taxes, long-term planning, and the question of what all that hard work is really building toward.

So he built something that didn’t exist. A flat-fee advisory firm designed specifically for law firm owners, combining business strategy, tax-smart planning, and personal financial coaching.

Connect with Darren

Community: https://community.lawyermillionaire.com
Website: https://thelawyermillionaire.com
Podcast: https://www.lawyermillionaire.com/the-lawyer-millionaire-podcast
Book: https://www.lawyermillionaire.com/the-lawyer-millionaire-book

Related Resources

Download the Law Firm Profit First Set Up Guide and Instant Cash Flow Assessment

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits by Greg Crabtree

The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack

The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham

Meet Our Creator and Host: Susan Guthrie

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 Daily 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

Books: https://susaneguthrie.com/susans-books

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susaneguthrie

Instagram: @susaneguthrie and @practiceplaybookpodcast

 

—--------------------------