The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

Despite the way that attorneys often act, the law firm timeline is not a direct one, from open to close.  There are bumps along the way,  and also  phases.  In modern video games,  wayfinder  beacons guide players to  a final destination .   Each segment makes up a whole journey.  Law firms operate in the same way.   (As does the movie ‘ Moana ’.)   And, by the way, your law firm  is  always moving forward; it  has to  be ,  it’s like a shark – because, the opposite of growth, is stagnation.  Or, as Red from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ so eloquently puts it: ‘ Get busy  living, o r  get busy dying ’.     So, don’t think of managing your law firm as a long, slow death march.  Instead, be mindful; focus on ma naging  the effectiveness of each phase.     Of course, to do that, you’d have to know what phase you’re in.   Maybe you’re hiring for the first time, and need to maximize that relationship?  Maybe you’re just starting to build out KPIs to ratchet up your efficiency?  Maybe you are w

Selecting  new  law firm software can be a daunting prospect.  There are so many options, that attorneys are often waylaid by a paralysis of analysis, and then don’t end up making any positive changes at all.  This is why a lot of law firms end up relying on old and obsolete technologies, rather than updating to modern tools.  Once again, inertia becomes the single worst enemy of law firms.   But, when lawyers do end up selecting specific  softwares , they often do so in a hasty manner, just to ensure the painful process end s  quickly.  In that case, the selected software is often not a good fit for the law firm, so that attorneys and staff end up wasting time building inefficient workarounds, that dress up the problem, and make the software just a little more palatable for the law firm ’ s use case.     Neither option is  particularly  compelling.     And, the truth of the matter is that the  process of  selecti ng  the right software for a law firm is not  an  easy  one , and it tak

Niche businesses, including niche law practices, are so effective ,  in large part because those business types reduce competition.  That logic is probably obvious: any time you sell to a smaller interest group, you sell to fewer people – but, it’s really powerful in application.   To new business owners, or general practitioners, that can sound dangerous =  it places  too  significant  a limitation o n accessing  potential clients.  You see, there’s this notion  that  most entrepreneurs latch onto, at first ,  which says that a wider pool means  access to  more potential clients.  But, a bigger group of potential clients  can also  mean  more expense s , more competitors and less focused messaging.  In the end, you can’t reach and convert  all  the clients; so, why not reduce your focus, and sharpen  your  branding ,  thereby  giv ing  yourself a better chance at converting from a targeted group?  And, as you develop a reputation in a given space, it will become easier over time to ge

As much as you might dread the next Zoom meeting.  And, the one after that.  And, the next one.  And, the one after that one . . . Video conferencing is here to stay.     But, being at home, it’s easy to get blasé about how you treat those video conferences.  It’s  no sweat  to keep the sweatpants on, to half-comb your hair, to sneak an Oreo.  Of course, you’d never do that at an in-person event.  And, if you’re a lawyer who’s feeling like your in-person presence far outstrips the effectiveness of your  online presence, there are four simple things you can do to up your game.     -You can start by checking in on the  quality  of your webcam.  Some of the webcams that are built into laptops or desktops are less than  stellar .  You can, however, ramp up to a crystal - clear image if you buy a better webcam that can be mounted on your device.  There are HD options available, with lighting built in, that can track your movements.  Start by checking for options on Amazon.     -Sound is ess