The Metric System: How to Engender a Performance Culture in Your Law Firm

The most successful law firms are not those who coast about, on a veritable lazy river of business development.  No, the law firms that grow aggressively do so because they have set goals in place – even so-called ‘stretch goals’ – to ramp up unusually effectively. 

 

In those same law firms, performance is driven by data.  There are lots of efficiency metrics that can be established by law firm owners, across all categories of business.  Utilization rate is an effective way to measure how much productive work your staff can get done in any given day.  You can also look after how long it takes to move from one segment of a workflow to another, to get leaner. 


 

The first step is to measure.  Figure out how well or poorly you’re performing inside of certain categories, in order to establish a baseline.  Once that baseline is available, you need to decide where you’d like it to be.  Your goal is then attached to the metric.  You’ll have primary metrics, that you can track in your law firm, that are kind of always there (like profit margin).  But, you’ll also have metrics that come and go, as you attempt to improve certain aspects of your business over time.  (If you have too many metrics, it’ll be like you don’t have any at all.) 

 

The way you build a performance culture is to hold your team (including yourself!) accountable to the metrics you establish, and (always) to discuss your progress toward the associated goals.  Half the battle with KPIs is to bring everybody together, in order to figure out creative ways to improve performance. 

 

Teamwork makes the dream work! 

 

. . . 

If you don’t have any established metrics or settled goals within your law, let’s get you started now! 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate.

To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.

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