The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

Lawyers start their own law firms for any number of reasons.  There isn’t a wrong one.   Despite that, most lawyers starting law firms tend to make the same mistakes.   So, if it’s time for you to start your own law firm, good for you.  And, these are three things you should figure out now, so you don’t get caught short resolving them later.   Create a Niche.    It’s really hard to market a law firm if you’re trying to sell ‘general practice’ legal services.  You can’t sell everything.  So focus down, create a niche, and build on it.  In a hypercompetitive environment, like small law, you need every  single  edge you can  get ; and, the most obvious differentiation point for a law firm is to drill down to specific practice areas.  This process also has the added benefit of opening you up to referrals from law firms focused on complementary practice areas.   Decide What to Cha...

Law firms tend to not track things well.  That includes time and billing, where they regularly tend to leave hours on the table.  But, it also extends to other parts of the practice.  So, when was the last time you examined your budget?   Lawyers who know their overhead are empowered because they have a baseline idea of what they need to make to keep the lights on, and what they need to make over and above that to earn a comfortable living.  Knowing those things means that the law firm can better forecast revenue and also set revenue goals, both of which are important to effective law firm management.   This all makes sense; but, the challenge lies in creating a current snapshot of the law firm budget.  Many managing attorneys don’t track their expenses effectively, which means they never get an accurate sense of their overhead, which by extension means that their revenue projections are less likely to be accurate and the revenue goals are less likely to be...

Law firms operate between ad hoc decionmaking and fire-putting-out.  It’s the natural state of the law firm manager.  That being said, humans have been improving on the state of nature since there have been humans.  So, it’s maybe not the worst thing in the world if this is the year you decide to put together revenue projections for your law firm. If you’ve never done it before, start now.  (Don’t wait until January, and cram this in, like everything else in your life.). The reason you create revenue projections for your law firm is because you need goals, just like everybody else. If you don’t have revenue goals to strive for, you’re far more likely to accept the status quo (even if you don’t like it), and your law firm will begin to stagnate.  Applying revenue goals applies pressure, gets you out of your comfort zone and (spoiler alert): will likely mean you actually make more money, even if you don’t ultimately hit your projections right away. I...